Hello Mercenaries,
TL;DR: The full Book of the Eclipse is now ready in Beta for you to check out.
Book of the Eclipse Beta
All right, I know what you’re thinking. And no...
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The World Anvil Publishing
about 2 months ago
#25 - May Update: The Lands of Valraven
Hello Mercenaries,
TL;DR: We have a new preview from the Core Book.
The Lands of Valraven preview
I’m excited to share a new 45-page preview from the Valraven Core Bo...
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The World Anvil Publishing
3 months ago
#24 - April Update: 3 Chapters from the Core Book!
Hello Mercenaries,
TL;DR: We have the first preview of the Core Book! Oh, we also have a new game on Kickstarter.
Core Book preview
I can finally share a preview from t...
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The World Anvil Publishing
4 months ago
#23 - February Update: Scenarios in layout!
Hello Mercenaries,
TL;DR: Today we’re sending out a preview of the Scenarios in the Book of Eclipse!
Scenario Previews
All the Scenarios from the Book of Eclipse are now...
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The World Anvil Publishing
5 months ago
#22 - January Update + Final Tarots first look!
Hello Mercenaries,
TL;DR: We can finally show how the tarots will look!
The new tarots
In a previous update, I shared insights from Valraven’s author, Alberto Tronchi, on ...
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The World Anvil Publishing
7 months ago
December Update
Hello Mercenaries,
TL;DR: We made some changes to how Tarots will work in the game.
A word from the designer
For this update I asked Alberto Tronchi, the designer of Valra...
TL;DR: The full Book of the Eclipse is now ready in Beta for you to check out.
Book of the Eclipse Beta
All right, I know what you’re thinking. And no—you didn’t miss an update. We’re sending out the full PDF of the expansion, the Book of the Eclipse, before the Core Book.
If you’ve been following our journey, you already know we worked on Book of the Eclipse first and moved to the Core Book later, since that one was undergoing a full rework. So, the good news: the complete Book of the Eclipse is now ready for you to read! Even without the Core Book in hand, there’s plenty here to explore, enjoy, and draw inspiration from.
Why is it called a Beta, and not just the final release?
Because we just wrapped up the layout, and before calling it “final,” we’re doing one more full read-through to catch anything that might still need fixing before going to print. And here’s the fun part: you can help.
Community feedback has been a huge help in past projects, allowing us to squash the last remaining typos and polish any fuzzy bits of text. Just to be clear: the book has been professionally edited, but no matter how much we love Lovecraft, your collective eyeballs outnumber ours.
How can you help?
Read the Book of the Eclipse Beta
If you spot a typo, a layout hiccup, or anything that seems unclear, hop over to our Discord and drop your findings in the #valraven-typos channel.
We’ll review everything, and if it’s relevant, we’ll incorporate your notes into the final version. It’s a tried-and-true method that’s helped us deliver print-ready books with almost zero errors: a win for everyone.
So go ahead, dive in, and thanks in advance for making this the best version it can be.
You will get an email with a download link for the Book of the Eclipse from Backerkit. Please check your SPAM folder before reaching out, and make sure it was actually included in your pledge. Feel free to share your thoughts on our Discord Server.
Core Book? When?
Soon! I’m currently translating the final chapter. Once that’s done, we’ll need about a week for editing and another for layout. If all goes according to plan, the Core Book Beta should be ready by mid July.
We’re almost there!
Reminders
You can always access your Pledge Manager survey from HERE. Orders are locked but get in touch if you need changes.
I’m excited to share a new 45-page preview from the Valraven Core Book: The Lands of Valraven. This chapter explores all the game’s Factions, detailing their structure, goals, and the most notable NPCs within each. It’s a rich lore section that’s sure to spark your imagination (and your war plans).
You’ll also find the two mercenary Companies we created together during the campaign: The Twilight Spears and their darker counterpart, The Shadows of Twilight.
You will get an email with a download link from Backerkit. Please check your SPAM folder before reaching out. Feel free to share your thoughts on our Discord Server.
