KULT: Divinity Lost - Dark Realms and Other Horrors

Pledge Manager Open
9 months ago – Thu, Jun 26, 2025 at 05:10:05 AM

We're happy to report that the Smoke Test went smoothly, and we're now ready to open the pledge manager on BackerKit. You should receive an email shortly after this update with a link to your survey.

Through the survey, you'll be able to select any books or add-ons you may have missed during the campaign. If you don't see the email in your inbox, please be sure to check your spam or promotions folders as well.

Thank you for your continued support!

Edit: 99K Shipping

We are aware that some places seem to have wild numbers for the shipping costs. If you have been affected by this, please reach out to use through the Backerkit support system. We are looking into each case individually to find what went wrong.

Pledge Manager Update: The Smoke Test Begins
9 months ago – Mon, Jun 23, 2025 at 04:35:09 AM

Hello, Kultists. The Smoke Test has begun. This means that 5% of backers have been randomly selected to receive the Pledge Manager survey. If everything runs smoothly, the remaining 95% will receive their surveys soon after — likely before the end of this week.

Late pledges (listed as "Pre-Order Store" on BackerKit) will open later, once most backers have had a chance to get copies of the remaining special editions. We’ll announce when it launches here and on our social media channels.

In the meantime, please check your email to see if you’ve been selected to complete the survey!

That is all for now. Thank you for your attention.

June 2025: Late Pledge and Progress Report
10 months ago – Thu, Jun 19, 2025 at 07:56:04 AM

Greetings, Kultists! Hope all is well on your side of the veil. Thank you for your patience and understanding in the wait for this update. We have been hard at work to bring the books to life and given we are a small team, all of the effort was put into ironing out the texts. We do realize the importance of updates, so rest assured that these will happen monthly from now on, likely in the first two weeks of the month.

Now, we have a bunch of topics to tackle and we know you’re eager to hear about them, so let's jump right in!

Tariffs, Pledge Manager and Late Pledges

The tariff situation has settled – there are no tariffs since we are shipping books to the US. We have completed the pledge manager set up, but there are some strange errors in the platform that we are trying to fix. The final adjustments are being made and the first batch of surveys will be sent on Monday (June 23). As advised by BackerKit, we will begin with a “Smoke Test”, meaning that 5% of the backers will get the surveys and we’ll see if everything is ready or if there are major errors. Then, everyone else will get it.

Beta PDFs

We aim to release the first set of PDFs in September. Then they will be released at a, hopefully, steady pace. 

Progress Reports

The Seeker’s Testament

All the writing and the edits are completed. We are now waiting for the last illustrations and the final layout. 

We are happy to say that this is a Player’s Guide we feel we can truly be proud about. It is a book for both players and gamemasters—with everything you need to create a character without spoiling any of the KULT-lore. It is also packed with advice to players like player principles, how to create memorable characters, Relations, and guidance on crafting dramatic scenes (from a player perspective!). The Passion Moves we promised also turned out to be an incredible appendix about eroticism and Passion in KULT and how to tackle that as a group. The book looks to be around 184 pages. We aimed at around 140 but it was just so much good material.

The Illusion and the Borderlands

Finalizing writing and waiting for the artists.

This one project remains a living, breathing monster that just keeps on growing, but we feel there is nothing more to add. This last month we have greatly enhanced the lictors’ text to feature an in-depth look into how they weave the Illusion, with varied levels of proficiency and examples of what it could look like in game. This also means that we have poked around the rest of “The Illusion” chapter—for the better! Now you will know why lictors may want pesky magicians acting up in the dark nameless streets of our cities. We have also finalized the “Denizens of the Illusion” appendix to feature sleeper- and borderlandish/aware-NPC templates. All else is pretty much done as well, but we are going through everything once more to make sure it’s 200% ready for editing.

And, lastly, we have received good feedback for the Borderlands Player Moves! They seem to work well and add to the mysteries of KULT, so it’s likely that there won’t be changes to these besides some rephrasing.

Ksenographica is the artist doing all the chapter heards for this book and Daniel Comerci is responsible for the majority of creature artworks—both of which you can see examples of above. Let’s see if you can guess what chapter will get this header and creature!

