Wow—We Made the Essence of Invisible Sun Happen!
over 5 years ago – Fri, Nov 16, 2018 at 11:14:43 PM

Good evening, wise vislae—

Incredible things happen in the Actuality—and even, it would seem, here under the Grey sun. Because as incredible as it seems, we have unlocked yet another stretch goal: The Essence of Invisible Sun.

If your backer level includes “additional books, if unlocked as stretch goals,” we’re adding The Essence of Invisible Sun in print and PDF to your rewards. Automagically! (If your backer level doesn’t include that, hurry back to the campaign and upgrade your pledge—the reward levels that include all the books have turned into a terrific deal!)

If you’d rather get The Essence of Invisible Sun on its own, you can add on this exclusive title in print and PDF for $36.

Thank you so much for taking us over the $320,000 mark. This has been such an exciting campaign.

Look for an end-of-campaign update in just a little while!

--Charles and the whole MCG crew

You Are Getting a Medallion!
over 5 years ago – Fri, Nov 16, 2018 at 03:39:11 PM

Hello, wise vislae—

We toil here under the grey sun, in a realm of deception and lies. But here is something that is true: You have unlocked another stretch goal!

Every Black Cube delivered as part of this campaign now comes with a random sun medallion. These high-quality metal medallions are cast in a bronze finish and come with a chain. They are roughly 1.4” (35mm) in diameter, nicely thick, and have a solid, weighty feel. There are eight designs, each representing one of the eight suns along the Path of Suns (but not including the Invisible Sun, which sits outside the Path). If you’re getting the Black Cube, you’ll also get one of these medallions (determined randomly) as well!

A Peek Behind the Curtain: The Essence of Invisible Sun

Can we hit another stretch goal before this campaign closes? Given the fantastic pace of the past couple of days, it’s certainly possible!

We’d like to make another book: The Essence of Invisible Sun. This isn’t a game supplement, but rather a look into the story behind Invisible Sun—its conceptual genesis, its design, and its production. It will collect essays and stories by Monte and the creators, contributors, artists, and others who influenced and were influenced by the game. And it’ll be chock full of great art.

This will be an exclusive to this campaign. A truly limited edition. Every reward level that includes stretch goal books will get it automatically, and it will be available as an add-on as well.

We’ll unlock this title if we reach $321,137. Can we do it? It will be tight, but if we all keep reaching out to find other vislae lost here in shadow, it can happen!

The Improved (and Physical) Prop Set Is Unlocked—On to More Stretch Goals!
over 5 years ago – Thu, Nov 15, 2018 at 11:07:39 PM

Greetings, honored vislae—

It’s truly amazing to be writing this update, just a few hours after posting the update announcing our last stretch goal. But you have done an incredible job spreading the word about this campaign, and introducing new vislae to the Black Cube. As a result, we’ve hit another stretch goal!

We will be significantly increasing the number of props in the digital prop set (our first unlocked stretch goal). It will now, in total, more than double the number of props you receive in your Black Cube. It’ll be filled with creative, immersive, fun, and often secret-filled items you can bring into your Invisible Sun narrative to show or give your players. The digital prop set is included with every backer level—and so is this upgrade!

In addition to the increased scope of this reward, we’re also going to conjure it into physical being. That’s right: handbills, tickets, business cards, brochures, signs, posters, newspaper clippings, old letters—all sorts of cool tidbits, that you can hold in your hand. The physical prop set is now available as an add-on.

Digital Rules Reference

A number of backers have come to this campaign to look for supplements, the Vislae Kit, or add-ons, having bought the Black Cube at their local retail store. Because they didn’t get their Black Cube through this campaign, or via the original Kickstarter, they missed out on some of the useful extras. In particular, many of these backers have asked about the Digital Rules Reference.

Does that describe you? If so, good news: We’re adding the Digital Rules Reference to the Look Beyond the Grey and Expand into the Actuality reward levels. So if you back this campaign at those levels, you will now receive the handy Digital Rules Reference.

Let’s Make Sun Medallions

Here’s our next stretch goal: Every Black Cube comes with a sun medallion!

We made these beautiful medallions for the original Invisible Sun Kickstarter. Produced by our friends at Campaign Coins, these high-quality metal medallions are cast in a bronze finish. Each is roughly 1.4” (35mm) in diameter, and nicely thick and solid in feel. There are eight designs, each representing one of the eight suns along the Path of Suns (but not including the Invisible Sun, which sits outside the Path). Each medallion comes with a chain. They are really, really nice.

You can already purchase a complete set of these medallions as an add-on. But if we hit this stretch goal, you will also get a random medallion for free with your Black Cube. Every Black Cube delivered by this campaign, as a reward or an add-on, will come with a medallion representing one of the suns. Which sun will you get?

We’ll make this happen if we hit $276,011.

