As always, a week stretched on and became a more malleable unit of time than anyone (including me) really wants. First there was a convention (Dragonmeet! It's tiring! And there's preparation to do! And I should know this by now because it was my fourth damn year there!), then there was recovering from the convention (and I should have foreseen this too!), and then there was a parade of nonsense known as life.

I am sorry. The preview PDF is finished. 

You should have an email from Backerkit with a direct link, plus links to the character sheet (form fillable version pending) and the quickstart, if you haven't already received a link to that.

If you can't find the email: 
- Log into Backerkit
- Go to your profile (top right of the home page)
- Then to pledges and surveys
- Locate and click on Disposable Bags of Meat
- And you should see your files in the Digital Downloads section of the page

If you can't see your files that way, email us at [email protected] and we will sort that right out. Please note that we only really handle customer service at evenings and weekends, so "right out" may mean in a day or two - but it will definitely not be as slippery a time estimate as "books in September" was.

You may notice that the book's quite big now. It's stretched to 150 pages, which is significantly bigger than I thought it was going to be. I blame the settings. I said they were going to be microsettings, and they are at least mini-length, if not midi.

It is complete except for art. You'll see some pages that are marked "ART GOES HERE", and some that simply contain white space where art will be. Rest assured, more art is coming. My artists continue to be not especially well, and artists who don't feel good do not make good art (at least, not quickly), and should not be expected to. I am, however, sorry for the ongoing delay.

But! A game is not (just) its artwork, and this is a fully playable edition of Disposable Bags of Meat that you can use and, if I've done my job right, enjoy.

I guarantee there are still typos, because there are always typos and to achieve perfection is to offend the gods (as a very wise friend, who is much better at spotting typos than Lore and me) says. If you find any - or any inconsistencies or anything generally odd - I would be eternally grateful if you would report them in the feedback form here:
https://forms.gle/2vg71zwM93MyU7Cm7

If you've got feedback that won't fit in the form, you're very welcome to email us at the address above. You could, if you like the game, email to tell us that, too. Or say it here. Or anywhere, really. Even to the family pet. We'll know.

The feedback form will stay open for at least two weeks, or until the art is finished (whichever is longer). Then I'll apply all feedback, pre-press the files (this mostly involves a lot of fiddling with colours to make sure they print vibrantly) and send the files to print. This includes setting up the DrivethruRPG print on demand process.

Once I have the final weight for the book and other materials, I'll be able to lock down shipping prices.

At that point I'll lock orders and charge cards, including shipping fees. You'll get at least 48 hours of notice for each. 

Then I'll circulate the final PDFs, and then... we wait. Books print. Books go on boat (or possibly aeroplane, I haven't quite decided, but I'll give you a timeline once I have - and don't worry, my decision here doesn't affect your shipping charges: you don't pay for this bit, only the bit where the books go from the warehouse to your door). Books go TO YOU!

Thanks for being patient, and giving us your support. Here are two of Lore's many very cool pieces of art, as an incentive to get your downloads and have a good poke around.

- Chant

Hello! 

Just a few more art pieces to go. If they're not done next week, I shall send out a preview PDF with some big old gaps where art should live, just as proof of life. Actually, also so that you can play hunt the typo, if you want to.

This art delay is partially (mostly) my fault: when I gave the layout its glow up, I created more space that yearned to be filled with art. I am a delight to work with, and all my artists adore me. Honest.

We will be at Dragonmeet, in the London ExCel Centre, on 29th November. We will have a handful of quickstarts with us - so if you're coming to Dragonmeet and you ordered a quickstart, you can have one. All I ask is that, to indicate that you are a backer and not just a curious passerby, you introduce yourself by leaning in uncomfortably close and whispering "I am here about the meat."

See you there, maybe.

- Chant

OK, deep breath. 

Headline: it's October, and the books are not at the printer. But I reckon they will be by the end of this month. 

That's the bad news. Here's the good news: 

So we're not done, but we are moving ever forwards. However, as per the headline, I Have Not Written The Train. I am about to go out to one of my favourite coffee shops, however, and attempt to do the thing. 

OCTOBER. It's all about October now. 

- Chant

Holy shit.

You're not going to believe this.

Despite the buck wild times we are living through, in which postal services have entered a new stage of global chaos, the dice made it through customs. 

They're safely ensconced in Studio 2's warehouse, just waiting for the rest of the stock to join them. 

Right then. Back to layout.

- Chant

PS you've still got a few days to vote for your choice of microsetting, but if you fancy the Nightmare Train don't sweat it, because that one's winning by a landslide.

Bloody hell, it's been a while. Three months, apparently. Sorry - it's been a hell of a time. I'm just gonna say mental health is important, difficult, and a pain in the backside, and leave it at that. You're here for the book. 

Let's start with the bad news. 

You already know this, because I said the PDF of the book would be out in July, and it's August. Again, I'm sorry. But we're not that late. I've taken a break from laying out the core book to write this update, and the only thing left to write is one of the two micro-settings - and that's because I promised we'd run a poll on it to see what you want. 

Art is not complete, but Lore's on it, and we've got the funds to bring on another artist if we need to. 

My current plan is to send the books to print by the end of September. That's a two month delay, if you're counting. It's not great, admittedly, but there's worse out there.

And now, the good news.

As previously announced, we've got a weird and metatextual diner from Chris Farnell, which will come as an extra pamphlet and PDF, as well as the two promised for the core book.

The first of those is Hob's Cross, a folk-horror setting with troubling archaeology, deep-rooted traditions, and a couple of festivals not recommended for tourists.

The second... that's up to you! 

I've narrowed it down to three possibilities, any of which I'd be excited to write:
1. The Nightmare Train. A transcontinental train that runs and runs. Sure, it's haunted, but it's the realms it passes through when the stars are wrong that are the real problem. Be careful where you disembark.
2. Atlantis Station. A deep-sea research station. You can't leave, and you won't like what's in here with you.
3. The Chambers Building. A run-down apartment building where an array of eccentrics, degenerates, and fanatics work to serve or pervert the architect's cosmic plans for her great work.

Chris (Farnell, from earlier) turns out to be the single greatest asset to this game. He ran it on the Party of One podcase back in July, and a good time was had by all. Both. You can listen here:
 
https://www.partyofonepodcast.com/2025/07/04/459-disposable-bags-of-meat-with-chris-farnell/

Dice for US and Canada backers are now in the US. They're stuck at customs, and I fully expect them to be there for a couple of weeks because of the latest development in the absurdist comedy that is US import regulations, but they're on the right land mass and that is something.

That's all the news that's fit to write! 

Back to layout for me, and please do take a second to fill out the microsetting poll attached to this update, or I'm just going to write whatever I want.

- Chant