I am in awe everyone, thank you so much for supporting our Steampunk revolution. It means so much that you threw your lot behind us and helped us fund the next instalment in RUIN's journey. YOU, our awesome community, helped us manifest this, and your faith in us as creators means the world.
So, what comes next?
Now, we have our mandate from fans, and the Ruin REBORN project adds itself to the lineup of Ruin content we've got planned over the coming months.
We will be running regular updates over the coming days, weeks, and months with development through BackerKit here (more should we have pressing news or updates we simply can't wait to share). HOWEVER, if you want to be more involved in the game's development, or want to take part in one of Brandon Berryhill's (in)famous DELVE live-play events within the RUIN setting, then join the RUIN DISCORD SERVER. That's your chance to cement your character into RUIN lore and have a good time doing it (if Brandon doesn't kill you off of course!) New Delvers are always welcome (again... not to replace the ones Brandon kills off. They just have new characters now.)
Anyway, thank you all for an amazing campaign. Your support means the world to us, and here's to a wonderous age of RUIN steampunk adventurers!
This is just a quick update to say that we're extending the submission window for getting your NPCs into the roleplaying game. That means you have a few more days to submit your characters. We hear you. This isn't a hard cut off, don't worry.
Quick advice: don't overthink your submission! We'll be helping you build your NPC character out and make them fit the setting. There's no need to do your research into the setting in this submission timeframe. We're just trying to make sure we can lock in this fan NPC cast so nothing gets held up on the production end. Plus, we need that time to sketch your characters.
A huge thank you to all of you who have submitted your characters to either myself or Brandon Berryhill. It's great to see such a range of old-established characters and new ones made specifically for this game. It's going to be fun finding roles for them in the scenarios.
Above: just a few of the participants from the previous 2 Delve events, permanently engrained in RUIN lore.
New Delve Event Starts Soon
In other news, RUIN's author Brandon Berryhill is setting up to start a new Delve event on the RUIN Discord server. It's completely free to join. We do it because it was fun the first two times, and it bridges that gap between us as creators and you guys as fans. Who says creation has to be lonely?
For those of you joining us through this campaign, Delve events are fun in-world RPG-lite events where players participate in the story being written on the go by Brandon (the author), vote on party actions and roleplay with us and other fans. Brandon writes the excerpt, presents the story and the choice to the group (sometimes there are specialised votes based on character classes), and a 12 hour voting period starts where the story's direction is decided.
As always there's absolutely ZERO AI involved in these Delves. Just good ol' fashioned creation, with occasional spelling mistakes. Being live, we tend to miss stuff in our editing passes. That never seems to bother anyone though!
Above: excerpts from the RUIN DELVE events - in-world RPG-lite games we run to have fun with fans.
We've done two Delve events so far, one of which (The Hunt for the Clockwork Bastion) has now been adapted into the campaign book for the Roleplaying Game. So these are real in-lore events that players can help shape. And we have an absolute blast running them. It helps us stretch our storytelling muscles whilst just creating some awesome memories with some good people.
Above: excerpts from the Hunt for the Clockwork Bastion Delve story as the fans dictated it. We're having a ball adapting a lot of this story into the RPG.
So, if you would like to take part, then that's super easy. It's just a matter of joining the Discord, and simply casting your vote on story choices. You don't have to interact if you don't want to. You can just watch and enjoy other players' characters interacting with eachother and sometimes being given very creative deaths.
Sidenote: if you're participating in the Delve and you REALLY don't want your character to be killed off, just tell us. We're not evil. Well... I'm not. Brandon does have a history of killing of player characters, but we've had serious talks about that kind of behaviour.
Lastly, RUIN REBORN ends in just one week! How that time has flown. So if you're still thinking about joining us, you're very welcome indeed, and let me know if you have any questions at all!
Submit your NPCs now! 🫵 (We're Sketching Characters)
Hey!
Submissions are NOW OPEN for getting your characters into the RUIN Roleplaying Game. Now is your chance to get your player character sketched and cemented into the lore of the setting.
Above: Sabot and Callista from concept sketch to final print-ready illustrations. Artist credits: Ben Mills (Concepts) & Brandon Ellis (Print-Ready)
In case you missed it: we're adding fan characters into the game's campaign. This includes their likeness (sketched by our concept artist Ben Mills), their personalities (for players to interact with, gain information from, etc) and their load-outs (because, you know, people fight, a lot).
There are TWO ways you can do it:
1) Send your NPC details to either myself or author Brandon Berryhill on the RUIN Discord OR 2) Send your NPC details to [email protected]
Whichever way you choose, submissions are open for 1 WEEK starting today. After that, the character roster is getting LOCKED IN.
