The Dark Carnival Pre-Order Store

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

It's officially time for the slower updates, because production hath begun!

Well, the last one is important because I have had some questions about how tariffs will impact production when apparently everything is going to literally blow up underneath us. Luckily, we are in production mode, and so we don't need to send out surveys or worry about printing and shipping yet.

Because of this we will not send out pledge surveys until the book is finished. It will probably come around October or November and we are ready to start releasing the digital PDF's. By then, HOPEFULLY some of the madness has died down. If things look really grim, then I'll probably shift one type of item in the loot box to a different type of item.

There is a ton of news from other TTRPG creators and the impact of manufacturing this has. Since we get a few months of leeway, we are just going to wait. This will give us time to calibrate our Add-On's that are part of the Pledge Survey accurately, and in case anyone moves, means less fiddling on the dashboard. So until then, just enjoy the production updates!

Preorders Are Still Open! If you missed the Dark Carnival campaign, you can still pre-order the campaign book by clicking on the link! Yes, some of the bundles are gone from the choices (gotta find us during the crowdfunding window), but nothing is stopping you from grabbing a book!

Crit Awards: A Big Favor To Ask. If you find yourself having time this weekend and really want to help out the studio, the Crit Awards nomination window is now live. It takes a while to go through the form, so we made a handy voting sheet for everyone:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Pa0GxBGU1p3DvSIAUP2dPd4JmY4A5zlev0JXY_d-owE/edit?usp=sharing

It has all the categories ST Forge, Severed Threads, and some of our closer peers are eligible for. It will take about 15 minutes, but it shines a spotlight on our studio. So, if you would be so kind, click the link and have at it!

Official Call For Novelists:

We have the Chronicles of the Chronicles Novels! Now we are looking for Dark Carnival Authors!

Take a look at these gorgeous covers coming for July Release tied to the Black Ballad! This could be you! We know it takes a long time to write a novel based in the setting, so this isn't something we are aiming to release even early next year, but rather, start accepting pitches now to select our authors. 

BUT! If you are an author who enjoys fantasy and the Dark Carnival, and have a sample of your work in: Times New Roman, Font Size 12, Double Spaced, With Headers and 2 Chapters Only:  You hereby invited to submit to [email protected]

Please title the subject line: Dark Carnival Novel Submission.

 Just because you submit, does not mean you will be chosen. We will however, actually read every submission, and judge based on the quality of the prose and see if you are a good fit for the project.

But if you think you have the drive to write a full-length fantasy novel and go through the publication and editorial process: Well, then check out what we did with the Black Ballad Novels! They are all released to the public this July!

I may need more than the usual amount of coffee after last night....

*MUPPET FLAIL*

Okay, I've seen some end of crowdfunding pushes, but last night was a bit special. We crossed several stretch goals yesterday and had a huge spike. Which...is amazing for everyone involved, since that actually means more stuff for everyone.

Thank you to everyone who helped support us finishing this project. Your pledge and support allows us to bring this insane dream to reality, into print, and eventually into your hands.

What Comes Next?

Step #1 for us is getting the manuscript compiled with the last bits we added during this crowdfunding window (yes, we've been working and adding content), and then we turn it over to copy editing.

While this is happening, our Art group is getting started this month. Everyone who backed this project will get to see the pretty art as it rolls in (sharing text is vastly less exciting). This whole process to finish production should be roughly 4-5 months.

Step 1.A Open up the preorder store here on Backerkit for those who missed the campaign mode (you'll be able to grab a copy of the hardcover and some select add-ons while we are in production).

Step #1.B In the next 30 days, anyone who backed the Villain of the Realms tier will get contacted by the team and thrust into a call with Hughe, Myself, The Eldritch Editor, and our Art Director (and we play the scheduling tarrasque battle). We need to get your art orders, bounties, and download character lore!

Step #2: Gamefound? So....we really want to make the soundtrack. Like...really really. So in May, we are going to break out the soundtrack, mini's and remaining stretch goals into a separate micro campaign and launch on Gamefound. You can follow along:

RIGHT HERE! <- Click this text.

THIS IS IMPORTANT! ANY GOALS WE UNLOCK THERE BENEFIT ALL OF YOU HERE! You do not need to go pledge support again. You already helped! We might have a unique pledge tier like the Ringmasters Brew, but it's okay. We are sharing this so you can follow along. That campaign will be much quieter on the email front and notifications on this side...because the true goal there is to unlock the soundtrack and bake it into the book like the Black Ballad.

Step #3: Layout! Once all the art, production, and final text is done, layout should take about 2 months. Which means... everyone should be getting a draft pdf in 6-7 months from now. We lit that simmer for a bit, and then...

Step #4: Print Run. The print run and press proof process takes about another 2 months. By this point however, all digital assets will be delivered.

Step #5: Shipping. We can't ship books if they aren't completed, but once the pallet of books arrives, we start shipping! It takes about a month to get everything all sorted at the distribution center and shipped.

Ultimately we are looking at 10-12 months from now for delivery after the full production cycle. Which is pretty damn good for TTRPG crowdfunding, and you guys will get plenty of other content as it's made and finished along the way, so...stay tuned because now all of you are part of the process.

There will be polls, chances for feedback, and you get to be a part of this process with us. That's the fun of being an early backer!

Okay...but...how about something in the meantime?

Some of you, may have snagged the last special editions of the Black Ballad or even some novels. Well...those are already done. We can actually ship those out next month if you wanted...but there is a catch: split shipping is kind of annoying.

If you want some of your add-ons early, just email us at [email protected] and we will check your address and look into media mailing you a package. We may hit you up for a few bucks on shipping, and we'll update the back end here to mark that portion as filled. This is on a case-by-case basis, but it's certainly doable. Just let us know if you want your copy of the finished stuff all bundled and shipped out early!

Again, thank you so much everyone! We are about to zoom around like the caffeinated (and now apparently tea-infused) creators that we are!

The Storytellers Forge Team.