Hello Lightbringers,

There are moments it feels like we just started this campaign, but in truth we've been running since mid-February and we're now officially in our FINAL WEEK COUNTDOWN!

Next week I'll be sharing a handful of instruction and review-type posts about Reward Tiers & Add Ons, Stretch Goal reviews, and What Comes Next, so if you've got any process questions or are wondering about how the Crowdfunding steps work, I'm hoping to clarify any remaining questions before we finish. Of course, if you're still wondering about something, please ask and I'll do my best to dig up an answer.

For the past month, we've been travelling "Endward" - towards the finish line of this campaign. But even as we get closer to our destination, we see that there's still room to travel a bit beyond... In this case, that's called "OVERTIME MODE" and it allows us to keep the campaign rolling as long as backers are pledging.

Overtime Mode

Overtime Mode extends the campaign past its original end time to give backers a final chance to make their pledge and adds an interesting twist to the end of the campaign. How long will it extend? That’s entirely up to backers: The campaign will keep going for an additional 10 minutes as long as pledges keep coming in – a chain of back-to-back pledges is called the Backer Train. The campaign will end only when the Backer Train stops after a period of 10 minutes passing without any pledges.

You’ll know we’re in Overtime Mode when the campaign’s Backer Train counter displays a bright rainbow border and a new countdown that resets to 10 minutes after each new backer joins that final Backer Train ride.

So, we've scheduled the campaign to conclude on March 19th at 2:00 PM Eastern Time, but it'll be extended in 10 minute chunks as long as backers keep pledging. Will we add an extra 10 minutes? An extra 20? Or will it all finish up as planned? Who knows, but we'll find out together! Kaos Storm Protocol!

I know, this is something I've already said many times (and seem to say during every project!), but for this final week, you are officially a World Below recruiter. It's time to share your excitement for The World Below Delver's Guide and Secrets of Kalm and Kaos! Basically, we want to recruit as many curious backers as possible to see how long we unlock another Stretch Goal or two and maybe even get a Backer Train fired up during our final minutes.

I know I've ended many update posts with "Keep spreading the word! Invite others to join in!" - but what does that mean, and how do you do it?

Easy answer - don't stop talking about The World Below: Buried Treasures campaign until 2:01 PM Eastern next Thursday March 19th  (and then keep going if we manage to get into Overtime Mode). Yes, family and friends are tired of me talking about it. But what else have I got to talk about? The state of the world? That gets a little depressing fairly quickly. And -  they've learned to tolerate me during a crowdfunding campaign. But here's the thing - there are others around who haven't heard or don't know about the campaign.

We all know this project is quirky and niche - it's character and rules options for your game, along with Storyguide tools and setting information for The World Below. It's a unique and unusual and weird game - and these sourcebooks add even more oddness! But that's what makes this game so great! 

These books cover a lot of different ideas and topics, and surely something in there will be interesting to potential backers! Yet those barkers haven't yet heard about this campaign and would love to join in. We're right in the middle of relentless news and events so it's not surprising that new backers are just finding out about the campaign every day. If you have an opportunity to let someone know, please do and let's make sure they have a chance to join in before the end.

For me, one of my main ways of coping with these exhausting times is to dive into a game world with my friends. Reading the Delver's Guide and Secrets of Kalm and Kaos manuscripts has been a much-needed escape over the past weeks, and my friends and I will absolutely be designing our own insect companions and gemsmiths as part of our self-care in the future.

So, let's help out our awesome TTRPG fans and make sure that we've spread the word as best we can and everyone has an opportunity to participate in this campaign!

If you're inviting new backers, or if you are a new backer (hi new backers!), here are a few key resources to be aware of for this campaign.

Backers are able to review the (soon-to-be) complete manuscripts for both of these books before the campaign closes and any pledges are processed. With the exception of the Adventure chapter coming on Tuesday, the entirety of the rules and options from this book are available for download and review by backers, along with all of the setting information for this unique and fascinating world.

Anyone who pledges to this campaign before the end can read the books now AND provide feedback directly to the developers to help guide the manuscripts through the final phases of development and editing!

And, if you join now, as I've noted, we'll be posting the final chapter of Secrets of Kalm and Kaos next week before we reach the finish line. This final chapter is home to our adventure, the Obscure Labyrinth, and presents another great scenario that can be incorporated into your game, used as a launching pad for a greater chronicle, take as an example of how to structure your own stories, and just as a collection of ideas and story seeds to serve as inspiration for your World Below game.

Matthew Dawkins, the Gentleman Gamer and creative brain behind this game, has shared several videos he's created over the course of the campaign. These videos talk about the World Below in general, and a lot of the new material presented in these sourcebooks in particular. These are great ways to get a feel for some of the usual aspects of this game.

And Coming Soon: Mounts and Pets

Seriously, these videos are around 10 minutes and give a great taste of what the World Below is all about and how different and interesting this game is. I mean, if you wanna see how many different things this game can do, just check out the "Fishing" video (hint: it's all bugs). The audacity of making the World Below a Cozy Game. Ha! Love it!

We know times are hard these days, particularly with rising costs and economic uncertainty, so we’ve designed this crowdfunder to be as painless as possible. We offer a wide variety of digital options for backing, add-ons, and stretch goals, as well as leveraging print-on-demand technology to have physical products printed as close to you as possible to cut down shipping fees, reduce tariff concerns, and avoid manufacturing challenges.

The Discord is particularly lively and fun, but you might be able to gain further insight and some in-depth conversation at any of these Onyx Path discussion zones:

1) Don't forget to share a link to the Crowdfunding page in any discussion you have (where appropriate) - and feel free to pass any of the long list of links above to those who may need more info (or, just point them to this post!)

2) Don't forget to tell us about any post or review or discussion you write! Come to the comments section and let us know so we can all go and contribute! I know I keep saying it, but really - these last days are key. Keep the enthusiasm high and keep on inviting others to join in, either directly ("Come see...") or just by setting an example of your enthusiasm and interest.

Final Week

We've got one week to go, everyone! Thank you all so much for your support! We work together because it's the right thing to do, and because backers make it better! Let's finish strong! And let's continue exploring this amazingly weird and strange setting together, sharing our feedback with the writers and delving into the draft manuscripts, and let's see if we can't get another Stretch Goal before we review next Wednesday!