A wild nautical adventure zine full of bizarre locations, rules for travel and chase scenes, and random tables for your crew!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Let's Talk Side Quest
about 1 month ago
– Fri, Jun 26, 2026 at 08:27:15 AM
As fulfillment continues on These Bloody Sails, I thought I might take a moment to shamelessly self-promote two projects I have put together. First, let's talk about
Fantastic Figureheads...And Where to Find Them
Imagine a trifold. You unfold it. One side? 20 brand new Relics for the Pirate Borg TTRPG, each designed to be affixed to the bow of your favorite sailing ship.
On the other side? An adventure scenario, where you and your closest friends/crew/some people you met at a gas station decide to take one of these Fantastic Figureheads for yourself. Of course, the current owner may not be too keen on that.
This is a family affair.
Writing and Layout: William "This Effin' GM" Tramp. You already know this guy. It's me. I'm this guy.
Side quest is a brand-new Kickstarter initiative pioneered by Zac Goins to highlight inexpensive ttrpg game aids and supplements made by awesome creators. It's rad and you should check out some of the amazing works others are doing in this. Note: There are way more than I am showing, I just got lazy.
Wait, I said there was a second shameless self promotion, right?
Right.
The Prismatic Tower Now on DriveThruRPG
A few of you seem to be Shadowdark fans. Did you know I write and produce my own Shadowdark adventures?
DID YOU KNOW I HAD A NEW ONE RELEASE TODAY? FOR ONLY $1?!
Here's the synopsis:
Somewhere in the vast desert lie the Dunlands, an overcast wasteland dotted with grey crystal formations. It is said by older folk of the sands that this land was once flush with color and life, though those days are long passed. The denizens of this area reflect their surroundings, lifeless and without vigor, and those who travel through here have learned to avoid the area, lest they suffer the same gloomy fate.
Near the center of the Dunlands lies a half sunken tower, the bulk of which is buried beneath the surface. A millennia ago, the roots of the World Tree stretched deep beneath the ground here and forces of the Inferno attempted to use the planar pathway to spread their evil through the land. In doing so, they damaged the roots and nearly brought the nearby domains to ruin. A collection of followers dedicated to law devised a solution: a prismatic beacon that would gather solar energy to feed the decaying land and infuse the area with the power of the sun. Their gambit worked, the chaos actors were driven back to the Inferno and the roots were strengthened.
A century ago, a Demon Prince of shadow came to the World Tree and brought great tremors that unearthed a portion of the corrupted root beneath the tower, releasing the spirit of a slain demon known as a countenance. The countenance killed the caretakers who maintained the beacon and sabotaged the tower’s ability to spread radiance. Now, the lands around it have reverted back to a dull and lifeless state. The tower still remains, half buried in the broken ground and haunted by the denizens who chafe at the light of day.
The Prismatic Tower is a Shadowdark adventure for levels 4-6
Again, it's on DriveThruRPG right now for $1
Click on the picture below to check it out if you are so inclined.
I promise not to spam you with messages about any more products for at least another week.
Ok, love you, bye.
-Will "This Effin' GM" Tramp
Stickers! International Fulfillment! Things Printing!
about 1 month ago
– Wed, Jun 24, 2026 at 12:42:32 PM
1. Stickers are HERE!
The sticker sheets are here! I slapped some on my laptop and I feel good about getting these all to you.
Woof this is not a flattering photo of me.
I bet thats something neat being worked on the paper underneath the stickers...
2. INTERNATIONAL FULFILLMENT HAS BEGUN
The Lulu proof came in and it looks GREAT. So, as a result, I started fulfilling international physical orders.
Man, I need to cut my hair or something.
As of right now, every single international physical order that DID NOT include the Devoured Labyrinth is with Lulu and being prepared for shipping.
This is GREAT NEWS!!!!
The Devoured Labyrinth Softcover I am waiting on until i confirm a test print. Sorry folks.
Reminder: We got thrown a curveball on Lulu, who we are using for international fulfillment. Lulu won't let us do saddle stitched. We made the book every too slightly too big (sort of. Lulu doesn't allow inner cover printing, therefore, the book got bigger). Lulu is having us use perfect boundbinding. The other option is to remove 4 pages from the book, and we really don't want to do that.
So, we have made the decision to go ahead with the perfect bound for international orders. Perfect bound binding for the most part is fine. Most soft cover books are perfect bound, it uses glue to put pages in. The issue is that sometimes that glue comes undone and a page falls out of the book. With the choices we have, we figured it better that there's a small risk a page falls out than an assured loss of four pages.
3. Domestic Copies Still Printing
Proofs have been recieved and look great, so we went ahead and ordered Domestic Copies! It'll be probably another week until we get them. This is (still) the exciting "waiting" part. I can't wait to get them so I can get them to you. We are primed and ready to start sending these out the day we get them.
