In huge news, Netcrawl:Acrologies won a Golden Fez at Total Con 40! I am over the moon to see the project recognized by my peers! Check it out!
Patreon
In a few scant days this Patreon turns 4 years old! Thanks for being here and supporting my, I guess, award-winning work!
CPU Quarterly
Print order for 50 copy run of Netcrawl Programmer Handbook, update patch 2.0 has arrived! The PDF was also refreshed at DriveThruRPG. If you're a CPU member from January to March, I'll be mailing you out one. In fact they just went out yesterday. There'll be a handful of extras available for purchase on horsesharkgames.com.
Patreon Product Updates
I am removing PDFs and T-Shirts from the Patreon. You can still buy access to Patreon posts there, but all other electronic and physical goods will be available at horsesharkgames.com. By the way there are only 4 T-Shirts left in stock two Larges and two 2XLs. If the shirt fits, get one!
Media
Netcrawl is getting some attention in the RPG news cycle. A couple articles in the web press scene and a 3 page in depth write up in Knights of the Dinner Table. Check them out!
And on top of that those crazy boys over at Exalted Funeral chatted about Arcologies on their "what's new" show Coffee and Coffins (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz6xeVvjcog)
And that's it. The US fulfillment campaign is done. Thanks to all the backers that made Netcrawl possible!
International
After an unusually long delay at the border, all the books for international backers has arrived in Canada and are now in Ratti Incantati's warehouse. Last update was some boxes were ordered for shipping.
Events
I had a tremendous week in Massachusetts! I spoke to game design students at Fitchburg State University about Netcrawl and then we played the scenario out of the back of the book. About 15-20 people watched and gamed.
Then I attended Total Con 40. I was able to meet some new people like Jeffrey Talanian (Hyperborea RPG), Erik Tenkar (Tenkar's Tavern), and Ian McGarty (Silver Bulette) put names and faces together like meeting Wolf Manzella, Jayson Elliot (Solarian Games), Bryan Larkin (Arcane Sword Press) in person, and see good friends like Joey Royale and Tim Duchene.
I played DCC RPG: Hellpits of Nightfang with Judge Tim Duchene presiding and Shadowdark with Ian McGarty (DM) & Ed Murphy. A game of Munchkin was also played with a bunch of cool folks from Solarian Games.
Then of course I was honored to be a Golden Fez Award winner late Saturday night!
Up Next
In a couple weeks I fly to NYC to give a talk at SUNY Stony Brook and then I'll visit the Long Island Table Top RPG Expo. If you're going to be there let me know.
Happy New Year, everyone! This is probably the penultimate update for the campaign!
First up a Patreon announcement.
I am adding a physical gift for the CPU members. Each quarter I'll print some of the Netcrawl Programmer's Handbooks and mail them out. They will be a simple affair: regular copy machine paper with a saddle-stitched color card stock cover. I'll sell extras online and at conventions. Now is the time to activate those CPU supporting memberships! You must be a CPU member for 3 months to get one in your mail boxes.
BackerKit
I have begun to send out the email inviting you to redeem your free mp3 of the Netcrawl Theme Song by Loot the Body! You need to sign up for an account, but after that you can enjoy all sorts of independent music purchased directly from the artists. Don't forget to follow Loot the Body, too!
Turns out mail merge is a pain and costs all sorts of extra money. The first 200 codes have gone out already. Everyone should have their access code for the song by the 24th or 25th of this month.
International Fulfillment is underway! I'm happy to announce that Ratti Incantati will be handling the fulfillment and carrying Netcrawl RPG on their website (https://rattiincantati.com)! This first step is already complete. All the books for the international backers are on their way to Canada. After that they will get packed up and sent in the mail. I'll let everyone know when that begins.
Netcrawl WorldNet Tour 2x26
It's time to get Netcrawl RPG out into the meatspace and at a table near you!
First off the Horse Shark Games convention/appearance schedule:
February 19-22 - Total Con - Marlborough, MA
March 7-8 - Long Island Tabletop Gaming Expo - Garden City, NY
[tentative] March 19-22 - Breakout Con - Toronto, ON, Canada
April 30-May 3 - Dungeon Con - Fort Wayne, IN
July 30 - August 2 - Gen Con - Indianapolis, IN
October 15-18 - Gamehole Con - Madison, WI
[tentative] November 5-8 - Long Con - Dallas, TX
[tentative] December 4-6 - Pax-U - Philadelphia, PA
Other Scheduled Events
May 16 - RPG Day 2026 - Ann Arbor District Library, Ann Arbor, MI
Happy Holidays, Everyone! I've been taking it super easy after getting all the US based backers their packages. Not gonna lie, I'm a bit exhausted after finishing the project. On its heels was also finishing Swords of Fury, my 5th level DCC RPG pinball adventure for Goodman Games.
