The award-winning tabletop roleplaying game of political urban fantasy returns with a bold new edition!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Shipping Updates & The Vessel!
over 1 year ago
– Tue, Nov 26, 2024 at 09:37:07 AM
Hey all!
It’s that time again! We’re doing our update a little early this month as our team will be taking off the American Thanksgiving weekend to spend time with our loved ones and catch some much needed rest!
Shipping Updates
The USA - Shipping has begun! All but around 400 packages have gone (not including the deluxe edition books). Our team is working to get those remaining packages out over the next week!
Canada - Universal will begin shipping to our Canadian friends on December 2nd!
Australia/New Zealand - There has been an unexpected shipping issue that resulted in some of our accessories being sent back from Australia by our fulfillment center. We’re working to get that corrected. Once we have more concrete dates, we’ll let everyone know! That said, most of the books did make to Australia there, and orders with just the Core Book will begin shipping shortly!
EU/UK - Our distributors in the EU were closed all week due to snow but shipping will begin this week provided the weather is clear! We expect orders to have been shipped by the end of next week!
Rest of World - These orders will begin as soon as we complete domestic shipping. This means shipping will begin next week for RoW folks!
Deluxe Edition Books - We are still working with the printer on these, as multiple things we’re trying aren’t coming out the way we wanted. That said, the final proof for the deluxe edition is on its way to us. We are very close and expect to receive the books in the next month or so. As soon as we receive the books, we’ll begin shipping them.
The Vessel Revamped
We’re so excited to release the next revamped stretch goal playbook to you: the Vessel.
Like the Scholar and the Immortal, much of Urban Shadows: Second Edition was influenced by the Vessel in first edition! Instincts, the internal conflict central to the Vessel’s story, gave us a chance to try much more compelling features in play, and we learned a lot that transferred over to playbooks like the Spectre in second edition!
That said, we wanted to take things a bit further in this revamp, radically expanding the backstory for the Vessel to address both their history (Your Creator) and their motivations. Obviously, the Vessel is going to get caught up in everyone else’s problems, but now they have an internal drive, a curiosity, that matches what we see in characters like Edward Scissorhands and Bella (Poor Things).
We’d love any feedback you have on the Vessel, especially playtesting feedback. Please email your feedback to [email protected] and put US2E Vessel Feedback as the subject line! We can’t wait to hear what you think of the revamped playbook!
You can get your copy of the Vessel via Backerkit’s digital download system. We’ve already pushed out the files to your account, and you should have received an email letting you know that the files are ready for download. If you didn’t, you can access them directly from Backerkit here:
Now that books are shipping, we’re focusing solely on getting the final stretch goals to you! We’ve been steadily releasing one stretch goal a month, but realize we aren’t going to hit the end of 2024 deadline. That said, we believe we will have everything completed by summer of 2025!
Here’s what is outstanding:
The Ancient Playbook
The Angel Playbook
The Anointed Playbook
The Restless Playbook
The Witch Playbook
The Block City Hub
Docks City Hub
Financial District City Hub
Skid Row City Hub
Many of these are in progress with our writers and will be coming in steadily through rounds of playtesting and developmental editing by our team. We’ll be updating you as we complete stretch goals, rather than monthly.
On that note, please deliver any final feedback you have for the Immortal and the Revenant to us by December 15th, 2024. We’ll be finalizing those playbooks early next year, and we want all feedback in hand before we do so!
Thank you!
Thank you, as always, for your support and excitement as we head into finishing the final stretch goals over the next few months! Have a great holiday weekend if you’re celebrating! We’ll see you here in December!
Shipping Update & the Dragon!
over 1 year ago
– Thu, Oct 31, 2024 at 02:05:29 PM
Hey all!
Happy Hallowe’en! We hope today is spooky and fun! We have some updates for you about shipping timelines and a preview of the Dragon! Let’s jump in!
Shipping Updates
Shipping begins shortly! Urban Shadodws 2E is at our warehouse and looks amazing! Standard bundles and individual books will be going out in the next two weeks. Addresses are locked down and boxes are being packed! We’re so excited for you to receive your long awaited Urban Shadows 2E package! You can expect an email from our warehouse via Shopify and from Backerkit detailing your shipping details. Please be sure to keep an eye on your Backerkit and inbox, including spam.
There has been a slight delay for deluxe edition books. The final proof of the deluxe edition books looked great, but the final print has a serious problem—the finishing that the printer applied to minimize fingerprints caused the invisible ink to blur! We’ve worked with the printer to correct this issue and the new books are on their way, but those who ordered a deluxe edition book will receive their packages later than those who chose rewards that didn’t include that version of the book. Once the new books arrive, we’ll update you here and ship them immediately!
The Dragon Revamped
We’re so excited to release the next revamped stretch goal playbook to you: the Dragon. The Dragon is captivated by their past life, striving to discover the truth of their ancient origins and the lost broodmates who were reborn alongside them.
