Production Continues on Stealing Stories for the Devil
almost 2 years ago – Sat, Apr 30, 2022 at 01:08:57 AM

Greetings, Liars—

In our last update we gave you a peek inside the layout of the three books—Liars, The Devil, and The Stories They Steal—in Stealing Stories for the Devil. Production of the game continues apace, with components moving through production prototyping, and some elements moving into the actual manufacturing stage.

Here’s one example: a production prototype (sometimes called a “white sample” because it has all the physical elements in place, but isn’t printed) of the Act indicator. This will serve sort of like a mini-GM screen, indicating to everyone where the players are in the story, while providing useful GM and player info. The Act indicator lays flat in the box, and then folds—as you see below—when in use, clasped by a set of embedded magnets!

Stealing Stories for the Devil remains on schedule. But Old Scratch is up to his eyeballs in shenanigans these days, and we remain cautious in our outlook. Production could still be affected by factory lockdowns or materials shortages. And international freight continues to be dicey. We’ll continue to keep our ears to the ground and let you know if any Twists or Turns should complicate our story.

Have You Heard About Old Gods of Appalachia?

The woods are thick here, a tangle of ancient trunks and limbs that groan and sway like lungs breathing their last desperate gasps.

But these trees—moss-etched and rife with the hungry mouths of a thousand hungry insects, these broken fingers grasping for the moon-hung sky—these trees are not what you understand as being . . . alive. No, this cursed clutch of branch and shadow is something else entirely, something born of blood and betrayal, nurtured with petty thoughts and poison promises.

You breathe and they breathe. And through them, beneath them, all around them and around you, something else emerges. From all the tales you were told, all the books you read, all times you were told, "Don't go," you expected darkness.

She is light.

Ball lightning come to earth, tendrils touching each tree like a long-lost lover arrived home at last, the earth beneath her cracking deep as it gives itself up to her. Forward she moves, or maybe she moves you, and when she stops or you stop or the world stops, there are no woods, no grove nor ground. There is only her and you and what comes next.

Dazzled, your mind says mother. Your mind says beloved. Your mind says run and retreat and no.

This, this is what you have come for. She is who you have come for.

She lifts her blinding head, one eye black and deep as a coal mine, and she says, "Ask."

What do you do?

Old Gods of Appalachia is a roleplaying game of the Green, the Inner Dark, and things even more ancient. It is set in the Alternate Appalachia of the Old Gods of Appalachia podcast, the eldritch horror anthology that won the 2021 Discover Pods Best Overall Podcast and Best Audio Drama or Fiction Podcast awards.

The Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying Game is a complete TTRPG driven by the Cypher System. It's a hefty corebook with everything you need to play, including complete rules; character creation; extensive lore of Alternate Appalachia in the 1920s and 1930s (plus guidance on playing in other time periods); a bestiary of creatures and entities from the Green, the Inner Dark, and elsewhere; magic; equipment; adventures; and more.

The Kickstarter for Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying Game is our biggest and most exciting to date—with over 10,000 backers and nearly $1,500,000 (so far), it’s one of the biggest RPG Kickstarters of all time! It ends next week, so get in on it now for some really stunning exclusives and amazing Kickstarter-only deals.

Thanks again for your support!
—Team MCG

Production of Stealing Stories for the Devil Is Underway!
about 2 years ago – Sun, Mar 27, 2022 at 02:22:37 AM

Greetings, Liars—

When last we spoke, Stealing Stories for the Devil was entering the layout phase. We’re pleased to let you know that it is moving out of that stage and into production! The factory began work on some of the initial components—those that take the longest to make—a few weeks ago. The books, which have the most intensive layout and proofing phases, are wrapping up and moving into production in a matter of days. The last remaining elements get turned over to the factory in the next week or so.

(As it goes these days, the state of the world requires a caveat. We’re on schedule internally and we have some padding built into our plan. But manufacturing and overseas freight are subject to shortages and delays—and just like the Twists and Turns the Devil throws into your game, they hit right when you least expect. We don’t foresee any specific setbacks, but please keep in mind that they may be lurking out there.)

