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Pre-Order/Late-Pledge Store for When the Stars Cried Despair! Witch Pleas Publishing

Created by Witch Pleas Publishing

First chapter in the Castle Whiterock tie-in campaign, Descent of the Ancient Fane, When the Stars Cried Despair is an unforgettable funnel/1st-level adventure with all-new mechanics for rich backstory and bonds between PCs.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

🗓️READ What's Up in 2026 - IMPORTANT Updates Inside, Witch Pleas fans! 🗓️
4 months ago – Wed, Dec 31, 2025 at 02:16:20 PM

We have celebrating to do, my friends, for we wish you a very happy New Year!

You've helped pave the way for an amazing 2026. Check out the links to new projects coming VERY soon, the update to When the Stars Cried Despair, and the art below for those who want to scroll!

  • For D&D 5e, Dungeon Crawl Classics and OSR (AD&D, B/X, OSE) Fans: We've got an Ancient Rome/Barsoom inspired Dungeon Zine for Zinetopia on BackerKit - The Mouth of Mentius! This 73-room, old-school style dungeon zine is available in February for BackerKit's Zinetopia at a backer-exclusive price of $11 for print (it'll be $20 retail)! Follow now!
  • For D&D 5e and DCC Fans: You CANNOT MISS Descent of the Ancient Fane! It is truly the most hellish dungeon ever (Level 1-9 DCC), at over 200,000 words, and tells the secret history of the upcoming Castle Whiterock from Goodman Games! Follow now!
  • More for Castle Whiterock Fans: Delicious in Whiterock, with cover art by Stefan Poag is your guide to hunt and cook 20 monsters over Castle Whiterock's 15 main levels, with art on every page and recipes you can enjoy with your gaming group - exclusive to those who back Descent of the Ancient Fane within the first 48 hours!
  • When the Stars Cried Despair print rewards are shipping soon! The printer's shipment shows that it hasn't left yet, but we expect it this weekend. We're locking orders and charging for shipping now.
  • When the Stars Cried Despair Backer PDFs are SENT! Check your inboxes for any PDFs you pledged for, like All Roads Lead to Conquest, Bride of Baal, Champions of the Goblin Market, Old John Stuart's Mill and When the Stars Cried Despair itself!

All to say, 2026 will be epic! Our largest adventures yet, Witch Pleas Publishing fans, with more for D&D 5e than ever, and content like you've never experienced in gaming before.




Have a Happy New Year! 


📚Locking Orders and Charging for Shipping 12/26 - Plus ZINETOPIA DUNGEON - Follow Now! 📚
4 months ago – Wed, Dec 24, 2025 at 11:18:56 AM

Wow! 86% of you have completed your surveys. This means one big thing:

We can lock orders tomorrow and charge for shipping on 12/26, allowing us to send out your books right when they arrive, on the first Monday of January.

In the meantime, we have more exciting news - a dungeon Zine for BackerKit's Zinetopia event, available for a limited-time, Backer-exclusive print edition price of only $11 - The Mouth of Mentius!

The Mouth of Mentius is an old-school style, grid-map dungeon. You know the type: Short room descriptions, high action, lethal monsters and lots of loot. And in Witch Pleas fashion, it's heavily inspired by historical myth; Ancient Rome, in this case, crossed with the weird fantasy you'd find in a setting like Barsoom. 

The Mouth of Mentius is written by my wife and co-founder, Gina Funk. She's detailed 73 rooms, with over 15 unique magical items and over a dozen new monsters. Her intention is for the action to be epic, so it's for 4-7 level in Dungeon Crawl Classics. It features art by the awesome Faith Murphree, and comes in print at a limited-time, Backer-exclusive price of $11.

Plus, all followers receive a free intro encounter, downloadable instantly as a PDF. So follow now!

Back to the matter of When the Stars Cried Despair:

For those who appreciate a full breakdown of details, here's our thinking behind charging on 12/26:
  • BackerKit funds take up to 3-5 business days to arrive, though this is sometimes shortened to 1-3. 
  • If we charge on 12/26, this means the latest that the funds for shipping arrive is on Friday, 1/2
  • This means we can buy the postage and materials that day, and pack everything up over the weekend
  • Leading to shipping on Monday, 1/5!