4. DriveThruRPG
We have uploaded These Bloody Sails to DrivethruRPG for PDF purchases (rest assured, no one is getting physical copies until backers have theirs). We figure PDF is fine as you all already have access to yours.
In addition, we have granted all PDF recipients of the These Bloody Sails Kickstarter a link to a free DriveThruRPG copy. Check your Backerkit Digital Downloads for that link.
Why do this? Two reasons.
First, because we know some people like to keep their PDFs in one place and a lot of people use the DriveThruRPG library as their one stop PDF holder.
Second, we can't get reviews from you all otherwise. I know, it's pretty self-serving, but doing Kickstarter cuts our product off from the gluttonous algorithm's need for feedback to then put it in front of future customer's eyes. So, we gave you all free copies in a place where you can leave feedback.
Turns out you cant leave a review until 24 hours after you purchase it?
Do you need to? No. Not at all.
Should you? Not really. We will be fine without it.
Do I consider it a personal favor, letting the world know your thoughts? Absolutely. Heck even if your thoughts aren't so nice (we hope they are), feedback is a gift and we would appreciate it.
5. We still need 5% of you
The Backerkit Survey is out (check your email) and we are at 95% completion. This is awesome! But we don't want to miss ordering enough copies for everyone, so for those of you who have not filled out the Backerkit survey, please get those done.
You must complete the Backerkit Survey to receive your rewards.
The Backerkit Survey was sent via email.
You'll get your digital downloads pretty soon after (hours at most), and remember, the survey is your last chance to add items to your pledge! And we have added some good stuff to the add on section, such as a...
6. A FEW QUICK STOPS ALONG THE WAY
While Josh has been busting his butt on layout, I reached out to two good friends and great writers, John Baltisberger (hey that's our editor) and Steven Hamilton and tasked them with helping me make a PDF of new Pirate Borg Mini Adventures. We call the project A Few Quick Stops Along the Way. We are super happy to see over270 of you have nabbed it and we hope it lives up to expectations for great Pirate Borg content.
Also, did you know it is 20% off if you buy it through Backerkit vs DriveThruRPG?
Did you also know purchase of it gets you a free DriveThruRPG copy?
Ok! That's it.
Have a great day and we will catch you all soon
COPIES ARE COMING MY WAY
about 2 months ago
– Tue, Jun 16, 2026 at 09:53:02 AM
A big update!
1. Domestic Copies Ordered
Proofs have been recieved and look great, so we went ahead and ordered Domestic Copies! It'll be a few weeks until we get them. This is (still) the exciting "waiting" part. I can't wait to get them so I can get them to you. We are primed and ready to start sending these out the day we get them.
2. DriveThruRPG
We have uploaded These Bloody Sails to DrivethruRPG for PDF purchases (rest assured, no one is getting physical copies until backers have theirs). We figure PDF is fine as you all already have access to yours.
In addition, we have granted all PDF recipients of the These Bloody Sails Kickstarter a link to a free DriveThruRPG copy.
Why do this? Two reasons.
First, because we know some people like to keep their PDFs in one place and a lot of people use the DriveThruRPG library as their one stop PDF holder.
Second, we can't get reviews from you all otherwise. I know, it's pretty self-serving, but doing Kickstarter cuts our product off from the gluttonous algorithm's need for feedback to then put it in front of future customer's eyes. So, we gave you all free copies in a place where you can leave feedback.
Do you need to? No. Not at all.
Should you? Not really. We will be fine without it.
Do I consider it a personal favor, letting the world know your thoughts? Absolutely. Heck even if your thoughts aren't so nice (we hope they are), feedback is a gift and we would appreciate it.
3. We still need 6% of you
The Backerkit Survey is out (check your email) and we are at 94% completion. This is awesome! But we don't want to miss ordering enough copies for everyone, so for those of you who have not filled out the Backerkit survey, please get those done.
You must complete the Backerkit Survey to receive your rewards.
The Backerkit Survey was sent via email.
You'll get your digital downloads pretty soon after (hours at most), and remember, the survey is your last chance to add items to your pledge! And we have added some good stuff to the add on section, such as a...
4. A FEW QUICK STOPS ALONG THE WAY
While Josh has been busting his butt on layout, I reached out to two good friends and great writers, John Baltisberger (hey that's our editor) and Steven Hamilton and tasked them with helping me make a PDF of new Pirate Borg Mini Adventures. We call the project A Few Quick Stops Along the Way. We are super happy to see over270 of you have nabbed it and we hope it lives up to expectations for great Pirate Borg content.
Also, did you know it is 20% off if you buy it through Backerkit vs DriveThruRPG?
Did you also know purchase of it gets you a free DriveThruRPG copy?
5. Stickers on their way
The sticker sheets are also on their way. I can't wait to slap some of these on my laptop.