(PREVIOUS DELVERS: Players who participated in the 2024 and 2025 Delve Events with us, your characters are already being implemented. No further action is needed from you. However, if you would like to have a hand in how your character is portrayed in the Clockwork Bastion campaign, then just get in touch with us as you have in the past and you can work with us on where you are placed and what part you want your PC to play.)
Above: Players who took part in the Delve Events back in 2024 and 2025.
What We Need:
This doesn't need to be fancy. It can be something you draft up in 5 mins, so don't feel like you need to give it too much thought. Whatever is submitted and approved for the game will be heavily-worked-with by us so as to not break the setting.
1) Your Character Name This doesn't have to be RUIN-specific. Most Venturers in this setting use nicknames. 2) Your Character Backstory This doesn't have to be RUIN-specific either. Just make sure you cover basic emotional beats/ motivations. We can work with you on a RUIN-specific flare for the NPC dossier, as well as your character's reaction tables. 3) Your Character Likeness (Optional) This can be a Hero Forge mini, a picture of yourself, or just reference imagery. Whatever you like! 4) Your Character Loadout There's always a chance your character will be involved in combat at some point. Covering their basic fighting style will help us in that regard.
Where Your Character Could Be Placed:
We have left roles to be filled within the game's campaign. Your character doesn't have to conform to any of these templates. They're just guidance.
1) Active Rival Expeditioneers These are characters who player characters will need to compete with/ work with in the mad scramble for the Clockwork Bastion. They could be rivals, potential turncoats, or something else entirely. 2) Retired Expeditioneers These are characters who got out of the game a while back and are keen sources of information/ helpful allies. These characters are a more interesting fit than just vendors and locals, and likely more fitting for your character with their established history of adventuring. 3) Characters with Interesting and Deep Backstories We've already been surprised by the depth of some character backstories, so much so that we implemented them into the Delve storylines. So who knows, maybe your NPC character arc could be too good to pass up, just like Smazmicks' down below...
Above: the infamous Smazmicks was killed in the first Delve event, and so we brought him back in the second in the form of a Clockwork Shepherd with a mechanical herd. Needless to say he was killed off again, but the herd certainly came in handy! This is just one example of a fan character heading in an interesting and unforeseen direction.
What You'll Get:
Crowdfunders are great opportunities to shape the projects you back. And it's fun as heck for us to tap into the sheer creativity around the hobby. So if you choose to get involved like this, here's what you'll get in return.
1) A Sketch of your Character to Keep Our concept artist Ben Mills has been sketching player characters for the last 2 years. Every chosen NPC gets to work with him to hone their character's look. 2) A Piece of your SOUL Cemented into RUIN Lore It's not quite as Faustian as it sounds. It's meant to be fun! But this will ensure that you can leave a lasting stamp on the RUIN mythos as we go forward. 3) The Chance to Work with us on Future RUIN Campaign Development This is a ludicrously creative hobby, and collabs help us steer this ship in the right direction. If you've got a mind for design and story, then let's chat and see where this goes. That's all for me today. Submissions close October 10th.
As always, if you have any questions, let me know in the comments! I'm always lurking around there somewhere.
NPCs wanted 🫵 Fan character sketches and NPC Submissions
Hello Venturers!
What an awesome first few days! 🔥 That was our best launch yet, so from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for helping us bring this project to life.
(We're ahead of schedule with book development. Head to the bottom of this update for our development progress tracker!)
We need your help with something.
Last year, Ruin's author Brandon Berryhill and I (Joseph) ran one of our Delve events. Participating fans voted in a live story on the RUIN Discord server and we inserted their characters into RUIN canon. Plus they were sketched into lore by our sketch artist, Ben Mills.
Above: just a few of the fans who made it into RUIN lore by contributing to the Delve event!
Well, their characters are set to feature in the Roleplaying Game campaign, complete with personalities and reaction tables. But here's the thing...
We need more.
You've likely got a character. Your character is likely dear to your heart. So if you would like your character to appear in the RUIN Roleplaying Game, then now is your chance to prepare them.
Next week we are opening submissions for characters.
Here is what we'll need:
1) Your Character Name 2) A Quick Background (doesn't have to be RUIN Lore specific. We'll suggest changes...) 3) Their reason for joining this Expedition (If you want to read more about RUIN Expeditions, take a look at the Quickstart Guide.)
We need 20 player characters overall. More if Brandon Berryhill and I can fit them into the campaign narrative organically.
Just a heads up ahead of time: fan involvement is really important to us, so this won't be the only opportunity for you to jump in and help us shape this.
Anyway, that's all from us for today!
