It's the final stretch! + Stretch Goal Updates
4 months ago
– Tue, Jul 23, 2024 at 03:55:57 AM
For all of you who've already joined us on this journey, and all yet still to join us in the final 9 hours... Thank you for all of your support!
Kickstarter campaigns are always a bit of a whirlwind, but we're always so grateful to everyone who shares in our enthusiasm, vision, and passion for what we do. We're just shy of reaching our final stretch goal - and we haven't announced what it is yet, because we want you to vote for what you want to see included! If we can reach £40k before campaign end, we'll be posting a poll with a selection of options for you to choose from - and whichever wins will be a guaranteed new addition to the book. And if it's a close draw between two (or more)... we might just include several!
To get there, though, we need some help for the final push - we've been doing everything we can to share awareness across our social media accounts and across our marketing channels, but every share from you is absolutely invaluable. Tell your friends, your Discord servers, your Twitter followers - we want as many people to join us here in Gravehallow, and with your help we can really pack out the taverns with new visitors.
For those wondering how development is going, the manuscript for Mausoleum is currently 89,688 words long; that’s three times longer than The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, almost twice as long as The Hound of the Baskervilles, and longer than Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Grey. So you can imagine just how much game content we've packed in!
Now included is a brand new subclass - yes, that's right! We hit another stretch goal overnight and will be adding a new subclass inspired by the English tradition of Sin Eating - more announcements on that one soon ;)
We also now have 30 unique creature stat blocks currently fully written - and 8 more in the draft stages! We have also just hired on Mariya Sviridova, who illustrated our incredible creature artwork in Herbarium, to do the same for Mausoleum.
There are a few more things in the works, but we figure we'll keep those as special treats for the post-campaign celebration! Needless to say, we think you'll love them as much as we do.
Once again, thank you for all of your support throughout this wild little ride. We can't wait to have Mausoleum in your hands very soon!
Fen & the Crow & Crown team
Download the setting preview today! + Stretch goal updates!
4 months ago
– Fri, Jul 12, 2024 at 08:03:02 AM
So we were thinking of uploading some short previews of Mausoleum every day to keep you guys dangling, but we figured... why wait? We've uploaded a BIG chunk of the book's contents (the parts that we can show you, at least) for you to download and read today! This setting preview includes an overview of the city of Gravehallow; a look into its history, from its founding to the Unrest; an introduction to the Temple of Virtus and the Order of Roses; and a guide to the Tower of Transcendence and the Order of Moths.
Some parts have been hidden and some have been removed - for the sake of avoiding spoilers or while we finish polishing those sections off - so you may encounter a few untied threads in there; but otherwise this gives you access to the content as it will appear in the final book. Obviously there's MUCH more to come... but we think this is a pretty good introduction!
Click here to download the setting preview for free!
In other news, we're blitzing through our stretch goals! Yesterday we passed another goal, which means that not only can we upgrade the paper stock that we use for our printed books to make them extra special, but it means that we can write new items into the book and commission even more art.
If you're a magic item goblin like we are, don't forget that you can upgrade your pledge to the Grave Goods Bundle before the campaign ends. At this tier we'll write you a set of three matching items inspired by you, a loved one, your D&D character, or anyone you want - alongside fully illustrating them and featuring you with a special mention in the credits. We did the same for Herbarium, our previous Kickstarter, and loved writing each and every one of them - we had a gift for a wedding and even one for someone's grandma!
We're particularly excited to get to the new subclass stretch goal, as our early playtests are proving that it's a really fun one - we've only got 11 days of the campaign to go though, so please make sure to share this campaign as far as you can! For some reason we've ended up stuck right down at the end of Kickstarter's search algorithm this time around, so every share really helps us to not just fund this campaign, but also any future books we have planned. And trust us, we've got quite a few in the works!
If you do want to keep track of what we're up to outside of our Kickstarter endeavours, you can follow us on social media on Twitter or Instagram.