The Dragon’s original incarnation is mostly preserved in this new version–especially the broodmates and Ordo Draconis features—but the Dragon’s original moveset is now completely covered by the new let it out, freeing the Dragon up to do some cool things in the moves themselves. In addition, the Dragon starts at Status-2 in Wild, giving them the opportunity to jump into some higher level faction play at character creation!
One of the new moves that will have the biggest impact on the Dragon in play, however, is the Dragon’s new hoard move. The Dragon now has explicit incentives—almost an alternative advancement system—for bringing in new, powerful items to their hoard!
We’d love any feedback you have on the Dragon, especially playtesting feedback. Please email your feedback to [email protected] and put US2E Dragon Feedback as the subject line! We can’t wait to hear what you think of the revamped playbook!
You can get your copy of the Dragon via Backerkit’s digital download system. We’ve already pushed out the files to your account, and you should have received an email letting you know that the files are ready for download. If you didn’t, you can access them directly from Backerkit here:
There are still a number of steps before you get your books. We’re going to cover everything to come (including our stretch goals) to let you know the progress you can expect to see from here on out.
Stretch Goals: We’re now working to finish all the stretch goals by the end of 2024. As we complete them, we’ll release them to you without art for playtesting. Once we integrate your feedback, we’ll lay them out with art/commentary on moves and deliver them to you!
From here out, we’ll be updating you as we complete stretch goals, rather than monthly.
Thank you!
There aren’t words for how excited we are for you to receive your books! We hope you enjoy the Dragon and we’ll be back shortly with an update on the deluxe edition books!
Last Chance to Update Your Address & the Scholar!
over 1 year ago
– Mon, Sep 30, 2024 at 09:55:13 AM
Hey all!
Lots of exciting things are happening at Magpie Games HQ and we’re back to share some very exciting news!
Last Call for Address Updates
Shipping for Urban Shadows 2E will begin in a few weeks (early November)! We are so thrilled that you’ll have these beautiful books in your hands! This also means that the time to update your address is closing. After looking at when the books will arrive in our warehouse, our new address change deadline is October 16th, 2024.
Address changes after this time may not be updated in our system. If you encounter any issues, please email us at [email protected]. Emailing us after the deadline has passed does not guarantee your package will ship to the correct address.
We’re so excited to release the next revamped stretch goal playbook to you: the Scholar. Mercenary and knowledgeable, the Scholar trafficks in magic items and supernatural artifacts, selling priceless wonders to his network of strange and wealthy mortals.
The original Scholar—written by Marissa Kelly—was one of the playbooks that helped to inspire Urban Shadows: Second Edition! Marissa did an amazing job creating a whole world of mortals interested in the arcane, and it prompted us to think a lot about how the playbooks created arenas of conflicts and added new locuses of drama (in this case magic items).
The new version of the Scholar will be familiar to anyone who played the original playbook, but it’s been tightened up across the board, improving most of the moves and adding in new let it out abilities that make it clear how the Scholar makes use of these magical artifacts.
We’d love any feedback you have on the Scholar, especially playtesting feedback. Please email your feedback to [email protected] and put US2E Scholar Feedback as the subject line! We can’t wait to hear what you think of the revamped playbook!
You can get your copy of the Scholar via Backerkit’s digital download system. We’ve already pushed out the files to your account, and you should have received an email letting you know that the files are ready for download. If you didn’t, you can access them directly from Backerkit here:
There's still a step or two before you get your books. We’re going to cover everything to come (including our stretch goals) to let you know the progress you can expect to see from here on out.
Shipping: Once the printer has sent us the books, we’ll prepare for shipping. This means locking Backerkit surveys. We’ll give you ample notice for when this happens via an update, as well as when shipping begins and what you can expect from that process.
Stretch Goals: We’re now working to finish all the stretch goals by the end of 2024. As we complete them, we’ll release them to you without art for playtesting. Once we integrate your feedback, we’ll lay them out with art/commentary on moves and deliver them to you!
From here out, we’ll be updating you as these steps are completed, rather than monthly, since the chapter updates are no longer relevant.
Thank you!
We are so thrilled to finalizing shipping details and preparing to send you this beautiful game! We can’t wait to hear that you’ve received your package! We’ll be back shortly when shipping has begun and what you can expect from the process!
On a Boat & The Revenant!
over 1 year ago
– Tue, Aug 27, 2024 at 09:41:10 AM
Hey all!
We’re back with another exciting update! So let’s dig in and see what’s been going with Urban Shadows!
Printing is Done!
We’re thrilled to let you know that printing has completed! These beautiful books are done! Pallets of books are now loaded onto a ship and are headed toward us. This journey can take several weeks. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the ship as it carries this precious cargo.
Stacks of Urban Shadows GM Screens on Pallets!
Once the boat arrives, the books will need to clear customs and then be shipped to our warehouse. We’ll process and unpack the books and then begin shipping out your Kickstarter pledges!
Our estimated timeline for shipping is having the books arrive around the beginning of October. It’ll take them a few weeks to clear customs and then head to our warehouse. Once they arrive, we will begin immediately shipping books out to you! This estimates shipping for mid-to-end of Fall (by USA seasons). We will keep you updated as we get the books through customs and into our warehouses!
