Heliana & Ryoko's Guide to Mythozoology

Locking Orders and Road to the Playtest!!
4 months ago – Fri, Jun 12, 2026 at 09:55:58 AM

Playtest Round 1 is Coming!!

Hey everyone, hope you're doing well! I'm happy to confirm we're 100% on track for the playtest to kick off with a massive drop in about 3 weeks! As mentioned previously, due to the scale of this project and the multiple books it's split across, we'll be doing playtests in waves; I'll leave a list below of anticipated content in the Heliana's Forgotten Monsters and Ryoko's Forbidden Myths beta PDFs coming soon at the bottom of this update. As we prepare for your feedback on that material, there's a few things to dive into...

Backerkit Orders Are Locked And Charged on June 26th

If you've yet to complete your survey, you should do so as soon as you can. Backerkit is where we put the playtest content to download and review and you can only download playtest material if your order is locked and paid.

Lock Date. We're aiming to lock in Backerkit orders and collect payment on June 26th; you  can expect to be charged on or shortly after June 26th for any add ons you grabbed as part of your survey. Note that you've already paid on Kickstarter for your Kickstarter pledge - this is only a charge for those extra add ons you might have grabbed. Playtest material will be available a few days after orders are locked.

Monday is Ongoing Lock Day. Moving forward, we will be locking and charging orders every Monday after June 26th. If you place your order or complete payment after that time, you should get your Beta PDFs on the following Monday night. If you need your order locked and charged earlier please reach out to us! See the Need Help section below for the best way to get into touch.

Unlocking & Changing Orders. We lock orders so that we can give the right playtest material to the right backers. If you want to change anything in your order after it is locked, you can do so - it's possible to ammend your order all the way until we start shipping. To unlock an order you'll need to contact us directly (see the Need Help section below).

Shameless Add-on Plug. We've put together packs of our dice d6s for all you wizards that like to cast Fireball and Meteor Swarm (or you war gamers who only use cube clicky clacks.) You can find them at the bottom of the addon page!

Pay Over Time Backers Get Survey's Soon!

For those who used Kickstarters pay-over-time service, your final payment will occur on June 16th. You will receive your Backerkit survey soon thereafter where you can confirm your address, upgrade covers, and add add-ons. Any additions you make will be charged on the 26th of June, as explained above! You'll then get access to the Beta test PDFs through Backekrit, the same as everyone else.

Playtest Material Round 1

As mentioned before, due to the scale of Mythozoology, we're releasing playtest material in waves. We're also trying to diversify content between each book as we release playtest content, so you'll receive mostly player content from Ryoko's in the first wave, and mostly adventure content from Heliana's. That way you can use Ryoko's material to playtest the Heliana adventures if you have both books, and as we progress through the playtest, the inverse will become possible too! Material from other books like the Mech Manual and Companion Compendium will be released in later waves; we're prioritizing the content from the core books in this first wave.

Here's what we anticipate from the first wave of playtest material:

Material from Ryoko's Forbidden Myths

One PDF, Ryoko's Forbidden Myths Beta 1, with:

• Half of the playable species from Forbidden Myths, including the Hakkai, Tantakon, Kappa, and Konomin.
• Half of the core subclasses from Forbidden Myths, including the Yokai Knight Fighter, Ceramicist Bard, Nexus Rogue, and Demon Soul Monk.
• Various monsters from the bestiary, including all 12 Zodiac Dragons.
• The Kaiju Summoning Lite mechanics.

Heliana's Forgotten Monsters

One PDF, Heliana's Forgotten Monsters Beta 1, with:

• 6 full monster hunt adventures.
• 50+ craftable items.
• 20+ spells.
• 6 bespoke familiars (trainable by the Tamer!).
• 60 + monsters. 

I'd hoped to release this update last week, but came down with a charmingly named (and utterly horrible) illness called Labyrinthitis. I'm on the mend, and although it typically lasts a few weeks, the worst symptoms are behind me - I'm able to walk again and work for at least a few hours each day! We were way ahead on content for Ryoko's Forbidden Myths, so the illness hasn't caused any delay to the playtest process. 