Catch you on the next update,
Fen
Memento Mori: Gravehallow's City Map
4 months ago
– Wed, Jul 10, 2024 at 01:32:47 PM
We've shown a few small versions of Sveta's BEAUTIFUL Gravehallow map, but it's time to show it off in its full glory! Not only did she do an incredible job with the information that we gave her, but she added a lot of little details that inspired us to write some new locations too. Here's some of the main districts of Gravehallow that you’ll soon be exploring!
Doors to well-tended shops and airy libraries stand open, inviting in browsers and buyers alike, and above you can hear the clamour of birds who circle the crooked Dispatch tower. On occasion a figure in the blue and gold robes of the Order of Moths rushes past you, busy with their tasks; crossing paths with the black and red uniforms of heavily-armoured fighters from the Order of Roses. Above everything is the heavy, thunderous roar of the Great Thunder waterfall, casting the city under its cold, misty cloak.
Upper Gravehallow is the name given to the city district directly beneath the Reach. Divided by the three Thunder Rivers and a lattice of bridges, it is home to the prestigious Temple of Virtus and the Tower of Transcendence, as well as the Masters’ Crescent, the centre of the city’s politics, and other notable sites. A far cry from the cramped sprawl of Lower Gravehallow below, it has established itself as one of the more desirable parts of the city to visit… and the cost of a room at the taverns here reflects that.
Narrow streets are loud with the sharp call of market barkers, and black alleyways gape either side of the roadways, leading you down towards unknown endings. The air, humid with river-mist, carries on it the scent of woodsmoke and refuse. Rats dart along the gutters, and you have to adjust your stride to avoid puddles of murky, unknown liquids. The people here are hard-faced and wary of you, eyeing you as a threat… or an opportunity.
Tucked away beneath the cliffs, the streets of Lower Gravehallow are narrower, darker; the city’s meagre sunlight blocked out by tall buildings and an almost-constant haze of smoke and mist. Those who live here make the best of their lot; it’s not uncommon to find doorways and windowsills cheerfully painted with images of night-blooming flowers, stars, and moons.
Lower Gravehallow still manages to cultivate a thriving culture of business and community, as young entrepreneurs who cannot afford the high rents of Upper Gravehallow have set their roots in the lower wards, and visitors here will find themselves spoiled with the amount of souvenirs, magical components, and unique magic items available to purchase. From the expansive Emporium to the macabre Remains to be Seen, there are stores a-plenty in this district; and for anything that cannot be sourced in a legal manner, there is always the monthly Lunar Market…
What parts of the map have caught your attention? Let us know and we’ll do a little feature on them next!
There's a little cave above The Last Drop that Sveta added in for fun, but which really caught our imagination - there's a little secret hidden in there for anyone who goes exploring!
Stretch Goals & Subclass Sneak Peeks
4 months ago
– Tue, Jul 09, 2024 at 09:44:02 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Fully funded in 3 hours!
5 months ago
– Thu, Jul 04, 2024 at 08:14:10 AM
We’re thrilled to announce that Mausoleum has been fully funded in just three hours! We know how special this book is already, but it’s really special to see others believing in us just as much.
This update comes a couple of days post-funding, but we were taking a well-earned break after the run up to the launch - and now we’re back we’re delighted to see that we’re really close to our first stretch goal! This will include a digital art pack of artwork and maps for you to use at the table, as well as a Mausoleum player’s guide for you to distribute to your players - all the information they’ll need to start playing in Gravehallow but without any secrets you might want to surprise them with later.
We’ll be sharing some of the content from the book soon for you to enjoy as a special treat for backers - let us know what you want to see in the comments! Perhaps a sneak peek at the new subclasses, or a few locations, maybe some of Gravehallow’s unique festivals? We’ve got plenty to share throughout the campaign so help us decide which one comes first!
Thank you once again for joining us in Gravehallow and sharing in our enthusiasm 🦇
Fen
