The Webs We Weave: Sourdown is funded, and then some!
3 months ago
– Tue, Jul 21, 2026 at 10:18:50 AM
Afternoon people, Felix here! It's time for the first campaign update for Sourdown, so let's dive in...
GOALS, THANKS, AND MORE THANKS
The campaign's been live for a few hours now, and I spent that time 'wisely' - obsessively checking numbers for half an hour, then having a stress-fuelled nap. It's almost a tradition at this point, as watching funds roll in is impressive, wonderful, and terrifying all at once, a part of the kickstarter experience that I don't think you ever quite get used to.
So having recently woken from said nap, I've got to say it was a really pleasant surprise to find out that that we've not only hit the funding goal, but that we've also unlocked all of the stretch goals on day one as well! That means I get to add the Silk Brothers as a faction (a group that have been talked about since the very earliest days of 2018 playtesting, but have never appeared in print), AND that I get to add a new origin (which Omercan Cirit, our resident Wildsea character artist, is already hard at work on an illustration for).
I'm going to call that bundle of news a solid success, and that's entirely up to you lot. So thank you, everybody, for throwing some money at the rustling waves and making this all possible. I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again - we really couldn't do it without you, new wildsailors and seasoned veterans, and as far as I'm concerned, you're all stars.
But that's enough congratulating for one update, so let's go with some solid info to finish this one up instead!
THE PALE WAVES YOU'LL SAIL
It would be easy to say that Sourdown's most important feature is an unusual one for the Wildsea, and it wouldn't be entirely inaccurate either. The Pale Groves that make up the majority of the reach are leafless and brittle, bereft of the unusual chemicals that make the verdant waves possible. The trees are still huge, but they're dead. The branches will still support a ship's hull, but only barely.
That's how the reach was described back during early playtesting, and it's how it sat in my head for a long time too. But when it came time to actually put that on the page, it didn't feel quite right - so much of the world of the Wildsea is about the struggle to not just survive, but to thrive, and a bleak, funereal treescape covering the entire region didn't play to those core concepts.
So things changed!
The Pale Groves are still there, acting very much as the region's default, but you'll also get to see how each faction within the reach has adapted to suit their environment, or how they've adapted their environment to suit themselves. You'll find...
+ The Silk Brothers Cult: All dust and spiderwebs, these tzelicrae devotees embrace the waves as they come. Why change perfection, even if that perfection comes in death?
+ The Weavers: The counter to the Silk Brothers, using the same tzelicrae tools but in a completely different way. The Weavers transform their territories into vast, woven artworks, leaves and flowers and beasts all spun, sewn, and carefully threaded through the pale canopy. Weaver strongholds are elegant and industrious, relying on dyes and mimicry to make Sourdown something more akin to the livelier surrounding wilds.
+ The Family Hyphaera: A gau-dominant faction using the dead trees as fuel for their own growth, spreading slowly but inexorably throughout their territories via the mediums of spore, tendril, and shelf-fungus.
+ The Golden Legion: Newcomers to the wild waves, and a dramatic departure from everything else around them in terms of their approach. The Golden Legion leadership is made up of Hexicrae, bee-based version of the more common tzelicrae hiveminds. Unlike the others in the reach that make the most of their bad situation, the legion are locked in a battle with the waves themselves; importing new crezzerin to kick-start new growth, dabbling in arconautic energies to coax parasitic lavender from dead wood, or dousing entire tree-crowns in untested alchemical solutions to see if something, anything, might revive them. Their home is dead, but it won't stay that way for long.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
And with those snippets thrown your way, it's time for me to get back to the business of writing, playtesting, and commissioning more cool stuff from the Wildsea artists! But you'll hear from me again soon, probably somewhere around the half-way mark. We have art to reveal, after all, and a whole new origin that we unlocked to talk about...
So until then, thank you again, and stay safe!
- Felix