In the meantime, here’s a look inside Liars, the largest (and least spoilery) of the books that come in your copy of Stealing Stories for the Devil:

Roll Versus Evil and Support Ukraine Relief!

Monte Cook Games is partnering with RollVsEvil to help evacuate and resettle Ukrainian refugees and combat human traffickers who are exploiting the crisis. You can help—just by playing a game!

Here are the basics: You play Numenera, a Cypher System adventure, The Strange, or any RPG you like on Saturday, March 26th. We have a menu of special actions the players can take for a small donation—like $1 to reroll a die, $5 for a player intrusion, or $10 to pull a random cypher for immediate use—and players throw their money into the pot as they use them. At the end of the game, the GM donates that money at the RollVsEvil website. It’s fun, and it’s for an urgent cause!

(Can’t make a game happen on Saturday? You can play anytime you like—Saturday is just the first big international push for this program.)

You can find all the details on the MCG website.

Tidal Blades

Welcome to Naviri, a peaceful paradise full of promise—and in dire need of heroes! It’s a gorgeous archipelago in which crocs, turtles, humans, and fish-folk trade, travel, and study. And a world of cooperation, science, delight, and celebration.

But like any society, Naviri has its share of dark corners, dark dealings, and dark characters. And far out at sea, the Fold, which for years has kept the great sea monsters at bay, is failing. A new generation of heroes is needed to protect Naviri from these growing threats—and whatever else is waiting to break out of the Fold.

The 416-page Tidal Blades: The Roleplaying Game corebook includes everything you need to explore and adventure in the world of Naviri. Designed entirely in-house here at Monte Cook Games, it’s on Kickstarter now!

Our Next Big Project!

In the mountains of central Appalachia, blood runs as deep as these hollers and just as dark. Since before our kind wandered into these hills, hearts of unknowable hunger and madness have slumbered beneath them. These are the oldest mountains in the world. How dare we think we can break the skin of a god and dig out its heart without also calling blood and darkness?

Long before anything human roamed the Earth, the Appalachians towered tall and menacing. The mountains’ might was made a prison and tomb for beings of immeasurable malice and incomprehensible madness. A place to hold them; to keep them, perhaps forever, from dimming the light above.

But time shows no mercy, not even to mountains, and now they lay bare and worn like an old man’s spine. The walls of the prison grow thin, and those that have slumbered soundlessly for millennia begin to stir.

And they call to those who would hear them.

Old Gods of Appalachia, a roleplaying game of the Green, the Dark, and things even more ancient, comes to Kickstarter soon. Sign up to be notified, and get an exclusive Barrow & Locke scrip coin with your pledge!

Thanks again for your support!
     —Team MCG

Stealing Stories Is in Layout
about 2 years ago – Wed, Jan 26, 2022 at 11:20:22 PM

Greetings, Liars—

Things have been pretty quiet here on the update front for the past couple of months, but behind the scenes we’ve been moving along at a brisk pace. Stealing Stories for the Devil is in layout now!

It’s really exciting to see this game move into its final stage—all of the words are in hand, the art and GM resources are pouring in, and we’re beginning to see the final product take shape. We'll start sending the initial components—elements that take the most time to manufacture—off to production in just a few weeks. The bulk of the game will follow in March, once we’ve completed layout and fully proofed it.

In the pre-COVID era, we’d be able to safely say that we remain on track for our August fulfillment goal—on track to beat it, in fact, as we hope to do. These days, however, the time it takes to get something made—and particularly the time it spends in transit from the factory to our warehouses—can be subject to a few Twists and Turns. Currently, our factory (a trusted partner we’ve worked with on many projects) doesn’t anticipate any delays. But with supply chains what they are, they can’t make any promises. And after that we’re up against the uncertainty of international freight.

We will, of course, keep you informed. In the mean time, enjoy a few new pieces of art from Stealing Stories for the Devil—including our first peek inside the Celeste. We’ll have more to show, and perhaps a look at some of the layout, in the weeks to come!

