The definitive tome of magic runes for 5th Edition! Unearth new races, lore, monsters, & more tied to your favorite languages!
This is the Pre-order Store for the Kickstarter campaign – Caliya’s Chronicle of Runes: A Runic Expansion for D&D 5e. The prices and rewards (including Stretch Goals) are the same as during the campaign and are available until order quantities are locked in.
** 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄: Shipping fees will be calculated and charged SEPARATELY at a later date closer to fulfilment. After shipping fees are added in, you will be notified via email before you're charged. Placing a pre-order from this page constitutes an agreement that you have read and understand this. See the estimated shipping section near the bottom of the Kickstarter page for more.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
September Update and Important FAQs!
about 1 year ago
– Wed, Sep 20, 2023 at 07:08:29 PM
Greetings folks!
I figure since the project launched on June 20th and ended on July 20th, it only makes sense to also release major monthly updates on...the 20th! So you can expect that going forward each month (in addition to other smaller Updates I may need to share here and there).
Progress and New Downloads
It's been a busy month with more fonts and art in the works, coordinating production with manufacturers, brainstorming with Ryan, runes being made, and the early stages of layout being...laid out!
An early draft of the Druidic font. This is a logographic language where symbols represent entire words or concepts rather than individual letters.
Folks who ordered the Dracolisk Mini STL should have received an email earlier today that the download for those files is now available. If you didn't order these 3D print files for the Dracolisk Mini and you're interested, you can still do so over on the BackerKit Pre-Order store here: https://chronicle-of-runes.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
Estimated Timeline
ThePDF. Many folks have been asking when they can expect the final PDF for the book to be sent out—a very important question! On the Kickstarter page I estimated the delivery of the PDF to be by the end of December. I've also elaborated further in some comments and elsewhere that the plan is to release a couple Beta versions of the PDF throughout the Fall for playtesting and feedback from backers.
I am aiming to send out the first Beta PDF draft of Caliya's Chronicle of Runes by the end of next month! This most likely won’t be the *entire* book, but I’m hoping to be able to get some portion of it in everyone’s hands by then to start playtesting things and gathering feedback!
Depending on how development throughout the Fall goes and playtesting and feedback progresses, I could see the final PDF coming along further into the Winter, but the important thing is that there will be some version of the book in your hands in a little over a month or so, and then we will continue to add content and refine and finalize it over the course of the following months.
TheBook(and other Physical rewards). Once that final version of the PDF is complete, the current estimate is that it will take about 6 months for the production process—test prints, making adjustments as needed, manufacturing the other physical rewards, etc.—and then books and all the other fun physical goodies (such as the Decks of Cards, Dice, Minis, and Bookmarks) will begin shipping to folks around the world!
That means if the PDF is finalized by the end of December, books should start being sent out by June next year, which is the original estimate given on the Kickstarter page. If that final version of the PDF goes further into the Winter, that might end up looking more like August or so for shipment of physical rewards, but I'll be keeping you all posted every step of the way!
Other Digital Rewards. Digital rewards in general will be distributed as soon as they're completed. If a digital reward was part of your pledge (and you've completed your survey), you will receive an email from BackerKit with a link to your downloads letting you know when a new reward is available.
Some of the digital rewards (many of the Fonts, the Masters of the Gauntlet Compendium, the digital pieces of the Cosmic Dragon Breviary Bundle, and the Dracolisk Mini STL files) have already been distributed.
Of the digital rewards that have not yet been sent out, some (such as the rest of the Fonts, the Art Pack, and the VTT Token Pack) are an integral part of the content of the book itself. You can expect these soonest, distributed over the course of the next couple months.
Others (such as the Sets of Digital Rune Cards, the Digital Translation Key Bookmarks, and the Ascension of the Behidra adventure PDF) are integral to the production of other physical rewards besides the book, so you can expect those likely around Spring 2024.
