Book of Spirits: An Ethereal Supplement for 5E

GM Screen Reveal + PDF Status Update
6 months ago – Fri, Oct 10, 2025 at 03:12:08 AM

Mist Hikers, we’ve got an exciting preview to share with you, along with a clear update on the PDF release you’ve been waiting for.

Preview of the GM Screen

It’ll be a while before you can physically hold your GM screen, but at least we can show you what it will look like!

Starting with a classic one. It's always nice to have conditions at hand, so it was really important for us to keep that useful part of every GM screen.

If you've held a 5E GM Screen before, this panel will also feel familiar, with the exception of the Special Senses section. Besides the classic senses like Darkvision and Tremorsense, we included two senses unique to Book of Spirits.

Resonance, Boons, Banes, and special features of the Everlast (the spirit realm) are all present here as an effective and concise cheatsheet.

The last panel is dedicated to random encounters in the Everlast. It's always nice to have one of these to make exploration more exciting!

Share your thoughts about the screen in the comments!

PDF Delay

We want to be fully transparent with you about where things stand. The writing, editing, and the vast majority of the art were done two months ago, meaning the book was good for layout ever since. We assigned the task right then, but unfortunately the work was slower than anticipated, with freelancers taking much longer than their initial estimates. 

The task changed hands since the last campaign update, and it’s progressing at a better pace, but even now we’re simply forced to accept that layout takes longer than we’d initially hoped for. It’s a precise, time-intensive process, and as we’ve learned firsthand, even experienced professionals can’t always predict how long it will take.

Even though internally the book is scheduled to be ready beforehand, I’d like to give you all a conservative release date to account for unexpected delays: November 7th. If for some ludicrous reason the book is not ready by then, we will release a plain-text edition of the book for backers only.

On behalf of the studio, I want to thank you again for all your patience at the finish line. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I assure you that we’re doing everything we can to bring the PDF to your screen as soon as possible without compromising its quality.

~ Aviad & Beyond the Screen Studio

Dark Descent is on Kickstarter

Our friends at Mammoth Factory have launched a heart-stopping project! Delve into a world of ancient, forgotten evil in Dark Descent, 400+ pages of darkness spread over two forbidden 5e tomes.

Descend into the lightless depths deep beneath the earth and uncover the lost, forbidden knowledge of the fallen Anak Empire. Master blood alchemy and wield infernal magic at the risk of corrupting your very soul. Play as twisted subterranean races, and unearth profane magical artifacts that come at a terrible cost. 

Face off against the terrifying monsters of the depths, and persevere through six harrowing adventures that combine into one mega-campaign!

Back it today for a Kickstarter-exclusive reward:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mammothfactory/dark-descent-infernalism-and-blood-magic-a-forbidden-5e-tome?ref=bpdf6k

Coming Soon: PDF Release
7 months ago – Tue, Sep 09, 2025 at 06:39:37 PM

Mist Hikers, we’re really stoked for the upcoming digital release!

The PDF is Almost Here

Our team is buzzing and busy getting ready for the first digital release. The PDF is currently in layout, with spot illustrations and additional graphics being tailored to fit unforeseen empty sections. We are committed to deliver the PDF to you as soon as possible. The current estimate is the end of September, but due to all the moving pieces and the quality standards we’ve set, we may need an additional week or two, so please bear with us! We will keep you posted on any delays in the comment section of this Update, and we will post another update when it’s ready.

The upcoming digital release will include:

• Book of Spirits PDF
• High-res image files of the maps
• Original soundtrack
• Miniatures STL files

How will fulfillment be handled?

Fulfillment will be handled through DriveThruRPG. When we fulfill, you will receive an email linking you to DriveThruRPG, and the content mentioned above will be added to your library on the platform, downloadable from any computer or phone. If you don’t have a DTRPG account, you will be prompted to create one.

If you haven't done so already, kindly complete your BackerKit survey to get your rewards on time. If you still haven’t done that, retrieve your survey in the link below:

https://beyondthescreen.backerkit.com/

Apple Users? If you’ve used Hide My Email feature for your Kickstarter account, please reach out to us through Kickstarter messages so we can assign your account with your real email for digital rewards.

For questions about your personal data and pledge, reach out to us through the Kickstarter private messages, or through your BackerKit survey. 

First Glimpse of the Book + Last Chance to Pre-Order
8 months ago – Thu, Aug 07, 2025 at 05:11:50 AM

Hey Mist Hikers, we’ve got an exciting update for you.

Layout Samples

There were many positive comments about the PDF sample that we shared when the campaign launched, but we weren’t kidding when we disclaimed “design not final” at the bottom. We think you’re going to appreciate the result.

We’ve put extra attention into stat block design. Our goal was to fully incorporate the Resonance system into the graphic design, so that you’ll immediately know at a glance which features become available to an animar when they become Kindled or Stifled, making it easier to run combat encounters.

Pre-Orders Ending Soon!

Got friends who may be interested in this project? Now is their last chance to get a copy. Physical pre-orders end on August 20th, and it will be a long while before the book becomes available for purchase thereafter. 

PDF on Schedule for September

With layout starting soon, we feel confident that you will get the PDF towards the end of this coming September, less than two months from now. After the layout artists perform their magic, we will let our proofreaders hunt any mistakes that slipped in, and then release it to your care. 

While they are working on that, we are making a push on all other components (like the GM Screen) so they will be ready for physical printing and fulfillment.

Mist Hikers! What do you think about the book's layout design? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Dev Update + Release Schedule
9 months ago – Sun, Jul 06, 2025 at 10:57:46 PM

Hey Misthikers, we are here to share some news about our progress!

