We have fed it days, weeks; the slow ruin of our waking hours; and still it gapes, patient and bottomless, awaiting the next morsel we throw screaming into its depths.
We ha...
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Pelgrane Press
4 months ago
The Stars Edge Closer: Year-End update
Hey all,
It's been a while coming, but development has been progressing along in the background.
The core book layout is done; all that's left is to add the new 2e appen...
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Pelgrane Press
7 months ago
Glimpses from beyond the veil
Hey all,
Work coils outward like the limbs of some unknowable thing, each writhing in its own direction. One limb writhing strongly at the moment is the layout progression. ...
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Pelgrane Press
9 months ago
Update on everything else
But wait, there's more!
• The GM screen is finished, and Alessandro's final is so moody and atmospheric! I can imagine a whole campaign taking place in these remote desert ru...
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Pelgrane Press
9 months ago
Update on print books
Hey all,
Gareth & Ken have finished the writing, and I've finished my edits, of the Trail of Cthulhu 2e core book, which included incorporating feedback from some above-and-...
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Pelgrane Press
12 months ago
Tariffs, Uncertainty, and Our Commitment to You
Hey everyone,
I’ve been holding off on this update in the hope that we’d reach more certainty on tariffs, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen any time soon. Here...
We have fed it days, weeks; the slow ruin of our waking hours; and still it gapes, patient and bottomless, awaiting the next morsel we throw screaming into its depths.
We haven't made much progress on the core book layout. We discovered the document was set up at the wrong page size, so the layout had to be resized and reflowed. That's all done now, so there isn't much left to do; just adding the final art (new Occupations headshots and the adventure illos) and maps (which are due by the end of March), and the index, which Ken will be starting on once the layout's finalised.
We have one map finished, which is Ralf Schemmann's Bishop, OK map. He offered us a couple of different options, and we unanimously preferred this one. I think it'll make a great poster:
To speed up the layout process, we've got three parallel streams going (which I'm almost certain is a new company record for one project). As well as Gareth at Moonblade on the core book design, we've looped in Jen McCleary to work on the GM screen and Kingsbury Horror layout, and new (to us) layout artist Francita Soto is laying out Boundary of the Darkness. This should put us in a good place to have final PDFs for the new books by the end of April.
To keep you going until then, for backers I've attached a sneaky peak at the (nearly) final layout. It will be split into two books, the Trail of Cthulhu Player’s Guide and the Trail of Cthulhu GM’s Guide,and we'll be doing two different slipcase sets:
If you've backed at a level that includes a GM screen, or you've added a GM screen to your pledge, you'll be upgraded to the larger slipcase that holds both books & GM screen.
If you've backed at a level that includes just the core book(s), or added just the book(s) to your pledge, you'll get the smaller slipcase with both books.
It's been a while coming, but development has been progressing along in the background.
The core book layout is done; all that's left is to add the new 2e appendices, some new art, the table of contents and the index. Our layout artists at Moonblade Creations are on a well-deserved holiday break, and will be making tweaks based on our feedback and adding the remaining pieces in the new year, while Ken gets to work on the index.
Now that I've seen the layout, the book is big. It's currently at ~425 pages, and will only increase as we add back matter. I need to confirm the pricing with our printers (who are also now on a holiday break) but I think it may end up being...*drumroll*... two books.
Provisional discussions with Ken and Gareth suggest that splitting out chapter 6 (the campaign frames), and chapter 7 (the two new scenarios), into a separate book is the best course of action; however, we could also split it into a kind of "player book" featuring chapters 1 (Your Investigator), 2 (The Rules), and 8 (Sources & Resources) and a "GM book" featuring chapters 5 (GM advice), 6 (Campaign Frames), and 7 (Scenarios). Interested to hear your thoughts!
If we do make structural changes to the core book, we will do it so that we don't charge anyone extra, and it will not delay fulfillment of the project. At the moment, we are on track to send you the final core book(s) PDFs at the end of January, and starting to ship books at the end of April.
But, what we might do is look at how all the elements work together, and offer some new add-ons; for example, now that we've seen the 13th Age Second Edition slipcase set, I'd love to have something similar for Trail 2e. Or, we could look at adding the new GM screen in with the books instead of having it separately.
Once I get some printer quotes in the new year, I'll get back to you with more concrete options. But in the meantime, here's a sneak peak of the first half of the 1930s chapter.
Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season, and a fantastic New Year in 2026.
