TLDR: All packages should have arrived; reviewers wanted!
Hi backers,
To my knowledge, all Downcrawl packages should have arrived at this point. Read the "Downcrawl Fulfillment Issues" section at the bottom of this update if you still haven't received Downcrawl materials you were expecting.
You Can Still Get Downcrawl 2E (and bonus items)!
If you missed the crowdfunding campaign, Downcrawl 2E is now available on DriveThruRPG. While supplies last, some of the bonus items produced for the campaign (like the spiral-bound Delver's Guide and the metal Tack coins) are also still available on my standalone web store.
Adventure Zine now available for Standalone Purchase
I've now released The Hypogean Solution, aka the Downcrawl Adventure Zine, in PDF form on DriveThruRPG. (Digital-only because DriveThru can't do saddle-stitching and it's too short for perfect bound; if you want a physical copy, you can get one of the leftovers from the crowdfunding print run while supplies last.)
Backers who ordered a physical version of the zine: you get the digital version too! It's now been added to your BackerKit page: log in to your survey and click "Get Your Digital Downloads" to see the link.
(You'll note on DriveThru this is entitled "The Hypogean Solution: Downcrawl Adventure Zine #1." Further down in the update I've got a bit more to say about that...)
Downcrawl Reactions
Youtuber "Man Alone" covered Downcrawl with an extended solo play session, calling the Downcrawl Deck the "Greatest Solo Oracle Deck Ever." (!) Thanks! This is a great stream to check out if you're curious to see how Downcrawl plays in Solo Mode. (Thanks also to Zed for bringing this stream to my attention!)
Victor J. Merino on Bluesky posted this beautiful spread of his Downcrawl swag upon arrival:
Fabian on DriveThruRPG said Downcrawl 2E is "Incredibly evocative, with systems that simply flow. Creating whole societies on the fly has never felt so easy," and said the rules are "a joy to use."
More Reviews wanted!
I'd love to see more reviews and reactions to Downcrawl 2E as folks have time to read and play it. Adding your thoughts, even briefly to the product page on DriveThruRPG, on RPGGeek, or anywhere else you and your communities talk about roleplaying games, is the single best thing you can do to help other folks find and enjoy the game. (And it's greatly appreciated!)
If you do a review, post, blog, video, podcast, or fan recipe about Downcrawl (you never know), please let me know! I'm looking for more materials like this to link to from the game's homepage especially.
What's Next For Me
I'm planning to write and release a few more Downcrawl Adventure Zines in the upcoming months! If you backed at a level that included The Hypogean Solution, and have had a chance to play it, I would love to hear your feedback on how this experimental format worked or didn't work for you, and what you'd like to see in future Adventure Zines.
I'm hoping to put out another Crawl game late this year or early next year, followed by an official second edition of Skycrawl, which I know many of you are patiently waiting for. These will have the same revamped rules as Downcrawl 2E, but bring them to new settings with different vibes and setting-specific mechanics. I'm still considering a few different possibilities for the next setting, just waiting to see which one starts exciting me the most...
Finally, I've been working on a non-crawl TTRPG about what you would do with the power to create worlds. It uses a mechanic of collecting words from books and mashing them together to inspire fantastical other realms your character can visit. It's still in early stages, but I've got a working title: The Mountain Dream. It's likely going to be a solo TTRPG, but may support other play modes too. Still early days, but if you're potentially interested in being a playtester, you can sign up here to be notified when I'm ready for some feedback (probably not for another month or two).
That's it for now! Updates will be less frequent now that fulfillment is completed, but I'll keep you apprised of new Downcrawl releases and other upcoming games. Enjoy some time in the sun this summer (for fellow Northern Hemispherers), in addition to your underworld adventures far from the burning orb,
--Aaron
(Read on if you're having an issue with your Downcrawl shipment.)
Downcrawl Fulfillment Issues
You should have received two separate packages if you backed for a rulebook + any non-book items, or just one package otherwise.
If you have received both shipments but still have missing items, or any items arrived damaged, please contact me and let me know what items are affected.
If you're missing one or both shipments, check your email (including spam folders) for emails from BackerKit, DriveThruRPG, DriveThruCards, or PirateShip, which will have your tracking numbers. If you can find these, check the status of both of your shipments, and please include the numbers if you're contacting me with an issue.
