Hello, Family!

Want to try out a deeper, darker character full of secrets and new, interesting gifts? Perhaps you'll become a Ruint Speaker who Talks the Ears off a Jackrabbit. Or a Ghostly Explorer who Whistles in the Woods. Maybe you've Seen Some Shit or are someone who Would Steal the Nickels off a Dead Man's Eyes.

To get you to these ideas—and a seemin’ endless clutch of others—what about a whole new way of coming up with background and connection options? A choose-your-own-adventure-style manner of discovering more about where your character came from and what they went through before they got to this place. They might have been a hometown hero who made a bad deal, or somebody who lost it all and is still trying unsuccessfully to get it back.

That’s the sort of stuff you’re going to find in Dig Your Own Grave. And congratulations: you’ve unlocked our first stretch goal, and Dig Your Own Grave is getting bigger. Welcome to day two of our journey. We’re just hittin’ midday (Appalachian time), but the good news has already started!

Which begs the question: What’s next?

What do you do when The Taxman comes a-knockin' at your door, nearly pounding down the house, that rasped voice saying again and again, “I've come for what I'm owed”? When the rot witch grabs your ankle and spreads her melancholia and decay even through your bone armor? When the Whistler in the Woods hears your footstep break a branch, and that eerie, tuneless sound gets closer and closer and closer and you turn to run, only to find that you cannot?

Hopefully you have your Mawmaw's fiddle with its mother-of-pearl inlay that plays a tune only the bravest and best dogs can hear. And maybe a friend or two, one who found an old and powerful ring between a couple of floorboards and another who's got a bag that seems to produce almost exactly what you need, whenever you need it.

The creatures and NPCs in All Your Gods are Dead are powerful, dangerous, and sometimes willing to make a bargain or two. But you're, well, not equally powerful—that would surely be overstating things—but almost as powerful, thanks to a whole slew of new cyphers, artifacts, and weapons that you can discover, craft, buy, and barter for.

Unlock our next stretch goal and you’ll get even more. Just as you did with Dig Your Own Grave, take us to this stretch goal and we’ll expand All Your Gods Are Dead by at least 16 pages, with more creatures, NPCs, artifacts, cyphers, and other goodies to help the game master run an amazing campaign. We’ll hit this one at $500,000.

Now that the frenzy of the first day has settled just a bit, it’s up to all of us to keep getting the word out. You can find great art, info, and inspiration on MCG’s social media. Give them a share, or inscribe your own words about why other gamers should check out this campaign.

Lee Mandelo (he/him) is one of the several Appalachian and horror creatives bringing brief bits of inspiration, atmosphere, and color to these books. Lee is a writer, scholar, and sometimes-editor whose work focuses on queer/trans and speculative fiction. His recent books include debut novel Summer Sons, a contemporary gay Southern gothic, as well as the novellas Feed Them Silence and The Woods All Black. Mandelo's short fiction, scholarship, and criticism can be read in publications including Reactor, Post45, Uncanny Magazine, and Capacious; he has also been a past nominee for various awards including the Lambda, Nebula, Goodreads Choice, and Hugo. He currently resides in Louisville and is a doctoral candidate at the University of Kentucky. Further information, interviews, and sundry little posts about current media he's enjoying can be found at leemandelo.com or @leemandelo on socials.

Thanks again for your support!
—Team MCG