Errata
Sadly, as is the case for all human work, there have been some missed errors in the final version of the manuscript. I won't cry over it, but I am working to fix those errors. In fact shortly after releasing the PDFs a number of small errors were found and fixed in a v 0.9.1 version of the Netcrawl RPG Rulebook.
Someone also found a pretty significant error in the grifter skill tables. All three skill tables suffer from some copy paste error. That will be fixed and a 0.9.2 version will come out soon. Be sure to download those revised books from DriveThruRPG.com when they come out. I will use the site's email to notify everyone of the new version. In the meantime, the beta version of Netcrawl should have correct or close to correct grifter skill progression tables (if you need a copy it should be public on DriveThruRPG, otherwise drop me an email or dm).
Backerkit Fulfillment
All backers in the US have gotten their books. Huzzah!
I am currently working with a Canadian importer/rpg bookseller for all Netcrawl's international fulfillment. Why, you might ask? Since the US has devolved into a pariah state, slapping everyone with tariffs and engaging in all sorts of unexpected and vile activities atrocities, may be its better that the packages come from a country with a non-insane government. Once we agree on price and get the books get to Canada, I'll keep you updated. January is probably when that will begin. If all goes well, Canadians will get their packages soon after and the rest of the world after that.
My last task is to get you all your copies of the Netcrawl Theme by Loot the Body! I have been remiss on this last detail. Levi is all ready to go, so it's all on me. It will be coming soon!
Horse Shark Games .com
Did you want some new books and missed all the sales on horsesharkgames.com? Well from the day after Christmas until New Year's Day you can automatically save 15% off your entire order.
Media
I am thankful for all the opportunities to talk about Netcrawl. Thanks Joey Roayle and Diogo Nogueira for having me on their shows (links below). If you have a show or social media presence and you'd like to spread the word, please get in contact.
Analog Union I'm pleased to announce that I will be joining the Analog Union newsletter! This will probably mean a lot less e-mail from me and a lot more from me and a bunch of cool indie RPG creators. That's gotta be a win-win, right!
Events
I'll announce my 2026 calendar next month. I do hope to see you somewhere next year.
So check your email for complimentary files from DriveThruRPG.com.
A note. Turns out the only reason to have Adobe Acrobat Pro no longer works. The biggest thing preventing me from releasing the PDFs was adding the table of contents links to the files. Seems there's not a terrific way to do this anymore. I'll keep working on the issue, but for now you at least have all the PDFs associated with your pledge rewards.
Fulfillment
Still waiting for the last two books to come. Things will get cooking in about 10 days. All the single Netcrawl RPG books are either out or about to go in the mail. This includes about 6 international backers.
At this moment the campaign is 24% finished!
U-Con
Now I prep for U-Con. If you're going, please find me and say, "Hi." I'll either be in the OSR room or in the vendor hall. You can even send your friends to buy Netcrawl books.
The main rulebook arrived yesterday! I picked it up directly from the printer in Chelsea, MI. Which means some packages will go out this week and a few more to follow in the next week maybe even some international packages.
Netcrawl rezzed into the meatspace.
There are two books still in production. Arcologies is at the printer and will arrive on the 14th of November. Generative Scheme is awaiting the map and as soon as that's done, off it goes to the printer. I have a date from the artist. If that happens, then I should have the final book of the campaign back by the 19th.
U-Con is the 14th-16th of November. I may get a few packages out, but realistically the soonest the next wave will start probably the 17th.
The Waves
First Wave is Netcrawl RPG only backers.
Second Wave is backers who do not have any of the adventures in their rewards.
Third Wave is everything else.
I'll try to sneak in international as I can, but it just takes longer.
Loz Box Last week I cancelled pledges that have never provided a good payment method nor responded to any requests to update. Usually that is not news. However, one of the incommunicado had pledged to receive a Los Box. If anyone wants it, it's available for $50. Contact me directly at [email protected]. **** UPDATE **** That box has found a home.
Web Store As mentioned in the October Update, my website https://netcrawl.io is up and I'm even adding other older DCC/MCC RPG compatible content. Exclusive River of Lies and Cats of Rahtlü deluxe sets with crowdfunding extras. I'll even put the WorldNet Map and the Pad of Character Sheets up soon.
Let's Keep in Touch As fulfillment begins this project will soon grow old and die. It doesn't have to be the end. https://netcrawl.io comes with an e-mail newsletter thing. So give the website a visit, scroll to the bottom and put an email in the box.
