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The World Below

Created by The World Below RPG by Onyx Path

A tabletop roleplaying game of subterranean fantasy, horror, and exploration.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Reward! ED GREENWOOD'S MONSTROUS ECOLOGY Backer PDF ready for distribution!
10 days ago – Thu, Feb 12, 2026 at 11:55:32 AM

Hello Deep Delvers,

It's a bit early for Valentine's Day, but I've got a lovely present for you! Remember this Stretch Goal during the campaign?



Well, it's time to get that reward out to you! But just before I do that, I also want you to know about the next deep delve that we'll be going on...


Get Ready for The World Below Buried Treasures


LAUNCHING TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17TH - SIGN UP to be notified when it goes live!

Two new books to help you delve even deeper into The World Below.



The Delver’s Guide is a Player's Manual for The World Below. 

Delvers may be brave, but that doesn’t mean they don’t require help once in a while. That’s what this guide is: help for all delvers, explorers, and survivors in the World Below. New Callings and weapons, new Dialectics and powers, a new scenario and fresh rules for crafting and harvesting, and much, much more await within, so every delver can feel properly equipped for the adventures ahead.

The Delver’s Guide provides a massive array of new material for The World Below RPG, including:

  • New Dawns, Dialectics, and Callings, complete with new powers, Theses, Syntheses, and Sorceries.
  • New detailed systems for crafting, harvesting, and generational play.
  • A full scenario that can be run straight from the pages of the book.
  • Three appendices filled with random encounters, Kaotic Retaliations, and every single World Below Trick compiled into a single place.



Secrets of Kalm and Kaos is a Storyguide’s Handbook for The World Below.

There are hundreds of tales to tell of the World Below. From stories of adventurers braving Kaos storms to intrepid explorers who throw themselves into the dreamlike Obscura or harrowing Abyss. From chronicles of settlements rising and falling to those of bold delvers who go so far as to tame the beasts of their realm and call them pets. New playable options, new powers, new rules for Kalm, machinery, monstrous mounts, and more besides await within.

Secrets of Kalm and Kaos provides a huge range of new options for The World Below RPG, including:

  • New playable options from among Dawns, Dialectics, and Callings; along with new powers, Theses, Syntheses, Sorceries, and rituals.
  • New systems for machinery, beast taming, Kaos storms, portals, gaming, and fishing.
  • In-depth explorations of the planar spaces such as the Dark and the Obscura, and settlements such as Telver’s Hearth and Oracaster.
  • A full scenario that can be run straight from the pages of the book.
  • Three appendices filled with random encounters, interesting characters, and every single World Below Trick compiled into a single place.




Back this project and help illuminate the dark depths! 

As thanks for your support, your pledge rewards may include PDF versions of The World Below: Delver's Guide or The World Below: Secrets of Kalm and Kaos - or both!

In addition to the PDFs, these books will be released for purchase as Print-on-Demand hardcover books via our partners at DriveThruRPG. Crowdfunding backers will receive a special link allowing you to purchase the PoD book at a discounted price.


All backers who support this project will receive access to draft manuscript previews throughout the campaign!  You'll be able to read the entire draft manuscript for both books before the campaign finishes - before any pledges are processed or payments collected!

LAUNCHING TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17TH - SIGN UP to be notified when it goes live!



Reward Distibution: THE WORLD BELOW: ED GREENWOOD'S MONSTROUS ECOLOGY Backer PDF



From the mind of a fantasy RPG master, Ed Greenwood's Monstrous Ecology provides extensive ecologies for a massive array of beasts, bugs, and butchers found in the World Below.

The World Below: Ed Greenwood's Monstrous Ecology drastically expands material presented in the core book for the World Below RPG. It includes:

  • Over 30 monsters provided with Ed's unique level of horrifying detail and fantastical depth.
  • New ancestries, settlements, dogmas, and guilds for players to select for their characters.
  • Over 50 new Theses for players to assign their characters, giving them a much-needed ede in this hostile subterranean world.


