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Book of Spirits: An Ethereal Supplement for 5E

Created by Beyond the Screen

Explore the spirit realm in D&D 5E. Cross the Veil, defeat dark manifestations, and reshape the world with your heroic spark. This pre-order sale is a clear-out of our US stock. All physical items are limited in stock and only available in that region.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Last Chance to Provide Feedback! + Art/Dev Update
almost 2 years ago – Sat, Dec 21, 2024 at 02:49:32 PM

Hey Mist Hikers, happy holidays! We’re back with a fresh update.

Playtest Feedback Surveys End Soon

We’re excited to read all of your feedback on the empath, conduit, and the resonance system! On December 23rd, 4pm EST we will close the feedback form, and begin incorporating your input to improve the designs.

If you’re reading this before then, you can still submit your feedback through this link:

https://forms.gle/Fc5ondBmtTGjUgtU9

Thank you for making Book of Spirits even better!

Homesickness Animar // Thuan Pham

Dev Update - Art & Modules

With the coming holidays, some life changes, and an abundance of vacation plans across the board, the end of the year was slower than we anticipated. Although this means less progress in the short term, rest, recovery, and family time are important to us.

While chapter 3 remains mostly undeveloped, we were still able to produce additional artwork and refine the adventure modules of chapter 4. We will try to make up for lost time in the new year, but realistically, this may result in a delay of the publication to May 2025 instead of the initial April 2025 estimation. 

We will keep you posted about the timeline, but for now, here’s some nice art!

New Spell: Vivien's Longing Memory // Olivia Hintz
Memento Etherealis // Anastasia Pionkovskaia
Focus Animar // William O'Brien 

On behalf of the studio, I would like to wish you a happy holiday season and an exciting new year filled with wonderful adventures (tabletop or otherwise) and cherished memories forged with friends!

Share Your Insights! Playtesting Conclusion, Dev Updates, and Streams
almost 2 years ago – Sun, Nov 17, 2024 at 07:50:01 AM

Hey Mist Hikers,

Playtest Feedback Surveys are Up!

Two months ago we shared the Playtest Sign-Up Post, featuring the mechanics of the Empath class, the Conduit class, and the Resonance system. We're excited to inform you that the playtest feedback form is up and running. Tell us all about your experience in this Google Form:

https://forms.gle/Fc5ondBmtTGjUgtU9

We already got some pretty amazing feedback on the community Discord server, and we can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the form too! Thank you for helping us make Book of Spirits even better.

Interrogator Empath // Yordan Pavlov

Dev Update - Adventures Galore & Nightmares

We’ve made significant progress on the planned adventure modules for the book. Two of them are already in development (drafts submitted and approved). Now it’s time to fine tune and test them.

We have also begun work on new Nightmares! The high CR boss monsters were very popular amongst fans, and a stretch goal unlocked 5 more of them. The new Nightmares are mere concepts for now, capturing the fear of drowning, humiliation, damnation, being hunted, and betrayal (with an existential twist).

Humiliation // Yin Zhe

Who is the Lady of Lamentation?

Join Aviad, Shay, and Erik as they reveal and discuss the first adventure module in the book! Join us live on Tuesday, November 19th at 12 pm PT.

Click this link and ask YouTube to notify you when we go live:

https://www.youtube.com/live/NPd_l6pMgMM?si=nBJYFrR0teGuy4dm

Playtesting Continues! Art Reveals and Dev Updates
almost 2 years ago – Mon, Oct 14, 2024 at 06:12:19 AM

Hey Mist Hikers,

Your heartfelt replies in the Playtest Sign Up survey did not go unnoticed. We are truly grateful and honored to have this loving community! Thank you for making this project even better; we can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the playtest material next month!

You can Still Join the Playtest

There’s still time to join in and get the playtest pack! You can learn more about the playtest by reading our previous update. To join the playtest, fill-in this Google Form: 

https://forms.gle/9HmHzpixjSu1zhvGA

Empath (Work in Progress) / Eugenio Frosali

Dev Updates

As of today, we have finished editing chapter 2 (The Everlast), and the work on chapter 4 (Everlast Adventures) is officially ongoing. We finalized the outline for two out of the three adventures planned for that chapter, and now the team begins writing the adventures in detail.

The work on chapter 3 has been slightly delayed in favor of a BIG push on the book’s art direction (see below). We have also spent (and still spend) time familiarizing ourselves with the new 2024 rules. So far, we believe full compatibility with both rule sets is very attainable, and we plan to handle it with tailored sidebars inside the book. This may change as we read further, we will keep you posted on that.

Art Reveals

The book will feature more than 100 pieces of commissioned art. Each requires careful planning and direction to achieve a cohesive aesthetic. We've learned a lot about art direction these past few months, and are happy to share more about that in tomorrow’s stream (see below). In the meantime, here are some tidbits!

