New art options for the maps
4 months ago
– Fri, Jun 28, 2024 at 07:49:59 AM
Hi All,
I've been sitting on this update for a while, in favor of general housekeeping, but I'm excited to finally share the news that we've brought on artist Joe Keinberger to assist with painting the incredible maps of the Black God's realm that Jog Brogzin created for us!
What does this mean?
As we started to piece together all the visual elements for book layout it started to feel that there was an aesthetic disconnect between Jog's brightly-lit technical maps and Saprophial's darkly-lit surreal illustrations. To bridge that gap, I decided to bring in an old friend (and previous collaborator on Ekphrastic Beasts) Joe Keinberger—who is 're-skinning' Jog's maps by painting over the original drawings to give them a more uniform look and feel with the rest of the book.
We will still be providing all of Jog's original maps as digital downloads for those who prefer to bright, clean lines—whether as a matter of old school aesthetics or to use in VTT and other applications.
What does this look like?
To give you an idea of what Joe is doing, below is a side-by-side of Jog's original map for the Tower of Light (L) next to Joe's re-skin of it (R):
As you can see, there is a lot to love about both versions! We just felt like the maps needed an extra layer of gloom to fit into the visual palette of the rest of the books.
Wait, another artist—won't that add to the cost?
Of course! But only on our end; as with all the other post-campaign upgrades, we are absorbing the added cost and not passing any of that on to you.
Expect another project status update in the coming weeks!
xo Janaka
Monthly Updates Begin: Progress and Apologies
5 months ago
– Mon, Jun 03, 2024 at 12:47:01 PM
Hi All,
I'd like to start with an apology about my radio silence. While a few posts have been made on the Blazing Worlds Discord, and Max has done an admirable job of responding to a few queries, I know that a project update is about 6 weeks overdue.
If you'll permit me to overshare a bit (those of you who read this on Discord can skip this part)... I am the primary caregiver for my two elderly parents, who moved into an in-law apartment in my house several years ago (I know—what!? A gamer whose PARENTS live with HIM!?). Over the past few months both of them had declines in health, requiring a whole new level of care. Up until recently they had been mostly sufficient but suddenly I found myself in a position where they often required as much as 10 hours per week of care and assistance. Throw in a full-time job, and being the father to a 5yo and ... well, there's not much time leftover for anything else. I fell behind on emails, on sleep, even on basic care like daily showers ... and yes, on Kickstarter updates. Their situation is somewhat stabilized now, and work is less intense, and I'm catching up on things.
The other reason I fell behind, candidly, is that I really wanted to share another PDF or milestone update. The longer I went without writing an update the more important it felt to share something monumental. But I know that it's more important to give frequent, incremental updates, to reassure you all that we ARE indeed working on it and haven't just disappeared.
So: my apologies. I am committing to monthly updates from now on. Thank you all for your patience and your continued support—truly!
Playtesting
While we have been wrapping up content (details below) Max and I have been running some playtests—especially for encounters with the Black God itself. It's been really illuminating how different the systems are in play styles as we compare notes to how these encounters un in DCC vs 5e vs OSE. To be honest: knowing what I know now, I probably would not choose to publish a box set in all three systems at once! My friends tell me that having a second kid doesn't just double the amount of work—it increases exponentially. I would say that's also true with developing multi-system content. Nonetheless, I am very excited that this will be playable on all three systems!
General Progress Update
Micro Game: Done!
Full Digital Album: Done!
Core Book: This has been laid out for a while, and was delivered as an early PDF. We are still making some adjustments and updates and should have the final PDF ready soon.
Black God's Kiss (Module #1): All the content is written. All the art is done. It is in copyedits and and playtesting.
Black God's Shadow (Module #2): All the content is written. All the art is done. It is in copyedits and and playtesting and then it will go into copy edits and layout.
Hellsgarde (Module #3): All the content is written. All the art is done. We are wrapping up the multi-system stats and then it will go into copy edits and layout.
Encounter the Architects (Module #4): Concept art and writing in progress.
What's Next?
I will make another, smaller update soon—with some art to show, and some exciting news about our maps. I am also looking into bringing on some additional layout people to help accelerate getting PDFs into your hands now that the content of the box is over 75% done! In the meantime... Stay connected with us:
xo The Black God's Kiss Crew
Black God's Kiss Livestream Happening Now!
7 months ago
– Fri, Mar 15, 2024 at 04:11:16 PM
We are very excited that Max Moon is running a game of Dungeon Crawl Classics set in the Black God's Realm! This isour first demo play of our work on the Black God's Kiss box set!! This is part of New Edge Sword & Sorcery's livestream event for their final night of crowdfunding! And the reason behind the Black God's Kiss game for tonight is that they are publishing a new Jirel story licensed by CL Moore's estate and written by Molly Tanzer!
