Kalm is a time for building. For reflection. For meditation. For negotiation.

These cellars are much broader than we first anticipated. We’re living under the feet, claws, and spines of the haemexii and building our own small world under here, brick by brick. We wait until they’re out hunting and then we go to work. 

At first, we were at each other’s throats. But we’ve since had many chances to speak, to share ideas, and to find peace among each other.

We may only be three people trapped in the World Below, but we have the skills, the tools, and the powers to carve something out in here. Lines of defense should the haemexii find us, a narrow water channel, a source of green lichen, nutritious seeds, and protein rich bugs, and most importantly, quarters for solitude.

I would not wish to spend my entire life here, but this place could one day become more than a respite: this may be the foundation for a new settlement, built under the ruins of an old one.

Hello Diggers!

We're in the Final Days countdown for this Crowdfunding campaign. The World Below finishes the crowdfunding campaign on Tuesday, November 14th at 2:00 PM EST. There's still time to Inspire others to help brighten up the darkness, but we're definitely getting closer to the finish line. With that in mind, I wanted to touch on some of the basics over these final four days to make sure everyone has the information they need to support this project in the way that works best for them.

Whether you're a veteran of many Kaos storms or just prepping for your first Kalm season, these are some good topics to review over this week to make sure we all end up where we want to be.

(An aside, if you're a new backer, make sure you check out our Final Week Countdown / Resource Update. It has links to the manuscript previews,  podcasts, and a ton of Actual Play sessions.)

Note for New Backers: Please check out the updates listed above. There's a lot of information there that will be important to know about before the end, like how we're not including international shipping charges in our pledges for this campaign and instead will be charging them in our pledge manager before we ship out the books, and you can also read the entire draft manuscript before the end of the campaign and any pledges are processed.

Note for Since-the-Start Backers: It's probably a good idea to review that stuff as well. Never hurts to make sure you haven't missed anything! And it's fun to listen to those podcasts and watch the Actual Plays.

We've had, and will have, a bunch of new backers join in during these last days. I want to take a moment to highlight some key Update posts that new backers may want to check out (and existing backers may want to read as a refresher!).

MANUSCRIPT PREVIEW - As noted, the complete Preview Manuscript for the book is available for you to review prior to the conclusion of the campaign. If you're a backer, you'll have access to this preview manuscript after the campaign. Remember, though, there are still some minor edits, development and proofing that need to be done. But, you can consider it about 98.7% finished. Making the manuscript available for review before the campaign ends ensures that everyone knows exactly what our goal is - making this book - and are on board with our aims for this project. Thanks for your support, we're all in this together!

PLEDGE TIERS - This update breaks down your best starting point for figuring out which Backer Reward Tier to choose to help support this project in a way that works for you.

The first decision you need to make in figuring out your reward tier is whether you want to receive the PDF version or the standard or deluxe hardcover edition (which comes with  bonus PDF versions).

ADD-ON OPTIONS -  The other half of our Reward Tiers update, including information on the second step of pledging. There are several Add On options that you can add as part of your pledging process, including other The World Below items (like pendants and pins) plus messenger bags, Storyguide Screens, and a premium glowing dice set! We've also got digital starter bundles of some other Onyx Path games that are well worth checking out!

Choosing the correct Reward Tier for your desired rewards, and then filling in any "gaps" with add-ons, ensures that you'll be claiming all of your desired rewards as a thank you for supporting this project and bringing this world to life.

Remember, your PLEDGE AMOUNT is equal to your REWARD TIER + ADD ONS only - Any International Shipping costs will be collected at a later date. You will also be able to select Add On options in the Pledge Manager after the campaign, but remember that only funds added during the campaign count towards Stretch Goal funding targets.

Also to note, only those who participate during the campaign are able to have Stretch Goal rewards added automatically to their rewards lists. If you're waiting to pre-order at a later time, it's better to pledge to the Surface-Touched tier now and then simply upgrade your pledge later to include these bonus rewards.

On Tuesday, I'll be posting one further "Final Day" update, covering What Happens Next and outlining what to expect once the campaign ends.

But until then, we're going to hopefully hunt down a final Stretch Goal achievement as we race through our final day of the campaign!

Over the past 28 days as we've worked through this World Below campaign we've not only funded the book but also unlocked ELEVEN Stretch Goal targets! That's right - we've unlocked the first TEN goals that were announced and we've ALREADY unlocked one of the final goals that was going to be announced as part of this update!

Within these Stretch Goals are some milestone markers that allowed us to maintain our pace through the middle parts of the campaign, and some really cool new supplements that we expanded and grew by working together. Let's review and see what we've accomplished so far...

Helping us maintain our pace during the regular "Funding Plateau" and between new content goals, these milestone markers are great celebratory moments allowing us to keep our focus, and fun rewards going out to all who supported this project during the Crowdfunding campaign.

WORLD BELOW T-SHIRT ON REDBUBBLE – A World Below-themed Backer shirt will be hosted on Onyx Path’s Redbubble store for a limited time. Only backers will be notified when the shirt becomes available for purchase.

WORLD BELOW DIGITAL WALLPAPER – Weird and wonderful World Below artwork will be used to create a wallpaper for your computer desktop. This digital wallpaper will be added to the rewards list of all backers supporting this project.

WORLD BELOW MOBILE WALLPAPER – Weird and wonderful World Below artwork will be used to create a wallpaper for your mobile device lockscreen. This lockscreen wallpaper will be added to the rewards list of all backers supporting this project.

