Long Overdue, but We Have Good News!
almost 2 years ago – Mon, Feb 13, 2023 at 06:32:57 PM

First and foremost our apologies for not being more forthcoming with updates on the Mage Forge, we are terrible at doing updates. Our motto is no news is good news. (Joking)

Secondly it is DONE! The Mage Forge has been forged.

Currently your pledge is making its way across the ocean. Mage Forge was picked up from the manufacturer on the 12th of January 2023. It is estimated to take 4-6 weeks from that date to arrive at the fulfillment partners. From there it will go out the door to you, our backers. If you haven't yet logged into Backerkit please do so and double check your address as we will be locking them very soon and they will not be able to be changed once it is locked. We are very pleased with how the final product has come out. Here are some production images and a video.

The Forge is Firing
almost 2 years ago – Thu, Nov 24, 2022 at 04:14:36 AM

Time for the next step. We’ve received the samples from the printer and have given them the OK to proceed. We are awaiting to find out the time tables for the full  print run and shipping to our fulfillment center.

We should be in good shape to ship out to the backers on time, but we did have a bit of an over sight in the process. We might of forgotten about the box design and layout until the last minute. Fortunately Darryl from Splattered Ink was able to come in and hook us with the box design.  

All in all we are super happy with how the sample came out and stoked to get it into your hands.

Here is the video we received before the samples were sent out to us.

We’ll be doing a Live Chat tomorrow night at 8 pm eastern time to show off more of the samples and field questions about Mage Forge. So come and hang out. We can also have general discussions about magic items in Dungeons and Dragons. 

Quick reminder if you've got a digital rewards from Mage Forge you should of been able to download them from Backerkit months ago.

D&D Ideas: Magic Items Mage Forge Update #180 Live Chat

Done with Digital and Locking In
about 2 years ago – Tue, Aug 30, 2022 at 07:18:38 PM

The digital version of Mage Forge, created as a PDF with all 250 items along with the Game Master’s secret details, is complete and ready for a beta release to backers. There are additional features we aim to incorporate into this digital version and that’s where you come in!

We want to get the Mage Forge PDF into your hands as soon as possible for two reasons. First, because we’re excited to share these magic items with you. We’ve enjoyed many memorable experiences courtesy of these items, a great deal of which came directly from our own games, and we’re sure they’ll create terrific moments in your games too.

The second reason for delivering this beta version is your feedback. Certainly if you catch any unusual details, errors or inconsistencies we’d love for you to share them with us. This way we can put even more polish on the material. But more importantly we want to know: what other features would you like to see?

We’re developing some loot tables and other resources to support this magic item collection and make it even more useful for your gaming. Are there any resources you’d love to see? Different ways of organizing the content, specific sorts of tables or charts — anything you can think of, please let us know!

The other side of this update regards locking in your Mage Forge orders. With the digital version complete we’re moving on to production for the physical product, a deluxe box of 250 Tarot-sized magic item cards. This means it’s time to close up the preorder option as well.

You will need to confirm your order along with any add-ons. Once you do so you’ll have a 48 hour window to make any adjustments to your order. After this window closes your order is locked in and we’ll move forward into full production.

Moving Into Production
over 2 years ago – Sat, Jul 16, 2022 at 04:16:16 PM

Preproduction on Mage Forge is complete!

All 250 illustrations are finalized and we’ve gone over and over (and over!) the text editing, checking for mechanical soundness and as a backer astutely noted in a previous update to ensure the item descriptions match the art.

Working on this project has been a blast so far. Since so many of the Mage Forge items come straight from our own home games we’ve been swapping stories about them and sharing all the incredible memories we created with our friends and their adventurers who discovered such objects of power. We sure hope these magic items play a role in the unforgettable adventures you create with your friends too.

Next up we’ll begin the production process, which starts with the digital version of Mage Forge. Backers whose pledge includes the Mage Forge PDF won’t wait much longer. With the two biggest components of the project buttoned up we’ll get the PDF laid out and finalized pretty quick. We estimate within the next few weeks this component will be ready to fulfill.

After the PDF is done we’ll complete the layout for all 250 Tarot sized cards along with the Mage Forge Game Master Guide. Many of the magic items in the collection hold deep secrets not meant for players’ eyes. Some items contain mysteries yet to unfold while others carry dangerous curses that may not present themselves until adventurers least expect.

Since we’ve never produced a set of cards before, once we send the materials to the printer we’re not sure of the timeline after this step. We knew from the launch we wanted to fulfill pledges early so we’ve been working very hard these last few months to ensure everything is just right so we can keep moving forward and fulfill as quickly as possible.

If you haven’t yet you can add Spirit of the Forge to your collection of encounters. In Spirit of the Forge characters discover the Mage Forge — the most powerful magic item creation forge in the multiverse! If adventurers puzzle out how to gain entry they’ll have to deal with the artifact’s stewards and prove themselves worthy of the Mage Forge’s incredible potential.

We created this special encounter as a free promotion for Mage Forge. Designed in the same style as the 55 gorgeously illustrated Out of the Box encounters Spirit of the Forge is ready to drop right into your games. With a new monster, a powerful sentient artifact and the means to make, unmake and forge your own magic items along with engaging story elements this easy to use scenario will energize your game session. Get your copy here.

Mage Forge Progress
over 2 years ago – Thu, May 26, 2022 at 07:26:18 PM

We’ve gotten several requests for another backer update. Looks like our last update was back in March. Here’s where things stand now.

We are waiting on about another 26 illustrations. Once we’ve received and approved these components we’ll begin laying out the cards. We’ve included examples of a few cards in this update to showcase the visual design.

Once the magic item cards layout is complete we’ll finalize and release the digital version of the cards. We’ll also assemble the digital book supplement for Mage Forge, which includes additional information for Game Masters like lore, adventure hooks and secrets about the magic items.

At the same time the cards will go off to the printer. They’ll put together a sample deck for us for quality assurance. Once we approve this proof then the Mage Forge is good to go. The printing will begin! From the printer each deluxe box set gets sent off to our fulfillment partners at Nord Games — and then into the hands of you, the backers. We anticipate fulfillment way ahead of schedule as long barring any unexpected circumstances.

Here are a few of the cards:

Ring of Stoneshielding

Illustration by Miha Brumec

Shrunken Head

Illustration by Brendan Lancaster

Scarpor’s Mantle

Illustration by Brendan Lancaster