There are still a surprising number of people (more than we've ever had!) who haven't filled out their address. We can't even deliver digital rewards (and more are coming REAL soon!) without you filling out your address. Check your SPAM folders or PROMOTION folders! Gmail likes to hide them there now!
-Loot Box's officially passed the print test! This is a good thing! That's one major item fully finished.
-The Dark Carnival final PDF is coming this month. Once we have the final book, we zoom into print production.
Everything cascades very fast after that, and so: You have until Friday to hit the Pre-order store.
---Now---
We've got some cool things coming this year! A lot of push will be on Shadowdark and Daggerheart game systems.
Our very own Jeff Mueller has launched his own Shadowdark: The Curse of Stoneshatter Tomb. Jeff is the man behind "The Lockcross" contract within the Dark Carnival book AND he will be writing some stories set within the Black Ballad. Click HERE to check out the project!
Right this, comes Black Ballad Second Chances. It's a far less ambitious project than the Dark Carnival, but still important to our studio none the less! If you think you will back this project or it sounds interesting! PLEASE FOLLOW (BY CLICKING HERE!). Following helps us determine can we safely launch without losing our butts?
Hey everyone! The chaos and fires of 2026 begin to rage around us. Ergo, distraction time!
I wanted to do something a bit different this time. Sometimes, not everything makes the cut in production for the final book (art, layout, page space) for a variety of reasons. So I'm going to put in some content that hopefully you can throw in your home game! Think of this as some extra micro content you can use as inspiration or in case you ever need a random game at your table (regardless of the system you are running. They work for everything). I'll save some carnival games for future updates, and generally chuck one or two in (or maybe a cut monster) if you guys appreciate this form of content.
The Ringmaster and the Stars
The Rules: A Hider hides several shiny objects in one hand, then holds their hands out for the Guesser to choose. Pick the right hand and win.
The Legend: The Ringmaster stole the Stars, and hid them. Then he held out his hands and asked, "In which hand do I hold your Star?" Celestial after Celestial bet their very wings to save the Stars, guessing wrong only to have the Ringmaster show the Stars in the other hand. Finally, the first Celestial of the Threefold Realms answered correctly. "The Stars are in neither hand, you have hidden them in Darkness. From there the Stars will come, and you will go." The Ringmaster vanished as the warm light of the Stars filled the sky for the next century.
The Lesson: Don't get caught playing with no token in your hand.
Your players will likely encounter this game early as it was one of the first games of the Carnival. Easy to play and bet on. It should take a few losses before the players figure out that any Darkling hosting the game never actually puts any shiny objects in their hand and the correct answer is always "none": but don't spoil that surprise early.
Production Update:
-Music MP3's: We've gotten a few questions about music delivery. When the final PDF is released and we do digital distribution of all the assets there will be a MP3 pack that comes with it. Don't worry, we've got you!
-Final PDF: Thank you for the feedback everyone! So far the response on the draft pdf has been overwhelmingly positive. We are bug bashing out a few things and still wrapping up final art (holidays and the chaos of life). It is coming *tm* soon. BUT! We have started ordering accessories and components! The Dark Carnival Stickers, Freckle Dice Trays, and Dice Holders are officially acquired and the loot boxes (as in the actual box) are on the way!
I have attached a sample of our layout and books spreads below. This way, all of you can see it's not the same book as the Black Ballad by a long mile. It's totally designed for Shadowdark and meant to stand alone entirely from the Black Ballad while adding new content on top of it!
*Slides into frame just before the deadline. The writers hair is all frazzled, the wild racoon eyes betray the coffee intake level, but there is still a mad grin as he holds up a shiny treasure.*
It's officially update time! The kind of update time where we are going to ask you to check your email: find your spam folder / promotion folder and look for something called "The Dark Carnival Early Release".
If you are a Backer who has filled out your pledge survey: you should have an email. If you have NOT filled out your pledge survey over the past few months...you will not have an email. Ergo...check your emails (particularly spam and promotions tabs).
