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The World Below: Buried Treasures

Created by Onyx Path

Pre-Order the next books for the World Below tabletop roleplaying game. Digital delivery means they're tariff-free!

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Pledge Manager Surveys Coming This Week!
4 days ago – Tue, Apr 14, 2026 at 10:53:22 AM

Hello Lightbringers,

We finished up the Crowdfunding portion of our campaign just about four weeks ago with a successful run, adding many backers and a few fun stretch goals. Now it's time to start the next phase of the project - the Post-Campaign, where we track the progress of the various projects we helped fund and send out rewards as they become available.

To help with all of that we use BackerKit's Pledge Manager.

Today's Topics

  • BackerKit Pledge Manager Surveys Coming Soon 
  • Compiled Draft Manuscript (available in BackerKit Digital Rewards) 
  • Coming Next 




BACKER SURVEYS

Over the next handful of days (April 14 - April 17), you’ll receive an email from Onyx Path (via [email protected]) with a special link to your Pledge Manager survey. It’s important to respond to your survey as quickly as you can since we need this information to fulfill your rewards.

You don’t need to create a BackerKit account to fill out your survey (although you probably already have one from pledging to this campaign). When you receive the email with the survey, click the survey invitation link to respond. Answer the questions about your reward preferences and purchase add-on items if you like. You don’t have access to this survey link yet, but it will be available later this week via email!

The e-mail will have a button that looks something like this:



After you respond to your survey, you can go back later and change your responses at any time before we close the surveys and get our final counts, and that won't happen until the books are being prepped for backer distribution.

If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://buried-treasures.backerkit.com/

If you have any other questions or concerns, you can post them to the comments for this update, the comment section, or message me via one of these methods:

TO CONTACT JAMES

  •  Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
  •  Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.

If there are any issues you find with the Pledge Manager, please contact me as soon as possible to let me know. It rolls out in waves so that I can correct issues on the fly and make it work as best possible as people come on board.

I've been mostly in a zombie state over the pst few weeks, and the chances of a few errors in the Pledge Manager set up are ... greater than zero ... so let me know if you see something off and I'll fix it as quickly as possible.


Within the BackerKit Survey and Pledge Manager, you can:

  • Review your Pledge Tier Selection and Rewards
  • Upgrade your Reward Tier pledge selection
  • Confirm Add On selections
  • Set up payment information for any failed payments from the Crowdfunding campaign or to pay for any new Add On options selected.

When you click on your BackerKit invitation link, you should see something like this...


From the Pledge Manager welcome page you can choose to

  • Review Your Pledge Level and Rewards by clicking your Pledge Level title
  • Start Your Survey, confirming pledge rewards, confirming or selecting new Add On options, and confirming any shipping and payment info that may be needed
  • Switch Your Pledge Level

If you click on your Pledge Level, you will see a list of all items included in your Pledge Rewards (including Stretch Goals and the Draft Manuscript), and also have the option to switch your Pledge Level, in case you've decided to get the double book pledge instead of a single title PDF-only pledge tier for example.



Once you've confirmed that your Pledge Level is correct and where you want it to be, you can GET STARTED with your BackerKit Pledge Manager Survey.

Once we've got a fair response to our survey and collected a reasonable amount of info, I'll be working on fulfilling rewards that are available now - like the PDFs of the titles included in our Add On section (for example, The World Below corebook PDF, the Storypath Ultra Core Manual PDF, the Curseborne corebook PDF, and They Came From the RPG Anthology PDF, as well as the draft manuscripts for the still-in-progress At The Gates and Monster Kingdoms). Those will likely be coming to you by the start of next week, and I'll send another update with more info when that time comes.

So, in summary:

  • Look for an e-mail invitation to BackerKit's Pledge Manager sometime over the next 1-3 days
  • Get Started on your survey
  • Confirm your Pledge Level (or SWITCH your Pledge Level if you want to change it)
  • Confirm and Select Any Add On options
  • Confirm Your Payment Information (if needed)

I will post an update at next week as I begin outlining the delivery of our first Add On rewards (the existing title PDFs, as noted above) and beginning distribution of those PDF rewards.


