Layout revisions complete! All game books getting a last proofread. New illustration of Guillaume's damned soul!
3 months ago
– Tue, Dec 30, 2025 at 04:36:58 PM
No surprises this month. In the last updates, we anticipated wrapping up all the layout revisions for all 6 of the game books by the end of December. I got the last one finished up yesterday. Not only that, but I polished the microgame board and components a bit more. We also got a killer new illustration from Saprophial!
Spoiler Alert: I'm going to talk about Black God's Shadow, so if you haven't read it yet, run away...read it...then come back.
Remember when Guillaume's demented soul is running around whispering all over the Black God's Realm? And Jirel was chasing him with her guilt? Here is Saprophial's bizarrely gorgeous interpretation of that lumbering umbral creep.
I'm not sure how much you all have seen of the microgame. It ended up being two games each with a solo mode. Here are some screenshots for your anticipatory pleasure.
And here's a preview spread from the Black God's Gambit rulebook:
So the question that looms as much as the Black God's psychic presence is, "What does this all mean for our delivery timeline?"
We don't have an updated timeline for you yet, but I can share some next steps.
- First, all the revised layout files are going back to our editor for a final proofread. My guess is that he will catch at least something in each book, but those will be quick.
- Once that is done, I will check in with our printer to get all the export settings and profiles set up to their specifications and send all files over. This won't take much time, but again, I anticipate they are going to find some issues we will need to resolve.
- Once that is done, we will get our digital proofs to ensure that everything is going to come out as planned.
- Once we have approved all proofs, we will get a timeline from our printer.
- Then we will communicate with our fulfillment partner and start working on sending them fulfillment information (SKUs & addresses).
- Meanwhile, there are some smaller things that still need work, but will move fairly quickly, so we are focusing on all the big work first. For example, I will be working on the interior J-card and setting up files for print for our cassette soundtrack. That shouldn't take me very long, but there are lots of little items like this. We will have lots of time while the books are printing to get cassettes made and I anticipate cassettes will make it to the warehouse first.
- Once all items have been received at the warehouse, our fulfillment partner will give us a timeline on delivery, and we will let you know as soon as we know.
So, yes, there is a lot left, but nothing like a serious revision of all 6 game books. We will keep on our monthly updates during this time. And I am posting a bit more work in progress over in our Discord server. And we continue to talk about running a game of Black God's Kiss in OSE or DCC at some point for Discord folks!
Okay, that's all for December. Talk again in January!
By Night,
Max Moon
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Progress on layout revisions
4 months ago
– Sun, Nov 30, 2025 at 02:20:37 PM
Once again, thank you so much for making this project a reality. We know how crazy behind it is, and it only makes us more grateful for everyone who bet on us. We are working so damn hard to deliver something worth the wait. And every time I open up the files, I am reminded of how great it is turning out.
One of my biggest joys is when a setting provides enough tools that you can really pick it up and run with it with little to no prep, and this is delivering. I have run a couple of sandbox games just letting players explore the Black God's Realm, and it has been killer. One of these days, we will get a game going over on our Discord server.
PROGRESS UPDATE
We are in a steady flow right now, working towards finishing all layout revisions by the end of the year. We don't have a ton to update you on right now, but here is an overview of the work that is happening/has happened since the last update.
I have started revisions to the layout on the following books:
- Core book (mostly done)
- Kiss module (mostly done)
- Shadow module (needs a significant amount of work)
- Gambit rulebook (mostly done)
- Architects module (mostly done)
I have completed the Hellsgarde book, and the files are ready to submit to prepress. Once we get everything past prepress and into production, we will start prepping the PDFs for distribution.
I am planning to focus on finishing Encounter the Architects next. Pacing is looking good to wrap up by the end of December.
We have also commissioned an additional illustration from Saprophial, which I am excited to share with you all once it is complete!
By Night,
Max & Janaka
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Project Update: A Note on Inconsistencies and Our Commitment to Quality
5 months ago
– Thu, Oct 30, 2025 at 01:52:05 PM
Hi all,
We owe you an overdue check-in on Black God’s Kiss, and we’re truly grateful for your patience while we’ve kept our heads down working.
During prepress, we spotted some inconsistencies across the books. We also noticed some issues with how the illustrations were used. No one person is at fault—over the life of the project we worked with three layout designers, and a few images were never used, a few landed in the wrong volumes, and some were reused when they shouldn’t have been.
