No. Both products exist in the same world/setting but each is a standalone mega-adventure.

Old-School Essentials by Necrotic Gnome, though it is fully compatible with B/X and other classic old-school fantasy RPGs, like Hyperborea, OSRIC, Basic Fantasy RPG, Swords & Wizardry, etc.

Only minor pseudo-scientific elements. They can be easily removed or re-flavored as being magical in nature. (But, good heavens, why would you want to do something rash like that?)

No, you will be charged for shipping in the early summer of 2027 through BackerKit's pledge manager.

Yes, always. They also include each book's VTT Map Packs (labeled and unlabeled) + VTT Art Packs (all of a book's exterior and interior illustration files in PNG format).

For The Overlords of Steel, the PDFs and VTT Map & Art Packs will be delivered in June 2027. For Gods of the Forbidden North, the PDFs and VTT Maps & Art Packs will be delivered 2-3 weeks after the crowdfunding campaign ends in late October 2026.

Around December 2026/January 2027. The PDFs will arrive first, while the softcover booklets will arrive 4-6 weeks later.

Both editions are absolutely gorgeous. The Premium Edition books come in a traditional U.S. letter-size format (8.5 x 11") printed using richer ink on heavier 80# matte-coated paper with a glossy, durable, smythe-sewn hardcover. They also include a colored reading ribbon. But the Black Signature Edition books are personally signed & individually numbered by the author. They boast an exquisite hardcover made of black vegan leather, a raised banded spine, a recessed front-cover artwork panel, metallic silver foil titling, subtle blind debossing, dark charcoal endpapers, gunmetal page edging, and two stylized colored reading ribbons.

You get one copy of The Overlords of Steel (400+ pages) and one copy of each volume of the Gods of the Forbidden North trilogy (1,612 pages total). 4-Book Digital Library: All digital content for these books, their PDFs + all of their VTT Map & Art Packs. 4-Book Premium Library: All premium hardcover editions of these 4 books + their PDFs + all of their VTT Map & Art Packs. 4-Book Signature Library: The Black Signature Edition of Overlords + all 3 Premium Hardcover Editions of GotFN Trilogy + all of their PDFs + all of their VTT Map & Art Packs.

No. We are doing a trio of Timed Releases every Tuesday of the campaign's mid-month period (Sept. 15, 22, and 29). These announcements will unveil new aspects of the project that haven't been mentioned yet.

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