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For all of the new features that we are building into New Foundations, the expansion boils down to a pretty simple realignment of the game. Previously, most players would direct their entire attention towards winning. Each game culminates with a gigantic scrum, or, what folks sometimes call a “crab bucket.” I have no idea if this term is used affectionately, but I’ve often liked the image. Certainly the end of a game of Oath can feel like you are trapped with a bucket of pointy little creatures trying climb over each other in a mad scramble to get to the top.

Hello everyone! Josh here, designer of the Homeland Expansion. Today we’re releasing the third print-and-play, including some stuff that you haven’t seen yet: the three new Hirelings and all of the Captains for the Knaves of the Deepwood. You’ll find all of that here.

All in all, the project is right on schedule. On the design side, I expect a couple more months of serious development. I’ll release one more Print-and-Play when we’re all done, which will include the maps, landmarks, and three new Vagabonds. On the production side, we’ve received and approved samples for almost all of our hard components. Here’s a (literal) handful of them, including the three new Captains.

Today we’re releasing a massive print-and-play kit for Oath: New Foundations. Just about every element seen in the previous kit has received some polish, and, if you haven’t paid attention to the expansion since the Kickstarter, this is a pretty good time to take a look at how the design is shaping up.

Today, I’d like to talk about how the factions’ development has come along, highlighting what we learned from the first print-and-play release and further playtesting, and giving a sense of how I feel about their current state and where we need to go next.

Throughout concepting the Homeland Expansion, the question loomed: "What's the other thing in the box?" In each big expansion, we try not to just add more of the same, but something fundamentally new. Riverfolk included our earliest attempt at a bot. Underworld had new maps along with a new piece type that would become the landmarks. Marauder introduced hirelings and advanced setup.

Hey everyone, I want to give you a quick peek at the maps and how we’re thinking through them as we spin up their development. I’m so glad to see all the excitement for the Homeland Expansion, and I’m looking forward to seeing your reaction on launch day.

The Homeland Expansion will be the second time we’re adding new maps to the game. It includes two new maps: the Marsh map and the Gorge map.

Sickened by the enduring conflict, the Twilight Council hosts assemblies to end the war, bringing together all the Woodland from the lowliest mouse-in-a-sack to the mightiest hawk with a royal claim. The assemblies emphasize political connections over pure numbers of warriors, pushing the factions away from bloody battle and toward heated debate. As the Council progresses in their mission, they can declare edicts to change how the assemblies work, manipulating their enemies’ incentives and actions.

Throughout history, diasporas have played a critical role in societies and their politics. Because of their precarious position, they have been used and abused by monarchs, empires, and hegemonic cultures, whether through labor exploitation, use as a political wedge, or scapegoating. So it’s about time that they got their due in Root, in the form of the Lilypad Diaspora. In case you’re not familiar with them yet, here’s how I pitch them:

I started to ponder the expansion: what part of Root was I interested in exploring? Here’s what: Root is a living, breathing ecosystem because of the Woodland. The factions are not self-contained—they rely on the creatures of the Woodland to accomplish their goals. The Marquise works (and Overworks) the Woodfolk, the Eyrie enact their Decree through Woodfolk advisors and notables, and so on. You, as the faction leadership, are nothing without the Woodfolk. So, I first wanted to focus on this multiple, fractious nature of the factions.