Faster, Purple Worm! Everybody Dies, Vol. 2

Updates: Playtesting! Art! Backerkit surveys going out!
4 days ago – Wed, Nov 04, 2026 at 10:38:06 AM

Playtesting progress!

We've now completed the playtesting period for the first 13 (of 16) adventures. Thanks to everyone who participated! We've received invaluable feedback that will make the stories better for everyone. We also sleep much better at night knowing that these adventures already survived multiple gaming groups and provided players and DMs with a great time around the table. Just a few points we want you to be aware of:

• If you received the playtest materials but missed the deadline to fill out your survey, please don't be deterred! We are locking these adventures on a rolling basis so it's still quite likely that we will have time to incorporate your feedback. Even if you miss that window, your input still gives us valuable insight to make us better writers, editors and producers going forward. The original survey link is still live, so nothing further is required.
• The final three adventures will playtest in November. As before, we will randomly select names from the existing pool who filled out the original interest survey. Those emails will likely go out next week, with a deadline of November 30th to complete your session(s) and submit feedback. So if you didn't get selected in the first two rounds, keep an eye on your inbox next week!

Art progress!

While you all have been testing out the adventure text at your gaming tables, we've been chipping away at the art, handouts, and maps required to flesh out the book (and the Overkill Edition!). Here's a look at our friends at Stinky Goblin hard at work on a beautiful map for Everybody Dies and Goes to Hell - in a world of encroaching AI, this photo really warms our hearts here at B&G:

Backerkit Surveys going out this week!

We're sending out the Backerkit Pledge Manager Survey Email this week, so check your inboxes and fill out your surveys! For anyone who's new to Backerkit Pledge Managers, this is where you confirm your pledge, add anything else you want to add, or make any changes (like upgrading your pledge to a higher tier because you saw how awesome that higher tier is looking), and entering your shipping information so we know where to ship everything when it's ready.

Note that we haven't included shipping costs to the pledge manager yet. We'll be doing that closer to when everything ships to make sure we're only charging you what the cost of shipping will be—and we'll have a much better idea of that later on. In addition, you'll have a chance to update your shipping address when we're closer to shipping. We'll send out a reminder when the time is right. 

If you don't see your Pledge Manager email in your inbox, you might want to check your spam folder. Also, if you used an Apple Private Relay ID email to set up your Kickstarter account, that can cause Backerkit emails to not get delivered. In either case, you can access your Backerkit account HERE and recover your Pledge Manager Survey email.

The surveys will stay open until JANUARY 31, 2027 to give us time to give the factory final production numbers, so please make sure you fill out your survey by then.

Thanks everyone! We appreciate your support!

Sincerely,
Bill, Charlie, Jon, Matthew, and Paul

Playtester update - please read if you signed up!
about 1 month ago – Mon, Oct 05, 2026 at 02:43:03 PM

Round one of the playtest emails going out today

We're ready to get playtesting underway! This is going to have a lot of moving parts, so please bear with us as we explain how this process will unfold. (If you didn't sign up, feel free to ignore this Update - we haven't hidden any other secret info in it!)

• Playtesting will be done in three rounds, as some of the adventures aren't quite ready to be distributed yet. For rounds two and three, we will extend the deadline to account for the delay in getting the text out to you.
• We will contact 5-6 play groups per adventure. Email invites will come from [email protected] and all communications regarding playtests should use that email address. Don't post questions on the campaign page; it's much easier for us to miss something there.
• Emails for the first 8 adventures will go out today and tomorrow. The first email is to verify that you are participating, so please make sure to respond ASAP. After that, you will receive a PDF of the adventure, a link to the post-play survey form, and any handouts and/or maps that are currently available.
• If you don't receive an email, don't despair! You may be selected for group 2 or group 3. No one will be selected more than once.

Thanks again to everyone who volunteered for this process - it's essential work that we absolutely can't do ourselves. Please have fun with them, and give us your honest feedback to make them better!

Sincerely,
Bill, Charlie, Jon, Matthew, and Paul

WE DID IT!
about 1 month ago – Mon, Oct 05, 2026 at 09:09:11 AM

To all our Faster, Purple Worm Backers,

We did it! Thank you all for your support and encouragement throughout this campaign. The Kickstarter Goblin Team (admittedly, a frazzled bunch, prone to hyperbole) is handing the reins of the project over to the Production Goblin Team (led by a crusty taskmaster hobgoblin who ensures the Creative Goblin Team doesn't sleep until their work is done). 

For those of you who expressed interest in playtesting, we'll be sorting through that list, preparing playtest materials, and sending out instructions in the coming weeks. More to come soon!

