The Weird

The Weird
12,000+ Weird Ideas!
19
0
0
20 days ago
by Monte Cook Games

Hello, backers—

Monte and the design team have been quietly plugging away at The Weird over the past months. We’re pleased to tell you that the design phase is about over. The book is moving into development and editing now. Layout isn’t far away!

(We say “about” because a book like this doesn’t have a hard stop. If one of the designers suddenly says, “Wait! I have another cool idea!” we might be able to squeeze it in right up into the layout phase.)

A normal RPG book of this size might not take so long to complete. But it’s the ideas, not the words, that take the most time and effort—and The Weird is an astonishingly idea-dense book. The current count is north of 12,000 unique and different ideas and prompts to help make your games more engaging, fun, and, well, weird.

We’ll have some art to share, and maybe an early peek at layout, in the not-too-distant future.

In the meantime, signups for The Magnus Archives Roleplaying Game are now well north of 6,000, just a week or so after we announced it. This one is looking like it might set some records!

Thanks again for your support!
—Team MCG
Read the full update
Let’s Get Weird!
21
0
4
3 months ago
by Monte Cook Games

Hello, backers—

It’s been a couple of months since our fantastic campaign for The Weird. Our design team has been hard at work finishing up the book and preparing it to move into editing, layout, and production. This book has an amazing density of ideas—whereas a typical RPG supplement might have many cool, even mind-blowing concepts per page, The Weird has dozens or even hundreds of them. Page after page. List after list.

Here are just a few of the many, many topics the design team has been working on, with an example weird idea from each:

  • Weird Weather: Rain that washes away memories
  • Weird Curses: The victim's face is erased, leaving only tiny pinholes for eyes, nostrils, mouth, and ears on a blank expanse
  • Weird Materials: Liquified hate
  • Weird Food: A still-living fish pinned to a wooden board
  • Weird Space Anomalies: Deck plating and bulkheads begin sprouting strange growths that resist herbicide
  • Weird Cities: City buildings dangle from the limbs of a gigantic tree

That’s just half a dozen of the over 5,000 (so far!) weird ideas that Monte, Sean, and Bruce have already assembled as they work to make this title the most inspiring game aid in your collection!

We’ll keep you updated as The Weird moves into future stages. For now, everything’s on track, and we’re excited about what a great resource this book is going to be!

Adventures in the Cypher System


Sign up to be notified about our next campaign and get a free bonus with your pledge. Whether you’re a Cypher System veteran, or completely new to this fast-paced, narrative-focused RPG, this campaign will offer great rewards, cool products, and exciting surprises.

Thanks again for your support!
—Team MCG
Read the full update
Smoke Tests Ongoing; Surveys for All Coming Soon!
17
0
5
5 months ago
by Monte Cook Games
Greetings wonderful backers,

This is a mini-update to let you know that we've started opening BackerKit Pledge Manager for The Weird—huzzah!

The first step in opening BackerKit Pledge Manager is to send surveys to 5% of backers from each pledge level (the 5% of backers to receive surveys is selected at random). BackerKit calls this step the Smoke Test. Once the surveys are sent, BackerKit collates data on the response rate, the proportion of support inquiries received, and the add-on purchase rate to let us know if the survey and pledge questions are working appropriately.

Once we’re sure all is well, surveys will be sent to all remaining backers). This process—from Smoke Test to sending surveys to all backers—will take a few days to complete, so please be patient. By the end of the day on Friday, all backers should have been invited to BackerKit Pledge Manager for The Weird.

Happy gaming,
Tammie and Team MCG

Read the full update
This Campaign Has Come to a Wonderful Close
19
0
6
6 months ago
by Monte Cook Games
Thank you so much, backers!

Because of your support, along with that of well over 4,000 other backers, The Weird, The Glimmering Valley, The Weird Deck and Sites Deck, the minis, the dice, and the beautiful deluxe edition of The Weird are all going to be awesome!

We have some cool news to share about our next campaign! And we want to give you a heads-up on the next steps. But first, a few words of thanks:

While this campaign rolled along, Monte and the design team (Sean, Bruce, Shanna, and Dominique) were working hard on The Weird and the early phases of The Glimmering Valley. Bear, supported by Javier (and the many great illustrators they work with), coordinated the artwork and handled the graphic design of this campaign; Teri and Tammie wrangled words and logistics; and Jen and LaTia provided answers and support to you, our wonderful community, here and everywhere gamers congregate online. The man behind the curtain of this campaign is Charles, who has planned and run this campaign.

All of us at MCG want to extend our thanks to you, our backers. Your support brings our imagination to life and to thousands of game tables.

OK, here’s what to expect as we move forward from here—and a peek at what’s next!

