500 Backers! 13 Hours to go!
almost 4 years ago
– Sat, Jun 13, 2020 at 01:09:16 PM
"We're in the Endgame now."
Aw, snap! The Kickstarter is almost over! In the next half-day or so, we'll see how many of the still-over-400 followers who haven't yet backed the project jump on board.
We passed the critical 500-backer mark, so from here on out, every 10 backers increases the author pay past the base rate of 5 cents per word. I like this part of the campaign, honestly, because it really starts to reward the authors for their hard work. For several of them, the goal is very explicitly "hit 600 backers," as that enables them to qualify the work for the Science Fiction Writers' Association, which starts at 6 cents a word.
In any case . . . here we go! I'll just be here hitting F5 a lot.
A Reminder to my International Friends: Royal Mail Rocks
almost 4 years ago
– Fri, Jun 12, 2020 at 03:44:30 PM
Just a quick note. My print process goes through Mixam, which prints in both the USA (blah, blah) and more importantly for Not-the-USA backers, the UK. I usually print the international books in the UK, nip them over to Kixto (usually takes two days), and then put them in Royal Mail at book rates.
I can't promise anything, but it appears that the five new books will mass about 900g all told including the mailer. Maybe a bit more, maybe less. That's about £6 shipping to the UK, maybe £10 to the EU, and maybe £13 to non-EU and beyond. USA folks get media mail from my house. That'll be about $6.
If it's more than I think, and the prices change, I'll let you know. But this strategy has worked for me recently for the Nordlond Sagas campaign, and was highly satisfactory for both price and speed.
Two Days to Go!
almost 4 years ago
– Fri, Jun 12, 2020 at 06:00:41 AM
Two Days to Go . . . Let's Recap
On May 19, Gaming Ballistic launched the More Perilous Journeys Kickstarter campaign. The campaign funds publication of five new adventures for The Fantasy Trip. See your players battle dragons, fight to stop an evil overlord, and discover wonders and horrors as a shadowy patron leads you in pursuit of powerful magical artifacts. These exciting adventures are already written: The funds pay for editing, layout, art, maps, and a high-quality print run.
Further, as the number of backers increases past 500, the authors' per-word rate goes up. This is obviously super-important to them, and if the count goes past 600, the per-word rate is enough to qualify for the Science Fiction Writers' Association. It also helps me pre-load future campaigns and material, and get that much closer to making Gaming Ballistic my Day Job.
More Perilous Journeys reached its funding goal on June 7 . . . and the campaign ends on June 13, at 10pm Central Time.
OK, So What Do I Get?
There are three GM'd adventures designed to be played with a referee and a group of your friends. Two are programmed adventures (solos) that can be played with a small group with GM support . . . or played by yourself on the off chance you're asked to spend months alone with little social contact.
Roc of Sages (Christopher R. Rice and J. Edward Tremlett). Beset by Collectors – assassins from the Indhyna League – the party must journey to the Isle of Greater Zosi to collect items for the semi-corporeal Jok Sevantes. Of course, there are several dangerous stops along the way. Roc of Sages is designed for 4-6 characters of 34-36 points.
Catacombs of Living Death (Christopher R. Rice and J. Edward Tremlett). Following the events of Roc of Sages, Jok Sevantes again calls the party to aid him. They must venture forth through a plague-stricken land, and enter the Catacombs of Eulogia to recover the Helm of Baat. Simple enough . . . but things are not always as they appear. Catacombs of Living Death is designed for 4-6 characters of 36-38 points.
The Sunken Library (Christopher R. Rice and J. Edward Tremlett). Set immediately following Catacombs, the players flee the plague-ridden landscape beset by many foes. Sevantes' plans reach their climax as his partners must bring all of the previously found artifacts beneath the depths of a lake in Meloria. There, a lost tome sits in the sunken Great Library of Meloria, and matters become treacherously clear. The Sunken Library is designed for 4-6 characters of 36-38 points.
Dragon Hunt! (David Pulver). Baron Gwalathar's armies marched off to war. Left without defenders, the dragons of the wild sensed weakness, ravaging the realm. The young Baroness Tanith Gwalathar calls for heroes: It's time for a dragon hunt! This is a solo/programmed adventure for one 37-39 point character or two 35-36 point characters. It can optionally also be run with a GM.
Dark Lord's Doom (David Pulver). Another Dark Lord is on the march, threatening to bring death and destruction to all who oppose, and maybe a few who don't. This solo/programmed adventure features a squad of soldiers fighting in an all-out war to defeat the evil Lord Saethor and his allies before it's too late. Will the Dark Lord's doom fall upon the party, or on the villain himself? Dark Lord's Doom is designed for 4 characters of 33-36 points each.
ooo! Cover Art!
Ksenia Kozhevnikova is a fantastic artist on my team, and she's doing all five covers, giving this round of products a nice, unified look. The two solos, finished and given art direction first, are the first done. The Dragon Hunt! cover is finished; the Dark Lord's Doom cover is work-in-progress, what she calls "rough color." She mentioned a lot of finishing touches still left to go.
Lucre and Cash for the Authors; Retail Levels
As the number of backers increases past 500, the authors per-word rate goes up. This is obviously super-important to them. If the count goes past 600, the per-word rate is enough to qualify for the Science Fiction Writers' Association. It also helps me pre-load future campaigns and material, and get that much closer to making Gaming Ballistic my Day Job.
The "backer count" increases until the PDFs ship at the end of the Backerkit phase of the project. But pledging at even the PDF level counts, so it doesn't matter WHAT you back . . . if you get even a single PDF it helps them; if you get all the PDFs and books, it helps Gaming Ballistic quite a bit.
If you have a Favorite Local Game store that supports Kickstarters, there are also two retail levels available for five copies each, print-only, of either the five new, or all 10, of the TFT books on offer by Gaming Ballistic. The ones already in print will be shipped to retail pledge levels right away, and the ones being produced will follow when they're finished. That way, those placing the big retail orders can have enough copies to prevent the thought of sunk costs from unduly influencing the decision!
Bring it Home
Help push this campaign to a new Gaming Ballistic record! More Perilous Journeys, in its last 48 hours on Kickstarter. The best Kickstarter ever for Gaming Ballistic is 622 backers. Can we do it? I think we can. We've got 462 already . . . and another 451 following but not backed.
So . . . can you handle the peril?
