Hey everyone! Hope you all had a fantastic February! 🙌

First off - a huge thank you to all our playtesters! You’ve given us so much to work with, and it’s been an absolute joy digging into your feedback. Every note, every suggestion - it’s all helping to make V2 even better. We’re tweaking, refining, and making sure the next version is something truly special.

Some of your playthrough stories have been incredible to read, and one in particular caught our eye… so much so that we turned it into an animation! Check it out:

✍️ Haven’t shared your thoughts yet? We’d love to hear from you!
Your feedback is what makes this game the best it can be, so if you’ve got thoughts, drop them into our playtesting feedback form.

As always, if you’ve got questions, hit us up in the comments or over on socials. Can’t wait to share more soon! 🙌

- Ruby ⚔️

Hey folks,

Ash here - I wanted to share something that’s been weighing heavily on a lot of indie creators right now, including us. As of April 5th, the U.S. has brought in a 54% import tariff on goods manufactured in China - and unfortunately, that includes most of the board games and TTRPGs you know and love.

It’s a huge shift. One that came in overnight, with very little warning, and we’re still trying to understand what it’ll actually mean for us - and for you.

To be completely transparent, we don’t yet know the full impact this will have. The situation is changing every day, and new information is still coming out. For example, some reports suggest that books might be exempt, which would be great news for our rulebooks, but the language around that exemption is vague and unclear, especially when it comes to mixed products like ours. Right now, we just don’t have a solid answer.

What we do know is that these tariffs are applied when goods physically enter the U.S., not at checkout. So if nothing changes before we ship, there’s a chance that some backers might see additional customs fees at the time of delivery.

We're doing everything we can to understand what our options are and to make the best decisions. Our goal is always to minimise any additional costs for those of you in the USA. If we do need to pass on any part of these new tariffs, it will be done inside the pledge manager and we will make it as clear as possible.

We’ve built flexibility into our business structure so we have no plans to increase the price of our products. We’re also exploring alternative fulfillment options for backers in Canada and Australia, since our current delivery routes go through U.S. warehouses.

We are also looking at alternative printing options within Europe and other countries that aren’t as severely affected by these new tariffs.

We’re not ready to make any official changes or decisions just yet. It’s simply too soon, and there’s too much still up in the air. But we didn’t want to wait until we had all the answers to start the conversation. You’ve trusted us with your support, and you deserve honesty, even when things are uncertain.

We’ll keep sharing updates as we learn more, and you’ll be the first to know once we have a clear path forward.

Thank you, truly, for your continued support, patience, and kindness. This is an uncertain time for a lot of game creators, and your encouragement means more than you know. We’ll always be honest with you, we’ll keep you informed as things evolve, and we’ll do everything in our power to keep things running smoothly.

Will this increase the cost of my pledge?
For anyone who has already pledged during the live campaign, the cost of your chosen items will remain as originally listed. However, if the tariffs remain in place by the time we ship, some backers may be charged additional import/customs fees at delivery.

How much more could I be charged?
We can’t give a solid number yet. The exact amount depends on how the new rules are applied, how our product is classified, and what exemptions might exist for books. As soon as we have clear details, we’ll share them.

Couldn’t you just print the games in the U.S. to avoid this?
We’ve looked into it. Unfortunately, printing in the U.S. isn’t viable for us. There are very few printers equipped to handle TTRPG production, and the cost is significantly higher, often far beyond what’s sustainable for indie creators like us. For non-book components, the infrastructure simply isn’t there. We are looking at alternative printing options within Europe and other countries that aren’t as severely affected by these new tariffs, but right now, printing in China remains the most realistic option.

Will this affect delivery timelines?
Not at the moment. Our production and delivery timelines are currently on track. If anything changes, we’ll let you know right away.

What happens next?
We’re monitoring the situation, speaking with fulfillment partners, and exploring options. We’ll make the most informed decision we can when we’re closer to shipping. You’ll be the first to know once we have concrete updates.

Hey everyone! Hope you all had an amazing March! 🪻

A huge thank you to all of you who took the time to fill out your surveys and share your thoughts. Your feedback has been incredibly helpful in shaping the next steps of the project.

We’re now officially closing off the survey and feedback period. We’ll start reading every single response and will be moving forward with those ideas and suggestions in mind. Some feedback has already been actioned behind the scenes, and the rest will help guide us as we continue development.

Your input makes a real difference - Ashes will be a better game because of this amazing community. We’ll be back soon with more updates as things progress!

As always, if you’ve got questions, hit us up in the comments or over on socials. Can’t wait to share more soon! 🙌

- Ruby ⚔️

Hey everyone! Hope you all had a fantastic January! ❄️ 

Starting this month, we’re going to start our Monthly Backer Updates on the first Tuesday of every month to keep you in the loop with all things Ashes! 🔥

Due to popular demand, we’re keeping playtesting open for another month! 🎉 More and more groups are starting to play the game together, and your feedback will be key to fine-tuning those multiplayer rules! 🙌

If you haven’t joined the playtest yet, it’s not too late! You can jump in through our previous update here: [https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/crossed-paths/ashes-a-souls-like-solo-rpg-gamebook/updates/14524].

While the multiplayer phase is still rolling, we’ve hit pause on the playtesting surveys. Once we wrap up, we’ll be sending those your way to gather your thoughts and feedback.

Our Pledge Manager is in the works, and we’re adjusting for the new tax rules and tariff changes under the new U.S. administration to keep everything smooth for you!

If you’ve got any questions, drop a comment below or hit us up on our socials! 🙌

-- Ruby

Happy New Year, everyone! I’m Ruby, the new Marketing Lead here at Crossed Paths. I’m super excited to be joining the team and keeping you in the loop with all the updates for Ashes!

Let’s jump right in:

🃏 Playtesting Round 1: We’ve officially wrapped up the first round of playtesting! A massive thank you to everyone who took part - your feedback is key to helping us make Ashes the best game it can be. We’ll be sending out playtest surveys over the next two weeks to collect your thoughts so keep your eyes peeled! 

📦 Pledge Manager Opens Mid-Feb: We’ve been working hard behind the scenes to partner with fantastic shipping providers in Canada and the US. The Pledge Manager (where we’ll gather your shipping info) is set to open in mid-February to make sure everything runs smoothly when we’re ready to ship things out! 

🎨 Behind the Scenes - Art Process: Our art team puts so much effort into the artwork for Ashes, and we wanted to give you a peek behind the curtain. Here's how Úlfrik came to life - from reference to the final piece.

💼 Welcome to the Team: Crossed Paths has also spent some time on the hiring train and is finally growing with two new team members!

2025 is already shaping up to be an amazing year for Ashes and we’ll have more updates soon - so stay tuned!