This Evening and the Next Few Days

Running this campaign has been rewarding and fun, but running a crowdfunding campaign can also be brutally demanding. And most of the MCG staff has been keeping up with our regular duties throughout—shipping your orders, releasing new titles like The Darkest House, and moving existing projects like the Old Gods of Appalachia RPG toward completion, as well as working on The Weird and The Glimmering Valley.

We're already in the early stages of design for The Weird and the other items you've made possible. We'll be quiet as we spool up but you can expect regular updates as we make progress on design and production (and of course, when we begin fulfillment). If you have questions, feel free to send us a message, but don't be concerned if you don't get a response right away, as we'll be taking a short break and then heading to Gamehole Con over the next couple weeks.

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.

In the meantime, we will get the pledge manager fully set up. The pledge manager lets you confirm all the information we need to fulfill your pledge, manage your add-ons, and even (if you like) upgrade your pledge level. We’ll notify you when we open BackerKit, which should be in two or three weeks.

NOTE: The pledge manager is vital to getting your rewards. We CANNOT FULFILL your rewards if you don’t respond to the pledge manager!

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.

At times during this period, you won't hear from us, maybe for a couple of months. Don’t worry if that happens—over the years we've delivered millions of rewards to tens of thousands of backers on time, and we'll be working diligently on yours.

But 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), 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.

This was a wonderful campaign, and we are very happy you chose to be a part of it. Thank you all for your support, and for setting out with us on this weird journey into inspired gaming!

Adventures in the Cypher System—Our Next Campaign!


A cypher is a secret. Something cryptic; something not everyone understands. It holds potential. Promise.

The Cypher System is the critically acclaimed game engine that powers any campaign in any genre. It's easy for beginners to learn, but offers all the depth, nuance, and complexity you want. Some people call it “rules-light,” but it has the power and sophistication of games that are much more mechanically heavy—and yet it is substantially more flexible. GMs find the game easy to prep for and easy to run—it frees up the GM’s attention, in prep and at the game table, to focus on cool, creative ideas rather than numbers, mechanics, and “crunch.” Players find it fast-paced and character concept oriented.

Sign up to be notified about Adventures in the Cypher System, our next campaign. Whether you're an experienced Cypher System player, or are just thinking about testing the waters, this multi-book campaign will hold exciting surprises for you!

Thanks again for your support!
—Team MCG
Read the full update
The Player’s Book is Unlocked!
19
0
2
6 months ago
by Monte Cook Games

Thanks once more, backers!

We’re in the closing hours of this campaign, and you’ve unlocked another stretch goal: The Glimmering Valley Player's Book, a campaign-exclusive expansion to your rewards!

This title will be a separate product (in print and PDF) that has everything a PC from the Glimmering Valley would know about their home region. It provides details about the village of Neandran and the important individuals who live there, including the culture and customs and how the PCs might fit in (or not). It also presents information about the valley, including significant sites, flora and fauna, and local dangers to be wary of, conveyed through evocative art as well as text. Lastly, for players brand new to Numenera, it provides a general overview of the world and the background, but all from the point of view of someone in the Glimmering Valley. Every backer who gets The Glimmering Valley will get this book with it.

This is an exclusive for this campaign—as a print item, it won’t be available elsewhere. Thanks for making it a reality!

Thanks again for your support!
—Team MCG
Read the full update
It’s the Final Hours, and We’re Closing in on ANOTHER Stretch Goal!
13
0
0
6 months ago
by Monte Cook Games
Thanks to your support, backers, we’re on the verge of yet another stretch goal. It’s the final day of this campaign, and we’re looking good to unlock it—with your help.

We’re now less than $10K from unlocking the Player’s Book for The Glimmering Valley. That’s about 100 average-sized pledges. If you have a moment, please share or tweet something about this campaign. You could retweet this tweet, or share this post—or share your own thoughts. Three minutes of your time could really help seal the deal on this cool stretch goal!

This has been a fantastic campaign, and we’re having an exciting final day. Thanks again for your support!

—Team MCG

Read the full update
The Weird Deluxe Upgraded—Next Stretch Goal Is Eye-Opening!
14
1
0
6 months ago
by Monte Cook Games
COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENTS
The Glimmering Valley Player’s Book! A short primer that immerses players in the valley and the Ninth World.
We did it! This project reached this goal!

Goal: $400,000 — This goal was reached on Oct 7, 2022 4:22pm PDT


Thank you again, backers!

This campaign is now in its final week—just a few days left! We moved purposefully through the quieter, middle portion of the campaign, and, fittingly, that progress has unlocked yet another stretch goal. We've upgraded the deluxe version of The Weird once more. What's next? We have a bunch of exciting things to share—but first:

Tell Your Friends—Tell the World!

Share this online raffle to help reach the next stretch goal and unlock new content and upgrades! BackerKit crowdfunding is a relatively new platform, so new backers don't stumble upon exciting campaigns as easily—but tweeting, posting, and talking about The Weird, in any form or format—helps spread the word. 