Like many of you, my days of gathering around the gaming table with friends to tell stories with our favorite characters have grown much less frequent in these past years. Online sessions have become the norm in my world and allow us to join gamers across the world to build our chronicles. We've unlocked some tools to help make that a little more fun!

WORLD BELOW VTT TOKEN PACK – Digital assets will be created to support online play for The World Below, including key character and creature tokens from the book. This online asset pack will be added to the rewards list of all backers.

WORLD BELOW STREAMING OVERLAY – A set of overlays for your online World Below game will be created, for your use when streaming your game. This reward will be added to the rewards list for all backers.

That's right! You've done such a great job spreading the word and recruiting new backers over the past 24 hours that I hadn't even had time to announce this goal yet and we've already unlocked it!

The support that this campaign has received has allowed Onyx Path to offer alternative options for one of their Add On items. Now you'll be able to select the black and green The World Provides bag or the current The World Below messenger bag.

ALTERNATE EXPLORER’S BAG ADD ON OPTION – An alternate version of the Explorer’s Bag will be made available as an Add On option. Backers pledged to the Explorer reward tier will be able to select which bag they wish to receive in the Pledge Manager after the campaign.

We've unlocked two supplements as part of our campaign, and then expanded both! We've also added a fun and useful Storyguide tool to help dive into this game. First up, a starting scenario that we've turned into an adventure path...

DELVING DEEP INTO THE WORLD BELOW – A starting scenario to play or serve as an example for a World Below Storyguide. Our first adventure concerns the most common field of play: venturing from the safety of one's settlement to explore, face dangers, and hopefully return with resources to strengthen one's communities. Expect some surprises in this one! This World Below Adventure Supplement PDF will be added to the rewards list of all backers receiving The World Below PDF as one of their rewards.

DIGGING DEEPER INTO THE WORLD BELOW – The World Below Adventure Supplement PDF will be expanded to include a follow-up adventure. Our second adventure concerns the building and protection of our settlement, the political maneuvering of the guilds, and the clashes of dogmas that go on behind the so-called "safety" of the settlement walls.

Next up, that Storyguide tool I mentioned (although it's a fun product for everyone!)

WORLD BELOW MONSTER CARDS – A set of Monster Cards with illustrations on one side and information on the back will be released as a “Print-and-Play” PDF and added to the rewards list of all backers receiving The World Below PDF as one of their rewards. Backers will receive an option to order a physical version from DriveThruCards at a discounted rate.

And, finally, one of the stretch goal supplements I'm most excited about (no offense to any of the others, which are also amazing) - Ed Greenwood's Monstrous Ecology!

ED GREENWOOD’S MOUNSTROUS ECOLOGY – A PDF supplement detailing some of the strange and unique creatures that dwell in the World Below. The intrepid Ed Greenwood delves into some of the common colossal bugs, monstrous entities, and carnivorous beasts dwelling in the World Below with the first part of our ecology book.  This PDF supplement will be added to the rewards list of all backers receiving The World Below PDF as one of their rewards.

ED GREENWOOD’S MOUNSTROUS ECOLOGY PART 2 – Ed Greenwood returns with an examination of the aberrant horrors, cosmic nightmares, and dreamlike phenomena of the World Below in the second part of our ecology book.

It's great that we've unlocked 11 Stretch Goal rewards... but what about an even dozen?

With just over a day left in our campaign, I think one more Stretch Goal is certainly within our grasp. Let's do our best to unlock this before the end!

At $58,000 in Funding – FURTHER INTO THE WORLD BELOW – The World Below Adventure Scenario PDF will be expanded to include a third adventure. Our third adventure tasks our heroes with making contact with a distant settlement that's fallen unnervingly silent, reestablishing dead links, and facing the nightmares that have occupied the empty space where the living once dwelled.

That's right! You backed this project to help make and publish The World Below! Our primary reward - the big thank you that we'll send out in appreciation for your support - are PDFs and/or hardcover copies of this book! BUT AS A BONUS, you may also have the Delving Deep/Digging Deeper Adventure Scenarios PDF Supplement, Ed Greenwood's Monstrous Ecology PDF, the Monster Cards PDF (with discounted PoD option), a digital wallpaper and mobile lockscreen wallpaper, an opportunity to add to your wardrobe and a set of tokens and streaming overlay for your online game!

The World Below provides, but only to the worthy!

Unfortunately, we seem to continue to move forward at a regular pace, and our campaign will some come to the inescapable end. We've achieved our primary goal of funding the book, but there is still one possible Stretch Goal rewards that is almost within grasp! I know this last funding target may seem daunting, but it wouldn't be a STRETCH goals if we didn't have to really STRETCH to reach it! That last one may take a little bit of work. It's certainly within reach, but won't be easy, so let's keep at it!

So, as every update concludes: let's keep the enthusiasm rolling! Keep spreading the word and letting others know about this project. They've got this final day to jump in and share the Stretch Goals we've achieved!

And every backer who joins in as we approach the end is not only able to enjoy the additional rewards already added by the early fans and backers, but also help reward those early backers by maybe unlocking that final Adventure scenario!

Remember, only the funds generated during the Crowdfunding campaign go toward achieving these Stretch Goal targets, so the time to act is now! Together, we can bring this game to life and make great things happen!

#TheWorldBelowProvides