Ravaged by Storms – Mythic Sandbox Adventure for Pirate Borg

Not quite April 26 - itch.io + DriveThruRPG
4 days ago – Sat, Mar 21, 2026 at 04:17:48 PM

The Golems Speak

Dear backers,

it seems like I did cause some confusion today when I shared some files via itch or DriveThruRPG. So sorry about that. Some of you are sending messages to me why their itch.io keys don't work. So, let me explain.

itch.io (and the keys sent today)

In your BackerKit Survey, I asked you to choose if you wanted to receive your digital files only on BackerKit or somewhere else as well. If yes, you could choose beween DriveThruRPG or itch.io.

Today, I've created download keys on itch for Ravaged by Storms and The Way of the Worm. Unfortunately, I did sent the access link via BackerKit to all of you, instead of just to the people who actually chose itch.io as their platform, as I should have done. I apologize. 

If you've got the link but never chose the platform in the survey, no key was created for you, just as you asked me to do. Thus, if you've got a link today but it doesn't work, don't worry, please just ignore it.

DriveThruRPG

On this platform, we sent out invitations to add The Way of the Worm to your accounts, if you asked for DriveThruRPG in your survey. Ravaged by Storms will follow in a few days, as soon as they have approved our files. 

Something missing?

If you still feel that you haven't received what you've asked for, please send us a direct message, for example here on Kickstarter. Some survey results indicated a platform but didn't give us an email, for example. 

Summary Digital Fulfillment

The Way of the Worm incl. VTT assets: Available on BackerKit, itch.io, and DriveThruRPG. Check your mails.

Ravaged by Storms incl. VTT assets and poster map: Available on BackerKit and itch.io. Will come to DriveThruRPG in a few days. The OST was shared via BackerKit with original backers. Otherwise available on Bandcamp, Spotify, and other music platforms. Solo Storm has been written and edited, but Sabrina can't work on it right now.

The Scarlet Coral Citadel Enhanced Edition incl. VTT assets hasn't been shared, yet. We're working on the final art pieces. Will be published on BackerKit, itch.io, and DriveThruRPG simultaneously withing the next few weeks.

We'd love to see you comment on all these platforms, give us a rating or review, etc.

Physical Fulfillment?

More on that soon. But let me just say, it exists... :)

And let me tell you, this time it looks fabulous!

From pebble to monolith—your journey matters. The Golems have spoken.”

Alexander from Golem Productions

Big News: Rbs being printed, Czech Translation, German Behind-the-scenes, and more
16 days ago – Mon, Mar 09, 2026 at 01:25:38 PM

The Golems Speak

Dear Backers,

lots of things are happening in the background, of which I want to share at least a few:

Ravaged by Storms currently being printed

Exactly what the headline says :) It is happening. More details soon. 

But to manage expectations a little: this will take a few weeks, and shipping by sea to the fulfillment center will also take a few weeks. So please be excited, but keep the hype in check for now :D

Czech Translation by Mytago

We’ve signed an agreement with Mytago this week: Ravaged by Storms will receive a Czech translation.

As far as we know, this makes it the first third-party Pirate Borg project to receive an official translation by one of the official Pirate Borg licensees.

Even better: CZ Backers from the Czech Republic and Slovakia who supported the original Kickstarter at a physical pledge tier will receive the Czech PDF for free and a discount on the Czech print edition, when they become available, thanks to Mytago. Huge thanks to their team for making this happen!

Other Languages?

This may not be the end of the story, as we are discussing another translation with another publisher. That said: YOU might be able to help. If you are interested in seeing a translation into your language and are acquainted with the Pirate Borg licensee in your region, please recommend us and put us in touch!

German case study “Design in role-playing books” demonstrated using Ravaged by Storms

Gratisrollenspieltag auf WE20.de (Abstieg in den Dungeon 2026)

Vortrag und Diskussionsrunde mit Sabrina, am DO 26.03. 20:00 Uhr auf dem WE20 Discord Server.

Warum funktionieren manche Abenteuer sofort am Tisch – und andere nicht, obwohl sie gut geschrieben sind? Oft liegt der Unterschied im Design. Dieser Vortrag wirft einen Blick auf die unsichtbaren Entscheidungen hinter Struktur, Lesbarkeit und spielbarem Layout, gezeigt an unserem Abenteuer Ravaged by Storms.

Blog: Designing for Pirate Borg (3/3)

We just published the final part of our Designing for Pirate Borg series about making Ravaged by Storms.

Instead of visual design, this one is about process and production mistakes. where time actually went while making our first crowdfunded RPG book — layout progress that wasn’t real progress, illustrations piling up late, stretch goal scope, a ~100h trailer, and switching layout tools mid-project.

Thought some of you working on books might find it useful. Till the next time!

From pebble to monolith—your journey matters. The Golems have spoken.”