Next Steps

Once the dust settles over the next few weeks, we'll be sending out a BackerKit Pledge Manager survey email to all of you. Likely in November. Please note that if you participated in Kickstarter's installment payment plan you won't receive the survey until after your final payment. But not to fear, it will come a few days after that last payment.

In that survey, you'll be able to confirm the elements of your pledge, add any additional add-ons that are still available, and make sure we have your correct shipping address and billing info.

When we're ready to go to print, we'll lock down orders to make sure we have a final count for the printer. We don't know when that will be just yet, but we'll let you know a couple of weeks before we do that to give you a last chance to make any changes or additions to your pledge. 

At about this same time, once the final print files are safely off to the printer, we plan to distribute the book PDF and Digital Assets. 

Once we have a final ship date for the printed elements, we'll give you one more chance to confirm your shipping address before we lock addresses and charge for shipping. Shipping costs will be as close to the estimates on the Kickstarter page as possible, but we'll update your BackerKit accounts with the final shipping costs when we announce we're locking addresses. We're estimating a September 2027 shipping for the printed elements.

We'll provide Updates all the way up to shipping to you all so you know what to expect.

With the greatest appreciation to all of our DMs and players,
Bill, Charlie, Jon, Matthew, and Paul

Less than 36 hours left! Play test signups! More to look at!
about 1 month ago – Thu, Oct 01, 2026 at 06:18:10 PM

The end is near!

We have less than 36 hours left to complete our campaign to launch Everybody Dies, Volume 2. The support has been amazing and we want to thank everyone who has jumped in so far. But we're also SO close to unlocking our last two stretch goals, so we want to make sure we've made our best pitch to anyone who's still on the fence. So as a reminder (for you or anyone you want to share this with) here are some of the reasons to jump in before the Kickstarter ends:

• Big Kickstarter-exclusive discounts and bundle options for the both the book and the amazing "Overkill Edition" boxed set
• B&G-exclusives, like a FPWKK DM screen, an alt-paint gargantuan purple worm mini from WizKids, and a set of FPWKK stone fluorite dice from Dice Envy
• 7 stretch goals unlocked, and 2 more are tantalizingly close!

Play test signups are still LIVE for Volume 2 backers

Additionally, signups for play testing Everybody Dies, Volume 2 are only open until the campaign ends, and are open to backers only. If you purchased Volume 1, you know how much we love and celebrate our play testers. Backers had a great time play testing the adventures in Volume 1 and we'd love to have you join in this time around - Volume 2 has 16 adventures, even more than Volume 1, so we need a big team! If you've backed Volume 2 and want to join in the play testing, CLICK HERE to sign up!

Layout is moving right along

The 16 adventures are all in different stages of development, but several are already getting the full layout treatment by Robb and Char at Irrgardless. We thought we'd show a few early page spreads here to get you all excited about the final product [SPOILERS AHEAD]:

Thanks again for all of your enthusiasm and support. We're almost there!

Sincerely,
Bill, Charlie, Jon, Matthew, and Paul

Play test signups are LIVE! And more art to share!
about 1 month ago – Tue, Sep 29, 2026 at 12:44:54 PM

Run a TPK, make the world a better place

Ok, maybe not the WHOLE world. Maybe you'll just be improving Everybody Dies, Volume 2 - but that's no small thing! By running an adventure in our play test sessions, you'll help us make this the best possible book for everyone, and hopefully have a great time doing it, too.

The link to apply for a spot in our play test session is below. Here are some basic guidelines to know before you submit your group:

• Signups close when the campaign ends on Friday, October 2nd, and we will be able to manage between 80 and 100 groups total. If we have more applicants than that, we will select the winners randomly immediately after the Kickstarter campaign is complete.
• The play test group is open to Volume 2 backers only. Please use the name and/or email you used in the campaign so we can verify your pledge.
• You must be able to run your adventure and submit feedback by Monday, October 26th. Both in-person and remote games are fine. Your group must have between 4 and 6 players, and we value experienced and inexperienced players and DMs equally.
• To show our appreciation for your efforts, every group who participates will be included by name in the back of Volume 2, along with our favorite quotes and anecdotes from your feedback forms.

If all of that sounds good to you, CLICK HERE to access the application form. Thanks in advance for your willingness to join in - we're so excited to have you!

More art, you say?

One of the best parts of assembling a book like this is seeing the stories come to life in the hands of our brilliant artists. Here are two more amazing pieces we can show you (mild spoilers ahead for players, you have been warned!). 

Thanks again, and keep spreading the word! :)

Sincerely,
Bill, Charlie, Jon, Matthew, and Paul