Share the raffle!


Let's Pull Your Players into the Glimmering Valley

Our next stretch goal is a campaign exclusive! We want to bring the Glimmering Valley to life in the minds of your players, and to do that we want to make a special item just for them. The premise of The Glimmering Valley is that it's a great launching point for your campaign—the place your PCs grew up; their home. Naturally, they know the area, its people, its terrain, and even its dangers, as well as you know your own home town.

The Glimmering Valley Player's Book will be a separate product (in print and PDF) that has everything a player would know about the Glimmering Valley. It provides details about the village of Neandran and the important individuals who live there, including the culture and customs and how the PCs might fit in (or not). It also presents information about the valley, including significant sites, flora and fauna, and local dangers to be wary of, conveyed through evocative art as well as text. Lastly, for players brand new to Numenera, it provides a general overview of the world and the background, but all from the point of view of someone in the Glimmering Valley.

While this is a separate book, it won't be a huge product (it will be eight pages or so). And most of the content is taken from material already in The Glimmering Valley. But it's optimized for familiarizing your players with their home—adding even more depth to their backstories and their understanding of the setting that launches your campaign.

As a print product, this is a campaign exclusive: if The Glimmering Valley is among your rewards, you'll receive this additional product alongside it in the same format. It won't be widely available in print through other means, though. We'll unlock this Player's Book at $400,000.

Celebrate Our Birthday With Us at Gamehole Con

Got plans for late October? We're having a birthday party—and you're invited. It'll be held at Gamehole Con in Madison, WI, on October 22nd. There'll be drinks, snacks, gifts, and a good time, and just about the entire MCG team will be there. Gamehole Con is a fantastic mid-sized show: relaxed, but with loads of great things to do and a heavy emphasis on RPGs. In addition to our birthday party, we'll be running games and seminars and hanging out all weekend. We hope you'll join us!

New Mini Designs Revealed

As part of this campaign, we're making a set of ten minis that showcase a weird twist on conventional creatures and characters. We revealed four of them at the launch of the campaign—and now we have two more to show you!

The minis are available as add-ons, and are also part of the GONZO! pledge level—along with a bunch of great stuff at a great deal. If you aren't backing at that level, should you consider an upgrade?

How quickly can we reach our next goal? The final week is often very exciting, so let's hit it quickly and see what else can happen this week! Please remember to keep spreading the word, because it's not as easy for gamers who are unfamiliar with MCG to stumble upon this campaign the way they might stumble upon a campaign on Kickstarter. It's your help that will unlock this stretch goal—and more!

Thanks again for your support!
—Team MCG
Read the full update
Weird Deck Upgraded—This Campaign Continues to Soar!
13
0
0
6 months ago
by Monte Cook Games
COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENTS
Deluxe Upgrade! We’ll add color plates to the deluxe edition to really show the best of the weird art!
We did it! This project reached this goal!

Goal: $350,000 — This goal was reached on Oct 4, 2022 5:45pm PDT


Thank you, backers!

After a wonderful few days, you’ve unlocked yet another stretch goal: the expansion to the Weird Deck is unlocked!

Earlier in this campaign, you unlocked an upgrade to the deluxe edition of The Weird. This book is going to be really cool, with its foil cover, transparent dust jacket, and other weird and deluxe features. Let’s make it even cooler! At $350,000, we’ll add eight pages of color plates, giving a deluxe treatment to the best of the awesome artwork featured within the book.

Please remember to keep spreading the word about this campaign. This is a new platform for us, and it’s not as easy for gamers who are unfamiliar with MCG to stumble upon it the way they might stumble upon a campaign on Kickstarter. Your help getting the word out there really has an impact!

Thanks again for your support!
—Team MCG
Read the full update
Weird Stickers Unlocked!
13
0
1
6 months ago
by Monte Cook Games
COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENTS
Weird Deck Upgrade! We’ll expand this useful tool to a full 100 cards!
We did it! This project reached this goal!

Goal: $300,000 — This goal was reached on Sep 22, 2022 12:10am PDT

Once again, thank you backers!

In our second stretch goal unlock in the same day, you’ve funded the sticker sheet. Prepare to “weird up” your characters with images, replacement headers, and more, to make your character's sheet as unique as the game you're playing. This sticker sheet will be included with every copy of The Weird, so if your rewards include The Weird in print—standard or deluxe edition—you'll get the sticker sheet along with it!

Our very first stretch goal increased the content of The Weird. Let’s do the same thing for the Weird Deck. The Weird Deck is a tool for generating cool, interesting ideas at the game table without breaking the pace of your game. Want a bit of inspiration on the fly? Just draw a card. Or draw two or three, and pick the one you like best at the moment. It works just as well during prep, too.

