It's fire vs. water with today's match! But first an important announcement: We cleared another stretch goal! The Treant Spirit has been added to the Stretch Goal Booklet that backers will receive for free, filled with bonus monsters. (Spell check almost changed that to "truant spirit." Ha! That ought to be a monster, too - ghosts that skip school??)
$250k stretch goal cleared! Enter the Treant Spirit!
If you missed yesterday's livestream, you can watch the replay here. Lots of fun - Chuck Whelon's illustrations always entertain, and Chris, Brendan and Mike shared some fun adventure-writing tips.
Now, back to the fights! The winner of match 3 was: Mecharachnid! At a 75-25 split, it wasn't even close. For today's matchup:
Round 1, match 4: Drasquiton vs. Cinder Teregon
They say that fire and water don’t mix, but we think these two are going to mix it up pretty dramatically today!
Hailing from aquatic depths, the Drasquiton brings with it a host of helpers. Swarms of mosquitoes sting and bite at its enemy while the creature itself unleashes a toxic breath weapon of vermin on its target. This thing might just bug you to death!
Is it enough to stop the Cinder Teregon, though? This draconic demolisher can set its body aflame, inflicting damage to anything that touches it. And with a nasty breath of pyroclastic fragments it can batter any beast into oblivion!
So who wins out? Does water dowse the fire, or will flame boil the enemy to victory? There is no love lost between these two once they enter the arena, but we are sure to love their discordant display!
Who do you think is going to win the fight? Vote today!
How does this work? Vote in the poll below for the monster that you think would win in a fight. Each weekday there's a new bout. Winners advance, losers die. Eventually there will be only two! Every backer who participates by voting is entered into a drawing to win original art, as shown in this earlier update!
My name is James, and I’ll be your Onyx Path Crowdfunding Concierge for this fun new project - Exalted: Essence Player's Guide, a jam-packed new player-facing supplement forfor the Exalted: Essence tabletop roleplaying game. I’ll be updating the campaign as we go, sharing the draft mansucript previews, answering questions, and providing support wherever needed as best I can.
I’ll note that I’m not part of the creative team on this project – so I won’t be able to immediately answer some of the more intricate rules or design inquiries – but having me manage this Crowdfunding campaign allows the Exalted Crew to keep their focus on the awesome projects that they’ve got in the works.
That said, feel free to make me your point person for any questions or issues you may have. I'll make sure to dig up answers as quickly as possible and clear up any issues that arise. Mostly, I'm just looking forward to an exciting ride along with all of you on this (and future) projects.
Our comment section is for all members of this community – united by our shared desire to see this project fund and develop – to cheerlead the project and figure out how best to spread the word about what we’re building here. If you’ve started a thread on whatever social media platform exists today or a Discord conversation about the game or this campaign – let me know about it so we can share that info. If you’ve discussed the game on a blog or podcast, let’s hear about it! If you’ve got funny ideas for social media hashtags, well we can do those too!
I will also be the person who gets to share the updates and previews with you! As noted on the main page and in the pledge descriptions, I also get to share an exciting treat –The Exalted: Essence Player's Guide Draft Manuscript previews, so you can start reading the book immediately! Scroll down to the bottom of this post on the website to see the first BACKERS-ONLY update for a download link.
So, welcome to Crowdfunding by BackerKit! Welcome to this awesome expansion for Exalted: Essence! It's time learn what it means to be Exalted!
Some quick things to note before we get into the manuscript.
Shipping Costs will be Collected in the Pledge Manager
First up, it's amazingly expensive to ship, especially from Onyx Path's home base in the US. And that's as of today - we're all in the dark about how things will look in 2 years. We get that, but there's not much we can do at this time. Onyx Path is in a difficult space where the company is big enough that they're not saving money by fulfilling out of Rich's garage, but small enough that they haven't been able to set up ongoing international partners to handle portions of the fulfillment. So we are where we are - for now.
The best we can do at this point is to plan carefully, advise everyone up front that shipping will likely be expensive (see our projections on the main page) and only charge what it costs us when the time comes. We’ll be charging for shipping in the Pledge Manager once the books are being printed and we can deal with the actual shipping charges rather than using our best-guesses this far out. If you aren't sure you want the hardcover or other physical items, you can pledge to the PDF tier now and upgrade your pledge in the Pledge Manager once we know the final shipping costs.
Draft Manuscript Previews
Over the course of the next 4 weeks, backers will receive the entire current draft manuscript for Exalted: Essence Player's Guide, but it's not going to come to you all in one go. The previews will come out in Exalt-based sections throughout the campaign. This helps me seem interesting over the next 28 days, but it's more about guiding the conversation and helping steer feedback for the developers.