DRAFT MANUSCRIPT

Now that the crowdfunding campaign is finished, I've taken all of the Draft Manuscript previews for each book and smashed them together into one compiled version (per book). In your BackerKit digital rewards page, you will have access to the compiled draft manuscript. It won't be different from the info shared during the campaign, just transformed into a more convenient form. The Draft Manuscript link may not be active when you first login to your BackerKit survey, but I'll throw the switch and it'll send you a notice next week after all of the invitations have gone out.

For now, there's a link for those compiled versions at the bottom of this update post (when viewed on the BackerKit site), but the plan is to have the download links sit alongside your other rewards on the Pledge Manager's Digital Reward Page. 

I will talk about how to access your BackerKit digital rewards links in an update coming next week, when I send out the first wave of available rewards.

COMING NEXT

On Monday or Tuesday, I'll send an update with details about the distribution for that first wave of existing digital rewards. I'll also get the compiled draft manuscript up and ready for you to download from your Pledge Manager page (though you can download it now from this page, as noted above).

At the end of May we'll begin our regular monthly check-ins, tracking the progress of this project as it moves through this phase. It'll take some time, but we'll have regular updates all through the process. I'll also have notes on how to check the weekly and monthly All Project Progress updates on Onyx Path's website.

TO CONTACT JAMES

  •  Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
  •  Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.

We have unearthed the Buried Treasures!
about 1 month ago – Thu, Mar 19, 2026 at 11:02:00 AM

Hello Lightbringers,

As the Kaos Storm subsides and we prepare for our next Kalm Season, it's time to take stock of our recent endeavor and see what we've found.

That is to say... thanks to the support of nearly 300 World Below backers, Onyx Path will be able to develop the PDF and Print-on-Demand hardcover versions of The World Below: Delver's Guide and The World Below: Secrets of Kalm and Kaos!



There's more to celebrate! Not only did we fund the project on the first day, we unlocked FIVE Stretch Goals over the campaign. That's right - we unlocked our final stretch goal target today, in the final hours of this campaign!

.

At $10,000 in Funding - THE ADVENT OF THE SILT

THE ADVENT OF THE SILT - The team will create a West Marches-style adventure for The World Below, focused on exploration and cave delving. A PDF version of The Advent of Silt will be added as a bonus reward to all backers receiving either the Delver's Guide PDF or the Secrets of Kalm and Kaos PDF as part of their pledge rewards. 



At $13,000 in Funding - WORLD BELOW SHIRT ON REDBUBBLE

WORLD BELOW SHIRT DESIGN - A new World Below shirt design will be made available on Onyx Path's Redbubble sore for a limited time only. Backers will be notified when this design becomes available.



At $14,000 in Funding - WORLD BELOW DIGITAL WALLPAPER

WORLD BELOW DIGITAL WALLPAPER - All backers supporting this project will receive a digital wallpaper for their computer desktop featuring artwork from the Delver's Guide or Secrets of Kalm and Kaos books.




At $15,000 in Funding - THE ADVENT OFTHE SILT EXPANDED

THE ADVENT OF THE SILT - The adventure scenario will be expanded to include opportunities for base building and resource hunting. A PDF version of The Advent of Silt will be added as a bonus reward to all backers receiving either the Delver's Guide PDF or the Secrets of Kalm and Kaos PDF as part of their pledge rewards. 

At $16,000 in Funding - STREAMING OVERLAY

WORLD BELOW STREAMING OVERLAY - A set of overlays for your online game will be created, for your use when streaming your World Below session. This reward will be added to the rewards list for all backers.


So a huge congratulations to Matthew and the team on this project, and to all of the backers who've joined in to make this possible. I'm happy about the goals we hit and rewards we introduced, but I'm also always excited and delighted about having nearly 300 backers join in to support this quirky, odd, and amazing game. The World Below has such a personality, such a vibe, and I really dig it, if you'll parden the pun.




