BackerKit Issue
almost 2 years ago – Sat, Jul 09, 2022 at 01:47:58 PM

Hey Folks,

This is just a quick message to say that the BackerKit Pledge Manager is live! One issue has come up though that I wanted to address.

We wanted to offer some items at a special price for Kickstarter Backers compared to Pre-Order Backers. Those items are:

Sandbox Adventures PDF ($15 on KS/$20 on BackerKit)

Sandbox Adventures Softcover ($33 on KS/$35 on BackerKit)

Passage Stone STL ($3 on KS/$5 on BackerKit)

Hexplorer Digital Map Tiles ($5 on KS/$6 on BackerKit)

However, BackerKit is instead asking Backers to pay the difference which is not what we wanted. I will go through the rewards to fix this but it will take sometime. I may not fix everyone's pledge before the end of the day. In the Monday update, I will provide an update but rest assured you will not be asked to pay extra for add-ons you already purchased via Kickstarter.

Hope you have a great weekend all!

~Shane

So, What's Next?
almost 2 years ago – Mon, Jul 04, 2022 at 11:50:29 PM

Hey Folks,

I hope you all had a great weekend! As promised, here is an outline for what you can expect over the next few months. But first, check out these latest illustrations by Pawel Parol!

Payment

Between now and Thursday, Kickstarter will be collecting payment from backers. If your card gets denied - no worries! You'll have some time (and you'll receive some reminders) to update your payment and try again. I've kept an eye on pledges with card issues and already, 50% of them have been resolved.

Updates

As a superbacker myself, one of the thing that annoys me is when a project I'm excited about goes months without an update. You won't worry about that here. We will provide 1-2 updates per month with the latest progress, hurdles, and projections. I will ALWAYS post updates on Mondays and I will ALWAYS let you know at the end of the latest update when you can expect the next one to come.

Pledge Manager

One of the first major developments will be the release of the pledge manager. The BackerKit Pledge Manager has been completed and it's now in the review process. It should be all set to go live one week from today. For those who aren't sure what a Pledge Manager is (we use BackerKit), it's a system that allows us to get your shipping address, to collect shipping fees, and for you to upgrade your pledge level and to get extra add-ons if you'd like. Once it does go out, and this is a point I want to stress, we will not be charging cards right away. We will be be using the pledge manager to help finalize production counts for things like the GM Screen and the Deck of Fate. Cards will be charged in late August/early September. I will make sure to give you all ample notice before the charge goes through. Even after we charge your card, you will have right up until we begin shipping to change your shipping address.

***Also, super important. When you first login to BackerKit, it will essentially tell you what the most expensive shipping fee is that you could be charged. Once you enter your shipping info, it will tell you the accurate shipping fee but until you do, BackerKit basically assumes you live in Antarctica. 

Book Status

Adventurer's Agency will go through three rounds of editing. The first draft is 95% complete - just waiting on Alex to wrap up a few monster stat blocks and the stretch goals we unlocked. I am anticipating that the first round of editing will wrap up by the end of this month, the second round will finish in August, and the third will finish in September. It is possible that the PDF of the book could go out as soon as October. International shipping logistics are still a nightmare so we made June 2023 the fulfillment deadline but I am actually hopeful we will get the physical rewards to people in the first quarter of 2023. 

Artwork

Most of the artwork has already been commissioned. Check out some of our earlier updates if you want a sneak peek! I am waiting on a couple of remaining pieces and I will share them once they are finished.

That's all for now! For our American backers, I hope you have a nice July 4th.

I will be back next week on July 11th to give you an update on the Pledge Manager. Have a wonderful week!

Shane

You Did It!!!
almost 2 years ago – Thu, Jun 30, 2022 at 11:48:28 PM

Woohooo!

Thank you so much to everyone who backed this project and made Adventurer’s Agency a reality! Alex and I are so thrilled that we will be able to not just publish this book but also create the adventure booklet, GM screen, dice, and cards to make this campaign setting as valuable as possible.

For that, we say THANK YOU!!!

So, what happens now?

I will be posting regular updates on Mondays every 2-4 weeks based on how much news there is to report. The first update will come on Monday when I will lay out the timeline and what you can expect over the coming months.

But right now, it’s time to celebrate! I’m looking forward to checking out a new brewery in town and then I’ll be playing in my weekly D&D game.

Thanks again everyone. We are very excited to share the world of Prataea with you shortly and all of the valuable new content and mechanics it has to offer.

Have a wonderful weekend and I’ll be back with the first post-Kickstarter update on Monday.

-Shane

Stretch Goal Unlocked, Final Goals Revealed, and Tier Clarification
almost 2 years ago – Tue, Jun 28, 2022 at 01:56:39 PM

Hey Folks,

We are getting so close to the finish line here! Just a few more days to go. It's been a wild ride and I am humbled by your support and enthusiasm. As we approach the last few days, we are revealing the final few stretch goals here! But first, check out the latest new art we've commissioned!

Stretch Goal Unlocked

We've just unlocked three new monsters!

• Rexenant Queensguard
• Mutant Knight
• Rebirth Cleric

All of these new monsters will now be added to the core book. Thank you so much for supporting this project and helping us make it as comprehensive as possible!

New Stretch Goals

As we approach the finish line, here are the final goals that we will try to unlock:

*Unlocking the Bluemont City Map will allow us to do a print run of the megacity's map in poster format which will be available on the BackerKit pledge manager. A complimentary digital version of the map will be made available to ALL backers.

Captain Pledge Tier (Physical)

There is a discrepancy on the Captain Pledge Tier where in one area it states the tier includes the standard hardcover and in another spot, it says the tier includes the Limited Edition Hardcover. For clarification, this tier WILL include the Limited Edition Hardcover in its rewards and NOT the Standard Hardcover.

Thank you so much to everyone who has helped share this project on Reddit and social media. Together, we can unlock all of these final stretch goals!

Thank you everyone and happy Monday!

~Shane 

It's the Weekend!
almost 2 years ago – Fri, Jun 24, 2022 at 06:36:48 PM

Hey Folks,

This is just a quick update to THANK YOU for being part of this project. I've gotten a few nice messages from folks saying how excited they are about this campaign setting and I wanted to thank you for your enthusiasm. Alex and I are so excited to bring this project to life and it's all because of you.

I met with Alex yesterday and I'm very excited to share that - potential stretch goals not included - the book's first draft is now 95% complete. It will be going through three rounds of edits and the first will start next week!

We just published an article on our site with tips on running guilds in fantasy RPGs, ideas that will be explored more in the book and I wanted to pass it along. https://www.headlesshydrapress.com/post/gm-tips-running-guilds

Also, since Friday is game night for many of us, here's a free 1st level adventure you can download, prepare in about 20-30 minutes, and run with your group tonight. 

Hope you enjoy and have an awesome weekend!

Shane