Need Help?

As always, we're here to support and help out if you need anything at all. Simply hit us up at [email protected] or on the Loot Tavern Discord server.

We'll drop another update when the playtest goes live. See you soon for the first wave on content - can't wait to see what y'all build and your feedback on finalising the material!

• Will and the Loot Tavern Team

Mythozoology Survey's Incoming!!
5 months ago – Wed, May 06, 2026 at 09:59:16 AM

Finalising Orders

BEWARE! For your Backerkit survey is coming very soon (most likely next week). That survey is the place where you can enter your shipping information, upgrade book covers, choose your VTT platform (if you got one), add on any other things you may have missed, and confirm if you want to receive any eligible bonus rewards (like early backer dice)! 

For example, many people who purchased the Dual Book and Octo Book Tiers were interested in upgrading their book covers to the Deluxe versions. There's also books from previous campagins and dice bundles—like Fireball bundles of d6s—that weren't available during the KS campaign.

Missing Payments. If your payment didn't go through on Kickstarter, don't worry! You’ll be able to update payment information and confirm the products in your basket on Backerkit.

Pay Over Time. If you select the pay over time option on Kickstarter, you will receive your surveys once the final payment is made!

Smoke Test. In order to make sure everything is working, we'll run a "smoke test" this week or early next week. That's where we take a very small number of backers at random and send them the survey early just to make sure everything is working. When we hear back from those random users that everything is running smoothly, we’ll send the survey out to everybody!

Missing Rewards? If you think you should have been eligible for one of the free rewards (like early or returning backer), please reach out to Chef on the Loot Tavern Discord server.

Deluxe Cover Upgrades & Slipcases

When you get to the pledge manager on Backerkit, you’ll be able to upgrade things. You can get the fancy foil-embossed Deluxe book covers as shown above, or even upgrade to the Slipcase as shown below!

Slipcase. Here's how this works: The slipcase will be packaged by the manufacturer with the four books inside of it: Deluxe Heliana's Forgotten Monsters, Deluxe Ryoko's Forbidden Myths, The Art of Forgotten Monsters, and The Art of Forbidden Myths. They are all packed as a single unit (which prevents damage in transit and lowers your shipping costs). The slipcase appears as a single line item in your basket—don’t worry if you don’t see the books individually listed.

Upgrading to Include the Slipcase. If you're in the Dual Book, Quad Book, Octo Book, Heliana's Core, Ryoko's Core or Dual Core tiers, you can upgrade your order to include the slipcase, deluxe cover upgrades, AND the two Art books if you'd like to.

Already Added Either of the Art Books? If you already added either of the Art Books as an addon in Kickstarter and choose to get the slipcase bundle, let us know by immediately contacting Backerkit Support and ask them to "remove both of The Art of Forgotten Monsters or The Art of Forbidden Myth  Kickstarter addon because you have selected the slipcase addon". They'll remove the extra Art Books so that you don't get too many of them, and ensure you're not charged for additional books.

Deluxe and All-in. These tiers already gets the slipcase for free, and include the Art books and deluxe cover books as standard.

Looking to Switch your Pledge Level?

If you'd like to change your pledge tier all together you can do so in Backerkit! Simply click 'Switch your Pledge Level' and choose the tier you would like to upgrade to! See the graphic below. NOTE: it is advisable to only move up pledge levels as your payment on Kickstarter will be more than the amount for lower tiers pledges and you may have unallocated funds left over.

Shipping and Addresses 

Shipping and Taxes. Shipping and taxes will be charged once the project is close to fulfilling in around 18-24 months. For a breakdown of estimated shipping charges, you can check out this graphic. For taxes and duties, you can check your government's information on imports.

Address Changes. Thinking you might move? Mythozoology is expected to fulfill in Q4 of 2027. Closer to that time, we'll send out reminders asking you to update your address if you have moved. Don't sweat it until then, there's plenty of time to update if your address changes!