This streaming event is sure to be a blast and will include live dungeon synth from Fenwalker!
If you haven't checked out New Edge Sword and Sorcery yet then go back it and check out previous issues! You will even find a new Elric story by none other than Michael Moorcock within their pages!
Digital Downloads Have Begun!
8 months ago
– Tue, Mar 05, 2024 at 12:24:37 PM
Hey All,
I want to point your attention to your inboxes because digital download distribution has begun!
Who Is Getting Downloads?
If you backed the project at any reward level—
-
and you have filled out your Backerkit survey
-
and your order has been locked
-
and your card has been charged
—then you will get a link via Backerkit for your downloads!
What Is the Download?
We are actively sending out links via Backerkit for:
- A V1 draft version of the core book is going out as I type this
- MP3s of the full digital album that we created as our bonus stretch goal will go out tonight or tomorrow (this was our $120,000 stretch goal, which we fell shy of—but then decided to throw it in anyway)
What Is the "V1 draft version of the core book?"
The core book is the main campaign setting material. It includes an overview of the Black God's realm, the custom rules and mechanics related to it, and a general bestiary of the most common creatures found in the realm. Beyond the core book, the box will also contain three or four adventure modules (depending on your pledge level), the standalone game, the original short stories, and other sundry components...
This is not the final PDF, but rather a draft. A few things to note:
- We will be updating the illustrations, and moving some of them around.
- A few additional content items will be incorporated.
- We are also tweaking some stylistic choices.
- This still has another round of proofing to go through before the final version is distributed—and we already have a list of some changes that have not yet made it into this PDF.
- The distressed background is for the PDF version only; the printed version will not include the distressed background.
How Can I Access My Downloads?
You should get email notifications from Backerkit. But you can also login to Backerkit using the same link you were sent via the Backerkit pledge manager and access your available downloads at any time.
What's Next?
We should have a final PDF to share soon. In the meantime, we are also doing copy edits on the forthcoming modules—which will enter layout once we are done with the final proofs for the core book. We also have a few other exciting updates soon. In the meantime... Stay connected with us:
Enjoy your first foray into the Black God's realm!
xo The Black God's Kiss Crew
Locking Orders and Project Updates (+ a cool adjacent project)
8 months ago
– Thu, Feb 15, 2024 at 12:46:00 PM
Hey All,
I hope this update finds you well! A few updates below, but first I wanted to point your attention to a project that just launched today from New Edge Sword & Sorcery Magazine which will feature the first new Jirel of Joiry story in almost 85 years! Authorized by the estate of C.L. Moore, this story has been written by Molly Tanzer (editor of Swords v. Cthulhu, author of Creatures of Charm and Hunger, and much more). The isue is chock full of other great fiction and art, including our very own Saprophial. And check out this Jirel on the cover!
Go back them now to spread the Jirel of Joiry love.
And now onto our updates:
Locking Orders and Charging Cards
You'll be getting a notification from Backerkit about locking orders. After you get this notification, you'll have 48 hours to make any last minute changes to your order. This includes a last chance to add any add-ons. After 48 hours, all orders will automatically be locked.
Once the order is locked, we'll move on to charging cards—which we wanted to hold off on until well after the holidays.
These are the necessary next steps before we can begin distributing digital materials (like PDFs and the soundtrack).
Changing Your Shipping Address
You will still have plenty of time to change your shipping address in Backerkit before your order ships. We won't lock addresses until we are weeks away from shipping physical copies.
Progress on the Core Book
I feel a bit like a broken record here, but the core book layout is almost almost done. Derek has been tweaking and revising and says he'll have a final version for Walt to proof by the end of this week. The whole team has been having late-night Discord debates over the number of asterisks an OSE creature should have, or when we should switch from double-column to single-column text, or which information belongs in a table vs. a simple list.
Now that we have our style guides nailed down the layout on the rest of the modules should go more swiftly. That being said, we're also looking at bringing in additional hands to help accelerate layout moving forward because most of those are done—which brings us to the next update:
Progress on Modules
If you recall, we now have four (4!) modules in addition to the core book:
- Black God's Kiss
- Black God's Shadow
- Hellsgarde
- Encounter the Architects
Black God's Kiss has gone through the first round of copy-editing and should be ready for layout in about a week. Black God's Shadow and Hellsgarde are both in editorial review and should be ready for copy-editing in quick succession. Encounter the Architect's is still being developed, but should be ready for copy-editing by the time we're through with the other three.
Looking Forward
Your patience and support mean everything to us on this journey. We're all in to make the Black God's Kiss box set absolutely epic. Another update's coming your way soon!
Stay connected with us:
Thank you for sticking with us through thick and thin. We're getting close!
xo The Black God's Kiss Crew
