Happy holidays, gamers! Welcome to the December update of RISK Shadow Forces. We are beyond excited to share more information with you on this thrill game of global conflict. Over the coming months, we plan to really dig deep into the details of the factions and warlords involved.

First up is the Warlord featured on the RISK Shadow forces cover art, Kai Weller. Let’s take a look at the design notes on this enigmatic leader and the role she plays in the shadow conflict.

Pre-order your copy of the RISK Shadow Forces board game on Hasbro Pulse.

Genius. Medic. Hacker. Superstar.

Kai Weller is all these and more, a once-in-a-generation mind that has risen through the ranks to become one of the most well-known and well-liked Warlords involved in this shadow conflict.

Born in France to Algerian parents, Kai stands out as a warlord in that she has no history or training in combat or the organization of a fighting force. What she does have is a unique perspective and world view that was instilled in her by her parents that drove her to work and study hard her whole life. She began her work in the medical field, training to become a doctor. But she held other passions as well, interests in technology, video games, and understanding how things worked – especially the relay, a global network that connects billions.

So it was that while by day Kai Weller studied medicine, at night she became Star Bastille, gaming prodigy and celebrity known for her impeccable strategies and swift reflexes. She rose quickly to being a top tier gamer and held immense clout, and it was not long before she was going beyond gaming into hacking the relay, analyzing it all – originally for an edge in her games, but eventually for its own reward.

When the world changed and civilization began to crumble, like so many others Kai was at first dazed, confused, at a loss. The relay was mostly gone, and her world as she knew ended. The next decade would take its toll. Pandemonium broke out, but Kai found her skills as a physician were more prized than anything she had ever done online.

Kai Weller was a true hero, where Star Bastille had been a fiction. In those years Kai helped thousands and more. As a doctor in the hospitals, one after the other as each was slowly destroyed or taken over by scum, she saved lives. When the brutal gang wars broke out, she did what she could - antiseptic a must, anesthesia a luxury rarely provided. When the second siege of Paris dragged on into months, Kai was everywhere at the front, dodging between houses and firing lines to retrieve one after another injured comrade, or treat them there and then if she could. She learned that sometimes she had to take lives to defend or save lives. But she would never enjoy it, never become numb to it.

But in all this time the relay was being repaired and more nodes being opened again. It was a brutal and terrifying place now, with most nodes eclipsed by viruses and malware. Yet this was no hardship for the legend who had been Star Bastille. As a reprieve from the horror of her days treating malnourished children and crippled casualties, Kai donned the mantle of Star Bastille again. And she went on fact finding forays. Deeper and deeper she went as the relay was repaired; more information returned.

It was on one of these fact-finding sessions that Kai stumbled upon trails. Details, numbers, movements, resources, transactions - all like tendrils of smoke, but ones she did not have to capture, just follow. She followed these trails and eventually became aware of something bigger. The Shadow Conflict. Or at least, the first rumblings. Banners were being raised, and forces were mustering.

Kai realized she could not trust any of the people she had identified as players in the upcoming conflict. She had no faith in them to lead humanity forward to a better place. So Kai took the only path left to her. She started her own fires.

Using her knowledge and contacts in both the real world and the relay, Kai’s new following grew quickly. She was not a warrior, but she knew conflict. She knew strategy and tactics and the difference between the two.

She recruited people with the skills she did not possess. And she got them to recruit people with skills they did not possess. And on and on. The ball is still rolling and Kai Weller and Star Bastille both can only hope that their vision of the future is the one that will win out and eventually be the leading light for humanity.

Kai is the consummate matriarch of any under her charge. In all the encounters she has so far orchestrated, Kai has been able to outwit and out maneuver her opponents using her phenomenal defensive mind, always altering her dispositions in advance of the actual need so that it seems almost miraculous when reinforcements arrive just when required. Kai has yet to lose a single engagement fought on the defensive.

Because Kai fears, if she fails, then no matter which of the other leaders win out, it will usher in a tyranny the likes of which humanity has never known. Even, perhaps, by her own hand.

For Kai is a complex individual. Star Bastille is the persona that Kai takes on when she is commanding her forces in combat, and Star Bastille sees the resources available to her a number and statistics, irrespective of the human cost. She is unable to remain attached to the part of her that is Kai Weller, physician and matriarch. It is as Star Bastille that her tactical genius shines, and she goes to war to win.

Only after the battles, after she has stepped away from the tactical displays, does Kai truly see the horror of what she has done and the lives lost under her command. In these moments she must compromise with herself the terrible price that she has reaped both from her enemies and her allies, a struggle that some fear will eventually lead to another war,

In the shadow confrontation it is felt by many that Kai Weller or Star Bastille will finally win out, the other relegated to a distant memory. But her true strength is in both combined. For she could never gain the true adoration of her followers as Star Bastille, for it is in her heart that they trust. But nor could she wage war as Kai Weller, for if you try to save everyone, nobody survives. It is a simple transaction that Star bastille understands – if you lose less fighters than the opposition every time you battle, eventually you will demolish their ability to make war. But you will always lose some, no matter how skilled they are applied, how well trained, equipped and lead. There will always be casualties.

Should Star Bastille or Kai Weller win out, will she still be able to lead her people through the Shadow Conflict – or will she just become another footnote in the annals of war?

Pre-order your copy of the RISK Shadow Forces board game TODAY on Hasbro Pulse.

