This is it, pardner! We're down to the wire. In less than 40 hours, Huckleberry crosses the finish line. It's been an amazing ride and I'm sincerely humbled to see just how excited folks are for this game. But it's not over yet and we still have time for another strong push to unlock those last Stretch Goals!

And I need YOUR HELP to do it! This very minute, I'm doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on reddit's r/RPG subreddit. It would go a long way if you upvote the post and leave a comment sharing your excitement for Huckleberry. Engagement boosts the post to the top of the subreddit and get lots of fresh eyes on the game! And of course, you can ask me anything you'd like while you're at it. ;)

We might be at the end of the campaign, but the hype ain't gonna stop! Join the Adventures in Lollygagging Discord to share your tales from the table, ask rules questions, or find other people to play Huckleberry with online.

During the early days of Huckleberry's release, I used to run demos of the game on the server and I'm tempted to start doing it again. Would you be interested in me teaching you to play Huckleberry? If we get enough players, we could start a shared "West Marches" style game, with different GMs running their own bounties and scenarios that anyone can jump into, schedules willing.

What do you think? Is there anything you'd like to see us do to support Huckleberry long-term? Let me know on the Discord.

Much obliged,
Steven

Most spirits are able to move on from the physical realm into whatever afterlife they find. Some, for various reasons, are unable to depart the Wyrd Frontier. Perhaps they are bound to an object with intense personal significance. Maybe their life's purpose is unfulfilled. Lingering spirits, like people, can have both good and bad intentions. They might help those they care about or seek to harm those who did them wrong. Their past life directs their afterlife.

In the Fifth World, it doesn't matter if you're living or dead--the Wyrd always takes it's toll. The corruption grinds away at a spirit's sense of identity like a river slowly eroding rock. If a spirit does not leave the mortal world in time, it suffers a second death--an ego death. The Blight is a spirit with no sense of self. It has no business remaining or tethers to the world, yet it also lacks the will to move on. It remains in limbo, burning with frustration and rage. The Blight is hate incarnate.

Howdy!

This morning, Huckleberry broke through the $50,000 stretch goal! What a perfect Halloween treat. I'm so excited that we get to include Jaime's The Slaughterhouse (Working Title) in A Season of Avarice. Jaime is a very talented writer and this bloody bounty is going to be great fun. As you know from our previous update, Jaime is already hard at work on the first draft. After it's gone through some notes and internal playtesting in a couple months, I'll be sharing the text with you for public playtesting. Keep an eye on the bounty board for new updates!

Our next goal is at $55,000 for Jeff to write a sidequel to Veils & Vengeance. It'll feature the same swampy vibes, along with the weeping folk horror, but not require playing V&V first or even at all! Your Mavericks are getting some mud on their boots either way.

We're only 4 days out from the end of this campaign and I couldn't be happier with our progress. We're on track to unlock the next bounty, but the free Alchemy licenses might take a bit of effort. Together, we still have a good chance to pull it off. If you talk about spooky RPGs with your friends this weekend, be sure to give Huckleberry a shout out. Let's close this campaign with a bang!

Much obliged,
Steven

For one long year. the Cobb Gang enforced their version of justice on King City. Almost everyone has a story about a brutal punishment they endured at the hands of the Cobbs, under the pretense of law enforcement. The gang was comprised of the three Cobb brothers, along with a small, silent man named Hollis Dayton. As he never spoke, no one knew for certain why Hollis would ride with such cruel and fickle men, but the wicked glint often in his eye suggested he was of similar disposition. Thankfully, the Cobb Gang's reign of terror was short-lived. Each of the four lawmen died in their sleep. On the same night. And "Good riddance" is all that was said.

[If you want to read about the new pledge tier, where George will illustrate a monster that you design, scroll down to the bottom of the page. Otherwise, keep reading for production updates on the new content we've unlocked.]

Good news - work on Huckleberry's unlocked Stretch Goals is already underway! While funds should start to transfer in mid-to-late November, it will actually take a minimum of 4 months to receive all of the funds due to BackerKit's Pay-Over-Time feature. Not only is PoT consumer friendly for y'all, but it covers the same period that we purposefully built into our schedule to allow for extra development. None of the extra content promised by our Stretch Goals should slow us down! *Fingers Crossed*

The campaign obviously isn't over yet, but still... Time's a wastin'! We're already moving forward with the largest chunks of development so they have plenty of time to cook and playtest. And speaking of playtests... Much of the content will be pre-released to you as beta material for playtesting! You are the greatest resource Huckleberry has and your opinions and feedback are invaluable. I want to hear what you have to say!
 