Okay...so...this update comes with good news and bad news. Good News! le Shiny! Oooooh....Aaaaaah..!! Seriously, the PDF is 95% complete and it's at this point we release this for one final check from the backers who wanna dive into the content, check for those rogue typos, or layout errors that are glaring.
You'll notice a few "Art Coming Soon" Boxes, and that's where we get into the bad news:
Physical Print is going to be delayed. :(
But for Good Reasons! In layout, we added over 10,000 words of content and more artwork to help round out a few pointy sections. We are still waiting for some of that art to return, and while we wait for that: we run into Chinese New Year where everything shuts down for a month. Which (if you ever calculate logistics, means a 2 month delay) in physical print...well, we had to have at least one update with a delay...right? It was bound to happen sooner or later.
At least all of you will get to see how awesome this project has turned out NOW, offer any final feedback, and then we will be entering production.
Early Draft PDF Enjoyment:
-Please check the QR Codes for the soundtrack! Make sure they work. (Page 6 on the PDF). The full album is behind there! -Check for any typos or layout graphical errors. Email any findings to [email protected] or just ping us on Discord. -Head Pats? We accept head pats.
Black Ballad: Second Chances: Official Announcement.
We are gearing up with our next project while the Dark Carnival finishes. This is a WHOLE DIFFERENT BOOK, designed entirely for Shadowdark & The Black Ballad.
You can sign up to follow for along on that project by clicking HERE or the image below.
Layout of the Dark Carnival is smack dab in the middle by our trusted layout artists Christian and Niki. If I shared any images atm of the interior though, it...would look like an arcane grimoire being assembled by wizards.
HOWEVER! As soon as it's done: All Backers will get an EARLY (Repeat! EARLY!!) Aka: not final draft PDF to see if you guys catch anything as we polish up the final details. (It's a healthy thing to do before we polish off digital assets and then start print-production).
We are aiming to release that in December. Soo...the hype is real.
BUT! That means you need to fill out your pledge survey and finish any add-ons or final payments. We can't ship books if we don't know where to send them too, and there are over 150 of you that haven't filled out your surveys yet.
That is a LOT of you. If you use google, check your "Promotions" tab or your "Spam" folder for a reminder email from Backerkit.
But...let's show off some wanted posters!
I'm going to turn these into free digital downloads on our website after the PDF is finalized, so these GLORIOUSLY EVIL super-backers can be bounties and wanted posters in your TTRPG campaigns.
The artwork for these was done by James Mosingo, and each of the posters is a story now immortalized in the Dark Carnival book.
I'm only going to post the first two posters in the general update, and the remainder in the "Backer's Only" section of this post.
Without further ado! A special thanks to all our super backers and Darklings! May they forever haunt your chronicles!
Backers get to see the rest of them early after the jump!
(Oh! Side note. I totally released my third novel today: The Seventh Age: Decay. I've got one batch of 100 books that I'm specially signing and releasing. If urban fantasy is your jam and you want some sarcastic fiction:
Wanted Posters! (Slowly going out as they are finished!)
Frangrance's - On Track!
Tea? Successfully picked!
ISBN Numbers! Hath been pulled!
It's time for us to finally start locking in our quantities. I'll leave the Pre Order store open for anyone who gets this email that never backed for a bit longer, but everyone else should be getting their surveys in the next few days.
Our timeline is to have an EARLY RELEASE PDF for everyone in December, and it will be the last chance to catch anything before we go to print.
Then there will be a period of time where everyone (including us) sort of sits on our hands until everything is made and shipped over. So expect that "manufacturing period" to be a little quiet for updates during the long, cold, dark of winter.
It won't be long though until everyone has content that allows them to play evil or outcast...but magnificent characters!
Remember to read your survey! Things like shipping updates and address changes can be done through [email protected], but they are easy to change.
Same with payment information! If you need help, reach out there first!
Otherwise...the flood gates have been opened for the pledge managers! (We will showcase the Wanted Posters in a future update or video real when we have all of them compiled to put together a nice slide show for ALL our special villains!)