COMMUNICATION

So, as noted in today's earlier update, starting in April I'll be sending out updates once a month and whenever we've got a new goal, survey, or other item to cover. If you have any questions or need clarification on something related to the campaign, feel free to get in touch. I may take a bit to answer as I recover from these past four weeks and take some time to unwind and clean up my desk!

I'll also see if I can sneak a compiled draft manuscripts out to you maybe by the first weekend in April. Nothing changed, just smashed together in order.


TO CONTACT ME

  • Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
  • Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your forthcoming survey page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.

ONYX PATH DISCUSSION CHANNELS

If you've got questions about the rules or setting, or just want to discuss this game with other fans (as well as the Onyx Path writers and developers!), you can check out these Onyx Path discussion zones:


Backers make it better! Now, get ready to dig, train, grow, and prepare in the World Below!


FINAL HOURS: CHECKLIST & WHAT COMES NEXT
about 1 month ago – Thu, Mar 19, 2026 at 05:34:01 AM

Hello Lightbringers,

Welcome to the final hours of this campaign! We've had a fun run - funding the books, reading the manuscripts for The Delver's Guide and Secrets of Kalm and Kaos, building our community, and unlocking almost all of the Stretch Goals!

In these final hours, we're tip-toeing up to our final goal, which we just posted yesterday.



At $16,000 in Funding - STREAMING OVERLAY

WORLD BELOW STREAMING OVERLAY - A set of overlays for your online game will be created, for your use when streaming your World Below session. This reward will be added to the rewards list for all backers.

When I shared this yesterday, I thought it was gonna be a tough stretch - possible, but difficult. But we're *this close* to unlocking this before the end!

The most important part of this campaign, though, is that we have successfully funded this project! Thanks to everyone who's come out to support this campaign, we'll be getting these amazing books!




FINAL DAY CHECKLIST

Whether you're just setting out for to gather food or a seasoned bug-tamer returning from selling your wares, these are some good topics to review over these final hours...

1.  KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SUPPORTING

These sourcebooks expand the options and setting for The World Below roleplaying game. Matthew Dawkins has shared many videos about the new content on his Gentleman Gamer channel, so you can absolutely get the vibe of this quirky and amazing game.



Backers can read the entire current drafts of the manuscripts <HERE>. Please make sure you read the manuscript before the campaign concludes so you know exactly what you're pledging to support.


2. PLEDGE TIERS and ADD ONS

 This update breaks down your best starting point for figuring out which Backer Reward Tier to choose to help support this project in a way that works for you.

The main reward offered in this campaign is, of course, the main goal of the entire proposition: the finished PDFs and a discounted Print-on-Demand hardcover for The World Below Delver's Guide and Secrets of Kalm and Kaos. The first decision you need to make is whether you're just looking to add the mostly character-focused Delver's Guide, or the Setting and Storyguide-supporting Secrets of Kalm and Kaos, or make it a two-book reward pledge and get both? 

With that decision in mind, we've got three key reward tiers to choose from:

LANTERN IN THE DARKNESS

This is the pledge path to select if you're only interested in The World Below: Delver's Guide book. The PDF will be fulfilled by our partners at DriveThruRPG.com - when it is ready, you will receive a link to add it to your DTRPG library at no cost and be able to download at your leisure. In addition, you will get a special code to order the discounted Print-on-Demand hardcover version as part of your pledge reward.

LORE OF THE LABYRINTH

This is the pledge path to select if you're only interested in The World Below: Secrets of Kalm and Kaos book. The PDF will be fulfilled by our partners at DriveThruRPG.com - when it is ready, you will receive a link to add it to your DTRPG library at no cost and be able to download at your leisure. In addition, you will get a special code to order the discounted Print-on-Demand hardcover version as part of your pledge reward

PATHS THROUGH THE VAST UNDERGROUND

This amazing reward tier includes both The Delver's Guide PDF and the Secrets of Kalm and Kaos PDF, along special discount codes to order each of these rewards as Print-on-Demand books.