Happy holidays, gamers! Welcome to the December update of RISK Shadow Forces. We are beyond excited to share more information with you on this thrill game of global conflict. Over the coming months, we plan to really dig deep into the details of the factions and warlords involved.

First up is the Warlord featured on the RISK Shadow forces cover art, Kai Weller. We turned to our very own Chris Nadeau for more on this enigmatic leader and the role she plays in the shadow conflict.

Genius. Medic. Hacker. Superstar.

Kai Weller is all these and more, a once-in-a-generation mind that has risen through the ranks to become one of the most well-known and well-liked Warlords involved in this shadow conflict.

Born in France to Algerian parents, Kai stands out as a warlord in that she has no history or training in combat or the organization of a fighting force. What she does have is a unique perspective and world view that was instilled in her by her parents that drove her to work and study hard her whole life. She began her work in the medical field, training to become a doctor. But she held other passions as well, interests in technology, video games, and understanding how things worked – especially the relay, a global network that connects billions.

So it was that while by day Kai Weller studied medicine, at night she became Star Bastille, gaming prodigy and celebrity known for her impeccable strategies and swift reflexes. She rose quickly to being a top tier gamer and held immense clout, and it was not long before she was going beyond gaming into hacking the relay, analyzing it all – originally for an edge in her games, but eventually for its own reward.

When the world changed and civilization began to crumble, like so many others Kai was at first dazed, confused, at a loss. The relay was mostly gone, and her world as she knew ended. The next decade would take its toll. Pandemonium broke out, but Kai found her skills as a physician were more prized than anything she had ever done online.

Kai Weller was a true hero, where Star Bastille had been a fiction. In those years Kai helped thousands and more. As a doctor in the hospitals, one after the other as each was slowly destroyed or taken over by scum, she saved lives. When the brutal gang wars broke out, she did what she could - antiseptic a must, anesthesia a luxury rarely provided. When the second siege of Paris dragged on into months, Kai was everywhere at the front, dodging between houses and firing lines to retrieve one after another injured comrade, or treat them there and then if she could. She learned that sometimes she had to take lives to defend or save lives. But she would never enjoy it, never become numb to it.

But in all this time the relay was being repaired and more nodes being opened again. It was a brutal and terrifying place now, with most nodes eclipsed by viruses and malware. Yet this was no hardship for the legend who had been Star Bastille. As a reprieve from the horror of her days treating malnourished children and crippled casualties, Kai donned the mantle of Star Bastille again. And she went on fact finding forays. Deeper and deeper she went as the relay was repaired; more information returned.

It was on one of these fact-finding sessions that Kai stumbled upon trails. Details, numbers, movements, resources, transactions - all like tendrils of smoke, but ones she did not have to capture, just follow. She followed these trails and eventually became aware of something bigger. The Shadow Conflict. Or at least, the first rumblings. Banners were being raised, and forces were mustering.

Kai realized she could not trust any of the people she had identified as players in the upcoming conflict. She had no faith in them to lead humanity forward to a better place. So Kai took the only path left to her. She started her own fires.

Using her knowledge and contacts in both the real world and the relay, Kai’s new following grew quickly. She was not a warrior, but she knew conflict. She knew strategy and tactics and the difference between the two.

She recruited people with the skills she did not possess. And she got them to recruit people with skills they did not possess. And on and on. The ball is still rolling and Kai Weller and Star Bastille both can only hope that their vision of the future is the one that will win out and eventually be the leading light for humanity.

Kai is the consummate matriarch of any under her charge. In all the encounters she has so far orchestrated, Kai has been able to outwit and out maneuver her opponents using her phenomenal defensive mind, always altering her dispositions in advance of the actual need so that it seems almost miraculous when reinforcements arrive just when required. Kai has yet to lose a single engagement fought on the defensive.

Because Kai fears, if she fails, then no matter which of the other leaders win out, it will usher in a tyranny the likes of which humanity has never known. Even, perhaps, by her own hand.

For Kai is a complex individual. Star Bastille is the persona that Kai takes on when she is commanding her forces in combat, and Star Bastille sees the resources available to her a number and statistics, irrespective of the human cost. She is unable to remain attached to the part of her that is Kai Weller, physician and matriarch. It is as Star Bastille that her tactical genius shines, and she goes to war to win.

Only after the battles, after she has stepped away from the tactical displays, does Kai truly see the horror of what she has done and the lives lost under her command. In these moments she must compromise with herself the terrible price that she has reaped both from her enemies and her allies, a struggle that some fear will eventually lead to another war,

In the shadow confrontation it is felt by many that Kai Weller or Star Bastille will finally win out, the other relegated to a distant memory. But her true strength is in both combined. For she could never gain the true adoration of her followers as Star Bastille, for it is in her heart that they trust. But nor could she wage war as Kai Weller, for if you try to save everyone, nobody survives. It is a simple transaction that Star bastille understands – if you lose less fighters than the opposition every time you battle, eventually you will demolish their ability to make war. But you will always lose some, no matter how skilled they are applied, how well trained, equipped and lead. There will always be casualties.

Should Star Bastille or Kai Weller win out, will she still be able to lead her people through the Shadow Conflict – or will she just become another footnote in the annals of war?

Pre-order your copy of the RISK Shadow Forces board game on Hasbro Pulse.