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.
