The Underworld Ascendant Kickstarter campaign reached the $700,000 milestone earlier today, meaning that Tracy Hickman will pen a novel to fill in some of the game’s backstory:

Tracy’s book, telling the tale of how the Dark Elves arrived in the Abyss, will not only help in establishing the backstory to Underworld Ascendant, but will also provide readers with important clues as to the workings of this enigmatic faction.

Available in digital or physical formats as an Add-On, this is a must read for all fans of Underworld Ascendant!

If you go to the Add-On section of our Kickstarter page you can see the books. To choose one, go to the MANAGE your pledge button, at the top of the Kickstarter page (while you are logged in.) Then add the cost of the item (plus $15 shipping if you choose the hardcover and live outside of the US) to your pledge. At the end of the campaign you will get a survey to fill out and can allocate these additional funds for the items selected.

The next stretch goal — which the campaign could well reach in the two-ish days that remain in it — is the $750,000 milestone, which will see the Lizardmen race added back into the Stygian Abyss, to populate the recently-unlocked Underswamp area.

Additionally, OtherSide Entertainment have announced a mini stretch-goal (I guess you could call it): at $725,000 raised, a special area within the Underswamp will be unlocked:

To help induce the Lizardmen to move in, let’s unlock the Dire Grove, a special area within the Underswamp. The Dire Grove is dominated by a massive species of swamp willow. These willows make fine roosts for Lizardmen treehouses. They also bear a fluorescent green berry, which is said to have an odd magical effect if consumed.

You’ll also want to click on through to this post to see a video of the Improvisation Engine in action, wherein a Rube Goldberg-type contraption is used to dispatch a pair of spiders.