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Kate Evans
15 days ago
The Event Tracker Makes the Dungeon Dynamic
Greetings, explorers!
We hope your summer is full of adventures, whether you’re outdoors or hiding from the weather in your preferred gaming habitat.
A Dynamic Dungeon.
We checked in with Monte, who has been designing and running playtests for Jewel in the Sky and this is what they shared with us:
Playtesting and design continue at a rapid pace for Jewel in the Sky. In the games I'm running, I've found that the Event Tracker (the new name for the "clocks" discussed in the campaign) really makes the dungeon dynamic. Triggered when players roll 1s or 20s (or both) in the session, the tracker may result in interesting changes. The dungeon’s inhabitants move around, new inhabitants move in—often introducing some new potential story element—conflicts among inhabitants resolve or flare up, or some aspect of the dungeon changes. Even relatively minor events, such as an inhabitant moving through a dungeon area, can have big repercussions to the PC's adventures, because the inhabitant might leave a formerly locked door open, reveal a secret door, or something similar.
—Monte Cook, June 2026
I don’t know about you lovelies, but we definitely have a waaay higher percentage of folks who consistently roll 1s; hard stares go to Bruce and Kate for this! Who in your group is going to have the dials of the Event Tracker spinning, or have you found the ways to sacrifice to the dice gods for leniency?
Keep in touch for more updates. Thanks for your support.
– Team MCG
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Kate Evans
about 1 month ago
Monte talks mirrors...
Greetings, explorers!
The post-campaign lull has allowed everyone to take a bit of time in the tavern or holodeck, depending on your preference! Behind the scenes (or deeper in the dungeon), a great deal is happening. Monte was able to surface from the Jewel long enough to tease this report:
I'm working steadily on Jewel in the Sky, and running two playtests (one for fantasy characters and one for sci-fi characters). As I go along, I'm finding a lot of great opportunities for handouts to use at the table. I've created briefing summaries and data readouts for science fiction explorers as well as tavern menus and hand-drawn area maps fantasy characters can obtain in the nearby town, Murton. Of course, a fun thing about Jewel in the Sky is that the science fiction characters can go to Murton (probably disguised as locals) and encounter those handouts, and the fantasy characters can trigger (by accident or on purpose) scanners they find and get the data readouts. In either case, language can be a barrier, but that's what translator devices and magic spells are for!
In the dungeon itself, I'm currently working on the mysterious region that can be discovered by stepping through doorways seen only in the reflections of magic mirrors. There are multiple such mirrors throughout the dungeon and they all... well, that would be a major spoiler. Suffice to say, this Megadungeon rewards those characters really interested in exploration and satisfying their own curiosity!
In the dungeon itself, I'm currently working on the mysterious region that can be discovered by stepping through doorways seen only in the reflections of magic mirrors. There are multiple such mirrors throughout the dungeon and they all... well, that would be a major spoiler. Suffice to say, this Megadungeon rewards those characters really interested in exploration and satisfying their own curiosity!
– Monte Cook, May 2026
As one of the players in Monte’s Jewel in the Sky fantasy campaign, and having experienced these weird mirror rooms, I too would LOVE to know more. If only to prevent…well, ok, yes, that’s probably a spoiler too!
Keep exploring, and watch out for mirrors…
Thanks for your support!
—Team MCG
—Team MCG
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Charles Ryan
about 2 months ago
Jewel in the Sky Has Soared! KEY INFORMATION
Hello, backers, and thank you so much for a great campaign!
After more than three days, Overtime Mode has come to an end, and with that the Jewel in the Sky crowdfunding campaign has concluded. All of us here at MCG are so happy that you’ve helped us craft a very cool book into an amazing boxed set and adventuring experience. Thank you!
During Overtime Mode you unlocked not only the expansion to the Creatures of Vocurro bestiary (which we'd almost hit at the scheduled end time), but went on to unlock two more goals, upgrading to the Twin Clocks Timer and adding foil stamping to your XP card collection. Nearly 250 new backers pledged to the campaign while we were in Overtime Mode—what an amazing result!
Please Read On!
We want to tell you a bit about where things go from here, but first let’s give out a little credit to the small team here at MCG that works so hard to bring you our games—and this crowdfunding campaign.
