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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:

New Stretch Goal: Making the Most of Monsters
7 months ago – Wed, Apr 08, 2026 at 07:55:46 PM



Hello, backers—

Jewel in the Sky is, like Vocurro itself, really soaring! Thanks to your help spreading the word, we’ve knocked out our second stretch goal. The next one is really exciting, and we envision so much more beyond that to really make Jewel special!

But before we get to that, we need your insight. Read on…

An Open Invitation to Dungeon Fantasy Lovers

Jewel in the Sky is a love letter to dungeon fantasy, combining the classic experiences that have made gaming what it is today with all the innovation, elegance, and ease of use MCG has introduced over the past decade or so. It’s a return to classic fantasy for our fans—and even more, an invitation to all dungeon fantasy lovers to join the Cypher community. As such, this is as much your campaign as it is ours.

We are thrilled and grateful that over 900 members of our fantastic community have participated, and that’s just in the first couple of days! And we’re just as happy to welcome the 100 or so backers who are new to Cypher.

But here’s the thing: that number—around 100—is weirdly low compared to any previous Cypher campaign. In the recent Numenera campaign, as one example, roughly 1/4 of the backers were new to Cypher. We’re inviting dungeon lovers to our community, but for whatever reason, the invitation isn’t getting to them.

We love that you love Jewel. We want to make this the best and most appealing campaign for all gamers. So we need your help to reach them!

We’ve started a conversation in the Comments section of this campaign. We’d love to hear from you about how you discover new RPGs, and how you think we can continue to build this terrific Cypher community. After you read the rest of this update, please join us there and share your thoughts!

Your Bonus Reward!

You’ve helped us reach 1000 backers, and the Jewel in the Sky boxed set will now contain roughly double the number of physical handouts. In addition, as we do with each stretch goal, we’re giving every backer, no matter your pledge level, a free bonus reward. This is the XP card you chose in our recent poll:


Now Let’s Make a Bestiary!

Vocurro and its dungeons are home to many a strange, dangerous, and sometimes terrifying creature. Jewel in the Sky will include all the stat blocks and other information you need to run encounters with the monsters your PCs face.

But a great encounter gets even better when the GM can breathe real life into the PCs’ adversaries—and you may want to use many of the fascinating creatures Monte is creating elsewhere in your campaigns. So let’s do these monsters justice!


If you’ve ever seen the Cypher System Bestiary, you know what we’re talking about: details such as lair maps, motivations, companions or pets, and expanded lore. And customization options, like alternate special abilities and traits, variant looks, different names, unique mechanics, and more.

We’d like add a major new component to the Jewel in the Sky boxed set: a mini-bestiary. This won’t be a big hardcover like the Cypher System Bestiary, but it’ll be a hefty booklet packed with full-page spreads that build out your knowledge of the creatures introduced in Jewel, and make them more than just passing encounters. We’ll add this mini-bestiary to the boxed set when we reach 1150 backers.

Plus, of Course, Another XP Card

As we do with every goal, we’re adding a free bonus reward for every backer. Which XP card should we add to our growing collection?


Vote for your choice, and it will be added to everyone’s rewards when we unlock the mini-bestiary!

Remember to Help Spread the Word

We want to reach as many gamers as possible with word about Jewel in the Sky. Please visit any of MCG’s social media accounts—you can find them all here. Pick a post or three that you like. Give them a share, use them for inspiration for your own posts, or like a good GM going through a published adventure, loot them for text or graphics to make your own!

And don’t forget to jump into the comments and tell us your thoughts on reaching more dungeon fantasy fans!

Thanks for your support!

—Team MCG 

More Maps Unlocked! How About Handouts?
7 months ago – Tue, Apr 07, 2026 at 07:35:48 PM



Hello, backers—

It’s still the first day of this campaign, and you’ve already blasted through our first stretch goal! We’re going to double the number of loose-leaf maps in the Jewel in the Sky boxed set. You’ll have quick-reference maps for even more of the areas in the dungeons of Vocurro. 

But why stop there? We want to add even more expansions and upgrades to the Jewel in the Sky boxed set. But first:

A Bonus Reward!

If you’ve backed one of our recent campaigns (Numenera or Cypher, for example), you might recall that sometimes we add a fun bonus reward to every stretch goal. We’re excited to be doing that with this campaign, too—but with a different twist! 

