The Dark Carnival Pre-Order Store

Annnd as promised per the last update! We are officially live on Gamefound!

https://gamefound.com/en/projects/storytellers-forge/the-dark-carnival

If you missed your window the first time to grab loot boxes, then this is your chance!

Or just follow along and see which stretch goals also benefit you beautiful backers!

This one, is a short announcement, because...well... or focus is on making the soundtrack from this magnificently evil crew right here:



And if you want to hear what track #2 SOUNDS like...

Watch this fantastic video we assembled: (It's on tiktok, but will soon go up everywhere else)

https://www.tiktok.com/@stforgestudios/video/7503650740485754155?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7470223034620659230

Thank you everyone for following along!

-Rick and Hughe

Slides in.

Grabs Coffee.

Taps Mic.

We present...artwork!


GREETINGS EVERYONE!

We are back with another update. I've got some notes for everyone and a pretty decently sized update, so straddle in.

Art! 

The next batch of art orders has been sent out, and it is the largest portion of the book: Player Classes and Monsters! The Calliope Golem above is just one example, and that's only version A. :). The "Backer only content" below will generally include the other variants, and I'm not going to drop all the art at once. Gotta save some teasers. But it's fun to see what's rolling in for production.

The Book!

Officially, it's off to copy edit land. We uh... won't have much to add on this front for a good while as the line editors furiously attack my precious EM dashes. That does mean however, the manuscript draft is completed! Only a few sections left to slip in...because Crystal Mazur joins the writing team! Crystal is one of our favorite writers and the lead designer of the PIP system (along with being a massive Dark Carnival fan).

Since Crystal created the Collectors for the Red Opera, she was given a special assignment for the Dark Carnival annnnnd... let's just say that is now being slipped in the book.

Gamefound! Your last chance for exclusives.

We've talked about this a little bit, but we launch on May 13th! (Tuesday). Over the two years that STF has been around, we've slowly been building up to this.

I think I've settled officially on what our guiding light is as a studio: Immersive TTRPG and Trans-Media projects. Big honkin' campaign / setting books, novels, music, a drink (Coffee or Tea), and now with Madlabs: fragrance.



Mad Labs is going to create the Autumn Frangrance that is going in all of your loot boxes (think cinnamon, nutmeg, and leaves). They were the missing link to us having the complete set of senses in a loot box, and a perfect example of some of the "New discoveries" we made during the last round of crowdfunding.

Since we have a clear vision for the studio, we are going to shoot to achieve that. The Gamefound campaign helps us get the soundtrack and several other things unlocked that we didn't hit here. But! Anything unlocked there, benefits all of you!

If you missed the last round, the Gamefound campaign will be your last chance to grab exclusives and new products and merch that we only order when closing out our crowdfunding campaigns.

You can sign up and pledge over here starting on Tuesday! https://gamefound.com/en/projects/storytellers-forge/the-dark-carnival

Anime Central!

Storytellers Forge is teaming up with Anime Central!




If you are in Chicago May 16th, 17th, and 18th swing on over and try out a HOST of free games being run by us. All you need is an ACEN Badge and you too can be vampires slaying nazis, see debut games we are working on like Midnight Dirge, actually play the Dark Carnival, get books signed by the RPG creators themselves! We have more than just ST Forge stuff as well... Mechs vs Angels with Eldritch Automata and more.

....and....even better...we have an immersive room set up with the Maid-To-Be Cafe group for quick hit, no schedule required games.

The longer debut games ARE limited seats. So, if you ARE going or WANT to go: BOOK OUT A TABLE!!! Once the event gets started, our tables fill up fast. The scheduling app we are using is super easy, and you can quickly fill out an entire table for you and all your friends. The full schedule is found by clicking above!

MomoCon

Annnnd.... if you aren't at ACEN. You can find me at Momocon the weekend after!

(After both of these conventions, Rick is going to collapse for a little bit and hide behind a keyboard to do some more writing on the next upcoming project).

BUT, thank you everyone!

For people who backed or pre-ordered the Dark Carnival there is more content after the jump!

and if you want to help us unlock the rest of the Dark Carnival package we want to assemble -> Click Here!

Hello, Darklings! 