Alexander from Golem Productions

March 26: We're getting there!
23 days ago – Mon, Mar 02, 2026 at 06:08:30 AM

The Golems Speak

Dear storm-tossed backers,

ZineQuest has been lot of fun in February. Personally, I loved having the precious opportunity to ride Limithron's Ship of the Dead for one evening talking about Ravaged by Storms and SkeletonKey Games' new anthology zine Tales from the Locker among other things. There's an extended cut available on Limithron's Patreon as well.

But let's also see what we have been up to. Here's another meaty monthly update! 

New Test Prints! And this time they are nice!

As explained in great detail last time, we had to change the printing company for Ravaged by Storms. We're now working with the famous Standart Impressa, who for example have not only printed many if not all official Pirate Borg books but also everything that Free League Publishing puts out. If know those books, you'll also know they are always high quality!

Same goes for our current test print of just some pages, which makes us confident that we have chosen the right partner this time. Besides setting up the new contract, we have prepared all the print files anew and are currently waiting for the second correction loop. When our account manager has confirmed that all the print files are fine, they'll prepare a full publication screen proof for our final review and overall visual check. And then ... we print! So, that's going to be exciting.

By the way, I am proud to add that we will print a first print run of 1,250 books with over 800 of them already sold to over 660 backers and pre-orders, retailers included (thank you!).

Here you can see a comparison between the old print proof that we rejected (left) and the new test print (right). The colors are brighter and more vivid! 

Solo Storm

In the meantime, I have finished writing our solo-supplement Solo Storm (Stretch Goal 12). It's going to be a short digital document that is meant as a toolbox and step-by-step guide to fully enjoy Ravaged by Storms when playing alone. More information here.

Currently with our copyeditor John Baltisberger, we expect the layout process for Solo Storm won't take too long. After that, it will be made available to all our backers. In the future, it will be added for free to all people receiving a copy of Ravaged by Storms.

New Review of our Book

Adventure Knight! published and awesome review about Ravaged by Storms. So far, people seem to like our book, which is very encouraging. Obviously, that means a lot! 

If you happen to run a podcast, blog, YouTube channel or whatever, please feel free to do the same and get in touch with us, if you need anything to make a post about our work happen. :) But even if you just post a review somewhere like on itch, Facebook, reddit, or Discord: everything helps!

The Scarlet Coral Citadel Enhanced Edition

With Ravaged by Storms and The Way of the Worm done, this is the last of our three main adventures. As discussed before, we are expanding the adventure from 11 to 24 pages. The text has been revised, the new content written and edited, Sabrina is working on the new illustrations and layout. 

One thins we promised was that we include a new a high-risk, high-reward PC class, the Red Coral Addict. And I just want to show it to you, so here it is!

Additional News 

• We have by now posted the second part of our series Designing for Pirate Borg on our blog, OSR Rocks!. This part was all about the amazing 3PP community currently emerging around Pirate Borg. Honestly, I wanted to have our final Part 3 ready by now, but it will come quite soon. 

• Randall J. Harris has launched a brochure-style Pirate Borg adventure and cocktail recipe (for real!) called An Acre of Barren Ground. A little more than a week to go!
• Snapback Games is currently putting together what is probably the biggest 3PP campaign for Pirate Borg to date. Winds of Hell will not only be the most comprehensive campaign book yet (yes, even more comprehensive than Ravaged by Storms ... T_T), but there will also be additional adventures and goodies crowdfunded. At least, you'll also find a little something from Golem Productions among them ;) 

With that, I wish you fFair winds and following seas.

From pebble to monolith—your journey matters. The Golems have spoken.”

Alexander from Golem Productions

Feb 26: Through rough waters, but always forward!
about 2 months ago – Wed, Feb 04, 2026 at 09:16:54 PM

The Golems Speak

Dear people of the sea,

let's go! January was a little rough, but I'll try to keep it somewhat short and precise. First of all: don't worry, we're getting there. 

Unacceptable Print Proofs

In short, our month was wasted with dealing with a print company whose name I won't publish here. I've been in contact with them since early Summer 2025, knew they theoretically met all requirements, had a contract set up, and then it became awful. Many misunderstands (some from our part, too) followed. Sabrina had to set up print files like six or seven times (takes a lot of time). Finally, they told us, the print files were good. We received a printed proof copy of Ravaged by Storms on January 22nd. 

Let me tell you, at first it felt great, we were so proud. The book felt good, with great paper quality and haptic. But then we had to identify and document no fewer than 36 serious quality defects, each of which affected the book binding itself. Too much glue, too little glue, loose threads, threads that were too light in color, ribbon bookmarks that were too light in color, stains on the cover, torn pages, loose binding that allowed other pages to show through in the middle, etc. ... It was unacceptable. Since then, we have spent our time complaining, listening to excuses, and terminating the contract with the printing company.

Again, worry not, we're already back on track! So, let me show you some pictures of that print proof and its flaws. I'm sure, that's not what you would have wanted to have.

