Update 42: Bump in the Dark is a finalist for the 2025 CRIT Awards!
Hello fellow Last Piners,
I just wanted to take a moment to announce that Bump in the Dark: Revised Edition is a finalist for the 2025 CRIT Awards in the category of Be...
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jex thomas
about 1 month ago
Update 41: Raising Money for a Good Cause and Doing the Slimewarp
Hey all!
Just wanted to check in to let people know about a couple of cool things that are happening:
• The Bump in the Dark Bundle for Indigenous Health is live over on ...
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jex thomas
4 months ago
Update 40: Breakout Con This Week
I am going to be at Breakout Con March 14-16 in Toronto! I strongly suspect that if you are in or around Toronto and follow me in any capacity, you were already aware of this...
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jex thomas
4 months ago
Update 39: Neon City Blues
Hello all,
I meant to talk about this sooner but it's been a bit of a crazy time. I wanted to point out a Kickstarter that I'm involved with as a stretch goal writer: Neon C...
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jex thomas
5 months ago
Update 38: Bump on Role VTT, plus I'm returning to Breakout Con!
Hi friends,
It's been a minute. Things are getting increasingly dystopian over here in Last Pine but we're all doing our best to keep our heads above water and use our energ...
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jex thomas
7 months ago
Update 37: Upcoming Appearances and Opportunities to Buy Bump
Hey folks, hope everyone is well!
Here in Milwaukee it's starting to get cold, but I guess that's just how it goes.
As far as I know, all the books that have been pai...
I apologize for two updates in one week, but I'm excited to share shipping estimates from IPR! Now, please keep in mind these are just estimates and subject to change between now and fulfillment, but I'm hoping we can keep costs right around here. Note also that international rates are an average and may be slightly more or less depending where we're shipping.
So, with no further ado, estimated shipping costs (including handling fees) for one book are:
US: $9.88 Canada: $21.49 Rest of World: $25.49
Now that those are in place, we will be locking surveys on Friday. Your cards will be charged at that time for any add-ons or additional books you ordered. Books should hopefully be shipping to IPR's warehouse within a week or so. You can expect to be charged for shipping in about two weeks, though I will keep you updated on that timeline. We'll also give a warning one week out and 48 hours before charging you for shipping.
Keep in mind that if you ordered the physical hunt bundle and/or the sticker pack, these will be shipping separately with no extra charge for shipping and handling. I will work to get those out as close to the ship date of the books as I possibly can.
On the topic of the physical hunt bundle, it will now contain one more hunt by myself: The Auteur, a hunt about a filmmaker who has moved to Last Pine for research on his new project; since he's been in town, people have started going missing. Touchstones are Alan Wake, Life is Strange, 'Salem's Lot, Twin Peaks, and The Shining. I'm especially excited about some of the NPCs I came up with for this one. It also uses custom showdown questions, something we've been playing around with a bit. I won't publish it on itch or DTRPG until after fulfillment is complete, so those of you who've ordered one of the hunt bundles (it will be included in the digital bundle as well) get an exclusive early look.
Digital stretch goals are well under way. It's been really exciting getting to see what Eli is coming up with for the two new maps, and I can't wait to share them with you. The plan is to get everything to you by Halloween, at which time we might do another spooky season game jam on itch. I want to see what kinds of hunts, playbooks, factions, hacks, and so on that you all put together!
As always, don't hesitate to reach out with any questions, comments, concerns, ancient magic you've been dying to share, etc.
We find ourselves in the waiting period between the campaign ending and Backerkit releasing the funds. Once that happens, we can move ahead with printing and sending out backer surveys. So be on the lookout for those in about two weeks or so.
Pre-Orders Now Available
I also wanted to let everyone know that I've flipped the "go" switch on the Pre-Order Store, so if there's anyone you know who was interested in the game but didn't (or wasn't able to) back during the campaign, feel free to share this link with them!
Backers: do not use the pre-order store to select add-ons that you missed during the campaign; you will be able to do this once the survey goes out.
Projects Worth Supporting
I also wanted to share a couple of links to other projects I'm excited about:
My friend Michael launched a really cool system-agnostic, Cy-Borg compatible module called The 55. It's based on a setting Michael's game Neon Black, my favorite cyberpunk TTRPG, and it's megablock-arcology-as-dungeon, with over 100 locations, hundreds of NPCs and factions, and a bunch of random tables. The zine also has just absolutely beautiful layout and graphic design. CHECK IT OUT!
My buddy Sam hosts one of the coolest TTRPG-related podcasts around. Dice Exploder is launching a crowdfunding campaign for their fourth season which is sure to be a great listen. Past seasons have included cohosts like John Harper, Meguey Baker, Mikey Hamm, and Jason Morningstar. Also, the show was recently nominated for an ENNIE! Follow along now!