Require assistance?

If you have any questions you can reach us through our email, where the Loot Tavern Team will get back to you in no later than two business days. An even better way to reach us is the #mythozoology-questions channel of the Loot Tavern Discord Server, where answers are usually less than a day away.

Project We Love: Neon Odyssey!

Our friends over at Legends of Avantris have just launched Neon Odyssey! It's a 1,400+ page trilogy that brings Space Opera to D&D 5.5e, drawing inspiration from legendary Sci-Fi Films, retro Video Games, classic Animation, pop-culture Nostalgia, and more! Launch into a space adventure with galactic GM Tools in a colorfully cosmic Campaign Setting, or suit up with an astral arsenal of Player Options to soar among the stars. They're storming off big time; check it out here!! 

We're not salty that they beat our record on their first day. Nope. Not at all. But FR, they might wanna watch their backs... No-one can hear you scream in space...

JUST KIDDING, we love Avantris, go check out their page, they have an amazing video with a beautiful soundtrack that is worth the watch alone!

Support

The surveys will be out in the next few weeks, and playtests in the next few months. We'll keep you informed along the way! Remember you can always reach out to us on the Loot Tavern Discord server.

Thanks,

Will & the LT Team

We Did It!! Biggest 5e Kickstarter of All Time! Important Next Steps!
6 months ago – Fri, Apr 17, 2026 at 01:40:17 PM

We Did It!!

WOW!! We just made history - Mythozoology closes as the most funded D&D Kickstarter of all time, and that makes this page the first Kickstarter page ever to hold the record of biggest of all time TWICE. You are amazing, we had an absolutely unbelievable close, finishing up at $4,360,539, smashing our previous P.B. by over $1,000,000!!

Every Stretch Goal Unlocked!

We got 'em all, folks! Even our stretchiest of stretch goals was smashed completely. That means EVERYONE here gets free access to the alpha PDF of our next book (lawd, I guess we're doing all this again one day) AND we've unlocked custom character sheets for your games (one for every class AND Tamer familiars), designed by Emmet Byme of Old Oak Games.

And of course, there's the DOG EXPLOSION! Three new Inukin subspecies added to Ryoko's Forbidden Myths, giving each core book three unique Inukin subspecies to play with! Let's wag tails and depose tyrants - good boy!

The Pre-Order Backerkit Page is Now Open, But Kickstarter Backers Can Chill For The Moment!

Mythozoology has now moved from Kickstarter to Backerkit! If you missed the campaign, you can still grab the various tiers and add-ons at discounted prices there. However, if you backed on Kickstarter, don't grab anything from the Backerkit pre-order page just yet! Backerkit is in the process of shifting your Kickstarter pledges to their system, and you'll be able to grab any add-ons or extras when the Backerkit Surverys come out in about a month. Those are the surveys where you add your shipping information, as well as claim any free dice you've unlocked, upgrade your core book covers to deluxe covers, etc. 

We'll provide detailed instructions on how to do all that when the time comes. If you've already grabbed stuff on Backerkit, don't worry! Just send us a message AFTER the Backerkit surveys are out and we can consolidate your order, I'll include a reminder about this when the surveys go out.

The Immediate Timeline

As soon as payments clear on Backerkit, we can start the Playtest portion of the campaign. This is where we send out beta-versions of all the material for you to use in your games, and then leave feedback we can use to improve and finalise the books before we send them to be printed. We anticipate orders to clear on Backerkit in late June, although if you're using Kickstarter's Pay-Over-Time feature, your order will clear a little later, in July. When your order clears, you'll be able to access to the beta playtest documents for any of the material you have backed, as it is released.

Due to the volume of material in Mythozoology, we won't be dropping everything all at once - we're going to release the beta in waves. We're starting with the material that needs the most time to playtest - Player Options. That way, as you play through the material that drops in waves across 2026 in your home games, you can be simultaneously exploring all the subclasses, species, and new Maker class across the length of a full campaign!

