The award-winning tabletop roleplaying game of political urban fantasy returns with a bold new edition!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Chapters Update
over 1 year ago
– Sun, Apr 30, 2023 at 01:28:55 PM
Hello all!
As promised, we’re back with monthly updates on our progress with writing and layout. This month has been a bit quiet—we’re waiting on final samples of the accessories from our printer—but we’ve definitely made some progress on the book itself. We know this update is a bit later than we had planned, as our team was at GAMA trade show. Thanks for your patience! Let’s dig in!
Chapter Update: April 2023
We noted in the last update that we’d return to monthly chapter updates this month! 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 (April 2023)
Front Materials (credits, opening, etc) - on hold
Chapter 1: Introduction - on hold
Chapter 2: Cities of Shadows - writing
Chapter 3: Fundamentals of Play - writing
Chapter 4: Character Creation - layout
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 - copy editing
Chapter 10: City Guides - Chicago (layout) + Santiago (writing) Back Material (play aids, index, etc) - layout
While Chapter 5 and Chapter 7 are both in developmental editing, we’ve been getting lots of questions about the full faction and long-term play mechanics from Chapter 9. In order to get you all an earlier preview—as we did with Chapter 8—we’ve bumped that chapter up in the schedule. Now that it’s in copyediting, we’ll be focusing on Chapters 5 and 7 moving forward. We’ve also worked out the city guide layout, so we’ll be finishing up the first city guide soon as well!
We’re pleased that we’ve made some writing/editing progress this month, and we’re hoping to see more good progress in May. We’ll be releasing a final schedule for the book as soon as everything is in copyediting, 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].
You All Rock!
As a final note, we wanted to say thank you for all the kind words that you all left on our last update. It’s difficult to struggle through any project, but it’s especially challenging when the delays mount and deadlines are missed. Every single one of our books is a labor of love, and we so appreciate the support you all have given us throughout the project. Thank you!
Apology & Accessories Preview
almost 2 years ago
– Thu, Mar 30, 2023 at 03:51:43 PM
Hello, friends! We know it’s been awhile since you’ve had an update from us and we’re here to discuss what’s going on with the project, along with what happened to cause so long a silence. Thank you for your patience as we’ve worked through what’s been happening.
What Happened
First, we want to say we’re sorry that Urban Shadows hasn’t been given the time it deserves and that we haven’t been present for you or as responsive as we should have been. Explaining what has happened won’t make the game appear or make the situation better, but we know transparency and honesty are important and want to honor your support. We know you’re frustrated and beyond disappointed. We are too. Urban Shadows is a project dear to our hearts and the last four months have been heartbreaking in how deeply they have directly impacted this project.
As many of you have noted, Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game is a massive project that has impacted our entire team’s workload; we didn’t know the size or scale of that project until after we had run the Urban Shadows Kickstarter, and we have struggled to balance the workload during 2022. As the year came to an end, however, we felt that we were back on track with Urban Shadows and other projects.
Unfortunately, the shipping for the ALRPG did not go as planned in December and January: we always prepare for roughly 2% of packages to have issues, but our partners in some regions—ignoring our advice and packing requirements—generated three to four times as many problems as expected, resulting in literally thousands of unexpected customer service issues. Our staff members have been working 10–14 hour days to manage the crisis, and while we’re out of the woods now, other projects got hit hard. Any project whose writing wasn’t complete got hit the hardest, and Urban Shadows suffered the most.
Urban Shadows’ design and writing team is led by some of the core members of our company, including several directors and our CEO. These team members are integral to the company’s function and they were required to step in and manage shipping for the ALRPG when crisis after crisis unfolded. While we hired over ten new staff members to help deal with the issue, including a new director, and changed our internal processes to better manage the massive crisis, the last of these shipping issues are just resolving now.
This has been one of the most challenging and difficult times for the Urban Shadows team, physically, mentally, and emotionally. In addition to the ALRPG, our ability to make progress on Urban Shadows was further impacted by personal family crises for team members, illness, and intense burnout. We’re sorry we didn’t communicate more clearly; every time we thought the crisis was over, another unfolded and we were pulled back in. We’re so sorry that the ongoing shipping crisis not only pulled us away from the work of producing the book, but took all of our resources so entirely it was difficult to do more than push through. It wasn’t fair to you or to Urban Shadows, which we love dearly. We’re sorry for the points of failure in working on the project, but also for not communicating clearly to you what was happening.
For those of you who have shown us grace and kindness during the process, and those who are healthily venting your frustration and disappointment, thank you. We appreciate the honesty and the support.
Going Forward
We know that no amount of apologizing or promises will repair the trust that we’ve broken with our delays and absence, and we understand that the only thing we can do to rebuild that is start working on Urban Shadows again. We are absolutely committed to returning to the chapter overview monthly, and working steadily to bring a beautiful game to you as soon as we can.