Another place to find the tracking number for the extras (non-book) shipment is by logging into your BackerKit survey page, clicking the "View Confirmation" button in the upper right, then looking for a "Track Your Package" section on the upper left.
If you haven't received anything and can't find any tracking emails, try logging into BackerKit at the link above and confirm that you pledged at a level that includes physical items. (You can access digital downloads while you're there too.) If you never filled out your backer survey, when you do this you'll just see the Downcrawl logo and text reading "Your survey is closed." In this case, you missed the deadline for getting me your shipping address and paying for shipping, so I wasn't able to send your order to you at fulfillment time: reach out to me ASAP, as I can only hold onto unclaimed pledge items for a limited time.
You can contact me at aareed at my gmail with any issues, and I'll do my best to get you sorted out!
Just a quick update to note that if you missed the crowdfund campaign, Downcrawl 2E is now available for general sale (woohoo)! Read on for some more updates on how crowdfunding fulfillment is going and other project news.
Photo of bonus items order unboxed at a backer's house! Thanks to @lithovore.bsky.social for the post. Keep those pics coming, and use the #Downcrawl hashtag or tag me (@aaronareed on Bluesky or @[email protected] on Mastodon)
Shipping Status and Digital Rewards
Shipping update: UK hardcover rulebooks have started shipping, which I think also mean EU hardcovers have too (I'm not entirely sure). US and rest of world hardcover rulebooks will likely ship in the next 1-2 weeks. Note that all other items have now shipped (the last boxes went out Thursday March 27th), so if you haven't received something you were waiting for yet, check your inbox for a tracking number and ping me if necessary to investigate. If your shipment is damaged or has missing or incorrect items, also please let me know; you can open a ticket via BackerKit.
I've added digital access to your Downcrawl PDFs to your DriveThruRPG account; you should have received an email from them with the details. If you haven't previously used DriveThruRPG, the same email will also have instructions for how to log in to your account. You can also access your digital downloads on BackerKit by logging in to your survey and looking for the blue "Get My Digital Downloads" button.
Speaking of DriveThruRPG, as mentioned above I've made the Downcrawl 2E retail page live over there as part of the game's official launch over the past weekend! It's a great place to point people who haven't heard of the game yet. (And for folks who haven't received your rulebook, rest assured that anyone ordering today is well behind you in the printing queue and you've got priority!)
Overstock Store
DriveThru only sells the core rulebook and cards, but I've opened up a storefront to sell off the remaining bonus items from the crowdfunding campaign. If you missed out on getting those sweet Tack coins, the spiral-bound Delver's Guide, or other bonus items, this is your chance to snag them before they're gone. (Some things, like the coins and dice, I have fairly limited quantities remaining of; others I printed in higher volume, like the Delver's Guide, which I hope to be able to keep "in print" for a while.)
These pretty Tack coins can still be yours! At press time there were 25 sets left...
Reviews Requested
Once you've received your books and had a chance to read through them, I'd really appreciate it if you take the time to leave a star rating and review on DriveThru or anywhere else roleplayers congregate. Reviews and ratings are a huge way people see that a new game is legit and worth investigating, so I thank you so much in advance for helping to spread the word. <3
I'd also love to link your full-length reviews, actual plays, homemade reference sheets, or any other content you create related to Downcrawl from the game's official home page. Please hit me up if you have anything to share!
Tiny Rules Errata
It was inevitable: besides some typos sent in by eagle-eyed backers (thanks!) I've also discovered the first tiny rules fix, which you can read over on the game's brand-new Errata page (which hopefully won't get too long). The note only applies if you're using the optional "Sliver of Fate" system as your core ruleset, and clarifies that you can only use the "Burst of Fate" move to overcome a single challenge roll, not an entire Fight To Survive.
That's everything for now! If you're in the northern hemisphere, hope some spring is hitting you wherever you are, and for everyone else, the cold dark winter is a great time to huddle together with some friends to explore a mythical underworld together...
I realize it's been a hot minute since you may have backed Downcrawl, and I've gotten a few questions about package contents, so thought I would shoot out a quick update explaining what each of the items you're receiving is and how it fits into the main Downcrawl game.