Monte has been working on Jewel in the Sky for some time—well before this campaign launched and all through it. Other members of our design team—Sean, Bruce, and Shanna—have been working on other upcoming products, including The Electric Sun (for Invisible Sun), Face Your Fears and Do Not Open (for The Magnus Archives Roleplaying Game), and the Predation setting for Cypher. They’ve also overseen tweaks to the new Cypher corebooks as those titles have moved through layout and proofing.
Bear and Javier wrangled art, imaged new products, and designed XP cards for this campaign, while working on layout for the Cyper corebooks and other projects. With Teri and Dominique, they’ve also moved titles like Face Your Fears and Come Hell or High Water through production.
Jen, Olivia, and Kate have answered your questions (and are always available to provide support to you, our wonderful community). Tammie has been steering the ship and keeping the logistics moving through the many challenges of our era. Daniel has been supervising our warehouse, working hard to fulfill rewards and orders. And Charles planned and ran this campaign (and is writing this update).
We are a small team, and we keep a lot of plates spinning at any given time!
Now, here’s what to expect as we move forward from here. Please give it a read!
The Immediate Future
Running a crowdfunding campaign is hard work (and Mega Dungeon Month was close on the heels of our last campaign). So we’re looking forward to getting a bit of rest. You might not hear from us for a little while, but don’t worry. Monte’s been working on Jewel, while Bear has been wrangling art and maps, for some time—and they’re keeping at it! We’ll post updates any time there’s news share.
The Next Few Weeks
BackerKit began collecting pledges the moment the campaign closed. But it takes them a full two weeks to release those funds, along with the data on our backers.
In the meantime, we will get the pledge manager fully set up. The pledge manager gives us the information we need to fulfill your pledge and lets you manage your add-ons and make any pledge upgrades you want. We’ll notify you when we open the pledge manager, which should be in about three weeks. You MUST look out for, and respond to, that notification!
The Next Few Months
Once you’ve completed the pledge manager survey, we won’t need anything else from you until it’s time to start fulfilling rewards. We’ll be busy making Jewel in the Sky for many months. We’ll post regular updates, but if you don’t hear anything for a few weeks, don’t fret.
At the same time, please pay attention when you do get communications from us. Our emails and updates include critical information about your rewards.
When Your Rewards Ship
Every time a reward is ready for you, we’ll contact you by email to begin the fulfillment process. Generally, we’ll direct you to the MCG Shop, where you’ll log in, “buy” the product (for free, because you’ve already paid for it through this campaign), and check out.
This is an important part of the process because it ensures we have accurate delivery information for every item we send out. (With thousands of backers getting rewards, it's amazing how many people will change their address over the fulfillment period.) You'll pay for shipping at that time.
Please pay attention to communications from us—don't let our updates or emails go to your spam folder, or otherwise ignore them, because if you do you could miss out on some of your rewards.
Thanks for your support!
—Team MCG
What, No Announcement?
If you’ve a longtime backer of MCG’s crowdfunding campaigns, you know we often tease the next big thing right here in this space. For the next few months, we’re going to be focused on the launch of Cypher—one of the biggest and most important new product launches in MCG’s fourteen years. Follow us on social media, join the Cypher Unlimited Discord, and check the MCG website in the months to come for loads of cool info as we approach the release of the Cypher corebooks.
We do have something very exciting lined up for later this year, and we can’t wait to tell you about it. But for now, Cypher deserves all of our attention!
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Charles Ryan
2 months ago
Overtime Stretch Goal HIT! Can We Do Another?
Hello, backers—
Believe it or not, you’ve unlocked ANOTHER stretch goal! That’s two goals in Overtime Mode!
And the campaign continues to chug along. Over 130 new backers have discovered this campaign since the we went into Overtime Mode–that’s amazing, and it’s still going!
The upgrade to the Twin Clocks Timer is now unlocked. We’ll give this centerpiece component of the boxed set a premium treatment and increase its utility as part of that.
You also added this card to your collection of exclusive Jewel in the Sky XP cards:
Remember, this is a free bonus reward for every backer, no matter your pledge level!