We’ve taken explicit steps to make sure we get it right from this point forward. We have hired new staff to help us mitigate burnout and ensure we have the resources we need to manage any ongoing operational issues. We have also reassigned staff to make sure they have the time, energy, and capacity to continue the important work on this game. And we are working to ensure that our team continues the work while recovering from burnout so that Urban Shadows is not only delivered, but is also the excellent game we’ve envisioned from the start.
Next month we will have a chapters overview for you, showing what work has been completed since this update. We are so excited to be able to come back and focus on Urban Shadows. We also want to thank everyone who sent feedback on the Chapter 8 preview. We had some amazing notes from you, our backers, and we’re always thrilled to hear your thoughts on the work we’re doing.
As always, refunds are still available for those who wish for one. To request a refund, please email us at [email protected].
Accessories Preview
We are excited to showcase some of the accessories in production. These are samples but the finals should look very similar to them. We are just doing color checks to get the best possible product with the most vibrant colors. Have a look at the dice tray, journal, and dice pack! One big change is the journal now has a dot grid (not pictured) after so many of you asked for it! Thank you for the feedback!
Dice
We’ve decided that the best-looking dice are purple with a pearlescent effect. We’re really happy with how they turned out!
Journal
The journals underwent some minor adjustments to the art, but we were pretty happy with them in the first place—the biggest change will be the dot grid interior on the final versions!
Dice Tray
We were really impressed with how the first dice tray turned out, so we made a new design to take advantage of the excellent printing. This design shifts the Magpie logo to the back, and it puts the four faction logos in places where they’ll be partly visible when it’s folded into a tray. We’re likely to move the symbols a bit to make them even more visible when folded.
Dice tray (bottom)
Again, we apologize for everything that has happened these past few months and thank you for continuing on this journey with us. We’ll see you next month with a chapters update to show the progress we’ve made from now!
Project Update & Accessories Preview
almost 2 years ago
– Fri, Jan 27, 2023 at 11:00:50 AM
Happy New Year, everyone! We hope your holidays were filled with good food, wonderful people, and amazing games! We’ve been busy at Magpie Games HQ since we got back, and are here with a project update!
Project Update
Normally we would give you a chapters updated. Unfortunately, January has been a rough month for the Urban Shadows team. Our team lead, main writer, developmental editor, and CEO got Covid and has been sick for most of January. On top of this health struggle, there was an on-going family emergency while we are also shipping two projects that had multiple crises.
As such, we do not have any movement this month on chapters. For that, we’re very sorry. All of these challenges we’ve faced this month are resolving. Our team lead has returned after being sick, and the projects we’re shipping are winding down. Our plan for February is to hit Urban Shadows hard and make as much progress as we can.
We know this isn’t the news anyone wants to hear. As always, if you no longer wish to support the project, refunds are available. Please email us at [email protected] to request a refund. Our customer service team right now is backlogged, but we will process the refund shortly after receiving the request.
Accessories Preview
While our team lead has been out most of this month, progress has still been made on the accessories! These are not the final preview, as images and elements on many of them may change, but we wanted to give you an idea of what the dice tray, dice, and journals will look like!
The dice are in the midst of a few changes—we’re finalizing which color we want, and we’re adjusting some details of the dice box. They will have pips and not numerals, but otherwise there will be minimal changes! That said, we do have a preview of how they’re coming along!
The journals are done! You can see them below. They feature the main art from the book cover! We’re likely to adjust it a little bit with the interplay of transparent elements, but it will remain largely the same. On the back are the circle symbols. Each journal is bound using saddle-stitched binding, meaning they are stapled together through the spine.
Finally, we have a preview of the dice tray! We’re very excited with how high quality the tray turned out, and as a result, we’re making some changes to which images go on the dice tray. This preview is just a preview, as the images will change, but we wanted to show you how good it’s looking so far!
And here are all the preview items together!
That’s all our updates for now! We’ll be back next month with a chapters update and more news! Thanks, as always, for your support! We hope you enjoy the accessories preview and have a great rest of the month!
Chapters Update and Chapter 8 Preview
about 2 years ago
– Sat, Dec 24, 2022 at 08:46:04 PM
Hey, friends! We know it hasn’t been that long since we last chatted, but we wanted to make sure we got you an update before the new year comes rushing in! This will be a shorter update as we haven’t had a lot of time since we last updated, but we’re excited to show you where we’re at in the process.
Chapter Update
As we outlined last time, we’ll be giving you regular chapter updates so you can watch the book come together as we complete the phases. Now that we’ve completed a section—Chapter 8: The Master of Ceremonies is done!—we’ve added two new categories to reflect the final stages of production.
