Mytago, a small publisher from the Czech Republic specialising in RPGs and gamebooks, will translate and publish Beyond the Morning Mountains for Czech speaking territories. They intend to print both volumes as full-colour hardbacks using my artwork, and this agreement caused me to consider how to best deal with the RARE items, which were available in English as an additional PDF purchase.

I’ve since made the decision to incorporate the RARE items into all versions of the books, so they are now included for free. However, using them must come with some sort of cost as they enhance the character’s skills and abilities beyond a normal level. Players wishing to use a RARE item will now be required to alter their starting health and amount of coins, so there’s an immediate decision to be made regarding overall health, wealth and abilities – and their impact upon the game’s difficulty – before beginning an adventure.

As a result of this decision an updated Second Edition of BtMM Vol.1 is now available in PDF from DriveThruRPG, with printed versions currently in the production/approval stage for release in the near future. Owners of the original version of Volume One can simply update their PDF to the new Second Edition, and those who’ve purchased a printed copy of the book can download free PDFs of the RARE items and the revised Instructions, Rules & Maps to add this gameplay enhancement to their starting options. Players who previously bought a copy of the RARE items can then choose to play with the old or new rules, adjusting their starting health and coins only if they wish to do so.

This Second Edition also features an illustrated Character Record with space provided to note a RARE item, an updated map of Quahnarren, and revised location maps for Ustahm and Balquis.

Additionally, a free PDF document of the new Character Record and Battle Boxes is available to download via DriveThruRPG, offering three versions of the CR: colour with background, colour with no background, and grayscale with no background. This provides printer-friendly options for people printing at home in either colour or b&w.