With each stretch goal we unlock, every backer will receive a free, exclusive XP card with a unique design as a small thank you from MCG. These cards won’t be available anywhere else and will have a unique Jewel in the Sky theme—but they’ll be fully compatible with the standard Cypher XP Deck. Use them as a special Jewel mini-XP Deck, or integrate them into your regular XP Deck. You’ll get them as physical cards, and also digitally via the Datasphere Deck Tool.

All backers get these bonus cards—no matter your pledge level. If you’re backing at a PDF-only pledge level, you’ll have to pay shipping for them (but only if you claim the reward, which you can choose not to do).

For this first goal we’re giving you this card:


It gets better: we’ll add another XP card, chosen by you, the backers, with every new stretch goal we unlock! (More on that below.)

Our Next Stretch goal: Double the Handouts! 

Vocurro holds many mysteries, and your PCs will uncover countless clues as they delve into the mega-adventure’s deep secrets—and exciting finales! Props and handouts deliver adventure information in a fun, immersive style that both speeds and eases gameplay. We here at MCG love a good handout, and if you’ve used the prop sets we’ve made for The Magnus Archives Roleplaying Game, Invisible Sun, and The Darkest House, you know how well-crafted they can be.

We’re already planning a bunch of handouts for the Jewel in the Sky boxed set—but let’s really load it up! Help us get to 1000 backers, and we’ll double the number of handouts in the box. These handouts will also be available in PDF, as a downloadable extra for the book as well as the boxed set.

Now: Help Us Choose the Next XP Card

Let’s have another bonus XP card to go with this stretch goal. Which design should we unlock?


Vote for your choice, and we’ll make it a free bonus reward for every backer when we unlock the upgraded handouts!

Want to Help Spread the Word About Jewel in the Sky?

You can right-click to copy these graphics to share them and help spread the word about Jewel in the Sky! Crowdfunding campaigns only soar when dedicated, excited fans spread the word—that means you!


Thanks for your support! Let’s smash through this goal and start unlocking brand new content…
—Team MCG 

Our First Stretch Goal…
7 months ago – Tue, Apr 07, 2026 at 02:49:58 PM



Hello, backers—

Since the campaign funded, our team has been hard at work managing the joyously busy first day. We’re excited to see how much further we’ll go!

On that note—let’s talk stretch goals!

How Do We Unlock New Goals?

Every crowdfunding campaign lives or dies by the enthusiasm its backers bring to it. If you’re excited about Jewel in the Sky, sharing that excitement is the best way to help us reach stretch goals. In fact, it’s the only way—we hit stretch goals based on the number of backers we bring into this campaign. We’re doing our best to reach as many gamers as we can, but we need your help! 


Here are some gorgeous, themed graphics to help spread the word about this campaign; right-click to download them and share on your social media, Discord server, or anywhere you talk about games. (You can also check out MCG's social media, @montecookgames, for posts you can easily share.) With every new backer drawn in, we get one step closer to unlocking…

Our First Stretch Goal: More Maps, Please!

Jewel in the Sky is filled with dozens of maps, each generally detailing several encounter areas. These illustrative maps are as beautiful as they are useful, and the way they’re integrated into the layout makes Jewel a joy to GM. In the deluxe boxed set, key maps are also provided in loose-leaf format, for the convenience of the GM and for use as an aid during play.



Who among us has ever had too many maps? (That’s the GM equivalent of having too many dice, right?) So let’s expand on that, and double the number of maps in the box! You’ll have quick-reference loose-leaf maps for even more of the areas in the dungeons of Vocurro.

We’ll unlock these additional maps when we reach 750 backers. With your help, this will be just the first of many expansions and upgrades to the Jewel in the Sky boxed set!

—Team MCG 

We Are Funded!
7 months ago – Tue, Apr 07, 2026 at 01:15:33 PM



Thanks to your support, one of gaming’s greatest dungeon creators returns to the dark, stony halls of the underground! 

Monte Cook brings his immense experience to a new mega-adventure: the mysterious floating island of Vocurro. This campaign has funded the first major dungeon fantasy built from the ground up for Cypher, and we’re thrilled you’ve seen the vision and joined us to create what will surely become a classic dungeon adventure. Having brought you legendary tomes such as Ptolus and revolutionary TTRPG supplements such as The Darkest Woods, we’re confident this campaign is going to be truly special—but only with your help and support. 

Those of you who are familiar with our campaigns know what we’re going to say next: stretch goals are coming! The first day of a crowdfunding campaign is always incredibly hectic and exciting. We’ll soon have another update out announcing our first stretch goal. 

For now, please accept our thanks once more! 

—Team MCG