A Wild Rebrand Appears! (Or, How We Dodged a Trademark Battle)

Did you see a brand-new Runebound Press website email land in your inbox… only to watch it mysteriously vanish like a glitch? Yeah. That happened.

So, what’s going on? Well… buckle-the-fuck-up because it’s story time.

The Saga of the Vanishing Name

Once upon a time (read: last week), I was happily building the future of Runebound Press—a name I’d poured a ton of work into. It was sleek, it was thematic, and it fit the magic system at the core of my books: Runebinding.

And then, like a bad Shyamalan twist, a trademark dispute appeared.

Apparently, Runebound Press and Runebound is a two-year old published TTRPG system that was trademarked this year (seriously, what are the fucking odds?). And while I could legally keep Runebound Press as a registered business in Canada, I’d be fighting an uphill battle if I ever wanted to expand, publish more books, or avoid confusion.

So, instead of risking a late-game lawsuit, I did the smart (and mildly painful) thing: a full rebrand before publishing. Yay!

Goodbye, Runebound. Hello, Runeforged Realms.

What’s Changing? (And What’s Not)

The Magic, Worlds, and Story? The same. The books still feature Runebinding (which may or may not be getting a minor name tweak - I'm undecided).

Royal Road? I'll be leaving the name the same until Book 1 is done, then I'll likely switch it out before launching Book 2. Runeforged Realms: Rise of the Paladin feels a bit weird - but the new naming convention would actually just have it as Rise of the Paladin. Runeforged Realms is more of a "universe" my books take place in.

The Publishing & Website? Now officially under Runeforged Realms—a name that realistically sounds much cooler.

My Sanity? Mildly damaged, but recovering.

The Website & Patreon are Being Updated—if you see links changing, that’s just me migrating everything to reflect the new branding. If you ever get lost, just go to RuneforgedRealms.com. Luckily, I snagged a few domains way back when I first started coming up with a name.

Why "Runeforged Realms"?

Because it fits well enough and I'll get used to it.

• It still keeps the rune magic theme.

• It actually feels more progression fantasy-friendly (Runeforged sounds powerful, right?).

• It lets me expand into more stories, books, and projects without getting tangled in someone else’s IP.

And let’s be real: nothing ever goes right the first time around when trying to do this stuff.

So, What Now?

🔹 New Website & Branding Rollout – Expect some shiny new visuals over the next few weeks.
🔹 Book Updates Continue as Planned – This rebrand doesn’t change a thing for Rise of the Paladin.

Final Thoughts:

I won’t lie—this whole situation was a headache I didn’t see coming. But in the end, I think this is a win.

The Runeforged Realms branding feels stronger, more expansive, and honestly better aligned with where the books are going. So while this was a detour, it’s one that ultimately leads to a better destination.

Thanks for sticking with me through this unexpected side quest—I can’t wait to share what’s next.

Welcome to Runeforged Realms. Let’s make it legendary.