Hello, backers—

You’ve unlocked yet another stretch goal. Monte’s adding more cyphers to Jewel in the Sky, and we’re increasing the card count to 100. Literally a hundred cards in this box!

We’re down to the final few days of this campaign, and we have quite a few cool stretch goals we’d love to unlock—in fact, we’ve saved some of the best for last. We’ll get to the next one, but first:

People are talking about Jewel in the Sky, and that’s really helping us reach new backers. Here are some of the conversations currently ongoing out in the gamersphere—if you have a minute, pop in and upvote or comment on these threads. That keeps them going, and helps them reach new gamers:

The more people talk on these threads, the more new gamers we reach. There are still thousands and thousands of gamers who haven’t even heard about Jewel in the Sky or Mega Dungeon Month, or who have thought about backing but haven’t quite done it yet.

It only takes a few minutes to help reach hundreds of gamers!

As always, we have a free bonus reward for every backer to thank you for unlocking the latest stretch goal. We asked you to vote for your next XP card to add to the collection, and you chose this one:

The Jewel in the Sky boxed set already contains (thanks to a stretch goal you unlocked earlier in the campaign) not one but two useful poster maps.

But what’s more elegant and attractive than a big paper map? A gorgeous cloth map, that’s what! And we’d like to add one to the box! This classy addition will feature the main dungeon map, setting it apart from the poster maps (which cover Vocurro as a whole). It'll be so beautiful you can hang it on your wall.

Get us to 2200 backers, and we’ll include a cloth version of the primary Jewel in the Sky map in the box!

We’re seeing the pace pick up quickly, as is usually the case in the final week of a campaign. You can make this happen—faster than you think!—and move on to several more goals before it’s all over. If you help spread the word!

As we do each time, when we unlock this goal we’ll include another XP card as a free bonus reward for every backer—a thank-you for helping to get the word out. Which one should we make next?

Remember, we have just a few days left. Your help will unlock even more stretch goals!

Thanks for your support!
—Team MCG

Hello, backers—

We have a couple of bits of cool news to share!

You’ve asked, and we’ve listened!

We’ve just set up add-ons for two of the books you’ve unlocked through stretch goals: the Creatures of Vocurro bestiary, and the Vocurro Side Quests book of side-quest adventures. Both of these items are included in the Jewel in the Sky boxed set, but now they’re now also available as add-ons if you aren’t backing at that level.

The Creatures of Vocurro softcover breathes life into your encounters, and lets you make the most of Jewel’s creatures in your own adventures, by fleshing them out with details such as lair maps, motivations, companions or pets, and expanded lore. Plus customization options, like alternate special abilities and traits, variant looks, different names, unique mechanics, and more. This book is packed with full-page spreads that build out your knowledge of the creatures introduced in Jewel in the Sky, and make them more than just passing encounters.

Vocurro Side Quests expands your Vocurro-related adventuring with short side-quests, all related to (but not critical for) the main Jewel in the Sky plot threads. It gives you even more opportunities to enjoy the unique setting and the characters you come to love as they explore Vocurro.

Both are now available as add-ons—but remember, they're included in the boxed set. If you want these items, it's a much better deal to upgrade to the Jewel box with both of these books and loads of other goodies!

A couple of backers pointed out that there seemed to be an error in the pricing of the DELUXE BOXED SET + CYPHER (print and PDF) pledge level. They were right! When we set up this level we accidentally set the price $10 too high. So we asked our friends at BackerKit to change it for us (we can’t change a pledge level’s price once the campaign has launched), and it’s now fixed!

So, if you’ve backed at the DELUXE BOXED SET + CYPHER (print and PDF) level, your pledge has been reduced by $10! It’s automatic—you don’t have to do anything. You’ve just saved ten bucks!

And if you’re backing at a lower level, well, an upgrade just got $10 cheaper.

We apologize for this mistake and hope it didn’t cause you too much trouble. Thanks for your patience with us.

We’re closing in on our next stretch goal—an increase in cyphers in the book, taking the total number of cards in the box to 100. Please keep spreading the word!

Thanks for your support!
—Team MCG

Hey folks!

Liv will be talking to Monte and Charles as a live broadcast on BackerKit this Wednesday 29th April at 3pm PDT / 5pm CDT / 6pm EDT / 11pm BST.

This is your last chance to ask any questions before the campaign closes this Friday. Who has questions they want answered?

Hello, backers—

Crowdfunding campaigns often slow down quite a bit in the middle weeks, but you’ve really kept the excitement up. You’ve knocked out another stretch goal, and we’re now including even more physical handouts and props in the Jewel in the Sky boxed set!

And, of course, that’s not all. Every backer, no matter your pledge level, also gets a free bonus reward: another exclusive Jewel in the Sky XP card added to the collection we’re growing. You voted for this design:

If you’re already a player of MCG’s many games, you know how highly we value production quality. Some of our products (like the Invisible Sun Black Cube) are legendary in this regard, but even our “regular” books and supplements equal or exceed (or set) industry standards.

Our hardcover books are typically made with a type of binding called “notch casebound.” This high-quality technique ensures the books are sturdy and lay nicely when open on a table. It’s suitable for hardcovers of virtually any size.

But there is a step further, known as “Smyth-sewn bound.” This is a significantly more expensive process, so it’s usually reserved only for books where you really want to ensure the binding holds up—generally, for particularly big books. When we produced Ptolus: Monte Cook’s City by the Spire—which comes in at a whopping 672 pages!—that was definitely the way to go. It works: despite being about two inches thick and weighing six pounds, Ptolus is as sturdy as it comes.

While Jewel in the Sky will not be as big as Ptolus, it’s going to be a hefty book. And we want to ensure that it always lays nicely on your game table and holds up to heavy use through a lengthy campaign. Notch casebound binding is almost certainly good enough, but Smyth-sewn binding is the best!

Take us to 1925 backers, and we’ll make this upgrade to the Jewel in the Sky book. It will affect both the standard edition, and the book within the boxed set!

You may have noticed, at the top of the last couple of updates, some new art that hadn’t previously been shown on the campaign page. Monte has been working with Bear (our illustrious Art Director) on art for Jewel in the Sky, and several new pieces have recently come in. We thought you might like the first look!

We’ve added some of these pieces to the repository of shareable images—feel free to download and share them!

As always, we’re going to give every backer a free bonus reward when we unlock the binding upgrade. Which of these XP cards should we add to your collection?

The poll is now open!

This campaign ends in just about a week—plenty of time to unlock many more stretch goals. Please keep spreading the word and help keep up the pace of new backers!

Thanks for your support!
—Team MCG