Speaking of Your XP Card Collection…
We’d like to offer a special thank-you for all the work you’ve done to help new backers discover Jewel in the Sky. So for our next goal, we want to upgrade the collection of XP cards you've accumulated by unlocking stretch goals throughout this campaign. A few years back we made a similar exclusive XP Deck, which included foil stamping on the cards. They’re spectacular! Here are some photos (not mockups) of those cards:
Let’s give your cards a foil treatment, too! If we can reach 2625 backers before Overtime Mode comes to an end, we’ll foil-stamp the cards in the exclusive XP Deck we’re making for every backer.
We’re already nearly a third of the way toward hitting this goal. If you keep spreading the word, there’s every chance we can make it. One thing that words is mentioning this campaign in places where gamers talk about RPGs—this thread on EN World, and this post on reddit, have been especially fruitful. Join the conversation there, and thousands of additional backers will learn about this campaign!
Thanks for your support!
—Team MCG
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Charles Ryan
2 months ago
More Monsters! Now: Divine Intervention?
Hello, backers—
We’re in Overtime Mode, but the campaign is still on fire. You’ve unlocked the big expansion to the Creatures of Vocurro bestiary!
This book is getting a lot meatier, with a bunch of additional creatures being given the expanded treatment that includes options, alternate versions, lots of lore and supporting information, and more. This approach really helps you breathe life into your Jewel encounters, and makes it easy to use these creatures in other adventures.
This expands Creatures of Vocurro—whether you get it as a component of the boxed set or as an add-on.
In addition, we’re adding another card to your XP card collection—it’s a free bonus reward we give every backer, no matter their pledge level, as a thank-you for helping to unlock the goal.
Here’s the card you chose:
Overtime Mode—and More Stretch Goals?
We’re in Overtime Mode, so as long as pledges keep coming in, the campaign stays open. All Mega Dungeon Month campaigns will stay live until all of them simultaneously go 10 minutes without a new pledge.
How long will that be? For our past campaigns, that’s been anywhere from a few hours to almost two whole days. Our last campaign drew nearly 150 backers in Overtime Mode!
So as long as the campaign keeps rolling, why not keep the stretch goals going?
Still Time for Something Really Cool!
Here’s a really unique aspect to the Jewel in the Sky adventure—the influence of two powerful and enigmatic entities: Dalyn, the Optimist, and Korana, the Pessimist. Some on Vocurro worship them as gods, but perhaps their true nature hasn’t been fully revealed.
Dalyn and Korana are subtle but active participants in your exploration of Vocurro, influencing the adventure through events triggered by the patterns of your players’ die rolls. You don’t need anything special to track this process, but we’re including the Twin Clocks Timer in the boxed set to make it a bit easier and to amplify the tension this can add to the game.
The Twin Clocks Timer, as we’re currently planning it, is pretty cool—but we think it could be even cooler. Take a look at this:
We’d like to give it a base that angles it away from the players’ prying eyes—or that can be used to hide it like a mini GM screen. We’ll also add deluxe features such as spot varnish or foil stamping, and a cool custom die-cut design, to give the Twin Clocks Timer the premium feel it deserves.
Help us reach 2550 backers before the end of Overtime Mode, and we’ll upgrade the Twin Clocks Timer included in the box to a truly premium component!
Backers are coming in very quickly at this point. This goal is a stretch, but based on our long experience with crowdfunding, we think it’s totally doable—if you keep spreading the word!
Choose Another XP Card
Why not have another quick poll? These are two cards that didn’t win their votes—but were still pretty popular. Let’s give them a second chance. Which should we include as a free bonus reward if you unlock the Twin Clocks Timer upgrade?
Did You See the New Art?
In case you missed it: we dropped a bunch of new art in an earlier update today. Check it out! And please keep spreading the word. There are thousands of gamers out there who haven’t even heard about this campaign—and will be sad to learn they missed it. You can help them find it before it’s too late!
Thanks for your support!
—Team MCG
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Charles Ryan
2 months ago
We've blown past the stretch goal--more coming!
Wow--I step away for like 10 minutes, and suddenly we've blown through our stretch goal!
Well, guess what: even though it's Overtime Mode, we're ready to put another cool one out there. Can we hit another goal after the campaign's technically over? Maybe--the Numenera campaign got nearly 150 backers in Overtime Mode.
I'll have the update out shortly!
