Hope everybody has had a good beginning to 2026! Things have been pretty calm over here now, though some family illnesses and daycare closures have thrown a wrench over the course of January. Here's hoping February is a bit less chaotic!
Not a ton to update everyone on this time - work continues on Certain Fathoms and its accessories. As we mentioned at the end of December, all of these are going to be delivered via the mega-pledge manager coming Soon™️from Tuesday Knight Games. Once that's available, you should be able to download what's been completed so far.
As a reminder:
"Ah!", you may be thinking. "Are Secret Levels and Employee of the Month delayed!?"
Well... yes.
But it's for a good reason. Let me explain.
First, Employee of the Month is an expansion that allows for running Certain Fathoms solo (or as a Warden with one player). I have a rough draft of these rules, but there are some folks in the solo-roleplaying space who I would like to show it for potential edits.
The last thing I want to do is make some solo rules that amount to a worse version of what you can get in a generalist book, like Mythic GME or something.
Second, Secret Levels is a collaborative effort between myself, Watt, Snow, Alfred Valley, and Sam Sorensen. If you hadn't noticed, all of those people are either currently running a crowdfunding campaign or are in some phase of fulfilling a crowdfunding campaign.
Not to mention all the personal things on my end that required my attention, we put a little life pause on this while everybody (mostly me) could get their bearings.
That said, things are moving!
Watt has finished their lovely floor, "The Operation", featuring a group of women stuck in an experiment that nobody bothered to tell them was shuttered. And I've gotten confirmation from everyone else that their floors are underway as well.
That said, I'd like to take a moment to shine a spotlight on them because they're so cool and nice and they deserve support:
Sam Sorensen: A FAMILIAR TOWER
Sam Sorensen is providing work on the very cool looking A FAMILIAR TOWER, an escape room / puzzle dungeon adventure for Old-School Essentials.
Snow: SCREAMING METAL: VECTOR SOUL
Snow is (and has been) working on... well, I'll just let her describe it:
Screaming Metal: Vector Soul is a mecha ttrpg about toxic lesbians piloting living machines for exorbitant amounts of money so they can live lavish lifestyles before being torn to shreds by the poisonous arms of hyperspace. Click here to download the playtest and read for yourself!
Anybody that knows me knows this is right up my alley. Might even get to play it with some folks soon!
Alfred Valley: BRUTE FORT
Alfred ran a campaign for BRUTE FORT late last year that's still accepting late pledges last I checked!
Exactly what you'd expect from the Valley of Alfred: stylish, clean, deadly simple to pick up and play. Plus you know I can't help myself when I see a soundtrack...
Watt: RUST WINGS
On March 3rd, Watt's launching the crowdfunding campaign for Rust Wings, a ghibli-inspired adventure ttrpg where you play as misfit teens who build and pilot their own planes from the scrap around them. Abandoned cities, sky pirates, and more await!
The inspirations (Castle in the Sky, Arcane, and Mega-Man) got me curious but the fact that it's an adaptation of the Mausritter rules has my attention. Very excited to see this!
Also, just have to shout out Watt for fulfilling all the Cloud Empress stuff - two campaigns! We always have to give creators a hand when they deliver on what was promised. Also the books are gorgeous and dripping with flavor and inspiration.
Obviously we live in a world of things costing an exorbitant amount - and increasing all the time. But when we have the opportunity to support indie creators, especially ones associated with the work we do, it's on us to show support in any way we can.
If you have the discretionary funds, please consider backing one (or all) of these projects!
Samand Snow's projects are currently underway as a part of Zinetopia 2026 here on BackerKit, so now's your chance to get some of the goods while they're hot!
Meanwhile, Alfred'sproject is taking late pledges like I mentioned!
Following Rust Wings from Watt will ensure it has the strongest possible start when it kicks off.
If money's tight, there's other support you can give! Just sharing the projects around, getting the word out, and even reaching out to ask how you can help may make a big difference.
Anyway, that's about it for the update this month: continuing to work on Certain Fathoms, getting things ready for the mega-pledge manager, and trying to stay warm & healthy.
Oh, and finally getting around to trying Expedition 33 - what a game!
It's the very last day of the very last month of the year and I've got an update that has 75% great news and 25% middling news.
Let's start with the good stuff.
The digital files, according to our RevisedTimeline, are good to go! That means:
The Certain Fathoms Soundtrack (MP3s)
Otto's Buy Bin (PDF)
Reference Bookmark (PDF)
Welkin Orbital Personnel Dossier (PDF)
Will be available to backers! ...
(here's the middling news)
... juuuuust as soon as the mega-pledge manager is available.
A Quick Aside about Pledge Managers
So, you may have read in other places how Mothership Month projects are handling the pledge manager - the place where you can include add-ons to your order, catch items you may have missed during the campaign, etc.
