Latest from the Creator
PROJECT UPDATE
Magnum Galaxy Games
CREATOR
21 days ago
Project Update: April: Locking Orders, Burning Gods Digital Preview & Tariff Update
Hi everyone,
Welcome to the April update. Here’s what’s up this month:
Welcome to the April update. Here’s what’s up this month:
The Big News: Burning Gods PDFs are here!
That’s right—the completed PDF of Awaiting the Burning Gods is ready for you! Here’s how you’ll get it:
- As soon as this update goes out, I’ll be sending a final 48-hour notice to lock orders. After this, you’ll still be able to update your shipping address—but no more add-ons.
- Once orders are locked, I’ll charge cards for any post-campaign add-ons and distribute the digital downloads. You’ll receive a second email with your download link. From there, you can grab your preview PDF of Awaiting the Burning Gods, as well as any other Magnum Galaxy zines you backed.
I’m excited for you to finally see the zine you made possible. Let me know what you think in the comments—I think it turned out great, and I’d love to hear your first impressions. Also, if you spot any typos, post them as well so we catch them before the zine goes to print.
Project Timeline: April
Here’s where everything’s at:
- Awaiting the Burning Gods – Complete!
- The Smuggler's Guide to 1365 – ~80% through layout, on track to finish this week.
- Box Set Extras – Maps, warden screen, character sheet, and dice have been pulled into Photoshop and are now in active development.
- Audio Files – Initial script sent to the production company, with a release planned to coincide with physical shipments later this year.
Tariff Update
Yes, the ongoing U.S. tariff situation impacts this project—just like it's affecting many other parts of life these days. As you may know, the American government’s tariffs on goods manufactured in China fluctuate near daily. If the tariffs remain in place at time of shipment, a tariff surcharge will be added to U.S. orders as part of shipping.
The good news? Thanks to favorable shipping rates from my U.S. fulfillment partners at Flying Cloud and excellent manufacturing pricing with Panda GM, the additional charge should be modest. Awaiting the Burning Gods currently has some of the most affordable shipping prices among Mothership Month campaigns and my aim is to keep total shipping costs roughly in line with my peer projects. And of course, I’ll keep you all updated as the situation develops and we get closer to shipping time.
Designer Commentary
Over on the Magnum Galaxy Gazette, I recently shared an update on the progress of Awaiting the Burning Gods and ongoing work on the Hardlight Anthology. But beyond status reports, I want that newsletter to be something I'd be excited to read.
While I’ll keep sharing news and behind-the-scenes updates, I also want to dive deeper into design thinking—like how Burning Gods came to be, how I approach worldbuilding, how I collaborate with artists and designers, and how I try to make books that are both beautiful and gameable.
I love thinking through these creative challenges, and I hope a peek into that process would be interesting to you too. If that sounds like something you'd enjoy—or if you have specific topics you'd like to see covered—drop a note in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.
While I’ll keep sharing news and behind-the-scenes updates, I also want to dive deeper into design thinking—like how Burning Gods came to be, how I approach worldbuilding, how I collaborate with artists and designers, and how I try to make books that are both beautiful and gameable.
I love thinking through these creative challenges, and I hope a peek into that process would be interesting to you too. If that sounds like something you'd enjoy—or if you have specific topics you'd like to see covered—drop a note in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.
That wraps up this month’s update. I’m beyond excited to finally get Awaiting the Burning Gods into your hands—so with that, I’m signing off right… now!
All the best until next time,
Dave
Dave
Bronze Tier
This user contributed to this community!
Holy smokes you guys knocked the layout out of the park
Bronze Tier
This user contributed to this community!
Was the actual Awaiting PDF supposed to be in my downloads? I only received links to Dying, Nirvana, Cleaning and Horror. I pledged for the Mega Bundle.
PROJECT UPDATE
Magnum Galaxy Games
CREATOR
about 2 months ago
Project Update: Marching Toward Publication!
Hello Burning Gods backers!
Big milestone this month—all writing for Awaiting the Burning Gods and The Smuggler’s Guide to 1365 is officially complete and edited!
Where We're At:
- Writing & Editing Done – Both books are fully written and polished.
- Art Complete – Daniel has wrapped up all illustrations, and they look incredible.
- Treasure Table Submitted – Joel’s D100 Treasures, Loot, and Contraband table is in, featuring gems such as:
- Layout Nearly There – Dai just has the maps left, and once those are done, the layout for Awaiting the Burning Gods will be complete!
What’s Next?
- Preview Copy – Once I get the final file, I’ll do a proof pass and work with BackerKit to figure out the best way to get a preview copy in your hands. I can’t wait to see the full zine come together!
- Smuggler’s Guide Layout Begins – With over 10,000 words (slightly longer than Burning Gods itself!), The Smuggler’s Guide to 1365 could have been its own standalone project. But having it as part of this set feels right, and I’m excited to share it with you all.
