Update For Everyone!
over 6 years ago – Tue, Mar 20, 2018 at 02:17:45 AM

I think most of these updates will be Backer Only but there's one question we get SO MUCH I figured let's do a public update and start with that.

IF YOU MISSED THE KICKSTARTER, YOU WILL STILL BE ABLE TO BUY THE BOOK!

You'll be able to pre-order the book soon, and once it's released you'll be able to buy it in print or PDF via our online store.

On the other hand, if you missed the Kickstarter and want anything else, like the miniatures, or the limited edition hardcover...yeah actually you did miss those things. :( 

Oh, also...

YOU HAVE NOT MISSED THE PLEDGE MANAGER!

We don't know exactly when it will launch, there's a lot of work left to do, but we're hoping the end of this month. But you haven't missed it, it hasn't started yet.

Oh yeah...

FAILED BACKERS

Something like 300+ backers' pledges didn't go through, which is not unusual for a Kickstarter campaign. This happens for different reasons. Most people will still be fine, as you'll end up in the Pledge Manager anyway and be able to sort your problem out then. If you backed and got an error, feel free to email us at [email protected].

With that out of the way...what else? Um...

The Book

Writing proceeds apace! Many thousands more words written this week. Focusing on the stuff we're going to be testing. 

Also working on the outline for the Adventure which, tentatively, will be for 5th level characters, result in the heroes gaining a stronghold, and feature some characters, villains, and a plotline folks who followed the Shield of Gravesford may be familiar with.

I really want to post updates with rules chunks so folks can see where the design is going, but I feel weird about that. Folks payed a lot of money to get into the playtest so until they've had their chance to go over the rules and give feedback, you won't be seeing any rules previews from me. Once the playtest is well underway and we feel confident about parts of the text, then you'll start seeing previews. Oh, speaking of which....

The Playtest Has Not Started Yet

We thought April, but it will probably be May, only because we have to launch the pledge manager and let it run for a while and then lock everyone in before we know who will actually be in the playtest. Because while you can't add "join the playtest" as an a la carte item, you CAN change your pledge level to join or leave the playtest. This is one of the things we hadn't accounted for in our scheduling, but it won't hold up the actual writing of the rules.

The Office

We've narrowed down our options, and have a handful of spaces all of which would be good, so that's progress. Some of them would require some construction but that's no big deal and it's cool to be able to make stuff to spec. We have sort of...weird needs between like real office space, maybe a warehouse for products and a huge space to put the rig in.

"The Rig" is our shorthand for our entire streaming setup. The gaming table, the chairs, the truss our cameras and mics will hang from, the set dressing behind it all. We were having a real problem visualizing how much space it would take up. It's one thing to have a number in your head and count ceiling tiles, and quite another to actually SEE it in the space.

So Lars went to a fabric store and bought some sheets of fabric, our friend and fashion designer extraordinaire Lindsay sewed them together and voilà! We had a template we could easily roll up, stick in the trunk, take everywhere, and quickly and easily visualize the space.

Worked a treat! That cloth is actually larger than the space we already streamed in, which I thought was basically fine, including all the cameras and cables and everything. And the space the cloth is in is obviously larger so we got plenty of wiggle room.

Minis

We got WAY more orders for...well, everything, but also minis, than we expected so to stack the deck in our favor, we're talking to several different manufacturers. 

If you know a manufacturer who can do a LOT of high quality plastic minis (not, like, someone in their garage pouring resin into a silicon mold, I mean a full-scale production house) you can email [email protected] and we'll check it out.

We have a lot of options already but as I think you all know, this is 100% the part of the kickstarter we have the least experience with so we want to make sure we talk to everyone.

Shirts

Here's the current shirt mockup. I know folks want a shirt without the text, we'll do that once the MCDM store (distinct from the pledge manager) goes online later this year.

I like this. It's different than the "text dump" version we showed off, so inevitably some folks will be dissapointed, but I vastly prefer this. 

In case you don't know the reference, it's detailed in this video. WARNING: ADULT LANGUAGE. I asked folks on twitter months ago what they'd like to see on a shirt and got TONS of good answers, so this won't be the only MCDM shirt you'll see. And we'll do a shirt with no text, don't worry. 

