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Jewel in the Sky: A Megadungeon with a Twist from Monte Cook

Created by Monte Cook Games

Legendary TTRPG designer Monte Cook, creator of Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, Ptolus, and more, returns to the megadungeon!

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Cards Increased! How about More Adventure?
2 months ago – Mon, Apr 20, 2026 at 08:57:13 AM



Hello, backers—

Another stretch goal! Thank you for spreading the word and continuing to help more gamers discover Jewel in the Sky. It’s thanks to you that this campaign has kept up such a marvelous pace!

We’re now adding another big tranche of cypher and creature cards to the boxed set. And not only that: every backer also gets another XP card added to their collection as a free bonus reward. This is the card you voted for:


(Let’s be honest: it was always going to be the vaudin. I (Charles) don’t know what this creature is—we haven’t met it in the playtest yet—but it sure looks like it’ll be a frightening encounter!)

Stretch Goal: Side Quests!

Jewel in the Sky is loaded with adventure—it’s a dynamic environment with all kinds of potential, and a full mini-campaign that will take you many, many sessions to complete.

But what if there was more? Vocurro is a fascinating place filled with hooks and elements that suggest countless potential stories. And who doesn’t like more adventure?



We’ve been enjoying an exciting playtest campaign over the past couple of months—and as Monte has been running that game, he says it’s suggested a lot of ideas for side-quests and other adventures. So let’s add a bit of that to the box!

This is an entirely new component, and it’s exclusive to the boxed set edition. It will expand your Vocurro-related adventuring with one or more short side-quests, all related to (but not critical for) the main Jewel in the Sky plot threads. It will give you even more opportunities to enjoy the unique setting and the characters you come to love as they explore Vocurro.

We’ll unlock this side-quest booklet and add a new component to the box when we reach 1725 backers!

And As Always, Another XP Card!

As we do with every stretch goal, we’ll give a free bonus reward to every backer, no matter your pledge level. It’s time to vote for the next XP card in your collection—which should we add?


The poll is now open!

We’ve Hit the Halfway Point—Let’s Keep the Goals Rolling!

Look at all the goals we’ve unlocked so far! We’ve:

  • Doubled the number of loose-leaf maps in the box
  • Doubled the map size as well
  • Added a bestiary of detailed, expanded creature info and lore
  • Unlocked a GM Notebook for optimizing your campaign.
  • Increased the number of cypher and creature cards in the box (twice!)
  • Upped the number of handouts
  • Added a second poster map
  • Upgraded the whole thing with a deluxe, die-cut, magnetic-closure box
  • And unlocked and grown the collection of XP cards (now up to nine in total!)

With the campaign at its halfway point, we might have just as many stretch goals to come—if you keep the momentum going! We work hard to spread the word, but it’s backers who really build the buzz.

Please take a moment to help spread the word. Follow our social media and like, comment, or better yet share some of our posts. Help other gamers discover Jewel in the Sky, and we’ll keep unlocking stretch goals!


Thanks for your support!
—Team MCG

Second Poster Map Added!
2 months ago – Thu, Apr 16, 2026 at 11:52:48 AM



Hello, backers—

Once again you’ve amazed us with your dedication and alacrity! In less than 48 hours you’ve unlocked yet another stretch goal—the Jewel in the Sky boxed set is now getting a second poster map, this one showing Vocurro from a sci-fi angle!

You also amazed us with your voting for the free bonus XP card—it was literally a tie. That makes it “dealer’s choice,” and I (Charles) am choosing the naganit. We’ve faced these in our internal playtest, and I can tell you they’re a hard fight. Watch out for the scorpion-like tail. And with those human hands, they can open doors—so they can be a challenge to escape from!


Every backer gets this collection of XP cards as a free bonus reward, and we add a card with every stretch goal we unlock! Speaking of cards and stretch goals…

Stretch Goal: More Cards!

Back in the first week of the campaign, you unlocked a stretch goal to increase the number of creature and cypher cards in the Jewel in the Sky box. (See update 5 for details.) These useful cards speed and ease gameplay while providing inspiration and immersion.

How about more? The vision for Jewel has continued to expand throughout this campaign, and Monte thinks Vocurro’s unique cyphers and creatures could easily benefit from well over 100 cards—double what we originally had in mind, and maybe a lot more! (Numbers like these are always approximate; we like to design to the needs of the product, not an arbitrary number we came up with during the crowdfunding campaign.)

All of these cards will be fully compatible with the general-purpose Cypher Creature Deck and Manifest Cypher Deck. So if you have those, you can mix and match cards as best serves your game.

If you can get us to 1625 backers, we’ll add these additional creature and cypher cards to the Jewel in the Sky boxed set!

These cards will also be featured in the Datasphere Deck Tool, making them just as handy and easy to use in the digital realm as they are at your physical game table, whether you’re using a VTT or playing over Discord or Zoom. (You can learn more about the Datasphere Deck Tool here.)


And, of Course, Another XP Card!

Which card should we add as our next free bonus to your rewards?



Vote now!

Your Help Keeps This Campaign Rolling!

We’re hitting these goals so fast because our backers—you!—are doing such a great job spreading the word. Please keep it up! You can find posts to share on our social media accounts [[link]], or click through below for a treasure trove of images you can use!


