Black Market Guide to Immortality

Good morning, everyone! We're entering Day 4 of the campaign. Again, thank you all so much for helping us get to this point. 

The Seul-ki Q&A is underway in our Discord server! For those wanting to participate, please join us as we're already taking the time to answer questions in-character. Asking questions as your own characters is very encouraged!

Once we clear this goal, we'll upgrade the soundtrack to 15 tracks! In addition, we'll be choosing another lineage to create from the favorite ancestry poll. That brings us to 2 total!

Clearing this stretch goal, we'll dive deep into the lore behind the Four Benevolent Beasts and the Four Perils.

The Four Benevolent Beasts

Based on both the Four Symbols of mythology with a bit of the Four Heavenly Kings of Buddhist faith, the Four Benevolent Beasts are Primordial Beasts that transcended their mortal bounds through their friendship with Moksaka. Each protect a cardinal direction (so north, south, east, west) and hold dominion over an element. Though deities in our setting, they descend at times of true calamity. To prepare for such an event, we'll create a statblock for each deity!

The Four Perils

Standing opposite of the Four Benevolent Beasts are the Four Perils, also holding dominion over a cardinal direction and mastery over an opposing element. The Four Perils are a partnership across the fiend spectrum: demon, daemon, and devil. They represent the fall of mankind through their own vices: greed, overconsumption, war, unchecked ambition, and a return to the chaos before the world was created.

We'll include full lair mechanics and really upgrade them as true boss monsters, giving plot hooks at various different tiers of a campaign to pursue. Whether as guardians or destroyers, the Four Beasts and the Four Perils are some of an adventurer's greatest challenges in the Iseung region.

Even after this, we still haven't reached the end of our stretch goals! There will be more to show very soon such as lore expansion, additional tracks and printable minis, and another bestiary expansion around the corner.

Good morning, welcome to Day 3 of the campaign!!

We are just centimeters away from the 50K stretch goal being unlocked. This is a good opportunity to break down the 55K stretch goal just over the horizon. But first, I'm pleased to announce that the Ascension Bundle has been upgraded! All PDFs now include BOTH 5e and PF2e versions by popular demand! This is to help meet gamers who enjoy playing both systems or are curious about one or the other.

We also have a number of new polls for backers! Your opinions will help shape which additional subclasses we include, which new lineages/heritages for core species/ancestries are adopted. Just click here to access the polls. 

With a bit of arcane potential mixed in, the Tactician shapes the battlefield with inexplicable walls to create advantages for their troops. The best part is, as they level up, they'll be able to build into the walls special backdoors passable only by them and allies. No matter where you go, you are a master of the terrain.

As you can see from the art also, new mounts and familiars have been unlocked! The mobile palanquin being one such example, it is a construct that ferries you about in absolute style. We'll add a number of special creatures that can be used as familiars.


The Er Shu is a chimera native to Long Xin. It has the head of a rabbit, body of a mouse, and antlers. Oh, and its tail can spin around, letting it fly (please don't sue us, Sega). It has the keen power to detect poisons and give its contractor as a familiar resistance against poison. Very sought after by mages and familiar enthusiasts!

 If you have any questions or comments, please reply here or email us at [email protected]. Otherwise, you can join our Discord server! Especially as the Seul-ki Q&A kicks off!

Good day, all! It's day 2 of our campaign. Even after a whirlwind day 1, we have quite a bit still left in store. We have under 100 backers remaining for the early bird Jiang-shi sticker bonus! At this rate, today's the last day for it.



Getting right to it, we have a very fun opportunity:

We will be hosting on Discord a Q&A event with Shin Seul-ki! Everyone is invited to join our Discord server and submit a question to her to receive an answer from her in-character. While we'll endeavor to answer each question, the choicest questions and answers will be showcased up on our next BackerKit updates!

Ask the author of The Black Market Guide to Immortality anything you might want! We encourage you to ask your question in-character as well.

Thanks to you all, we've beaten the 30K stretch goal in record time! I'm very pleased to share with you a bit of what we have in store here.

Fighter: Gate Guardian (5e)

This subclass of Fighter was inspired broadly by stories in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Based on martial techniques devoted to protecting palaces and fortresses against sieges and invasions, you are the ultimate tank, combining both offense and defense. None shall pass and so long as you stand, you'll suffer no harm to come to your friends and liege. Sometimes, the best means of achieving immortality is to be very, very good at surviving.

