Monte Cook Is a Jerk
about 5 years ago – Fri, Feb 22, 2019 at 12:29:41 AM

Hello, wise vislae—

Now that we have your attention, we should say that we don’t actually think Monte is a jerk. Far from it, in fact. But he did have a specific vision of what he wanted Invisible Sun to be, and he stuck to his guns in ensuring that the game we made fit that vision.

From the very beginning, when Monte was designing Invisible Sun, he had an uncompromising idea for the form he wanted the game to take. He envisioned not just a game that was fun and compelling, but also an amazing box to open and explore. He wanted to really celebrate the game group as an entity that gathered together around this physical object—the Black Cube.

But then we ran into a problem. (Not a terrible problem for a game company to have, but a problem nonetheless.) Demand for Invisible Sun was far higher than we’d originally anticipated. By the time the Black Cubes were finally assembled (no small task!), on a ship, and making their way to North America, the game was already sold out. We did a Kickstarter campaign to fund a reprint—because it’s a very expensive game to make, as you can imagine—and we began doing the math. When we compared the ever-increasing demand with the real world limitations (time, materials, shipping, etc.) of physically producing this incredibly deluxe game, we realized that we would probably never be able to keep up.

People had been asking for PDFs of the Invisible Sun game since we first announced it. Was Monte going to stick to his guns and insist that MCG retain his vision? Was he going to continue to be a jerk who kept the digital version of the game from existing, in light of all these people who simply weren’t going to ever get the game otherwise?

No.

The deluxe nature of the Black Cube itself was keeping it out of the hands and away from the tables of many people who wanted to explore the surreal world of the Actuality. Presented with this fact, Monte ultimately had to relent, and admit that making a digital version of this game was necessary. Monte’s a gamer at heart, and wants nothing more than for people to play the games he makes. The play’s the thing, and while the digital version might not be the absolute optimal version of the game, it’s more than enough to get people started playing Invisible Sun. And that’s what's important.

But Monte insisted on one caveat: We had to be true to the people who had faith in this game. That meant that our Kickstarter backers (and those who preordered the game from MCG) had to be rewarded for seeing from the start that this was going to be something special. So Monte proposed—and we all immediately agreed—that the digital version of the game should go to all of those people, automatically and for free.

The upshot of all this is that after much deliberation, we’re going to release Invisible Sun in PDF, and if you backed this campaign for a Black Cube, you’re going to get a copy of Invisible Sun in PDF.

In the days to come, look for a redemption email coming your way. When you receive it, follow the instructions to claim and download your copy of Invisible Sun in PDF. (If you didn't back for the Black Cube, and would like to purchase Invisible Sun in PDF, it will be available in the near future.)

Monte’s original vision for Invisible Sun remains, in our minds, the ultimate way to experience the game. The tactile nature of the many great components—the cards, the tokens, the counters, the dice, the Sooth Deck, the props, the board, the Testament of Suns, and on and on—make the physical game by far the best experience (and, for the money, the best value). But even for owners of the Black Cube there’s a benefit to having hyperlinked PDFs of all of the books, printable files for the props, and many of the other digital elements. And as Monte pointed out, there are thousands of gamers for whom the physical Black Cube is simply not a practical option.

Thank you again, wise vislae, for making Invisible Sun a reality. We hope you enjoy the PDF!

—Charles and the MCG Team

Teratology Is on Press, and Other Goodies
about 5 years ago – Thu, Feb 14, 2019 at 12:24:26 AM

Hello, wise vislae—

Now that Secrets of Silent Streets has been unleashed upon the Grey, we’re happy to announce that Teratology is off to the printer! This 192-page tome is the masterwork of vislae Taramoc Eslin, a compilation of her research across all the worlds and half-worlds, and the authoritative bestiary of the Actuality. When asked how many beings live in the Actuality, Taramoc answered with characteristic aplomb: “All of them.” No book could possibly catalog every creature to be found across the Actuality, but the Teratology is the most comprehensive attempt to date.

Here’s an exclusive peek between the covers!