In Mothership Month, we're doing a mega-pledge manager.
Which will allow you to do everything I listed above but for all your Mothership Month projects.
As far as we're aware, the mega-pledge manager is being built out specifically for Mothership Month (much like 2024's MoshMo was the first collaborative campaign on the platform). That means we're not just the first ones to use the mega-pledge manager - it's literally being built for us on the BackerKit backend.
(This is why you weren't given an email about surveys or filling out shipping information yet, in case you were curious.)
But! The wait is almost over. My understanding is that the mega-pledge manager is finished - it's just a matter of TKG putting in everyone's SKUs so that people have the right items attributed to them. I don't want to assume how long that will take, but my guess is that it will be Soon™.
All that said, you'll have to wait just a little bit longer for the files. As much as I would like to share the files some other way, I think best practice is to just wait until the manager is available and we can distribute files in an official capacity.
What I can do is give you a little peek at the files that are available so you can get an idea of what's coming to you shortly. That will be below, reserved exclusively for backers.
Closing and Next Update Timeline
I hope you've all had wonderful holidays or, at the very least, some ample time off to play some games and spend time with loved ones. Maybe getting some Mothership in, hm?
In terms of scheduling updates, from here on out I think it makes sense to move to a once-a-month update. No doubt we're all getting enough emails as it is and frankly you don't need me telling you every week "Yep, still working on stuff!".
So, with that said, the next update will be at the tail-end of January in the new year. After that will be another one in February, then March, and so on. And then, before you know it, you'll be getting a very big, very magenta box on your doorstep, full to the brim with awesome stuff to run one hell of a Pound of Flesh campaign.
Hello all! I hope you've had a less eventful month than me.
What was supposed to be a month of action and getting ahead in writing was mired by weeks of family illness, day job shuffles, and culminated yesterday with us having to put down one of our little furballs who's been with us since 2016, due to an extremely aggressive stomach cancer that wasn't picked up on X-rays just over a month ago.
He was my boy most of all, so this hit me hardest. I've never had a cat love me (nor me love a cat) the way we had each other. He's irreplaceable.
All that said—and while I truly appreciate any words of commiseration or kindness—I say all that not to get pity but to explain why a few things in the production line are shifting around.
Namely, the delay of the core zine and EXP.4: Employee of the Month from December 2025 to February 2026.
This is a a bummer to be sure. I was really hoping both of these would be done before the end of the year, but with everything going on I just don't see how it's feasible without it being a disaster at home or you receiving a half-baked product.
I figure you're owed a transparent (and early) heads-up rather than things getting announced last second (or like many projects, not announced at all).
In any case, the soundtrack, bookmark, and pamphlet digital files will all still be released by the end of the month—as will the special pre-launch reservation "Welkin Orbital Employee Dossier" PDF.
As a brief aside, due to the delay on the other items, I'm working on making the dossier available as a small add-on ($5) for all backers and pre-order supporters, instead of just those who made pre-launch reservations. Those folks still get it for the discounted rate they already paid.
Hopefully this all makes sense to everyone.
Even so, you're allowed to be frustrated at the change!
I know some folks were planning campaigns set in Prospero's Dream and having Welkin Campus play a role. But know that it is still coming and it simply means your February 2026 will be filled to the brim with digital releases.
Here's the revised timeline:
Projects changing highlighted in MAGENTA
In the meantime, give your family (furballs and all) a hug, play some games, and enjoy the holidays (or extra time off from everyone else celebrating holidays).
I'll be posting an update once the digital files for December are ready to download, but otherwise it'll be a little quiet over here as I put my head down and work.
We ended the campaign at $36,483 - 912% of the original $4,000 goal. That is simply incredible. Thank you all so much for backing the project and seeing this thing through. Literally couldn't have done it without you.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Okay, moving on to everyone's favorite topic: when you actually will get your stuff!
As stated throughout the campaign, my goal has been fairly aggressive in that I want to make sure you have as much of the digital files as you can before end of year 2025. That's only a little over a month away!
Thankfully, I've been working on things pretty diligently since ending my addiction time in OVER/UNDER and finding myself heading into a (hopefully) somewhat quiet holiday season here in the states.
So, all that said:
Or put in text form:
December 2025
Certain Fathoms (PDF)
Soundtrack (MP3)
EXP.4: Employee of the Month (PDF)
Otto's Buy Bin (PDF)
Bookmark Reference (PDF+JPG)
WO Employee Dossier (PDF)
February 2026
EXP.1: Hostile Takeover (PDF)
EXP.3: Secret Levels (PDF)
(Not Shown) Soundtrack (FLAC)
April 2026
EXP.2: Viewer Discretion (PDF)
EXP.4: Echo Chamber (PDF)
The print stuff heads out in early/mid summer 2026. Since it's going to be a bit of a logistical nightmare on Tuesday Knight Games' end, expect printed zines and goodies to arrive between end-of-summer and end-of-year.
