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Posted: **Tue Aug 05, 2025 10:12 pm**

....Lotrek selects his preferred elements to carry forward into the final realization of "Mystery III," which we have now learned is officially titled "Rubáiyát."

Forgive me for not keeping up with the Mystery III saga, but the tuck shown says Rubáiyát Test Edition. That would imply there is yet another version in the works as the final version - is that correct? Also, how is this test edition available through a reseller already? So many variations and distractions to keep up with! I am just patiently waiting for year 2 lol.

Posted: **Tue Aug 05, 2025 10:40 pm**

BaconWise wrote: ↑Tue Aug 05, 2025 10:12 pm
....Lotrek selects his preferred elements to carry forward into the final realization of "Mystery III," which we have now learned is officially titled "Rubáiyát."
Forgive me for not keeping up with the Mystery III saga, but the tuck shown says Rubáiyát Test Edition. That would imply there is yet another version in the works as the final version - is that correct? Also, how is this test edition available through a reseller already? So many variations and distractions to keep up with! I am just patiently waiting for year 2 lol.

Yes, which is effectively what everyone initially ordered on February 14th, 2024. So if you bought Mystery III back then, Rubáiyát will be it.

Posted: **Wed Aug 06, 2025 2:00 am**

What kev said in picture form

Posted: **Wed Aug 06, 2025 3:07 am**

kevork wrote: ↑Tue Aug 05, 2025 10:40 pm
BaconWise wrote: ↑Tue Aug 05, 2025 10:12 pm
....Lotrek selects his preferred elements to carry forward into the final realization of "Mystery III," which we have now learned is officially titled "Rubáiyát."
Forgive me for not keeping up with the Mystery III saga, but the tuck shown says Rubáiyát Test Edition. That would imply there is yet another version in the works as the final version - is that correct? Also, how is this test edition available through a reseller already? So many variations and distractions to keep up with! I am just patiently waiting for year 2 lol.
Yes, which is effectively what everyone initially ordered on February 14th, 2024. So if you bought Mystery III back then, Rubáiyát will be it.

Soooooo..... Rubaiyat IS the "Mystery III Test Print"?

Posted: **Wed Aug 06, 2025 5:12 am**

I received my Rubaiyat test print today but I was under the assumption it would be delivered with Patrons Rejected. Anyone got both?
Thanks

Posted: **Wed Aug 06, 2025 6:55 am**

So the decks that were supposed to be printed in May '25, that were paid for in Feb '24 are now being printed? Maybe? Who knows, since we need Kevork just to interpret what's actually being produced.

Maybe someday we'll learn when we get the decks we paid for in year 2 of Patreon some... oh 5 years ago now. Nice.

Posted: **Wed Aug 06, 2025 9:25 am**

laitostarr777 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 06, 2025 3:07 am Soooooo..... Rubaiyat IS the "Mystery III Test Print"?

Mystery III Test Print is Rubáiyát Test Print, yes.

jasonx73it wrote: ↑Wed Aug 06, 2025 5:12 am I received my Rubaiyat test print today but I was under the assumption it would be delivered with Patrons Rejected. Anyone got both?
Thanks

I thought the same, but I guess not. Missed the chance to save on shipping and being more efficient.

Posted: **Wed Aug 06, 2025 11:27 am**

BaconWise wrote: ↑Tue Aug 05, 2025 10:12 pm I am just patiently waiting for year 2 lol.

Me, too, although the patience is long gone.

Posted: **Wed Aug 06, 2025 1:51 pm**

A book of verses underneath the bough
A jug of wine, a loaf of bread, and Thou

That is all I remember of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. I read a fantasy book long ago that had a stanza at the head of each chapter. I'll have to plumb the depths of my brain a little further to recall the author.

ETA: I remember another couplet, probably because there's a coffeehouse in my home town named after it.

Some little talk awhile of Me and Thee
There seemed -- and then no more of Thee and Me.

Posted: **Wed Aug 06, 2025 2:10 pm**

The entire text can be read here.

One more line I recognized:
The moving finger writes; and, having writ, moves on

Posted: **Wed Aug 06, 2025 4:46 pm**

Public Patreon Post below. I'm actually curious why "Gold Patrons," which was previously referred to as "Royal Patrons" hadn't been printed until now:

OathPCC wrote: Hi all,

This is a post mainly for the former Patrons who -rightfully- wonder what's going on.

To be honest, I kinda forgot that people who don't have access to updates anymore, don't necessarily browse the whole internet to find out what's the news.

For those who don't know, we have paused monthly billing and closed all tiers from silver up, so that delayed rewards won't keep piling up, until I manage to produce and fulfill all pending years.