And another key option:

KALM SEASON

Not ready to commit, or just looking to offer general support? This pledge role is for you. This does not include any of our primary rewards, but allows you to select some digital optional Add Ons, as well as participating in the post-campaign Pledge Manager as a backer. You'll also be able to read the draft manuscripts of The Delver's Guide and Secrets of Kalm and Kaos that we post throughout this campaign.

ADD-ON OPTIONS -  The other half of our Reward Tiers update, including information on the second step of pledging. There are a few Add On options that you can add as part of your pledging process, including the World Below corebook as well as pre-ordering the other Earthane Cycle game corebooks, At the Gates PDF and Monster Kingdoms PDF. Since these is still in the pre-order phase, you'll get the draft manuscript for those until the Backer PDF becomes available. Other games using the Storypath Ultra system are also avaialble to add on in PDF form.

ADD ON selections will be available in the post-campaign Pledge Manager as well.

SO: Ensure that you've selected the Reward Tier you want, and select any Add On options you wish to include. AND - make sure that you are comfortable with the Pledge amount, in terms of it covering everything you want and the affordability of the pledge at this moment!




Be Financially Responsible

I'm going to speak against my own self-interest for a moment, and repeat something I say at the end of every campaign - 2026 has been pretty wild so far, and there's even more uncertainty ahead. Ensure that your circumstances enable you to afford this pledge at this moment - BackerKit will begin processing payments late tonight after the campaign ends and neither Onyx Path nor I have any involvement in that process. If you are unsure of your financial situation but don't want to miss out, please pledge for a tier you can afford right now and know that you will be able to upgrade to open pledge levels in our post-campaign Pledge Manager for some time before the book is completed. There are no refunds for regret, and the funds raised start being spent immediately on paying for the work done thus far and the additional work ahead plus the projects unlocked via Stretch Goal. So please be financially responsible.

  • Choose a Reward Tier You Can Afford
  • Read the Manuscripts and Make Sure You Know What You're Getting
  • Be Aware of the Projected Delivery Date (Onyx Path will try to deliver earlier than this, but these two books will take some time to get perfect, and we're dealing with an imperfect world. Schedules sometimes go awry)

3. PAYMENT AND CONTACT INFORMATION

Once you're comfortable with your pledge, please ensure that the payment and contact information in your BackerKit account is up to date and correct. Making sure your e-mail is entered correctly and your credit card isn't expired will speed up the next step process. (I have learned from experience!)




4. OVERTIME MODE

Overtime Mode extends the campaign past its original end time to give backers a final chance to make their pledge and adds an interesting twist to the end of the campaign. How long will it extend? That’s entirely up to backers: The campaign will keep going for an additional 10 minutes as long as pledges keep coming in – a chain of back-to-back pledges is called the Backer Train. The campaign will end only when the Backer Train stops after a period of 10 minutes passing without any pledges.

You’ll know we’re in Overtime Mode when the campaign’s Backer Train counter displays a bright rainbow border and a new countdown that resets to 10 minutes after each new backer joins that final Backer Train ride.

So, we've scheduled the campaign to conclude on March 19th at 2:00 PM Eastern Time, but it'll be extended in 10 minute chunks as long as backers keep pledging. Will we add an extra 10 minutes? An extra 20? Or will it all finish up as planned? Who knows, but we'll find out together! Kaos Storm Protocol!

WHAT COMES NEXT?


5. AFTER THE CAMPAIGN ENDS

First, we celebrate. The campaign page will subtly change, locking out the ability to pledge and showing the final totals. We'll give socially-distanced high fives and digital fist bumps in the Community section and over on Discord.

Then, the BackerKit payment process begins. Starting late tonight and continuing over the next week, Backerkit will begin charging your payment methods for the total amount you've pledged.

If there is an issue with your payment method (expired credit card or incorrect number or pre-paid Visa awaiting funds, for example), BackerKit will keep trying to process payment during this time.

