We made it a solid ~30 minutes into overtime, which is longer than I'd anticipated! While we didn't make it to our final stretch goal, we did make it a solid chunk of the way there. Once the funds clear in BackerKit and I know the final total budget for the project, I'll look into what a partial version of that goal might look like (possibly just visual themes but no written suggestions? We'll see).

That brings me to the next topic, which is: what should you expect in the coming weeks and months as work begins in earnest on the project?

Firstly: Any backers whose pledges didn't go through right away will have two weeks to correct their payment information or follow up with their banks to make sure that the payment goes through if it was flagged as unusual. Once these two weeks are over, BackerKit will release the funds collected to me (minus their 5% platform fee and the payment processing fees, which generally come out to about 10%).

Once that's done, I'll be able to start commissioning writers, game designers, editors, and illustrators to help me finish work on the book! I'll be working with my layout artist to try and get chapters available for preview as they finish up so that you all get as early a look as possible.

Injuries and Vile Deeds PDFs will also be sent out via BackerKit's pledge manager as downloads once the funding comes through. I'll also send out links so you can download it on DriveThroughRPG if that's your preference or if you'd like to help me out by giving it 5-star reviews once you've had a chance to use the book.

Surveys for the pledge manager will be sent out sometime after that, at which point you'll be able to upgrade your pledges or add more add-ons if you'd like. As the book nears completion, I'll lock orders so that the final production counts stop changing and then once physical production begins I'll charge cards for shipping, VAT, and any new add-ons so that shipping rates will get locked in as close to the shipping date as possible. As a reminder, shipping values you'll see in the pledge manager reflect an assumed price increase between now and next year when shipping is expected to happen. If prices don't increase (sometimes we get lucky), then I will be adjusting them down to whatever the actual current rates are before charging cards in the pledge manager.

I'll be sending out monthly updates (at a minimum) to share progress updates. If you need help with your pledge, first contact BackerKit support as they'll be able to help you faster. For questions, you can always contact me at [email protected] and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

I'll also have some polls with questions for you to answer (like which illustration you want to see on the art print). Speaking of polls: don't forget to respond to the current poll asking what power level of pact patron you're most interested in submitting and voting on for the 1000 backer stretch goal!

Thanks again for your incredible support during this campaign! It's been truly incredible, and I look forward to sharing preview content as it becomes available over the next few months!

- Josh

Good morning, and a happy final 5 hours of the project to you!

We're closing in on $80k and 90% of the way to our final stretch goal. It also means we have now surpassed the total funding raised by my previous two campaigns combined.

BackerKit has introduced a fun little campaign-end mechanic called Overtime: as long as there's a backer train going, the campaign won't end. That means when we reach 0 time remaining the campaign isn't necessarily over! The campaign won't officially stop until there have been no pledges for at least 10 minutes - let's see how long we can make the train run!

Thank you all so much for the support you've shown so far, and I'm excited to see just how far we can go in the next few hours!

- Josh

We've got just over a day left on the campaign, and we've gotten a strong start to the week already thanks to your support!

As a reminder, BackerKit shares updates with you even if you're only a follower of the campaign, so if you're not sure if you've backed yet make sure to get your pledge in before time runs out!

We crossed the threshold of 1000 backers sometime last night, unlocking backer-voted Pact Entities! After the campaign ends, I'll be putting together a submission form for you all to submit ideas for NPCs that might grant boons, blessings, pacts, or charms. I'll go through all the submissions, pull out a mix of archetypes that were most commonly submitted, and the ones that inspire me the most (I'll be the one fleshing them out), and present them as a selection for you to vote on your favorites. For all backer-voted content I will be (optionally) collecting names to credit backers for their ideas when they're selected. Although I will be the one fleshing out the histories and NPCs, I'd love to be able to shout out backers whose ideas get selected.

Since powerful entities are usually the most fun to think of, and the intent with the Pact Entities stretch goal was to make an entity at each power level for each entity type, I'm thinking of having the submissions be focused on the most powerful categories. But I won't make that decision without your input, so please see the attached poll to let me know what you think!

We've got one final stretch goal to unlock during the campaign, and I believe we can do it with your help. Keep sharing the campaign with your friends and social circles - I'm excited to see how far this campaign goes! 

We're so close to unlocking our current stretch goal to upgrade all physical rewards with luxury extras - ribbon bookmarks for the books and gilded edges for the cards! I'll also be exploring some nicer card organization options and will put it to a vote as to what you prefer.

Since we're so close, I wanted to announce the next (and probably final) stretch goal of the campaign to show off what we'll be working toward in the last few days - and what you have to look forward to if we can get there!

If we reach $90k by the end of the campaign, I'll be commissioning a set of form-fillable pact templates for you to use as handouts in your games! This means visually themed templates for each entity type (aberrant, celestial, fey, primal, and unholy), plus different base text suggestions for varying power levels of each entity type.

Driving off the creatures is made much easier thanks to your whale-mounted cavalry. After a swift battle, the remaining creatures flee into the depths and will think twice about returning. You spend some time treating the elemental's wounds, and after a while it's clear that it will make a full recovery. Though the process exposes you to the intense heat of the magma elemental's body, you feel it protecting you throughout your work. As you finish, you feel empowered by it - as though you had been infused with the qualities of earth and fire that blend together in the elemental's essence (see backer-only content in browser for a new boon).

While most of you scouted ahead, proceeding cautiously downward, some stayed back to see what ocean creatures remained in the area that you might convince to carry you to the depths below. Spotting a pod of sleek whales, those that remained behind spent some time communing with them. These whale tamers would later become known as legendary Beast Tamers (see backer-only content in browser for a new title preview).

As the scouts approach the bottom, they see a glowing vent spewing the oily substance up into the ocean. Atop the vent they see tiny creatures wielding pickaxes and other mining implements working to carve sparkling rock from the vent walls. Staying out of sight and continuing to look around the area, the scouts determine that the creatures are harvesting from a titanic magma elemental, and the oily substance leaking out into the ocean is something equivalent to its blood. Around this time, your whale-mounted cavalry arrive - ready for action.