Recall that your order is probably coming in multiple shipments! Depending on your pledge tier and add-ons, you are likely getting two shipments: one containing your rulebook(s), and another containing all other items. Everything has now shipped except for hardcover rulebooks, which should ship in the next 1-3 weeks; check your inbox (and spam folder) for emails with tracking numbers from DriveThruRPG, PirateShip, or BackerKit in case you missed these. The previous backer update has more details about what's up with shipping.
Package Contents
Let's break down what all this stuff is, shall we? (And note that the contents of your package will obviously vary based on which pledge tier and add-ons you selected.)
The core Downcrawl rulebook is 6x9 with an image of a stalactite city on the cover and the title "Downcrawl 2nd Edition: Endless Adventures in a Curious Underworld." This ships separately from your other items and you may not have received it yet.Note: You can access a PDF of the rules by logging into your BackerKit pledge and clicking the blue "Get My Digital Downloads" button.
The Delver's Guide is a spiral-bound book with the cover text "Delver's Guide: All Moves and Tables for Easy Reference." This reprints every page in the core rulebook that contains a Move or a Table (with matching page numbers), and is designed to be an easy reference to look these up during play. Note that the Delver's Guide is not the full rulebook and not designed to teach you the game.
The Adventure Zine is a saddle-stitch 16-page booklet with the cover text "The Hypogean Solution: A Downcrawl Adventure Zine." This is a "module" for Downcrawl, with instructions on the first few pages for how to run it. (A cool thing about it is that you can even play it in Impromptu or Solo mode, without anyone needing to have read the adventure in advance!)
The Downcrawl Deck, Even Deeper Deck, or Combo Deck (tuckbox containing both) are card decks that let you draw a card instead of looking up and rolling on a table from the Downcrawl rulebook. (The first deck contains the same contents as the tables in the rulebook; the Even Deeper Deck replaces this with a whole new set of results.) They can also be used to play the standalone worldbuilding game, Downcrawl Worlds.
The Bonus Cards are a small banded deck of 10 extra Downcrawl Deck cards, which were an exclusive perk for Early Bird or Returning backers.
The Encounter Deck is the pack of cards with "Encounter Deck" printed on the top one. This replaces the Travel Encounter and Fungal Foraging moves and tables from the Downcrawl rulebook with card draws.
The Folk and Volume Templates are two rubber-banded packs of 20 3x4 cards. These are blank cards that you can use to start your Folk and Map Decks when you play Downcrawl., tracking the peoples and places you create for your game. Note: there are print-and-play versions of these templates available in the Digital Downloads area of your BackerKit page.
The Tack Coins are the small bag of triangular metal coins. These are meant to be used as counters for Tack (your navigational resource) when you play, but you're welcome to use them however you like. Note that the core rulebook does not mention the Tack coins or have any specific rules about them: they're just meant to work like counters rather than tracking Tack as a number written down somewhere.
The dice are fancy but otherwise standard d6s (the only die you need to play Downcrawl). They were custom made for this project but don't have any Downcrawl-specific features, so you can also use them in other games.
The dark blue cloth bag (for Patron orders) is sized to fit all your card decks, templates, dice, and coins.
Whew! That was a lot, but hopefully it will help refresh your memory as to what all these bits and pieces are for.
Share the Love
As you receive your Downcrawl items, I'd love to see your pics on social media and anywhere else people are excited to share TTRPG news. I'm on Bluesky and Mastodon; feel free to tag me if you post there, or use the #Downcrawl hashtag anywhere.
Missing / Damaged Shipments or Unclaimed Rewards
If you have any problems or questions about your order, the best way to reach me is via my gmail at aareed. I can sometimes miss social media posts or comments on the project page, but am good about keeping things at inbox zero.
Please see the previous backer update for what to do if you run into problems with your shipment, or missed the deadline for finalizing your pledge.
TLDR: Most orders in progress; hardcovers delayed; digital version releases today!
Hi backers!
It's been a flurry of activity here-- after a long day of packing, with the help of some wonderful friends, a good chunk of the Downcrawl shipping logistics are completed! Here's me looking extremely tired with about 400 orders ready to head to the post office...