Scenarios and Horror Starters

The Scarlet Bride:There are edits and finalization on several of the outer dream worlds. The goal was to be done with them in June but since there has been a lot of focus on finalizing the Illusion and the Borderlands as well as The Seeker’s Testament, it has been a bit delayed. Now the aim is to have it finished by the end of July. 

The Other Tales:The writing/editing is pretty much done, but some adjustments have to be made in two of them. Minor edits. For example, for Heart of an Angel we want to feature a better description of what the different endings might look like. Clinic 12 has been translated and is awaiting edits. 

Broken Reflections:Most of the horror starters are done, with only a few of them needing some tweaks that bring it all together. This also shouldn’t take long. There is still a lot of artworks to be done however so we are letting this beast lie for now. We have however gotten an additional Horror Starter as a late arrival: The Mother by the Danish Collective. We felt it was so good so we had to include it. 

The Hour of the Flame: The scenario has been expanded with two new locations that are being playtested. The structure has been broken up further so that it is now more to an urban sandbox – not unlike the scenario Black Skies over Brixton – which allows for different types of characters and ways to enter the scenario. We have also expanded the descriptions for both the Coq Rouge cult and the Prophets of the Third Temple cult. 

Exiled Terrors: We are still waiting for a final version of The Devouring Mother and Night Shift as well the translation of Children of Fire. 

Deep Waters: All but finished! It is a solid introduction to the world and system of KULT: Divinity Lost and we’re sure you’re going to love this as much as we do.

Metropolis

Writing is moving along at a good speed.

Metropolis is a dark urban beast and we are lost in its dizzying shafts and labyrinths. Of all the books this is the hardest and most frustrating to work with since we really want to make it “right”. And an epic location such as Metropolis needs to feel sublime and truly vast. Luckily we have created a strike team where Torsten Gatu and Martin Svärd are spearheading the editing and finalization of the chapter. Olof Falk is wrapping up the final faction – the Sword of Helel – that is aimed to be done by the end of this month.

Voices from Beyond the Veil

Making some final changes. 

This last month Gabe released the missing piece of Breaking Point. Unless we have an idea for another release, everything will be divided into sections and layout that is more cohesive for print. This new layout will also be available for free in the same link of the KULT Drops (https://bit.ly/kultdrops).

Tariffs, Blood, and Creative Madness
12 months ago – Thu, Apr 17, 2025 at 10:27:44 AM

Greetings, Kultists. Hope things are well with you as winter's darkness begins to recede. The shadows, however, remain always watching, always waiting. We know you've been waiting on this news, so let's jump right into it!

Bureaucratic Labyrinths

Pledge Manager, late pledges, and the tariffs. We have been holding off the Pledge Manager in wait for clarity when it comes to the tariffs on the deliveries to the United States. But, since it is total chaos and the tariffs have changed constantly and we don’t know when this will stop, we aim to open the Pledge Manager in the beginning of May. Then you will be able to change pledges, add material, ask for refunds etcetera. Since we aim to deliver the books towards the end of 2025 we will have a better understanding then what the tariffs are. And we will make sure to give a heads up way in advance before closing the Pledge Manager so you don’t get any unexpected tariff surprises.  

While the original plan is to print in Europe and then ship to the States, we're keeping our options open. We of course want our US kultists to get away with any unnecessary financial burdens. But, hopefully the markets are a bit more stable towards the end of the year. 

There will be an update here on Kickstarter when the Pledge Manager opens. 

Creative Depths

Dev diary, changes, and art. Beyond these worldly concerns, we continue our descent into the dark recesses of KULT's universe. The Illusion and the Borderlands texts are almost ready to be sent for editing, barring some final changes to the text as we gather playtest and gather feedback.

In our last implementations, we have significantly expanded the Borderlands of Inferno chapter with new writings about insights that can be gained in these liminal spaces. The text details visions nepharites: glimpses of their influence in the form of symbolic visions. But for all the power it may give, this can also be a subtle manipulation that leads you to make a pact with them without even realizing it. 

We have worked extensively with edits and art for many of the scenarios and are completing things daily. At this point Gabe has gone through almost all of the Horror Starters and some of the scenarios to make them more aligned with the mechanics and our vision. Petter has done the second rounds to review these changes and ship it for editing. Jacqueline Bryk, our dear editor, is working to finalize the material as soon as we send it—and she’s too damn fast! Anyways, the pieces are falling into place. 

