
Your goal is to survive for 9 days as the Darkness tries to destroy the region of Betel. But beware of other players: they will stand in the way of your victory as they carry out their own strategies.
You will have four different ways to win. Which one will you choose?



Darkest Doom is a competitive strategy game with RPG elements for 1-4 players, set in a dark fantasy world inspired by XVII century Europe and inhabited by anthropomorphic animals.
Your goal is to survive for 9 days as the Darkness tries to destroy the region of Betel. But beware of other players: they will stand in the way of your victory as they carry out their own strategies.
You will have four different ways to win. Which one will you choose?
Production
Designer: Zattini Mario
Artist: Denis Medri – Davide De Bellis – Michele Marchionne
Graphic: Carlo Brigliadori
3D Models: Claudio Casini
Publisher: Game Start Studio
Unlocked pre-saves stretch goal
The Game
The Darkest Doom boardgame puts you in charge of one of four formidable Guardians, each with unique abilities and traits.
As you explore the areas of the region of Betel you’ll be able to take advantage of each different terrain and use its unique characteristics. You’ll increase your Guardian’s statistics by completing quests assigned to you by Vicar Percival, adjusting your strategy and attitude towards the game based on the stats you choose to upgrade.
Whenever you’re required to roll dice, High Priestess Elaine grants you and all other players the power of the Crimsonfate – the Amulet of the Elders – which will let you modify the result of the dice with a result of your choice from the Citadels Supplies cards in your hand.
Play by yourself with the Bot Guardians mode, allowing you to play with up to four automated Guardians, or prove yourself by challenging three other players in this Dark Fantasy adventure combining elements of roleplay, exploration, handicap management and traditional boardgames.
During your exploration, you’ll also stumble onto ancient relics which will help you satisfy one of four victory conditions. You’ll be able to declare Alliances with Citadels in order to gain advantages over other Guardians and battle the Darkness which is slowly bringing the whole region to collapse.
Each new round is a new Dawn, and thanks to the Citadel restock you’ll always have some help as you replenish the cards in your hand, choosing them from different decks: Equipment, Spells and Traps. The same card has different effects depending on the player using it and the stats they’ve chosen to increase.

The Guardians

Trained in the art of battle by a young Frederick, before the latter’s appointment as Knight of the Guardians, at a time when he was still just a simple Vanguard from the North Citadel helping youngsters that couldn’t afford the Order’s Military Academy. Urian the Wolf was one of these young men in search of their big break, a chance to leave behind their unlucky lives; the dream they all shared was to leave the slums and move to one of the Citadels as Vanguards.

The last one to be named Guardian of the Sigil, Sela, the White Fox, spent most of her youth with her adoptive father, Eduard.
They spent their days as wandering merchants, moving from village to village, selling goods and trinkets stolen along the way. When they were approaching the East Citadel, Eduard decided to try and rob one of its bigger houses. The next night, they snuck in through a window on the top floor and started pocketing anything that looked valuable. As Eduard searched the books on the desk, they heard footsteps coming from the stairs beyond the door. When the door swung open Percival, Vicar of the Citadels, was standing in front of them. The two men were not surprised to see each other.

“You held onto life so hard that you got lost in it. Ambitious, yes, but also stupid. You had a different face every three days, a different bed every two. You failed! And to think you had everything a son could ever want. A well-off family who gave you all it could – love, attention, favors. You were an intelligent and sensitive boy. Your parents’ eyes, our eyes, shone bright with the prospect of a successful life for you. But no, you prefered to fail. You favored fame in lieu of what all sensible people dream of. You’d rather people talked about you – no matter how – as long as your name was on everyone’s lips. I’ll tell you a secret, Tristram: success isn’t measured by people talking about you, it’s not in the reputation that preceeds your every step. Success is knowing what the right thing to do is, especially when it’s hard and requires sacrifices.”

Roana was abandoned as a newborn in the Crow Rites forest. She was found at death’s door by the Hag who acted as Sentinel for that forest. The elder Witch kept the baby with her for a week, until she was out of the woods. The Hag didn’t want to extinguish such a young life, perhaps, or maybe if she hadn’t been a Crow herself her fate would have been different.
So, once the baby was well, she brought her to the Tribe of the Shamans of Betel; specifically, she presented the baby to Victor, the Deer Shaman, head of all Shaman Tribes. Victor saw baby Roana as a gift, and introduced her to his people as his daughter.
Who the Guardians are dealing with

The Black Lodge was always a legend in shamanic mythology. To Mosh, however, it was always something more than that: hope. Hope to change the fate of their eight Clans. After being separated from his sister Roana Mosh had changed, it was as if he’d gotten lost in an endless forest, dark and burning. The only thought torturing his soul and mind was the day the Order had condemned all the Shaman Clans to exile in the Mountains…

Dinadan, Anselm and Bliant. The triad that makes up the Council of the Elders, founders of the Order, who through the years have made Betel the most structured region in the fields of economy, military and politics in all of Donama. However, when you wish for rain you must be ready for mud… and there was a lot of mud here.

The Darkness that enveloped Elaine and, through her, all of Betel, didn’t leave anyone time to wittingly react.
With each new Dawn the Calamity fed on Elaine’s life force to breed its children, the Lightless. As new Dawns gave way to new Nightfalls, the Abominations that were being born started to evolve into even more monstrous and lethal creatures.

The High Priestess paid a high price for Aion’s favors. The Elder demanded her soul as collateral and made her his Herald. The first task he assigned to her was eradicating the Darkness that would bring Betel to ruin and, with it, the Black Lodge, the middle ground which connects this world to the Primordial Lands, the place where the Elders now reside.
The same Darkness that emerged from the open portal inside the Monolith was the reason why the Elders never returned to Betel after abandoning it. Their divine force was dormant in the middle ground between the worlds. The current circumstances, however, allowed Aion to have a weapon to fight with, in the very place he once used to be.