Update for Books 3 and 4
6 months ago
– Mon, Sep 22, 2025 at 10:34:20 AM
Hi all,
Just a quick update to let you know that all maps and artwork are now complete and everything is with our designer putting it all together. Above you can see my three legged cat, named Grumpuss, helping our artist , Archie Crisp, sketch out the beautiful Nastilean vista in Book 3.
Thank you for your patience with the extra copies of books 1 and 2 in the downloads. We don't seem to be able to get Kickstarter to delete these without spending hours/days doing it myself. Do get in touch via Backerkit if you are in a pickle.
For your information- the official correct copies are bolded but the others are simply repeats.
DMR - Book 1 - The Pilgrims Road
DMR - Book 1 - The Halls of the Underking
DMR Book 2 - Halls of the Underking
DMR - Book 2 - The Halls of the Underking
VTT copies of the maps for books 1 and 2 are now available in your download
Hope to be reporting the release of the next PDFs really soon.
Best wishes Mel
PDFs for Books 1 and 2 Released
7 months ago
– Tue, Sep 02, 2025 at 01:56:04 PM
Hi everyone. We have been waiting on our designer to gets the layout of Book 2 sorted and he is now finished and Oliver has made all the bookmarking to allow you to jump to new references by clicking on them.
IMPORTANT for those who have already started The Dark Moon Rises: If you are carrying on the same party from either the Sample Version of Book 1, or from the Fort Holdfast VIP game, the reference you need to turn to has changed.
For various space and design reasons, we’ve had to change the starting reference to 22. So, if you are carrying on your adventure having completed either of the starter products, turn to 22 in order to continue your adventures.
If you are planning on starting again, and have the Fort Holdfast VIP adventure, you can now use this when you reach reference 128 in Book 1.
When the last PDFs are finished, we’ll go back and change the instructions for our Sample Version and Fort Holdfast retrospectively.
Corrections: Please get in touch if you notice any errors and we can update all PDFs and make the printing run even more accurate. We do check everything carefully but the occasional mistake does slip through sometimes and we would love to put things right.
Book 3 and 4 are nearly there too, we are still working on the art for book 3, and book 4 still has some maps to go: poor Jose tore a ligament in his leg and couldn't sit at his computer for some time but is a very fast worker so everything should come together soon.
HOW DO I DOWNLOAD MY PDFs?
Go to your Backerkit page and click on downloads . If you have any problems please contact [email protected] or contact me via Kickstarter private message.
The test playing has been fantastic, with really exciting and tense battles. It may well be even better that the Domain of the Deathless King- we'd love to hear what you think.
Thanks
Mel
PDF's Coming Soon
8 months ago
– Tue, Aug 12, 2025 at 11:37:53 AM
Greetings from a rather hot UK at the moment.
We are sad to tell you all that due to personal difficulties and the loss of a close friend, our lovely artist Wills Shorten has regretfully had to pull out of completing the illustrations for the books. We will miss the incredible detail and care that Wills' art shows and his gloriously quirky style. All his pictures are crafted from pen and pencil with no AI or computer graphic support at all.
We are pleased to tell you that Gwyneth Thomas has taken on the artwork for Book 4 and this should be complete very soon. We also have another artist working on completing Book 3 , who is working as close to Wills' style as he can.
We will be locking all accounts in about a week as we will be releasing the PDF's for Book 1 and 2 as soon as possible; once they have done the final back and forth between designer Bruce Kennedy and Oliver Hulme, who ensures all the bookmarking is completed. (Bookmarking allows the user to click on the number in a PDF and it takes you to the correct reference automatically) Then as soon as we have artwork completed for three and four those PDFs will be released to you too. Anybody who has included Domain of the Deathless King in their pledge will also receive all the PDF's for that.
Current situation
Book 1 is 100% ready
Book 2 is complete and currently in design- it just needs to be returned to Oliver for all the bookmarking to be done and then turned into the final PDF then books 1 and 2 will be released- probably early next week.
Book 3 and 4 are complete except for the last artwork pieces and the to and froing that happens in design.