Future Updates

We'll keep you updated here regularly, usually around one update each month while rolling out the playtest, and after that process is finalised, an update when significant milestones are reached, such as releasing the final PDFs for you to download, completing physical production, and getting final delivery dates and tracking numbers, etc. That said, the best place to receive up to date information is on the Loot Tavern discord server.You can ask any questions and get the latest news in real time there from the entire team!

The Big Comeback!

Mythozoology marks a huge comeback for indie publishing on Kickstarter, after a slower few years. I'm certain that many independant publishers are watching with grattitude and excitement at all that you have made possible here. This year is going to be MASSIVE for third party creators, with many incredible projects coming soon. Thank you for supporting independant, human-driven projects and artists! Be they giant influencers in the space, or smaller auteurs just breaking out, we hope you continue to support others in this wonderful community!

Now let's all bask in being the biggest Kickstarter of all time, a record we will surely hold for a very long time... right? (glances over at Neon Odyssey👀)

Thank you for your incredible support! The journey is not over yet, we're working hard to get everything to you as fast as we can, and remember you can always reach out to us on the Loot Tavern Discord server.

• Will and the Team

Final 24 Hours! Physical Tokens Unlocked and The FINAL Stretch Goal!
6 months ago – Wed, Apr 15, 2026 at 11:16:23 AM

Stretch Goals Unlocked!

We're in the home stretch everybody, and we've come a LONG WAY - since the last update we've unlocked some badass Physical Tokens! These are punch-out, top-down cardboard tokens featuring Venatus' awesome artwork for EVERY boss monster and their minions from EVERY adventure across both Forgotten Monsters and Forbidden Myths! They've been added to the Deluxe Box and All-In Tiers, and are also available as an add-on if you want to grab them directly!

We've also unlocked incredible music for your campaign! A bespoke original song from Cacophonics the bard for every adventure in Heliana's Forgotten Monsters, and original, layered ambient and combat music to heighten the immersion and intesity of every adventure in Ryoko's Forbidden Myths. The awesome new Mechanist Tamer Subclass enters Heliana's Forgotten Monsters as well! But there's still more to look forward to...

The Road to $4,000,000 (and Making History??)

We don't want to jinx anything, but depending on how the final 24 hours go, we *might* end the campaign as the BIGGEST 5e Kickstarter of ALL TIME. We held the record once before with Ryoko's Guide to the Yokai Realms, and we're less than $200,000 away away from reclaiming it! As a special celebration if we reach $4,000,000, we're pledging to give every single backer on this project FREE access to the alpha PDF for our next project - may our adventures never end! No matter where we land in at the close of the campaign, however, we are honoured to be here with you as a part of something truly amazing, and we could even be on track to make history as a community once again!

What Comes Next?

Mythozoology closes at 8pm BST on Thursday 16th April, about 24 hours from now! The day after the campaign closes (Friday 17th), I'll post an update going over everything we've unlocked and explaining what comes next. We use Backerkit as our Pledge Manager, so we'll give very clear and detailed instructions on how to manage your pledge in Backerkit when the time comes.

The Pledge Management stage constitutes a quick survey where you add your Shipping Information, grab any add-ons, upgrade your book covers to the Deluxe versions, confirm any Free Dice you've unlocked, etc. There's usually some quiet after the storm of Kickstarter while we sort everything, so it'll be about a month before the Backerkit surveys go out. We'll include detailed instructions nearer the time (with screenshots) to make it really easy to follow. I'll explain more in the quick wrap-up update on Friday, but for now it's onward to the finish line!

As always, we're here to support if you need us or just want to hang out! Head on over to the Loot Tavern Discord serverto catch us in real time! Now let's land this kaiju-sized campaign!

• Will and the Team

DOUBLE Stretch Goals, Summoning Mechanics Revealed, and Even More Dice!
6 months ago – Thu, Apr 09, 2026 at 10:54:42 AM

The Final Week of Mythozoology!

Okay, y'all are CRUSHING the Stretch Goals right now! As of today, we're also officially into the Final Week of Mythozoology on Kickstarter 🥳 First things first, we've passed $2,700,000 raised, which means...