--Charles
Well, guess what: even though it's Overtime Mode, we're ready to put another cool one out there. Can we hit another goal after the campaign's technically over? Maybe--the Numenera campaign got nearly 150 backers in Overtime Mode.
I'll have the update out shortly!
--Charles
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Community Leaders
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PROJECT UPDATE
Kate Evans
CREATOR
15 days ago
Project Update: The Event Tracker Makes the Dungeon Dynamic
Greetings, explorers!
We hope your summer is full of adventures, whether you’re outdoors or hiding from the weather in your preferred gaming habitat.
A Dynamic Dungeon.
We checked in with Monte, who has been designing and running playtests for Jewel in the Sky and this is what they shared with us:
Playtesting and design continue at a rapid pace for Jewel in the Sky. In the games I'm running, I've found that the Event Tracker (the new name for the "clocks" discussed in the campaign) really makes the dungeon dynamic. Triggered when players roll 1s or 20s (or both) in the session, the tracker may result in interesting changes. The dungeon’s inhabitants move around, new inhabitants move in—often introducing some new potential story element—conflicts among inhabitants resolve or flare up, or some aspect of the dungeon changes. Even relatively minor events, such as an inhabitant moving through a dungeon area, can have big repercussions to the PC's adventures, because the inhabitant might leave a formerly locked door open, reveal a secret door, or something similar.
—Monte Cook, June 2026
I don’t know about you lovelies, but we definitely have a waaay higher percentage of folks who consistently roll 1s; hard stares go to Bruce and Kate for this! Who in your group is going to have the dials of the Event Tracker spinning, or have you found the ways to sacrifice to the dice gods for leniency?
Keep in touch for more updates. Thanks for your support.
– Team MCG
PROJECT UPDATE
Kate Evans
CREATOR
about 1 month ago
Project Update: Monte talks mirrors...
Greetings, explorers!
The post-campaign lull has allowed everyone to take a bit of time in the tavern or holodeck, depending on your preference! Behind the scenes (or deeper in the dungeon), a great deal is happening. Monte was able to surface from the Jewel long enough to tease this report:
I'm working steadily on Jewel in the Sky, and running two playtests (one for fantasy characters and one for sci-fi characters). As I go along, I'm finding a lot of great opportunities for handouts to use at the table. I've created briefing summaries and data readouts for science fiction explorers as well as tavern menus and hand-drawn area maps fantasy characters can obtain in the nearby town, Murton. Of course, a fun thing about Jewel in the Sky is that the science fiction characters can go to Murton (probably disguised as locals) and encounter those handouts, and the fantasy characters can trigger (by accident or on purpose) scanners they find and get the data readouts. In either case, language can be a barrier, but that's what translator devices and magic spells are for!
In the dungeon itself, I'm currently working on the mysterious region that can be discovered by stepping through doorways seen only in the reflections of magic mirrors. There are multiple such mirrors throughout the dungeon and they all... well, that would be a major spoiler. Suffice to say, this Megadungeon rewards those characters really interested in exploration and satisfying their own curiosity!
In the dungeon itself, I'm currently working on the mysterious region that can be discovered by stepping through doorways seen only in the reflections of magic mirrors. There are multiple such mirrors throughout the dungeon and they all... well, that would be a major spoiler. Suffice to say, this Megadungeon rewards those characters really interested in exploration and satisfying their own curiosity!
– Monte Cook, May 2026
As one of the players in Monte’s Jewel in the Sky fantasy campaign, and having experienced these weird mirror rooms, I too would LOVE to know more. If only to prevent…well, ok, yes, that’s probably a spoiler too!
Keep exploring, and watch out for mirrors…
Thanks for your support!
—Team MCG
—Team MCG
Previously backed this creator's crowdfunding project
for both the Creatures of Vocurro Bestiary and the Vocurro Side Quests the item discriptions say that you will get a free pdf copy with your physical purchase. However we don't get the option to add on the items just as pdfs, Is that intentional or just an oversight?
Previously backed this creator's crowdfunding project
Bronze
Engaged with this project 3+ times 🌟
Can the Cypher rulebooks pdfs be given ahead of the adventure files, for people who pledged the Dungeon+Cypher tiers? It would be nice to begin to read through starting now to be ready for the Jewel when it releases in several months.
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