If you'd like to skip to the campaign update & poll, feel free to scroll to the bottom!
The wolf's body shimmers like fire as it steps into the sparse light between the trees. Physical, immaterial, and then physical again. Maybe once, it was a wolf. But no longer. This is something sharper, more intelligent - the way it looks back at you indicates it is expecting you to follow.
You open your mouth to speak, but you know there's no point. You wordlessly follow the beast as it guides you into the trees, the clearing disappearing behind you. The wolf's body continues to flicker in and out of the cold afternoon air before its form eventually extinguishes altogether, like a projection stuttering to a stop.
Its efforts were not in vain. What you are led to is, indeed, a path through the forest. But you are not certain this is the path you began on.
[Mockup is a WIP - will be updated once the pin artwork is finished]
The Magic of This Forest, Too, Has Warped
You're no practitioner of magic by any means, but even you can tell that The Blight seeps deeper than the animals. It just feels... "off". Disturbing to your core in a way you can't articulate beyond biology.
And alone again, you swear you're seeing faces in the trees. The branches lurching inward, oppressive eyes studying you as you mindlessly follow the trail deeper into the woods-
"Hello."
"...Hello?" You answer reflexively, but soon realize you never even spoke the word aloud. A gentle, comforting voice nestles itself amongst your very thoughts.
Twigs snap underhoof as something steps onto the path before you. "I've found you. Please, do not be afraid, bookkeeper."
What appears before you is unmistakably a Unicorn, though something is deeply wrong. The skin flakes from its sallowed face like scales of a mothwing or peeling wallpaper - it's a ghastly visage for sure.
"I don't blame your apprehension." The voice reverberates through your mind, "I am afflicted with a presence that overwhelms the very fibers of my being. The time I have left is only as myself. I am not dying, but..." The thought is left incomplete.
Legends describe Unicorns as a being of pure good, only surfacing in times of turmoil. You wonder how many humans have been graced with such a presence.
"...We are cousins, bookkeeper." It thinks, plainly, "Please, while we can still see the sun, let us speak as friends. Ask me any questions you might have. I don't have all the answers, but I long to hear your voice and will answer at my capacity."
The excitement prevails your hesitation. This is not an opportunity to be wasted. You ask anything that comes to mind, writing what you can in your book, as you struggle to make out exactly what you see...
(Backers may ask the unicorn ONE question per person! Feel free to get weird with them. It's just an animal, of course, but it is magical... maybe it knows wisdom beyond its forest. Ask about the Blight, what it feels, its thoughts on other animals, how it knew to find you... anything!
We will answer as many as we can before the poll ends, and several questions & answers will be featured in the next update. If you are not comfortable with this, please mention as such in your post!)
All Stretch Goals Funded!
We've blazed past 5 digits, and all the initial goals we've set out for Blighted Bestiary have been met. You guys are absolutely incredible!!
But it's far from what we have cooking in the background. Since the campaign is already hitting what would otherwise be the funding goals for new goodies, we'll be back soon with some cool new options for you folks to pledge for.
Additionally, we've had people ask about the fate of designs not chosen by the votes - All I'll say is this is not the last time you'll see these options 🤫BUT the choices you make have narrative weight, so please vote honestly!
In the meantime, all stretch goals are unlocked and you're able to include any in your order! Designs not yet voted on (IE; The Dragon jumbo pin) are also available to pledge for, but follow the updates for when their vote goes live so you can pick a design!
If you'd like to skip to the campaign update & poll, feel free to scroll to the bottom!
The shadows of the canopies darken even the brightest hour of day. It is a cold morning. The three of you travel for hours, stopping occasionally to log sightings of unusual animal behavior, or prod at the odd branch with the back of a pen. Conversation is sparse and the woods are quiet.
The Hero eventually muses aloud, “The dragon of this land has gone missing. Perhaps it too has fallen ill?”
You recall hearing this rumor with some skepticism. Because you have heard this before, overheard in the library not a few days prior. But the guardian dragon is little more than a legend - it purportedly does exist, though you nor The Hero have ever met anybody to encounter it. Maybe it simply has no business with you common folk.
You rationalize, “Well, the dragon is a magical creature. A very powerful one, at that. Would falling to The Blight give it access to its magic?-”
“Did you hear that?”
You are cut off by The Hero's arm to your chest, hand to the grip of their sword. Something itches the back of their mind. Now, in the silence of the forest, murmurs draw their focus to an unremarkable patch of darkness between the trees.
The Hero suddenly bolts off into the trees, shouting something you could not make out, as their squire takes off in a rush to follow. From the trees is a dim, greenish glow only they notice.
You, of course, wouldn’t know any of this. When you gave chase, you heard no such voices, and only desperately wanting to understand what was happening as your only protection disappeared into the trees. As soon as they were gone, the glow dims to darkness, and the path back was nowhere in sight.
Now, you are alone. And these are not the woods you remember.
Strange New Fauna Lurks in The Trees
It's definitely not ideal. But there are worse positions to be in.
You're clever, and you've spent a good amount of time surveying wildlife outdoors before. Steeling your nerves, you try to remember everything you were instructed of:
If separated, turn home immediately. Do not go searching.
Do not eat foraged food, even plants commonly understood as edible.
Do not follow lights you cannot determine the source of.
Never touch the trees.
You recall them with some humor, they almost seemed like old wives' tales rather than strict rules of nature.
But, almost immediately are your survival skills put to the test, as you hear a snap from the trees. In the darkness, you see the tell-tale glow of monstrous, green eyes piercing through you before the glint of teeth follow.
A Predator Corners You, But...
A large wolf - you think it is a wolf - bares its fangs but does not growl. What follows is the strangest behavior you’ve witnessed yet: eyes locked on yours, it paws the ground. After a moment, it does so again, neither approaching nor backing away.
There’s a gleam of recognition in the wolf’s eyes. It refuses to attack you, instead keeping its distance in the shadows and staring you down. Why?
You think to yourself, what could it be asking of you?
[COLORS ARE NOT FINAL - artwork will be finished if picked]
Launched and Funded!
Within 20 minutes, Blighted Bestiary met its goal. You guys are absolutely incredible, this is the fastest any of our campaigns have taken off and we're floored by the reception.
...So fast, in fact, that plenty of our stretch goals still need their portraits! We'll have the finished art up in no time, but they're no less unlocked.
In the meantime, you may now back for The Hero(?), The Wolf, and the Bad Omens Mini Pins (which have been added as their own pledge tier & add-on option)while we vote on how to approach the wolf!
You have been the town's librarian for years. Many regard you as very organized and intelligent, but you just consider it empathy.
The library cat follows you everywhere you go. Visitors have all given him their own little nicknames, but this isn’t your pet per se, just a working cat. Maybe he’s finally earned a name?
He loves to sit and eerily stare at you from a distance... (But cats are just like that. You think.)
So much time spent in the library lends you a unique perspective into people of all walks of life out of their elements. When people are willing to learn, they are disarmed of their preconceptions. A traveling adventure party researching the region’s ruins for their mark would be humbled by a botany student’s commitment to understanding native wetland sedges. Granted, she probably doesn’t know how to behead a cockatrice. Maybe they could trade advice!
Though you’re no survival expert by any means… you have always loved writing, and you have always loved biology. Not often does an opportunity to experience such a story firsthand present itself.
So, when offered safe escort into the woods to catalogue the new wildlife, you happily accepted. You, The Hero, and their squire prepared to leave by next morning.
Nobody could not have expected it to fall apart so quickly.
Blighted Bestiary launches TOMORROW as part of Pintober 2026. Your guys' hype has meant leagues, we're excited to share the monsters we've been cooking up for you all to catalogue (and maybe even take home... if you dare).
We hope to see you all for the remainder of of the story! (And feel free to suggest a name for our familiar, as well.)
One Week Countdown: Blighted Bestiary Prelude & Vote 🌲🐦⬛
Something Has Infected The Woods
It arrived one night, ridden on the backs of falling stars. The woods are vast and deep, close to a bustling trade town, but just far enough that something could slither out right under our noses.
Locals call it The Blight. It is a madness of the flesh, an eldritch plague: animals, plants, and beasts of myth alike fall ill, their bodies warped into aberrant shapes. Now possessing otherworldly powers, they creep closer and closer to civilization, putting the town at risk.
The Hero Has Come To Save Us!
Rumor has it that even The Dragon residing in the deepest thicket of the woods, serving both as guardian and apex predator, has fallen ill to the Blight. So, The Hero has put their foot forward! They pledge to venture forth into the woods, on an expedition to research the source of The Blight, and with some luck, a way to exterminate it once and for all.
But you're no hero.
Because of your unique connection to the woods, You were tasked to accompany The Hero on the expedition.
Your research has amounted to the Blighted Bestiary, documented and ongoing cases of aberrant wildlife and their strange new biology. With their strength and your knowledge, the townspeople rely on you for answers.
Follow The Blighted Path
Blighted Bestiary is an interactive campaign, meaning your findings - your choices - have great weight on this narrative's outcome. How the community votes and interacts with what's presented will shape both the story and creatures discovered!
Many of the updates will be written "in-character", by ways of a narrator, but there will still be explicit campaign and production updates for those who aren't participating in the story and polls.
Backers are regardless encouraged to participate! This campaign is packed with lore, surprises, and freebies, like our collaboration with the amazing Geek and Artsy's "Dragonscapes".
So, the question remains... who are you?
The chosen familiar will be included in the final "Blighted Bestiary" enamel pin.
If you'd like to skip to the campaign update & poll, feel free to scroll to the bottom!
The wolf's body shimmers like fire as it steps into the sparse light between the trees. Physical, immaterial, and then physical again. Maybe once, it was a wolf. But no longer. This is something sharper, more intelligent - the way it looks back at you indicates it is expecting you to follow.
You open your mouth to speak, but you know there's no point. You wordlessly follow the beast as it guides you into the trees, the clearing disappearing behind you. The wolf's body continues to flicker in and out of the cold afternoon air before its form eventually extinguishes altogether, like a projection stuttering to a stop.
Its efforts were not in vain. What you are led to is, indeed, a path through the forest. But you are not certain this is the path you began on.
[Mockup is a WIP - will be updated once the pin artwork is finished]
The Magic of This Forest, Too, Has Warped
You're no practitioner of magic by any means, but even you can tell that The Blight seeps deeper than the animals. It just feels... "off". Disturbing to your core in a way you can't articulate beyond biology.
And alone again, you swear you're seeing faces in the trees. The branches lurching inward, oppressive eyes studying you as you mindlessly follow the trail deeper into the woods-
"Hello."
"...Hello?" You answer reflexively, but soon realize you never even spoke the word aloud. A gentle, comforting voice nestles itself amongst your very thoughts.
Twigs snap underhoof as something steps onto the path before you. "I've found you. Please, do not be afraid, bookkeeper."
What appears before you is unmistakably a Unicorn, though something is deeply wrong. The skin flakes from its sallowed face like scales of a mothwing or peeling wallpaper - it's a ghastly visage for sure.
"I don't blame your apprehension." The voice reverberates through your mind, "I am afflicted with a presence that overwhelms the very fibers of my being. The time I have left is only as myself. I am not dying, but..." The thought is left incomplete.
Legends describe Unicorns as a being of pure good, only surfacing in times of turmoil. You wonder how many humans have been graced with such a presence.
"...We are cousins, bookkeeper." It thinks, plainly, "Please, while we can still see the sun, let us speak as friends. Ask me any questions you might have. I don't have all the answers, but I long to hear your voice and will answer at my capacity."
The excitement prevails your hesitation. This is not an opportunity to be wasted. You ask anything that comes to mind, writing what you can in your book, as you struggle to make out exactly what you see...
(Backers may ask the unicorn ONE question per person! Feel free to get weird with them. It's just an animal, of course, but it is magical... maybe it knows wisdom beyond its forest. Ask about the Blight, what it feels, its thoughts on other animals, how it knew to find you... anything!
We will answer as many as we can before the poll ends, and several questions & answers will be featured in the next update. If you are not comfortable with this, please mention as such in your post!)
All Stretch Goals Funded!
We've blazed past 5 digits, and all the initial goals we've set out for Blighted Bestiary have been met. You guys are absolutely incredible!!
But it's far from what we have cooking in the background. Since the campaign is already hitting what would otherwise be the funding goals for new goodies, we'll be back soon with some cool new options for you folks to pledge for.
Additionally, we've had people ask about the fate of designs not chosen by the votes - All I'll say is this is not the last time you'll see these options 🤫BUT the choices you make have narrative weight, so please vote honestly!
In the meantime, all stretch goals are unlocked and you're able to include any in your order! Designs not yet voted on (IE; The Dragon jumbo pin) are also available to pledge for, but follow the updates for when their vote goes live so you can pick a design!
If you'd like to skip to the campaign update & poll, feel free to scroll to the bottom!
The shadows of the canopies darken even the brightest hour of day. It is a cold morning. The three of you travel for hours, stopping occasionally to log sightings of unusual animal behavior, or prod at the odd branch with the back of a pen. Conversation is sparse and the woods are quiet.
The Hero eventually muses aloud, “The dragon of this land has gone missing. Perhaps it too has fallen ill?”
You recall hearing this rumor with some skepticism. Because you have heard this before, overheard in the library not a few days prior. But the guardian dragon is little more than a legend - it purportedly does exist, though you nor The Hero have ever met anybody to encounter it. Maybe it simply has no business with you common folk.
You rationalize, “Well, the dragon is a magical creature. A very powerful one, at that. Would falling to The Blight give it access to its magic?-”
“Did you hear that?”
You are cut off by The Hero's arm to your chest, hand to the grip of their sword. Something itches the back of their mind. Now, in the silence of the forest, murmurs draw their focus to an unremarkable patch of darkness between the trees.
The Hero suddenly bolts off into the trees, shouting something you could not make out, as their squire takes off in a rush to follow. From the trees is a dim, greenish glow only they notice.
You, of course, wouldn’t know any of this. When you gave chase, you heard no such voices, and only desperately wanting to understand what was happening as your only protection disappeared into the trees. As soon as they were gone, the glow dims to darkness, and the path back was nowhere in sight.
Now, you are alone. And these are not the woods you remember.
Strange New Fauna Lurks in The Trees
It's definitely not ideal. But there are worse positions to be in.
You're clever, and you've spent a good amount of time surveying wildlife outdoors before. Steeling your nerves, you try to remember everything you were instructed of:
If separated, turn home immediately. Do not go searching.
Do not eat foraged food, even plants commonly understood as edible.
Do not follow lights you cannot determine the source of.
Never touch the trees.
You recall them with some humor, they almost seemed like old wives' tales rather than strict rules of nature.
But, almost immediately are your survival skills put to the test, as you hear a snap from the trees. In the darkness, you see the tell-tale glow of monstrous, green eyes piercing through you before the glint of teeth follow.
A Predator Corners You, But...
A large wolf - you think it is a wolf - bares its fangs but does not growl. What follows is the strangest behavior you’ve witnessed yet: eyes locked on yours, it paws the ground. After a moment, it does so again, neither approaching nor backing away.
There’s a gleam of recognition in the wolf’s eyes. It refuses to attack you, instead keeping its distance in the shadows and staring you down. Why?
You think to yourself, what could it be asking of you?
[COLORS ARE NOT FINAL - artwork will be finished if picked]
Launched and Funded!
Within 20 minutes, Blighted Bestiary met its goal. You guys are absolutely incredible, this is the fastest any of our campaigns have taken off and we're floored by the reception.
...So fast, in fact, that plenty of our stretch goals still need their portraits! We'll have the finished art up in no time, but they're no less unlocked.
In the meantime, you may now back for The Hero(?), The Wolf, and the Bad Omens Mini Pins (which have been added as their own pledge tier & add-on option)while we vote on how to approach the wolf!
You have been the town's librarian for years. Many regard you as very organized and intelligent, but you just consider it empathy.
The library cat follows you everywhere you go. Visitors have all given him their own little nicknames, but this isn’t your pet per se, just a working cat. Maybe he’s finally earned a name?
He loves to sit and eerily stare at you from a distance... (But cats are just like that. You think.)
So much time spent in the library lends you a unique perspective into people of all walks of life out of their elements. When people are willing to learn, they are disarmed of their preconceptions. A traveling adventure party researching the region’s ruins for their mark would be humbled by a botany student’s commitment to understanding native wetland sedges. Granted, she probably doesn’t know how to behead a cockatrice. Maybe they could trade advice!
Though you’re no survival expert by any means… you have always loved writing, and you have always loved biology. Not often does an opportunity to experience such a story firsthand present itself.
So, when offered safe escort into the woods to catalogue the new wildlife, you happily accepted. You, The Hero, and their squire prepared to leave by next morning.
Nobody could not have expected it to fall apart so quickly.
Blighted Bestiary launches TOMORROW as part of Pintober 2026. Your guys' hype has meant leagues, we're excited to share the monsters we've been cooking up for you all to catalogue (and maybe even take home... if you dare).
We hope to see you all for the remainder of of the story! (And feel free to suggest a name for our familiar, as well.)
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