Caliya’s Chronicle of Runes

March Update
13 days ago – Sat, Mar 21, 2026 at 09:40:16 PM

Hi folks! Got an update for you all just to check in about the progress of things.

As you know, I sent out the Pre-Release PDF of the book toward the end of January. I got a great reminder from a fellow backer about adding clickable links on text throughout the PDF wherever page numbers are referenced (primarily, the Table of Contents but also elsewhere throughout the book), so that will be included in the final draft.

For some updates on other pieces of the project:

• I'm in contact with the printer about getting test prints, so I'll be sure to share those once I receive the first from them. As things progress, I'll keep you all up to date on the expected timeline for physical copies of the book. As of right now, it's looking like a late-Spring/Summer shipment date.
• I've also received word from the custom Infernal dicemaker that all of the d20s and 3-of-the-5 full dice sets are fully ready to go, and the last two sets are being polished up now. So those will be sent out to folks once the last ones are finished!
• The Druidic font is finished, and the Wilderyn font is just about done as well, so I'll be sending those out soon. Thieves' Cant and Necril are still in progress, but I'm aiming to have those finished up next month.
• Almost all of the art is finally laid out in the book, which will of course be included in the final release of the PDF I send out. Can't tell you how exciting it is to scroll through and see everything looking so complete and filled in with all this awesome artwork. I'll also compile the VTT Token Pack and get that sent out since the art for the book's just about finished.
• For those who ordered a VTT module (Roll20, Foundry, or Shard), I'm also having folks work on those. Wish I could've gotten them rolling sooner, but it would've been largely fruitless before the book was finalized since they would've had to keep editing the module to match the latest version of the book.
• And the Ascension of the Behidra adventure is in progress as well. I'll share an update on that once I get the first complete draft back from the writer.

I think that mostly covers the latest aspects of the project I've been working on. Lots of coordinating with different folks at this stage, which is always a joy! And apologies for missing the February update. My whole family had a nasty flu tear through us around the end of last month, so I was squarely incapacitated around then.

As always, you're welcome to reach out at any time if you have any questions! Best ways to contact me are either on here or via email/the Discord server. Thanks folks!

– Tony

January Update (Pre-Release PDF is out!)
2 months ago – Sun, Jan 25, 2026 at 02:03:39 PM

Hiya folks!

Just wanted to send an update here that the PDF for Caliya's Chronicle of Runes has been sent out, so check your inboxes for an email from BackerKit.

I'm calling this PDF "Pre-Release"...because I can't help myself but perfect and edit things until I can't edit no more! (i.e. when the final PDF is approved with the printer) Hence the "Final Release" PDF that will fully match the printed book will be v1.0.

The layout for the book is set. (Those who have been keeping tabs throughout the playtest process will notice some very nice-looking changes that I'm quite proud of!) A few final pieces of art that are in progress, as well as the last couple fonts and rune prices, will be slotted in as I receive them from the artists/designers I'm working with. However, those will pretty much be drag and drop, so this isn't hindering my progress moving forward with the printer.

I know it's been a long time coming folks. I won't sugarcoat it, I dramatically underestimated how long it'd take me to finish the book, so I apologize. I've tried my best to be transparent on my progress throughout this process—sending out 18 PDF updates over the past 2 years. However, I understand that that only goes so far, and it's hard to have patience past a certain point. So thank you for continuing to follow along as this project has developed. I'm genuinely appreciative for every bit of support—and, yes, even criticism—from all of you. Thank you.

And as for the latest on expected timeline for distributing final products, it's still looking like things should begin shipping out in the Spring. I know we're all anxious to have the various pieces of this project in our hands ASAP, so thanks again for sticking with me through it.

I also wanted to shout out John Webb (aka "JKWRPG"), who wrote some of the lore in the book for the Runemaster NPCs. He's working on a 5e adventure Kickstarter of his own: "The Temple of Haath'ress" So be sure to follow over there, and check it out once that project goes live on February 1st!

As usual, feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions! Either here or via email/the Discord server. Thank you, friends!

– Tony

December Update
3 months ago – Sat, Dec 20, 2025 at 06:24:41 PM

Hello there! I hope you're all having a fantastic start to the holiday season.