Regardless of what happens there, rest assured I'll be regularly updating as to my movements.
That's really it for this update - pretty short and sweet. If you backed the project, read on to find what won the community-voted breaches and anomalies from a few weeks back!
Hello and welcome to the FINAL DAY OF MOTHERSHIP MONTH!
No doubt you're going to get approximately one billion emails over the coming hours, so I appreciate you taking a look at this one. Every single campaign is worth a look - some may even have a few cheeky references to our little corner of Prospero's Dream!
With that said, and before we get to the update today, a few quick announcements.
Certain Fathoms: Reddit Deep Dive at r/MothershipRPG
Yesterday, I posted a "Certain Fathoms Deep Dive" on Reddit over at r/mothershiprpg. If you want a closer look at some of the mechanics, the vibes of the module, and other finer details, you'll want to check that out.
Once the campaign is complete, I'll be putting out [UPDATE 6] on the distribution calendar of digital files. The big ones that will be coming out before the end of the year are:
Certain Fathoms PDF
Employee of the Month PDF (read more below!)
Otto's Buy Bin PDF
Bookmark Reference PDF + JPG
Certain Fathoms Soundtrack MP3 (FLAC coming in early 2026)
Welkin Orbital Employee Dossier PDF (reservation exclusive bonus)
More to come on that front later this week.
If you've backed at the Starter Bundle pledge tier or higher, you've noticed that there are two printed zines that accompany the bigger core module: Hostile Takeover and Viewer Discretion.
Let's start with what makes these zines similar and then break down what makes them different:
First, both zines are not intended to be played on their own—they are expanding on the rules presented in Certain Fathoms.
Both zines are roughly 16 pages, making them lightweight and easy to reference quickly at the table.
Both zines will be printed.
Finally, both zines have the same production quality and form factor as Certain Fathoms—meaning you won't have one zine shorter or taller than the others on your shelf (all are half-letter sized, the standard size for Mothership products).
Each zine was designed much in the same way boardgame expansions are made. They're intended to be plugged in and out as per the needs of the table without any fiddling around or extended prep. If you're bored of the standard operating procedure of Certain Fathoms, you can add these rules to make a different play experience.
Where they differ is in the details.
Hostile Takeover introduces running rival crews in the depth crawl. Players will find themselves face to face with their most dangerous enemies yet—people just like them.
This expansion adds:
Rules for creating and running rivals
Tables for generating rival identities, including callsigns, loadouts, nicknames, and patches (of course)
Mechanics built to track and compare movement between the two (or more!) crews
Four premade rival crews, from the violently dangerous Scylla Squad to the highly dramatic Choke Runners LARP Brigade (Prospero's Dream Chapter).
Viewer Discretion adds an entire new dimension to the depth crawl: televised performance. Players will take on viewer and sponsor demands alike as they try to come out on top.
This expansion adds:
The "Entertainment Mode" ruleset for Certain Fathoms, introducing viewer requests, sponsorships, challenges, jackpots, and more.
Tables for creating your own viewer requests and sponsors.
New cybermods and slickware, like the B1G.M0N3Y augment that assigns credit values to all hostile combatants.
40+ premade sponsors, ranging from CEO of Rencorp Xorvus Tiren to Floyd Merkin, Equal Opportunities Hater.
The following are digital-only expansions and will be received by all digital and physical backers!
Once the campaign ends, these will be paid add-ons. Only a few hours left to get them completely free!
Secret Levels is the collection of new Destinations written by RPG luminaries such as Alfred Valley, Sam Sorensen, Snow, and watt.
Eagle-eyed viewers may recognize that four Destinations does not make a new zine. And you'd be right! That's why we're adding even more guests to the roster.
More to reveal in the coming weeks.
Employee of the Month adds dedicated solo rules to Certain Fathoms. Utilizing WES, the Warden Educational Support introduced in Another Bug Hunt, players will find everything they need to facilitate solo play.
Consulting with a number of known solo gamers in the space, this zine won't just be a few oracle tables and a funky dice mechanic. It will be a short and sweet trove of advice, time-tested procedures, and tips on how to do sci-fi corporate horror on your own.
Echo Chamber adds a sub-wing to Welkin Campus—one entirely untouched by time. In this reality-bending expansion, players will interact with the company before its fall.
Included are ten new destinations, locked behind an elusive keycode. There, new NPCs, rewards, and a new faction—The Shareholders—await.
More information on all these will trickle in over the next month.
But for now, if you haven't already, share Certain Fathoms! We're in the last few hours of the campaign and every bit helps make this project more manageable, easier to produce, and allowed more fun surprises.
To all of you who've backed already, you're a real one. My sincere gratitude to each and every one of you for making this a smashing success.
