We've named our sceptres! We've captured our crowns! We've claimed our kingdoms! The Monster Kingdoms!
Thanks to the support of 766 backers, Onyx Path will be able to develop PDF and print versions of Monster Kingdoms!
There's more to celebrate! Not only did we fund the project on the first day, we unlocked SIX Stretch Goals over the campaign. We defeated every challenge that was laid out in front of us!
Achieved! - At $20,000 - NEW ADD ON: STORYGUIDE SCREEN
NEW ADD ON: STORYGUIDE SCREEN - A three-panel Storyguide Reference Screen with charts and information for running a Monster Kingdoms game will be created and offered as an Add On to any hardcover reward tiers for +$25.
Achieved! - At $30,000 - READY-MADE CHARACTERS PDF
READY-MADE CHARACTERS PDF - Do you want to game but your players aren’t sure what to play? Looking for inspiration to get you into the world of Monster Kingdoms? These five characters cover a range of Kingdoms, Mantles, and Dusks are ready to make their mark in the Monster Kingdoms! This PDF will be added to the rewards list of all backers receiving the Monster Kingdoms PDF as one of their rewards.
Achieved! - At $32,000 - BACKER SHIRT DESIGN
BACKER SHIRT DESIGN - A Monster Kingdoms-themed Backer shirt will be hosted on Onyx Path’s Redbubble store for a limited time. Backers will be notified when the shirt becomes available for purchase.
Achieved! - At $35,000 - JUMPSTART PDF
MONSTER KINGDOMS JUMPSTART PDF - A basic rules overview and a starting scenario will be added to the Ready-Made Characters PDF, expanding it to a full Monster Kingdoms Jumpstart PDF supplement. Everything you need to kick off your own story in the Monster Kingdoms in one PDF that will be added to the rewards list of all backers receiving the Monster Kingdoms PDF as one of their rewards.
Achieved! - At $37,000 - DIGITAL WALLPAPER
MONSTER KINGDOMS DIGITAL WALLPAPER - Marvelous Monster Kingdoms artwork will be used to create a wallpaper for your computer desktop. This digital wallpaper will be added to the rewards list of all backers supporting this project.
Achieved! - At $41,000 - VTT TOKEN PACK
VTT TOKEN PACK - Digital assets will be created to support online play for Monster Kingdoms, including key character and creature tokens from the book. This online asset pack will be added to the rewards list of all backers.
So a huge congratulations to Matthew and the team on this project, and to all of the backers who've joined in to make this possible. I'm happy about the goals we hit and rewards we introduced, but I'm also always amazed and excited about having more than 760 backers join in to support this weird and wonderful game!
COMMUNICATION
So, as noted in today's earlier update, starting in about a month I'll be sending out updates once a month and whenever we've got a new goal, survey, or other item to cover. If you have any questions or need clarification on something related to the campaign, feel free to get in touch. I may take a bit to answer as I recover from these past four weeks and take some time to unwind and clean up my desk!
I'll also see if I can sneak a compiled draft manuscript out to you in a week or two. Nothing changed, just smashed together in order.
TO CONTACT ME
Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your forthcoming survey page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.
ONYX PATH DISCUSSION CHANNELS
If you've got questions about the rules or setting, or just want to discuss this game with other fans (as well as the Onyx Path writers and developers!), you can check out these Onyx Path discussion zones:
Backers make it better! Now, get ready to march into the Monster Kingdoms!
BUT... even as our campaign is complete and we look upon a promising new phase of our adventure, not all journeys come to such a positive conclusion! The Monster Kingdoms are aptly named, and peril hides around every corner.
I write this in haste and apologize for the unintelligible scrawl. I had naively assumed that after all I had witnessed and experienced, a kingdom of uncivilized, raiding and drooling orcs would pose little threat to me.
I am a crownbearer. I still hold my sceptre. I am fearful, as established in Iom, but I am brave with it. Yet never before have I seen such toil and suffering. I thought the empire was cruel to its subjects. Here, subjects are literally fed into machines and mills to help grease the gears. Here, goblinoids are master artisans, but only for so long as their hands and digits function as desired. After their purpose is served, they are deployed in mines and never again see the (dim) light of day.
The orcs are no better, and they hold command in this kingdom. Smithing and smelting, crafting and training. They militarily drill repeatedly, night and day. You cannot cross the land without breathing in toxic fumes and almost stumbling blindly into an open mineshaft or the open doors of a giant furnace. The orcs here are addicted to conflict. They fight interlopers like myself, and where we’re not visible, they fight each other.
One orc — slightly more lucid than her peers — explained it’s rare and dishonorable for any being of Krr’szch to live longer than 25 years. What misery!
I must stress again that I write this in haste. Straighose Balikossus (a feared commander here in the delightfully named city of Lygmunt) issued a warrant for my immediate capture, and I have spotted more than four squads of Krr’szchians hunting for me close to my present location.
I do not believe I will escape this one, nor will I overpower quite so many armed gauntlets and marauders. I witnessed a crownbearer among them, a wreath of tall, curling horns above his head. He sweeps the air with a jagged greatsword, which sends his foes flying apart in pieces.
Despite my proximity to the Kingdom of Dys I do not believe I will make the border. Therefore, I choose to take drastic action. I hate to part with you, my dear reader, but I will be placing you safely here, in this hollow wall. If all is well and I survive or return with allies, I shall recover you, or dispatch someone else to do so. I am heartened that at least archlich Khufu has been able to see everything I have seen, and hear everything I have heard. That is what he told me. I have felt his protection in every place until now. Now, he feels curiously absent.
I must finish this entry. Tis time to bolt for the border, and if not the border, then my glorious doom.
Dear reader, I thank you.
What an ending! I hope that Domina Neferkare has underestimated the chances of survival and will live on to write another day!
But now the Monster Kingdoms story is yours! Create your characters, name your sceptre, and claim your crown! And begin your own journey across the Monster Kingdoms!