REWARD DISTRIBUTION

If this PDF was on your list of rewards, your link to claim your THE WORLD BELOW: ED GREENWOOD'S MONSTROUS ECOLOGY Backer PDF will be sent out by our BackerKit pledge manager over the next day. Since we are using our partners at DriveThruRPG as the host for this, you will need to set up a DriveThru account if you don't have one already. If you encounter any problems with downloading your rewards, please contact DTRPG's customer service to resolve the matter, they've always been top-rated for customer service. http://www.drivethrurpg.com/contact_us.php



Again, you will receive an e-mail from BackerKit with links for this reward over the next 24 hours if it is on your expected list of rewards.

The easiest way to see if you've got digital downloads available is to login to your backerkit account: https://the-world-below.backerkit.com/ and it'll show anything available. Your backerkit account should also confirm all rewards that you should expect from your reward tier selected.


BACKER PDF VERSION

This is the first version of Ed Greenwood's Monstrous Ecology to be released. The design and development teams have done their best to proofread and correct any errors and typos - but some always sneak through. If you catch any typos, incorrect math, visual glitches, and the like, we want to hear about them and correct them before we send the book off to print.


With that in mind, I'd like to introduce the TWB: EGME Feedback Form!


Onyx Path will be launching a special Monstrous Ecology Feedback Form, which you will be able to access here:  https://forms.gle/g4F7THJT76FSsf4R9


Share your feedback directly with the developers using this form and help them guide the book through the next steps of production.

They are aware of the Page XX notations - those are left in to replace for the final version once any changes you've suggested are made, so they can reference the correct page if any shifts in layout result.


Onyx Path will keep errata collection open for the next week. Please submit your feedback as soon as possible so the team can get on to finalizing this file!

After any needed corrections are made (based on your feedback!), they will prepare an updated final PDF version of the book and you will receive a notice from DrivethruRPG that you can re-download your file with the latest version.

You've already made the book a reality with your Crowdfunding support. Now you can make it even better by helping us crowdsource any minor errors and corrections.

SO: Look for your reward email over the next 24 hours, or check your BackerKit page to see your digital reward redemption links. Review the backer PDF and submit any feedback you have, and let's make this book as awesome as possible!

AND: Sign up to be notified when our BURIED TREASURES campaign goes live next Tuesday! Let's work together to bring a little more light into the darkness!

I'll be back again in a few weeks with our regular monthly summary. See you then!


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.

January 2026 Monthly Update
24 days ago – Thu, Jan 29, 2026 at 08:05:42 AM

Hello Deep Delvers,

Welcome to the first update of 2026! We've got some rewards coming soon, some rewards coming at some point, some rewards coming in a while, and some new rules you can incorporate into your game right now!

First up, let's talk about rewards coming "at some point."  The biggest hurdle has been print production.  Onyx Path had some real challenges with previous print partners over the past 18-months and had to investigate new avenues for production. They've found a new partner and are currently in the process of printing their first book with them now. It seems to be going well, and the foundation is being built to get their print schedule slowly lined up beyond this first test.
 
So, it'll be a while before we know how the print schedule shakes out and when we can start planning for distribution of our physical rewaerds (book, screen, and the rest). I'll keep you updated as new info comes out.

Next up, let's talk about a reward that should be coming soon. The Monstrous Ecology book that we unlocked via Stretch Goal during our campaign is finishing up the layout phase and should be going to the Proofing stage in the next week or so. The Onyx Path crew will review and fix until everyone gives it a greenlight, and then it'll be out to backers. I'm hoping that we'll get that for our next monthly update! Stay tuned!

Before getting to our regular check in and the rewards that'll be coming in a while, let's look at some new rules you can add into your game right now!

Now available from DriveThruRPG in PDF: Storypath Ultra Tasty-Bit 01: Massive Monsters!




This Storypath Ultra Tasty Bit introduces two new kinds of antagonists for use with the Storypath Ultra Core Manual or any game using the Storypath Ultra system.

Giants are characters, creatures, or artificial constructs operating on a scale where meaningful, direct interaction with human-sized creatures is possible, while titanic-scale creatures are beings so immense that human-sized creatures are unable to interact directly with them in any meaningful way. 

