Stretch Goal Voting, Another Poll, and Some More Art!
6 months ago
– Sat, May 11, 2024 at 09:19:56 AM
Hey everyone!
Thanks to all of you who submitted a history or pact entity! There were a lot of great ideas, and I did my best to distill them into 10 options each for histories and pact entities for you to vote on. In some cases I've made minor modifications to the submissions (either to merge similar ideas from different submissions, or to theme the submission in a style that felt best suited to the book), but I have a record of who submitted what and if your submission is selected I'll be giving you a shout out in that update and somewhere in the book.
Submissions in these sets of 10 that aren't selected via voting will be included in an appendix as some additional inspirational material using some form of write-up similar to what I've presented in the voting form, which is linked at the end of this update.
Voting will last for about 1 week, ending on May 19th, so get your vote in soon!
Polling on Expanded Box Set Cards
Before we get to all the voting, I've been informed by my printer that we can add another 60 cards to the box set without changing prices!
I've already made the decision to use 20 of these cards to expand the selection of charms and pacts in the book, but I've created a poll to hear what you all want to use the remaining 40 for.
Options I'm considering are:Â
- Add all 40 advanced trainings so that there are reference cards that exist for these abilities
- Add another 20 charms and 20 pacts (total 80 each)
- Split the 40 among the 5 entity types to include another 8 boons/blessings of each type (total 48 of each)
- Add more "generic" (final name TBD) boons and blessings beyond those unlocked with the stretch goal - boons and blessings granted by beings not part of the 5 entity types, perhaps of more mundane origin.
- Something between all these depending on how split the vote is
I've attached a BackerKit poll to this update so you can vote on that. This poll will also close in a week so that writing on new content (if we're expanding content) can be completed as soon as possible.
New Artwork!
I have some final images from the master trainers I shared previously as well as some WIP images of new trainers to share with you.
Thanks as always for your support, and I look forward to seeing what you all vote for!
- Josh
Surveys Sent + Clarification for Backer Submission Content
7 months ago
– Wed, May 01, 2024 at 02:30:12 PM
Quick update today to let you all know I've sent out the pledge manager surveys to all backers! As I said in the last update, please be sure to fill out your survey soon so you don't forget to do it later. Unanswered surveys are the only reason I've ever failed to get backers rewards in the past.
Downloads
I'll also be beginning distribution of downloads for Injuries and Vile Deeds PDFs after I send this update so you can start using them in your game. These downloads will be available to you if you pledged for the PDF or hardcover + PDF of Injuries and Vile Deeds during the campaign (noted by the special item in your cart called "Injuries and Vile Deeds PDF Immediate Download"). If you're adding the book in pre-order, your download will be made available after I lock orders and charge cards.Â
You'll get an email notification from BackerKit when your download is available.
Backer Submissions
It was brought to my attention that I should have done a better job supplying you with information about what you're submitting. It was a bit scattered through various updates and comments, so while I have some basic descriptions in the
submission form it wasn't necessarily enough for you to start coming up with ideas. I've added more details below about each type of content, but keep in mind all I need from you is a name and brief description. I'll be fleshing out the final versions of whatever you end up selecting through the voting process myself.
Histories - These are going to be formatted a lot like what you're used to with backgrounds in 5e, except they're intended to be about the adventures you've already been going on. This could be something like "Firewalker" for someone who's traveled to the plane of fire or spent an adventure in an extremely hot desert or "Student of the Arcane" for someone who's spent time in hidden libraries or otherwise studying the secrets of magic. You can find examples of them in the book's
sample PDF.
Pact Entities - These are a type of NPC we unlocked during the campaign! They will serve as beings that your party might enter into pacts with or receive boons, blessings, and charms from. Each character will be fleshed out with a description of their appearance, personality, and other key information including a few plot hooks to help you introduce them to your game.
Hope that helps!
More Art Updates
I said it'd be a quick update, but I can't help adding some more WIP artwork!
We're just at the early stages of progress on artwork, and soon I suspect there will be far too many pieces to share them as they come in, but since I was already sending an update today I couldn't help it 😅
- Josh
Extending Backer Submissions, Survey Smoke Test, Progress Update
7 months ago
– Mon, Apr 29, 2024 at 09:46:18 AM
Extended Backer Stretch Goal Submissions Deadline
Thanks to everyone who submitted ideas for Histories and Pact Entities last week! While we technically have enough submissions that I could put together a vote, there's definitely room for more and I'd like to make sure everyone who wants to submit an idea gets a chance to do so.
I'm extending the deadline to
May 10th, which gives you roughly 2 more weeks. Don't forget to get your ideas in before then! After that we'll need to put the selections to a vote for inclusion in the book to make sure we stay on track with writing, so this is your last chance to put forward an idea.
In case you need the link to the submission form again, you can find it
here.
Survey Smoke Test
I've finished putting together surveys in the pledge manager, and will be sending out the smoke test shortly! The smoke test consists of surveys going out to 5% of backers at all pledge levels to make sure that no major issues arise in filling out their surveys.
