We faced the Fear of many, many, MANY people, but had the joy of meeting a huge number of both Cypher and Magnus Archives fans at UK Games Expo last week. We ran demos all day, every day introducing folks to how to play and GM The Magnus Archives RPG. Thanks to everyone who came to see us, catch up, and share the enthusiasm for this terrific game!
Podcast to Tabletop Seminar
We also chatted with Rusty Quill (creators of The Magnus Archives) and Sydney from Indie Boards & Cards (creators of The Magnus Protocol Mysteries) about converting podcasts to tabletop games. It was wonderful to see so many at this seminar, and great to be able to answer questions from folks interested in doing just this!
Live Play at UK Games Expo
The Magnus Archives RPG Live Play: Or How to Avoid Getting Eaten by Your Own Podcast! was a great hit. Loads of folks turned up to see Gregor, one of our UK Asset Team GMs, run the folks below through the demo scenario:
Jonathan Sims – Writer and Co-Creator of The Magnus Archives/Protocol: Playing as Pretentious Occultist
Sydney Engelstein – Indie Games Studios / Indie Boards and Cards, Designer of The Magnus Archives Mysteries and The Magnus Protocol Mysteries: Playing as Suspicious Investigator
Anusia Battersby – Voice Actor for Gwen Bouchard in The Magnus Protocol: Playing as Cheerful Elocutionist
These seminars were all recorded by Rusty Quill and we’ll let everyone know when they’re available to watch!
As summer slowly encroaches, we retreat to the dank, dark archives. These hallowed walls promise safety, understanding, knowledge, and power—or at the very least the illusion of them. Thump, thump, thump on the door. Who could that be?
Thump… thump…thump…
Wait, don’t—
Take a peek inside Do Not Open!
We’re thrilled to share that Bruce Cordell, the lead designer of Do Not Open, has some updates about the progress of the manuscript!
This is how the Table of Contents for Do Not Open is shaping up:
Introduction
Chapter 1: Descriptors
Chapter 2: Foci
Chapter 3: Backgrounds
Chapter 4: Connections
Chapter 5: Creating New Statements
Chapter 6: Playing The Magnus Archives with Cypher
Index
Here’s what he says about the contents:
In Chapter 6 “Playing The Magnus Archives with Cypher,” we're providing explicit guidance if you want to bring aspects of your The Magnus Archives Roleplaying Game (“Magnus” for short) into closer concordance with the new Cypher rules (debuting later this year in the Cypher Character Rulebook).
If you don’t care about that, well, Chapter 6 isn’t a huge part of Do Not Open, and you can easily... not open it.
However, throughout the preceding chapters, the design elements that appear in Do Not Open are being written in such a way that they’re already compatible with both the Magnus rules as they currently stand and with the new Cypher.
How can that happen, you wonder? Well, the games aren’t that far apart. Moreover, some aspects of Magnus were secretly test beds for things we wanted to try out in Cypher. The Magnus descriptor format, in large part, was one of those!
In other cases, we are simply designing certain new abilities in a way that happens to coincide with a design decision in Cypher, but is fully comprehensible from the ability description. For example, we might write a new ability that lasts until your character takes a one-action or longer recovery roll, instead of one that lasts for a minute or so. Makes sense as written, and hey, that’s how durations work in Cypher, too.
Changing the topic just slightly—check out chapter 5, “Creating New Statements.” It contains a host of prompts to serve as inspiration for you to generate brand-new statements for use in your games. Lists of prompts are provided for each part of the statement process, which can really help PCs and/or the GM quickly generate new and creepy scenarios to investigate.
We'll level the "lifepath" options in chapters 3 and 4 for a future update, since this is going a bit long. Let me finish by noting that the first draft of Do Not Open should be done and ready to go into development very soon. This week, I've been working on a few interesting additional foci that should raise a few eyebrows. If it’s wrong to be someone who Buys All The Wrong Books, well, I don’t want to be right.
Keep your eyes peeled for the next update where Bruce will share some info about the character backgrounds and connections chapters!
Have you redeemed your copy of Make Your Statement?
Make Your Statement has been fulfilling from our warehouse for the last few weeks! We’ve been hard at work making sure your rewards are shipped as quickly as possible. If you haven’t redeemed your copy yet, read on!