Thanks for your support!
—Team MCG

GM Notebook Unlocked! More, Please!
2 months ago – Tue, Apr 14, 2026 at 02:37:04 PM



Hello, backers—

Another stretch goal under our belt: we’re now adding the GM notebook to the boxed set! You are really turning the Jewel boxed set into the amazing experience we’d like it to be—a campaign that will be a true joy to run and a legendary experience in your gaming group. 


And that’s not all. As always, we’re adding a little bonus reward for every backer, and our way of saying thank you for making this happen. You voted for this XP card:


Stretch Goal: Another Poster Map

The maps in Jewel in the Sky are effortlessly usable and visually striking. We’re putting a bunch of them into the box as separate components for your convenience at the table and, as appropriate, for showing the players. (You’ve expanded both the quantity and size of these loose-leaf maps through earlier stretch goals.) We’re also including a big poster-sized map to really show off the entirety of Vocurru. It’ll have a hand-drawn look, with annotations by in-world explorers. Imagine the look of amazement in your players’ eyes as they take in the detailed, atmospheric scene laid out before them.

What’s better than a poster map? How about two of them?

A second poster map will also feature Vocurro—but it’ll be designed for your science fiction excursion to the strange floating island. It’ll display a high-tech scan of the location, with scan result annotations.

Get us to 1550 backers and we’ll add this second beautiful, detailed poster map to the Jewel in the Sky boxed set. With your help, we’ll keep building a boxed set that will be as legendary as your adventures in Vocurro!

Another XP Card, Too!

Let’s keep building that mini XP Deck. As long as you keep unlocking stretch goals, we’ll keep adding to the deck. Which card should we add next?


Vote in the current poll and let us know!

How Much More Can We Unlock?

You’ve done a great job spreading the word. Please keep it up! Visit MCG’s social media accounts to find sharable posts, artwork, and inspiration for your own messages. YOU are making this campaign soar. Only you can keep this pace going!

Thanks for your support!
—Team MCG

Let’s Talk About the Books
2 months ago – Mon, Apr 13, 2026 at 11:22:28 AM



Hello, backers—

We have an important upgrade for you. It’s not a stretch goal—it’s just something we’re doing as a result of requests and feedback we’ve received from you, our backers.

We’re going to replace the three softcover books in the boxed set with the Jewel in the Sky hardcover. The boxed set will now include the standard hardcover, instead of breaking up the book’s content into three softcover books.

Monte originally specced the boxed set’s version of the book as three softcovers to make it even more usable at the game table. We still believe there’s merit in that approach, but your feedback convinced us that the more deluxe feel of a hardcover outweighs the relatively minor benefits of smaller softcover books. So we’re making that change!



Again, this upgrade isn’t a stretch goal—we’re just doing it!

We’re very excited for Jewel in the Sky, and all the ways you’ve helped us expand and upgrade it. We really want to make the boxed set an amazing experience from the moment you open the box—and to make it a true jewel on your game shelf. This is one more step in that direction!

Thanks for your support!
 —Team MCG

Maps Enlarged! Time for Another NEW Item!
2 months ago – Sun, Apr 12, 2026 at 04:44:20 PM



Hello, backers—

The opening week of this campaign has been a rousing success—you’ve really gotten Jewel in the Sky off to an amazing start!

You’ve unlocked yet another stretch goal, and we’ll be making the loose-leaf maps included in the backer-exclusive boxed set twice as big—tabloid sized (roughly A3) instead of letter sized (roughly A4).

And hitting that goal, of course, also means another free bonus reward for every backer. You voted to add this XP card to your collection:


Let’s Add Something New to the Box!

Your Jewel in the Sky adventures will be the stuff of legends. (Monte’s been running a playtest for a couple of months now, and we’ve been having an epic time!) Straight out of the box (or the book), you’ll have a everything you need for an awesome fantasy or sci-fi experience, loaded with immersive detail and atmosphere. But your campaign will really shine when you make it your own—customizing NPCs and encounters to your players’ strengths and interests, tracking subplots and character arcs, and so on. We want that part of your experience to come as easily and naturally as the storylines and encounters you find in Jewel in the Sky.

So we’d like to include a custom GM’s notebook. Record character information, plan upcoming sessions, take notes, record prompts, and track events in this digest-sized journal. It’s an entire new item in the Jewel in the Sky boxed set—another component that helps you build a truly great dungeon experience for you and your players.

We’ll unlock the GM’s Notebook when we get to 1475 backers!

Let’s Pick the Next XP Card!

As always, when we unlock this goal we’ll add a free bonus reward for every backer. You’ve been voting for your favorite XP cards throughout this campaign. Often the votes have been close, but so far nearly all of the winners have been fantasy characters.

That’s fine, but we want to solidly represent the sci-fi side of Jewel in the Sky, too. So this time we’re going to do something a little different—instead of choosing from two new designs, we’d like you to pick one of the sci-fi characters that barely missed winning in past polls. Which is your favorite?


Vote now, and we’ll add the winner to everyone’s rewards when we unlock the GM’s Notebook!

Keep Spreading the World

Remember, you, the backers, have made this campaign soar—and only you can keep up this great pace! Share the campaign.

Here are links to our social media accounts, where you can find loads of sharable posts along with inspiration for your own thoughts.


You can also find loads of beautiful graphics here:


Thanks for your support!

—Team MCG