New Stretch Goal UNLOCKED - Free Mythstery Dice!

As a reminder, everyone who has backed any physical tier (including the Heliana's and Ryoko's Core Tiers) OR who has both Forgotten Monsters and Forbidden Myths physical books in their basket when the campaign ends will receive the free dice set! 

There are 12 different sets in total, and you'll recieve one randomised "mythstery" set with your order for free. Additional dice sets are now available as add-ons in Kickstarter too! We have a single Dice Set add on, or a 5 Set Dice add on with a discount for the Dice Goblins among us!

Bonus Stretch Goal! Expansion to the Companion Compendium!

With free dice locked in, we need to talk about what's coming next! At $2,900,000 we unlock an expansion to the Companion Compendium! Hitting this stretch goal will give a MASSIVE expansion to the book, and result in the ultimate, one-stop-shop for all familiar-befriending heroes and Tamers out there.

We’re now adding companions from previous works, all updated to 2024 wording (with 2014 sidebars), AND all the errata for a total of FIFTY bespoke familiars, all with unique improvement trees. That’s the brand-new 16 familiars we had planned for the book plus 34 more, giving you everything you need in one convenient tome!

NOTE: These companions are totally separate from the 16 new familiars we’re crafting for Forgotten Monsters and Forbidden Myths. We don't want to spoil the adventures by showing your players the creatures they can make, or repeat content across Mythozoology books.

The Big $3,000,000 - A Double Stretch Goal

At the rate we're accelerating, we might just hit $3,000,000 before the final 48 hours! Our $3,000,000 Stretch Goal is a Double Feature. Firstly, we unlock The Vault! The Vault is a database of all the items, spells, and monsters from anything in the Mythozoology PDFs that you own, configured for effortless access, whether you play physically or digitally! If you ever need to quick grab a bonus stat block or double check a spell, the Vault lets you do it in seconds, rather than scrolling through your ~1000+ pages of content. It's basically a digital Bag of Holding!

We've also now raised enough money to partner up again with Theatre of the Unaligned to dive deeper into the history and lore behind Mythozoology in a ~3 minute animated mini-adventure featuring Ryoko and Heliana! We have more stretch goals incoming for our final few days as we continue to grow, any Tamers in the house??? 👀

Kaiju Summoning Mechanics - Early Playtest Release!

With all this talk of upcoming content, it's easy to forget we've already written a huge chunk of Mythozoology, ready for playtesting. Although the official playtest will begin soon after orders clear in Backerkit, we wanted to share a Lite-Playtest version of the Kaiju Summoning System from Ryoko's Forbidden Myths!It's out in the Free Playtest Materials section on the Kickstarter page so you can use them in your games right now!

Please note that these are the first, playtest draft of the mechanics, and will be expanded on significantly in the final book with the inclusion of all the kaiju and the Emissary Summons, and in response to your feedback! For those who keep eyes on the DnD Shorts YouTube channel, there will a video coming out before the close of the campaign diving into these mechanics and some of the design choices behind them, if you're interested in learning more!

Projects We Love - The Sick Children's Trust

We're honoured to be partnering up with The Sick Children's Trust to raise money to support newborn babies in critical care and their families. The Sick Children's Trust offers vital care for families undergoing some of the hardest times imaginable, granting free accomodation and support so families can be with their children as they undergo critical medical care. The DnD Shorts YouTube channel is proudly donating 50% of all YouTube earnings from the last 4 months to The Sick Children's Trust. If you have even a few dollars you can spare to be one of the people who fights for and protects children, please click this link and make to make a donation, which is in aid of new "Home from Home" being built beside Bradford hospital to be used to keep families together as their children recieve lifesaving medical care.

Final Week Celebrations

We're still here if you have any questions, need support, or just want to join the party as we celebrate the final week of Mythozoology on Kickstarter! You can catch us at the Loot Tavern discord server. Smaller, more regular updates are posted there too.

• Will and the Team