Hardbacks are in the post. Spittle-Fields poster map and cover art print.
29 days ago
– Mon, May 18, 2026 at 02:28:18 PM
Dear Backers,
Thank you as always for your wonderful support and encouragement. The Return of the Ripper Kickstarter is in its final stage!
Hardback books have shipped!
The Limited Edition Hardback books have been printed and shipped. Backers in the hardback tier should receive their copy in the next week or so (by end of May). Please leave a comment when it arrives — I would love to hear what you think.
If you backed the hardback but did not receive a link from BackerKit to pay the postage, please get in touch.
If you didn't order the hardback but secretly wish you had, it's not too late. I'm still accepting orders until end of May (or we reach the maximum 100 copies):
Art Prints of Jeff Dee Cover Art
The limited edition prints of the cover art have been sent to Jeff Dee for signing. These are printed in archival inks on 300 gsm Cool Tone Picture Rag (acid-free paper made from 100% cotton rag, chosen as it holds incredibly vivid true colors).
If anyone would like a normal (unsigned) print, the artwork is also available to order on Fine Art America in a range of sizes and materials:
Spittle-Fields Poster Map
I always have one of these rolled out on the gaming table when I am Judging Ripper games. It really helps to bring Spittle-Fields to life:
You may remember that I promised to somehow make the full-size poster map available. Now it is!
The poster map of Spittle-Fields was a stretch goal during the Kickstarter campaign that did not get funded. But I really wanted to do it, so I paid for it out-of-pocket. If you would like to help me recover the costs, you can order a copy from Fine Art America in your preferred size and material:
Judges' Screen and Player Handouts PDF/POD
For the Judges' Screen, I am playing around with different table layouts to try to squeeze the maximum of useful information onto the four interior panels. The Player Handouts just require a little technical work (CMYK conversion, adding bleed).
These are the final rewards. Coming soon!
Upcoming UK conventions in May/June
I posted my convention schedule on the last update but it somehow got truncated. Here is the full schedule:
UK Games Expo (29-31 May, Birmingham NEC)
At the end of the month, I will run three sessions of Return of the Ripper at UKGE. This won't be the full campaign, just three vignettes (participants can sign up to just one or two sessions or all three):
Q-Con Belfast (20-21 June, Queen's University Belfast)
Belfast's annual gaming, anime and cosplay convention.
Longcon (27-28 June, The Garrison Hotel, Sheffield)
A unique long-format convention where the game lasts the whole weekend. If you want to play through the entire book (abridged version) in one go, this is the place to do it.
That's all for now. I'll be back with the next update after UK Games Expo.
Your obedient servant,
Michael
Hardback edition is shipping!
about 1 month ago
– Sat, May 09, 2026 at 06:20:01 AM
Greetings dear backers!
Walpurgis Night has come and gone, and with the Beltane dawn comes the Return of the Ripper Limited Edition Hardback!
Return of the Ripper hardback is shipping
I just received the proof copy and it looks fantastic. Here is a video preview:
Limited Edition Hardback unboxing video on PeerTube
I will be shipping the book to backers at the Hardback tier in the next day or so. (If you have not yet paid the postage, please check your e-mail/junk folder for a message from BackerKit — in case of any problems, please get in touch).
If anyone is filled with regret at not ordering the hardback, it's not too late. I will accept late orders until end of May: Order the Hardback
Upcoming UK conventions in May/June
UK Games Expo (29-31 May, Birmingham NEC)
At the end of the month, I will run three sessions of Return of the Ripper at UKGE. This won't be the full campaign, just three vignettes (participants can sign up to just one or two sessions or all three):
Limited Edition Hardback is finished and will ship shortly! Final logistics and last loose ends.
about 2 months ago
– Sat, Apr 18, 2026 at 12:53:44 PM
Dear backers,
It is an auspicious day. The stars have aligned. The hardback edition of Return of the Ripper is finished and ready to go to press!
The book will be bound in red cloth wrap, with a glossy dust jacket to showcase Jeff's cover art. Here is the cover layout (bleed at top and bottom will be trimmed during the printing process):
The spine is 1" (25 mm) thick, so the book will make an impression on whatever bookshelf it sits on. The blurb is on the inside folds, so the back cover is not obscured by text and logos.