Because they want your feedback! These manuscript previews are of the current draft manuscript – the document in its latest, approved form. This may not be the final form after editing and any additional development, but you can consider it about 95% finished, so keep that in mind.
In fact, you can help guide the team through the next stages of development by providing feedback on these manuscript previews! The Onyx Path team has set up a special Feedback Form just for campaign backers for this very purpose: https://forms.gle/sqmxdW6u87pT3Mhg8
You can use this Feedback Form to share your thoughts directly with the Exalted: Essence creative team to help guide them through the next rounds of development and editing.
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT PREVIEWS - BACKERS ONLY
Remember, thanks to BackerKit magic, these download links are visible to Backers only - you must be logged in and reading this on the website to have access to the manuscript preview links. So, if you're reading this via e-mail, click that "Learn More" link on the bottom and I'll see you below the Exalted emblem.
The big news today is: many more project PDFs distributed! Plus a few other things. Let's get right to it:
Additional PDFs Distributed
We've just posted the files for these PDFs to the BackerKit pledge manager. The files typically appear on the pledge manager immediately, but the emails can take a while to queue through. So if you don't see an email immediately, you can often still find the files by logging in. These are the new PDFs backers should now see:
Tome of Adventure Vol. 5
Tome of Adventure Vol. 6
Tome of Adventure Vol. 7
Compendium of Dungeon Crawls Vol. 3
Compendium of Dungeon Crawls Vol. 4
DCC#109 Beneath the Isle of the Serpents
FEF#28 Beneath the Isle of the Serpents
DCC Hellpits of Nightfang
OAR#9.5 Hellpits of Nightfang
FEF#30 Hellpits of Nightfang
DCC#67 Sailors on the Starless Sea - Extended Hardcover
If you're still missing any PDFs from this project, please let us know! On the back end we have to set up "distribution rules" and they can be fairly complex at times. If you're missing something, please let us know which specific title you can't find. Having that info lets us quickly identify a missing item and often it's as simple as fixing one "distribution rule" to get the right PDFs into your hands.
We hope you enjoy these PDFs and they whet your appetite for the physical delivery to come!
The latest news is that the container should be hitting US shores soon. As soon as we have a solid ETA we will let you all know.
A Great Time at Gary Con
It was great chatting with everyone who stopped by the booth at Gary Con to see the advance copies of Caverns of Thracia! The books turned out awesome and I can't wait for all the backers to see them.
Here are a few photos from the con.
The booth crew did a bang-up job.
Signings at the booth, and wild Skach sightings.
Jen, Brendan and Bob on their way to game at... Gary Gygax's house? Yes you read that right!
Tim and Mike.
Jennell's photo added to the Gary Con Wall of Remembrance.
March Monster Madness
As if 350 low-level and iconic monsters weren't enough to pledge for Dungeon Denizens 2, we're running a mini-game during the campaign. Check out March Monster Madness! It starts today - backers can vote on each round of the bracket and eventually one monster wins it all!
Thank you all for your support through this project!
We are working through all the files and samples with the factory and making sure everything is printing as expected. Its all looking great, we're just tweaking to get all the details exactly right at this stage!
And we are delighted to be able to share the artwork for the fold out maps with you! These laminated, fold out maps are included in the Cyberpunk Master pledge level, and are 40x30 inches.
The Fold Out Maps
Here's all the fold out maps included as part of the Night City Map Box (In the Cyberpunk Master and Everything +1 pledge level).
Downtown Crossing
With some narrow and wider areas between buildings, elevation changes for rooftops and walkways this section of downtown in the shade of skyscrapers is perfect for street battles.
Chrome Nightclub
A rough and tumble chrome metal nightclub perfect for those rockerboy gigs.
Combat Zone
A section of the combat zone, with the shells of large buildings and the remains of a subway exposed below.
Uptown Plaza
A neon soaked plaza with a raised public area, complete with corporate artwork sculpture fountain.
Pacific Motors
A gang stronghold on the edge of the city based in a former garage.
Turnpike Junction
A large section of highway with slip roads and a bridge.
Waterfront Slums
A shanty town of container dwellings under a bridge by the waterfront.
Block Corner
A city block junction used as a gang hang out, complete with nightclub, street vendors and a ball court.
Dirt Track Circuit
Out in the badlands, this rock outcrop is used as a nomad camp where combat races take place.
Twin Blocks
This map of two adjacent buildings is designed to accomadate the lid and base of the Night City Map Box.
And finally here's our special poster map!
Fight Bar
This map is the special 'Glow-in-the-dark' poster map of a fight bar, 35x23".
Follow us on our socials - A great way to find out what we're working on is to follow us on social media. We can be found here - Facebook Bluesky Threads Instagram TikTok X we're always @lokebattlemats!