Massive Monsters includes:

  • Four new antagonists ready to drop directly into your Storypath Ultra game
  • Two new antagonist types: Giants and Titanic-Scale Creatures
  • New Antagonist qualities
  • New Area Effects

Onyx Path will be releasing Storypath Ultra Tasty Bits all year - bite-sized rules & tools that you can drop into your Storypath Ultra system games with ease. Next month, I think they're working around a theme of Traps, which could be pretty useful for a World Below game.

Now let's get to our regular check in for rewards coming in a while...

Pending Projects


Once Onyx Path has finished their first print with their new partner, hopefully they can sort out a print schedule for some of their projects and build in timelines for our book and the various physical rewards that will ship alongside it. Beyond that, The Monstrous Ecology book is expected to move into Proofing any day now, and Underworld Adventures is in the Art Notes stage, lining up the artwork needed for the book, in the general and specific sense, with artist's calendars and abilities. 

Many, many dots to fill in here and I'll continue to monitor Onyx Path's released information and keep everyone udpated each month.


Rewards Distributed to Backers


  • Trinity Continuum Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • Scion Second Edition Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • They Came From Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • Redbubble Backer T-Shirt Link (April 4 '24 Update)
  • The World Below Backer PDF (Oct 31 '24 Update)
  • World Below VTT Asset Pack (March 19 '25 Update)
  • World Below Streaming Overlay Set(March 19 '25 Update)

Pledge Manager


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://the-world-below.backerkit.com/


Onyx Path Project Tracking


You can read Onyx Path's most recent monthly summary, covering all projects and their status up to that point here: <December 2025 Project Status Summary>

You can find the weekly Monday Meeting blog updates <here>, which note any projects with status changes since the previous Month End summary. The project statuses listed are current as of last Monday, so do check it out each Monday night to see if anything may have progressed!

I will continue to post regular updates every month until the final reward has gone out.

Remember: You can use the links at the bottom of this e-mail to unsubscribe from updates or Manage your notification settings. These status updates are available on the campaign page for you to review at any time.
 

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:


TO CONTACT JAMES


If you've got a question about your pledge or BackerKit page or any part of the process, you can contact me with any of these methods

  •  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.

December 2025 Update
about 2 months ago – Wed, Dec 24, 2025 at 10:13:41 AM

Hello Deep Delvers,

I'm taking a quick break in the middle of my holiday vacation to get out our last update of 2025. Onyx Path is in the process of printing their first book with a new printing partner, and hopefully it goes smoothly and they can spend 2026 catching up on some of the print production that has been so challenging over the past 16 months. I'll continue to track their progress and share new information in our monthly updates throughout 2026.

Pending Rewards



Obviously, getting print production back on track and moving forward will be the big focus for Onyx Path and our reward updates in the new year.  In the meantime, there's been some forward movement on the Monstrous Ecology stretch goal supplement, and hopefully we'll see the Underworld Adventures shift forward soon as well. I'll continue to monitor Onyx Path's website and Discord and share any new details that emerge in our next update.


Rewards Distributed to Backers


  • Trinity Continuum Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • Scion Second Edition Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • They Came From Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • Redbubble Backer T-Shirt Link (April 4 '24 Update)
  • The World Below Backer PDF (Oct 31 '24 Update)
  • World Below VTT Asset Pack (March 19 '25 Update)
  • World Below Streaming Overlay Set(March 19 '25 Update)

Pledge Manager


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://the-world-below.backerkit.com/


Onyx Path Project Tracking


You can read Onyx Path's most recent monthly summary, covering all projects and their status up to that point here: <November 2025 Project Status Summary>

You can find the weekly Monday Meeting blog updates <here>, which note any projects with status changes since the previous Month End summary. The project statuses listed are current as of last Monday, so do check it out each Monday night to see if anything may have progressed!

I will continue to post regular updates every month until the final reward has gone out.

Remember: You can use the links at the bottom of this e-mail to unsubscribe from updates or Manage your notification settings. These status updates are available on the campaign page for you to review at any time.
 