Psychic: Unliving Spark (PF2e)



Due to the Gate Guardian being rather similar to the Bastion archetype and shield-based feats already existing, we thought it'd be best to create both a 5e exclusive and a PF2e exclusive.

You harness through your psychic potential the initial spark of life that first fired up your consciousness since your birth or creation. With but a jolt, your spark can again galvanize a corpse to walk yet again.

As part of the Unliving Spark, we're also pleased to introduce a new subconscious mind: the Collective Singularity where your connection runs deep into the sea of souls from which all life originates from. While others' connections weaken, yours remain as strong as ever, allowing you to protect your mind in a pool of a myriad others.

Ranger: Vaultrunner (5e)



The more you adventure, the keener you began to hear the voices of forlorn objects. You consider ruins or dungeons to be a separate environment called a "Vault", an enclosed, environmental ecosystem. Drawing power from spirits innate to the environment, you heed and find lost treasures to instill them with renewed purpose. At critical junctures, you can give these spirits an explosive send-off. It's their final sacrifice, one might say.

As you increase your connection to the souls of the vault's denizens, you gain the power to move your own soul between vessels. No longer are you limited to just one body.

Animist: Voyager of Forgotten Storerooms (PF2e)

Similar in concept except you stand more on the divine side of the magical spectrum. Heeding wayward spirits and even household gods left behind in abandoned places, you imbue their vessels with mobility. You're an expert user of household tools with knowledge of both architecture and, well, objects that others would consider junk. 

After listening to some feedback from readers and gamers, we thought this would be an excellent opportunity to work more with the classic, existing species/ancestries/heritages in 5e and PF2e. That's why we're very excited to introduce:

Korpokkur Gnome (5e)/Korpokkur Pixie (PF2e)



From Ainu folklore, korpokkurs are fairies that once coexisted with the Ainu people. They're little people that lived beneath the butterbur plants (which if I can be honest are quite tall) that crafted items to trade with people for. Very shy, however, they prefer not being looked at directly. In our world, they wear magical veils and garbs that shroud their true appearances.

Gnomes, having some degree of connection to fey and wilderness, seemed appropriate to associate with the korpokkur. Their culture centered around tinkering also fit well. In PF2e, we decided to lean more into the fairy aspect by making them a pixie heritage.

Ten OST tracks!!

We increase the number of tracks from 5 to 10!! I think as we update you guys on the progress of our OST, showing you samples of completed tracks, we will continue to poll you and see what people are interested in listening to. I'm personally very excited to commission more music based around the atmosphere set in Undying Corruption. The theme of the Society of Wailing Souls in particular I feel could inspire a great deal of tension.

15 new minis!

Our collection of 3D printable minis increases to 15! All of which can be voted on. I should mention, we plan on beginning tallying up votes once we can distribute everyone's surveys. That might be the easiest way to start polling people once we have everyone's stretch goals locked in. Anyway, keep your eyes peeled for new previews of monsters because you might get to make them into a new 3d printable mini!

Cleric: Emptiness Domain (5e)/Oracle: Awakening Mystery (PF2e)



The concepts of awakening and emptiness have a great deal of overlap. Accepting emptiness is to accept that all things lack intrinsic meaning and even pain can be overcome through a higher state of being. Yours is a path that seeks to undo the delusions plaguing the world which spark suffering, fear, and hatred, hence awakening. 

Given the Void Domain exists in PF2e, we felt it would be more prudent to try our hand at creating an oracle mystery instead. 

New Chapter: Unmasking the Gods

On clearing this stretch goal, we will include in The Black Market Guide yet more forbidden secrets that will increasingly earn its spot in-world as one of the most illegal printed pieces in history. We'll delve into the cross-pollination of religions and the secret machinations of various different deities.

Community Poll: New Core Lineage/Heritage

Just as you might've seen with the Gnomish/Pixie Korpokkur, we're going to leave it to the readers to decide which of the core species/ancestries you'd like to see most given a unique lineage/heritage in the world. Orcs, Elves, Gnomes, you will be commissioning us to delve more into our research to tailor a new lineage/heritage by community demand.

