I've heard people complain that some project runners are using their updates as a sort of personal blog. Obviously, I need to start erring more on that side of things than where we have been for the last little bit.

With 13th Age getting pushed back to June (at the least) by a house fire, the pressure has definitely been off. Darren has been focusing on more urgent deadlines, as he has a lot on his plate.

However, worry not: work with Nightfall moves forward. I have 90% of the first Dread Edition finished, and even though it's really late, I think you guys will like it. I apologize for not keeping our backers as in the loop as I could; I will do better in the future.

As a special present, have a tiny preview of Sam's sketches for the tarot cards we plan to offer!

- The Tyrant

1. We've had several people message us with changes of address and concerns about shipping.  Due to the long delay between funding/backer surveys and the delivery of our product, we will be asking you for updated information when we are much nearer to the actual delivery of Nightfall. Worry not, you are in the sure and certain hands of Turbodracula.

2. The first Dread Edition of Nightfall is slated for release (via backer-only update) Friday, 8 March. It will include a revised and updated version of Forest of Shadows, the Realm of Sombra, and the first draft of my Elements of Horror chapter. This will be enough to actual run a few adventures in Nightfall with existing 13th Age characters - and we will be most interested in your feedback!

Thank you for all your support, and remember: Fun is Mandatory!

- The Tyrant

Hey all! It's me, the Tyrant, happy to be back with some good news and some, well, unexpected news for you all.

The Unexpected

Rob & Company over at Pelgrane/Fire Opal announced yesterday that 13th Age will see a further delay until April. While many of us will receive the final PDF well before then, we can't in good conscience put a book out before the official 13th Age manual is released. I know those guys are working as hard as they can to get this book to us as soon as possible, so don't fret.

Additionally, just about everyone involved with Fun Tyrant has had some serious life happen to them over the month of December. Mac, our webmaster, has been hit pretty hard - which is why you haven't seen as many updates about preorders and tarot decks. You'll know about these things about two minutes after I do - which is as long as it takes my clanky fingers to type it all up in this little box. I know this sounds vague, but I am wary about making you any promises about dates and times that I don't know I can keep.

The Good

In truth, the news from Pelgrane was a great exhale for us at Fun Tyrant. The delay takes us from a frantic, finish-it-and-get-it-out schedule to a breathable, let's-do-this-110% tempo. Darren has been turning in some amazing work for the realms, which I am excited to share with you in an update (likely next Monday). We're committed to bringing you the best book we possibly can. From where I'm sitting, I think you are all going to be very pleased.

The Even Better

I will be posting previews of our work fairly regularly from here on out. What's better, we're following in the fine example of Pelgrane and Fire Opal; once each chapter is "locked" into a sort of beta form, we will provide it to you in a pre-release "Dread Edition." This will allow you to become acquainted with the world of Solenset as we have - as a series of dark realms and devious entities.

What's better is that this will give you an opportunity that you don't often have in the RPG world: your feedback will be essential to the development of Nightfall! This is, after all, a crowdfunded project, and we'd be remiss if we didn't take your questions and comments under consideration. I'm very excited to read what you all have to say about it, and to make this a game for all of us.

In addition, a grand thank you to everyone for returning your backer surveys. We really appreciate it. I'd like to share a few of the comments we had with everyone:

"The various updates I've seen and the Halloween adventure you delivered have made me very glad I backed this project. I can't wait to get my hands on the book itself."

"Another book I can point to angrily and ask my friends to try instead of playing Pathfinder all the time."

"Turbo Dracula vs The Moth Men in an all out monster dance showdown please."

"Potatoes can be delicious if prepared in the proper manner. DS9 is a bit more entertaining than I remember, but I sure wish it had been Ro instead of Kira. I don't really think this is what you expected here."

"Nifty setting! And apparently moth people or something!"

...and my personal favorite:

"This is the second best purchase I've made involving a robotic dracula."

Really leaves you wondering, doesn't it?

Work is proceeding nicely on Nightfall! Our artist, Sam, posted a blog entry on funtyrant.com about his creative process, and the insane amount of detail he goes into for this project. Enjoy!

Last week, we saw this:

But where do those characters come from? It turns out Sam has create two entire scripts and an iconographic cipher for his art.

Here's the cursive:

The runes:

And finally, melding Egyptian and Chinese to make a Lepidopteran script:

Stay tuned for backer surveys and more updates! Don't forget to follow us at the Fun Tyrant blog!