Every time a reward from this crowdfunding campaign is ready for you to redeem, we 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. If you have any questions about this process, please visit this helpful step-by-step guide!
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.
Please 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.
Happy April! We hope the first few months of 2026 have treated you well. We’re glad to report that things have been moving along steadily with Make Your Statement and Face Your Fears!
Make Your Statement
Make Your Statement will soon be in your hands! Delve into the Archives with nine chilling new statements and ten brand new investigations—ready-made adventures for players to embark upon.
The bright art on this dark book really pops!
These pallets will soon be broken apart to ship books!
These gorgeous books arrived in our warehouse last week, and we’ll begin shipping them in the days to come! If you haven’t received crowdfunding campaign rewards from us before, or need a refresher, we go into more detail below.
Face Your Fears
As we mentioned in our last update, Jonny and Bruce have made great progress on the draft of Face Your Fears. In case you missed it, Jonny has written a couple of amazing locations, complete with maps. Encounter The Candlemaker, Mr. Cold, and fossils of future past; discover new books such as Art Appreciation, Children’s Tales, Das Buch der Wiedergänger; and more. We’ll have a lengthier update about Face Your Fears soon!
How To Redeem Your Copy of Make Your Statement
Every time a reward from this crowdfunding campaign is ready for you to redeem, we 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. If you have any questions about this process, please visit this helpful step-by-step guide!
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.
Please 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.
Tariffs, Make Your Statement, and Face Your Fears!
Greetings Archivists,
Apologies for the delay in communications. There are many moving parts to the crowdfunder, some of which are being heavily influenced by the new global Fear: tariffs! We want to reassure everyone that they will receive everything that we’ve promised and thank you again for your continued support.
We have terrific news on not just one but two of the new books you helped to bring to life.*
*Books are not actually alive and no sacrifices were made to either The Stranger or The Flesh for the creation of these tomes!
Book cover for Make Your Statement: giant clawed hands burst through a window showering the couple on the sofa with glass
Make Your Statement
With nine new statements and ten terrifying challenges, Make Your Statement is back from proofing and, after final checks from Rusty Quill, will be going to print this month! Delve into the Archives with nine chilling new statements and ten brand new investigations—ready-made adventures for investigators to embark upon.
Those lucky enough to attend Gen Con, GameHole Con or Dragonmeet this year might be able to grab a space to play one of these adventures at the con.
Book cover of Face Your Fears: A busy city street shows everyone with a mark painted on their cheeks. A frightened looking woman without this mark has turned to look behind her.
Face Your Fears!
Bruce and Jonny have been hard at work on Face Your Fears and are expecting to make the first draft turnover to development and editing by the end of this month (February). Jonny has written a couple of amazing locations, complete with maps. One of those is Warehouse Complex B. The Artifact Dealer (known as Salesa in the podcast) is the purveyor of wonders and the trader of terrors, with an arsenal of bizarre and grotesque items in their inventory. Naturally, however, they need somewhere to keep these things when they are not being bought and sold. The dealer's main warehouse (Complex A) is where the dealer keeps their mundane and less harmful goods: weapons, drugs, black market technology, etc. The really messed-up stuff, though, that gets stored in Warehouse Complex B.
Face Your Fears is also replete with new monsters and NPCs (like The Candlemaker, Mr. Cold, and fossils of future past), new books (with titles like Art Appreciation, Children’s Tales, Das Buch der Wiedergänger), new artifacts (including the harbinger's head, the tombstone of the unknown soldier, the darkness flashlight, and the enticing cookie jar), new cyphers (such as bury it for yourself, curled into the spiral, drinking alone, and enjoy your sky), and a few additional locations designed for quick use.
Weirdness and Mystery a Billion Years in the Future
Numenera logo and word mark
It seems that The Apocalypse is a Fear which keeps on giving. Eight previous epochs have risen and fallen. Now, after a billion years, Earth’s Ninth World has arisen from the ashes, welcoming you to its wonders, mysteries and terrors. The truly valorous delve for the secrets of the prior worlds not for the riches they bring, but because the mysteries and wonders of the numenera are a pathway toward a better future. Who will lead us into this new world? Who will tap the wonders of the ancients to defend the weak, bolster the sick and starving, and illuminate the ignorant? Who will build a new and better community, and bring vision to a world in darkness? Will it be you? Sign up now to find out!