This will be a community project and you'll be in on the creation process!

Wizard: School of Ceremonies (5e)/Yin-Yang Master Archetype (PF2e)



If you'd like to play something akin to a taoist master of cultivation fantasy or an onmyoji of Heian fiction, this will scratch that itch. You are not merely a spellcaster, but an officiant of the magical arts. You fashion your spells into rituals or you can imbue them on your person or a paper talisman, unlocking their powers at the proper time. All of this builds up to the Ritual of Eternity, allowing you to perform a ritual that extends particular spells' durations to states of permanency.

The PF2e side, given the presence of fulus and talismans, will draw more on those rules as we build up our archetype.

If you have any questions or comments, please reply here or email us at [email protected]. Otherwise, you can join our Discord server! Especially as the Seul-ki Q&A kicks off!

Good evening, folks!! And MAN, what an explosive start to this campaign! Over the course of the day, we unlocked a hell of a lot of stretch goals. That!! Bodes very well for this project and we're exceedingly eager to share with you all more of what we have planned.

For those of you who were able to join our morning inaugural livestream, thank you very much! Me and Charlie had a lot of fun chatting with all of you. In addition, a double thank you for those who caught the technical issue of being asked to provide your country for digital tiers. That has since been corrected.

Fixed Tech Issues w/ Digital Tiers: For those looking forward to your early bird and returning backer incentives, but only want digital add-ons otherwise, let me be clear: you're still entitled to them! We exempted them because of the tech problems, but please, please if you want to redeem them, let me know and I can manually add the items to your survey.

Now, for the fun part!

10K Stretch Goals:

The Guxiang is a survivor of a terrible curse that targets the spirit, removing it from the cycle of reincarnation. In body and heart, they've become one with the swarm, managing to largely maintain their sense of self. The "lucky" few. They've since found communities among cultivators and use their venomous magic to also create cures as herbalists and apothecaries.

The lootra is an otter-like people based in the shores and riverbanks of Danguk. When a yongwang fell ill and the medicine called for the heart of a pure creature, an otter offered theirs. The yongwang, moved by the otter's sacrifice, gave them a treasure heart. Since, the descendants of that otter came to be known as lootras, identifiable by their exposed hearts: gemstones able to detect treasure in the vicinity. While shy, they're also tough and loyal to their friends. Their civilizations get by in rural areas, selling and trading treasures they find with people.

Certain mice that evolved in the subterranean tunnels beneath the Kyougen Federation evolved, developing psionic powers from the psychic waves around monasteries and temples. They call themselves yidamice and they've awakened both mentally and spiritually. Nibbling on gentle thoughts sustains them and they've since based their society around the teachings of Moksaka, helping others connect with their enlightened mind through meditation. Of course, there are yidamice that can't stand such a stifling society and go on their own way, enduring the mental noise of towns and cities compared to their simple paradise.

15K Stretch Goals:

Also unlocked! The total number of 3D minis contained in our set increases to 10. You will have more to vote for to choose which monsters and creatures you'd most like to see made into a 3D Printable mini!



The Jiang-shi has been unlocked!! Because becoming a jiang-shi requires a process and not one is, usually, naturally born, we decided to make it a lineage in 5e and make it part of the dhampir heritage in PF2e. Like the revenant linage, anybody that died can become a jiang-shi so long as your body was animated in such a way. You're given the ability to sense creatures through the lifeforce in their breath. Your stiff limbs give you greater resistance against being knocked Prone and the fulu, or paper talisman, affixed to your forehead grants your body greater resistance against destruction.

20K Stretch Goals:

Barbarian: Path of the Samadhi Furnace/Cultivator of Rage


The true Samadhi Furnace holds the power of the samadhi fire, an everburning divine flame. In an attempt to replicate the artifact, cultivators created a miniature-sized device that, while incomparable to the genuine article and unable to be used to craft legendary items, can hold and circulate intense heat and life force. Those who walk the Path of the Samadhi Furnace, Cultivators of Rage, become able to channel pure rage into regenerative power and a frightful, protective armor. 