As the work progresses, I'll be sharing Hostiles, Traits, and Scenario/Chapter drafts for feedback from you. I'm incredibly excited to "open up" the development of Huckleberry and share what happens behind the curtain. And, in doing so, your help will turn Huckleberry into the best version it can be. Here's where we stand on the currently unlocked Stretch Goals and a few other odds and ends:

Hostiles - All 16 are in alpha and ready for private playtesting. The Alpha versions are by far the most important step of the process as it sets the tone and themes of each Hostile. Private playtesting is an exhaustive process and many of them will be redesigned before they're ready for public playtest. Work will be completed in batches of 4-6 stat blocks at a time, staggering the releases for easier playtesting and feedback.

Cover Art/New Spreads - Art Orders are drafted, but not finalized, for two of the spreads. They will be roll tables disguised as "Catalogue" pages, similar to the one created for Mounts (If you haven't seen it, you can find it in this update). I'm still in the brainstorming stages for the one-page spreads and cover, but should have all art orders submitted to George before the campaign ends. Work on these large pieces will hopefully finish before or at the same time as our scenario and chapter drafts, so that production doesn't become bottle-necked by dozens of art orders at the same time. We're keeping George busy this holiday season!

Player Traits - These are still in the brainstorming phase. Over the last year of Huckleberry's development, I've assembled a long list of notes and ideas to develop into new Traits, so I have plenty of material to mine. Development of traits is intensive work and requires careful balance to ensure they combine appropriately with other categories. I plan to tackle this head on when the campaign is finished and all collaborators are set on their paths.

Hole-in-the-Wall Chapter - Kienna and Dylan have sent over their chapter outline (Spoiler: it's as awesome as you've been hoping for!). There are brilliant ideas in there, not only for the amenities and locations that Maverick strongholds can offer, but also mechanics for developing B-plots in the background throughout a campaign. As is standard practice for Huckleberry, the outline was reviewed by a cultural consultant to ensure the content avoids accidental colonialist tropes/stereotypes (the draft will receive the same treatment once again). With that feedback and my own notes given, Kienna and Dylan are now onto the drafting stage.

Eren Ahn's Bounty - Eren's pitch was accepted last week and they submitted the outline today. I offered my notes, which were quite sparse in this case. Eren has been spot on with the vibes! The bounty is now at the drafting stage. It's got a fantastic hook that explores themes of alchemy, fool's gold, and foolish ambitions.

Jaime Reyes Mondragón's Bounty - Now, technically this one isn't unlocked yet. But we've got 8 days left and only $2,000 to go, so I'm feeling confident we'll get there! Jaime has submitted his pitch and outline, they've been accepted and moving onto the draft stage. It's yet another fantastic premise for a scenario--this bounty asks what Mad Cow Disease would look like when magnified by the Wyrd.

Playing Cards - George has been working hard on these all month, as you've seen by our reveals! I'm excited to say that he's finished them all, along with creating a mock-up of the tuckbox. With the exception of minor text tweaks on the box, this reward is ready to go to manufacturing.

Janus, King of Hearts won the vote! This is the final heart card to be revealed and our first glimpse at the leader of the outlaw gang we've been teasing you since Huckleberry's early days.

Janus, or Jane Twain as her reward posters call her, might have two faces but, ironically, she's as honest as they come. She'll tell you to your face when she's about to kill you and expects you to do the same--you can even choose which face. Jane doesn't talk much about her upbringing, but those around her guess she didn't always look this way. It doesn't really matter in the end, as long as you don't cross her. Jane doesn't go around lookin' to kill, but she sure ain't lookin' to avoid it either. She's mean enough to make a bar brawl look like a prayer meetin' and you're sure to be praying for a quick end by the time she's done with you.

Vote for your choice of the next reveal in the poll attached below!

You have made it very clear just how much you love George's art. Our "Design A Legend" tier, where you could create a new Legend of the Wyrd Frontier, sold out in the first hours of the campaign. If you missed that tier, you now have another chance to leave your mark on Huckleberry. We've added a new pledge where you can work with Steven to translate your favorite critter, terrifying or not-so-terrifying, into the game's mechanics. George will illustrate the monster in his iconic style, then both the mechanics and art will be included in the final version of Huckleberry. This new pledge also includes all of the rewards from the all-in "Tall Tale" tier, giving you everything we have to offer.

