The Curses are Here!
about 1 month ago
– Sat, Jan 31, 2026 at 09:46:32 PM
Hello Cruel Curse Backers,
I just finished sending out emails through DriveThruRPG with links to your copies of 20 Cruel Curses! If you got it for both systems or got add-ons you’ll get separate emails for each. If you have any issue getting your files let me know.
Tent and Bedroll Launches Monday
Now that the Cruel Curses campaign is a wrap, I’m looking ahead to our next crowdfunding campaign for Tent and Bedroll.
Every character has to sleep, and they don’t always have the luxury of a fluffy bed at the inn. Camping in the wilderness is a common experience in most fantasy RPGs, and when characters have to camp, they need the right gear.
Tent and Bedroll is a short ebook themed around camping gear. It contains real-world history, magic items, monsters, and more!
You can be among the first to back by signing up for launch alerts!
Updates from Minneapolis
If you’re not in Minneapolis, you may have heard the words, “draw down” tossed about in the news media. As of now nothing on the ground has changed, and federal agents continue to terrorize our city and state.
I’m trying to help by volunteering and packing food for people in need. If you live outside Minnesota and are looking for ways to help, local author Naomi Kritzer has written a blog post about things you can do. (You should also check out her books if you like near-future sci-fi).
This will be the last of the regular updates for this campaign.
Thanks again,
Matthew
Life in Minneapolis
about 2 months ago
– Sat, Jan 17, 2026 at 04:19:02 PM
Hello Backers,
I’m updating to let you know that I’ve fallen behind with 20 Cruel Curses, and to explain why.
Last time I updated, over a week ago, I was working on layout for the 5e version. I’m still working on that layout. Normally layout for a book this short takes a couple of days, but I’ve had a lot trouble focusing the past week, because I live in Minneapolis.
I want to start by saying that I’m not trying to be political. I’m not telling you how to vote. Please do not use the comments to make political points for either side of the spectrum. I vote, I have my opinions, sometimes I post them on social media, but I am far from anything like a “political operative.” I’m just a regular guy trying to run a small business. I’m here to share my personal experiences because it might delay 20 Cruel Curses, so you deserve to know.
I also want to say that I support getting rid of drug smugglers and terrorists, and if that’s what ICE was actually doing, I’d be all for it.
That’s not what I’m seeing with my own eyes.
I was minding my own business, driving on the freeway when a ICE vehicle driving dangerously nearly caused us to crash. My two small children were in the car with me.
I hear stories from my friends and neighbors about what seem like random harassment. Some make the news, like the US citizen who offered to show his passport to ICE agents, but agents refused and detained him anyway, or the woman who was pulled from her car on the way to the hospital, because a protest was happening nearby. For each story that makes the news, there’s a dozen more that don’t.
I’m nervous when I leave my house. I’ve lived in Minnesota my whole life, and Minneapolis for over a decade. I’ve never been nervous I’d be attacked by criminals (and I never have been), but I’m nervous that I’ll be attacked by ICE.
And I’m a white man. I have friends and neighbors who are not white. Some of them are choosing not to leave their house. All are US citizens, but ICE doesn’t seem to care about that, and will arrest or detain people because the “look” like undocumented immigrants.
So yeah, it’s been hard for me to focus on the imaginary dragon game for the past weeks.
There’s still time in January and I’m still aiming to get Cruel Curses out before the end of the month, but if it’s delayed, this is why.
Again, please don’t use the comments here to argue politics. There’s plenty of spaces for that already on the web.
Thank you,
Matthew
Backer Kit Surveys On the Way!
about 2 months ago
– Fri, Jan 09, 2026 at 07:32:18 PM
Hello Cruel Curses backers,
I just sent out the smoke test for Backer Kit surveys for this project. This means some of should have gotten an email from Backer Kit already to test out surveys, and the rest of will be getting them in a couple of days.
These surveys are especially important to fill out if you backed at a level that only included one system, as this is how you choose your system.
