FINAL HOURS FOR THE SPARKPLUG CHRONICLES
Thanks to everyone, we can finally make The Sparkplug Chronicles the production that I wanted it to be. Nick has a budget to create s...
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Dias Ex Machina
14 days ago
The Sparkplug Chronicles is now LIVE
Check out our latest KICKSTARTER HERE.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/diasexmachina/the-sparkplug-chronicles-art-book-5e-rpg-hybrid?ref=project_build
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Dias Ex Machina
19 days ago
Dias Ex Machina 2026 UPDATE (March)
HEY EVERYONE!
New year, new quarter, new update.
I post these every few months so everyone knows where we are and where the company is.
THE SPARKPLUG CHRONICLES
Our newe...
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Dias Ex Machina
5 months ago
October Update
Hey everyone!
Here is our state of business for the month of October 2025, which I understand is very late. I have been so deep in writing, I kind of lost track of time.
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Dias Ex Machina
7 months ago
The Sparkplug Chronicles Coming Soon from Dias Ex Machina
THE SPARKPLUG CHRONICLES
We are finally returning to Kickstarter with our next campaign setting.
RETRO, ALTERNATE-REALITY, DYSTOPIAN BIOPUNK
https://www.kickstarter....
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Dias Ex Machina
8 months ago
AUGUST UPDATE from Dias Ex Machina
HEY EVERYONE
It's been a hectic month.
I wanted to get this update out before going on vacation, even though I'm taking my archaic laptop with me. So, what's new for Aug...
Thanks to everyone, we can finally make The Sparkplug Chronicles the production that I wanted it to be. Nick has a budget to create supremely high-quality illustrations for the expanding universe, which is likely to be one of the largest game settings Dias Ex Machina has ever produced.
The 5E campaign guide is already over 100,000 words, with another 30,000 expected before I think it will be finished. We have added organetics, giant robots, hover cruisers, new species, new weapons, and lore, continually refining this biopunk, retro-futuristic, post-apocalyptic setting.
WE ARE DOWN TO OUR LAST FEW DAYS, so any pledge will help us further realize the setting's ultimate potential.
We EVEN unlocked a NEW book, offered to all pledge levels, a separate lore book that takes the setting detail of the 5E book and removes the mechanics for those wishing to know more without the distraction of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS.
Like previous campaigns, backers can secure their placement in the lore, have customized illustrations of their character (s) by Nick Greenwood integrated into the setting (a recent one has actually altered a major aspect of the game mechanics), and receive personalized digital illustrations as well.
And as this is a digital and POD release, our risk is much lower, as we don't have to worry about printing, shipping, distribution, or political conflicts getting in our way.
As many of you may know, I am a big fan of Ghost in the Shell. So much so that I created a homebrew version of the game more than 20 years ago. I am happy to report that I've connected with the creator of the new TTRPG being developed by Mantic. Unlike the competitive product based on the lesser-known and honestly less popular Arise series, this one is based on the original Manga, which I very much prefer.
I really can't go into detail about my involvement with the project (if any) because an NDA binds me, but I did want to share their page to inform my supporters about this cool project.
I post these every few months so everyone knows where we are and where the company is.
THE SPARKPLUG CHRONICLES
Our newest Kickstarter, and yes, launching on Kickstarter, will be The Sparkplug Chronicles, our first new setting since 2018’s Affinity. Yes, if you backed our recent UM5 release, it is still included in the rewards. This campaign is meant to increase our art budget so we can include as many original illustrations as possible. Nick Greenwood and I are collaborating more closely than in previous projects.
This campaign is launching next week, March 17th at 9:00 am PST.
ULTRAMODERN BESTIARY
The UM5-Bestiary turned into a real hit. It’s our largest book, compiling all previous monsters under one cover. The Bestiary is one part of a series that expands on elements from the original Ultramodern5. We expanded magic with Oktober’s Arcane Almanac, followed that up with Ultramodern5 Bestiary, then with the Armoury.
The UM5 Armoury was a big hit when it launched last month. It turned out to be a much bigger project than expected, with hundreds upon hundreds of weapons, armours, and vehicles.