A month lost, we sail on

• We have decided to change printers. Just this week, I signed a new contract with a printer that has printed many well-known role-playing books.
• I stand by this decision, which will set us back one to two months, because in the end we would all have been unhappy with poor-quality books.
• We hardly lost any money in this debacle (~ €100) :)
• We are currently preparing the print files for a test print (again, haha) with the new company. If it works this time, the books will be printed by mid/late March and then have to go to the fulfillment center in Maryland, USA. Physical fulfillment will then start not at the end of March, but rather at the end of April/beginning of May. Definitely a little later than we had imagined, but hopefully still acceptable for all of you.
• Work on The Scarlet Coral Citadel Enhanced and Solo Storm progressed very slowly in January due to the circumstances described above, but will continue in February. 

Some exciting news

• With ZineQuest going on this month, there are also some Pirate Borg projects currently crowdfunded by other parties. Let me highlight the new anthology zine series Tales from the Locker by Ed Bourelle of SkeletonKey Games, which Quartermaster Tyler Stratton is also contributing to, as well as the Depth Crawl adventure and expansion for new travel rules These Bloody Sails by William Tramp (This Effin' GM).
• Limithron has just announced Season 2 of their legendary Podcast / YouTube series Ship of the Dead. This time, they will always release an extended cut of each or their episodes on Patreon, but also a "normal" cut for free on YouTube and podcast platforms. Oh, and I am honored be on episode 2 with some other cool guys talking about creating Third Party Stuff for Pirate Borg :)

• On our own blog, OSR Rocks!, we started a 3-part series about Designing for Pirate Borg with part 2 becoming available shortly. We talk about what worked and what didn't, were we wasted lots of time during production, and where we are heading.

We'll be back, so stay tuned!

From pebble to monolith—your journey matters. The Golems have spoken.”

Alexander from Golem Productions

Jan 26: Printing begins. Ravaged by Storms out in the wild
3 months ago – Tue, Jan 06, 2026 at 03:47:24 PM

The Golems Speak

My fellow scallywags, sea-faring misfits, and pirate zombies,

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and started the new year in good health. Here comes the pending monthly update, so let's dive right in. Where are we at?

First of all, we ourselves have just had a pretty stressful holiday season. Imagine this: Ravaged by Storms was done. Like finished, minus some final edits. It was built in Affinity, only for us to discover that for various technical reasons we couldn't deliver the final PDFs with that app. Neither the digital nor the print version would have worked. This issue has delayed the completion of our adventure. We actually wanted to be finished a few weeks earlier.

So, our amazing art director Sabrina spent her days and nights to rebuild the entire module from scratch in Adobe InDesign. The WHOLE THING again!!! In just one week so that we could meet our internal deadline and deliver the module on January 1st. Guys, she deserves an award or something. Write nice things about her, please. :) 

Ravaged by Storms

On January 1st, we finally released our main module! Find all the details in the last update. So far, we have heard mostly good things about the adventure. If you read or run it, let us know, write a play report, post a video, or whatever! We'd be super happy to see that.

Since then, we have released version 1.1, which implements a further editing cycle. We have eliminated a few remaining spelling errors, removed the odd strange phrase, and “translated” a few British English words into American English. Nothing major, but the product is now even more polished. Thank you to everyone who reported issues to us.

The poster, soundtrack, and VTT assets are also already available digitally on BackerKit. If you indicated in the backer survey that you would also like to receive your files on itch.io or DriveThruRPG, this will happen in a few weeks. What's still missing is our solo supplement stretch goal, Solo Storm. More about that below. Btw. if you need a reminder, what was all included in this project, you can find an overview here.

Work in January 26

The Scarlet Coral Citadel Enhanced Edition is back from the editor! Putting the new and rearranged content into layout and adding new art will be Sabrina's main job in the upcoming weeks. I (Alexander), on the other hand, will be working Solo Storm.

You might have heard that SkeletonKey Games is going to crowdfund the first issue of Pirate Borg's new 3PP anthology zine: Tales from the Locker. I had the opportunity to write a little heist adventure for the first issue, which also introduces a recurring location for longer campaigns and offers a few gameable ideas around the theme of maps: The Cartographer's Den. Check it out, it'll launch in February!

Physical Fulfillment

Ravaged by Storms and the poster have now been sent to the printer. We are still coordinating with the good people there and do not yet have a clear completion date, but we expect printing to be finished in the second half of February.

As explained in an earlier update, both items will be printed in Europe and then transported to the fulfillment center in the US, which will take another week or more, before being distributed to individual orders along with the zines and postcards, which will be printed in the US. So, to be honest, it looks like we will be able to start shipping the physical products sometime in March and stick to our originally communicated schedule. However, there is now no buffer left. If delays occur at any point, there is no leeway left to compensate for them.

OSR Rocks!

On our blog, we published an article about our experience in running a crowdfunding campaign, interviewed another creator, and collected some sources that really helped us in process. Take a look:

With that, I wish you all a great start to the new year.

From pebble to monolith—your journey matters. The Golems have spoken.”

Alexander from Golem Productions