It’s been a while since I last updated, but things have been moving in the background. 

 

I FINALLY got approval from DriveThruRPG for print-on-demand versions of October’s Arcane Almanac and Threshold. I ordered proofs of both (as well as another book that was previously deactivated), and when they arrive, backers will be able to order physical copies of those. 

 

NOW, I know I said earlier that DTRPG could not handle the large, square format of Threshold’s artbook. It’s been a hell of a journey trying to make that work. I considered reducing its 10” x 10” format to 8” x 8”, but I felt that was too small. I considered using an external POD service like Lulu or Blurb, but while they offer large-format square books, the costs were astronomical. No joke, both were in excess of $100. 

 

Ultimately, I decided to return to DTRPG and reformatted the entire book to accommodate the standard 8.5” x 11” format. That meant a nearly page-one redo of the whole book. It’s now 10 pages longer, features a few more repurposed illustrations and a handful of additional bits of lore. Once the book arrives, I’ll be uploading the “Standard” format PDF alongside the existing 10” square format PDF as an extra bonus. 

 

Just to be clear, only the artbook will be in a POD print. The 5E campaign module is still only in PDF.

 

We are only two illustrations away from finishing the Ultramodern Bestiary. I am really hoping it’ll be released in July.

 

Going forward, DEM will attempt smaller crowdfunding projects that won’t rely on expensive and risky offset print runs. Our first Kickstarter was digital and POD only, and we’ll be returning to that with The Spark Plug Chronicles. It will essentially reserve all funds for art and layout, allowing for pure creativity without a specific allotment for printing, distribution, or tariffs. Expect a launch in September. 

 

I won’t lie, I haven’t written much for almost two months. It’s been difficult as I have been trying to get my groove back. Mounting bills forced me to prioritize non-creative ventures, and, being me, it had to be another entrepreneurial business that required a lot of energy. This involved numerous business trips, bills, and time investment. I managed to squeeze in a short horror film script and an animated comedy proof of concept. We’ll see if anything comes of those. But I am looking to return to game design next week. 

Thanks to everyone for your support and patience.

 

 CHRIS

 

 

 

I admit part of me has been dreading this message. I posted a video three weeks ago detailing the situation, but it took me this long to build the courage to make this broader post. By the way, you can watch said video here:

 

However, let’s review the key points.

 

The distribution of Amethyst and Ultramodern5 proved far more expensive than we had previously expected. It was twice our estimate. 

 

With financial and geopolitical discord running rampant globally and a particular focus between China, Canada, and the United States, I have been forced to postpone, if not altogether cancel, all future print production. 

 

Thankfully, all Amethyst and Ultramodern5 stock is still available from Studio2Publishing, although replenishment, as well as a second Affinity print run, are currently stalled, likely indefinitely. 

 

Dias Ex Machina is shifting back to digital and print-on-demand publishing. We prospered for ten years, focusing on digital and POD products, and we hope to continue producing content in this manner. Our recent Oktober’s Arcane Almanac has proven to be a surprise success for us. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While we have not eliminated offset print production, we have yet to decide how to facilitate it. We’ll be returning to Kickstarter rather than the abysmal Backerkit for crowdfunding, but may shift distribution to Europe and Canada instead of the US. This will mean that European and Canadian shipping prices will decrease while American prices may increase. This is entirely based on assumptions and estimations, as predicting what will happen geopolitically in the next four years is nearly impossible. 

 

Currently, DEM is working in debt. I am using my secondary business to try to keep aspects afloat and to fund future products. Outside of my release schedule mentioned above, I’ll do my best to compensate backers with unfulfilled rewards. This can come in the form of future PDFs or POD coupons, but my options are currently limited beyond this. 

 

It’s been a rough year, folks. I always strive for transparency and communication, even when the news is not the best. DEM isn’t going anywhere, but I apologize for the situation and hope we can recover over the next few months. 

  

 

 

 

 

Hey everyone:

 

While I understand these things happen, it still depressing to hear. 

One of our supporters has passed away. 

 

I was informed by his family that J R Houston of Nevada lost his life. His family does not have a donation page. We suffered a similar loss in 2018 with the previous UM5 Kickstarter, and Drew Leach’s dedication remains within the REDUX books.

 

We’ll be including a similar dedication to J R in a future publication.

 

Our thoughts are with his friends and family.

 

Chris

 

Happy February. 