Joseph & the Authocracy Team
P.S. there's a new section added to the campaign all about RUIN's incredible artist, Brandon Ellis. If you've loved his art in this project, please go check it out and give him some love.
I can now proudly say that RUIN REBORN funded in just two hours! 🔥 Thank you to every one of you who backed in the opening stretch. This means the books are happening: the Core Rulebook, Hunt for the Clockwork Bastion, A Clockwork Road and the Collector's Edition of Rise of the Liberator. They're all going to print!
The early bird is still running. If you back before Thursday 24 September, 10am PST then you'll get up to £15 (about $20) of credit to spend on add-ons in the pledge manager. (Previous RUIN backers get their veteran credit on top.)
If you've already backed: thank you. The single most useful thing you can do now is tell just one person about us. Forward this update, share the link, or drop it in your group chat. It just helps our small team make more incredible stuff! If you do, and they back, then let us know!
What's next: Come and say hello in the comments or over on the RUIN community Discord. They're good people :)
I am in awe everyone, thank you so much for supporting our Steampunk revolution. It means so much that you threw your lot behind us and helped us fund the next instalment in RUIN's journey. YOU, our awesome community, helped us manifest this, and your faith in us as creators means the world.
So, what comes next?
Now, we have our mandate from fans, and the Ruin REBORN project adds itself to the lineup of Ruin content we've got planned over the coming months.
We will be running regular updates over the coming days, weeks, and months with development through BackerKit here (more should we have pressing news or updates we simply can't wait to share). HOWEVER, if you want to be more involved in the game's development, or want to take part in one of Brandon Berryhill's (in)famous DELVE live-play events within the RUIN setting, then join the RUIN DISCORD SERVER. That's your chance to cement your character into RUIN lore and have a good time doing it (if Brandon doesn't kill you off of course!) New Delvers are always welcome (again... not to replace the ones Brandon kills off. They just have new characters now.)
Anyway, thank you all for an amazing campaign. Your support means the world to us, and here's to a wonderous age of RUIN steampunk adventurers!
This is just a quick update to say that we're extending the submission window for getting your NPCs into the roleplaying game. That means you have a few more days to submit your characters. We hear you. This isn't a hard cut off, don't worry.
Quick advice: don't overthink your submission! We'll be helping you build your NPC character out and make them fit the setting. There's no need to do your research into the setting in this submission timeframe. We're just trying to make sure we can lock in this fan NPC cast so nothing gets held up on the production end. Plus, we need that time to sketch your characters.
A huge thank you to all of you who have submitted your characters to either myself or Brandon Berryhill. It's great to see such a range of old-established characters and new ones made specifically for this game. It's going to be fun finding roles for them in the scenarios.
Above: just a few of the participants from the previous 2 Delve events, permanently engrained in RUIN lore.
New Delve Event Starts Soon
In other news, RUIN's author Brandon Berryhill is setting up to start a new Delve event on the RUIN Discord server. It's completely free to join. We do it because it was fun the first two times, and it bridges that gap between us as creators and you guys as fans. Who says creation has to be lonely?
For those of you joining us through this campaign, Delve events are fun in-world RPG-lite events where players participate in the story being written on the go by Brandon (the author), vote on party actions and roleplay with us and other fans. Brandon writes the excerpt, presents the story and the choice to the group (sometimes there are specialised votes based on character classes), and a 12 hour voting period starts where the story's direction is decided.
As always there's absolutely ZERO AI involved in these Delves. Just good ol' fashioned creation, with occasional spelling mistakes. Being live, we tend to miss stuff in our editing passes. That never seems to bother anyone though!
Above: excerpts from the RUIN DELVE events - in-world RPG-lite games we run to have fun with fans.
We've done two Delve events so far, one of which (The Hunt for the Clockwork Bastion) has now been adapted into the campaign book for the Roleplaying Game. So these are real in-lore events that players can help shape. And we have an absolute blast running them. It helps us stretch our storytelling muscles whilst just creating some awesome memories with some good people.
Above: excerpts from the Hunt for the Clockwork Bastion Delve story as the fans dictated it. We're having a ball adapting a lot of this story into the RPG.
So, if you would like to take part, then that's super easy. It's just a matter of joining the Discord, and simply casting your vote on story choices. You don't have to interact if you don't want to. You can just watch and enjoy other players' characters interacting with eachother and sometimes being given very creative deaths.
Sidenote: if you're participating in the Delve and you REALLY don't want your character to be killed off, just tell us. We're not evil. Well... I'm not. Brandon does have a history of killing of player characters, but we've had serious talks about that kind of behaviour.
Lastly, RUIN REBORN ends in just one week! How that time has flown. So if you're still thinking about joining us, you're very welcome indeed, and let me know if you have any questions at all!
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