6. A (reminder of a) Small Issue with Lulu (International Backers)
We got thrown a curveball on Lulu, who we are using for international fulfillment. Lulu won't let us do saddle stitched. We made the book every too slightly too big (sort of. Lulu doesn't allow inner cover printing, therefore, the book got bigger). Lulu is having us use perfect boundbinding. The other option is to remove 4 pages from the book, and we really don't want to do that.
So, we have made the decision to go ahead with the perfect bound for international orders. Perfect bound binding for the most part is fine. Most soft cover books are perfect bound, it uses glue to put pages in. The issue is that sometimes that glue comes undone and a page falls out of the book. With the choices we have, we figured it better that there's a small risk a page falls out than an assured loss of four pages.
Proofs are still on the way.
Ok! That's it.
Have a great day and we will catch you all soon
Domestic Proofs have arrived!
about 2 months ago
– Mon, Jun 08, 2026 at 12:27:43 PM
Domestic proofs have arrived and they look good
We are doing our domestic print run using Mixam. We thought they wouldn't arrive for another week, but they are here and they look good (to me. Josh still needs to check his copy). If he gives the thumbs up, we will be ordering the run and then once those arrives, domestic fulfillment should begin!
Check it out!
Dont worry international backers, your proofs are on their way.
-William 'This Effin' GM' Tramp
Proofs Ordered and More News!
about 2 months ago
– Tue, Jun 02, 2026 at 05:53:01 PM
Hello all! Another Update. Got a lot to cover in this one.
1. Proofs Ordered
Proofs have been ordered and are currently being published, but it'll be a few weeks until we get the copies to look over. This is the exciting "waiting" part. I can't wait to get them. Oh, also, we updated the cover. It's going to have a nice satin-y feel. Mmmmmhm.
A Small Issue with Lulu
Actually, we should talk for a second about proofs because we got thrown a curveball on Lulu, who we are using for international fulfillment. Lulu won't let us do saddle stitched. We made the book every too slightly too big (sort of. Lulu doesn't allow inner cover printing, therefore, the book got bigger). Lulu is having us use perfect boundbinding. The other option is to remove 4 pages from the book, and we really don't want to do that.
So, we have made the decision to go ahead with the perfect bound for international orders. Perfect bound binding for the most part is fine. Most soft cover books are perfect bound, it uses glue to put pages in. The issue is that sometimes that glue comes undone and a page falls out of the book. With the choices we have, we figured it better that there's a small risk a page falls out than an assured loss of four pages.
2. We still need 10% of you
The Backerkit Survey is out (check your email) and we are at 90% completion. This is awesome! But we don't want to miss ordering enough copies for everyone, so for those of you who have not filled out the Backerkit survey, please get those done.
You must complete the Backerkit Survey to receive your rewards.
The Backerkit Survey was sent via email.
Due Date to complete is June 5th, 2026.
You'll get your digital downloads pretty soon after (hours at most), and remember, the survey is your last chance to add items to your pledge! And we have added some good stuff to the add on section, such as a...
3. BRAND NEW PIRATE BORG COMPATIBLE PROJECT
While Josh has been busting his butt on layout, I reached out to two good friends and great writers, John Baltisberger (hey that's our editor) and Steven Hamilton and tasked them with helping me make a PDF of new Pirate Borg Mini Adventures. We call the project A Few Quick Stops Along the Way. We are super happy to see over250 of you have nabbed it and we hope it lives up to expectations for great Pirate Borg content.
4. Typo Tracker has been Locked Down
We locked down the typo tracker and have put most of the edits into the book. Some were more suggestions and we took a bunch of those, though not all. But either way HECK YES, thank you so much for your help in that for those that submitted.
Soon enough, we will be sending out updated PDFs to everyone AND a single page PDF version for those who are more into reading on tablets or phones. We have a better product now.
5. DriveThruRPG
Once we get the addresses locked down, we will be uploading These Bloody Sails to DrivethruRPG for PDF purchases (rest assured, no one is getting physical copies until backers have theirs). We figure PDF will be fine as you all already have access to yours.
In addition, we will be granting all PDF recipients of the These Bloody Sails Kickstarter a link to a free DriveThruRPG copy.
Why do this? Two reasons.
First, because we know some people like to keep their PDFs in one place and a lot of people use the DriveThruRPG library as their one stop PDF holder.
Second, we can't get reviews from you all otherwise. I know, it's pretty self-serving, but doing Kickstarter cuts our product off from the gluttonous algorithm's need for feedback to then put it in front of future customer's eyes. So, we are going to give you all free copies in a place where you can leave feedback.
Do you need to? No. Not at all.
Should you? Not really. We will be fine without it.
Do I consider it a personal favor, letting the world know your thoughts? Absolutely. Heck even if your thoughts aren't so nice (we hope they are), feedback is a gift and we would appreciate it.