And finally, the VTT adaptations of the book I'm expecting to be available around the time physical rewards are being shipped, Summer next year. I am working with several folks who are far more experienced than myself at creating VTT modules (for Roll20, Foundry, and Shard Tabletop), so these will ultimately depend on their pace and workload. I know VTT modules can often present various hang-ups in implementation, and of course, they can't really get started until the book itself is complete, so while it's certainly feasible that these modules may start being available as soon as Spring, I don't want to put undue pressure on these folks who will already be performing a wonderful service for us, so I'm estimating Summer for now.
Wrap-up
I think that is all the main things I wanted to hit for now, and I appreciate you all reading through a rather lengthy update. Of course, always feel free to reach out to me here in comments or DMs, by email ([email protected]), or over on the Spectre Creations Discord server.
And if there are any pieces of the project you (or your friends) still want to add, the Pre-order store is available here. Some rewards will have to be locked down there once production starts, but until at least early next year, that store will still be open in full for folks to order rewards from the project.
Thanks, friends!
– Tony
All Surveys Are Out Now! (*Required to receive your rewards) + Font Previews!!
over 1 year ago
– Tue, Aug 22, 2023 at 01:22:39 PM
Greetings, folks!
Last night, the rest of the BackerKit surveys were sent out to all Kickstarter backers! For folks who haven't worked with BackerKit before, I know the term "survey" sounds like some unnecessary marketing thing, but it's really a confirmation of your order. Even if you change nothing from what you pledged here on Kickstarter, this step is necessary to start receiving your rewards.
If you haven't seen your survey email yet, check your spam folder just in case. If you still see nothing there, you should be able to access your survey by going to this link: "https://chronicle-of-runes.backerkit.com/" From there you can enter the email address associated with your Kickstarter account and hit "Get My Survey."
Shipping Will Be Charged SEPARATELY
This is in the surveys as well, but I want to reiterate:
Your pledge here on Kickstarter covers the price of all your rewards from your pledge tier plus any add-ons you selected here. That's already paid for (if your payment went through).
In the surveys, you'll be able to upgrade your pledge tier and/or select additional add-ons for your pledge. If the total exceeds what was processed already by Kickstarter, the difference will be charged via BackerKit shortly after filling out your survey.
Several months from now—likely not until Winter-Spring 2024—shipping rates will be finalized. This is when shipping will be charged, and I'll be sure to give everyone plenty of notice when that time is coming.
Font Previews
Several folks have asked to see a preview of the available fonts, so I've put together a PDF here. (I will try to keep this link updated as more fonts are completed.)
As noted in the previous update, the currently available fonts are:
Celestial Font
Common Font
Deep Speech Font
Draconic Font
Dwarvish Font
Elvish Font
Giant Font
Halfling Font
Infernal Font
Nodal Font
Orcish Font
Primordial Font
Serpentine Font
Other digital rewards that are ready:
Masters of the Gauntlet Compendium PDF (July 2023 Release)
Cosmic Dragon Breviary PDF
Cosmic Dragon Breviary Self-Print Monster Cards
Cosmic Minions & More PDF
The Gauntlet: Arena System BETA – Cosmic Edition PDF
Expanded Dragon Apprentice Ranger PDF
Dracolisk Mini STL*
* While the mini is complete, this will likely be sent out within a week or so. Eldritch Foundry is checking with "their guy" to make sure it's pre-supported so there aren't any issues for STL prints.
So When Do I Get My Rewards?
If any of the above rewards are part of your order (including if you have All of the Fonts, the 12-Month Subscription to the Compendium, or the Cosmic Dragon Breviary Bundle), you will receive the corresponding available digital files as soon as orders lock.
So when do orders lock? Well, slight quirk with BackerKit's system: Digital rewards can't be distributed to you until your survey is completed, your order is locked, and any additional add-ons selected in your survey are paid for.
Many Kickstarter projects don't start distributing rewards (even digital ones), for a few months after the Kickstarter ends, which gives backers time to adjust their order via the survey if needed. However, since many of the digital rewards for this project are already complete—and I want to get everything that's available in your hands as soon as it's ready—this means I need to lock orders pretty much immediately.
