Hello there! This is the Eldritch Editor, Courteney, speaking, and I hope this update finds you all well.
I come bearing news that is all good and hopefully makes you shuffle in place with glee. So much of The Dark Carnival is getting done behind the scenes, and I'm going to peel it back juuuust a bit. If you are ready, pull those socks up and hold on to your hat!
The Soundtrack
As of August 7, the rough soundtrack was dropped into our laps by the amazing "V is for Villains" team! It's coming along amazingly, and it's already sparking ideas amongst those who have listened to them. It has the vibes, the atmosphere, the beats. I've found myself bopping along to the music more times than not while it's been on, and I'm excited to see how it progresses!
I can only imagine how things will feel when the music starts playing during a game session. Will you tense up under the whimsical music, or will it help you relax and enjoy the carnival more? I guess time will tell... And I hope you'll share stories with us when that time comes!
The Art
We are so so close to having all the art polished up and completed. There's only a handful of things left, and it's all being brought to life beautifully—or, well, as beautifully as can be given how spooky some bits are. You get what I mean!
Seeing the art we envisioned being brought to life with such care and skill has been such a trip. Every notification had me leaping to check it all out as soon as I could—zooming in and looking at each detail to see how each artist added their own flair. It gives me chills! I loved it!
The Manuscript
The copy edits are officially complete and turned over to us! We're going to be spending the next while going through and making sure the final polish is as good as can be before letting it rest from all our poking and prodding.
If you haven't already, make sure you join our Discord, https://discord.gg/5WBczsUryc, so that you can tell us your stories of the Carnival once the words are in your hands. We love hearing how your games are going!
And, if you made it this far in the update... Well, thank you! Here's a little reward!
Greetings cryptids, androids, and lovers of shiny math rocks! Rick here with an update on July!
Overall Dark Carnival:
-Copy Edits due back end of July. Right now, a lot of production is Michael and I waiting for copy edits to return on the full manuscript so we can start working through them.
-Gamefound hath ended. Soundtrack Unlocked. Music creation is underway! V is for Villains has everything they need and they've begun the process of creating it! (Well, more than the first trailer song everyone heard that is!)
-Print Quote Sourcing Is EXCITING! Ah...the land of print quotes. Tariffs...paper quality...covers... I've been doing this in the background the whole time, but finally narrowing it down to the final two companies we are going to work with.
-THE DICE HATH BEEN AQUIRED! One of the biggest mysteries was the dice in regards to the Tariff situation. When everything was temporarily paused... we raced and got them done. Ergo! We have dice! In our hands!
That said...everyone really liked the idea of some small batch or rare dice from local artists we meet on our journey...so we actually are getting a few of those made as well.
Surveys:
Surveys will go out I'm assuming in late October / November. I know some crowdfunding campaigns send out surveys within 30 days, but we've been pushing them back further and further into the production cycle intentionally - payment to the shipping gods is best served when we are closest to production.
Plus, it prevents all the "I need to change my address" emails that happen when we do it early. I'm aiming to launch surveys for everyone on both Backerkit and Gamefound in October when we are close enough to start early backer PDF releases for the 1st draft.
The major pieces of artwork are coming in hot! I'm going to drop in ONE final art piece here for everyone, and then more art after the jump!
Monsters of Murka!
Jaron Johnson and the Action Fiction team are extremely close friends of ST Forge! Jaron is one of our writers on the Black Ballad and Red Opera, and ST Forge is working on Cthulhu Dreamnt! So when the greatest modern D&D campaign setting where you battle and dungeon crawl in the hall of Walmoria returns -> YOU DAMN WELL BET WE ARE SIGNING UP!
They have a launch party in 6 days that you can sign up for right here: CLICK THIS!
Frankly, I think everyone in the TTRPG community needs this box set on our shelf. It's perfectly timed as a campaign as well :3
Without Further Ado! Final Artwork! THE DARK CARNIVAL HELLHOUND TAMER RANGER CLASS!