 

I’m just getting over a cold, but I figured I’d take the time to update the entire crowdsphere, as a lot has been decided regarding future plans. By this point, every correction has been made regarding distribution. This leaves a few lingering rewards.

 

This one is frustrating, as I had to rely on other people. While the Fantasy Grounds and Foundry modules are available, Shard and Roll20 continue to be elusive. Shard has stopped answering my emails despite them reaching out to me in the first place. Thankfully, DEM is throwing its full weight (light that it is) towards World Tree, a fantastic platform we have a lot of faith in. (https://www.worldtreerpg.com/). While I still believe a Roll20 module lies in our future, I fear the Shard module likely won’t happen. This is pretty much out of my hands as Shard handles their work internally.

 

Affinity’s last reward is an audiobook. I had a contracted engineer develop this project three years ago, but a series of unfortunate events followed, resulting in him quitting the project and keeping his advance. While I have much of the audio files on hand--Mark Meer, Jon Cor, and others are fully recorded--I still have dozens of minor roles left to record and, of course, an engineer to put it all together. I found another individual last year, but after nearly ten months, there has still been no progress on this front. I’m reaching desperate levels to have this finished, as it is a passion project. I would hate to have this collapse with so much already in the can, but with little money left in the budget, I’m getting concerned. While I could technically do it myself, I fear the quality would not be to a level I’d want it to be. 

 

The last of the William Miller / BeDumb adventures for the 2023 UM5 crowdfunding is nearing completion. The previous adventure, The Banshees of Barkerville, turned into a surprising hit, selling more than any of the previous BeDumb adventures. As mentioned in an earlier update, William and his wife were expecting; I’m happy to report a healthy baby Casper came into the world on January 16th. 

 

With a name change still pending, last month I posted a poll available to anyone regarding the future of this campaign guide. 2023’s crowdfund offered two; Threshold was released late last fall, a hybrid artbook and RPG under a single SKU. I really enjoyed the creative process and wished to repeat it. 

 

                However, I was unwilling to recycle most of the art, which I was forced to do with Threshold. My goal was to create an entirely new and original setting. I got into a jam session with Nick Greenwood last week, where we hashed out some ideas. Nick couldn’t help himself and came at me with some sketches a few days later.

 

                These have greatly affected some of the ideas going forward in this alternative-history biopunk setting. 

 

                The Poll was put up to ask a simple question: did backers just want the original RPG campaign setting as promised, with its original limited art budget, or were people open to the idea of a much larger project with a physical narrative art book, digital campaign guide, and an increased art budget that would come via crowdfunding. As mentioned, this occurred previously in 2020 with Affinity, which began as black and white 100-page PDFs before transitioning to three 220+ page full-colour leather books in a box set. 

                

                From the poll, 58% of voters opted for the expanded illustrated novel and campaign guide, leaving 42% preferring the original reward. I had previously decided that I would favour an overwhelming majority, and a 58/42 ratio is certainly not that, in my personal opinion. However, it does indicate that some supporters are interested in the expanded content. 

                

                Therefore, I am going to do both.

 

                …sort of. 

 

                Nick and I are going to work on the original campaign guide for an early summer release. Unlike Threshold, this will be the campaign PDF only and not be a hybrid art book project. 

 

                Then, likely this September, we will launch a Kickstarter for a physical, 10”x10” narrative art book and expanded campaign guide that will include additional artwork. That way, backers can enjoy their original reward, and then everyone will have the option to support a larger production if that is your choice. 

 

With a second print run of Affinity in the works, we decided that our next crowdfunding campaign, which will be returning to Backerkit in MARCH, will allow backers a chance to purchase either the standard three-book slipcase or a second printing of the exclusive and very awesome looking leather-wrapped clamshell set.

 

       The campaign will also fund three new adventures and the second novel in the series. More information will follow before we send out the launch page, probably in a week or two. 

 

While we were initially planning on releasing this as a crowdfunding campaign, we’ve opted to instead just release the Xenobestiary straight to DTRPG, likely also with a late February or March release date. I asked our discord community if we should include ALL our monsters, including the fantasy ones, and the response was a big affirmative. 

                The Xenobestiary will feature rebuilt and retooled monsters from every previous DEM publication, along with a bunch of new ones. For example, the antagonist section from UM5 has been expanded from 38 to 58. The mecha entry has nearly 40 entries; the alien section boasts 50. These will be presented in the newer 2024 D&D format and following a couple months after the new Monster Manual should help matters. 