Assuming that goes smoothly, surveys will go out to everyone else in a couple days! While you can always go back and edit your survey later, I highly encourage you to fill out your survey as soon as you can. The only reason any of my backers have ever not received their pledge items is due to them not completing their survey and making sure that any remaining payment (e.g. shipping and taxes) goes through.
Injuries and Vile Deeds PDFs
Those of you who purchased Injuries and Vile Deeds during the campaign will have your copy of the PDF added as a download in the pledge manager. You might need to fill out your survey before you can access it, but I'll be distributing the download a little later this week and you should get an email from BackerKit notifying you of a new download when I do.
First Sketches!
The first set of sketches for some of the master trainers are here!
The
Sacred Hunter (tentatively named Lys Calwyn) is a ranger/cleric training that focuses on hunting down enemies of the church or beings that threaten "sanctity" - however that is defined for the individual.
Shadow-Thief is a monk/rogue training that's heavily inspired by the 3.5 Shadowdancer. A stealth-focused character capable of teleporting through shadow to create advantages in combat (or to simply get into a place unannounced).
I really like where Gibbs has taken the Wilderness Scout. As a ranger/rogue training, it's all about knowing the terrain better than anyone else and being able to use it to your advantage, and who would know better than a birdfolk that has seen the lay of the land from high above?
There are a number of other commissions also in the works already, and you can be sure I'll be sharing more work in future updates!
Writing Progress
Thanks to the funding we raised, I've been able to bring on more than 15 other creators to help with writing and game design and that's allowing me to speed up the writing phase of the project. This is also allowing me to do some editing in advance, which should make the final edits easier.
Well, that update turned out a lot longer than I thought it would be when I started writing, but there's a lot to share today it seems! The next update should be in a couple weeks when voting on the backer submitted Histories and Pact Entities begins, but I might send out a quick notice when surveys go out more broadly later this week as well.
Thanks for your support, and I'll be eager to share more content previews in future updates!
- Josh
Funding Received + Backer Stretch Goal Submissions
7 months ago
– Fri, Apr 19, 2024 at 01:13:13 PM
Hey everyone!
The funding from BackerKit has arrived in my bank account, which means the remaining work on writing and illustration can get underway! As is typical for crowdfunding campaigns, a number of pledges were unable to be charged - if you're a backer who wasn't able to get your payment information updated in time for your pledge to count toward the campaign, you'll still get a survey in the pledge manager where you'll have another chance to update your information. You may also want to double check that the payment wasn't blocked by your bank, as that is not an uncommon reason for failed payments.
Speaking of the pledge manager, I'm still working on the surveys since I wanted to get all the administrative stuff for writing and illustration commissions out of the way to make room for work to begin, but as soon as I've got those completed I'll let you know!
Backer Stretch Goal Submissions
I've put together a simple
Google form for you to submit any ideas you have for Histories and/or Pact Entities that you'd like to see included in the book as part of the two backer count stretch goals we unlocked during the campaign.
You will have until April 26th (a week from today) to get your submissions in. After that, I'll go through the submissions and select the most popular themes and ideas that speak to me for you to vote on your top five in each category.
Looking forward to seeing what ideas you all submit!
- Josh
Important Poll + A Cool Project
8 months ago
– Tue, Apr 09, 2024 at 07:55:55 AM
Hey everyone!
I wanted to get your thoughts on some options for the reference card box set packaging options. There are basically three options for me to consider right now with trade offs in terms of price, box shape, and potential ease of use, and I'll get to those right after I share this awesome new project from Tom Cartos!
Into the Wilds Battlemap Books Vol 3: Urban Edition:
Coming from friend of Lone Colossus and well-known cartographer Tom Cartos, Into the Wilds is a collection of 9 fully customizable biome- and region-themed physical battlemap books for your favorite TTRPGs. They are ideal for pre-set or random encounters, so you can be fully prepared no matter which direction your players choose to head in.
Volume 3 Introduces three new Urban themed books to the series, while the returning Volumes 1 & 2 include Overworld and Underworld themed books. The maps are all completely hand-drawn by Tom, and are customizable with included re-usable asset stickers, your own 3D terrain, or a dry erase marker.
Backing at any tier also includes the complete digital bundle for online play or at home printing.
Card Box Options
Option 1: A longer box with a two-part top and bottom. The cards would be stored in one row/column, with dividers to help you jump to a specific card type. The box would be roughly card length and height for its smaller dimensions and the length of the stacked set of cards in the longer dimension. Similar to the dimensions of this box, if it was shaped for tarot cards (but obviously more finished, with harder cardboard, printed glossy outside, and separate lid pieces):
Option 2: A bigger box, closer to book size in length and width, that might look nicer on a shelf (same size as the Elements of Inspiration and other oracle decks from Nord Games, pictured below) using a plastic insert to divide the cards and fill space in the box.
Option 3: Same box shape as option 2, but using a cardboard insert and tuck boxes for each set of cards rather than a plastic insert. The tuck boxes could be taken out separately, though the remaining boxes would be less snugly stored while some are removed.
Let me know what your favorite would be in the poll I've attached to this update! My final decision will depend most on budget factors, but I wanted to get your input so I'd know where I should focus my efforts.
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