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:


TO CONTACT JAMES


If you've got a question about your pledge or BackerKit page or any part of the process, you can contact me with any of these methods

  •  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.

November 2025 Update
3 months ago – Thu, Nov 27, 2025 at 07:09:14 AM

Hello Deep Delvers,

Quick general Onyx Path udpate before we get to our project specifically.

As you've read in the past several updates, and as has been detailed in Onyx Path's weekly Monday Meeting Notes blog, the issues with locking down a printer for these books has been the big challenge of the past year (and more). Turbulent times and shifting sands, and all that.

Hopefully that's all behind us now. Onyx Path has a new printing partner and they are currently in the middle of setting up the hardcover reward from another project for a press run soon. Right now, the Onyx Path team are setting up the digital files and specs so that the new printer can create a print proof. Once the Onyx Path team have reviewed the proof, corrected any issues, and approved the project it can move forward to printing. I don't know the timeline, but with where we are in the year, I expect those books won't exist until the new year. 

Once Onyx Path has been through the entire process with the new printer and confirmed all is well, they should be able to start planning out their printing queue for the year. So, I don't know any timelines at this point, but I'm looking forward to some positive news and forward movement in 2026!

Monster Kingdoms now up for pre-order

As mentioned in last month's update, the third Earthbane Cycle entry, Monster Kingdoms, is now available for Pre-order. As with our previous campaigns, you will receive the draft manuscript when you place a pre-order, and you won't be charged until the PDF or hardcover is preparing for distribution.

Pending Rewards


Artists have been assigned illustrations for the Underworld Adventures supplement, and the team is still working to pair up artists with the art notes for the Monstrous Ecology. Hopefully the print schedule will become clear in the new year and we can start figuring out when we'll be receiving our hardcover rewards. The fact that we're in November and the speed at which the next few weeks will go by probably mean no real news until January,  but I'll keep an eye on Onyx Path's website and Discord and share any new info in our next update.

Rewards Distributed to Backers


  • Trinity Continuum Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • Scion Second Edition Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • They Came From Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • Redbubble Backer T-Shirt Link (April 4 '24 Update)
  • The World Below Backer PDF (Oct 31 '24 Update)
  • World Below VTT Asset Pack (March 19 '25 Update)
  • World Below Streaming Overlay Set(March 19 '25 Update)

Pledge Manager

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://the-world-below.backerkit.com/


Onyx Path Project Tracking


You can read Onyx Path's most recent monthly summary, covering all projects and their status up to that point here: <October 2025 Project Status Summary>

You can find the weekly Monday Meeting blog updates <here>, which note any projects with status changes since the previous Month End summary. The project statuses listed are current as of last Monday, so do check it out each Monday night to see if anything may have progressed!

I will continue to post regular updates every month until the final reward has gone out.

Remember: You can use the links at the bottom of this e-mail to unsubscribe from updates or Manage your notification settings. These status updates are available on the campaign page for you to review at any time.
 

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:


TO CONTACT JAMES


If you've got a question about your pledge or BackerKit page or any part of the process, you can contact me with any of these methods

  •  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.

October 2025 Monthly update
4 months ago – Thu, Oct 30, 2025 at 07:20:55 AM

Hello Deep Delvers,

It's the day before Halloween, so there's still time to squeeze in our regular monthly update.

At the end of September, we finished up the crowdfunding campaign for the third entry in the Earthbane Cycle, Monster Kingdoms. I'm just preparing to launch the pledge manager for that, so I'll have a link to pre-order for anyone who missed out in next month's update. It's a fun draft manuscript to read, to catch little hints and easter eggs that relate to the World Below (and At the Gates). Anyway, look for that next month.

For our regular check in, there are no big updates this month, though work continues behind the scenes. In terms of printing books, Rich's latest Monday Meeting Notes on the Onyx Path website says "We’ll also be reaching out to a couple of printers to see how things like pricing and availability have changed since last year in the hopes that we have a window of opportunity to get a few projects traditionally printed. It still isn’t pretty out there, but we’re seeing now some clear, uh, paths towards catching up on trad printing. Thanks for your patience during this unprecedented time, and more news when I have it."

