Our Queen Crumbles: Hallowed Edition - A Weird Fantasy TTRPG

Dearest subjects of the Queen,

we're happy to announce that our extraordinary artist Al has completed the art for the new edition.

Here's a sample from our royal Portrait Gallery, one of the many strange families that may gather in mourning around the crumbling Queen: the Changeling Heir, the Commandant's Shadow, the Hexed Baronet, the Tender of the Garden.

Al took up some extra time in August to give each portrait the attention it needed, but we've worked on the layout in the meantime, and this means we're in line with our schedule: we'll take a few days' vacation at the end of this week and devote the first half of September to editing and fine-tuning before going inito print.

To make sure we're ready to fulfill as early as possible, backer surveys will be out in a few days. There is an option for local pickup at Lucca Comics & Games, the Italian pop culture festival taking place at the end of October 2025. If you happen to be there, we'd love the chance to say hi!

But for now, we'll let Al sign off with a short message.

Doing the interior art for Our Queen Crumbles: Hallowed Edition means a lot to me. This game is special on a personal level, and I hold my feelings about loss and grief gently when I imagine the maps and retainers. The Alfred Tennyson quote comes to mind: "'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

Huge thanks to Jason for creating the game and bringing me on for the first edition, and thank you to Oscar and Maria for inviting me back. You have done such an incredible job writing and curating a journey deeper into the world and characters of Halloway. I have no doubt that many powerful stories will take root from this Hallowed Edition.

Loyal subjects of the Queen,

The new edition is coming along according to plan. We're taking all the time we need to polish up each Retainer, and even if our work on the texts isn't the sort of thing you can show off easily in an update, Al's artwork is perfect for the job! Meet the Princess of Lyres.



Al is planning to finish all new content by the end of the month, and we'll make the best out of August to wrap up our part as well. We plan to print the game in September. Currently the journey is proceeding smoothly, at a pace that allows us to enjoy ourselves.

We're always available if you have any questions, and we plan to update you next month, with more info and more beautiful art.

NessunDove

Beloved siblings, parents, children and lovers of the Queen,

thank you for gathering in such great numbers around her! The campaign is over, but like a last breath caught in a stone vessel, it was just a passing moment in our shared history.

Now we can sit down with Jason and make true everything we've promised. We'll keep you constantly updated and show off Al Lukehart's art-- they started working on the new illustrations as soon as your support made us confident that they would be needed. Our plan is to ship o ut the finished games by November 2025.

We'll be available all along this process, just get in touch at any time you'd like. And if you have anyone in mind that might enjoy a visit to Halloway, preorders are opening soon here on BackerKit. We'll let some time go by before sending out surveys to ask your preferred language and gather shipping fees, so that we can work out the best fulfillment solution.

But let's set the practical stuff aside for a minute, so we can thank you and celebrate. Right now we're out in a country home in the Apennines, running ChamberCon, our chamber larp and storytelling game convention.

Let's end on a toast: Long Live the Queen!

We'll see you soon. Out on the cliffs of Halloway.

Nestled among the high peaks of the Queendom is Silvergarden Pass. Old paths weave along thin ridges and around weathered stone shrines entitled to strange gods. None travel through here but the wretched and the forgotten: the influence of the Lonely City grows thin so close to the border, and the Robber-Baron Berthold has declared the roads its territory.

Bandits share drinks at the Trailhead Tavern, smugglers make their dens out in the caves, and only the devotees of the Cult of Broken Wings dare push past into the wilderness to make an offering for their lost cause. Some swear they saw old gods dancing on the mountain slopes, or heard the trickster god Notus laughing merrily when lightning strikes the peaks.

Loyal subjects of the Queen, just like the statue holding the Queen's soul, our campaign too is coming to an end. But since there are only a few hours left, we can hope they will shine more intensely than ever.

Fortunately, our end isn't going to be a time for goodbyes, but for thank-yous. Working on a new shape for a game that's been published before is a different kind of challenge than offering people a brand-new thing. Thanks to Jason's trust, we got to share our idea with you all, and we'll continue to do our best to develop it. But we can only devote our full energies to it thanks to your support, whether you're longstanding citizens of Halloway or this is the first time you've crossed its borders.

Let's enjoy these last few hours together. If you want to spread the word, your help will be appreciated. All are welcome under the aegis of the Queen.

But first of all, let's rest a while by the river and discover a new corner of Halloway.

Picture a river, with water flowing under a bridge and through the wheel of a watermill. In other lands, when people want to get memories, dreams and wishes out of their head, they speak of the bygone past as “water under the bridge”. In Halloway, they come to Water-under-the-Mill. 

Here we are, loyal subjects of the Queen! You snuck in like the Assassin in what to us in Italy is the dead of night, and we can't help but be awed by your support. Five days until the end of the campaign, and we've crowned every achievement we set out for this new Hallowed Edition.



Every copy of the game (physical and digital) will include a copy of The Golems of Claypit, complete with a little graphic revamp to match the beauty of the new edition.

There's stil a little bit left before the end of the campaign, but we won't set any new achievements, as we got everything we could wish for during the planning stage. Now all that's left is to spread the word, to have as many people as possible join us in this journey through Halloway.

Al is already working on all the new art you helped unlock, and the rest of the team is gearing up for the rewrites needed to make the new Backdrops fit seamlessly in the lore of Halloway.

Speaking of...


At the edges of the mist surrounding the House of Grey Magick, an expanse of giant thornbushes grasps at the sky. The Brambleweave is the border between the Queendom and the lands of the Fey. Few venture here and even fewer come out unchanged: the brambles have a way of shifting around you, making you lose your path, leading you deeper inside, towards the great Loom where Fey-Binder Quince spins unlucky souls into thread for their spells.

And yet there are homes among the thorns, built out of the tangled brush or carved into ancient trunks. The children that the Fey exchange for changelings often lead their lives out here, halfway between worlds. And the Menagerie of Legends houses beasts straight out of myth, the fruit of imagination taking on fearsome forms.

We'll speak again soon, as the end inexorably approaches. Meanwhile, please help us spread the word... And have fun answering the poll on the pin design, if you missed it at the start of the campaign!