Joy Enclave / Max Suleimanov

A joy enclave is a place of pure happiness, and we took it upon ourselves to visualize this with art. We asked ourselves what kind of imagery sparks joy and delight? After some research we have an answer: round objects (like pebbles or bubbles), abundance, rainbows, fireworks, and playful animals (like foxes, dolphins, dogs, and many others). Certain colors like yellows and natural greens also help. Of course, we cannot include all of these elements without it becoming a caricature, but we think Max got it just right with this piece.

Joy enclaves are just one of eight mist enclave variants you’ll find in the book. Each image is designed to make you feel a certain way. Let us know how you feel after looking at the one above!

Mist Hiker Field Notes (Page 3, Work in Progress) / Irene Aretia

The Mist Hiker Field Notes are now trickling in too. This process is truly joyous and creative, bringing much of Maeve’s cheeky personality to the limelight. The image above is a good example of the pages you’re going to get. This one is all about the special equipment that can help you navigate and survive the Everlast, although it only has placeholder text for the time being.

Join The Stream Tomorrow!

Join Aviad and Shay tomorrow, Tuesday, October 15th at 12 pm PT, to talk more about art direction, new developments, 2024 compatibility, and a new subclass we have not shared with you yet.

Click this link and ask YouTube to notify you when we go live:

https://www.youtube.com/live/POLs-d3XKXo?si=1lPG3gubfVpD8Ryb

Playtesting starts NOW! Try the Conduit, Empath and the Resonance system
about 2 years ago – Thu, Sep 12, 2024 at 07:30:30 AM

Hey Mist Hikers,

Sharpen your pencils and pray to the dice gods, for the playtesting hour is upon us! 

Join the Playtest

The playtest pack includes the first draft of the Empath class, the latest revision of the Conduit class, over a dozen new spells, and the full Resonance Rules. Try these mechanics in your home games and enjoy our brand of emotional storytelling.

To join the playtest and get the PDF, fill this Google Form:

https://forms.gle/9HmHzpixjSu1zhvGA

After you submit this form, you will get the Playtest PDF directly to your email. In November 2024 you will receive a follow-up survey where you can provide us with feedback and let us know whether or not you want to be credited as a tester.

Alertness Animar // Gladys Domalaon

Dev Updates

We are almost finished with the development of chapter 2, which is all about the Everlast (the new name for the Spirit Realm).

So far we have developed:

  • Everlast Exploration Rules
  • Everlast Non-combat Encounters
  • 10 Distorted Regions
  • 4 Everlast Phenomena
  • Rules for Boons and Banes

Right now we are creating more boons and banes, refining the random tables with inspiring effects, and polishing the language and structure to be consistent and coherent. 

In the next couple of weeks, we will complete chapter 2 and begin development of chapter 3, which is all about spirits, including 60 stat blocks! Moreover, chapter 4's adventure modules will begin development as soon as chapter 2 is completed, since they are not dependent on chapter 3.

Join the Next Dev Stream!

Join us this coming Tuesday to learn more about the Everlast from the game designers, and ask questions about the playtest!

The stream will go live on Tuesday, September 17th at 12 pm PT

Ask YouTube to notify you when we go live through this link:

Mist Hikers, which class are you most excited to try out, the empath or the conduit?

Dev Update, Streams, and Playtests!
about 2 years ago – Thu, Aug 08, 2024 at 05:43:30 AM

Hey Mist Hikers,

We’ve Been Busy!

We are now well within the development phase of the book, taking all the concepts and polishing them up for September’s Community Playtest (more on that in the next update). So far we have drafted and developed:

  • A third conduit subclass: Code of the Furnace (see it on our Discord)
  • 5 subclasses: Circle of Harmony druid, Oath of Eminence paladin, Veilward ranger, Wraith rogue, and Cernomancy wizard
  • Empath class with 3 subclasses: Mind Healer, Interrogator, and Percipient
  • Resonance rules clarifications
  • 19 shiny spells for Conduit, Empath, and others

That means we are almost ready to send chapter 1 (the first of 4) to line editing. As you probably guessed, this chapter is all about player options, and it also includes a helpful guide on creating a character that promotes emotional storytelling.

Mercy Animar // Biagio d'Alessandro

Pre-Orders are Ongoing

The store will remain open until the Spring of 2025, just before we start printing everything. Although the Kickstarter exclusive prices and perks are now gone, it features attractive pre-order bundles at much lower prices than retail:

https://beyondthescreen.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

Join August's Dev Stream!

Be the first to see our evolving artworks and game mechanics. Ask the devs some questions and tell them how excited you are for Book of Spirits. They love hearing that, trust me.

The stream will go live on Tuesday, August 20th at 12 pm PT, and will showcase much of our work on the first chapter. 

See you there? Excellent! Click this link and ask YouTube to notify you when we go live:

https://www.youtube.com/live/OORZPKct7hk?si=8n120IfHV5l1-AFD

~

Mist Hikers, are you ready to playtest the Conduit, Empath, and the Resonance system next month? What would make it easier for you to test them?