At $300,000, we’ll upgrade the deck to a full 100 cards!

There’s lots of great buzz for this campaign. Please keep spreading the word, so we can bring in the new backer and hit this stretch goal—and more!

Thanks again for your support!
—Team MCG
Read the full update
Deluxe Upgrade Unlocked!
20
0
1
6 months ago
by Monte Cook Games
COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENTS
Weird Stickers! A sheet of stickers to customize your characters.
We did it! This project reached this goal!

Goal: $250,000 — This goal was reached on Sep 15, 2022 9:55am PDT


Thank you, again, backers!

Yesterday was an exciting first day for this campaign—thank you so much for your support, which helped us fund and unlock our first stretch goal. This morning we’ve hit our second stretch goal, and the first upgrade to the deluxe edition of The Weird has been unlocked!

Now that we’ve upgraded the deluxe edition, let’s upgrade your character sheet! We’d like to make a set of stickers to “weird up” your character sheet—because your character's sheet needs to be as unique as the game you're playing. We'll make weird images and replacement headers for the sheet, to dress up the common entries like "Equipment" and "Special Abilities." You can highlight that strange new magic item you found, or tailor the sheet to your own personal oddities. Use them to modify your character sheet however you want to make it weird.

This sticker sheet will be included with every copy of The Weird. If your rewards include The Weird (standard or deluxe edition) in print, you’ll get the sticker sheet too. We’ll unlock the weird stickers at $250,000.

Keep spreading the word! We have lots of additional upgrades and expansions—weird, practical, or both—we’d like to make to The Weird, The Glimmering Valley, the decks, and more. Let’s unlock this stretch goal, and see what else we can do!

Thanks again for your support!
—Team MCG
Read the full update
We’ve Hit Our First Stretch Goal!
20
0
0
7 months ago
by Monte Cook Games
COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENTS
Deluxe Upgrade! We'll upgrade the bookmarks— and add more— in the deluxe edition!
We did it! This project reached this goal!

Goal: $200,000 — This goal was reached on Sep 14, 2022 9:06am PDT


Thank you, backers!

What an exciting first day it’s been—so far! No sooner than we announce the first stretch goal, it seems, you have us back writing an update for the next one. Yep, the expansion of The Weird is unlocked, and Monte will add ready-made weird events you can drop into any game!

Things are still moving along at an amazing pace, so let’s talk about another stretch goal. The deluxe version of The Weird is going to be really cool, with its transparent dust jacket, foil cover, and other exclusive features. We’d love to make it even cooler, and we have a lot of ideas to do so.

Because this is a book you’ll reference frequently—at the game table as well as while prepping—the deluxe edition includes a couple of bookmarks. These will be beautiful as well as handy, featuring striking (and weird) art. Let’s improve this feature! At $200,000, we’ll increase the number of bookmarks to three, and add foil stamping and/or a die-cut design to make them truly deluxe.

Keep spreading the word! We have a number of other great ideas for improving and expanding the items you’re funding, and the more people who discover this campaign, the more of these stretch goals we can make happen!

Thanks again for your support!
—Team MCG
Read the full update
We’re Funded! Thank You for Making It Happen!
55
0
58
7 months ago
by Monte Cook Games
COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENTS
Weird Events! We'll expand The Weird with ready-made weird events you can drop into any game!
We did it! This project reached this goal!

Goal: $150,000 — This goal was reached on Sep 13, 2022 3:41pm PDT


Thank you, backers!

Things are going to get weird! That’s because, thanks to your incredible support, The Weird has already passed its funding goal. We’re going to give you the inspiration, advice, and thousands and thousands of ideas for making your game—any game—more interesting, engaging, memorable, and fun. And we’re going to take you into the Glimmering Valley, giving you a weird region of the weird Ninth World to explore in unprecedented detail!

As we continue this campaign over the next few weeks, we have a number of stretch goals we hope to hit to further inspire you. Now that we’re funded, let’s talk about the first of these:

For our first stretch goal, let’s make The Weird even bigger! We’ll expand the existing content plan (which already includes thousands of interesting, surprising, gonzo, and whimsical ideas for PCs, NPCs, creatures, places, magic items, gear, spells, abilities, names, appearances, backgrounds, plots, structures, and vehicles, for virtually every genre of play) to include weird events that you can drop into any game. These will have more detail than other categories of ideas—but they’ll still be 100% system-neutral, so you can use them in any game.

This campaign is running hot, and today has been very exciting—and the excitement is sure to continue as the day progresses! We’ll unlock this stretch goal at $150,000.

Be sure to help spread the word—the more people who discover this campaign, the faster we’ll be able to unlock this and other stretch goals!

Thanks again for your support!
—Team MCG
Read the full update