We know that transition creates opportunity for error. So, rather than hand it off again, we made the decision to bring the fixes in-house. Janaka has completed a thorough art audit for all books and Max has picked up the remaining layout work to make the necessary corrections. It’s careful, slow work—but the core book revisions are just about finished, and we’re moving through the rest with purpose. Because those changes caused text to reflow, our copy editor and proofreader, Walt, will give everything one more pass before we send files to the printer. We want you to open this box set and feel that every page was cared for.
We know this isn’t the update you were hoping for, but please know we are inching ever closer, and we’re taking the time to get it right. We expect to complete all revisions by the end of December. That may sound like a long amount of time, but keep in mind: there are seven books in this box, totaling over 400 pages of writing, tables, maps, illustrations, and indexes. We’ll check in again as soon as this phase is wrapped, or let you know that we are still working on it.
Thank you for sticking with us—we can’t wait to share the artwork and the books you helped bring into the world! Your support means more than we can say.
By night,
Janaka & Max
Flaming Hand
Update: Tariff Challenges & Our Path Forward
7 months ago
– Tue, Sep 02, 2025 at 02:30:51 PM
Friends,
We’ve spent the past several months in deep back-and-forth with Panda Games, trying to find ways to shield Black God’s Kiss from the escalating tariff nightmare. When this all started, we assumed we could ride it out—chalk it up to political theater and economic ignorance that would stabilize with time. Unfortunately, it seems the new trade reality is here to stay, and it’s been moving under our feet every few weeks.
Here’s the journey we’ve been on:
Brazil Option – We first explored shifting manufacturing from China to Brazil. But Brazilian tariffs have now spiked even higher than China’s, closing that door.
International Fulfillment – We looked at routing everything through a Canadian warehouse and fulfilling U.S. orders individually to avoid a bulk import. That plan collapsed when the de minimis exemption was abolished.
Breaking Up the Box Set – Since books remain tariff-exempt, we considered splitting the set: books in one box (exempt), the standalone game in another, minis separately (possibly even made domestically). But the added complexity and new manufacturing specs would wipe out any tariff savings...
The Dice Question – The last element we’ve been debating is dice. They look great, but let’s be honest: you already have dice. And they’re one of the few components we can remove without breaking the product’s core vision. After running the numbers, eliminating dice from the box set is the only change that meaningfully reduces our exposure without spiraling into endless redesigns.
So, here’s where we’ve landed:
The box set will move forward as originally envisioned—minus dice.
To make up for the missing dice, every backer will receive a coupon credit at flaminghand.com, so you can grab something special from our shop when the time comes (and there are lots of special things in our shop, with new items being added monthly).
Each one of these 'solutions' took weeks of back-and-forth, only to be upended when our Orange Crap Golem in Chief decided to move the goalposts again. But now we’re done chasing phantoms. The set stands as planned—just leaner by one set of dice.
We’re locking in specs with Panda and moving as swiftly as possible toward manufacturing. If tariffs suddenly spike into the 100%+ range (as has been threatened), we may need to hit pause and rethink again. But for now: the work is steady, the path is clear, and the set is alive.
Thanks for bearing with us through the labyrinth of global trade. We can’t wait to get Black God’s Kiss into your hands.
By night,
Janaka & Max
Flaming Hand
Production Update: August ⚔️
8 months ago
– Thu, Jul 24, 2025 at 03:33:34 PM
Hi all,
Not much to report this month—we’re in the weeds updating manufacturing specs and finalizing quotes.
Honestly, this part of the process has been frustrating. I was hoping we’d be further along by now, but international tariffs and shifting costs keep throwing new hurdles in our path. For example, we recently looked into using our manufacturer’s plant in Brazil to avoid certain fees—only for tariffs from Brazil to spike shortly after (surpassing China). So it was back to the drawing board as we keep exploring options that won’t compromise the quality or scope of the box set.
Thank you for your continued patience—we’re inching ever closer, and I look forward to sharing more concrete timelines soon.
In the meantime, come hang out with us in the Flaming Hand Discord! Built on the ancient temple of the Max Moon Games discord server, it is already a thriving, chaotic, creative hub for TTRPGs, miniature gaming, the occult, music, art, and more. Some of you are already there, and we’re excited to bring the rest of you across the veil... You can also check out our new shop at flaminghand.com.
By night,
Janaka & the Black God’s Kiss Crew
Flaming Hand