Updating Your Address
To ensure we will be shipping your package to the correct address, please update your Backerkit now if you need to. You will have until October 1st, 2024 to update your address. Address changes after this time may not be updated in our system.
We’re so excited to release the next revamped stretch goal playbook to you: the Revenant. Cold and mysterious, the Revenant has been given a chance to right the wrongs of their demise, brought back from the land of the dead to avenge their own murder. The mystery of their death—and the costs of revenge—play out as The Revenant carves a bloody path across the city, leaving only corruption in their wake.
The Revenant was one of the later playbooks finished for Urban Shadows (1st Edition) so much of it was already working really well for 2nd Edition. That said, we’ve tightened up every move, added the let it out abilities, and fleshed out the daemon creation. We hope you enjoy wreaking havoc on those who wronged you!
We’d love any feedback you have on the Revenant, especially playtesting feedback. Please email your feedback to [email protected] and put US2E Revenant Feedback as the subject line! We can’t wait to hear what you think of the first revamped playbook!
You can get your copy of the Revenant via Backerkit’s digital download system. We’ve already pushed out the files to your account, and you should have received an email letting you know that the files are ready for download. If you didn’t, you can access them directly from Backerkit here: https://urban-shadows-second-edition.backerkit.com/backer/digital_rewards
Next Steps
There are still a number of steps before you get your books. We’re going to cover everything to come (including our stretch goals) to let you know the progress you can expect to see from here on out.
Shipping: The books are on their way, so we are locking the Backerkit on October 1st, 2024. We'll have an update on the shipping timelines when the books arrive later this Fall.
Stretch Goals: We’re now working to finish all the stretch goals by the end of 2024. As we complete them, we’ll release them to you without art for playtesting. Once we integrate your feedback, we’ll lay them out with art/commentary on moves and deliver them to you!
From here out, we’ll be updating you as these steps are completed, rather than monthly, since the chapter updates are no longer relevant.
Thank you!
Thank you so much for your incredible support and patience as we get closer to crossing the finish line! It’s been a wild journey and your kindness continues to mean the world to us! We hope you enjoy the Revenant and are as excited as we are that the books get closer to being here every day!
Final Proofs & The Immortal
over 1 year ago
– Thu, Jul 18, 2024 at 10:54:53 AM
Hey all!
We’re thrilled to be here for another update! We hope you’re having a great summer season and playing all the Urban Shadows you can! Because we have a revamped playbook for you to try! Let’s dive into this update!
Proofing is Done & Printing has Begun!
After a lot of back and forth on the cover of the Limited Edition book, all of the proofs have finally been approved! This took longer than expected because we were doing an element we hadn’t done before, and figuring out how to get it exactly as we wanted took a little bit more work.
That said, all of the proofs are approved and printing has already begun! Once printing is complete, our freight forwarder will give us a shipping estimate on how long the product will take to arrive here. We’ll update you once we get that information! Right now, our printer estimates that the books will be done printing mid - late August!
Here’s a peek at the final proofs! You can see the final GM screen, core book, and the limited edition cover. The final image is under blacklight, where the limited edition cover reveals its hidden image!
The Immortal Revamped
We’re so excited to release the first revamped stretch goal playbook to you: the Immortal. The Immortal is a true power player in the city, a force capable of rivaling any other Status-3 character right from the start of play.
While the 1E version of the Immortal focused on schemes—plans the Immortal had that were just coming to fruition as the game started up—the 2E version makes use of the revamped faction system to give the Immortal a totally different level of power. The Immortal chooses what that faction looks like, including the Size/Strength of the faction, and gets to direct the faction’s action each and every faction turn. In addition, the new rules for refusing to honor a Debt mean that the Immortal’s Status-3 makes it very hard to say no when the Immortal comes calling…
We’d love any feedback you have on the Immortal, especially playtesting feedback. Please email your feedback to [email protected] and put US2E Immortal Feedback as the subject line! We can’t wait to hear what you think of the first revamped playbook!
You can get your copy of the Immortal via Backerkit’s digital download system. We’ve already pushed out the files to your account, and you should have received an email letting you know that the files are ready for download. If you didn’t, you can access them directly from Backerkit here:
There are still a number of steps before you get your books. We’re going to cover everything to come (including our stretch goals) to let you know the progress you can expect to see from here on out.
Printed: The printer will inform us that printing is complete and the books are being sent to us.
Shipping: Once the printer has sent us the books, we’ll prepare for shipping. This means locking Backerkit surveys. We’ll give you ample notice for when this happens via an update, as well as when shipping begins and what you can expect from that process.
Stretch Goals: From here out, we’ll be working to finish all the stretch goals by the end of 2024. As we complete them, we’ll release them to you without art for playtesting. Once we integrate your feedback, we’ll lay them out with art/commentary on moves and deliver them to you!
From here out, we’ll be updating you as these steps are completed, rather than monthly, since the chapter updates are no longer relevant.
Thank you!
We can never thank you enough for all your excitement and feedback on this game! Thanks for being some of the best backers around, friends! We hope you have a great time with the Immortal!