Once this step is done, which will likely be by the first week of April, BackerKit will confirm everything with Onyx Path and I can begin to set up the project in the Pledge Manager and load in all of the campaign data.



In addition to providing the crowdfunding platform for this campaign, BackerKit is also Onyx Path's regular Pledge Manager partner.

BackerKit provides a robust fulfillment integration and pledge management program that will allow us to work with all of the data and distribute the rewards to you. It will take me about a month to set the project up. Once I've got it all entered and built, the team from BackerKit will review to ensure I didn't mess anything up too badly, and then I'll make any changes they've suggested and we can move on to the Survey stage.

6. BACKERKIT SURVEYS

Once BackerKit says I'm good to go, I will send out a survey to all backers. This is why confirming your e-mail is important!

The BackerKit survey is both a verb and a noun - it will collect data for the analysis of some aspect of a group (enabling Onyx Path to set schedules, prioritize new projects, and fine-tune future campaigns), as well as providing a general review or summary of the reward tier you've chosen, confirm all of the rewards associated with that reward tier, and confirm your total pledge amount.

I expect Surveys to go out before May 2026.

During the Survey period, you can choose to increase your reward tier and add on additional options. If you've found $20 in your spring coat or found an alternate income source and decide it's time to trade up to include both books or include another add-on, you can do so at this time. Note, you will not be able to reduce your reward tier selection, only increase.

If you selected Add On options, they'll be added to your reward list automatically.

Note that you'll be able to upgrade your pledge tier for quite some time - until we're getting ready to distribute the backer PDFs. So don't feel pressure to have it all figured out right away - we'll make sure there's plenty of time to get it all sorted before the books go out.

I'll also use the Survey to confirm details for the premium reward tiers.

7. REWARD DISTRIBUTION

Once the surveys are up and running, I'll prepare fulfillment for the existing rewards - the Add On options that are all currently available, like the World Below core rulebook PDF, and the At the Gates and Monster Kingdoms draft manuscripts, plus the other Storypath Ultra games (including Curseborne!). Depending on how smoothly the Pledge Manager process goes, those should be out fairly soon after the survey stage starts. So, let's say the existing PDF rewards will be out to you by the start of May. That's only the beginning, though.

This is a long process, but I will send out regular updates (usually at the end of the month) to keep you up to speed on Onyx Path's progress. There will be strings of updates that are just "still working on it," but I will share new artwork or information when I can.

Eventually, we will have a completed PDFs of The World Below: Delver's Guide and The World Below: Secrets of Kalm and Kaos. I don't think they'll be done at the exact same time, so we'll likely see one a few months before the other. Onyx Path will take some time to distribute, review, and compile any errata or corrections that need to be made. When they've made any necessary changes, they'll make an updated versions of the PDFs available in your DriveThruRPG digital library and then begin creating print-ready files for the Print-on-Demand hardcover versions.

It's yet another long road ahead, likely full of twists and turns and surprises, but one that we wouldn't be undertaking if not for your ongoing support.

So - one final time - please spread the word to any potential backers and fans, and thanks so much for a great campaign!

Final Day Review - Stretch Goals
about 1 month ago – Wed, Mar 18, 2026 at 09:23:52 AM

Hello Lightbringers,

We're closing in on the final 24 hours of the campaign as I prepare this post. Within this final day,  I wanted to review some important topics, most especially our current Stretch Goal situation. Let's get to the review!



We're in the Final Days countdown for this Crowdfunding campaign. The World Below: Buried Treasures finishes the crowdfunding campaign TOMORROW - March 19th at 2:00 PM Eastern Time. There's still time to add a few more delvers to our group, but we're definitely getting closer to the end of the Kalm season. With that in mind, I wanted to touch on some of the basics over these final four days to make sure everyone has the information they need to support this project in the way that works best for them.

Final Week Program


Whether you're just setting out for to gather food or a seasoned bug tamer returning from selling your wares, these are some good topics to review over this week to make sure we all end up where we want to be.