Chapter 4 is Complete!

The final chapter of the book is devoted to storytelling and worldbuilding in spirit-rich settings. It offers ideas for spiritual conflicts, suggestions to make emotions more impactful in your game, and a collection of game-world elements that enrich the physical counterparts of your spiritual setting. Finally, the chapter features three adventure modules, which are now finalized and prepared for layout.

What’s Next?

With the meat of the book written, developed, tested, and edited, we are moving on to the introduction section and the appendices. Once those are done, we will conduct our final review and proofing of text, followed by layout. We have already started layout design, so stay tuned for some pretty spreads on our next update!

Physical Production Update

There are numerous moving parts in this project, and some of them are already underway! 

• Miniatures. More than 50% of the miniatures have been printed, and the rest are underway.
• Dice. We’ve officially granted the dice manufacturer the green light to begin production. 
• Maps. The maps are ready for production, but we are waiting for the book to print everything together. 
• Mist Hiker Field Notes. About 70% ready, with the final edits on text and graphic design in the works. 
• VTTs. We’ve yet to start the development of the VTT, as it requires the book to be finalized first.
• OST. We are waiting for one final track, so about 85% there.
• GM Screen. Yet to start, our next priority after the book (while the book is in layout).

Updated Release Schedule

We expect two main releases. The first is set for September 2025, and will include the book PDF, miniature STLs, digital maps, digital field notes, and the OST.

The second part is set for January 2026, and will include all physical rewards along with the VTTs and associated assets (tokens). To be clear, this is when we expect everything to reach the fulfillment centers of our partners, which means it will take a few more weeks until the parcels make it to you.

~

Thank you for joining us on this journey! We'll keep you posted on more developments next month!

- Beyond the Screen Studio

Playtest Insights for Empath and Conduit! Dev Update + US Tariffs
10 months ago – Tue, May 27, 2025 at 03:21:55 AM

Hey Misthikers, we have some exciting news and important updates to share!

Creatures are Ready!

All 60 creatures have made it safely into the book with lore and statistics. We think you’re going to enjoy the variety of spiritual challengers and allies.

This officially closes chapter 3, meaning all that’s left is finalizing chapter 4, the book’s introduction, and some appendices. We’re on it!

Empath and Conduit Changes

You’ve shared a great amount of insights on your playtest forms, and we’ve finally incorporated some of them into the classes you love!

Let’s start with the Empath.

We have adjusted the Empath’s Psychic Flare so that it is influenced much more by your choice of subclass. At level 3, you will get the Psychic Flare feature with one variant that all empaths have, and one additional option will immediately become available through your choice of subclass. 

We have also adjusted the capstone ability of the empath to make it more interesting; At level 20, whenever you cast a spell, you can choose an ally you are linked to and have them hold concentration for you. This allows you the epic feat of having two concentration spells active simultaneously! There are a few other small changes, but you’ll see those in the book.

Now let’s move to the Conduit. Here are some comments that were recurring and how we addressed them:

• You asked for more spell interactions with your attuned spirits, so we have adjusted the spell list slightly. Namely, Conjure Elemental is joining spells like Find Steed, Shield of Faith, and Spirit Guardians. We believe these provide many opportunities to showcase your awesome spirits in combat and beyond!
• Conduct Spirit has been renamed to Channel Spirit, and you will have more uses of it now! You start with two, and restore one use whenever you complete a short rest, but now you can also spend two Hit Dice to activate your Channel Spirit features if you run out!
• Code of the Furnace underdelivered on its premise, so we have increased the number of times you can use Power Surge significantly. Additionally, you will have even more Hit Dice to use all of the class’s features once you hit level 7.
• The Code of the Harvest was also adjusted slightly; the duration of Essence Coating is now 1 minute, and when you reach 7th level, you can unattune from one of your Attuned Aspects to use its Channel Spirit for free, and even gain some Hit Dice (that’s our interpretation for draining the spirit dry and killing it).
• The Code of Sympathy conduit can now switch the spirits they are attuned to as a bonus action, granting you more versatility with this subclass (one switch per day for free, more by spending Hit Dice).
• Some of you requested an expanded list of Conduit Spirit Aspects. There are currently 8 of them, aligning with the 8 core emotions presented in the book. While we think it’s really cool to attune ‘hope’ or ‘malice’, expanding the list quickly gets out of hand. After all, there are 60 creatures in the book, and even they cannot convey the full range of emotions that exist. Instead, we would like to encourage you to think about the components of these more ‘complex’ emotions, and attune to multiple aspects that assemble them. For instance, at level 6 you might attune to both Trust and Anticipation to form ‘hope’, or take upon yourself the aspects of Disgust and Anger to form 'malice'.
• Project Awareness is confusing and situational, so we have removed it. The conduit already has a lot of features, and level 3 is quite great as is! That said, we have improved the duration of Spirit Sense to compensate (now it lasts for a full minute).

US Tariffs

Like every other publisher out there, the US tariffs have caught us off guard. Currently, the tariff rate on Chinese imports is 30%, though whether or not it remains that way is anyone’s guess. 

Unless the tariffs change by the time we fulfill, we may have to add a small fee from backers situated in the US to offset their tariffs. We expect such fees to be a few bucks at most, even for the highest pledge levels. 

This is not our final decision on the matter; it is a transparent evaluation of the situation with you, our backers. If the fees end up being modest, we may choose to just take that loss (or at least subsidize your fees). However, as a relatively small studio, we need to be smart so we can stay afloat. 

We appreciate your patience as we navigate this unpredictable situation!

Mist Hikers, what do you think about the empath and conduit changes?