I've been whittling away at my list of final tasks for the book. The most visually apparent part of this has been getting the last pieces of art in. (Filling in those final holes in the pages really starts to make everything look complete, which is amazing to see!)

The major part on my end, however, has just been completing my final review/editing pass on everything in the book, taking into account all the feedback I've gotten. I know this part isn't very obvious (at a glance) what's being worked on, since it's more about perfecting things that are already there, rather than adding new and exciting things. But to me, this step—polishing everything to make it precise and print-ready—may be the most crucial part of the entire project.

I've never been one to compromise quality in favor of speed, and admittedly the book is a fair bit larger than I originally expected as well, so I do apologize for the delays this project has seen. I'm confident that dedication to quality will shine through in the final product. (And has already shone through in the playtest PDFs you've received as the book has developed!)

All-in-all, I'll have the final Beta ready to send out to you folks next week. The scripts for the last couple languages will need to be dropped in once they're ready, and the Heliana's-based rune pricing is still in progress, but other than that, the content in that PDF (runes, races, subclasses, monsters, etc.) should be its final version for the first-edition print of the book!

As for a timeline for shipment/distribution of products (factoring in lead time for printing/manufacturing), it's looking like everything will begin shipping out in the Spring. I know we're all anxious to have the various pieces of this project in our hands ASAP, so thank you for sticking with me through it.

Please feel free to reach out to me, as always, if you have any questions! Either here or via email/the Discord server. Thanks again, folks. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year. 🙂

– Tony

October Update!
5 months ago – Sat, Nov 01, 2025 at 06:18:07 PM

Happy Halloween! (Sorry, started writing this up yesterday, but got sidetracked by Halloween festivities with the family!)

I've just sent out the latest update to the Beta Playtest PDF. So be sure to go check it out! I know this has been a long time coming, but I'm getting very excited as the book closes in on the finish line!

If you'd like to look over the book and get any thoughts to me before it goes to print, now is your chance! The deadline there will be closing soon! (Best ways to reach out are by email or on the Discord server.)

This update includes the fully revised and polished versions of every subclass, and nearly every race. (Who decided it was a good idea to put 18 Tieflings in this book?) A few of the languages' runes are similarly fully revised and print-ready, however several of the languages still need that final treatment from me. So that will be my primary focus over the next few weeks.-

I know I'm just a nerd, but I'm rather proud of how the Appendices are shaping up. If you haven't checked them out, the "Index of In-Book Content References" is an organized set of tables documenting every use of new content in the book that's referenced in another section of the book (e.g. a new spell in the Spells section that's used by one of the monsters in the Bestiary). Throughout the book, these are marked with a gold, superscript "C" (for "Caliya") as an indication that this is not something from the core 5e rules, and it's new content included elsewhere in the book.

I'm also working with the awesome folks at Loot Tavern to get the free crafting supplement out to you all soon as well—providing crafting recipes and prices for all 480 runes in the book!

Feel free to let me know if you have any questions or need anything. Appreciate you, folks!

– Tony

September Update
6 months ago – Tue, Sep 30, 2025 at 03:23:24 PM

Greetings folks!

If you missed the update last month, Caliya's Chronicle of Runes is in its Beta playtest phase, so make sure to go grab the PDF from BackerKit and check it out if you haven't yet. (I can help locate your downloads if you're not sure how to access them.) Already been getting some great feedback from you all via email and the Discord server, so thank you!

I've been making good progress with my own final edits as well and getting some of the last pieces of art in the book. Exciting stuff! I will have an updated Beta sent out to everyone later this week with the latest revisions, so keep your eyes on your inbox for that.

I'm anticipating the book to be fully finished and sent off to the printer in November-December, depending on how long it takes to iron out the final wrinkles. I'd prefer it to be sooner, of course, as I know all of you would too, but I'm trying to set realistic expectations based on the current progress. So with that plus production time, we're likely looking at Spring for shipment of physical products—hopefully on the earlier end there, maybe even late-Winter if things move along well. But I've learned better from friends (some of your other favorite creators who have worked on similar projects) that you should expect delays at just about every step in the process.

Thanks as always for hanging with me as this project approaches the home stretch and we really make everything as pristine as possible for the final release. And as always, feel free to send me a message if you have any questions. Thanks, friends!

– Tony