Given today’s fantastic pace, it seems entirely possible we can hit this goal—and maybe even one or more goals beyond it. But only if we rally the many, many vislae still trapped in this realm of deception, unaware of the Actuality and the Black Cube. Help them discover this campaign, so we can make the medallions, and maybe even more stretch goals, a reality!

The Enchiridion Has Been Unearthed!
over 5 years ago – Thu, Nov 15, 2018 at 03:37:40 PM

Greetings, wise vislae—

Wow, what an exciting week we’ve had. Thanks to you, we have conjured the Enchiridion of the Path, making this new title a reality.

We’ve had many new backers since we first started talking about this “book” (welcome, new backers!), so here’s a recap straight from Monte himself:

The eight (no, nine) suns comprise the Actuality, and the realms they illuminate stretch into infinity and yet can be contained within a single soul. Exploring these realms offers both overwhelming dangers and nigh-unimaginable rewards.

Written from the perspective of experienced and powerful vislae who have walked the Path of Suns, this deluxe product contains player-facing material meant to be the results of character research and investigation, as well as GM-facing material that offers new locations, NPCs, challenges, and stories.

Leave the streets of Satyrine behind and travel the Path. As within, so without.

I put the word “book” in quotes above, because we’re looking at some innovative ways to present the Enchiridion and its cool, flavorful content. In its final form, it might not be an entirely conventional RPG supplement. (The image above is just a mockup; the actual product may look somewhat different.) Regardless, if your rewards include “additional books, if unlocked as stretch goals,” you’ll get Enchiridion of the Path automatically, in print and PDF. We’re also making it available as an add-on.

This is really exciting. Thanks so much for making it a reality!

So, What’s Next?

The first stretch goal we unlocked was a digital prop set. Part of what makes Invisible Sun so remarkable (in addition to the truly unique setting and the magical rules system) is the game’s tactile nature. When you receive your Black Cube, you will find that it contains, among the many hundreds of components, a large, thick envelope stuffed with props and handouts—little bits of the Actuality to share at your game table. Subscribers to the Directed Campaign also receive, in addition to adventure content, dozens of props—some physical, mailed directly to them (or their players), and others in digital form to be shown or printed at home. Menus, business cards, signs, handbills, posters, train and theatre tickets, letterhead, brochures, postcards . . . the list goes on. Few things draw players into a game world, and make their eyes light up at the game table, like well-crafted props.

If we reach $246,410, we will summon the prop set into physical being. And we’ll expand it. Now the prop set will more than double the props available in the Black Cube. Every Black Cube will come with this improved prop set in digital form, and it will also be available in physical form as an affordable add-on.

At the rate we’re going, it seems likely we’ll hit that stretch goal before this campaign closes—and possibly even today. Where might we go from there? The final days of a Kickstarter campaign are often very exciting, and this one seems like it's no exception. There’s plenty of time to unlock additional stretch goals before it’s over—if we all help find additional vislae still lost in shadow, and help them find their way into the Actuality!

The Art Book Is Funded—On to Enchiridion!
over 5 years ago – Sun, Nov 11, 2018 at 12:22:10 AM

Greetings, wise vislae—

We’ve had a great weekend, and thanks to your help spreading the word to new backers (welcome, new backers!) we’ve unlocked The Art of Invisible Sun 2. The Black Cube contains an art book filled with beautiful images from throughout the game. It’s a great source of inspiration for your narrative, a handy “show ’em” reference when you reveal new places, people, and creatures of the Actuality to your players, and a beautiful showpiece. This second art book will be a companion to that original book, and draw upon beautiful, surreal images from Book M, Secrets of Silent Streets, Teratology, The Threshold, and other supplements.

If your rewards include “additional books, if unlocked as stretch goals,” you’ll get The Art of Invisible Sun 2 in print and PDF. We are also making it available as an add-on, so if you aren’t getting it as part of your reward level, you can increase your pledge by $27 to get it in print and PDF.

Speaking of Additional Books

As we mentioned in an earlier update, we’re looking forward to unlocking a new supplement—and that’s our next stretch goal. Enchiridion of the Path is a tour through the eight suns of the Actuality. Each realm is presented through the eyes of experienced and powerful vislae who have walked the Path of Suns themselves, visiting each sun, parlaying with their wardens, facing their many dangers, and reaping their priceless rewards. It will be chock full of player-facing information and incredible imagery, but also contain loads of secret knowledge for the GM.

If your backer level includes “additional books, if unlocked as stretch goals,” Enchiridion of the Path will be added to your rewards. That said, its final form may not be a strictly conventional RPG supplement book. We’re looking at some innovative new formats for this title to make the most of the information it will present and the cool way it’s presented.

We’ll unlock Enchiridion of the Path if we reach $216,107.

It’s been an exciting few days, and it’s only going to get better as we head into the final week of this campaign!