- Box Set Extras – Once Smuggler’s Guide is laid out, we’ll move on to creating all the box set goodies, including the Poster Map, Character Sheet, and Warden’s Screen. That should take us through April, with the Panda pre-production process starting in May.
A Sneaky Surprise…
I’m working on something extra special behind the scenes for this project… but I’m not ready to share details just yet. Is it too soon to start getting excited? That’s up to you. ;-)
That’s it for this month—see you in the Spring!
Dave
PROJECT UPDATE
Magnum Galaxy Games
CREATOR
3 months ago
Project Update: Burning Gods is Heating Up in February!
Hello everybody and welcome to your February update. It’s a juicy one! Let’s dive right in, shall we?
Awaiting the Burning Gods: Progress Report
Now that Daniel has submitted all but two of the art pieces Dai is working on the final layout, and it looks fantastic. Honestly, I could yammer on about it but have a look at these samples as I think they speak for themselves.
The Smuggler’s Guide to 1365…
Is done! The manuscript that is. Plus, in a stroke of good luck, the illustrious Jarret Crader had an opening in his schedule and has stepped in for editing. Long time Mothership fans may recognize Jarret’s name from a whole slew of projects including a bunch of work on his own publishing imprint Space Penguin Inc., the majority of first party Mothership adventures, and, of course, Magnum Galaxy's very own Dying Hard on Hardlight Station. Jarret has already completed the developmental edit on The Smuggler’s Guide, and will be doing line and copy this week which means I’ll be turning it over for layout very soon. Can’t wait to see what Dai does with this outer rim outlaw’s guide to the galaxy (or at least one particularly lawless chunk of it).
Speaking of the Smuggler’s Guide I kind of got a little carried away with it. I figured, you know what would make all those cool fence and contraband tables sing? A complete mini-setting to anchor them in! So, surprise surprise, along with the alternate start scenarios, the bonus adventure, and all the promised tables, there is also a whole new location to explore: The Barge Bazaar, an itinerant black market that roams Nakatomi Sector 1365 peddling elicit wares to all with the cash to pay. Can’t wait to share more about it in the coming months but I’ll leave this as a fun teaser of what’s to come.
Cross Collab with Interloper: Androids!
I took a quick break from writing The Smuggler’s Guide last week to switch gears and create some weird, wacky, and occasionally horrifying androids for my cross collab with Joel Hines’ Interloper. I had a lot of fun cranking out 20 different visions of the android copy of the park’s founder. The challenge was to see how many strange, weird, and fresh directions I could come up with. Inspired by Arnold K’s “Dungeon Checklist” from Goblin punch I imagined not only a unique character for each but also how they might function in play to drive action, unlock mysteries, or create some horrific scenes. I love these weird little fellas and can’t wait to try them out when I finally get my hands on the final copy of Joel’s game. Here’s a sneak peak at a couple of my faves:
Backerkit Pledge Manager Progress
The pledge manager opened at the beginning of the month and already 91% of you have completed your surveys. That’s awesome! If you have yet to do it, lost or never received your survey you can head to the survey recovery page, enter your email, and you will receive another survey link.
Speaking of the Pledge Manager, I received a couple of questions about how the promotional patches appear in your cart. Those of you who are first 48 hours backers should all have 1x complimentary Smoking Darkness Reclamations patches in your carts. The other promo patch is the Landis University patch. That one, as you may remember, is the reward to celebrate all 20 Mothership Month projects funding and it is going out to every physical backer of Awaiting the Burning Gods. If you are a backer at the zine only level you will see 1x of the Landis patch in your cart. However, if you are getting a box set you won’t see the patch in your cart because the patch will be packed inside the box set. So, if you are getting a boxed set, you will be getting the Landis patch. Hope that clarifies that one. If you have any other questions about your cart or survey don’t hesitate to reach out to Backerkit through the Pledge Manager and they will either answer or pass it on to me to respond.
Speaking of the Pledge Manager, I received a couple of questions about how the promotional patches appear in your cart. Those of you who are first 48 hours backers should all have 1x complimentary Smoking Darkness Reclamations patches in your carts. The other promo patch is the Landis University patch. That one, as you may remember, is the reward to celebrate all 20 Mothership Month projects funding and it is going out to every physical backer of Awaiting the Burning Gods. If you are a backer at the zine only level you will see 1x of the Landis patch in your cart. However, if you are getting a box set you won’t see the patch in your cart because the patch will be packed inside the box set. So, if you are getting a boxed set, you will be getting the Landis patch. Hope that clarifies that one. If you have any other questions about your cart or survey don’t hesitate to reach out to Backerkit through the Pledge Manager and they will either answer or pass it on to me to respond.
That’s a wrap for this month. This was a big one and I am excited to share even more next month! Until then, all the best and happy adventuring,
Dave