Rogue: Immortalist

The Immortalist Rogue filches from others their life currency, be it blood, breath, or fragments of their spirit. Using their blade as a conduit, they channel the stolen life force into their own bodies, thus sustaining their own life. In a manner, this is a means of attaining vampirism without requiring the messiness of undeath. 

25K Stretch Goals:

New NPCs: The Thieves' Guild of Iseung

Our NPC Guide grows! We will include a thieves' guild, or overall quasi-legitimate organization founded on the bedrock of crime, based in each established country in the region of Iseung. We've already hinted at one: the Ayakashigumi is an organization of yokai led by a charismatic nurarihyon. By exacerbating the rot in Kyougen society, they wish to topple order and return the lands to a world of night. Not the friendliest of groups, but you also have the Jeguk Merchantry, or the JM Group, a clan-owned business in Danguk led by its dwarven Chairwoman Hae Iseul. It currently owns a monopoly of all production of common magic items in Danguk and organizes pirating crews to remove the competition.

We'll also finally be able to commission various NPCs that were named in Undying Corruption's Player's Guide!

Gozuspawn Tiefling



The Gozuspawn Tiefling/Nephilims is a reincarnation of the Gyuki, a fallen agricultural or mountain god. Though once revered, the god has been forgotten and in its rage, it transformed into the Gyuki. When a Gyuki is slain without its anger extinguished, its spirit reenters the cycle of reincarnation, grasping onto it. Gozuspawn Tieflings/Nephilims are inheritors of that great anger. With their evil eyes, they inflict terrible curses born from their ire.

A number of stretch goals are just around the corner. The Fighter: Gate Guardian/Psychic: Unliving Spark, Paladin: Oath of Directions/Lokapala Archetype, and Ranger: Vaultrunner/Animist: Voyager of Forgotten Storerooms are next.

The Fighter focuses on becoming sets of fortress gates, combining both offense and defense to become an unparalleled tank. It seemed similar to the Bastion archetype in PF2e, so we decided to make something a little different. The Unliving Spark enables psychics to rekindle life in a body by sending charges through its silent mind's synapses. Your psychic potential melds with the spiritual, mixing the intangible with ectoplasm and harnessing force from beyond the grave.

The Oath of Directions/Lokapala Archetype is based heavily on the concept of the directional deities. They protect seekers of enlightenment in all directions. More on this later, but expect a lot of teleporting and forced teleportation.

The Ranger: Vaultrunner and Animist: Voyager of Forgotten Storerooms require you to be in tune with the wayward spirits in abandoned objects and places. Using your natural or divine powers, you give them motion to borrow their powers, and should the time come when they're ready to transcend, you can make their departure.... explosive. 

All this and more coming up! Please stay tuned for more updates.

Hello, all!

Just wanted to send out a reminder for folks that the Q&A is this Sunday. I reckon we will stream on YouTube and connect it through Launch Party. StellalunaTV will ask a number of broad, basic questions I think people are interested in having answers for during the first half, after which we'll hand it over to the audience. We figure it'll be no longer than 1 hour and 30 minutes, but we can keep time flexible without issue.

It's just around the corner, folks!! Less than 2 weeks left. If you haven't yet, please do consider making a reservation for your free Gyuki pin with any order! We have early bird bonuses too with free stickers with each order. We also intend to livestream during the start of the crowdfunding campaign! More details on that forthcoming.

Set the date, folks, it's coming!

So the poll results thus far shows as follows: 1) for the content question, people are most interested in ancestries/heritages/species and worldbuilding/lore. We'll keep that under advisement as we put together the book! Subclasses and bestiary about came in second which isn't too much of a surprise either. 

2) for the soundtrack question, it's a healthy mix, but people seem a little more interested in having songs reflecting moments of tension and mystery unfolding. I'll pass that message along to the composer!

So a bit of preview into our worldbuilding! Here are some additional major deities across national boundaries.

The Four Heavenly Kings are major deities in Moksaka's pantheon (Buddhist inspired)! They were originally Primordial Beasts, the strongest exemplars of modern day animals and monsters, born from the flesh of their mother, Golden IMA. Each of the Four Heavenly Kings at one point or another became students of Moksaka or their incarnations. Being slaves to impulse or desires, their teacher liberated them and they repay their gratitude by protecting all those seeking enlightenment in the cardinal directions.