February Chapters Update
11 months ago – Thu, Feb 29, 2024 at 05:16:14 PM

Hey all!

It’s leap day and what better time to release a new PDF preview! Let’s dive into the changes, the updated schedule, and what to expect going forward! We’re so close to done with the core book!

Chapter Update: February 2024

Before we get to the timeline, however, let’s check in with a chapter update. Here’s a brief reminder of what each phase means, but for a full description you can see Update 30: Chapters Update & Dice Preview:

• On hold areas are waiting for the rest of the book to be done.
• Writing involves the writing team creating the chapter.
• Developmental Editing is the process of an editor working with the writer on a written chapter, restructuring and finalizing the text. 
• Copy Editing is when an editor goes through the text to ensure that all grammatical, spelling, punctuation, and style errors are corrected.
• Layout takes the text from the copy editor and puts it into the final form for print.
• Proofing: the team looks over the chapter in all its laid out glory to ensure it’s perfect.
• Art: art is added to the chapter.

Urban Shadows Chapters (February 2024)
Front Materials (credits, opening, etc) - layout
Chapter 1: Introduction - PROOFING
Chapter 2: Cities of Shadows - PROOFING
Chapter 3: Fundamentals of Play - PROOFING
Chapter 4: Character Creation - PROOFING
Chapter 5: Core Moves - PROOFING
Chapter 6: Playbooks -PROOFING
Chapter 7: Advancement - PROOFING
Chapter 8: The Master of Ceremonies - PROOFING
Chapter 9: Long-term Play -PROOFING
Chapter 10: City Guides - layout
Back Material (play aids, index, etc) - layout

This month, we moved Chapter 1 all the way through the process, finished the rest of the playbook chapter, and integrated the feedback we received from you about the last preview we released! Thank you for all the feedback and insights on the last preview! They were integral to this next release!

As the PDF preview shows, we’re so close to finished! Other than the credits/ToC, city guides, page references, and a few pieces of art—this PDF is final! We need just a bit more time to finalize the layout for the city guides, but we will release those (along with any changes we make in proofing) to backers soon.

Why do so many of these say proofing? Because that’s where the incredible Urban Shadows community comes in. We’ve received a ton of useful and important feedback from you, and once we do this final proofing pass and incorporate any feedback you have to send, we’ll be ready to go!

Because we’re now at this advanced stage, it’s time to talk about the final schedule. Here’s what we’re planning:

• Early March: we will release the complete PDF to backers for proofing which will include any proofing updates and the city guides (roughly 2 weeks)
• End of March: we send the book to print, along with the GM screen
• May-July: the books will ship to our US-based warehouse and international shipping partners
• July/August: we will deliver the books (and all accessories) to backers

February 2024: New Preview

We mentioned in the last update that we would have a full preview for you this month. We didn’t quite hit the mark—the city guides are still outstanding—and we apologize for the delay. We need just a bit more time! The guides are in layout and will be added to the PDF preview by Mid-March ensuring we still hit our deadline of delivering the PDF to the printer by end of March.

You can get your copy of the current book preview—and updated playbooks!—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

There are a few notes on changes in this draft:

We’ve cleaned up language and other errors throughout the final playbook text. The Wizard has several important changes:

• removed the spell Elementalism, replaced with Stun
• removed "apprentice" as an advance, replaced it with "bond with a familiar"
• changed The Dark Arts to allow the Wizard to take Spirit +4 as a corruption move
• removed Warding as a corruption move; it’s better handled by magic via your Sanctum
• added a new corruption move: Eldritch Blast
• revised Upon a Pale Horse to make it a more useful option, next to Eldritch Blast

If you have any errors you need to report, such as typos, layout errors, or anything else you notice, please email us at [email protected] and we’ll make sure we get to it! Since plan to release the full book in early March, please email us by March 8th with any feedback on this draft.

Thank You

We are so excited to be making so much progress and can’t thank you enough for your patience on this journey. Urban Shadows remains a project near and dear to our hearts and we’re so thrilled that we’re getting very close to having the book to you!

January Chapters Update
12 months ago – Wed, Jan 31, 2024 at 04:51:26 PM

Hey all!

Happy New Year! We hope January has been kind to you, that you’ve managed to ease into the new year, and are finding fun games to play for 2024! We’re back with our monthly update and have some pretty exciting news!