For Exiled Terrors, The Room in the Borderlands has evolved and we changed its name to Red Daughter, Black Sun. A truly terrifying and macabre foray into the Borderlands of Inferno. The narrative unfolds through layers of reality. Players will confront not only external horrors but also the darkness within themselves. As an added feature, the scenario can also serve as a character creation tool, allowing players to emerge from the experience forever changed. In its pure text form, it spans 20 pages.

There will be new Horror Starters thrown in Exiled Terrors as well that we haven’t announced, but these shall remain a secret for now as they are finalized.

The Seeker's Testament (The Player's Guide) has exceeded our expectations in both scope and quality. We now have an introduction for the players written by Jason Fryer, whose work on the massive Beyond Darkness and Madness demonstrated his intimate understanding of KULT. The large appendix includes comprehensive new rules and guides covering everything from Living Standards (how your character's socioeconomic position affects their daily existence), to Character Relations (the complex web of connections that bind us to others), Crafting Dramatic Scenes (techniques to heighten tension and impact), and Eroticism (exploring the thin line between desire and horror). Each section has been crafted with attention to both mechanical utility and thematic resonance.

The Hour of the Flame has undergone rigorous playtesting, revealing some structural issues that we're currently addressing. Despite these challenges, the scenario's core concept remains powerful – a rare opportunity for players to portray Enlightened Characters serving a lictor. The narrative explores questions of power, servitude, and the corrupting influence of knowledge. Players will navigate moral complexities as they execute their master's will while confronting their own fading humanity.

The Metropolis book is now going through a first edit by Torsten Gatu and Martin Svärd, whose vision for humanity's primordial home grows more compelling with each revision. The city regions have been updated to better reflect the reality of this fallen realm, and we are meticulously incorporating the various factions that struggle for dominance in its endless sprawl.

We have forged a partnership with a new artist whose work will illustrate the book with vast and dazzling cityscapes – abandoned plazas where statues weep black tears, towering spires that pierce clouds of ash and smoke, and labyrinthine streets where reality itself seems to fold and distort. The Machine City section has undergone substantial rewriting to emphasize its incomprehensible scale and bizarre nature. 

The Path Forward

So, things are moving along through the darkness. There remain approximately three and a half months until we begin sending out BETA PDFs. By then, we hope that the fog of uncertainty regarding production and distribution should have cleared, allowing us to proceed with confidence.

Until next time, keep your eyes open and your mind prepared for what lies beyond the veil.

The Helmgast Team

Thank you.
about 1 year ago – Fri, Feb 28, 2025 at 11:47:04 AM

How ironic is it for writers to not have any words to express their happiness and gratitude? Well, the campaign has ended and here we are. Adrift in the haze of Passion. Dreams intruding on reality—crashing against it at high speeds, even. The Illusion has shattered beyond any sense of redemption. It was you and your love for KULT that made this campaign happen. And for that: our most gruesome, wondrous, maddening, fervorous thank you. We truly believe that you will love what’s in these books and we can barely wait to share them with you.

Now, these books won’t finish themselves and we have a ton of work to do. We don’t want to spam your email inboxes with Kickstarter updates, so you will hear from us through KS updates only when we have something important to say. But you may reach out through the Discord servers we have linked a few updates ago, our emails, Kickstarter comments, social media, and wherever else you happen to see us.

What happens next?

Payments and the pledge manager: Read Update #20 for more info [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/helmgast/kult-divinity-lost-dark-realms-and-other-horrors/posts/4325213].

Books, previews, and PDFs: We share BETA PDFs before sending books to print. We will post them when these are ready.

Gaming, talking, and shattering the Illusion: If you happen to be on Discord but don’t know of the Illusion Horror & Con and the Elysium servers, these are the places Kultists are going to get their KULT fix—a much needed thing while the books are not out.

• Quickstart Rules [https://bit.ly/kultqsr]: If you are new to KULT and want to begin playing right away, go get the QSR to pair up with the free scenarios floating the depths of the dark net.
• Elysium [https://discord.gg/DmQGHPm6BR]: Discuss KULT, exchange ideas, build campaign together, share inspiring material, talk to our team, and more.
• Illusion Horror & Con [https://discord.gg/JJRGdq44kP]: Find Kultists to play and talk with. You may set up your own table or join one of the open games there.

This is it for now.
Thank you.
 

Petter & Gabe
Helmgast Team