Book M

With Secrets of Silent Streets out, and Teratology on the way, clever vislae may be wondering: What news ofBook M?

In our last update, we mentioned that slipcases and cards were somewhere in transit between port and the book printer, but terrible winter weather in Canada threw the rail and trucking schedules into disarray. The first container of components eventually reached its destination, we are happy to report, and the printer is completing the assembly process right now. We hope to hear that the assembled product is on its way to us literally any day now. Assuming no additional weather delays (and that’s hardly a safe assumption these days), transit to us should take less than a week after they leave the printer. Our domestic warehouse is ready to ship them as soon as they arrive; our UK and Australian warehouses are also standing by, but it will take a little longer for the assembled books to reach them.

It’s worth noting that this is the first batch of Book M. Quantities should be sufficient to fulfill to all backers of this campaign, but we won’t have enough in this batch to supply game stores or offer Book M for sale on the MCG Shop. The second batch of slipcases and cards is in Canada, though, and scheduled to reach the book printer for assembly in just a few days. So the rest of our Book M supply isn’t far behind!

Awaiting Other Items?

Do your rewards include add-ons like an additional Testament of Suns, an extra set of dice, or a set of character tomes? Good news: We expect to be shipping those ASAP. These items will fulfill to backers over the days to come:

• Testament of Suns
• Nightside Testament of Suns
• Autographed box plate
• Character tomes
• Extra dice

(If you didn’t back for these extras, keep an eye on the MCG Shop. Some of them will be available for purchase in the weeks ahead.)

That leaves just a few of the custom deliverables for special backer levels, plus the Invisible Sun figure set. The pre-production work on the figure set is complete, and the “greens” (the models from which the production molds are created) have been shipped to the factory. These are being made in Spain. We hope to see the completed figures in a matter of weeks—and we can’t wait to see Omar, the Red Shaper, Palome, Lauk, and Lord Vryx in all their surreal three-dimensional glory!

—Charles and the MCG Team

Secrets of Silent Streets has Joined Us in Shadow
over 5 years ago – Tue, Jan 22, 2019 at 11:36:31 PM

Hello, wise vislae—

In our update just before the holidays, we mentioned that Secrets of Silent Streets was on press. Great news: it’s finished and is now in our warehouse! And it will be heading your way soon. More on that below, but first a note on Book M.

If you live in North America, particularly the middle or eastern part of the continent, you probably know that huge winter storms have swept through in recent weeks. Apparently, this has been pretty disruptive of the transportation network, throwing rail and trucking schedules out of whack in the way an airport closure in the Northeast can cause flight delays all over the US.

The first batch of Book M slipcases and cards landed in Canada on 8 January, but didn’t arrive in Montreal (the location of our book printer) until this past Friday. That normally only takes a couple of days, so a 10-day trip was far outside expectations. It would also be normal for a shipment like that to move from the freight depot to the destination in just a day or two, but as of today we haven’t received confirmation that they’ve been received by the printer. We’re monitoring the situation on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis.

Once the printer has the slipcases, they’ll assemble the product and ship Book M out to us. That should take no more than a week for each of those steps, but with schedules in this much chaos, that’s not a guarantee we can make. We’re doing everything we can to ensure that the printer moves quickly.

Fortunately, none of those tribulations have affected our other projects. For example, Teratology is written and has moved into layout, and we’re only a few weeks away from sending it to press. Monte is already looking ahead toward The Nightside and The Threshold. More immediately, we’re just about ready to begin fulfillment of Secrets of Silent Streets.

This beautiful book, in hardcover and PDF, will begin its fulfillment process in the next few days. Look for an email before the end of this week with your redemption instructions.

We are very excited about Secrets of Silent Streets, and we think you’re going to really enjoy the tour of Satyrine. Book M shouldn’t be too far behind it.

And if you have any friends still trapped in Shadow, preorders for the Invisible Sun Black Cube reprint are now open on the MCG Shop. Like the original printing, we expect this one to sell out, possibly even before preorders close, so now’s the time to reserve a copy!