Where are we?
I’m currently working on the largest chapter in the Core Book—actually, in both books—Character Creation. Due to a major reorganization of the text compared to the original Italian edition, this chapter alone comes in at over 100 pages (pre-layout). It’s a substantial piece to handle, but progress is going well, even if it’s not quite finished yet.
Once this section is wrapped up, the remaining content will be much quicker to finalize.
As mentioned in the previous update, we’re still assessing how potential tariffs might impact production. Despite recent announcements suggesting a pause on some tariffs (see here), the situation remains confusing and unstable (like… what happens after 90 days?).
Right now, I’m gathering updated quotes from both China and Europe to evaluate where production is most affordable and, importantly, which option has the least impact on U.S. backers. Up until just two days ago, printing in Europe seemed like the safest path—now, that’s less clear.
Will someone end up with a worse deal? Possibly, but it’s difficult to say who, or to what extent. The final decision may need to be made close to the start of production, and while I can’t rule out additional costs for U.S. backers*, I’ll do everything in my power to minimize the impact.
That said, we’re navigating forces well beyond our control. At a certain point, we all need to recognize that these broader shifts are happening—and they’re not something any one of us can fix alone. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we do our best to find the most balanced and sustainable path forward.
– Tommaso
*No backers outside of the U.S. will be affected by tariffs whatever happens.
Reminders
You can always access your Pledge Manager survey from HERE. Orders are locked but get in touch if you need changes.
I can finally share a preview from the Valraven Core Book: the first three chapters, totaling 48 pages. These include the full introduction and the entire system chapter, giving you a solid look at the mechanics that drive the game.
Character creation, setting, and Gifts will be covered in the next release—but for now, this is your chance to dive into the core engine of Valraven and see what makes it tick.
You will get an email with a download link from Backerkit. Please check your SPAM folder before reaching out. Feel free to share your thoughts on our Discord Server.
Where are we?
The Book of Eclipse is practically complete. The only remaining elements are a dedicated sheet for playing the solo mode with the full mercenary Company, along with some final layout tasks—namely the credits and the table of contents.
As previously mentioned, I’m a bit behind on the Core Book, but progress is steady and I’m catching up quickly. Here’s a snapshot of the current situation:
I believe it’s realistic to have the final PDFs ready before summer, and to move into print production during the summer. That timeline gives us some flexibility as we continue to monitor the ongoing U.S. tariff situation, which could significantly impact where we choose to print.
According to Rascal, books should be exempt, but other components—such as dice, playbooks, and accessories—may be subject to new tariffs. Unfortunately, the current U.S. administration has proven erratic, with a tendency toward sudden policy shifts that complicate long-term planning. Production and fulfillment are multi-week processes, and at this stage, we have no reliable way to forecast how the situation will evolve.
In that sense, taking a bit more time to finish everything might work in our favor. We’ll continue to monitor developments closely and update you as soon as we have clearer information—or at least a well-informed direction.
It’s already funded and we’ve started to unlock stretch goals.
Bitter Chalice is a dark fantasy adventure TTRPG that drops you into the Blighted Lands—a cursed region around the fallen city of Vathan, where people live with constant thirst, hunger, and creeping madness. Unlike your typical TTRPG, this isn’t a toolkit—it’s a complete, handcrafted campaign in the vein of Elden Ring, Hollow Knight, Bloodborne, and the Dark Souls series.
The game comes in a beautifully designed box set with three full volumes, featuring a complete ruleset, the game campaign, an intro campaign, several thematic classes to pick from, places of origin, a solo mode and much more. The game revolves around a huge map filled with mysterious locations to uncover. When you find one, you add a sticker to the map. Exploration is sandbox-style, so you can go wherever you want. Each location has different events, items, and NPCs, and your actions in one area affect what happens in others. There's a lot more to it, like managing resources and time (things change according to the time of day, and finding non-infected food is part of the gameplay to escape either hunger or madness, etc.).