(An aside, if you're a new backer, make sure you check out our Final Week Countdown / Resource Update. It has links to the manuscript previews, youtube videos from Matthew Dawkins, and other helpful information.)



Refresher Course
Note for New Backers: Please check out the updates listed above. There's a lot of information there that will be important to know about before the end, like which books are included in our pledges for this campaign and what additional Add On options exist. Plus, you can read the entire draft manuscript before the end of the campaign and any pledges are processed.

Note for Since-the-Start Backers: It's probably a good idea to review that stuff as well. Never hurts to make sure you haven't missed anything! 

We've had, and will have, new backers join in during these last days. I want to take a moment to highlight some key Update posts that new backers may want to check out (and existing backers may want to read as a refresher!).

MANUSCRIPT PREVIEW - As noted, the complete draft manuscripts for both books are available for you to review prior to the conclusion of the campaign. If you're a backer, you'll have access to these preview manuscripts after the campaign. Remember, though, there are still some minor edits, development and proofing that need to be done, but you can consider it most of the way there and a good representation of what you'll get in the final book. Making the manuscripts available for review before the campaign ends ensures that everyone knows exactly what our goal is - making these books - and are on board with our aims for this project. Thanks for your support, we're all in this together!

PLEDGE TIERS - This update breaks down your best starting point for figuring out which Backer Reward Tier to choose to help support this project in a way that works for you.

The main reward offered in this campaign is, of course, the main goal of the entire proposition: the finished PDFs and a discounted Print-on-Demand hardcover for The World Below Delver's Guide and Secrets of Kalm and Kaos. The first decision you need to make is whether you're just looking to add the mostly character-focused Delver's Guide, or the Setting and Storyguide-supporting Secrets of Kalm and Kaos, or make it a two-book reward pledge and get both? While one book is tagged "Player's Manual" and the other is "Storyguide's Handbook," I think reading through the manuscrips you've see that there's a lot of excellent material with a ton of useful overlap in each book, and most like both are worthy of being added to your digital shelves.

With that decision in mind, we've got three key reward tiers to choose from:

LANTERN IN THE DARKNESS

This is the pledge path to select if you're only interested in The World Below: Delver's Guide book. The PDF will be fulfilled by our partners at DriveThruRPG.com - when it is ready, you will receive a link to add it to your DTRPG library at no cost and be able to download at your leisure. In addition, you will get a special code to order the discounted Print-on-Demand hardcover version as part of your pledge reward.

LORE OF THE LABYRINTH

This is the pledge path to select if you're only interested in The World Below: Secrets of Kalm and Kaos book. The PDF will be fulfilled by our partners at DriveThruRPG.com - when it is ready, you will receive a link to add it to your DTRPG library at no cost and be able to download at your leisure. In addition, you will get a special code to order the discounted Print-on-Demand hardcover version as part of your pledge reward

PATHS THROUGH THE VAST UNDERGROUND

This amazing reward tier includes both The Delver's Guide PDF and the Secrets of Kalm and Kaos PDF, along special discount codes to order each of these rewards as Print-on-Demand books.

And another key option:

KALM SEASON

Not ready to commit, or just looking to offer general support? This pledge role is for you. This does not include any of our primary rewards, but allows you to select some digital optional Add Ons, as well as participating in the post-campaign Pledge Manager as a backer. You'll also be able to read the draft manuscripts of The Delver's Guide and Secrets of Kalm and Kaos that we post throughout this campaign.

ADD-ON OPTIONS -  The other half of our Reward Tiers update, including information on the second step of pledging. There are a few Add On options that you can add as part of your pledging process, including the World Below corebook as well as pre-ordering the other Earthane Cycle game corebooks, At the Gates PDF and Monster Kingdoms PDF. Since these is still in the pre-order phase, you'll get the draft manuscript for those until the Backer PDF becomes available. Other games using the Storypath Ultra system are also avaialble to add on in PDF form.