As for recent shipping estimates, they are as follows:

Domestic: $8 for a single item, $10 for two or more items
Canada/Mexico: $30
Overseas: $40

We hope that you agree with this approach. We welcome your feedback either way.

We're eager to get your books to your gaming tables as soon as possible, so that you can dive into the world of epic stakes and rich backstories within When the Stars Cried Despair, setting the stage for our contribution to the Castle Whiterock BackerKit campaign in April,Descent of the Ancient Fane!

Meanwhile, may you have a magical holiday season. We'll be toasting your support and aglow with gratitude for how you've helped us create amazing gaming experiences.

Thank you, happy holidays, and may you have a very happy New Year!



🏤 Shipping Surveys Coming! PLEASE TAKE 30-SECONDS TO ANSWER 🏤
4 months ago – Sat, Dec 20, 2025 at 04:27:20 PM

We're shipping When the Stars Cried Despair soon, so it's time to find the BackerKit survey in your inbox and answer it!

The holiday schedule of the printer set things back somewhat, so their 1-week turnaround turned into 2, but we expect to have the books arrive no later than the first weekend of the year.

That means we'll want to charge for shipping right before New Years, 12/30.

And that, in turn, means you've got 10 days to answer the shipping address survey with your current address and details, to ensure timely delivery.

We know that was a lot of "this, then that," but it comes to down to this:

Look in your inbox, searching if you must, for the BackerKit survey! It just sent out and it takes about 30 seconds to a couple of minutes to complete.

When you complete it, thank yourself, from us! We want to make sure When the Stars Cried Despair reaches your gaming group right away, so that you can dive in, experience this one-of-a-kind funnel, and set the stage for Descent of the Ancient Fane and Castle Whiterock in April!

We won't keep you any longer - off to the survey now, with thanks!


📧Surveys Coming Tomorrow, Pre-Order Store Open and More Updates! 📧
4 months ago – Thu, Dec 18, 2025 at 07:00:42 PM


When the Stars Cried Despair is off to the printer!

Things are moving fast, beloved backers, so we'll keep this update fast too. Only the greatest hits here!

  1. Surveys for your shipping info are heading your way tomorrow. Fill them out so that we can ship to you before the New Year!
  2. The Pre-Order Store is open for any who missed out on this campaign - and Add-Ons will be available with your shipping survey!
  3. The PDFs for digital backers will be sent next week, so that you can enjoy When the Stars Cried Despair in your DriveThruRPG stocking, along with Bride of Baal for early followers!
  4. The backer session of When the Stars Cried Despair, run by author, M.C. Funk, is officially scheduled for January 18th. 
  5. And the Big Event - the Megadungeon that When the Stars Cried Despair leads to - Descent of the Ancient Faneis only a few months away. Follow now if you haven't already, to enjoy early follower rewards!

So keep an eye on those inboxes for your shipping address survey, print edition backers. They'll send tomorrow, so that we can ship right before the turn of the year.

For shipping costs, check our FAQ. They're estimated to be $8 domestic (within the US), $30 for Canada and Mexico, and $40 for other international packages.

Most importantly, thank each and every one of you, and may you have a most merry holiday season!

📚Missed Out? Pre-Order Store Open and PDF Complete!
4 months ago – Sun, Dec 14, 2025 at 02:27:02 PM

When the Stars Cried Despair backers needn't shed a tear for missing out:

We launched our Pre-Order Store today!

So, if you missed out on When the Stars Cried Despair, or want one of the Witch Pleas Publishing adventures at a discount - like our classic, narrative-focused campaign, A Tale of Two Sisters - head over to the Pre-Order Store.



And don't forget to follow Descent of the Ancient Fane! Its Follower Count goes a long way to making this ambitious project, the most hellish megadungeon ever, a success. Plus, you'll enjoy exclusive Follower and early Backer rewards, like Delicious in Whiterock, the exclusive cookbook survival guide companion to a Castle Whiterock campaign!



In other news, we completed the final version of the PDFs for print and digital today. That means we're poised to send it to the printer and to your DriveThruRPG accounts, later this week!



Most importantly, may your holiday season be merry and bright, friends! We appreciate each and every one of you!