...and here's one of those orders about to be wrapped up:
That's the bonus cards for Early Bird backers on the right; you'll note that all the words on the top card are expressions of gratitude for you awesome folks who helped kick this project off with me. <3
A quick update on where things are at with shipping:
Pre-order backers who placed their orders after March 1, 2025 should see their orders ship in early to mid-April. These orders will be processed in a separate batch next week after the crowdfunding and "late pledge" orders are all done.
For everyone else:
All bonus item packages have now been shipped, including card decks for orders that also included bonus items. You should have received either an email from PirateShip or BackerKit (or both) with a tracking number, to the email associated with your pledge. Check your spam folders if you don't see it.
If you're outside the US and your tracking number starts with AHOY, you can enter that number on the Asendia portal to track your package.
All standalone card decks have now been sent to the card printer (this is for orders that do NOT include any bonus items), and should ship in the next 7-10 business days. You should have received an email from DriveThruCards confirming the order, and will receive another email with a tracking number when your order ships.
Note: emails from DriveThru sites will mention that an account has been created for you, if you didn't already have one associated with your project email address. This is how they track your order in their system and lets them send a confirmation email when your package ships, open a ticket if there's a problem with your order, etc. You do NOT have to log in to this account unless you have a need to; you'll get the relevant notification emails about your order automatically with no further action.
All standalone softcover rulebooks have been sent to the book printer (i.e. orders without any other book products). You should have received an email from DriveThruRPG confirming the order, and will receive another email with a tracking number when your order ships.
That leaves the hardcover rulebooks, and these orders will be sent to the printer no later than Friday (you'll get a confirmation email from DriveThruRPG). Unfortunately, I've learned over the past few weeks that there is a much bigger backlog at the book printer currently for hardcovers than for softcovers. I've learned this because I had to wait weeks longer than I thought I would to get the final hardcover check proof (which is also why hardcover orders have not been sent to the printer just yet).
Because of this, even though the hardcover book orders will be going in this week, there will be a delay of 2-4 weeks before hardcovers ship, meaning your hardcover rulebooks likely won't arrive until late April or, worst case, early May. I do apologize for this; I had assumed softcover print times were indicative of all book orders, so this caught me by surprise as well.
Digital Version Now Released!
As a consolation, I'm happy to say that I'm releasing the final digital version of the rulebook a bit early-- specifically, right now-- so you can start playing Downcrawl without needing to wait for physical books to arrive.
You can access your digital downloads (also including player handouts and other useful material) by logging into your BackerKit survey and clicking the blue "Get Your Digital Downloads" button.
(If you do want a link to share, you can point people at the Downcrawl website. Pre-orders are available for just a couple more days; on March 31st, the game will go on sale at a higher price point (printing costs are going up because of tariff uncertainty) so grab it now if you're still on the fence!)
Shipping Issues
If your order arrives damaged, please contact me ASAP for a replacement. Ideally if you can send photos of the damage both to the box and/or to interior contents, that's very helpful.
If your order doesn't arrive at all, but your tracking number says it should have, before contacting me please first confirm that someone else at your residence or a neighbor didn't receive it for you, or that it didn't get returned as undeliverable to your local post office (the tracking page should show this if it's happened).
If you don't receive a tracking number and think you should have, log into BackerKit and check that you completed your survey and paid for shipping. If you haven't done this, reach out to me ASAP about a late payment (I cannot hold unclaimed orders indefinitely). Otherwise, ping me and I'll investigate.
More Soon
I'll be back in a few weeks once orders are starting to get into your hands with some info about the official release and what's next for me and Downcrawl. Until then, hope you can start enjoying some new adventures in the Deep, Deep Down!
TLDR: Shipping happening this month, small Journey Rule update
Hi backers! You'll be happy to hear that later this month I'll be shipping all your Downcrawl goodies to you (and releasing the final digital version as well). Read on for some details about the process and when you can expect your items.
A fraction of the 2200 Tack coins that needed hand-sorting and bagging...
Multiple shipments. Note that most orders at the $45 pledge level and above will arrive in two separate shipments. If you are receiving a Downcrawl core rulebook plus an item from either of these categories-- 1) Card Decks, or 2) Any Other Item-- you'll get your core rulebook in a separate shipment from all your other items.
You'll receive a tracking number via email for both shipments. The non-rulebook shipment will be synced to your BackerKit order (so you can see the status of your shipment on your survey page, for instance). The rulebook shipment will just be a notification via email, as BackerKit only allows associating one tracking number with your order.