Chapter Update: January 2024

Before we get to the timeline, however, let’s check in with a chapter update. Here’s a brief reminder of what each phase means, but for a full description you can see Update 30: Chapters Update & Dice Preview:

• On hold areas are waiting for the rest of the book to be done.
• Writing involves the writing team creating the chapter.
• Developmental Editing is the process of an editor working with the writer on a written chapter, restructuring and finalizing the text. 
• Copy Editing is when an editor goes through the text to ensure that all grammatical, spelling, punctuation, and style errors are corrected.
• Layout takes the text from the copy editor and puts it into the final form for print.
• Proofing: the team looks over the chapter in all its laid out glory to ensure it’s perfect.
• Art: art is added to the chapter.

Urban Shadows Chapters (January 2024)
Front Materials (credits, opening, etc) - on hold
Chapter 1: Introduction - copy editing
Chapter 2: Cities of Shadows - proofing/art
Chapter 3: Fundamentals of Play - proofing/art
Chapter 4: Character Creation - proofing/art
Chapter 5: Core Moves - proofing/art
Chapter 6: Playbooks - layout & proofing/art
Chapter 7: Advancement - proofing/art
Chapter 8: The Master of Ceremonies - proofing/art
Chapter 9: Long-term Play - proofing/art 
Chapter 10: City Guides - Chicago (layout) + Santiago (copy editing)
Back Material (play aids, index, etc) - layout

As you can see, we’re in the endgame now. There are a few areas that are still in copy (namely Chapter 1 and Chapter 10), but they amount to less than 5% of the entire book. The rest of Urban Shadows: Second Edition is in layout or proofing (and much of the art is in too)

This month, we moved Chapter 2 and Chapter 5 all the way through the process and finalized a some of the playbook chapter, which is one of the most layout-intensive portions of the book. Read below for info on getting your full preview PDF, which contains Chapter 2 through Chapter 9 in full (with art)!

Because we’re now at this advanced stage, it’s time to talk about the final schedule. Here’s what we’re planning:

• Late February: we will release the complete PDF to backers for proofing (giving backers roughly 2 weeks)
• Early March: we send the book to print, along with the GM screen
• May-July: the books will ship to our US-based warehouse and international shipping partners who already have the other accessories
• July/August: we will deliver the books (and all accessories) to backers! 

The most important part of this schedule is the next step: we are going to release a full PDF of the book to backers for proofing next month. You will have seen virtually all of it before, but the remaining portions of the book that are not included in the release today will be finished. We’ll give folks a full two weeks to proof the book (in addition to the proofing we do on our own). From there… we send the book to print and get to work on the stretch goals!

February 2024: Full Preview

You can get your copy of the full book preview 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

This draft of the book contains the entirety of Chapter 2 through Chapter 9, including four of the playbooks in Chapter 6. The missing materials—the intro, missing playbooks, the city guides, and the front/back matter—will all be included in the full PDF release to backers next month.

There are a few notes on changes in this draft:

• Revised Interfere in Someone’s Business to Overlook a Harm, better clarifying what it takes to claim a Debt when someone screws up your business
• Revised Lay Claim to work after asset seizure instead of seizing the asset through the faction turn
• Revised Claim Status-3 to Establish a Faction in order to clarify that a PC can gain Status-3 in the fiction (taking over a faction) or by creating a new faction.
• Clarified trigger for Shrewd Negotiator (The Fae)
• Clarified that MCs can directly inflict corruption (rarely!) by modifying "inflict (or trade) harm" to "inflict harm or corruption"
• Corrected typos and other problems throughout the document

If you have any errors you need to report, such as typos, or layout errors, or anything else you notice, please email us at [email protected] and we’ll make sure we get to it! Since plan to release the full book in late February, please email us by February 11th with any feedback on this draft.

Thank you!

We can’t thank you enough for your continued support. We mentioned how difficult last year was for our staff and having our Urban Shadows backers be so supportive and kind was a bright spot amongst the struggle. We’ll be back next month with a final, print-ready PDF!

December Chapters Update, Last Call for Refunds/Late Pledges
about 1 year ago – Fri, Dec 22, 2023 at 10:50:08 AM

Hey all!

It’s the end of 2023, and we’re back with our final update of the year. We don’t have any previews this month—the new chapters are still mid-layout—but we have some exciting updates on the timeline for the book!

Chapter Update: December 2023

Before we get to the timeline, however, let’s check in with a chapter update. Here’s a brief reminder of what each phase means, but for a full description you can see Update 30: Chapters Update & Dice Preview:

•  On hold areas are waiting for the rest of the book to be done.
•  Writing involves the writing team creating the chapter.
•  Developmental Editing is the process of an editor working with the writer on a written chapter, restructuring and finalizing the text.
•  Copy Editing is when an editor goes through the text to ensure that all grammatical, spelling, punctuation, and style errors are corrected.
•  Layout takes the text from the copy editor and puts it into the final form for print.
•  Proofing: the team looks over the chapter in all its laid out glory to ensure it’s perfect.
•  Art: art is added to the chapter.

