Up here on the mythical surface world, I'm heading into spring. That means it's time for our regular monthly update. Each month, I'll list our "Pending" rewards and our "Delivered" rewards. We'll track the project status of our pending rewards by filling in the stage dots, and I'll note which update (and include a link) with each delivered reward, in case you want to go back and re-read the relevant update for more information. If any of these rewards were on your pledge list, you can access download codes in your BackerKit Digital Rewards page. And once they've been added to your DriveThruRPG library, you can access them through your DTRPG digital library at any time.
Before I get into our regular review, I wanna talk about a brand new release from Onyx Path which you may find interesting...
On the continent of Everend in the world of Gaia, magic suffuses everything, keeping all in harmony. The seven nations of Everend maintain peace after centuries of struggle — a peace now rapidly deteriorating. In an explosive demonstration of power, one nation pierced reality and called forth daemons from the Void through the resulting gates.
Now, all nations rush to gain daemonic magic for themselves. As the nations prepare for battle, common folk go about their daily lives fearing the brutality of war and the daemons’ incomprehensible power. All the while, the Void spilling through the gates collides with Gaia’s magic, creating Void-tainted landscapes. The taint transforms wildlife into ravenous beasts that rove across Everend. The balance has been upended. Everend needs heroes to stop the march of destruction and to help people understand their place in the new world.
Will you heed the call?
At the Gates: Ashcan Edition is an early access experience designed to introduce you to the world of Everend and get you started playing the game today.
Inside you will find:
Details on how to play Storypath Ultra.
Four pre-made characters, along with all the rules necessary to play and understand them.
Rules on two nations and a couple of antagonists in which to set your story.
A short scenario to introduce you to the world.
In the most recent Monday Meeting Notes, Rich says of the At the Gates Ashcan Edition:
It’s a bare-bones version of our newest fantasy game in the Earthbane Cycle, so it’ll give folks a real solid taste of the setting and rules before the actual text is released during its crowdfunding campaign. Which is the next one we’re doing – real dates coming soon!
Danielle and team did a fantastic job evoking the elements we love in JRPGs, as well as taking those elements and creating a bright, fun, and threatened world to play in. Plus, they made the tone dangerous in a very different way than in The World Below, while still working with the Storypath Ultra rules. Even in just the Ashcan, I think those qualities shine forth.
Oh, and about the Earthbane Cycle: we’ve very specifically not publicly tied down just what about these fantasy games make them part of Earthbane, or a cycle, so if you see anybody telling you what the connection is as if we announced it…nope, they’re only guessing, themselves. Someday, the truth will be out there, but that day is not today!
So... At the Gates is related to The World Belowsomehow, as both are part of Onyx Path's Earthbane Cycle in some fashion... but the actual connection is yet to be revealed.
REWARDS STILL PENDING
A bit of progress on one of our Stretch Goal supplements. Ed Greenwood's Monstrous Ecology has moved quickly through the writer stages and is now in the hands of developer Matthew Dawkins. This is the phase where Matthew takes all of the bits of the manuscript and ensures that it works holistically, presented in a consistent voice, and works within the aims of the greater game line.
I'll post this chart in each monthly update, and fill in dots as projects move along.
REWARDS DISTRIBUTED TO BACKERS
Trinity Continuum Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
Scion Second Edition Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
They Came From Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
Once a project finishes up on the progress chart and is distributed to backers, I'll move it down to this list and note which update talks about reward distribution for that item in case you want to go back and get more information.
If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://the-world-below.backerkit.com/
In addition to redemption links for distibuted digital rewards, all backers have received a link to the compiled draft manuscript. This link can be found in your BackerKit digital rewards page (See the link above for Claiming Your Digital Rewards if you need a refresher). Again, this isn't a new manuscript, it's just all of the pieces we shared during the campaign put together in order.
You can find the weekly Monday Meeting blog updates <here>, which note any projects with status changes since the previous Month End summary. The project statuses listed are current as of last Monday, so do check it out each Monday night to see if anything may have progressed!
I will continue to post regular updates every month until the final Stretch Goal reward has gone out.
ONYX PATH DISCUSSION CHANNELS
You may be able to get further insight and possibly some in-depth conversation at these Onyx Path discussion zones:
