Locals call it "The Blight". Not plant, animal, nor mythological beast is safe from its clutches, the very essence of the grove choked out by the invader. The natural cycle upturned, the forest has been warped into a shape from which it cannot recover. So instead, it adapts.

Blighted Bestiary is part enamel pin collection, part monster manual, showcasing an array of fauna and flora tainted by an otherwordly entity. 

Follow the updates to vote in this interactive campaign and determine the fate of its residents. Whether they succumb or embrace their new forms will shape the campaign’s pin lineup, and perhaps even our narrating protagonist.

Pledge to Blighted Bestiary & any 2 (or more) Pintober 2026 campaigns to receive a "Gummy Wyrm" 1-inch mini pin, included free in your pledge!

Backers who pledged to any of our previous campaigns (Chromatic Dragons, Gem Dragons, Paleo Pals 1 & 2) qualify for a free "Changeling" sticker, included with their pledge! If you weren't part of previous campaigns, don't sweat! This sticker will be available as a paid add-on for the duration of the entire Blighted Bestiary campaign. 

Both freebies should automatically add themselves to your pledge if you qualify. 

Geek and Artsy and I are offering exclusive cross-collab incentives: pledge to both Blighted Bestiary and Dragonscapes to receive TWO free exclusive stickers, one from each campaign! The above "Intertwined" sticker should automatically add itself to your Blighted Bestiary pledge as a freebie if you qualify.

You will NOT be able to select or add this sticker as part of your pledge or add-on option, so make sure to show your support if you wanna grab it!

The Blight arrived one night after a meteor shower, under guise of a blessing. Strange, glowing stones landed in the forest, and something slithered out.

The Blight is like a madness of the body - mutating its victims into aberrant shapes, their minds soon to follow.  Animals, fae, and great beasts of myth roam these lands, all warped by a thinking illness. Legend has it that even the dragon residing in the deepest points of the woods, serving both as guardian and apex predator, has fallen ill to it.

You are a librarian called to aid the efforts of understanding this mysterious plague. Your research has culminated in the Blighted Bestiary.

Because of your research efforts, you were tasked to accompany The Hero on an expedition into the woods, in order to determine the cause of The Blight, and with some luck, a way to exterminate it once and for all.

[As of Update #1] Not soon after departing, you and The Hero discuss rumors surrounding The Blight, concluding that not even creatures of mythology are safe from illness, possibly by intention. Soon after, The Hero is overcome with a bout of madness and disappears, leaving you completely alone and stranded from the path back.

Because of your poor survival skills, you do not find the way back, and encounter a blighted Wolf. You assume first that you're in danger, but The Blight has granted it intelligence, and it beckons you to follow.

[As of Update #2] The wolf guides you deeper into the woods until you reach a path - but not the one you entered the woods on. It disappears, but soon after you encounter what you assume it was trying to lead you to: A Unicorn, though afflicted with the blight, approaches you to speak, willing to answer any questions with the time it has left.

Follow the campaign updates to read the story as it develops, and vote in the interactive elements! Your decisions will shape the story and the pins unlocked.

Shipping will be calculated and collected after the campaign when you fill out your survey form, based on your location! 

Shipping will be done as a flat rate via USPS, and will include tracking. Please refer to the numbers below as ESTIMATES, and note these numbers are subject to change at any time:

For International Backers: VAT tax is not collected by the survey, so you are responsible for paying your country's import tax, if any. We will be keeping an eye on EU orders and the new regulations - for this campaign we intend to ship to the EU but will provide updates as new information rolls out.

The timeline estimate is as follows: 

Backers will be informed of any potential changes to the timeline. Stay up-to-date with the campaign updates! 

Howdy! I'm Scott, a full-time illustrator and merch artist based in Chicago. More importantly, I'm a lover of little shiny trinkets, and if you've stuck around this far to read the about me, I'd wager you are too. With the help of my partner Atomic, Toadstown was founded as a celebration of colorful critters, fantasy, fandom, and the occasional creepy crawlies.

Blighted Bestiary is our fifth crowdfunding campaign and a labor of love.

I feel inexorably drawn to the idea of fictional creatures. As part of the first few generations to grow up digitally, interacting with video games like Spore or Neopets in my formative years would lend them a grip on my squishy child brain as magnetic as real animals did, extinct or otherwise. Come high school when I was introduced to TTRPGs by ways of Pathfinder 1e, suddenly a Pokedex isn't the only reason to invent and catalogue imaginary monsters.

Four successful Backerkit projects, three years running in two different 5e campaigns, and one entire virtual pet site later, why not blend the best parts of these interests? An enamel pin collection with stat blocks is as self-indulgent as I could possibly make a crowdfunding project, so I hope with all my heart you enjoy the spooky worldbuilding as much as I did writing it!

If you're interested in my previous work, feel free to check out the Toadstown Bluesky and Twitter, or follow our Etsy for when leftover sales go live!

This campaign is participating as part of Pintober 2026, a halloween-themed pin event showcasing dozens of talented creatives! Click the banners above and go show some support!

BackerKit operates on a "Pledge now, pay later" system. This means you will not be charged until the campaign concludes, AND it's reached its goal. After the campaign ends, backers will receive a survey where they will be able to provide their shipping address, preferences if they've chosen any customizable backing tiers (IE: "choose your own pin"), and even any add-ons they'd like to throw on to their pledge last minute!

You are allowed to change your pledge amount and rewards at any time before the campaign ends. If you need to withdraw from the campaign for any reason, do so then! Once the project concludes, we will be unable to provide refunds as all funds raised will be going right into production costs.

PLEASE NOTE: Shipping is not included with your pledge and will be collected once you fill out your BackerKit survey, based on your location.

For more campaign information, or if you have additional questions about BackerKit, feel free to check the FAQ!