Urban Shadows Chapters (December 2023)

• Front Materials (credits, opening, etc) - on hold
• Chapter 1: Introduction - copy editing
• Chapter 2: Cities of Shadows - layout
• Chapter 3: Fundamentals of Play - proofing/art
• Chapter 4: Character Creation - proofing/art
• Chapter 5: Core Moves - developmental editing (2nd pass)
• Chapter 6: Playbooks - layout
• Chapter 7: Advancement - proofing/art
• Chapter 8: The Master of Ceremonies - proofing/art
• Chapter 9: Long-term Play - proofing/art
•  Chapter 10: City Guides - Chicago (layout) + Santiago (copy editing) 
• Back Material (play aids, index, etc) - layout

December is a short month—we’re closed for the last week of the year for the holidays—but we were able to make progress on our last few outstanding chapters: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, and Chapter 5. While Chapter 5 isn’t fully released to copy editing yet, we’re done with the next revision and it’s undergoing final changes before moving on to the next stage. We’ve also moved the Santiago city guide out of dev editing and we’re getting it ready for layout now!

In other words, we expect the full text to be in layout in January, and we’re planning on releasing a full PDF preview of the book—including most of the art—by the end of January. At that time, we’ll be able to give you all a timeline for printing and shipping all the rewards, including the books and other accessories. We’re almost there!

Last Call for Refunds/Late Pledges: Jan 15, 2024

Since we are close to releasing the full PDF, this is the last call for refunds and late pledges—we will no longer be offering refunds or allowing late pledges after January 15th, 2024.

• If you’d like a refund, please email us at [email protected] to request it. Please remember that we’re closed next week (through January 2nd) so we may be slow to respond until we’re back in January.
• If you’d like to make a late pledge, you can still do so on Backerkit (https://urban-shadows-second-edition.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders). Once the late pledge window closes, we will no longer be offering the “All Stretch Goals” bundle.

We'll be releasing the full PDF toward the end of the month, but these deadlines will allow us to process all refund request and late pledge issues in a timely fashion. Thanks!

Thank you!

Once again, thank you for all your patience and support this year. 2023 has been an incredibly trying and difficult year for our staff and design teams (and many other people), and we greatly appreciate the patience and time you’ve given us while we finish up this book. Urban Shadows is one of our favorite games, and we can’t wait to ship it out to you all next year! Thank you!

November Chapters Update
about 1 year ago – Thu, Nov 30, 2023 at 03:56:34 PM

Hey, everyone!

We are back for another Urban Shadows update and are absolutely thrilled to show what all we’ve been up to! Let’s dive in!

Chapter Update: November 2023

We’re continuing to do monthly updates on each chapter’s progress. Here’s a brief reminder of what each phase means, but for a full description you can see Update 30: Chapters Update & Dice Preview:

•  On hold areas are waiting for the rest of the book to be done.
•  Writing involves the writing team creating the chapter.
•  Developmental Editing is the process of an editor working with the writer on a written chapter, restructuring and finalizing the text.
•  Copy Editing is when an editor goes through the text to ensure that all grammatical, spelling, punctuation, and style errors are corrected.
•  Layout takes the text from the copy editor and puts it into the final form for print.
•  Proofing: the team looks over the chapter in all its laid out glory to ensure it’s perfect.
•  Art: art is added to the chapter.

Urban Shadows Chapters (Nov 2023)

• Front Materials (credits, opening, etc) - on hold
• Chapter 1: Introduction - writing
• Chapter 2: Cities of Shadows - copy editing
• Chapter 3: Fundamentals of Play - proofing/art
• Chapter 4: Character Creation - proofing/art
• Chapter 5: Core Moves - developmental editing
• Chapter 6: Playbooks - layout
• Chapter 7: Advancement - proofing/art
• Chapter 8: The Master of Ceremonies - proofing/art
• Chapter 9: Long-term Play - proofing/art (revised)
• Chapter 10: City Guides - Chicago (layout) + Santiago (dev editing)
• Back Material (play aids, index, etc) - layout

This month we focused on carrying several of our outstanding chapters all the way through layout to proofing/art, including Chapter 3 and Chapter 7. Both of those chapters were in an editing stage at the start of the month, so we’re excited to get them totally laid out and ready for you all to preview! In addition, we also worked on Chapter 2: Cities of Shadow that introduces the world of Urban Shadows, and we made good progress on revising and finishing our city guides. We should have previews for all that content soon!

December is going to be focused on trying to move the last major chapter (Chapter 5) through developmental editing. As we’ve said before, we’ll be releasing a final schedule for the book as soon as that chapter is in copyediting—which will be very very soon—so stay tuned! As always, refunds are still available for those who wish for one. To request a refund, please email us at [email protected].

