Digital File Distribution
almost 4 years ago – Tue, Apr 05, 2022 at 01:54:53 AM

Well after 5 hours pouring over the information and spreadsheets from Backerkit I have sent out all digital rewards! Please enjoy these files and let me know how you've been incorporating them into your own games!

I'll be paying close attention this week to any emails or comments if there are issues.

Here is a wonderful example map of the campaign I've been running!

Mass Production and Final Samples
about 4 years ago – Mon, Mar 14, 2022 at 03:15:19 AM

Well it's been just a little longer than I wanted to make an update and mostly that is because the factory is still finalizing the printed samples of all the files before sending and I really wanted to have some great pictures of the samples, but that will be very shortly. We had a few tiny hiccups with the files. We got sent a case cover for the book that was not the correct width and had to revise during the sampling stage and some other minor inconveniences, but we should have the final sample in hand very soon.

We are locking addresses in the next 48 hours and then at the end of the week charging cards so we can have all the emails and send out the digital files to all backers.

The files are all ready to go and I even did some testing making sure all the tokens are VTT compatible. If all goes smoothly I hope to have digital files sent and pictures of the final pre production samples before the month is out.

Factory did send in the neoprene and cloth mats and they are gorgeous. I've been using the neoprene as a desk mat and it's so amazing to look down while working and see the world I've been using as my campaign for over 2 years right there and be able to remember all the adventures and journeys!

I hope during mass production I can share more about the epic story I've been DM'ing in The Wanderer's Guide Universe!

Few notes of transparency.

Factory delivered the production quote and we have just enough money left after art to pay for that, plus freight.

I have put in a sizable portion of my own money to print extra copies and get the production cost to where it scales to the right cost we needed and if sales do okay after KS fulfillment is finished I may be able to make those funds back, but creating this project was a vision of mine and I'm so excited to see it at this point.

We should be starting mass production as soon as the final samples are approved which I hope to receive soon, but will keep you updated as the factory gets me more information.

TIMELINE UPDATE!!!
about 4 years ago – Mon, Jan 24, 2022 at 02:35:07 AM

The update many of you have been waiting for!

I got some amazing messages last week from our graphic designer.

Alex has been working hard over the holidays making sure the final details are all put in place; barcodes, safety markings, marketing stuff for the back cover, as well as figuring out all the packaging design, the GM screen, and fitting all the text onto the NPC cards and book.

It was a monumental amount of work and I was impressed with his resolve the entire way through.

But here's maybe the semi annoying news....

We delivered the files to the factory the week they and many others are preparing for the Chinese New Year shut down. If you are familiar with publishing and tabletop you know CNY is a long holiday in many asian countries in which most manufacturing is shut down for a period of time.

So building this into account here is our estimated timeline now that our side of the project is at an end.

Chinese New Year Shut Down - 3 Weeks

Sample Printing and Review - 2 Weeks

Mass Production - 12 Weeks (This is the estimated lead time the factory is giving us)

Assembly - 2 Weeks

Shipping - 10 Weeks (Currently this is the estimated timeframe for goods to arrive in the EU and the US)

Fulfillment - 3 Weeks to get underway and arrive at your home (Buffering because things don't ship out the second they arrive in the fulfillment warehouses)

With this baseline we should have most of the project fulfilled by August. A lot of these timelines have some small amount of buffer built in and we may be able to get things out earlier in July or sooner, but as we have seen with the global situation the last year it's better to be safe on the estimates.

I truly appreciate everyone's patience as we get this project finished and out to all our wonderful backers. I know the product we have created is very special and everyone will be able to treasure it for a long time to enhance their RPG campaigns.

Additionally we are formatting all the print files to deliver them to the backers in February.

The Last NPC's!

Happy Holidays!
over 4 years ago – Mon, Dec 20, 2021 at 11:48:07 AM

It's 10:45pm on a Sunday night. I'm sitting on the couch reflecting on the last couple of months in my life.

I was offered a new job in early November, sold my house, relocated to Kansas City from Cleveland, travelled to Philadelphia for work for a week only a few days after the moving truck arrived, dealt with a vehicle breakdown, and now in less than a week need to drive back to Cleveland for Christmas with my in laws and celebrate a 10 year wedding anniversary....

Needless to say I've been quite busy, but also managed to get one more MAJOR task done right before writing this.

I had tried hiring two different writers at the outset of this project to work on the NPC stories, but due to schedule conflicts neither was able to actually commit the time for the project and my standards for what I wanted to put into the industry was quite high. Each story that was written for all 40 NPC's needed to be something I would have found enjoyable to play in and run for a D&D group. I wanted them to spark imagination and give a jumping off point in a concise way so a DM could read one of these stories and instantly be able to launch into an adventure. I had to write them all and while I'm not a professional writer I am very passionate about the work of this project. I have a proofreader going through them all for accuracy and maybe a punch up or two but this was a task that I was able to complete just mere minutes ago and will be eager to share them with you soon.

With the project the final proofing is underway and we only need to get the NPC text put in and the factory will send us the final sample production before mass production begins so we hope to share product photography and digital tier rewards with all backers very soon.

Since everyone loved the NPC art so much last update I decided to share the 8 DECK ONLY NPC's will receive. These will not be featured in the book, but only in the NPC deck. I will share the remaining 8 in the next update so stay tuned and have a happy holiday!

Dragonborn - Based on a player character in my very own campaign

Wonderful Progress
over 4 years ago – Mon, Nov 15, 2021 at 03:13:05 PM

Hey Everyone,

First of all we are getting everything finalized for the book to get our pre production sample and get into mass production. Biggest thing here is quantity decisions so thank you for filling out your surveys. We have over 80% collected.

On a personal note PLEASE bear with us as we get this wrapped up. Me personally who is leading this project has a big job change (positive). I've had to start wrapping things up at my current job, on board at my new job, sell my house, and move cross country from late October - Early December. With also opening up the pledge manager I have never been busier in my life so I greatly appreciate everyone's patience on my responses. For customer service questions I will direct everyone to email me @ [email protected] for assistance. I have blocked off a few hours every Sunday to handle the requests. I try to work more than this, but I have this time specifically set aside for emails and writing updates.

Some great progress on the physical samples. We worked with our factory and did about 3 revisions and finally have the perfect dice we envisioned. We personally love the number scripts!

Deluxe Dice - Have a dark blue and transparent black swirl with a silver glitter and silver engraving design.