After yesterday’s blog talking a little bit about the early stages of development for League of Infamy (the occasionally co-operative dungeon crawler*), today we’re explaining a little bit about the background behind the mysterious League.

After the initial decision that the game would be about a group of villains trying to play nicely together, we needed to come up with a good reason about why they were heading off on this little jaunt. After all, a gang of miscreants wouldn’t necessarily choose to work together… without good reason.

Of course, we knew we wanted to set League of Infamy in the same universe of Kings of War (just like we did with Dungeon Saga), so we needed something that would make sense in that context. Initially we tossed around the idea that an Abyssal Warlock had captured the villains and was forcing them to do his bidding… and potentially a bonus mission would be a scenario against the warlock. The characters would each be trying to impress the warlock by performing the most evil deeds possible.

However, that didn’t really feel quite right, and it was back to the drawing board. It was actually during one of our discussions with James and Sophie that the idea of the League came up. They suggested the idea of a mysterious, illuminati-type organisation that would be sending their evil minions across Pannithor to commit all sorts of foul thievery and dastardly doings. Subsequently the League of Infamy was born.

The League is a group of shadowy individuals that only care about one thing: money! Lurking in the murky nation of Ophidia, the League has its influence spread across Pannithor. The League only really has one purpose… and that’s to make sure its members become as wealthy and as powerful as possible. As a result, although they’re happy to use ne’er do wells in their schemes, sometimes they may also be helping the good factions of Pannithor. As long as it helps their bottom line.

With League of Infamy, the League has heard that the elves have started to breed drakons – a smaller type of dragon that can be ridden into battle. The concern is that if the elves have an abundance of these powerful steeds, it could tip the balance of power in their favour and the League could lose its influence. Which would be very bad indeed! So, this is a mission that requires ruthless individuals that aren’t afraid to get their hands a bit bloody. Success will result in great rewards. Failure will result in… a messy end.

We love the idea of the League so much, that this board game won’t be the only time you’ll encounter their devious influence. If you backed the Kings of War RPG, you’ll know the League is mentioned there but you’ll also start to see them appear in Kings of War too. Remember Darvled from the Edge of the Abyss campaign? Well, let’s just say he’s probably got a Coin of Infamy in his back pocket. There’s also a potential civil war brewing in the dwarfen kingdom, which might come in useful for the League if that region becomes destabilised. And who encouraged La’theal Silverheart (now Bleakheart) to unleash the Nightstalkers… and is now funding the Basileans in their quest to stamp them out?

The Pondwarden will ensure any villains have a troublesome time in the Trident Realm.

What’s more, having the League as an organisation with influence across Pannithor, it means we can provide countless adventures for their minions. From the lush fields of the Shires, to the waterways of the Trident Realm… and who knows where else. In tomorrow’s blog, we’ll start delving deep into the rules!

*we are contractually obliged to say this at least once an article

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