We’ll keep this short and to the point: Today, April 27th at 1pm Eastern, Storytellers Forge co-founder Pat Edwards is going to be running a charity actual play game featuring a stellar cast including our very own Michael the Eldritch Author, Omar Najam, Surena Marie, and Nika Howard of Greetings, Adventurers. Tune in to Twitch.TV/GeeklyInc at 1:00pm Eastern to help support The Trevor Project. 

They will be playing a custom one shot set in the Dark Carnival universe called “Clowntown Lockdown”. Hope to see you there! 

Again that’s the Geekly, Inc. Twitch channel: Twitch.tv/geeklyinc

D&Tea: "The first glass is a shot glass, so very thin and you can see the nice redness of the Hibiscus adds, and the right is an 8oz cup, half full, and you can see how dark and red this brew gets. The sweet-tart flavor mellows the sharpness of the bergamot."

Rick: "Those are indeed words. I speak coffee. I shall however, spread the word."

Update Time everyone!

#1: Missed your chance to back the Dark Carnival? Want your final shot at Loot Boxes or to pick up some extra Tea as a stand alone tier?



We are announced as part of the Gamefound Feast Spring Event. This campaign is for all the followers who messaged us saying they missed the window and because we want to unlock the full soundtrack for the campaign.

Any Stretch Goals we unlock there - benefit everyone here! So don't fret!

If you want to follow along or you want some extra or new goodies, you can pick them up in isolated tiers over here: https://gamefound.com/en/projects/storytellers-forge/the-dark-carnival?ref=explore

We go Live May 13!

#2: Book Production is underway! I have Work-In Progress Art to share for everyone!

Memory Bottle W.I.P. Art by C.D. Corrigan! During playtest, one of the changes made was adding a BUNCH more carnival prizes and artwork. C.D. Corrigan is the author of Memory Thief (which comes in the Loot Box, and arrives on it's own this summer), and since it tied into the Jackdaws... it made 100% sense for C.D. to write up many more items.

Apparently, he can also draw those items as well :) (Kidding, we already knew that). BUT! I wanted to share at least one new piece of artwork for everyone!

#3: The Tea & Incense...wait...oils?

Okay, but for real, we are actually doubling down on the Ringmasters Brew.


^ Mock up! Everyone in the last poll voted for Tin, so this is what we are thinking. But the Tea itself? A custom blend the alchemists are working on now. They did take a quick photo of the very first brew:



BUT! When we were thinking of what to add / do to keep in theme with "Immersive TTRPGs", I realized I forgot about smell...



See this Astarion!? We found a group of eager and local TTRPG enthusiasts who are going to help us craft the perfect Autumn "Dark Carnival" and just...slip that bad boy into all the loot boxes or separately. When we nail down our specific smell - we will let you know.

#4: An ST Forge Switch - The Tarriff Talk.

I'm putting this one down here. Our goal is to make immersive TTRPG's and experiences, and that has been evident the further we got into the Dark Carnival. That also means, building community and looking for those who like to READ novels, LISTEN to music, PLAY the game and more.

There is a ton of doom and gloom out there about printing, tariffs, and more (rightfully so) and yes: it does impact us. But we are early enough on that we can make pivotal design choices if we need to.

Here's my thought and there is a poll attached:

Math Rocks. Everyone who has ordered dice so far - you are a-okay!

That said, as we go forward, getting dice made is now about to skyrocket to unfeasible levels. Small creators often can't handle the wholesale prices needed or the quantity for crowdfunding - and now getting them manufactured and made to spec is a giant hurricane of navigation.

So what if we make "Forgotten" Dice? Aka, in our journey over the year from convention to convention, I find local dice manufactures and get Dark Carnival dice made or picked from their selection of equal value - and when people order dice for the Dark Carnival -> They are getting something from a local / small creator out here.

The upside is that this avoids the catastrophe and I get to focus on the part I personally love as Rick (working with different groups). The downside is: All of you will get different dice.

(Although maybe that's a win!)

I'm not saying that will happen or not ergo: We have a Poll Attached!

Leave a comment! Let us know how you want us to approach the next year! Cast thy vote!

And if you missed out on backing -> Go check out the Gamefound campaign!

https://gamefound.com/en/projects/storytellers-forge/the-dark-carnival?ref=explore