More art by Emi Miller! (and more art for Backers Only after the jump!)
Obviously, the soundtrack has already been hit and as a studio, we've successfully established our Gamefound presence. We will still, of course, be here for most things, but Gamefound presents a few unique opportunities for upcoming projects, so getting established there on the board game side of things...has merit.
The last 24 hours here, is the last chance for those of you following the Dark Carnival (here, or there), who HAVE NOT backed yet -> To get the STL Files for free with backing. Plus, it's the last chance for loot boxes.
After that campaign is closed out, it will take about 30 days for everything to settle and I'll make sure the add-ons we want to move forward with are set up appropriately on both sides, and add the STL file to ANY backer on either side (as long as you jumped in during a crowdfunding window).
Then we will run pledge managers, get the final tallies in, and after that is all zipped and done: All that anyone will be able to purchase will be the Books!
Book Update! ....we don't really have much beyond art! Honestly, that's just the stage it's at. The manuscript is in copy editing and it's already written...so, for Backers of the project, I've got some art reveals after the jump!
Kai Tonet is doing several pieces for us, and I'll share the WIP artwork here for the Ringmaster Warlock subclass and then it's progression in the backer area!
In what is *technically* an international tour, Storytellers Forge is bringing Festival of the Forgotten, The Black Ballad and other books, games, and accoutrement, to some conventions this summer!
If you happen to be at any of the events below, stop by, say hello, play a session, or buy something to help make the cost of the booth worthwhile!
UKGE - Birmingham, UK - May 30 - June 1
Weebcon - Indianapolis - June 6-8
Connecticon - Hartford, CT - July 17-20
GenCon - Indianapolis - July 31 - Aug 3
MatusuriCon - Columbus, OH, Aug 29th - 31st
This traveling circus actually began its journey earlier this month, where we brought our charming selves to Anime Central in Chicago, and MoMoCon in Atlanta. We had a blast running games and meeting folks in the community. If you missed it or want a taste of what you can expect at our upcoming appearances, our team took some pictures at Anime Central:
Our convention partners, Maid to Be, pictured at Anime Central above, will also be at Weebcon & Matsuricon with us! So please, check them out and spread the word!
There’s still two weeks to go before this campaign wraps up, and so far we’ve funded a soundtrack, tea, and fragrance to help bring the immersion to levels you hadn’t even thought of. The stretch goals are still a ways off, but anything can happen!
Thanks for all the support so far, and we hope to see you sometime on the INTERNATIONAL tour!
If you haven't checked out or grabbed exclusives yet for the Dark Carnival, you can do so on Gamefound for the final push, or simply pre-order a book here! In 15 days when that closes, custom items get turned off for good. For current backers...I did drop some more art in the Backers Only section for ya!
Projects We Love!
So, turns out Steve Jackson Games is a pretty awesome company…and Two years ago, a dusty box was uncovered in the Deep Archives at Steve Jackson Games. On it, a note: “TO PUBLISH. WE PROMISED.” Inside, we found a stack of games, all annotated in the same careful script and accompanied by a mysterious letter from someone named Dahlia . . .
After a lengthy search, we managed to track down the creators of the games within – turning up frustratingly little on Dahlia in the process – and now we’re making good on our word to bring youDahlia’s Diversions for Peculiar Parties.
Games Designed Jake Colosi, Scott Sexton, Chris O’Neill, Moss Bosch, Ash Cheshire, Conor Duffy, Katie Duffy, Irene Zielinski, and Z Gosck
In the set, you will find eight games in various formats: one-page RPGs, trifold brochures, stapled booklets, and even a folded map . . . all from different indie designers. This is as close of a replica as we could manage – down to Dahlia’s handwritten advice, clarifications, and occasional jokes tucked away in the margins.
This set is perfect for a new host hoping to run their first game – or for a more experienced group looking for something different.
RSVP now, and be the first to find out what’s on the table at one of Dahlia’s legendary roleplaying salons.
