News, See Page XX
See Page XX – March 2026
See Page XX: The Pelgrane Press webzine
March 2026 Edition
VIEW FROM THE PELGRANE’S NEST: SINGALONG EDITION by Robin D. Laws: Studio update headlined by Ballad Hunters crowdfunding and the launch of GUMSHOE Labs, plus shipping and production progress across Page Turners, The Paragon Blade, 13th Age 2E, Swords of the Serpentine: Pillars Built on Sand, Trail of Cthulhu 2E, and Merryshire Detective Club.
HOG PENNY by Adam Gauntlett: Swords of the Serpentine scenario hook where a guild succession ritual goes sideways, the Hog Penny goes missing, and Eversink’s pig problem turns into an investigation full of leverage and muck.
PLAYTESTING: MANTIS (NON-HUMAN HEROES) IN SWORDS OF THE SERPENTINE by Kevin Kulp: Non-human hero playtest writeup for Swords of the Serpentine, adding mantis ancestry options and guidance for using them outside Eversink or in higher-fantasy campaigns.
SEE PAGE XX: PRESSING FOR MORE INFORMATION by Robin D. Laws: GM advice on running informant scenes in GUMSHOE, using staged reveals and an “if pressed” approach to reward social pressure without stalling momentum.
URN BEARERS by Robin D. Laws: 13th Age scenario premise where the job is to deliver the dead to the right resting place, and the dangers come from what stands between the urn, the tomb, and the people who need the rite completed.
THIS MONTH’S PREVIEW
The Origins of Merryshire
by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan
Where did Merryshire Detective Club come from? Gareth traces it back to a very specific moment at Dragonmeet 2023, when the goal became making a GUMSHOE game where eating sticky toffee pudding mid-scenario is fully in character. From there, he points to two big influences: his work on The One Ring (and the challenge of nailing Tolkien’s tone) and the need for a “release valve” where every terrible joke and sideways idea can safely live. The result is a lighter, classic-mystery direction, closer to Miss Marple and Sherlock Holmes, built on halfling society with a late-19th and early-20th century England feel and a fairytale gloss, where the butler can do it without needing to be a secret cultist.
Order Now!
Page Turners
Page Turners is the game of personal storytelling for one player and one GM.
Acclaimed tabletop roleplaying designer Robin D. Laws won the coveted Diana Jones Award for his game of dramatic group play, Hillfolk.
Page Turners scales its dynamic down to the intimate scale of a single main character whose fiction you weave on the fly with one other creator.
The Paragon Blade
Enter a realm of powers and perils!
In The Paragon Blade, you play a hero in a fantastical land, still scarred by the evil of the fallen Hellbound Empire. Mystery and magic collide in tales of conspiratorial wizards, monstrous foes, and arcane intrigue.
Gather your wits, your allies, and your blade!
You can track the status of planned releases and works-in-progress from the Google Sheet in this article:
Pillars Built On Sand
A ruthless cabal of power brokers and hidden cultists schemes to undermine Eversink’s divine blessing, its river-fed trade, and its promise that anyone can rise, shaking the city’s future to the mud beneath its canals. The campaign offers five tightly linked Swords of the Serpentine scenarios you can run in sequence for a full arc or lift as standalone adventures. STATUS: In layout.
Boundary of the Darkness
The Lunar Society are a dining club of natural philosophers, industrialists, and radical intellectuals, the embodiment of the Enlightenment. They have wealth, knowledge, and principles. Simultaneously, members of the Bluestockings Society, who meet to discuss art, literature, and politics, have—in their most secret meetings—formed Friends of Blue, a private organisation set up to protect the world from the devastating knowledge of the Mythos. Boundary of the Darkness is an 18th century campaign frame for Trail of Cthulhu by Phil Masters and Sarah Saltiel. STATUS: Proofreading complete.
Cassilda’s Song
A massive scenario series by Robin D. Laws for The Yellow King Roleplaying Game, which spans all four of its core sequences.Its overarching plot turns on a contest between the two daughters of the King in Yellow, Cassilda and Camilla, who race with one another to destroy the timelines, winning the favor of their pallid father. Camilla seeks a cataclysm of blood and fire. Cassilda intends to dissolve reality into hallucinatory delirium. STATUS: Art is being commissioned.
Merryshire Detective Club
In Merryshire Detective Club, an upcoming core GUMSHOE game from the brilliantly comforting mind of superstar writer-designer Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan, you play amateur detectives in a cosy-fantasy setting. Your band of plucky investigators solves mysteries (quite often, murder mysteries) that crop up with remarkable regularity in the lovely little village you’ll design together. Gameplay mixes deduction and investigation with comic absurdity and plenty of cakes. (No giant tentacle monsters or vampiric conspiracies, we’ve quite enough of those, thank you.) STATUS: Art is being commissioned.
Outside Entities
Raging from the indifferent depths of a hostile universe, gods and creatures cut from Trail of Cthulhu Second Edition come rampaging back in Outside Entities. Chill once more to revamped envisionings of Daoloth, Mordiggian, Quachil Uttaus, and Y’golonac. Send your Investigators into deadly confrontations with sand-dwellers, shan, and lloigor. Submit to the bizarre imaginings of Trail of Cthulhu designer Kenneth Hite as he fever-dreams of a new titan, avatars of Y’golonac, those strangely under-utilized space vampires the Nioth-Korghai, and the malitia vetus, a never before gamified beastie straight from Lovecraft’s nightmares. STATUS: Art is being commissioned.
13th Age Starter Set
Rob Heinsoo and Wade Rockett have been working on a 13th Age Starter Set. This slimmed-down rules set and a one-arc introductory adventure in a box will serve as a lower-cost entry point than the full two-book Second Edition slipcase. STATUS: Being written.
Crowdfunding News
Ballad Hunters Kickstarter
We’re thrilled to announce that our folkloric occult RPG Ballad Hunters will enter crowdfunding soon. This edition debuts musical magic rules, eerie case files, and lavish period art. We have determined a launch date of 17 March 2026.
Back the campaign now!
Fear Itself: Shattered Veil Edition
We successfully funded a Gamefound campaign for Fear Itself: Shattered Veil Edition, featuring a hardback cover, improved art, and The Ocean Game expansion. Late pledges available!
Merryshire Detective Club
We’re preparing Merryshire Detective Club, a cosy-fantasy core GUMSHOE game of village mysteries, quick wits, and plenty of cake, for crowdfunding in Q2 2026. Follow our updates for previews, playtest notes, and first looks at art and case material.
Eternal Lies Boxed Set Crowdfunding
We’re excited to announce plans for a crowdfunding campaign to reprint Eternal Lies! This edition will feature exciting improvements, which we’ll reveal soon. Eternal Lies Boxed Set crowdfunding is postponed to late 2026. Follow our updates for first looks inside the box, schedule news, and a preview link ahead of the late 2026 campaign.
POLL
Ballad Hunters Poll
As you know, we’re doing Ballad Hunters Kickstarter campaign this month. Here’s a question about the game:
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