Your amazing support has given us a roadmap where we spend the next two years working on this game. We underestimated how popular the Ajax Edition would be and were overwhelmed by the response yesterday. After speaking with our manufacturing partner late last evening we are confident that we will be able to produce a second wave of Ajax Editions for those who missed the first wave. The second wave will ship after the first wave because a human needs to pack each one of these and that takes time.
There will not be a third wave as we are unable to produce and deliver additional units.
Since the end of the crowdfunding campaign for The Magnus Archives Roleplaying Game, Monte and the design team have been quietly plugging away at the game’s design. Most of the work so far has gone into the two largest chapters: Monsters and NPCs, and Running the Game. But mechanics are being hashed out and playtested for a variety of new systems, including stress and damage and the process of crafting a statement (which Monte previewed during the campaign in this article).
Everything’s on track—fortunately we planned for design to go a bit slower for this than for one of our typical projects, because there's so much research involved. The design team practically has the podcast transcripts memorized at this point!
We’ll have a more comprehensive look at some of the other items next month. (We can’t wait to show off the design for the Boneturner’s Tale dice box—it’s really spectacular. We’ve just passed it over to the Rusty Quill team for their approval; we’ll give you a look when we have their thumbs-up.)
In the meantime, have a wonderful holiday season! Speaking of which. . .
It’s a holiday tradition at MCG: we give you $10, and you can use it to get something at the MCG Shop—or donate it to charity! 100% of the donation goes to the chosen charity, and over the years we’ve given thousands to some really worthy causes. So take $10 off a gift for a loved one (or yourself!) or tell us which charity you’d like us to give it to. It’s the MCG Holiday Gift!
Thanks again for such a fantastic campaign! —Team MCG
Why, thank you, kind adventurers for funding a High Lorekeeper to do her damn job already :)
You've unlocked Aizendore's Vault Lore - the original lore and inspiration behind Tomb of the Undead King. This excerpt details where the Chroniclers of Antiquity believe a certain key may be buried amidst a city melted by dragon fire. Could they possibly be correct? I suppose you'll have to brave this adventure to find out.
Now...where did I hang that ancient map of Wellsing that may just be able to aid you in your quest...?
I only have 30 minutes left to find it!!!
That said...I'm sure a few more shining pennies might illuminate this dusty archive just enough to find it...
Until then, I'm off to the milliners for that fine hat I've had my eye on! Bye for now **waves imaginary wizard's hat**
You, however, really must help me collect those silver coins if you'd like to unlock another stretch goal...share it with your DnD friends now ;) Â https://bit.ly/3t2Y7u6
Holy undead! Where did that stretch goal just come from and what the heck is going on here?!
£8,500 – Aizendore’s Vault Lore
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Well, folks, it occurred to me you might enjoy a little background lore to the Key of Abjuration, and thankfully you’re talking to the High Lorekeeper here **doffs imaginary wizard’s hat**
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And if a curious soul, such as yourself, deigns to grease my ink-stained palm with a pretty penny or two, I may just be able to locate it for you. It is no easy feat, mind you, rummaging through the archives of Penny Dragon’s lore-room, where dusty, ancient tomes teeter on overflowing bookshelves and weathered parchment scrolls jut from every crevice, nook, and cranny. I could have sworn the original lore was here somewhere…perhaps catalogued by the scribe who penned it…Black…Black…Christoph–oh, if only I could remember where I filed it…
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I just know this short excerpt is sure to tantalize if I could find it…and wasn’t there some commentary provided from one of the Chroniclers of Antiquity on that scroll too? I’m sure there was…
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It will certainly take a diligent mind and a keen eye to find it amongst this treasure trove of tales…which, of course, makes me the perfect Lorekeeper for the job! Now it is simply a question of what incentive you might provide to commission such a quest…
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I’d need to see just a little more enthusiasm…**offers right hand out, ready to feel the cold touch of silver**
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Share with your DnD group to unlock this brand new stretch goal and finance a poor Lorekeeper to invest in more than an imaginary wizard’s hat ;)
Our plan is to update you roughly once a month on progress, just to give you a sense of how things are going. This is the December update.
We've made good progress this last month.
All interior illustrations are now complete, and in fact there is very little artwork left to do - just some icons and a one piece of UV/blacklight art. I'm hoping this will be all done by the end of January, but because of some known time pressures on the team, it's not 100% certain that it will be.
The rulebooks text is complete, the core cards are complete, and 17 out of 18 scenarios are complete, except for proofing and editing. That editing work is starting this week and we expect it to be finished in December.
The first cut of the layout is done for the rulebooks and core cards. Scenario layout should be fairly simple, but can't start until the proofing and editing is done. The box and board are next in line to be worked on.
