Utah-based independent studio Explorer’s Guild Publishing has launched a crowdfunding campaign for Beyond the Golden Horizon, an open-world nautical sandbox campaign written across four separate roleplaying games. The adventure spans character levels 1 to 10 for Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition, Pathfinder first edition, and Pathfinder second edition, alongside a custom level 1 to 7 progression curve built for Darrington Press’s recently expanded Daggerheart.
Having already sailed past its modest £1,846 goal with £3,159 pledged from 129 backers, the campaign avoids the clunky conversion appendices that often plague multi-system releases. Instead, lead designer Richard Davis writes a standalone edition from scratch for each supported system, recalculating challenge ratings, monster statistics, and saving throw benchmarks so tables never have to adjust mechanics on the fly.
Modular Ship Combat and Dual-Layer Cartography
At the heart of the campaign is a modular vessel management framework that treats ships like characters, complete with dedicated stat blocks similar to monsters. Rather than bogging down high-seas battles with tedious positioning rules, the book introduces tactical upgrades that let players swap sails, rigging, and broadside armaments to directly alter party mobility, exploration range, and naval combat options.
To keep exploration mysterious without forcing the Game Master to hide vital information, the campaign incorporates a dual-map framework proven in the studio’s earlier release, Kobold Quest: From Ashes to Empire. The team explains the design:
The sea map for example comes in two versions – one for players and the other for the GM. The player version shows and names all of the major locations that are public knowledge and visible from a distance. The hidden locations, which are visible at a glance by the color of their text on the map, must be discovered as players get closer and explore the areas.
Production and Delivery
Explorer’s Guild Publishing brings a reliable production record to this launch, having delivered seven previous crowdfunding projects including Arcane Lock and Tavern Games: Inn and Out. While the studio openly notes a tendency toward scope expansion that can test fulfilment schedules, it has built extra buffer time into the current pipeline. Digital PDF fulfilment is scheduled to begin in October 2026, with physical softcover and hardcover books dispatching internationally in November 2026. The all-or-nothing campaign concludes on Monday, 21 September 2026 at 1:59 AM BST.
Reward Tiers
- Pledge $14 (approx. £11): Pirate. Full digital PDF of the adventure in your chosen ruleset (D&D 5e, Pathfinder 1e, Pathfinder 2e, or Daggerheart) with all stretch goals included.
- Pledge $29 (approx. £22): Quartermaster. Physical softcover copy of the adventure in your selected system, shipped worldwide, plus the immediate PDF download.
- Pledge $39 (approx. £29): First Mate. Upgrades the softcover volume to a physical hardcover, plus the matching digital ruleset.
- Pledge $149 (approx. £111): Merchant Lord. Everything in First Mate, plus the opportunity to integrate an original character into the campaign as a named shopkeeper with a custom shop.
- Pledge $179 (approx. £133): Captain. Hardcover and digital campaign rewards, along with character naming and design options for an in-world merchant persona.
- Pledge $499 (approx. £369): Pirate King. The top custom tier, allowing the backer to collaborate with the author on a major rival pirate captain, multiple custom quests, and a commissioned portrait by artist Matthew Sargent.