Now that the notorious MYSTERY III printing is completed, I can focus entirely on the Patreon rewards. As soon as the printers and workshops open again after summer vacations (end of August), we will start printing year 2 rewards. These are two decks, GOLDEN RULE Patrons edition and GOLD PATRONS deck. Golden Rule is actually being reprinted because the first print had an issue with the plates that was noticed too late... GOLD PATRONS is a full foil version of the PATRONS playing cards, just like the legendary OATH GOLD.

We will be regularly posting about the progress and these posts will be public. So, whenever you wonder what's going on, you can just browse our Patreon page for the latest update.

That's all for now, we wish you all a great summer and see you again in September with our regular production updates.

If there is something I know for sure, is that what you'll eventually get, will be worth the wait!

Thank you so much,

Lotrek and Melina

Posted: **Wed Aug 06, 2025 5:28 pm**

only affects me waiting for someone to put this stuff up on eBay so Im not exactly going to get upset but.....hes just NOW starting to print it?.

Posted: **Wed Aug 06, 2025 6:22 pm**

Evilgamer wrote: ↑Wed Aug 06, 2025 5:28 pm only affects me waiting for someone to put this stuff up on eBay so Im not exactly going to get upset but.....hes just NOW starting to print it?.

Well, it looks like his plan is to start printing when the printers reopen end of August/early September. I wouldn't hold my breath on that though.

Posted: **Wed Aug 06, 2025 6:43 pm**

kevork wrote: ↑Wed Aug 06, 2025 4:46 pm Public Patreon Post below. I'm actually curious why "Gold Patrons," which was previously referred to as "Royal Patrons" hadn't been printed until now:

I previously thought Golden Rule was done and we were waiting on Royal (Gold) Patrons. I'm so confused, I don't think about it too much anymore. I feel like there are a dozen versions of the Patron deck now. I personally hope he holds off and doesn't get side-tracked with Codex before he is finished with the Patreon decks.

Posted: **Wed Aug 06, 2025 7:22 pm**

I am glad he had enough decency to pause monthly patron payments. What you patrons have put up with is mind-boggling. He may be an artist but a businessman he ain't.

Posted: **Wed Aug 06, 2025 7:33 pm**

kevork wrote: ↑Wed Aug 06, 2025 9:25 am
laitostarr777 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 06, 2025 3:07 am Soooooo..... Rubaiyat IS the "Mystery III Test Print"?
Mystery III Test Print is Rubáiyát Test Print, yes.

Aha… this might mean MYSTERY III is the final Rubaiyat, unless…. Lotrek goes: “NOPE, ill redo again”

Posted: **Wed Aug 06, 2025 8:16 pm**

laitostarr777 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 06, 2025 7:33 pm Aha… this might mean MYSTERY III is the final Rubaiyat, unless…. Lotrek goes: “NOPE, ill redo again”

I received mine today. It's definitely not a final version; there are some inconsistencies in the pip cards. (Fine with me, I accepted I was getting a test print.)

Diamonds 2-10 have a silver border, where every other card in the deck has gold.
AoS and AoH have smooth gold backgrounds, while AoC has a textured gold background (matching pips 2-10) and AoD has a smooth silver background. (I think AoH is actually the outlier, because the red suits have silver backgrounds on the court cards.)
The Club symbol on AoC is holographic, but none of the other Aces have this effect.

Posted: **Thu Aug 07, 2025 2:27 am**

Again , Im tired ,waiting for Y2,Y3,Y5 ...........I hope he now just focuses on the rewards and no extra stuff , Im even okay if he postpones Codex until all rewards are fulfilled

Posted: **Thu Aug 07, 2025 1:53 pm**

felicityk wrote: ↑Wed Aug 06, 2025 8:16 pm
laitostarr777 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 06, 2025 7:33 pm Aha… this might mean MYSTERY III is the final Rubaiyat, unless…. Lotrek goes: “NOPE, ill redo again”
I received mine today. It's definitely not a final version; there are some inconsistencies in the pip cards. (Fine with me, I accepted I was getting a test print.)

Diamonds 2-10 have a silver border, where every other card in the deck has gold.

AoS and AoH have smooth gold backgrounds, while AoC has a textured gold background (matching pips 2-10) and AoD has a smooth silver background. (I think AoH is actually the outlier, because the red suits have silver backgrounds on the court cards.)

The Club symbol on AoC is holographic, but none of the other Aces have this effect.

I’m guessing that he has been trying a few techniques to see how they come out before he decides what to do with the final print.
Rather than scrap whole decks that didn’t work out or he didn’t like the effect of, I think he purposely printed different foils for some plates just to see what silver borders/textured background/holographic ace pips looked like.

