We Did It – Campaign Complete! So What's Next?
about 1 year ago
– Fri, Jul 21, 2023 at 09:13:07 AM
I have to start by saying how endlessly thankful I am for all of you who made this campaign an amazing success. Nearly 4,000 backers, and we just snuck over $350,000 at the end! Truly unbelievable. Thank you all.
(To anyone peeking in who just missed backing before the Kickstarter ended, you can still head over to the Pre-order Store on BackerKit to get in your late pledge!)
So What's Next?
First, Kickstarter will begin collecting pledges. This process usually takes about 2-3 weeks. Once I receive confirmation from them that everything is complete, I'll start sending out surveys via BackerKit.
Next week, I'll also be running the "Voter's Choice" Backer Poll for us to determine the final race and language that will be included in the book! Feel free to comment below with any race and language suggestions you'd like to see in the poll!
BackerKit (Shipping, Digital Downloads, & Add-Ons)
In addition to collecting your shipping details, the surveys sent out via BackerKit will allow you to select any additional add-ons, or even upgrade your pledge tier if you'd like. These surveys will remain open until I have to lock them to start fulfilling orders, but I generally recommend filling them out as soon as possible after they're sent.
Digital rewards will be sent out through BackerKit as they're completed—some of which will even be available immediately upon completing your survey!
Where To Go Now?
As always, for folks who want to stay up to date with everything I'm working on, I recommend...
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My Discord – I can usually be found here, and you're welcome to ping me or ask the kind folks there if you have any questions.
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My Patreon – This is where I release monthly updates to the ever-growing Masters of the Gauntlet Compendium, which is where a lot of the ideas that ultimately make it into books like this first come from!
- And I primarily share free content on Instagram and Reddit, so be sure to check those out as well!
That’s all for now, folks! I'll keep everyone posted with updates here through the development of the project. If you have any questions, you're always welcome to message me here on Kickstarter, on Discord, or email me at [email protected].
Thank you for all the support, friends. The excitement surrounding this project means the world to me.
– Tony
Final Stretch Goal Revealed! (Only 30 Hours Left to Back!)
about 1 year ago
– Wed, Jul 19, 2023 at 11:28:50 AM
Happy Wednesday, folks!
It's hard to believe the project ends tomorrow! As I write this, we're passing $290,000 raised?! Truly honored to have such amazing support from all of you, and excited to help everyone embark on new rune-themed adventures. 😄
The Final Stretch Goal
I know a lot of you have been anxiously waiting to see if there would be one more Stretch Goal before the end. Well, here it is!
At $300k, we'll be adding a few new exclusive options to the Ascension of the Behidra adventure!
- Two new subclasses: the Oath of the Seekers Paladin and the Serpent Domain Cleric (a variant of the Dragon Domain Cleric from the main book!)
- A new Group Patron (similar to the ones presented in Tasha's) called "The Seekers," which will serve as an in-world organization to guide your party on their new rune-hunting quests and adventures!
Though these are especially thematic for the adventure and are being included in this companion softcover book, they will be designed such that they are easily able to be deployed in any game!
If you'd like to give us a boost toward this final goal and grab the adventure yourself (the PDF is only $5!), you can do so by going to the Rewards page and hitting "Manage your pledge" and then selecting the "Behidra Adventure" add-on.
I've genuinely had a lot fun browsing all the other cool 5e projects throughout this campaign and meeting (and reconnecting with!) so many talented creators. The final one I'm shouting out here for you all is The Crystals of Z'leth.
It's designed as a "survival solo adventure," meaning no DM, maps, or minis are required! Just play your own 5e character, choose a path, fight monsters, and progress with cool loot and experience—the perfect way to test out new character concepts, go on an adventure between sessions, or play alone with real stakes.
Check it out at the link below:
Project Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/obviousmimic/the-crystals-of-zleth-a-5e-survival-solo-adventure?ref=es5sha
Thank you so much, friends! So excited to watch with you all as the campaign progresses over this final day!
– Tony
New DIGITAL Add-On *and* Pledge Tier! (+$250k Stretch Goal Smashed!)
about 1 year ago
– Mon, Jul 17, 2023 at 06:06:36 PM
“Digital Deluxe” Tier Open!
By popular demand! I've opened a new pledge tier that includes all the digital things! This is effectively a digital "All-In" tier. It includes all the Fonts, all the digital Rune Cards, the Behidra Adventure PDF, all VTT Modules, a full year of the Masters of the Gauntlet Compendium & more, plus...
A new digital version of the Translation Key Bookmarks for you to print yourself at home or use as a quick reference on your devices. This is an add-on now available to all pledge tiers as well!
If you'd like to hop over to this new tier or add the Digital Bookmarks, you can do so by going to the Rewards page to "Manage your pledge." (And make sure to do it soon, because the campaign ends Thursday!)
New Project Video!
One of my best friends does professional voiceover work, and he recorded this incredible "Epic Movie Trailer"-style voiceover for the project. Seriously, it's amazing, and he's amazing. Go check it out on the campaign page!