The FAQ

Apparently once the Kickstarter closes, we can't change the FAQ? So it's out of date. We're going to host our own on our site, I'll send out an update when that gets taken care of.

I think that's it? There's all sorts ALL SORTS of business stuff happening in the background I won't bore you with. Suffice it to say, we are suddenly a real company and have to do all the things a real company does. Actually quite a lot more than most startups since I am well-advised by folks who've done this before at much larger scales. 

It's exciting as hell, but also sort of boring. :D

More Running the Game videos soon!

More Dragon Art...and a Prototype!
over 6 years ago – Thu, Mar 08, 2018 at 01:16:51 AM

 These pieces of art are just roughs, they'll get refined, the artist adds the Gemstone skin toward the end, but I'm really happy with them.

Here's a high-res version of the art.

And we have a 3D prototype! This was necessary for production, but we'll probably do a couple more, there's not enough detail in the face. This is part of the process of us learning how to make minis.

Some of the production houses we're talking to need us to provide the prototype, some do their own. So we might not even need to make our own! But we wanted to, it's fun and an important learning experience.

Artisan Followers
over 6 years ago – Tue, Mar 06, 2018 at 10:50:25 PM

There are several different kinds of followers you can attract, including military units, ambassadors, adventurers, even crazy monsters who show up to let you know you're pretty cool. But to my way of thinking the Artisan Followers are the heart of the system.

Here are four examples!

Soon the Kickstarter will be over and Updates will be for backers and cover more the progress we're making toward reaching our goals. 

How Will The Pledge Manager Work?
over 6 years ago – Tue, Mar 06, 2018 at 12:50:55 AM

 Let's see if I can summarize this in text!

The Kickstarter ends on Sunday, March 11th. This Sunday!

If you've backed the Kickstarter at any level, including entering any amount (like $5) into the "pledge without a reward" level" you will get an email approximately two weeks after the Kickstarter Campaign ends.

The email contains a link to the Store. AKA the Pledge Manager. This is where you'll give us your address, so we can ship your products to you, your Discord info if you backed at one of the Playtest levels, your shirt size, etc....

In this store you will be able to add items to the bundle you've selected! You can add more copies of the book! Or another T-Shirt. Or pick exactly which Dragons you want! Or multiples of dragons!

You'll be able to pick a different bundle (i.e. pledge level), you can pick a more expensive bundle or a cheaper bundle. If you pick a cheaper bundle, you'll get the difference in credit you can spend in the store, but you can't get that money refunded. 

You won't be able to add "access to the playtest" or "the livestream subscription" to your order a la carte (i.e. as single items) but you will still be able to change your pledge to a level WITH those items in it. 

So FOR INSTANCE you'll be able to switch your pledge from the $80 level to the $100 level, it costs you $20 more dollars (which the store will charge you for when you check out) and you'll get access to the playtest and the livestream subscription.

But you WON'T be able to just add those two items, playtest or subscription, to your $80 pledge.

And you can't get the Signed Limited Edition in ANY MANNER other than backing at the Colvillian level before the Kickstarter ends. You will not be able to upgrade your pledge to that level, or add the signed book to your cart as an add-on. 

Pre-Orders

If you don't back by Sunday, you can still get the book! The Kickstarter page will have a "Pre-order" button and you'll be able to get the PDF or Hardcover of Strongholds and Followers. But everything else is Kickstarter Exclusive and won't be available for Pre Order once the campaign ends, this Sunday.

We'll eventually have other shirts in our store, including shirts with no text on the back, we may have different minis than the five we're offering in the Kickstarter, but these five minis, this T-Shirt (with the Earth Elemental text), the Limited Edition hardcover, access to the playtest, the livestream subscription, are all Kickstarter Exclusive.

*phew!* Complex, but I think that covers it! If you have any question PLEASE come by the MCDM Discord and ask in the "Strongholds Kickstarter" channel, you will get an answer!

The add-on price list.
over 6 years ago – Tue, Mar 06, 2018 at 12:50:53 AM

We know everyone is curious how much things will cost as add-ons in the pledge manager.  So here's the list.