Early sign up and pledge reward for Numenera: a sharp edged purple/blue d20 die
More Folks Enter the Archive Plus Exciting News for Cypher!
Greetings Archivists,
Sold out games at Gen Con!
The Magnus Archives RPG continues to grow in popularity—all of our games at Gen Con were sold out this year! We also had budding archivists and cosplayers galore at the booth, some of whom had never roleplayed before. Our staff and our GMs were stoked to introduce folks to their first RPG session!
An archivist shows off talents in creating chain mail eyes
Archivist cosplay looking uncertain with their'friend'
Clown style cosplay of The Stranger
What’s in the Archive so far…
The new products (including the supplements) are still in the design process, but we have fulfilled all of the existing products. For the latest update on fulfilment progress, please see our recent post here.
A marionette-like figure stares menacingly up at the viewer.
Love The Magnus Archives RPG? You’ll want to read this!
Monte, our design team, and all of us here at Monte Cook Games are excited to announce the 2026 launch of a new edition of our popular, award-winning tabletop roleplaying game system Cypher. Creating characters is getting even faster. Launching new campaigns is getting even easier. Tools for creating the worlds, stories, and characters you envision are getting even better. All while retaining every ounce of the quick gameplay, story focus, and easy GMing the Cypher System is famous for!
If you love GMing and playing The Magnus Archives RPG, Cypher is how you build on the horror, suspense, and action of your game. Many aspects of The Magnus Archives ruleset have been integrated into the updated Cypher rules!
Combined images of the new Cypher book covers showing characters and a range of creatures from genres ranging from sci-fi and fantasy to post apocalyptic and more!
The Magnus Archives Roleplaying Game in Hardcover and Loads of Other Rewards Are Ready for Redemption!
Hello wonderful backers,
There are rewards to redeem! Here is a list of rewards that are ready to redeem:
The Magnus Archives Roleplaying Game in PDF—FREE!
The Magnus Archives Roleplaying Game in hardcover
The Magnus Archives Roleplaying Game Player's Guide in print
Campaign Journal in print
Campaign Journal in PDF
Character Portfolios, bundle of 5 in print
Character Portfolios in PDF
Leitner Bookplates Set
Playmat
Prop Set 1 (Original Prop Set) in print
Prop Set 1 (Original Prop Set) in PDF
XP Deck in print
XP Deck in PDF
Cypher System Starter Set
Intrusion Deck in print and PDF
NPC Deck in print and PDF
The Weird in print and PDF
Your Best Game Ever in print and PDF
Convenient One-Click Redemption!
To redeem one or more of the above rewards or add-ons, head on over to the MCG Shop by copying and pasting this link into your browser: https://mymcg.info/tma-rewards// This special link puts all of your available rewards from this campaign into your cart, ready to check out and enjoy!
The following is a list of the rewards still in production:
Archival Assistant or Leitner T-Shirt
Art Asset Set, digital
Dice Set
Dig, a Leitner Tome
Digital Art Book
Do Not Open in PDF
Do Not Open in print
Enter the Archives in PDF
Enter the Archives in print
Face Your Fears in PDF
Face Your Fears in print
Fears XP Card Set in PDF
Fears XP Card Set in print
Leitner Dust Jacket Set
Magnus Institute Notebook in PDF
Magnus Institute Notebook in print
Magnus Institute Stamp Set
Make Your Statement in PDF
Make Your Statement in print
Physical Statement Set
Prop Set 2 in PDF
Prop Set 2 in print
Sticker Set, digital
Sticker Set, physical
Sticker Sheet, digital
Sticker Sheet, physical
We kindly ask that if you have questions about our fulfillment process, you give this helpful guide a quick read before reaching out to Jennifer, our wonderful customer service guru. Though she is magical, she is also only one human, so any self-help you can do before reaching out is greatly appreciated.
We faced the Fear of many, many, MANY people, but had the joy of meeting a huge number of both Cypher and Magnus Archives fans at UK Games Expo last week. We ran demos all day, every day introducing folks to how to play and GM The Magnus Archives RPG. Thanks to everyone who came to see us, catch up, and share the enthusiasm for this terrific game!
