A fantasy TTRPG about insatiable hunger in a blighted land, inspired by Hollow Knight, Bloodborne, Dark Souls, and Elden Ring.
We aim to start shipping physical rewards by June 2026. Digital rewards for already-existing books will be sent when orders are locked down (July 2025). Once they're ready, all other digital rewards will be made accessible (estimated Q2 2026).
Pre-order sales are final. Shipping will be charged closer to fulfillment. You can check estimated shipping pricesHERE (Shipping and Fulfillment section)
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Production videos
22 days ago
– Thu, Jul 23, 2026 at 07:06:43 AM
Hello, Dowsers!
This is a quick update to share a few production sample videos we just received for Bitter Chalice, specifically showing off the maps, stickers, dice, and meeples.
You can watch them [HERE], [HERE], and below if you're reading on Kickstarter:
Reminder & Next Steps
We plan to lock down the books with final revisions and a few minor additions during the first half of August. If you've started reading the beta PDFs and spotted anything that needs tweaking, please drop a note in our Discord, channel #bitter-chalice-typos.
A few of you have also asked where to find the Classes and Origins: those are located on the sheets currently being finalized (see screenshots below). We will share those files as soon as they are ready to go!
• Telegram: Get quick updates straight to your device.
• Instagram: See behind-the-scenes content and more.
BETAs of all books now available!
about 1 month ago
– Thu, Jul 02, 2026 at 07:49:26 AM
Hello, Dowsers!
The day has finally come: all three Bitter Chalice books are now available as BETA PDFs.
What's a BETA?
Essentially, the 97% ready form of the books, before a final-final-FINAL polish pass before printing.
Can I help with the polish if I find something weird?
Yes! You're still likely to find some typos and layout glitches in there — we had to ship these files at some point, but they could use another re-read. Page numbers will be marked as "xxx" because we confirm those at the last possible moment, to avoid page shifts and other surprises. And if you feel some sections need clarification, NOW is the time to tell us: you can do so on our Discord server, channel #bitter-chalice-typos. We'll have about 5 weeks before things need to be locked down and sent to print.
Your help here is crucial: we've worked on this game for over 6 years, and besides having only a finite number of eyeballs, some issues might be invisible to us by now but obvious to someone with fresh eyes.
The Core Book is complete, and the game is in its semi-final form, but we haven't yet finished the layout for the Class and Origins Playbooks, which are necessary to play. That's next on our list. For the final file, besides extra polishing, we'll also add an analytical index (which couldn't be compiled until this file was ready) and a list of illustrations with descriptions.
Dirge of the Dust King is complete. We'll add a list of illustrations with descriptions in the final file. Solo Mode needs a couple more digital files to be fully usable: the Solo Mode Playbook and the Companion sheets. We'll get to these next, since they're not critical for moving ahead with the print. If you are planning to play in Solo Mode first and would prefer not to know what might happen in the game, we strongly recommend that you read Chapter 7 of this book first, as it explains what constitutes a spoiler. (Yes there’s a note about it on the Core Book too, but just in case you miss it).
Escape the Mud Fields is complete and in its semi-final form, but like the Core Book, we still need to finish the pregen characters you'll need to play. As with the others, the final file will get another polish pass and a list of illustrations at the end.
Support digital files needed to play: with the Core Book you'll get two versions of the map of the Blighted Lands (one for the GM, one for players), location stickers to print and cut (fair warning: they're only stickers if you print them on sticker paper, otherwise you'll want to wait for the box), tokens to print and cut, and a map specific to Escape the Mud Fields. The missing files mentioned above will come in a future update, once they're actually done.
Note: Maps and tokens are sized according to what you’ll find in the final box of the game, meaning that the map is an A2 (420 x 594 mm, 16.5 x 23 inches), and tokens are proportional to that. If you plan to print things at home, you will probably want to resize them according to the size of the map you are printing. Most printers offer this option in the print dialogue box.
What else?
Well, we hope you like what we've tried to do here. Bitter Chalice is our most complex project yet, and it hasn't always been easy — but I think it might be something special, and dare I say, even a little innovative? Time will tell.
Happy reading, and share your thoughts on our Discord server.
• Telegram: Get quick updates straight to your device.
• Instagram: See behind-the-scenes content and more.
June Update, the Books are Almost Done
2 months ago
– Sun, Jun 07, 2026 at 07:38:53 AM
Hello Dowsers,
It's June, almost summer, and work on Bitter Chalice is entering its hot phase. How appropriate.
Project Status
The Core Book layout is 90% complete. I was hoping to share the full Beta with this update, but we need a little more time. The latest chapter (Challenges) required a particularly intricate layout (lots of formatting details to get right) which slowed things down. All that remains now is the Appendix, which is mostly tables. In the meantime, while Matteo Sciutteri continued laying out new pages, Enrico did a first polish pass and flagged around 250 improvements: typos, missing or incorrect translations, and so on. This is completely normal; each pass typically turns up a few hundred comments, much to the delight of our layout artists. The upside is that by the time the Beta reaches you, most of those fixes will already be in.
Bringing the other Matteo (Carioni) on board has made a real difference: the second book's layout is now complete at just under 120 pages. We could technically send that Beta now, but sending the expansion before the Core Book feels a bit backwards, so we'll release both together with the next update, using the extra time for additional polish.
