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The Cave of Amber Tears Awaits You!

Created by Heart of Arcana

An adventure for the new fantasy RPG from MCDM, Draw Steel! Designed for a group of five 1st-level heroes, this adventure, inspired by Norse myth and folklore, earns the heroes up to 17 victories over the course of 4-6 sessions. *Within the burial mound of a village on the edge of the frigid northern frontier, a decades-long spell of undead transformation reaches its conclusion on the day of Sun Return. Nightmares of the honored dead, risen and bloodthirsty, torment the villagers. Meanwhile, the village chief fitfully recovers from a grievous wound. The heroes, summoned for a feast to commemorate the solar holiday, are secretly tasked with uncovering the source of the nightmares and putting an end to the horrors that stir within the burial mound. But mysteries await the party, as a deeper plot and plan wait to be discovered…* The Cave of Amber Tears is an independent product published under the DRAW STEEL Creator License and is not affiliated with MCDM Productions, LLC. DRAW STEEL © 2024 MCDM Productions, LLC.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Codex Integration - Complete!
19 days ago – Mon, Sep 14, 2026 at 05:18:30 PM

Hey all,

Short and sweet update.

Thanks to Faan's singular and titanic efforts, the Codex implementation of the Cave of Amber Tears is complete! I have added the module key to the project's list of digital downloads.

If you encounter any bugs or have any issues, please email me at [email protected].

Finally, if you want to see Faan's efforts in action, you can watch my friend Cameron stream the Cave of Amber Tears in the Codex on his YouTube channel here: Rise Heroes Rise plays the Cave of Amber Tears

Cheers, 
Paul Ligorski

Watch the Cave of Amber Tears live!
about 2 months ago – Tue, Aug 18, 2026 at 07:44:04 PM

Hey everyone,

I hope you're doing well! First, I want to let you know that the Cave of Amber Tears print edition is coming soon. While my friend Faan has been hard at work implementing the adventure into the Codex, he and I have encountered several text issues, so I'll be editing the PDFs before they go to final print. They are nothing major, but the final product will be better for the changes.

If you would like to report any errors or typos, feel free to email me at [email protected].

Finally (and this is the real reason for the update), I wanted to let you know that tomorrow (8/19) at 6:00 PM PT, I will be running part 1 of a special Cave of Amber Tears two-shot for Matt Colville and some of his friends. You will (most likely) be able to tune in to the game on his Twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/matthew_colville.

If you aren't sure who Matt Colville is, that's cool! You can still tune in and watch me play Draw Steel with some nifty people. 

Thanks for your support and your patience!
Paul Ligorski

It's finally here!
3 months ago – Sun, Jul 12, 2026 at 12:17:14 PM

Hello all,

It's my extreme pleasure, and enormous relief to inform you that the Cave of Amber Tears is complete!

You all should have access to the final PDFs in your Backerkit downloads. I'll provide further updates to the files to include the Codex code (implementation currently underway) and to update the file with any typo fixes. Furthermore, I'll add bookmarks for easier navigation within the document. 

The maps can be accessed at https://heartofarcana.com/caveofambertears-map. This is also hyperlinked in the PDF.

The next step will be printing and shipping! I have received quotes from a local printer, and will provide updates on that front soon when the printing process is underway.

Thank you all so much for your support and patience,
Paul Ligorski

A new project!
3 months ago – Mon, Jun 29, 2026 at 09:06:26 PM

Greetings all,
 
Quick update!
 
Some of you may have seen the teaser page or perhaps received an alert for a new project from the Heart of Arcana.

You might be wondering: Is this new project starting before the Cave of Amber Tears is complete?
Happily, no! The Cave of Amber Tears is on track to be complete before the crowdfunder begins, and all of you will have the PDF well in hand before this new project launches on August 1st.

If you're intrigued, please click the link below to be alerted when the crowdfunder goes live! 
 
Next update - the final PDF!

Until then,
Paul

Manuscript Complete! Layout Underway!
4 months ago – Fri, Jun 19, 2026 at 04:44:45 PM

Hello faithful backers,

It is my extreme pleasure to let you know that the Cave of Amber Tears manuscript is complete!

Thanks so much for your patience as this project has grown.

For those of you who are itching to play, you can snag the raw version, along with the maps, here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1IKQ-bjiohIYAdPx3RQ7-rbcKHwzQl6LT?usp=sharing

If you notice any typos or have feedback about the adventure, you can email me at heart.arcanium(at)gmail.com.
Just a quick note - feedback is very welcome, but I'm not looking for design suggestions.

The document is currently going into layout and will be released as a finished PDF as soon as possible. I'll do a final proofread pass once the document is properly laid out, and then we're off to the printers!



I look forward to updating you with the final PDF soon!

Best, 
Paul Ligorski