City of the Black Rose: A 5E & Daggerheart Horror Setting
Created by Roll & Play Press
Enter a gothic noir metropolis where crime and corruption rule the streets! A campaign setting for DnD 5E, Daggerheart, and all RPGs.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Creative Work is Underway!
7 months ago
– Thu, Aug 28, 2025 at 03:02:59 AM
Hi everyone!
We’ve got plenty of exciting news to share this month, so let’s dive straight in.
Pledge Manager Progress
A huge thank you to the 85% of backers who have already completed their pledge managers – you’re absolute stars. If you haven’t yet filled yours out, CLICK HERE to complete your address and pledge information. If you have any questions at all, drop us a line at [email protected] and we’ll be happy to help.
Popular Add-ons
We've been keeping an eye on the pledge manager back-end, and the clear favourite add-ons so far are the Mission Deck and the Enamel Pin (not counting the City of the Black Rose book itself, of course). We hear you loud and clear! We can’t wait for you to see the strange and twisted missions for the 50+ cards in the deck. It’s Mavros, after all, literally anything could happen to your party as they wander around… Tell them to stick to the main roads, and stay in well-lit areas!
Behind the Scenes
A few weeks ago, the Roll & Play Press team visited our amazing production partner in Oxford, UK, and had an incredible time going over all the pledge reward details. We spoke at length about the BEAUTIFUL investigator’s case, nailed down specs, and confirmed fulfilment timelines for all the add-ons. Here’s a snap of us at their HQ!
Left to right: Caro & Chloe from Imago; Kay, Beth, Sam, Anni and Alex from Roll & Play Press
Gen Con & Creative Progress
Gen Con was an absolute blast, and it was fantastic to catch up with Jeremy and Jasper from 3 Black Halflings at our stand. We had a really good chat about the book’s synopsis, and now that we’re all back home, we’ve been making big strides fleshing out the world of Mavros. It’s such a sprawling city, and we’re working hard to nail down the final synopsis so we can fit in as much of its strangeness as possible.
Not only that, but we’ve also started briefing the one and only Venatus Maps on the upcoming Mavros battle maps. Jeremy had some incredible ideas for these, including an arcane science lab and a jazz speakeasy. We’re ridiculously excited to see them take shape – I'll share some work in progress art when I have some!
That’s all for now. Thanks again for your support. We can’t wait to share more dark and delightful updates from Mavros soon.
Stay safe in the shadows,
Sam.
P.S. WE HAVE BIG NEWS
Have you heard the BIG NEWS? We're making a sequel to our book of DnD adventures, One-Shot Wonders!! The Kickstarter campaign for One-Shot Wonders: Volume 2 is launching in just a few weeks.
There are already tons of people using One-Shot Wonders: Volume 1 for their Daggerheart games – and it will be just as easy for you to convert the adventures from Volume 2!
What's new in Volume 2?
Over 100 brand-new adventures across all terrains, from arctic to desert
Designed with the DnD 2024 rules
Every chapter now ends with a high-level boss battle
Explore the planes for the first time, with adventures in the Fey Realm and Shadow Realm
Expanded lore for Mirabilis, so you can journey even further
A Map Library EXPANSION PACK, static-cling stickers and even more battle maps
And so much more!
So, mark your calendars, One-Shot Wonders: Volume 2 will be launching in September. Be the first to know when the Kickstarter goes live by following the campaign. I can’t wait for you to see what we have planned for early backers!
Pledge Manager and Key Dates
8 months ago
– Thu, Jul 17, 2025 at 11:05:41 AM
The pledge manager for City of the Black Rose is coming!
This update includes important info on survey deadlines, fulfilment dates and access to stretch goal rewards. Please take a minute to look through, even if you've backed one of our previous projects.
Most importantly: Your credit/debit card will not be charged until November 2025 (unless you pay with PayPal, as they take payment straight away). Addresses won't be locked until June 2026.
Estimated timeline
17th July 2025 – Pledge managers sent
20th October 2025 – Pledge managers locked
3rd November 2025 – Pledge manager cards charged
November 2025 – Existing Roll & Play Press digital products sent to backers who selected these add-ons.
June 2026 – Fulfilment of City of the Black Rose digital products
June 2026 – Pledge manager addresses locked
September 2026 – Fulfilment of all physical products
Receiving the link
The link to the pledge manager will be sent by BackerKit, so look out for their name in your Inbox (and Junk folders, just in case). The link is sent automatically to all backers in batches over the next couple of days. Everyone should receive a link by Monday 21st July.
If you don't receive a link by the end of Monday, you can either click on this reset link, send us a Kickstarter message or drop us an email, and we'll send you a new one.
Filling in the pledge manager
When you open your pledge manager, check that your name, location and pledge level are all correct. If everything looks good, go ahead and click the 'Get Started' button.
If you would like to upgrade your pledge to a higher level, click 'Switch Your Pledge Level' at the start of the survey. This will make sure that your pledge manager is set up with the right rewards for that level, including stretch goal rewards.
In the pledge manager, you will be asked a few important questions about your pledge and get access to the Add-On Store – where you can add extra items to your pledge.
At the end of the pledge manager, you will be asked for your shipping address (if receiving physical rewards) and payment information for any outstanding shipping/add-on costs.
The survey should only take 3-5 minutes to complete!
If something doesn't look right, just click the 'Need Help?' button to contact BackerKit support.
Stretch goal rewards
Your support helped us unlock some awesome digital stretch goals, like the Mavros Environment Stat Blocks and Tabletop Soundtrack.
These FREE digital rewards will be automatically added to all pledge tiers EXCEPT the £1 Pledge Manager Access tier and £1 No Reward tier.