To accommodate this, my plan is to use BackerKit's "Lock Orders with Final Notice" feature, which will give everyone who's already completed their survey an email notification and 48 hours to make any changes if need be. After that, your order will lock, your card will be charged (if you selected any additional add-ons), and you will get an email from BackerKit to access your first digital rewards!
Note: If you have any of the digital rewards listed above as part of your order, and you want them immediately, please feel free to message me and I can manually lock your individual order so you can get the applicable rewards right away!
Then, since your order will already be locked, when other digital rewards are completed over the course of the next year (such as more fonts, the Beta and Final PDFs for Caliya'sChronicle of Runes, VTT Modules, etc.), I will upload them to BackerKit and they will immediately notify you via email that you have more digital rewards available to download!
What If I Want to Add Something Later?
Once your survey has been locked, you won't be able to edit what you pledged here on Kickstarter or any add-ons/changes you selected in the BackerKit survey. So if you want to wait to add any particular rewards until later, you can leave them off your survey for now, and then later on when you're ready, you can place a separate order via the BackerKit Pre-order Store here.
BackerKit conveniently groups together digital rewards for separate orders that came from the same email address. So if you do this, it shouldn't be too much of an imposition to access all your digital rewards in the same place later on down the road.
Thank you for reading through this! I know it's a lot of info, but I think that is all for now. If you have any questions, as always, feel free to message me or leave a comment here. Thanks, friends!
– Tony
Important Survey Update! (First surveys out Now!)
over 1 year ago
– Fri, Aug 18, 2023 at 07:05:12 PM
Happy Friday, folks. I've been working hard with BackerKit this week to resolve several issues that had arisen with the survey setup, and I'm very glad to say, they're ready to go!
Next Steps
"SmokeTest." To start, a random 5% of backers will receive their surveys—which are going out right about...now! This is so we can sniff out any outstanding issues with the surveys, before they're sent out to all backers (nearly 4,000 of you!), and make any adjustments as necessary.
If you're in this group and have any issues with your survey, please reach out to me, either by messaging me here on Kickstarter or emailing me at [email protected]. I will be more than happy to help you, and it'll help the rest of your fellow backers as well!
If you're not in this first group, hang tight! Once any potential issues are resolved and I get the okay from BackerKit that all looks good, the rest of the surveys will be sent out! (This will probably be on Monday since BackerKit is out of the office for the weekend.)
Who Gets a Survey?
Once the rest of the surveys are sent out, every single backer will receive one, sent to the email address associated with your Kickstarter account. (If you need to change the email that you want to receive communications from me and BackerKit about this project, please message/email me.)
If your pledge failed to process here on Kickstarter, no problem! This will be your chance to fix it! You can still fill out your BackerKit survey and you'll be prompted to update your payment information there.
All backers MUST fill out this survey, or you won't be able to receive your rewards. If you have any physical rewards, you'll provide your shipping info here. If you have any digital rewards, completing the survey is necessary so you can receive a link via BackerKit to download your rewards as they're completed.
Digital rewards that will start being sent out immediately:
Celestial Font
Common Font
Deep Speech Font
Draconic Font
Dwarvish Font
Elvish Font
Giant Font
Halfling Font
Infernal Font
Nodal Font
Orcish Font
Primordial Font
Serpentine Font
Masters of the Gauntlet Compendium (July 2023 Release)
If any of the above rewards are part of your pledge, you should receive a link to a BackerKit downloads page within a few hours of completing your survey. This is where you will find all of your digital rewards that are currently available.
Shipping Will Be Charged SEPARATELY
I'll likely be saying this many times, but I want it to be super clear:
Your pledge here on Kickstarter covers the price of all your rewards and any add-ons you selected here. That's already paid (if your payment went through).
In the surveys, you'll be able to upgrade your pledge tier and/or select additional add-ons for your pledge. If the total exceeds what was processed already by Kickstarter, the difference will be charged via BackerKit shortly after filling out your survey.