As the page size (US Trade, 6"×9" / 152 mm × 229 mm) is smaller than the softback, the interior has been reformatted into a single-column layout. Body text font is the same but heading fonts have a bit more gravitas:
The new layout created some additional spaces here and there, that I filled with a dozen new pieces of spot art:
The read aloud text is set with a side bar so it stands out on the page:
The page ratio allows most of Arjuna's art to be displayed on a full page:
Jason also tweaked the layout of all the maps to fit the new page ratio:
I'm really pleased with it. I hope you will enjoy reading and looking at this edition as much as playing it.
Final logistics — shipping and taxes
So one step remains before I can send this to you: I need to collect payment for shipping (and sales taxes where applicable). As it's being sent all over the world —backers are from 11 countries in five continents — I will use BackerKit to manage the complexity.
Everyone will receive an e-mail from BackerKit in the next few days.
- If you backed at the Hardback tier, please click on the link, check your shipping address is correct/up-to-date and pay the shipping cost.
- If you backed at the Digital or Softback tier, but now you wish you had ordered the hardback, you succeed in your Luck check. You now have the opportunity to upgrade your pledge in BackerKit until 5 May.
- I'm also offering the softback book at half price to backers during the hardback fulfillment, for anyone at the Digital tier who would like a physical book, or anyone who would like to order extra copies.
If none of the above applies to you, please feel free to ignore the e-mail from BackerKit.
Last loose ends
In parallel with the hardback fulfillment I will finalise the last remaining loose ends in the project:
- Judge's screen PDF with POD option
- Full-colour handouts PDF with POD option
- Signed and numbered prints of the cover art
I think that's it, but if you are missing anything else please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Look out for the e-mail from BackerKit and I'll be in touch again at Beltane to report how it's going.
Mind your kerning and always check your ligatures before a hanging
indent.
— Michael
Hardback layout (almost) finished! Conventions where I plan to run Return of the Ripper.
3 months ago
– Mon, Mar 30, 2026 at 11:00:29 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Softback tier fulfilled. Limited Edition Hardback.
4 months ago
– Tue, Feb 24, 2026 at 01:36:30 PM
Greetings dear backers,
Here is a short update, with a preview of the layout for the Limited Edition Hardback of Return of the Ripper.
Softback books fulfilled
If you backed at the softback tier, hopefully you have ordered and perhaps already received your book. If you did not receive the ordering link or you experience any problems, don't hesitate to get in touch.
Please do let me know what you think of the book. I would also be very pleased if you would leave a rating and/or a review on DriveThruRPG.
Limited Edition Hardback
In consultation with The Elements of Typographic Style, I took some decisions about the typography of the hardback and I am working through re-doing the layout.
For the body text, I have stayed with TeX Gyre Pagella 10pt, the same font used for the softback. This is an elegant serifed font, LaTeX's homage to Hermann Zapf's famous Palatino.
For the headings, I decided to depart from Goodman Games house style, replacing the Duvall font with Palatino Nova Imperial. This is a digital version of Michelangelo, designed by Zapf in the 1950s as a titling font to pair with Palatino. I feel it gives the hardback book a weightier, more serious style.
Subheadings and area headings are set in Libre Caslon, a TeX font homage to William Caslon's famous metal typeface designed in the 18th century. Caslon's font is the typographic epitome of the English Baroque.
Other layout choices include the page size and text area (discussed in the last update), indented paragraphs and new formatting for the read-aloud text, marked by a lighter shade and a vertical bar.
Overall I'm pretty pleased with the result. Here is a preview of chapter 1 of the hardback:
Once these choices were made, laying out the text was fairly straightforward. The fiddly bit is re-setting all the images and tables which have to be done one-by-one.
I will be in touch again as soon as the layout of the hardback is complete. The last details to finish off are the Judge's Screen and POD handouts.
As always, thank you all for your wonderful patience and support. I hope you are enjoying reading the book and that it brings some terror and disgust to your gaming table.
Your most humble slave and dog,
Michael