With monsters, magic, and weapons covered, our next expansion to UM5 will be a Player’s Guide, where we expand all the previously published classes as well as compile additional ones from other books we’ve published (mostly Amethyst Revelations). Our current priority is The Sparkplug Chronicles, so this book likely won’t be released until the summer.
OTHER POINTS
I have compiled other updates in our video, which you can find here:
Here is our state of business for the month of October 2025, which I understand is very late. I have been so deep in writing, I kind of lost track of time.
That, and I had my gallbladder removed.
I don't recommend Ozempic, BTW.
For those who know me, I lost about 120 pounds when I was younger, and I wanted to give Ozempic a try to help keep that weight off. Well, six months after trying it, I had the first of two massive gallbladder attacks, and I had to have it removed. Correlation is not causation, but there has been a link connecting the two, and I have been on the mend for the past two weeks.
With that personal stuff out of the way…
Ultramodern Bestiary
This turned out to be a huge hit. We reached our Electrum badge a couple of weeks ago. People have asked whether I plan to make an Amethyst Bestiary. No need, as all those monsters are in the UM5 book. I mean, it's our largest book at over 440 pages.
This is the project that has gripped me for two months. I suddenly had to be an expert in things I never considered. I know way too much about guns than I would like, but the end result is the addition of, and I can't believe this is accurate, over 700 FIREARMS. Everything from muskets to pop-culture icons from movies and games are in here. We had to expand the rules significantly to cover all the different configurations, from changing reloading rules in order to make them more realistic to adding more options for weapon modification. It may seem intimidating at first, but we separated the entries into time periods to ensure that you only need to reference the tables and rules that apply to you. A player is not expected to know every reloading rule, just for the weapon in their hands.
I am on vehicles now, and, as in the previous chapter, I am heavily expanding generic entries to list specific models, so that a handful of vehicle entries turns into several hundred, not just the ones collated from other DEM books. I have even commission illustrations for modern devices, as all our current illustrations are for futuristic ones. I am still hoping to have this book out by the end of the year.
The Sparkplug Chronicles
SO, the plan WAS to launch the Kickstarter for TSC this week, but alas, we have made the unfortunate decision to delay the launch until February of next year. A family crisis with someone associated with the project has compelled the postponement, but TECHNICALLY, it doesn't affect the release date.
I know that doesn't make much sense. Basically, I was partway through writing The Sparkplug Chronicles when I decided to work on the Armoury instead, as a lot of the content I was conceiving fit better in that latter book (expanding on modern firearms). I plan on resuming once the Armoury is finished. Since the Kickstarter was meant only to fund artwork, I can still continue working on the book side and get that ready. Meanwhile, I can still commission Nick Greenwood to continue the illustrations, so the project's release date wouldn't really have to change. I had misgivings about launching a campaign this close to Christmas, anyway.
And yes, I know there is still one more adventure to be released soon as well. Clonefall. I'm still waiting for my writer to finish building his house.
Retail Books on DTRPG
And finally, this became a thing today, you can now purchase retail books off DTRPG.
These are the Kickstarter editions of these books, so they'll include the KS exclusives, but they are NOT the limited-edition book. For those, you will have to go to Studio2Publishing directly.
Anyways, I'll have the November update in a couple of weeks. Have a great holiday season, and I love you all for your continued support.
Here is a video discussing everything in this update:
This will be two releases in one: an illustrated novel and a 5e RPG Campaign setting.
For those who backed the previous Ultramodern5 that is owed the Campaign setting, you are still owed this reward. This crowdfunding project is meant to help increase the project's scope, elevating it from a small-scale adventure which recycles most of its illustrations from other DEM publications (like Threshold) to our first full-scale release since Affinity, featuring exclusively all new artwork from Nick Greenwood (except for two images which provided the original inspiration carried over from UM5).
You can back just the novel, just the RPG, or both.
The illustrated novel follows artist William Truth from his normal life in 1984 Earth to the alternative "Verth", a biopunk dystopia where the inclusion of alien devices known as sparkplugs almost a century prior has radically altered the past, leading to a crumbling postwar planet.
Intertwined with William's journey are explorations of this alternate world, where biological machines and genetically engineered life forms have replaced modern technological advances. With the help of the seraph Kex, whose love for him may or may not be programmed, William must navigate mutated wastelands, sentient vehicles, and biomechanical horrors to save two worlds from annihilation.
