News & Devlog

The public-facing website received a full SEO pass this week. The page title, meta description, Open Graph tags, and keyword metadata have all been rewritten with organic search intent, targeting both fantasy novel readers and roguelike deckbuilder players.

A new hero image has been generated for the landing page, replacing the previous placeholder. The 'GRIMM FORGE' title treatment now appears directly in the hero art with atmospheric forge lighting and golden gothic lettering.

Fixed a persistent bug in the Ashen Record lightbox where the bottom of Chronicle page images was being cropped. The modal now scrolls correctly on all screen sizes.

robots.txt and sitemap.xml have been added to the site root. The sitemap points to the canonical home page URL at grimmforge.com.

The Extraction Beacon consumable is now available in the Guild Master's shop for 500g. Using it triggers an immediate extraction choice from any map node, a powerful emergency exit for runs that are going sideways.

The deck builder now injects starter cards from all unlocked disciplines when creating a new Grimm. Previously, only the primary discipline's starter cards were included. Now, if you've unlocked Flame alongside Combat, your starting deck will include starter cards from both.

All 'Grimm Extraction' branding has been updated to 'Grimm Forge' across the UI, title bar, meta tags, and navigation. The game and the novel now share a unified brand identity.

The Ashen Record system is now live. Defeating bosses unlocks Chronicle Pages, illustrated lore entries that tell the story of the world between runs. Each boss tier unlocks a new set of pages.

The Guild Hall now has an Ashen Record tab where you can read all unlocked Chronicle Pages. Pages are presented as full-screen illustrated spreads with story text overlaid.

Two boss tiers are currently active: Tier 1 (The Miasma Lord) and Tier 2 (Dragon Revenant). Tier 3 pages are in development.

The combat system received a significant balance pass. Enemy HP values have been adjusted across all depth tiers. Shallow enemies (Floors 1–4) are slightly more forgiving; mid-depth enemies (Floors 5–8) are more punishing.

All elite enemies now have four distinct action patterns instead of three. The Miasma Knight gained an Execute action at 15% weight; the Void Weaver gained a Void Crush finisher.

Dragon Spawn now applies Burning on its Ignite action, making it a meaningful threat for non-Flame builds that lack status cleanse.

Fixed a bug where Strength buffs were not correctly applying to AoE damage cards.

The Guild Hall now has a full vendor system. Six vendors are available, each unlocking at different guild ranks: Guild Master (Rank 1), Blacksmith (Rank 1), Alchemist (Rank 2), Arcanist (Rank 3), Trainer (Rank 4), and the Miasma Merchant (Rank 5).

The equipment system is now fully functional. Grimms can equip weapons, armor, and accessories that provide stat bonuses. Equipment persists between runs and can be purchased from vendors or found in the dungeon.

Guild rank progression is tied to successful extractions. Each extraction earns Guild XP based on depth reached and gold extracted. Ranking up unlocks new vendors, card options, and permanent upgrades.

Grimm Forge is now publicly available. Sign in with your Manus account to create your first Grimm and begin your first run into the miasma.

The game is in active development. Expect frequent updates, balance changes, and new content. The core loop is complete and playable: build a deck, delve the miasma, extract or die.

The Grimm Forge novel by R.J. Stenson is in the final stages of preparation. Join the waitlist on the home page to be notified when it launches.

Thank you for playing. Every run, every extraction, every death helps shape what this game becomes.