It’s hard to believe, but Brambletrek: Tales in the Hundred Acre Woods launched just ONE week ago - and look how far we’ve come already! 💛
Thanks to your incredible support, we’ve now smashed through £180K, which means we’ll be expanding the game’s narrative, adding even more depth, discoveries, and surprises to enrich your journey through the Hundred Acre Woods. 🏡🌳
To celebrate, we’re sharing a sneak peek at some of the gorgeous new art being created for the extended content. Take a look at the Woozle King in all his mischievous glory!
📖 NEW GOAL - Unlock a Mini Artbook at £210K! 🎨
We’ve been absolutely blown away by the love you’re sharing for the game’s art, so for our next milestone, we want to take you behind the scenes and celebrate the art that has brought this game to life.
At £210K, we’ll be adding a mini artbook section to the core rulebook, filled with sketches, concept art, and behind-the-scenes moments from the creative process.
This will be a love letter to the incredible art team and the world they’ve helped create - and we can’t wait for you to see it!
📚 Character Journals – A Perfect Adventure Companion!
Every great adventure deserves to be remembered, and now you can track your journey through the Hundred Acre Woods with one of our beautifully crafted PU leather journals!
✨ Brambletrek Original - Perfect for any wandering adventurer 🐻 Winnie the Pooh Edition - A Winnie-inspired design for those who want to feel truly at home in the woods
Each journal comes with a convenient template to help you effortlessly keep track of your card draws, sketch out maps, and jot down character journal entries
Our daily quizzes are in full swing, and Rabbit’s Garden Troupe has dug their way to the top of the leaderboard! 🏆 But the race isn’t over yet - there’s still plenty of time to rally your team and prove your Winnie the Pooh knowledge!
Haven’t joined in yet? Pick your team, answer today’s quiz, and help them climb the ranks! Every day, we’re testing your Hundred Acre Woods trivia - can your team hold onto the lead?
👇 Cast your vote and see how your team stacks up! 👇
If we reach this goal we will be adding a mini artbook section to the core rulebook, filled with sketches, concept art, and behind-the-scenes moments from the creative process.
Goal: £210,000 reached! — We did it! This project reached this goal!
So much amazing art is rolling in for Terror from the UnderDeep, we just had to share it!. Here is a preview of 6 more curated pieces...
But first, did you know our Dungeon Denizens II campaign is live right now on BackerKit? And you still have one day left to get earlybird extras such as a bonus monster and a d16! Click on the banner below to check it out!
For the 5E fan, there are so many amazing books being offered during this campaign. Plus backers get a chance to contribute monsters to the book!
Dungeon Denizens 2 (350+ new monsters in both standard and LE reptile-hide foil cover formats)
How to Write Even Better Adventures (the sequel to our popular How to Write Adventures That Don't Suck with all new essays from industry luminaries such as Luke Gygax, Ed Greenwood and Kelsey Dionne)
Monster Alphabet (Oversized Reprint of the popular system neutral sourcebook)
The Flumph's Catalogue of Magical Curiosities (featuring 300+ new magic items for your 5E game)
2-Page Dungeon Delves 2 (22 new Delves featuring monsters from Dungeon Denizens 2)
FEF #35: Frozen Lair of the White Wyvern (an all new adventure featuring 10+ monsters culled from Dungeon Denizens 2)
FEF #36: Revenge of the Rat King (the sequel to FEF 31: Idylls of the Rat Kingoffered in this campaign)
Advanced Advantage Playtest Packet #2 (if you picked up Playtest Packet #1 in this campaign, don't miss the second playtest packet-featuring rules for monsters!)
Plus VTT Tokens for all the monsters and a cool T-shirt!
And don't forget, all physical books come with free PDFs!
Ok how about that Terror from the UnderDeep Artwork Preview?
Keeping the Troops Happy by Matthew Sutton
Leafcatcher and Canopy by Jason Sholtis
Fossilized Purple Worm by Charles Ferguson-Avery
Scuttling Slackjaws by Joe Abboreno
Travel Across the Darksea by Tom Bumgardner
Confronting the Kraken by Stefan Poag
And don't forget to check out Dungeon Denizens 2! Now Live!
Backerkit surveys are closing this Friday (28th March 2025), and your card will be charged for any outstanding balance on backerkit.
Backerkit will have sent you an email today giving you 48 hours to change your address, or any other details of your pledge.
Digital Books
Your PDFs will be shared via the pledge manager this Friday once your payment has been processed.
You will be sent a link to add the PDF to your Drive Thru RPG library. If you would prefer to not use Drive Thru RPG, please send us an email and we can send you an alternative download link.