Well, that's all the updates I've got for now. I hope you like hearing about all the progress we've made because I'm gonna keep yelling about Huckleberry right up until the book is in your hands!

Much obliged,
Steven

Howdy!

Huckleberry continues to break through stretch goals and we've unlocked the first of our possible three scenarios! Eren came out swinging and sent me some fantastic pitches. I am very excited to greenlight their Bounty. It's a perfect complement for our existing slate. As we move through development, I'll be sure to give y'all the "Behind the Scenes" treatment. More details to come!

But enough teasing, it's time for another card reveal and the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of Mary-Katherine, the Queen of Spades. George did a deep dive into the history of playing cards, along with common nicknames for each. The Queen of Spades is also commonly referred to as the Queen of Bedposts, which was the creative spark that led to our tragic Mary-Katherine!

Mary-Katherine was born in the Fourth World where she was swept up in a fiery romance with a charming yet roguish gambler. However, the call of the Spider Woman's song was strong. Mary-Katherine migrated to the Fifth World, leaving her tumultuous life and lover behind. Her wish to settle in for a period of leisure was granted in a twisted fashion. Illness, likely a parting memento from her old flame, quickly burned through her until she was left bedridden. The effects of the Wyrd were not yet well known, so Mary-Katherine's passing raised no alarms. Unfortunately for her neighbors, her death was as short-lived as her life in the Fifth World. Mary-Katherine became the first documented Consumptive in the Wyrd Frontier.

We still have two more Stretch Goals on the board! At both $50,000 and $55,000, we will add another scenario to A Season of Avarice. Hitting those goals means we'll have 10 total Bounties for you Trailbosses!

To put that in perspective, Huckleberry's Bounty Board mechanics allow Mavericks to pursue a maximum of 6 Bounties in a Season, but realistically they will tackle 3-4 Bounties. A Season of Avarice will be packed with enough material to play a modest campaign of Huckleberry entirely on it's own. If you supplement with your own homebrew scenarios, you'll have the makings of a true western epic.

Thanks to the wild success of this campaign, a lot of doors are beginning to open up for Huckleberry. I've had talks with a VTT company that prioritizes the same narrative-first focus and strong visuals that Huckleberry strives for. I'm very excited to say that Huckleberry will be coming to Alchemy RPG!

This is obviously a huge announcement with plenty of questions to follow. We're still putting together all of the details ourselves and will have more information in future updates!

Much obliged,
Steven

I've got to be honest with you. 

We already passed my "pie in the sky" dream for Huckleberry and this campaign isn't even halfway over! I'm so excited that you joined us and your overwhelming support allows our team to go into overdrive. Games are meant to be played and our goal is to make it as easy as possible for you to get Huckleberry to the table. Even before the game's debut back in August of 2024, we were already hard at work creating a full slate of scenarios.

The goal is for a Trailboss to pick up the game and immediately have stories to tell. 'A Season of Avarice' was envisioned as the complete collection of that first wave of Huckleberry bounties released in 2025. We originally planned for our next set of bounties to go into 2026's Season bundle. But now... Well, we don't want to make you wait! 

At $45,000, $50,000, and $55,000, we are spurring our horses and accelerating the timeline. Each goal will add an all-new Bounty to 'A Season of Avarice'. We can potentially pack this book with a total of 10 Wyrd West scenarios! Critters, Folk, and everyone who's pledged for the physical 'Avarice' book will also receive digital versions of the new Bounties.

Each of these writers have worked on Huckleberry before and are committed to delivering their scenarios within this campaign's development time. These new stretch goals won't require us to push back our estimated schedule. I love when projects have a quick turnaround and I'm committed to delivering Huckleberry to you as quickly as I can!

As is Huckleberry custom, each bounty will be complete with Bounty Board posters in print and VTT options, along with a full suite of art by George Sellas, downloadable handouts, and all-new loot and hostiles. This book already has enough content packed inside to jumpstart an entire campaign, but three more scenarios will create an abundance of choice for all those greedy Trailbosses out there. Avarice is the sin of the Season, after all!

Much obliged, pardner
- Steven

When Red Sleeve was young, a swarm of undead threatened to overrun her clan’s camp. She nearly succumbed to defeat after one of the Horde mauled her right hand. Instead of retreating to perform the cleansing rituals, she swiftly amputated her hand and forearm. Red Sleeve continued to fight, lashing a machete to the remains of her forearm. The shirt sleeve of her right arm turned a deep crimson as the blood from her wound stained the garment, yet she still led her people to victory that day.