Finally, I don't know the folks behind the Grimwildcampaign, but it's a really cool fantasy heartbreaker that takes your favorite parts from D&D and puts them in a FitD-like framework. If I set up a heroic fantasy game any time soon, it's almost certainly going to be this one! They are currently in their final day of funding, so get while the going's good!
Timeline
Finally, a brief update on timeline:
Boone is currently hard at work indexing the book and has already completed his first pass.
As I mentioned above, Backerkit will be releasing funds in about two weeks. At that time, I'll place the order for the books and start working with our fulfilment partner on logistics.
Once funds are released, we'll do a "smoke screen" test of the backer survey and provided all goes to plan, we'll send out the backer survey at which time you can pick up any add-ons you might be interested in. Shipping will not be charged at this time.
At the same time, I'll start working with Sarah, Eli, and Richard to begin development on their stretch goals.
Once the index is done, I'll put the final touches on layout and send all the files to the printer.
I'm hesitant to even mention a date because I don't want to accidentally overpromise, but we are currently ahead of schedule and if everything goes according to plan, the books should be printed and shipped to the warehouse late August/early September, at which point cards will be charged for shipping and fulfillment will begin.
Stretch goals will be fulfilled as they are completed.
As always, should this timeline change, I promise to communicate any and all updates or delays as promptly and transparently as possible.
Thanks again for all your support and the awesome energy you bring to this project. This is kind of a dream come true for me, and I appreciate your part in making it happen!
Thanks to the kind assistance of one of our wonderful backers, I was able to overcome my technical difficulties. Thanks, Stefan! So now, without further ado, here's my video on running one shots in Bump in the Dark. Hope it's helpful, and if you have any questions, please let me know in the comments!
No other updates today. Just continuing to recover and getting some things sorted out with the printer so once the campaign is over and Backerkit releases the funds, we can hit the ground running.
I wanted to make sure I could provide this stuff as quickly as possible, so in the exclusive content section of this update you will find a link to a Dropbox folder containing:
ZIP file containing the previous edition of Bump in the Dark (v0.9.5) and three different versions of the Last Pine map by Eli Kurtz
This is the same as what has been available on itch.io and DriveThruRPG prior to the launch of the crowdfunding campaign
Revised Edition Playkit, Oneshot Guide, and Pre-gen Character Sheets
This is updated from what's currently on itch.io
Fully playable and (almost) text-complete preview of the Revised Edition
Note: this PDF contains no art
Additionally, the following have been left out of the preview:
Changing the Game chapter
Oracles/roll tables
Index
Because of this the Table of Contents is a little broken
These materials will become available once digital fulfillment begins after the campaign has ended
Now on to a couple other things:
UNLOCKED STRETCH GOAL: UV SPOT GLOSS FINISH
I'm really excited about this one! I think doing a UV spot finish on the cover will help elevate the look of the book and help it really stand out as a premium addition to your collection.
ONLY ONE STRETCH GOAL REMAINS
Pretty unbelievable, but only one stretch goal remains, which is unlocking monetary bonuses for all contributors.
There are not any plans for further stretch goals at this time. As this is my first crowdfunding campaign, I want to be very aware of the pitfalls of over-promising and being unable to deliver -- either within the expected time frame or not at all. I'm just one person with a little bit of help from some friends, and the last thing I want to do is let down the people who are supporting me and my game.
Besides, we do still have some fun community goals left, and if we unlock the next one, you all will get to vote on what it should be. We've been cooking up a few ideas and hopefully I'll get to see what y'all are most interested in!
I just wanted to take a moment to announce that Bump in the Dark: Revised Edition is a finalist for the 2025 CRIT Awards in the category of Best Indie TTRPG! I am incredibly proud of this game and the work that me and my friends put into it, as well as the community that has grown up around it. I am endlessly grateful to all of you who've taken the time to read it, play it, rate it, review it, tell your friends about it, and nominate it for the CRIT Awards!
Unlike some other awards, the CRIT Awards are both nominated and chosen by the community. At the end of the day, Bump in the Dark is really a game about community -- about people coming together to fight and take care of each other. Being a CRIT Awards finalist underlines that for me, the importance of our little communities, where ever they exist.
That being the case, it would mean the world to me if you took a moment out of your day to vote for Bump in the Dark for Best Indie TTRPG! Voting is live now and closes June 30th, and there are a lot of other really cool projects that are up for awards in other categories.
Thank you again for your part in making this game a success beyond my wildest dreams.