Choose Wisely

Choosing the correct Reward Tier for your desired rewards, and then filling in any "gaps" with add-ons, ensures that you'll be claiming all of your desired rewards as a thank you for supporting this project and bringing this world to life.

Remember, your PLEDGE AMOUNT is equal to your REWARD TIER + ADD ONS. You will also be able to select Add On options in the Pledge Manager after the campaign, but remember that only funds added during the campaign count towards Stretch Goal funding targets.

Also to note, only those who participate during the campaign are able to have Stretch Goal rewards added automatically to their rewards lists. If you're waiting to pre-order at a later time, it's better to pledge to the Kalm Season tier now and then simply upgrade your pledge later to include these bonus rewards.

Tomorrow I'll be posting one further "Final Day" update, covering What Happens Next and outlining what to expect once the campaign ends.

But until then, let's review our Stretch Goal success story!


Over the past 28 (or is it 29?) days as we've worked through this campaign, we've not only funded the book but unlocked four fearsome Stretch Goals! That's right - we've unlocked our latest goal even as I was putting this update together!


THE ADVENT OF THE SILT - The team will create a West Marches-style adventure for The World Below, focused on exploration and cave delving. A PDF version of The Advent of Silt will be added as a bonus reward to all backers receiving either the Delver's Guide PDF or the Secrets of Kalm and Kaos PDF as part of their pledge rewards. 


WORLD BELOW SHIRT DESIGN - A new World Below shirt design will be made available on Onyx Path's Redbubble sore for a limited time only. Backers will be notified when this design becomes available.


WORLD BELOW DIGITAL WALLPAPER - All backers supporting this project will receive a digital wallpaper for their computer desktop featuring artwork from the Delver's Guide or Secrets of Kalm and Kaos books.


THE ADVENT OF THE SILT EXPANDED- The adventure scenario will be expanded to include opportunities for base building and resource hunting. A PDF version of The Advent of Silt will be added as a bonus reward to all backers receiving either the Delver's Guide PDF or the Secrets of Kalm and Kaos PDF as part of their pledge rewards. 

With our main four goals unlocked and set up, let's sneak a fifth and final goal on there to keep us focused on the finish line! I don't know if we'll be able to unlock this, but it'll certainly give us something to dig deep for as we get towards the end.

At $16,000 in Funding - WORLD BELOW STREAMING OVERLAY

WORLD BELOW STREAMING OVERLAY - A set of overlays for your online game will be created, for your use when streaming your World Below session. This reward will be added to the rewards list for all backers.

We're in a good position and unlocking this is certainly possible, though it's aptly named since we will have to really Stretch to get there before the end! Still, we've done amazingly well so far, so let's see where we get before the conclusion! For my group, 98% of our games are played online - we are really only able to get together twice a year in person, and those meetings take about 3 months of scheduling. So any extra tools to jazz up online play are appreciated by me!




YOUR REWARDS!

That's right! You backed this project to help make and publish the Delver's Guide and Secrets of Kalm and Kaos PDFs and Print-on-Demand hardcovers. Our primary reward - the big thank you that we'll send out in appreciation for your support - are PDFs and discount links for the hardcovers! BUT AS A BONUS, you may also have a digital wallpaper, a new adventure for your group, an opportunity to expand your wardrobe, and maybe a streaming overlay for online play?

NOT MUCH MORE TIME

Unfortunately, we seem to continue to move forward at a regular pace, and our campaign will some come to the inescapable end. We've achieved our primary goal of funding the books, but there is still one possible Stretch Goal reward that is almost within grasp! It's certainly within reach, but won't be easy, so let's keep at it!

So, as every update concludes: let's keep the enthusiasm rolling! Keep spreading the word and letting others know about this project. They've got this final day to jump in and share the Stretch Goals we've achieved!

And every backer who joins in as we approach the end is not only able to enjoy the additional rewards already added by the early fans and backers, but also help reward those early backers by maybe unlocking that final bonus reward!