Chapter 9: Long-Term Play Revisions

One of the other big projects for November was addressing some of the feedback we received around Chapter 9: Long-Term Play. Several backers in our Discord pointed out that consolidate control wasn’t a faction move that lent itself to interactions with the player characters…nor did it seem very useful to PC-led factions. While the move was always intended to be far more useful to GMs (for NPC-led factions), the feedback prompted us to reevaluate the move, and we’ve decided to replace it with develop infrastructure!

You can check out Chapter 9 (page 207) for the full text of the move, but the basic changes are thus:

• Factions can use develop infrastructure to mark either improvement track AND secure vulnerable assets
   
• In order to make the move, factions have to have a secure asset they can call upon to develop the infrastructure, like tapping their +criminal slush fund or relying on their +lunar cairn
   
• On a miss, all the faction’s assets become vulnerable (instead of losing a point of Strength) until the faction resolves a schism that’s arisen within the group
   
• Finally, we’ve removed any secrecy from the faction turn—when factions do stuff, people know about it!
   

Ideally, all of this both works better for PC-led factions and gives the faction turn more play around assets becoming vulnerable and secure. We’re excited to see what you all think.

We can’t thank you enough for all the support and kindness as we continue to work on Urban Shadows 2E! We hope you enjoy these preview chapters! We’ll be back next month with even more updates! We hope you enjoy the chilly season and stay warm!

October Chapters Update
about 1 year ago – Tue, Oct 31, 2023 at 10:51:35 AM

Hey, everyone!

Happy spooky season, friends! We’re all about getting haunted at Magpie Games HQ! We hope you’re enjoying the thrills and chills of October! We’re back with a scarily fun update! Let’s dive in!

Chapter Update: October 2023

We’re continuing to do monthly updates on each chapter’s progress. Here’s a brief reminder of what each phase means, but for a full description you can see Update 30: Chapters Update & Dice Preview:

•  On hold areas are waiting for the rest of the book to be done.
•  Writing involves the writing team creating the chapter.
•  Developmental Editing is the process of an editor working with the writer on a written chapter, restructuring and finalizing the text.
•  Copy Editing is when an editor goes through the text to ensure that all grammatical, spelling, punctuation, and style errors are corrected.
•  Layout takes the text from the copy editor and puts it into the final form for print.
•  Proofing: the team looks over the chapter in all its laid out glory to ensure it’s perfect.
•  Art: art is added to the chapter.
   

Urban Shadows Chapters (Oct 2023)

• Front Materials (credits, opening, etc) - on hold
• Chapter 1: Introduction - writing
• Chapter 2: Cities of Shadows - dev editing
• Chapter 3: Fundamentals of Play - copy editing
• Chapter 4: Character Creation - proofing/art
• Chapter 5: Core Moves - developmental editing
• Chapter 6: Playbooks - layout
• Chapter 7: Advancement - developmental editing
• Chapter 8: The Master of Ceremonies - proofing/art
• Chapter 9: Long-term Play - proofing/art
•  Chapter 10: City Guides - Chicago (layout) + Santiago (dev editing) 
• Back Material (play aids, index, etc) - layout

This month we focused on wrapping up Chapter 9 in layout, and we’re excited to send it to you all so you can see the full rules and examples for the faction turn. In many ways, this is the largest set of new rules in Urban Shadows: Second Edition, replacing the old system (Storms) with a new system that better maintains the fraught politics of the city and gives the PCs a chance to become the powers-that-be themselves when they reach Status-3.

In addition to work on Chapters 5 and 7—both of which are moving closer to copy editing— we’ve also started dev edits on Santiago! We’re excited to share both city guides in full soon.

We’ll be releasing a final schedule for the book as soon as everything is in copyediting—which will be very very soon—so stay tuned! As always, refunds are still available for those who wish for one. To request a refund, please email us at [email protected].

Chapter 9 Preview

We’ve finished the layout for Chapter 9, so we’re adding it here so you all can dive into long-term play! You can get your copy of the new chapter preview 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

Please let us know your thoughts! We’ve put a lot of time into figuring out the best way to discuss what it means to run campaigns, including the faction turn, and we’re excited to hear your take on the material! If you have any feedback to send, please email us at [email protected] using the subject “US2E Feedback: Chapter 9”. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Thank you, as always, for your support and kindness. We are drawing ever closer to being able to send you a preview PDF of the book and the anticipation is intense! You’ve all been so kind despite the intense delays on this project and we just can’t wait for you to see the finished chapters! Stay tuned and we’ll see you next month!