—Charles and the MCG Team

Secrets of Silent Streets, Book M, and Happy Holidays!
over 5 years ago – Thu, Dec 20, 2018 at 11:24:05 PM

Hello, wise vislae—

In case you missed it, the Kickstarter for the Invisible Sun reprint finished with a terrific result, unlocking a number of great items—some of which we’re extending to you, a backer of the original Kickstarter. You can find details on those rewards in our last update. If you missed the Kickstarter, it’s not too late: We just opened BackerKit. For a couple of weeks, you can still reserve Enchiridion of the Path, the physical prop set, and other cool items we offered. But BackerKit closes shortly after the holidays, so don't miss it.

Book M Slipcases Are on a Ship

We have great news about Book M: The first batch of slipcases and decks are complete and on a ship. Once they cross the ocean, they’ll be combined with the books themselves at the book printer, and then shipped to our warehouse. We hope to be sending them your way in about four weeks, assuming the always-fraught process of international freight shipping doesn’t suffer flux. The slipcases and decks have been backed up behind a number of other projects at the factory, so we’re very pleased to see them finally nearing the end of their journey.

Secrets of Silent Streets

The City of Notions. The Heart of Indigo. The Center of Real World.

Like any metropolis in any realm, Satyrine isn’t one city but many. Even a vislae can’t know the entirety of it, no matter how many lives they live there. Fartown, the Marquis Quarter, the Strangeglass District, the Hollows, and the vast abandoned stretches—all offer different experiences and moods as well as unique landmarks, resources, denizens, and dangers. Satyrine is something different to every citizen and visitor who explores her streets.

Secrets of Silent Streets will be a massive 216-page tour of the seventeen districts of Satyrine and beyond, each detailed through dozens of points of interest and illuminated through its own unique atmosphere, social expectations, and traditions. And of course you’ll find scores of plot hooks, NPCs, creatures, and plenty of magic.

And it’s all coming your way next month: Secrets of Silent Streets is on press now—in fact, production is almost over and we expect it to ship from the printer to us in the days to come!

Happy Holidays!

As we head into the holidays and the new year, all of us here at Monte Cook Games wish the best for you and everyone you love!

—Charles and the MCG Team

New Vislae Find Their Way into the Actuality—for a Few Days More
over 5 years ago – Wed, Nov 14, 2018 at 03:46:15 PM

Hello, honored vislae—

The Invisible Sun reprint Kickstarter is nearing its end. As we welcome new vislae back to the Actuality, we’ve also been unlocking rewards for you. So far, as a backer of the original Invisible Sun Kickstarter campaign, you will receive the following:

• We Begin at the End, a standalone adventure for Invisible Sun optimized for new players and GMs, in digital format.
• The digital prop set, a PDF of new prop items (tickets, handbills, brochures, newspaper articles, and so on) that almost doubles the number of props you received in your Black Cube.
• The prop crafting kit, a set of files that includes images, symbols, fonts, and other elements for creating your own props.
• The Art of Invisible Sun 2 in PDF, a companion to the art book in the Black Cube featuring even more mind-blowing art from Book M, Secrets of Silent Streets, Teratology, and other titles.

The above items are yours for free, as a backer of the original campaign. But you might also be interested in some other items offered in the reprint Kickstarter, such as:

• The Key in print.
• Enchiridion of the Path, a new supplement we’re on the verge of unlocking as a stretch goal.
• A great deal on all the Invisible Sun supplements. The Expand into the Actuality reward level includes all the planned supplements, including The Art of Invisible Sun 2 in print and Enchiridion of the Path (when unlocked)—and any additional books, should we unlock more through stretch goals.
• The Vislae Kit (currently sold out) plus Wicked Keys, extra dice sets, sun and order medallions, and other cool items you might have missed in the original Kickstarter campaign. You can also get just the new books as add-ons.

It’s been an exciting campaign, and as usual we expect this final week to be even more exciting. If you haven’t checked out the reprint Kickstarter, hurry before it’s over. And please help spread the word, so more vislae can find their way from shadow—and we can unlock more stretch goals that might deliver more rewards to you too!

—Charles and the MCG Team