The 5E Campaign Guide opens the world to players of 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. Characters assume the roles of reapers--scavengers/mercenaries tasked with entering contaminated Black Zones to forage for priceless alien warborn, retrieve lost technology, or escort personnel.
FEATURES OF THE 5E GUIDE
Seven new species, including genetically modified humans.
Six new backgrounds.
Prestige rules offering an alternate path to character progression.
Revised and expanded firearms, including specific models from the past century.
Organetic body modifications.
Rules regarding "warborn".
Biomechanical "trophon" vehicles.
New monsters.
BUT WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
In this alternate reality, humanity's destiny was forever altered on April 17, 1897, when a mysterious alien device was recovered from a UFO crash in Aurora, Texas.
This sparkplug implanted itself into Johann Friedrich Wagner, gifting him not only advanced knowledge but an irrepressible drive to replicate it. Thus began the age of spark technology—biomechanical wonders decades ahead of their time, from self-repairing trophon engines to genetically engineered life forms (GELFs).
But progress came at a cataclysmic cost. The very machines designed to uplift humanity soon turned against it. Thanatic Reflux—a toxic blight emitted by damaged trophons—poisoned continents, rendered fertile lands barren, and suppressed human reproduction.
World War II ended not with a nuclear bang but with a biological whimper, leaving Europe a desolate wasteland. Later, the North American War fractured countries into ideological factions: the Maritime Coalition, which outlawed GELF slavery but embraced trophons, and the Heartland, which opposed with contrary values.
Vast Black Zones—toxic wastelands crawling with rogue trophons and mutated horrors—offer peril and promise. Within these zones, warborn form, rare compounds invaluable to surviving governments, corporations, and even parallel worlds connected through slippates.
You are a reaper: a scavenger, survivor, or outsider brave enough to enter these lethal landscapes. Whether you're a spark gifted with alien knowledge, a GELF fighting for personhood, or a backdoor from another reality, your choices will shape the fate of worlds. Employ hollows—remote-controlled simulacra—to explore without risking your life, or venture forth in person to confront biomechanical abominations, corporate conspiracies, and ecological decay.
The Sparkplug Chronicles is a multiversal extraction shooter RPG wrapped in a rich, narrative-driven setting, blending biopunk horror, retro-futurism, and existential dread, with lore spanning a century of divergent history.
PRINT ON DEMAND
By shifting back to a POD format, we hope to avoid the delays and complications which accompany offset printing. In the current unstable political environment, costs are very much in flux, with unpredictable tariffs and production surges along with constantly changing shipping prices.
DriveThruRPG's Print-On-Demand infrastructure allows for rapid production and distribution from several different facilities worldwide, reducing the chances of VAT and import fees. We won't accidentally overcharge shipping, and it also dramatically reduces intermediate fees regarding facilitation and distribution. It also significantly reduces our funding goal, enabling us to concentrate on what truly matters: the book's content.
The release of the Ultramodern5 Bestiary was truly impressive. I admit being worried about future 5E releases, but the Bestiary was our best release since that last Ultramodern5, hitting number 1 on the D&D list on DTRPG. As such, I have decided to accelerate progress on the Ultramodern5 Armoury.
Admittedly, the reason was connected to The Sparkplug Chronicles. I decided to create authentic branding for firearms, given the setting's retro-alternate format. After creating a hundred new entries, I realized they should be in their own book. Since I had already considered doing an Armoury release, it made sense to create entries for that book instead.
Unlike the Bestiary, which drew 50% of its content from other DEM publications, after a single chapter on basic gear, it became clear that the Armoury would essentially be a page 1 rewrite of all previously created entries. There will be some carry over but to give you an example, in Ultramodern5, we listed about 100 pieces of non-fantasy gear.
The Armoury lists 400, and I haven't even gotten to firearms yet. I still plan to have this book finished this year, so it will not conflict with any work on The Sparkplug Chronicles.
CLONEFALL
As I might have mentioned, the writer of this book just had a kid, and he is building a house. So, I am keeping the pressure off as he addresses these obvious priorities. I apologize for the lateness, and he has given assurances that this final adventure will be completed before the end of this year.
That's it for now, thank you to everyone for your support.