Progress Report
The D&D version of 20 Cruel Curses is currently in layout, while the Pathfinder version is still in editing. We’ve gotten the art in, so we’re still on track to get the books out by the end of January.
Tent and Bedroll Coming Soon!
As we get close to delivering Cruel Curses, we’re looking ahead to our next project: Tent and Bedroll.
The latest book in the This and That series, Ten and Bedrollfocuses on camping gear, with history, magic items, monsters, and more!
We plan to launch on February 2nd as part of Backer Kit’s Zinetopia event. If you enjoy our other books, we think you’ll like this one too!
Thanks,
Matthew
We Did It!
3 months ago
– Thu, Dec 11, 2025 at 08:31:49 PM
Thanks to all of you, 20 Cruel Curses is going to be a reality!
We didn’t quite hit our full art stretch goal, but we did raise enough to commission two original pieces of interior art for the book.
Speaking of, the next step is to order those pieces of art. While the artist is working on those, we’ll be editing the manuscripts. When that’s done, I’ll do layout and send the book out to all of you. If all goes well I hope to have it out by the end of January.
I’ll keep you posted.
-Matthew
Final Days! Final Preview!
3 months ago
– Wed, Dec 10, 2025 at 09:24:47 AM
Tomorrow is the final day for the 20 Cruel Curses campaign! The final surge has started and we’re racing to our next stretch goal. We’ve raised enough that I can afford two quarter-page interior illustrations for the book. If we reach our target, we’ll have enough for another half-page illustration.
At Sneak Attack Press, we NEVER use AI art and always hire human artists. I hope in these last days we can raise enough to hire that artist for our final piece.
Did You Know We Have Add-Ons?
In addition to getting 20 Cruel Curses, did you know you can also add on books from our previous crowdfunding campaigns? You can add them through the “Manage My Pledge” button.
If you like sandbox setting, check out the Runewild.
If you like world-building, check out This and That
If you like encounter design, check out Terrain Toolbox and Alternate Objectives
Final Preview
For our last preview of the campaign, we’re showing off a curse directly inspired by folklore. Many cultures have stories of kings with donkey ears. I asked myself: Why just donkies? Why just ears? Let’s curse people with all kinds of animal features!
Animal Features
Level: 3
Part of you has transformed to resemble and animal. The GM rolls or selects from the animal and body part tables below. (Tables are hard to format in Kickstarter updates, so I made it a bulleted list for the preview.)
Because of these features, you are easy to remember and identify. Many people and cultures perceive this transformation as silly, unnatural, or a curse from the gods. In such circumstances, you have disadvantage on Charisma checks.
You can can try to negate this by concealing the feature. You make a Charisma (Deception or disguise kit) check. Your result sets the DC for other character’s Wisdom (Perception) check to notice the disguise.
Possible Causes: Vanity, especially boasting about the transformed feature, or comparing it to that of a god.
Possible Dispels: Whisper your secret to a young plant. When it has grown, craft it into an instrument. When you play it, the instrument will reveal the truth, but also break the curse.
Heroic Inspiration: Gain Heroic Inspiration when you go to extreme measures to hide your animal features.
Plot Hook: A vain king has his hair cut once each year. His barber is selected by lottery, and is killed after completing the cut. A widow implore the heroes to intervene as her only child was chosen this year. Of course the king kills these barbers to hide the fact that he has donkey ears.
Body Part
- Eyes
- Ears
- Nose
- Tail
- Feet
- Tongue
- Horns/claws/teeth
- Hair/feathers/scales
Animal
- Donkey
- Snake
- Cat
- Dog
- Chicken
- Spider
- Goat
- Deer
- Mouse/Rat
- Owl
- Raven
- Axolotl
- Frog/Toad
- Lizard
See You Tomorrow
That’s all for now. I’ll plan to send a quick update tomorrow night after the campaign ends.
-Matthew