Proofing: This process involves multiple team members, from editors to writers to artists, combing through the chapter to ensure it looks and reads perfectly. This happens once a chapter is done in layout.
Art: The final step involves the graphic artist adding in the art we’ve commissioned for the project. During this process, they look at spaces where art would work well in the current layout and place the pieces within the spaces deliberately left for art. The chapter will go through a second proofing once art has been placed to ensure it looks good, the colors are correct, and that it fits the chapter in tone and mood.
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 ch
Here’s where we are at the end of December, changes from last month in bold:
Urban Shadows Chapters
Front Materials (credits, opening, etc) - on hold
Chapter 1: Introduction - on hold
Chapter 2: Cities of Shadows - writing
Chapter 3: Fundamentals of Play - writing
Chapter 4: Character Creation - layout
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 - developmental editing
Chapter 10: City Guides - writing & developmental editing
Back Material (play aids, index, etc) - layout
For the last couple of weeks, we’ve been getting work on several chapters done, such as Chapter 5 and 7, though not quite enough to move them into the next phase. Layout on Chapter 8 finished, which you can preview below, and Chapter 4 is moving to layout now!
Chapter 8 Preview
Now that Chapter 8 is done in layout, we’ve moved it over to proofing. But, more importantly, we’re releasing it to you all so you can finally dig into the GM chapter! As many of you know, the GM chapter is one of the most important chapters in the book, and is certainly one of the largest!
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:
Please have a look, dive in, and let us know your thoughts! We know historically that the GM chapter has been a treasured part of Urban Shadows, and we want to make sure that 2nd Edition is no different! If you have any feedback to send—keeping in mind that we haven't sent this to proofing—please email us at [email protected] using the subject “US2E Feedback: Chapter 8”. We can’t wait to hear from you!
We will be out of office from Dec 23 - Jan 2 to spend time with our families over the holidays. We hope you have a wonderful winter holiday, spend time with your loved ones, eat delicious food, and get to play some amazing games! We’ll be back in January with more news on Urban Shadows!
Chapters Update, Final Pins, & City Guide Preview
about 2 years ago
– Thu, Dec 01, 2022 at 07:19:11 PM
Hey, friends! We’re back for an update a week late because of turkey season in the USA! We had a fabulous break to see our families, eat some tasty food, and of course, play some games. If you celebrated, we hope you did the same! Let’s get started with our November update!
Chapter Update
As we outlined last time, we’ll be giving you regular chapter updates so you can watch the book come together as we complete the five phases. 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.
Here’s where we are at the end of November, changes from last month in bold:
Urban Shadows Chapters
Front Materials (credits, opening, etc) - on hold
Chapter 1: Introduction - on hold
Chapter 2: Cities of Shadows - writing
Chapter 3: Fundamentals of Play - writing
Chapter 4: Character Creation - copy editing
Chapter 5: Core Moves - developmental editing
Chapter 6: Playbooks - layout
Chpater 7: Advancement - developmental editing
Chapter 8: The Master of Ceremonies -layout
Chapter 9: Long-term Play - developmental editing
Chapter 10: City Guides - writing & developmental editing
Back Material (play aids, index, etc) - layout
This month, we spent most of our time finalizing Chapter 8 for layout. As the largest chapter–easily a fifth of the whole book–Chapter 8 is a foundational part of the game, the section that shows both novice and experienced MCs how to run the game. Now that it’s in layout, we can move our focus to other (shorter) chapters, including the Core Moves and Advancement. We’ll have a preview of Chapter 8 for you all just as soon as layout is complete!
Final Pins Preview
We’re thrilled to share that we have a final preview of the pins! We’ve attached a few images here so you can see what they look like in their final form. These pin designs are final–production has already begun in full!
Chicago City Guide Preview
Finally, we’re delighted to share a preview from the Chicago City Guide. Each City Guide features summaries of the city’s politics and conflicts, including secret supernatural histories, important locations and neighborhoods, and NPCs and factions tied to each Circle. We’re focusing in 2nd Edition on giving each city a central conflict, a throughline that makes running your game in our version of that city a special experience:
The wizards that forged Chicago in The Great Fire–the mages who bound the great chaotic beast of a city to fuel their magics and extend their lives–are dying. The keys they hold could lock the city away for another 150 years…or free it forever from Power’s yoke. Which will you choose?
This preview showcases the Mortalis Circle in Chicago, featuring the Circle’s general politics, two NPCs, and a full new faction for you to add to your game:
Mortalis Circle Preview (Chicago)
We continue to thank you for all your support, kindness, and excitement as we continue to work on the game! Please let us know what you think of the City Guide preview! We’d love to get your feedback by either reporting your experiences here or jumping into our discord and letting us know your thoughts!
Till next time, friends! We’ll see you in December!