By now, almost all our rewards have been received. 2025 is going to be a very touch-and-go year for DEM. We’ve been hit with some huge bills, and recent WOTC controversies haven’t helped matters. 

 

                So, the best way to support DEM in 2025 is to talk about us. 

 

                Share posts and post reviews. We have a lot of listings on DTRPG that lack reviews. I would especially love reviews and feedback on our recent publications like Threshold and Oktober’s Arcane Almanac. 

 

                Please and thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to a new year!

 

With all physical rewards save Affinity at distribution, we’ve moved on to current digital projects. 

 

The next adventure, and penultimate effort by William Miller, is our weird west adventure. After discussing it with a few friends, we decided to remove the pretense and go with our original plan; instead of setting it in a location inspired by a local period-specific town, we opted to have it set in the ACTUAL town. As a result, The Phantom Stage has been renamed…

 

We threw in some direct references to real Barkerville history and even included a bunch of “vintage” photos we took from our numerous visits there. To make the adventure accessible to everyone, we carried over the antiquated firearms inspired by Torus, along with a few new rules regarding the use of dynamite. 

Backers due to receive this adventure should see it in their downloads directory by the end of the day. If you don’t receive the link, head over to Backerkit and check. As I send out an announcement via DriveThruRPG, you’ll also see an email inviting you to purchase the adventure; obviously, you can ignore that.

 

This leaves only one adventure remaining for William, Clonefall, assuming that name doesn’t change as well. I know it’s been fully play-tested, but that’s all I know so far. The man’s days away from being a father, so I’m giving him some breathing room. 

 

Which brings us to my final adventure tied to this Kickstarter, the honestly provisionally titled Retroverse Chronicles. Before going into detail about my plans, I wanted to bring up a previous publication connected to this crowdfunding campaign, Threshold. 

 

You see, Threshold was designed to just be a campaign setting. But I’ve always been a fan of narrative art books / illustrated novels. While many people believe this genre began and ended with the books written and illustrated by Simon Stålenhag, in truth, they have gone back decades. I remember the Terran Trade Authority handbooks written by Stewart Cowley and published from 1978 to 1980, which presented a fictional history of the human race and their encounters with alien species. Threshold took inspiration, blending space exploration with cosmic horror, a hybrid not seen enough, in my humble opinion.

 

Threshold was a risk, but I was limited in my previously allotted budget. I was only supposed to create a single book, not a hybrid RPG supplement / illustrated novel. As a result, I could only afford a handful of new illustrations, mingling them with recycled art from Ultramodern and Amethyst. In the end, I’m pleased with the result and believe it a much better book than a single campaign book. As it has been out for a few months, I would love to receive feedback regarding whether it was a success.

 

This brings up Retroverse Chronicles.

 

I’d like to do the same as Threshold, creating an illustrated novel separate from the RPG aspects. However, I don’t want to recycle artwork again outside of the two images that provided the core inspiration. I am left with two options.

 

 

Those who have followed me for years know I’ve done this before. 

 

Affinity was such a project. It was initially meant as three 100-page books with black and white artwork and no physical print edition and was unlocked as a stretch goal for 2018’s Ultramodern5-REDUX campaign. Following its own successful crowdfunding, it turned into three 250-page books with full-color artwork and physical books, including a leather box set. 

 

This won’t be as large, but I’d like Retroverse to be a 10x10 illustrated novel with the aforementioned digital RPG supplement.

 

Like with Affinity, any backer due to receive the original Retroverse will still receive the RPG book. This is for people wanting the accompanying illustrated novel and for the RPG supplement to be expanded. 

 

The Retroverse Chronicles involves the crumbling alternative world of the late 1970s, where the injection of alien knowledge gave rise to “spark plugs”—devices able to inspire users to create singular, powerful pieces of technology. This promoted the creation of advanced biotechnology decades before the introduction of computers or the internet, including the GELF slave races, the BAAL biomechs, and the colossal “Hekaton” BRUTs, subsequently leading to the decimation of the planet through rising geopolitical conflict. By the late 1970s, little of the recognizable modern world remained. 

 

In the campaign setting, players would assume the roles of humans and GELFS as they struggle to survive among the monstrosities dismantling the world around them. In the novel, our protagonist is pulled into this world possessing the most sought-after knowledge—the capacity to create more spark plugs. As they travel across America, they discover the dying world around them, looking for a way to return home. 

 

The question is, would you pay more for a physical illustrated novel and an expanded campaign guide, or do you just want the originally promised campaign guide? Please comment below.

THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT

Chris