The next update should come in mid- to late-January.
By the way, I ran a demo of my scenario Ex Nihilo at Dragonmeet earlier this month. It went very well, with some lovely time loop horror coupled with a quantum duplicate. I do love playing the different scenarios - I hope to get to do more of that when we've got a completely physical prototype.
Festive greetings to those celebrating, and I look forward to sharing even more progress in the New Year. Best wishes
Firstly, congrats on unlocking the d20 Encounter Table!
We're now in the final hours of the campaign and you're continuing to smash it.
Thank you for being here, this Unlock the Vault series of one shots are shaping up to be something special. While these adventures having everything you need as a stand alone one shot, we're thoroughly enjoying weaving these into adventures that can be expanded upon with Aizendore's Vault of Tragic Treasure.
So Close
We've got one more stretch goal to go - that gorgeous Labelled Area Map!
Maps are a favourite around here. If you know us, you know we love a good map...or two...or three.
There's still time to unlock this one, I know we can do it!
TTRPG Community
Paying it forward and supporting other creators in the TTRPG world is of huge importance to us.
We know from personal experience, when you're first starting out it can feel equal parts daunting and exciting. Every follow, comment and share can go a long way in those early days.
Beyond the Beasts offers diverse decks of monsters for 5e, fostering dynamic encounters without rigid Challenge Ratings. Each deck contains adaptable statblocks, rich lore & environmental details, enabling GMs to easily create such encounters.
You can check out Hebridian Tales first campaign HERE.
Beyond the Beasts
I hope you are all having a wonderful December, just a quick check-in to let you know how things are going.
Editing Phase
The proofing is taking a little longer than I initially imagined but I do want to ensure that there is enough time to pin-point any issues so I can rewrite/edit things as needed. This will be a back and forth phase until the proofing team and I are happy with things.
Extra Artwork
Our external artists are hard at work and we only a few pieces away from it all being finished. I am blown away by what they have done and am so excited by how well they fit into the world!
Manufacturing & Shipping
We are reaching final discussions with both shipping partners and manufacturing to confirm numbers of the products so we can be sure that everything in place for when we finally get things sent off to print.
I still don't have a solid date for when fulfilment for items will begin but with the holiday season here in the west and Chinese New Year soon after that, we will be setting a solid timeline when our manufacturer and shipping teams can co-ordinate things together.
Surveys
Thank you to everyone who has filled out their surveys, we are 89% complete which means that less than 260 people are still left to fill theirs out.
If you haven't done so please check your emails, if you can't find it then head to https://www.backerkit.com/c/users/active_projects, look for Brambletrekand select Fill Out Your Surveyunder Order Status, this will be where you can find your survey should you ever lose it.
With that said, I will be locking in orders at the end of this week to share item counts with the relevant teams so you will not be able to make any changes but I do believe that if you haven't filled your survey out you can still do so.
You are still able to change your shipping address until the books are shipped.
I hope everyone has a wonderful week and I look forward to coming back to you with more info soon!
We're very excited to announce that the Zine by Moonlight issues are complete and now available for download on BackerKit. You can find them in the Digital Downloads section here: https://girl-by-moonlight.backerkit.com/backer/digital_rewards
This completes the awards for Girl by Moonlight, but we hope it is just the beginning of your magical girl adventures! Please continue to make beautiful stories with each other and if you're so inclined, share them with us over email ([email protected]) or social media (@evilhat on most channels).
Rust and Redemption is in the final stages of proofing, and goes to press imminently. We hope to have this title in our warehouse by mid-January—and, as always, we’ll begin the fulfillment process as soon as we have it!
As we mentioned in our last update, the Cypher System Starter Set has gone through the proofing process, and is now headed to press. As a boxed set, its production process requires more time than our books and it also has a longer freight journey from the vendor as well. We expect it to arrive in our warehouse around March.
The other titles you funded continue to march toward completion. The Cypher System Bestiary is currently being laid out, It’s Only Magic is wrapping up design and will soon be going to editing, and the designers have been internally playtesting and developing the many adventures of Adventures in the Cypher System.
In the meantime. . .Â
As our design team closes in on completion of the titles you funded, we’re looking ahead toward more Cypher System goodness. Sign up to be notified!
Oh, and one more thing:
It’s a holiday tradition at MCG: we give you $10, and you can use it to get something at the MCG Shop—or donate it to charity! 100% of the donation goes to the chosen charity, and over the years we’ve given thousands to some really worthy causes. So take $10 off a gift for a loved one (or yourself!) or tell us which charity you’d like us to give it to. It’s the MCG Holiday Gift!
