FFG: The Strange & Wonderful World of KeyForge
Fantasy Flight Games has a new Unique Deck Card Game on the way with KeyForge – but today we’re going to take a look at the setting of this crazy contest of Archons. It’s time to head to the Vaults of the Crucible and learn of it’s secrets.
In KeyForge, two players take on the role of Archons who are battling to uncover the secrets and powers of inside the Vaults of the Crucible. You’ll lead a team (aka your deck) of creatures, tech, and talents based on 3 of the seven houses. But what brought these houses together on this particular planet? Why do they struggle and what lies beneath the surface? That’s what we’re wanting to learn today.
We’re going to be taking a crash course in KeyForge’s history and the reasons behind this battle. But if you want to dive even deeper, there are a few links at the bottom of this article that will guide you to some FREE online fiction from FFG. If you’re curious and have some time, I suggest you read those pieces of lore as they will provide more insights into the universe of KeyForge. But it all starts with The Crucible.
Welcome To The Crucible
The Crucible is at the heart of the universe – it is an artificial planet that is constantly under construction by a mysterious race known as the Architects. These creatures have harvested worlds beyond counting for their materials. Sometimes lifeforms also get carried away in this process. Lost, unable to return home and surrounded by this strange new landscape, these creatures are unable to communicate with other beings. Only the Archons, natives of the Crucible who are able to speak with all things, are their guides.
The planet itself appears much like any other planet. It has all the things that make a planet and planet – gravity, atmosphere, biomes, etc. It also supports life with different plants, animals, and minerals – all things a person would expect on a life sustaining planet. But if you explored a bit deeper you would discover that there is much more to the Crucible than your average planet might provide.
The planet is as diverse as the civilizations that have been brought to the Crucible. The surface hosts every environment imaginable. Dry deserts, snow-capped mountains, deep seas, dense jungles, and even the urban metropolises. Creatures who once lived literally light-years apart now share living space. Some biomes are complex and cater to every living beings need. Others are made of bustling cities or quiet villages. The world is growing, changing…evolving. As more and more life is brought to the planet, it will only continue to change with each day.
But not all these areas are safe. Beneath the surface is a superstructure that divides the current layer from one(s?) below it. This tunnel network runs throughout the planet and is inhabited by the demons of Dis. They have built furnaces and prisons here and collect victims who have gotten lost in the labyrinth.
Above the surface floats island paradises. Some believe these improbable lands are the beginnings of a new layer of the Crucible. They are host to waterfalls, plentiful plant life and stunningly beautiful rock formations. The House of Sanctum inhabits these lands and they keep quiet about their origins – and they will defend their territory.
However, the greatest mystery of the Crucible is the Spire. It is an enormous tower that rises above the floating islands and reaches into the heavens of space. No one knows it’s history or what it’s for. But if you stare beyond the clouds you might see what could be construed as scaffolds in the sky. And for all the technology that has been developed on the surface, nothing and escape beyond the atmosphere of the Crucible.
More Resources
Fantasy Flight Games has an article you can read that goes into more detail about the planet and the houses that inhabit the world. As promised here are a few more links to help you get a ground level view of the world of KeyForge:
Prologue –“The Archives of Inka the Spider” by Nate French
“Once Upon a Goblin” by Nate French
“A Strange Game” by Daniel Lovat Clark
“Dextre’s Price” by Nate French
From the looks of things, FFG isn’t going to be slowing down expanding the fiction of this universe either. So if you want to get in on the ground floor of this ever expanding place, I would hop in with both feet and get ready to become an Archon in KeyForge!
The Vaults of the Crucible beckon…