Remember, only the funds generated during the Crowdfunding campaign go toward achieving these Stretch Goal targets, so the time to act is now! Together, we can bring this game to life and make great things happen!



THE WORLD BELOW: BURIED TREASURES enters OVERTIME MODE on Thursday, March 19th at 2:00 PM Eastern. 

We will finish up as soon as our backer train ends after that point! So let's see if we can't hit a final Stretch Goal and then keep that train running for an extra 10 or 20 minutes!!

#TheWorldBelow

#DigDeep

The Obscure Labyrinth [Secrets of Kalm and Kaos Manuscript Preview 6]
about 1 month ago – Tue, Mar 17, 2026 at 05:30:25 AM

Hello Lightbringers,

We're in our final days, and it's time for our final section of the draft manuscript for Secrets of Kalm and Kaos! As of this update, backers have access to the entire approved draft and can read both books before any pledges are processed or payments collected. If you're with us beyond this point, you know exactly what this project is you're backing and a key member of the supporters bringing this project to life!

Before we get to the manusript download link, I just wanted to quickly go over a few key pieces of info. We're in the Final Days countdown for this Crowdfunding campaign. The World Below: Buried Treasures finishes the crowdfunding campaign on March 19th at 2:00 PM Eastern Time. There's still time to add a few more delvers to our group, but we're definitely getting closer to the finish line. With that in mind, I wanted to touch on some of the basics over these final four days to make sure everyone has the information they need to support this project in the way that works best for them.

Final Week Program

  • Mar 16 - Reward Tier & Add On Review 
  • Mar 17 - Kalm & Kaos Manuscript Preview # 6 - Adventure Scenario (That's Today!)
  • Mar 18 - Stretch Goal Review
  • Mar 19 - Final Day Checklist & What Comes Next


Whether you're just setting out for to gather food or a seasoned bug tamer returning from selling your wares, these are some good topics to review over this week to make sure we all end up where we want to be.

(An aside, if you're a new backer, make sure you check out our Final Week Countdown / Resource Update. It has links to the manuscript previews, youtube videos from Matthew Dawkins, and other helpful information.)

I want to highlight the Reward Tier and Add On Review post. Please review it prior to the conclusion of this campaign, as it outlines important information about your pledge selection, your rewards, and supporting this campaign that you should be aware of before we get to the end.

Tomorrow, we'll have a review of our Stretch Goal achievements, but here's a reminder about our current target.



At $15,000 in Funding - THE ADVENT OFTHE SILT EXPANDED

THE ADVENT OF THE SILT - The adventure scenario will be expanded to include opportunities for base building and resource hunting. A PDF version of The Advent of Silt will be added as a bonus reward to all backers receiving either the Delver's Guide PDF or the Secrets of Kalm and Kaos PDF as part of their pledge rewards.



Draft Manuscript Previews

Over the course of this campaign, backers have received the entire current draft manuscript for The World Below: Delver's Guide and The World Below: Secrets of Kalm and Kaos. This isn't just a gesture - the Onyx Path team want you to read the books before your pledges are collected. They want you to know what you're getting, and they want your feedback! These manuscript previews are of the current draft manuscript – the document in its latest, approved form. This may not be the final form after editing and any additional development, but you can consider it about 95% finished, so keep that in mind.

In fact, you can help guide the team through the next stages of development by providing feedback on these manuscript previews! The Onyx Path team has set up a special Feedback Form just for campaign backers for this very purpose: <TWB Buried Treasures Feedback Form>


You can use this Feedback Form to shrea your thoughts directly with the World Below developers and help guide them through the next rounds of development and editing.


DRAFT MANUSCRIPT PREVIEWS - BACKERS ONLY

Remember, thanks to BackerKit sorcery, these download links are visible to Backers only - you must be logged in and reading this on the website to have access to the manuscript preview links. So, if you're reading this via e-mail, click that "Reply to this Update" or "Learn More" button on the bottom and I'll see you below this title treatment.