TL;DR: Today we’re sending out a preview of the Scenarios in the Book of Eclipse!
Scenario Previews
All the Scenarios from the Book of Eclipse are now translated, edited, and laid out. Since they're playable with just the Quickstart rules, I thought it was a good time to give you something to have fun with. If you have backed the Book of Eclipse, you will receive a preview file including:
Windmar’s Destiny Extended Version (the Quickstart Scenario featuring new Scenes)
The Invader (a stand alone adventure or sequel for Widmar’s Destiny)
Sancta Sactorum (by Claudio Serena from Fumble GdR)
The Birth (by Michele Paroli from Mana Project Studio)
The Scenarios feature images from Tommaso Lucchetti, Samuele Zardinoni and Andrea Guardino.
The email with the link comes from Backerkit. Please check your SPAM folder and make sure you have backed the Book of Eclipse before reaching out. If you haven’t pledged for the Book of Eclipse and now regret your life choices you can still do the Late Pledge for it HERE, and you’ll also get the files.
TL;DR: We can finally show how the tarots will look!
The new tarots
In a previous update, I shared insights from Valraven’s author, Alberto Tronchi, on the changes we made to how Tarots work. You can read that update HERE, but in summary: Tarots are now better integrated into the game, allowing not only Players but also their Characters to use them in-game for exciting and impactful moments.
Today, I want to showcase the graphic design changes we’ve made. Valraven’s Tarots are divided into three distinct decks, which are never mixed: Major Arcana, Faction Cards, and Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana represent archetypes, characters, and powerful concepts that shape the divination process. The Faction Cards indicate which Factions are involved in the reading, while the Minor Arcana, structured around the four Seasons that define a game of Valraven, provide additional details about timing, circumstances, and more.
To make these distinctions clear, we’ve created unique card backs for each deck. A reference card will serve as a handy legend, explaining the meaning of the icons. Additionally, we’ve designed new symbols for the Minor Arcana, inspired by the seasonal icons used in the book. The original illustrations, reminiscent of medieval miniatures, were beautifully detailed but too intricate to work as suits, particularly for the higher-numbered cards.
We’ve put a lot of thought into making the Tarots a compelling tool—one that adds depth and a sense of discovery, making them a game within the game. We can’t wait to see how these beautifully crafted cards look once printed!
Below is a selection from the full 72-card deck.
Are we on track?
I’m making great progress on the Book of Eclipse, currently working through the translation of one of its largest chapters. However, I’m not as far along as I’d like to be with the translation of the Core Book. Over the next few weeks, my main focus will be making progress with Valraven’s translation, and I’ll provide a revised timeline once I have a clearer picture. That said, I may need a bit more time than anticipated to ensure the final product meets the high quality standard that defines our games.
On the bright side, several Scenarios and additional chapters are already in layout, and I hope to share some of them in an upcoming update—something to keep you engaged while I finalize the rest.
We've pushed this back a bit to allow for the full delivery of our previous Lost Stories campaign, which should be completed by next week. The release date for Bitter Chalice will be announced as soon as I feel comfortable finalizing it.
Bitter Chalice is an adventure role-playing game set in a desolate fantasy world. The story takes place in the Blighted Lands surrounding the once lush and now cursed city of Vathan, where the inhabitants are condemned to a life of thirst, hunger, and madness.
Bitter Chalice is structured to be a different experience to traditional TTRPGs: think of it as one huge, highly curated game campaign that comes with its own rules. The game aims to evoke the feel of a TTRPG Soulslike: an intoxicating and challenging journey into a dark, immersive world inspired by Hollow Knight, Bloodborne, Elden Ring, and Dark Souls—but without the relentless fight/die/repeat loop.
Get two Harry Conway (Magic the Gathering, D&D) art prints for FREE on top of any physical pledge you make during the campaign, just by signing up HERE (use the same email you use for your Kickstarter account)
Reminder
You can always access your Pledge Manager survey from HERE. Orders are locked but get in touch if you need changes.