Thanks again for your support!
—Team MCG

Time to Redeem Your Best Game Ever from The Devil Made Us Do It!
over 2 years ago – Thu, Nov 11, 2021 at 11:56:39 AM

Hello backers!

It's time to redeem Your Best Game Ever in print and PDF, an add-on for The Devil Made Us Do It!

If this is one of your add-on rewards, please go to the MCG Shop and log in to your account. From the account page, click Coupons (in the left hand menu) and you will see all of your available redemption coupons (you won't see coupons for any rewards that are still in production). 

[If you don't already have an account on the MCG Shop, it's easy to make one. Simply complete the registration using the email you told us you'd use on the BackerKit survey.]

Once you're logged in to your account, click on a coupon to redeem it, or click on the Add All Product Coupons to Cart to redeem all of your coupons.

Clicking on a coupon adds the product and discount to your cart. Once you've added all the coupons you wish to redeem, click on the cart symbol to get to the checkout page to complete your redemption.

We guarantee a Kickstarter reward will be available for you to redeem for up to a year beyond its release date. (This means you can wait a bit to redeem your reward so that you can combine rewards for cheaper shipping, if you'd like.)

If you've added any PDFs to your cart, they are available immediately upon checkout. For print and physical products: Domestic USPS shipping is a flat rate of $7, but you may choose to upgrade to a different service if you wish. International shipping is charged using current shipping rates.

Projected Timeline of Release of Rewards

• Stealing Stories for the Devil: August 2022*
• Deluxe Stealing Stories for the Devil: August 2022*
• Stealing Stories for the Devil in PDF: August 2022*
• Liars in print and/or PDF: August 2022*
• Who the Devil Are You? in print and/or PDF: August 2022*
• Stealing Stories Dice Set: August 2022*
• Devil's Dandy Dogs: December 2022
• Devil's Dandy Dogs Dice Set: December 2022

*We'd like to deliver Stealing Stories for the Devil to you in June 2022, and that's what we're planning on. But global supply chains—for all sorts of products (and especially boxed games)—are in turmoil right now, and that's expected to last into 2022, when Stealing Stories for the Devil will go to press. For that reason we've given ourselves a couple of extra months, and have committed to August 2022 for delivery.

If you have any difficulty with the reward redemption process, or questions about your rewards, please email [email protected] or use the MCG Contact Us page. We respond to messages Monday - Friday from 8 AM - 4 PM ET, except for holidays. We are a small team and your patience when contacting us is greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your support!
  —Team MCG

A Journey into the Planes

You’ve taken your game into the Darkest House. The newest Kickstarter from Monte Cook Games takes it into the planes.

Think the planes are just for high-level characters? The Planebreaker—an enigmatic moon that hurtles through the multiverse, crashing from one plane to the next—opens the way to characters of all levels. You can even begin your campaign on the Planebreaker, with character species and subclasses from the Planebreaker itself and the many realities it has visited. Path of the Planebreaker opens the full range of planar exploration to low-, mid-, and high-level characters.

Planebreaker is on Kickstarter now. Check it out!

Locking Down BackerKit and Charging Cards
over 2 years ago – Thu, Nov 04, 2021 at 10:37:24 PM

Hello wonderful backers!

As Update 15 said, design work on Stealing Stories is complete, Who the Devil Are You? has moved into editing, and design work on The Devil’s Dandy Dogs is progressing well.

Today through BackerKit, we will be locking down orders and charging cards for any add-ons that you wish to purchase. 

If you or someone you know joined the campaign through BackerKit, we will also be locking down those orders and charging cards. The preorder store will remain open a bit longer for any who still wish to join in the campaign.

In either case, whether you backed through Kickstarter or joined us in BackerKit, if there is something amiss and your card fails to charge today, please don't worry that you will lose your rewards. At a later date, we will attempt again to charge those cards.

And remember! We don't need to know your address, because you will tell us your address through the MCG Shop each time you redeem your rewards.

Thank you for supporting this campaign! We appreciate you and are working hard to get these products into your hands!

~Team MCG