Posted: **Thu Aug 07, 2025 2:04 pm**

I just received my decks (6) in the mail and ripped one open. Okay, as noted above it is a bit interesting from the foil changes in the deck and such. However....dang! The beauty of the work is just...wow. I need two or more bricks of these...maybe more. Desire wells up inside me... Okay, wiping the drool off my face.

I like the cleaner indexes. It still is elegant and fits the overall style fine. I think he nailed the merging of foil with the courts this time.

Posted: **Thu Aug 07, 2025 2:11 pm**

That's exactly what he did. Instead of waiting for multiple decks in a print queue, he was able to throw a bunch of different techniques into one deck and choose his favorite combination for the final version.

OathPCC wrote:This is a whole print run that served as a "guinea pig" deck, on which we tested various techniques, foiling methods and artwork solutions in order to choose the best ones for a flawless final production that is happening right now.

Posted: **Thu Aug 07, 2025 6:35 pm**

Bradius1 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 07, 2025 2:04 pm I just received my decks (6) in the mail and ripped one open. Okay, as noted above it is a bit interesting from the foil changes in the deck and such. However....dang! The beauty of the work is just...wow. I need two or more bricks of these...maybe more. Desire wells up inside me... Okay, wiping the drool off my face.

I like the cleaner indexes. It still is elegant and fits the overall style fine. I think he nailed the merging of foil with the courts this time.

Mine arrived today. I only ordered one this round. I'm fighting the urge to buy new decks while still waiting on the Patreon decks, but relented on this one. it's pretty sweet! Love the light embossing on some of the face cards.

Posted: **Fri Aug 08, 2025 4:08 pm**

I just got my Rubaiyat Test Edition today. It is definitely my favorite Lotrek deck I own. I think it's kind of cool to have a deck with lots of subtle variations, although as a collector I do wish that they were applied consistently throughout each suit. Of course, I understand why that is not the case. I hope he likes the same variations that I do. Love the courts with the silver backgrounds; really makes the illustrations POP. I like the way the diamonds with the silver boarders break up a bit of the gold monotone look. That ace of clubs with the textured background and the small hit of blue holo foil is chef’s kiss. I love the illustrations and use of color on the Jokers.

Variations I wish I could see now after looking at this deck:

Courts with silver textured backgrounds.

An overall more balanced use of foil with vibrant colored inks. While I love the foil work, the large coverage areas combined with the relatively small areas of ink create a bit of a monotone feeling. This is most noticeable to me on the backs. I wish the large solid gold foiled area in the center of the design was colored ink instead.

It would be really cool in the future if he asked his patrons for feedback on any test prints before proceeding to a final version. Although, I’m sure there would be disagreements on what looks the best.

Excited to see what direction he took the deck. The nice thing about the test deck is that even if he picked different variations from my liking, I still have this deck to drool over.

Posted: **Fri Aug 08, 2025 8:01 pm**

I'm mostly (uh, completely) in the dark about what these decks look like. If-when someone has time could you post photos or point to where I can see some? Thx.

Posted: **Fri Aug 08, 2025 8:15 pm**

He could totally start a poll on Patreon after enough people around the world received the deck and go from there. A minor delay to make the most people happy. Maybe not for this deck but a subsequent one.

I do understand part of Lotrek's motivation is to create what he ultimately envisioned so he would be the ultimate decider.

Posted: **Fri Aug 08, 2025 10:26 pm**

acetofive wrote: ↑Fri Aug 08, 2025 8:01 pm I'm mostly (uh, completely) in the dark about what these decks look like. If-when someone has time could you post photos or point to where I can see some? Thx.

Here is a sneak peak that Lotrek provided:

https://lotrekdesign.wixsite.com/website

Posted: **Sat Aug 09, 2025 2:33 am**

Bling is not my style but surely many people have to see the first 2 offerings in the above link as a hodgepodge

Posted: **Sat Aug 09, 2025 3:57 pm**

Honeybee wrote: ↑Sat Aug 09, 2025 2:33 am Bling is not my style but surely many people have to see the first 2 offerings in the above link as a hodgepodge

You are correct that it is quite busy. But, in person the way the different patterns reflect light at different angles is quite dazzling to the eyes. The pictures don’t come close to doing this effect justice. Since you hate bling, you would likely hate this deck even more if you were to see it in person.

Posted: **Sat Aug 09, 2025 5:48 pm**

Posted: **Sat Aug 09, 2025 7:17 pm**

Soo....Honeybee is a flower child?

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