I'm 70% of the way through translating the third and final book, Escape the Mud Fields. In early May I had to shift focus briefly to keep the rest of the team moving without bottlenecks, but I'm confident I can finish the remaining 30% within the next ten days. Once done, Matteo Carioni jumps straight into layout.
Below are some new pages from the books. I tried to pick pages with the fewest spoilers possible, but remember, everything is a spoiler, so look away if you're not the GM!
Production is officially moving
This past week we sent the first batch of files to our production partner to kick off samples and prototypes — maps, stickers, tokens, meeples, dice, and bookmarks. We're working with Boda Games, the team behind acclaimed titles like Arcs, Hegemony, Everdell, Onitama, and more. Safe to say we're in good hands on component quality.
• Telegram: Get quick updates straight to your device.
• Instagram: See behind-the-scenes content and more.
May Update, Reinforcements Are Here!
3 months ago
– Thu, May 07, 2026 at 03:32:14 AM
Hello, Dowsers! it’s time for our monthly update, so let’s dive right in.
Project Status
I am happy to confirm that the Solo Mode chapter is finished. With its completion, Dirge of the Dust King is also officially content-complete. The chapter is headed to translation now; this should only take a few days, after which the text will be ready for layout.
This month we also completed the third and final book, Escape the Mud Fields. Translation will begin immediately following the Solo Mode chapter, likely as early as next week. As this book is significantly shorter than the others, we expect a swift turnaround.
Layout for the Core Book is currently underway. While we aren't quite ready for the full Beta, we are aiming at an early June release (but no promises, it takes the time it takes). Below is a preview of the layout for Chapter 8, which covers campaign events. (Note: These contain potential spoilers, so look away if you want to keep the surprises intact!) Area illustrations will be integrated within the next few days.
Reinforcements Have Arrived!
As you have likely gathered, this project is a massive undertaking. To ensure we meet our milestones, we have brought on an additional layout artist, Matteo Carioni. Matteo previously collaborated with us on Valraven: The Chronicles of Blood and Iron, and he will be joining Matteo Sciutteri to streamline our production timeline. We have an extensive list of assets requiring layout beyond the books, but with a "Team of Matteos" at our disposal, we are moving full steam ahead.
Production Partner
To streamline our final stages, we have begun collaborating with a premier board game manufacturer for all editions of Bitter Chalice (you've probably played or heard of some of the games they've been working on). We are currently in the estimation phase, which tends to take a while, particularly for a complex project involving many different elements. This partnership allows us to begin prototyping physical components that require iteration—such as maps, meeples, stickers, dice, and boxes—well in advance. Our goal is to finalize these elements now so we can focus exclusively on the books once translation and layout wrap up.
That’s all for this month! If you have any questions, feel free to join our Discord server, where you can chat with me and the rest of the team daily.
• Telegram: Get quick updates straight to your device.
• Instagram: See behind-the-scenes content and more.
April Update: Bitter? Have a Bitter Chalice Cocktail!
4 months ago
– Mon, Apr 06, 2026 at 08:13:29 AM
Hello, Dowsers!
Thirsty? You might recall the cocktail competition we hosted during the campaign. If so, read on for a bitter treat!
Have a Bitter Chalice
The final illustration for Bitter Chalice is complete! This piece features the cocktail submitted by Daniel Björkman during our campaign competition. Daniel’s winning entry will be featured in the Bitter Chalice Core Book wherever we have a page to fill.
While your bitterness might be increasing as you wait for the game’s completion, you can now sip Daniel’s concoction in a dark room from the most goth chalice you own. (If you do, please send us a picture!)
Here’s how to prepare it:
1 bottle of Porter (preferably a sweeter Baltic style, rather than a dry stout)
1 small spoon of honey
1 drop of Bäska Droppar (or any very bitter snaps, such as Gammel Dansk, Jeppson’s Malört, Piratens Besk, Fernet-Branca, or Riga Black Balsam)
1 dash of lemon juice
Fresh ginger, grated (to taste)
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients and mix gently.
Cheers!
Project Status
We’ve made pretty decent progress this month. Here is where things stand:
Core Book: All missing chapters are translated and in layout. Our next major milestone is the full Beta; I will have a specific timeline for that after this week.
Dirge of the Dust King: Two chapters are still awaiting translation. First is the Strategy Guide, which I expect to complete this week. Second is the Solo Mode chapter, which we are still tinkering with; this will likely be the last piece to be finalized. I spent Easter weekend on a Solo run and am happy to report that the mechanics work as intended, though the chapter needs some clarification. We are currently evaluating the difficulty of the Solo experience. At the moment, the Companions you start with or find along the way feel a bit too powerful because their simplified mechanics make them immune to certain dramatic events. We have a few ideas on how to balance this more effectively.
Escape from the Mud Fields: Likely to be completed within the week.
Art: 100% Complete!
My solo setup. Several of these printouts will be replaced by the game screen. However, companions and a modified campaign arc will be downloadable and printable for ease of use at the table.
Game journal and notes on areas for improvement. Hopefully my handwriting is illegible!
So far, we’ve received excellent feedback on the chapters we've shared. Please continue to let us know your impressions on our Discord server or in the comments below.
