As we write this update, the campaign has passed its scheduled end point. But BackerKit has a new feature: as long as people keep pledging, the campaign remains open. Additional pledges are still trickling in! At this moment, we're just a hair shy of hitting the stretch goal and unlocking Good for What Ails Ya.
Perhaps we'll hit the $800K mark, or perhaps we won't—but even if we don't, we're so close, and we so very much want to make this new item, that we're going to do it. Consider the stretch goal unlocked!
We're going to call it a night, even though there are still pledges coming in. From the bottom of all our hearts: THANK YOU for your support! Your enthusiasm for this game has brought us three new wonderful tomes that will greatly enrich your gaming experience, not to mention all the other cool rewards like the dice set and tin, Resource Deck 2, t-shirt, stamp set, witch jar, trucker hat, and more!
We do want to give you a heads up on next steps, but there’s a few things to take care of first.
Many thanks are owed to our wonderful partners, Cam Collins and Steve Shell of DeepNerd Media, without whom the amazing property Old Gods of Appalachia wouldn’t exist.
And we must acknowledge the wonderful MCG team. Led by Shanna, MCG designers Monte, Bruce, and Sean are already hard at work on the new books they will be bringing to life for you. Bear and Javier coordinated the artwork and graphic design for this campaign, and will be making the books and other rewards as beautiful as they are functional. Jen, Olivia, and Kate have provided answers and are always available to provide support to you, our wonderful community. Teri, Dominique, and Tammie have corralled the words and tamed the logistics. Charles, the man behind the curtain, has planned and run this campaign.
Together all of us from both DeepNerd Media and Monte Cook Games send you our deepest gratitude. Your support brings the imagination of both teams to life.
Here’s what to expect as we move forward from here.
The Immediate Future
Running a crowdfunding campaign is hard work. We’re looking forward to the weekend and getting a bit of rest. You may not hear from us for a little while, but don’t worry. As we’ve said, the design team is already at work on these titles. We’ll post updates when we have something exciting to share.
The Next Few Weeks
BackerKit began collecting pledges the moment the campaign closed. But it takes them a full two weeks to release those funds, along with the data on our backers, to us.
In the meantime, we will get the pledge manager fully set up. The pledge manager gives us information we need to fulfill your pledge and lets you manage your add-ons and make any upgrades you want. We’ll notify you when we open the pledge manager, which should be in about three weeks.
The Next Few Months
Once you’ve completed the pledge manager survey, we won’t need anything else from you until it’s time to start fulfilling rewards. We’ll be busy crafting your products and rewards in the months to come. We’ll post regular updates but, if you don’t hear anything for a few weeks, don’t fret.
At the same time, please pay attention when you do get communications from us. Our emails and updates include critical information about your rewards.
When Your Rewards Ship
Every time a reward is ready for you, we’ll contact you by email to begin the fulfillment process. Generally, we’ll direct you to the MCG Shop, where you’ll log in, “buy” the product (for free, because you’ve already paid for it through this campaign), pay for shipping for physical items, and check out.
This is an important part of the process because it ensures we have accurate delivery information for every item we send out. (With thousands of backers getting rewards, it's amazing how many people will change their address over the fulfillment period.) You'll pay for shipping at that time.
Make sure to pay attention to communications from us—don't let our updates or emails go to your spam folder, or otherwise ignore them, because if you do you could miss out on some of your rewards.
But What’s This on the Horizon?
The Woods watch you as you wander, lost among the trees. The Woods don't care. The Woods see you isolated, lonely, and in terrible danger. The Woods don't care. The Woods are ancient (eternal?) and vast (infinite?). You are small and brief. Hardly worth noting—to the Woods.
Discover why mankind has always feared the wilderness.
Can your characters escape the Darkest Woods before they are consumed by them? To do so, they'll need to discover and master ancient, primal secrets and perhaps even fundamental truths... about themselves.
Mythic witches, horrific monsters, hateful spirits, cannibalistic cultists, and other dangers have always called the Darkest Woods home, but even the cruelty of the woods in winter, of a burning forest filled with charred ghosts, of a region haunted by things churned up in a flood, or of the truly twisted inhabitants of the region known only as the Backwoods test the mettle of any who find themself lost within its dusk-dark, twisted paths.
The Darkest Woods is a standalone TTRPG mega-adventure and setting in the spirit of The Darkest House, usable with any rule system. You can insert The Darkest Woods into any campaign—including the one you're playing right now. The characters drawn into its mysteries don't even have to all come from the same world, campaign, or game system. So many challenges await. But the Woods don't care. You are on your own.
Brought to you by the mind that brought you the horror masterpiece The Darkest House, The Darkest Woods is coming to your game soon.