Podcast to Tabletop Seminar
We also chatted with Rusty Quill (creators of The Magnus Archives) and Sydney from Indie Boards & Cards (creators of The Magnus Protocol Mysteries) about converting podcasts to tabletop games. It was wonderful to see so many at this seminar, and great to be able to answer questions from folks interested in doing just this!
Live Play at UK Games Expo
The Magnus Archives RPG Live Play: Or How to Avoid Getting Eaten by Your Own Podcast! was a great hit. Loads of folks turned up to see Gregor, one of our UK Asset Team GMs, run the folks below through the demo scenario:
Jonathan Sims – Writer and Co-Creator of The Magnus Archives/Protocol: Playing as Pretentious Occultist
Sydney Engelstein – Indie Games Studios / Indie Boards and Cards, Designer of The Magnus Archives Mysteries and The Magnus Protocol Mysteries: Playing as Suspicious Investigator
Anusia Battersby – Voice Actor for Gwen Bouchard in The Magnus Protocol: Playing as Cheerful Elocutionist
These seminars were all recorded by Rusty Quill and we’ll let everyone know when they’re available to watch!
Hi, I may have missed something about Enter the Archives. This is meant to be a printed booklet, right? Is it correct it has not been released yet? Is it expected to come with either Face Your Fears or Do Not Open?
As summer slowly encroaches, we retreat to the dank, dark archives. These hallowed walls promise safety, understanding, knowledge, and power—or at the very least the illusion of them. Thump, thump, thump on the door. Who could that be?
Thump… thump…thump…
Wait, don’t—
Take a peek inside Do Not Open!
We’re thrilled to share that Bruce Cordell, the lead designer of Do Not Open, has some updates about the progress of the manuscript!
This is how the Table of Contents for Do Not Open is shaping up:
Introduction
Chapter 1: Descriptors
Chapter 2: Foci
Chapter 3: Backgrounds
Chapter 4: Connections
Chapter 5: Creating New Statements
Chapter 6: Playing The Magnus Archives with Cypher
Index
Here’s what he says about the contents:
In Chapter 6 “Playing The Magnus Archives with Cypher,” we're providing explicit guidance if you want to bring aspects of your The Magnus Archives Roleplaying Game (“Magnus” for short) into closer concordance with the new Cypher rules (debuting later this year in the Cypher Character Rulebook).
If you don’t care about that, well, Chapter 6 isn’t a huge part of Do Not Open, and you can easily... not open it.
However, throughout the preceding chapters, the design elements that appear in Do Not Open are being written in such a way that they’re already compatible with both the Magnus rules as they currently stand and with the new Cypher.
How can that happen, you wonder? Well, the games aren’t that far apart. Moreover, some aspects of Magnus were secretly test beds for things we wanted to try out in Cypher. The Magnus descriptor format, in large part, was one of those!
In other cases, we are simply designing certain new abilities in a way that happens to coincide with a design decision in Cypher, but is fully comprehensible from the ability description. For example, we might write a new ability that lasts until your character takes a one-action or longer recovery roll, instead of one that lasts for a minute or so. Makes sense as written, and hey, that’s how durations work in Cypher, too.
Changing the topic just slightly—check out chapter 5, “Creating New Statements.” It contains a host of prompts to serve as inspiration for you to generate brand-new statements for use in your games. Lists of prompts are provided for each part of the statement process, which can really help PCs and/or the GM quickly generate new and creepy scenarios to investigate.
We'll level the "lifepath" options in chapters 3 and 4 for a future update, since this is going a bit long. Let me finish by noting that the first draft of Do Not Open should be done and ready to go into development very soon. This week, I've been working on a few interesting additional foci that should raise a few eyebrows. If it’s wrong to be someone who Buys All The Wrong Books, well, I don’t want to be right.
Keep your eyes peeled for the next update where Bruce will share some info about the character backgrounds and connections chapters!
Have you redeemed your copy of Make Your Statement?
Make Your Statement has been fulfilling from our warehouse for the last few weeks! We’ve been hard at work making sure your rewards are shipped as quickly as possible. If you haven’t redeemed your copy yet, read on!
Every time a reward from this crowdfunding campaign is ready for you to redeem, we 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. If you have any questions about this process, please visit this helpful step-by-step guide!
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.
Please 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.