Hopefully Onyx Path have found their Onyx path through the chaos and we'll get new info about printing schedules soon.

Until then...

Pending Rewards


Artist schedules and contracts being hammered out for two of our Stretch Goal books.


Rewards Distributed to Backers

  • Trinity Continuum Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • Scion Second Edition Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • They Came From Digital Starter Bundle (January 25 '24 Update)
  • Redbubble Backer T-Shirt Link (April 4 '24 Update)
  • The World Below Backer PDF (Oct 31 '24 Update)
  • World Below VTT Asset Pack (March 19 '25 Update)
  • World Below Streaming Overlay Set(March 19 '25 Update)

Pledge Manager

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://the-world-below.backerkit.com/



Onyx Path Project Tracking

You can read Onyx Path's most recent monthly summary, covering all projects and their status up to that point here: <September 2025 Project Status Summary>

You can find the weekly Monday Meeting blog updates <here>, which note any projects with status changes since the previous Month End summary. The project statuses listed are current as of last Monday, so do check it out each Monday night to see if anything may have progressed!

I will continue to post regular updates every month until the final reward has gone out.

Remember: You can use the links at the bottom of this e-mail to unsubscribe from updates or Manage your notification settings. These status updates are available on the campaign page for you to review at any time.

Onyx Path Discussion Channels

You may be able to get further insight and possibly some in-depth conversation at these Onyx Path discussion zones:


To Contact James

If you've got a question about your pledge or BackerKit page or any part of the process, you can contact me with any of these methods

  •  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.


Final Day: Curseborne Player's Guide



 

  • Nine new families of Accursed!
  • New Role Paths, Lineage Torments, and spells
  • Fully playable Venators
  • Fully playable orphaned Accursed 
  • Quick-build and random character templates
 
The Curseborne Player’s Guide is primarily focused on the players at the table who take on the role of individual characters. If you’re a Storyguide, you can expect to find ideas that help you prompt the other players and frame their place in the world. Use these to create details that resonate with a player’s intentions and to direct the story to places where the main characters’ themes and concepts can flourish. Other players can expect to find tools to develop your character, both in your narration and on your character sheet.

In this book, we introduce grounding concepts for playing the Accursed, providing role-playing hooks and touchstones rooted in the world they find themselves. These are intended for both brand-new players looking for a place to start and for players in the middle of a story who are open to new angles and complications. We expand on all the types of Accursed introduced in the Curseborne corebook, including those who don’t have a family to call their own, but also provide even more ways to express and wield the power of curses through new spells. We even add a new angle to the world of Curseborne as we present playable rules for the monster-hunting Venators, who contend with the same supernatural forces as the Accursed without Damnations of their own.

You can join in and support the project here

On Kickstarter: Scarred Lands Player's Guide




Check it out <HERE>
A Land Where Legends Walk
 
Drawing enthusiastically on Greek mythology, Scarred Lands offers a world shaped by gods and monsters. Only the greatest of heroes can expect to be counted among them. The Divine War left the world of Scarn ravaged. From the battle-scarred continent of Ghelspad to the desert wastelands of Asherak, the wounds of war still fester. The jungles of Termana are corrupted by titanic influence. The Blood Sea is tinted red because the titan Kadum lies bleeding at the ocean floor. The Dragon Lands and the frozen north of Fenrilik were spared the worst of the Titanswar, yet these lands carry their own perils.

Scarred Lands is a beloved setting introduced 25 years ago by White-Wolf Publishing and currently wholly owned by Onyx Path Publishing. In the years since its introduction, the setting has been published under three editions of d20 licensing and a Pathfinder compatible version. Aegis Studios has now licensed Scarred Lands from Onyx Path Publishing to convert the setting to Savage Worlds. With this Kickstarter, we aim to bring the Scarred Lands to the popular Savage Worlds Adventure Edition by Pinnacle Entertainment Group with a brand new Scarred Lands Player's Guide (SWADE)!