Regardless, please keep an eye on those tracking tracking numbers once you get them. If something goes wrong with your shipment, the sooner you can let me know about it, the sooner I can figure out what happened and/or get you a replacement. If you don't notice until sometime next year that your shipment never arrived, my options to make things right will be more limited. I'll send out another backer update once all items have shipped, at which point everyone should have gotten all tracking numbers; if you haven't received one by then, feel free to reach out.
Shipping schedule. I just found out this week I'm a bit under the gun to get shipments out: on April 1st, my book printer is raising prices significantly in response to the uncertainty over the US tariff and trade situation, by up to 70% in some cases. 😱 This hopefully won't affect this project since I'm planning to have all orders placed with the printer before April 1st, but it does mean there's a fairly ominous ticking time bomb I'm extremely aware of...
My current plan is to submit book and card orders to the printer the week of March 17th. (I'm currently waiting on one last sanity-check proof to arrive, just to make sure my final PDF didn't get corrupted during upload or anything.) These orders generally take around 7-12 business days to print, and another week to ship (for US orders; other regions can vary), so you should expect to start seeing books or standalone card orders arriving in the first week of April. (A few folks might see their orders earlier since I'll be processing about 10% of orders this week as a trial run.)
If your order includes bonus items from higher pledge tiers, those will ship along with your card decks the week of March 24th. You should expect to also see those orders start arriving the week of April 1st (or possibly later, if outside the US).
Digital Rewards. These will be released on or before April 1st via BackerKit, along with player aids and any other free digital materials. (I think I've figured out the issue that caused access problems before, so hopefully this time will go more smoothly.) A few of you playing the prerelease game have asked about the bonus materials already; I just haven't had time to get them ready to post yet, but look for them soon.
Preorders will remain open until April 1st when the game officially goes on sale. After that date the price will go up (because of the aforementioned cost increases), so reserve your copy now if you want to lock in 2024 prices.
Unresponsive Backers. Please note that if you haven't filled out your survey to give me your shipping address, or never paid for shipping, you've now unfortunately missed the cut-off for receiving your order in the initial shipment. Get in touch as soon as you can and I can hopefully (depending on how much later you're reading this) arrange a late shipment for you. Note that I can only hold unclaimed pledges or offer refunds for a limited amount of time (see the bottom of the Project FAQ for full details) so reach out ASAP if this is you.
Journey Rule Change
Finally, a design note about the actual game of Downcrawl, which I do vaguely remember exists somewhere underneath the piles of bubble wrap, mailers, packing tape, and shipping labels I'm currently drowning in.
For those of you who've already started playing Downcrawl 2E with the prerelease PDF, I wanted to highlight a last-minute update to the Journey Rules, to patch an exploit that effectively made it possible to farm Tack during journeys if you adopted a certain mildly obtuse play style. The change makes a couple tweaks across the set of Journey Moves, including:
You can now only regain Tack as a consequence of a Journey Move if you actually spent some during that move.
Instead of a flat penalty for having more Failures than Successes at the end of a journey (and in fact any Venture), it's now a cumulative penalty: but only if Failures outnumber Successes. This disincentivizes a strategy of deliberately failing all rolls before the last one to save resources.
Speaking of that final Arrive roll, you must now get a 7+ on it to reach your intended destination. Combined with the change above, this keeps relevant the choice of when and how much Tack to spend for each and every roll during a journey.
I've made a few other small tweaks to Journey moves to avoid similar exploits (for instance, it's now a bit less appealing to overuse Encamp as a way of avoiding journey penalties). In general, I think these exploits weren't super likely to come up in earnest play-- Downcrawl is not really a game designed for munchkins-- but these tweaks definitely make the system less obviously exploitable, and help keep journeys properly stressful at all times, as they were intended to be.
(And on the topic: if Journeys in your campaign are consistently feeling too hard or too easy, it's easy to tweak the amount of Tack rewards to account for the dynamics at your table. For example: try increasing the Tack awarded for reaching a new place in "In a Volume" from 1 to 2 if journeys feel too hard, or removing that reward entirely if they seem too easy.)
That's it for now! Look for another update once all orders have shipped, hopefully before the end of the month. Can't wait to hear your stories of adventuring in the Deep, Deep Down!