If you pledged for these tiers during the campaign, you can click the 'Switch Your Pledge Level' button to upgrade to a tier that qualifies for the free one-shot, digital stretch goal rewards, and you'll get your name in the book credits!
Pledge manager deadline
Pledge managers will be locked on October 20th. Backers who complete their pledge manager after this date will likely receive their physical rewards later than other backers.
Existing Roll & Play Press digital add-ons purchased in the pledge manager before October 20th will be fulfilled in November 2025. Backers who complete their survey after this date will receive all digital files during the City of the Black Rose digital fulfilment in June 2026.
Making payments
If you choose to pay for outstanding balances, shipping costs or add-ons via debit/credit card, your card will be charged on November 3rd. We will notify you again nearer the time.
If you pay through PayPal, payment will be taken immediately after you complete your pledge manager. If global shipping prices significantly change between the launch of the pledge manager and when cards are charged, backers who paid via PayPal will need to pay the outstanding difference before their rewards are shipped.
Moving house soon?
If you are moving house soon, or aren't sure where you will be living during fulfilment in September 2026, we recommend using a friend or family member's address when asked for your shipping address. You can then change your address up until June 2026. After this, we will do our best to accommodate address changes, but can't guarantee it will be possible.
Questions and support
Feel free to post a comment on this update, send us a Kickstarter message or drop us an email if you have any questions about this process, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
All the best,
Beth
Campaign Closed, That's a Wrap!
9 months ago
– Thu, Jun 26, 2025 at 10:11:02 AM
Wow.
Thank you everyone, WE DID IT. That’s a wrap on an incredible 30 days!
City of the Black Rose is officially funded... and then some. You smashed through all seven of our stretch goals, we crossed the £100,000 milestone, and the campaign got backing from over 1,550 incredible backers from around the world.
An especially HUGE shoutout to the 122 of you who backed the top-tier Investigator’s Case. Your support absolutely blew us away!
Whether you found the project through 3 Black Halflings' actual plays, one of our previous kickstarters, Darrington Press, Critical Role: Age of Umbra, a late-night scroll on socials, or a friend’s group chat, you’ve made this campaign more exciting and more meaningful than we ever imagined.
We’re so proud of what the campaign achieved, and we cannot wait to get this book into your hands next year!
Thank You From 3 Black Halflings
We just don't have the words to express how utterly humbled we've been by the response to this. We cannot believe a little setting like Mavros is going to become a book with so many wonderful supporters. Over 1550 people have chosen to explore Mavros... it's almost impossible to think that just 3 years ago it was just a homebrew setting we explored in a miniseries, and now 1550 other people will get to play in the setting we adore, with a whole range of different systems! 3 Black Halflings was started 5 years ago with a goal of showing the community that diverse games could bring so much more to your table, and if this Kickstarter hasn't been the crucible of that, we don't know what is. Thank you. Thank you. And once again, thank you. You've brought our City of the Black Rose to life. We cannot wait to see what stories you tell!
With our eternal gratitude, Jasper, Jeremy, Liv, Candace & Jess.
What next?
While we forge ahead with making your rewards, there are a couple of things you'll be asked to do:
1. Pay for your pledge – Over the next couple of weeks, Kickstarter will start charging cards and processing pledges. If there's an issue with your card, you'll have 7 days to resolve it before they try again. (And if there are still problems, this can usually be fixed in the pledge manager via PayPal).
2. Fill in the pledge manager – You'll get a link to our pledge manager in mid-July from BackerKit. We'll collect your shipping details, and a few other key bits of info. You can also upgrade your pledge or add extra rewards in the Add-On Store.
Don't worry, orders and addresses won't be locked until later in the project, so there's plenty of time left to make changes to your pledge. If you have any questions, reach out to us at [email protected].
Project updates
We're fulfilling digital rewards in June2026 and physical rewards in September 2026. We'll keep you posted between now and then with monthly progress updates. Look out for illustration reveals, photos of samples and other sneak peeks.
You can join Roll & Play Press on Discord, Facebook and Instagram where we chat about all things RPGs, from GM tips to dice hoarding. Sign up to the Roll & Play Press newsletter for a free random table every month. You can join 3 Black Halflings on Discord, Instagram and Patreon for exclusive reveals and early-release podcast episodes.
Until then...
More updates to follow as we start putting this epic book together, but for now, we're all going to take a moment to celebrate!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Sam.
STRETCH GOAL UNLOCKED: Tabletop Soundtrack
9 months ago
– Thu, Jun 26, 2025 at 09:03:57 AM
"The rusted doors to the speakeasy swing wide, and you're met with the sound of a hundred discordant violins..."
Are you kidding? We did it, we smashed ALL our stretch goals?!
Seventh Stretch Goal: UNLOCKED!
What an incredible way to end the Kickstarter campaign!! We broke the £100,000 barrier, and smashed our final stretch goal.
We just unlocked THREE new pieces of background music and ambient noise, inspired by the City of the Black Rose podcast. These will set the scene, whether your party is staking out an abandoned warehouse, blowing off steam in a speakeasy, or diving into gruesome combat in the mean streets of Mavros.
Your support for this Kickstarter campaign has been incredible. Thank you for smashing all our stretch goals! You are THE BEST!
I'll be back in touch soon with a full campaign wrap-up.
Heartfelt thanks,
Sam.
Mavros AMA is LIVE RIGHT NOW!!
9 months ago
– Fri, Jun 20, 2025 at 11:51:01 AM
BREAKING NEWS!
Jeremy and Candace from 3 Black Halflings are ready and raring to answer all of your City of the Black Rose questions (big or small) in a live Ask Me Anything, RIGHT NOW!
Sam and Kay from Roll & Play Press are also in the chat, answering your questions about this campaign's rewards and pledge levels.
We'll be on the Darrington Press Discord for the next hour or so. Come and say hi!