Several months from now—likely not until Winter-Spring 2024—shipping rates will be finalized. This is when shipping will be charged, and I'll be sure to give everyone plenty of notice when that time is coming.
That's all for now. I'll be sending another update once the Smoke Test is complete and all the BackerKit surveys have been sent out! Have a great weekend!
– Tony
Survey Status Update + Infernal Dice Availability!
over 1 year ago
– Wed, Aug 09, 2023 at 08:43:48 AM
Hi folks! Just a quick update here to keep you all posted on the status of things.
BackerKit Surveys
Kickstarter has successfully processed the pledges for the campaign, and I'm working on the BackerKit surveys. With a project like this that has lots of reward options, this can be a rather complicated process because of how many possibilities have to be accounted for, but I'm well underway getting the surveys all set up for you.
I'm hoping to be able to have them sent out by the end of this week. If the setup process throws a few (more) curveballs at me, this may take a little longer, but I'll definitely have them out to you all within the next week.
“Rune-Dragon's Hoard” Tier Openings!
Two backers who had pledged at the "Rune-Dragon's Hoard (Infernal d20 Only)" tier unfortunately had to withdraw their pledge. But the good news is, that means there are now twoslots open for anyone who missed out on the Infernal Dice but really wanted them!
These custom Infernal Dice are handcrafted by artisan dicemaker Lizardcat Creations—featuring the Infernal script from the book!—and are in a very limited quantity. Again, this is the "All-In" $450 tier that will receive the Infernal d20 as part of their pledge (not the full set).
Anyone who would like a chance to move up to this tier, please message me here on Kickstarter or email me at [email protected]. If more than two people message me requesting to move up, I will hold a random drawing to determine who the lucky winners are that get to claim these spots—the final slots to receive the Infernal d20s!
Hos has been a close friend of mine for years, and I'm so excited to be able to shine a spotlight on his stellar and creative art and design. Here's a note from him about the project:
Items should be Magical!
Dungeon Scribe’s Tome of Magical Oddities adds hundreds of fully illustrated and unique magical items for empowering your players to forge new stories.
That's all for now, friends! Next update will be notifying you the Surveys are being sent out! Exciting times. 😄
– Tony
Voter's Choice Poll Results!
over 1 year ago
– Wed, Aug 02, 2023 at 07:49:35 AM
Hi folks!
As per the $150k Stretch Goal we unlocked, the final race and language pairing for the book was determined by a backer poll, which ended last night. And the results are in!
This was a ranked choice-style poll, with each backer who cast their vote ranking the options 1 through 5—with 1 being their favorite and 5 being their least favorite. Each ranking was assigned a point value (1 = 100 points, 2 = 75 points, 3 = 50 points, 4 = 25 points, and 5 = 0 points), with the highest total number of points deciding the winner.
With both the highest number of points and the most #1 votes by a significant margin, the Astral Plane-themed language “Constellar” along with the Asteroid Dwarf subrace are the winners!
For posterity's sake, here are the brief descriptions for that winning pair:
CONSTELLAR
A very rare language spoken by long-term inhabitants of the Astral Plane. Its runic script bears a resemblance to patterned constellations.
ASTEROID DWARF (Subrace)
A line of dwarves who migrated to the Astral Plane long ago to mine resources from the chunks of rock (some of which are said to be the petrified corpses of dead gods) known to drift in the silvery void.
I've included a more detailed breakdown of the votes below:
Now, personally, I was genuinely very excited about the possibility of all of these options, but I understand that inherently, not everyone will be totally ecstatic with the result. Not the least of which, my collaborator Ryan, who really REALLY wanted the ooze-themed Bloopsplat language to win. Sorry, Ryan.
HOWEVER, I want to note here that these results are also being taken into account for a possible sequel book—because clearly there are still lots of languages and races people want that weren't able to be included in this first book. So know that none of your votes were cast in vain!
Next week, I'll start sending out the surveys to all backers via BackerKit, but there will be more details on all that in the next update. Thanks to all who participated in the poll! Very much excited as we embark on this journey together.