We hope to have 3 and 4 complete by early September .
Anybody spotting errors in the PDF's (we have tried hard not to make any ) is welcome to contact me via [email protected] and we can make any corrections before we go to print. Also you can contact me for any address changes if you miss updating them yourself on Backerkit.
We apologise for being slightly later to release the PDFs than we hoped, but sadly this was not something that we had expected. We will do our best to get through to print as quickly as we can.
We look forward to you continuing your pilgrimage. Beware the Stranger and threats closer to home...
Very best wishes
Mel
Progressing Towards Moon Rise
9 months ago
– Tue, Jul 08, 2025 at 02:30:53 AM
Hi Everybody, just a quick update to let you know the progress on The Dark Moon Rises.
Oliver has completed the writing of all the books and has been planning and balancing all the major battles and getting Jose busy on designing the battle maps.
All 4 books: written
Books 1 and 2 :Edited
Book 1: Currently in design
Book 2: About to go into design
Battle Maps: Map sets 1-3 complete. Working on book 4
Books 3 and 4 about to be edited.
Art work complete for books 1 and 2. Books 3 and 4 being worked on now.
Realistically we hope to release the PDF's in August and printing will follow hot on their heels.
Also for all solo role players out there our friend Martin Nouch is currently running a kick starter for his series of books The Steam Highwayman. He describes it as an 'Open-world adventuring and solo-roleplay in a steampunk land that never was.'
Do take a look as there is a free download available:
In Princes of the West, the fourth book in the open-world gamebook series, you will explore Devon and Cornwall. Rob the rich and defy the Guilds, but with new and dangerous challenges. Drawn into a power-play between the factions of Free Cornwall and a Constabulary spymaster, the Steam Highwayman’s choices are more important than ever… Smuggle brandy on the coast! Explore the wilds of Dartmoor! Venture underground into mines and caverns! Take to the skies aboard an airship! Rob the rich, give to the poor and steam off into the night!
- Extended quests with wide-ranging consequences
- Enjoy the life of a roadside brigand or a chivalrous hero
- ~300 pages; 1800+ passages
- Rewards include all four volumes of Steam Highwayman, large colour maps and extras
- Free sample available immediately
- Kickstarter runs 1-30 July 2025
Our writer Oliver is a big fan of these books and has them all on his bookshelf. He would thoroughly recommend them .
Australia, Canada and PDF's
11 months ago
– Wed, May 21, 2025 at 09:33:50 AM
A huge thank you to all those who have answered their survey, we are 77% complete which is excellent and has allowed us to make a few changes. The most important relate to those backers in Australia and Canada.
Australia and Canada
Due to the current global trade instability, postage prices have gone wild, especially coming from the US. As a result we are changing the location from which backers in Canada and Australia will receive their packages. You guys will now have your pledge rewards posted from the UK.
For Canadian backers the cost will be the same, however you will receive your parcels much quicker than had they been sent from the US. You do not need to do anything, we will handle everything from our end.
For Australian Backers, not only will your books be sent earlier but you will be due a refund / reduction in your postage charge if you ordered the larger bundles. What we will do is add this credit on to your account before the orders are locked and cards charged. Again, you do not need to do anything as we will be making the reductions manually on every relevant account.
For those who have ordered the single book and map pack, there will be no reduction but you will receive your books earlier, however, for those who have backed the higher pledges there will be. You will be able to see the credit on your Backer Kit account when it is added.
PDF's and Book Numbers
We have had a few questions come in regarding the add-ons that people can get through Backer Kit. Thank you to everyone who has jumped on board and ordered extra goodies. Please remember:
- For Domain of the Deathless King there are five adventure books and five map packs in the series. For The Dark Moon Rises there are four of each.
- PDF's copies come free with any physical purchase you make. You do not have to buy digital copies as well.
- To upgrade your pledge, select the small 'Switch your Pledge Level' link on the Welcome page underneath the big green 'Get Started' button. 👇
That is everything for this update, but as always, if you have any questions please send us a PM here on the KS page or an email to [email protected]
Thanks as always,
Mel