Rune Casting Unlocked
We've just crossed the absolutely staggering milestone of $250,000 raised—and just as we're entering the final 72-hour stretch! (More details on "Rune Casting" here in the previous update.) I'm indescribably excited to get to bring so much runic fun to your games. Truly speechless.
Campaign Spotlight
We're in the home stretch here, so I wanted to make sure to give a shoutout to my friends over at Legendary Games before we finish! They're running a project called "Mediterranean Monsters & Mythology" which is a 140+ page 5E bestiary featuring over 120 incredible creatures drawn from the myths and legends of the lands around the Mediterranean Sea. So fun!
Truly just a fantastic-looking project with some outstanding artwork. Really excited to use this one in my games.
They've also got a pair of free PDFs you can download on DriveThruRPG: Mediterranean Monsters and Mother of Monsters.
Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/legendarygames/mediterranean-monsters-and-mythology-for-dnd-5e?ref=7g29xi
Thank you so much for coming along this journey with me, friends. Endlessly grateful for the enthusiasm and support.
– Tony
250k Stretch Goal + New Pledge Tier Open!
about 1 year ago
– Sat, Jul 15, 2023 at 09:03:12 AM
New Pledge Tier
Real quick here—I've seen several comments from folks wishing there were more "All-In" Rune-Dragon's Hoard tier slots available. Well, I've just opened the "Rune-Dragon's Hoard (Elvish+)" tier!
This version of the tier is unlimited! The note here is that, instead of receiving the Infernal dice, this tier will receive both versions of the Elvish dice: Standard numbers and authentic Elvish numbers, using the Elvish script from the book!
Other than that, this tier is identical to the others (except it's actually even a bit cheaper!). All add-ons we've unlocked via Stretch Goals—like the Behidra adventure—are included free with these tiers, and they include Special Named Credit printed in the final book and PDF, as well as the Cosmic Dragon Breviary bundle of rewards from the last Kickstarter!
Stretch Goal Update!
With the Creative Commons and Pregenerated Rune Items unlocked, we're setting our sights on...
Rune Casting!
At $250k, we'll unlock this piece I'm so excited to include, because it will really make "runic magic" universally accessible. This will be a set of optional rules for tweaking any caster's spellcasting to be more rune-themed in both mechanics and flavor.
Want to play a Druid who uses Druidic runes in their spellcasting? Or perhaps a Paladin who utilizes Celestial seals to invoke their divine power? You got it. Rune magic for all!
If you're not yet familiar with the work of "Giants of the North" you should really check out their latest Kickstarter launched earlier this week: Spectacular Shops & Services! (Honestly, it's worth taking a look at their page just for the really cool art—hits the theme fantastically well.)
Here's a blurb about their book:
Phaylen Presents: Spectacular Shops & Services presents 20 fully fleshed-out businesses that offer players more than a transactional experience, as well as random tables to help you create your own. With easy-to-read descriptions, interesting NPCs, unique items and quests, these businesses add some life to a town and offer a new experience – shops that further the plot!
Check out the campaign now and download a free preview pdf!
Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yargsguide/spectacular-shops?ref=11wv0g
That's all I've got for now! I'm so excited to enter this final week with you all. Campaign ends this Thursday!!
– Tony
Runemasters Unlocked! New Stretch Goal on the Horizon!
about 1 year ago
– Thu, Jul 13, 2023 at 11:10:26 AM
We're now entering the final week of the campaign! It's truly hard to believe how far this has come and the wild support it's gathered over the past 3 weeks. I say this basically every update, but thank you all, sincerely.
Yesterday was pretty big, announcing the Giveaway winner, and unlocking both the Character Backgrounds and a surprise Stretch Goal of additional VTT support. Make sure to check out those updates if you haven't yet!
Stretch Goals
We've also just now unlocked the $210k Stretch Goal: Runemaster NPCs! These will be fully statted-out characters that DMs can drop into their games that possess vast runic knowledge and power, and can be used as a great source for rune-themed quests! (Or possibly even temporary companions for your party!)
With that unlocked, we're progressing on toward the next Stretch Goal! At $225k we'll unlock a pair of related things: a set of Pregenerated Runic Magic Items and a complete reference document detailing how to create and use runes—as designed by the rune system in this book—released into Creative Commons! (CC-BY, meaning that anyone will be able to create their own runes that are compatible with the system, even commercially, with no real restrictions, and no further permission needed, as long as you include the Creative Commons attribution.)
The CC document will be put together after the final PDF for the book is completed, so that we know the rune system is fully finalized. And full disclosure, it will likely not take priority over making sure other rewards are delivered to all of you first. But it will absolutely be happening!
The Pregenerated Rune Items will essentially be sample magic items that come with some number of thematic runes already attached to them. They may have their own unique lore and history (i.e. the kinds of things that would be revealed by a Legend Lore spell or a good Arcana check), and they'll be included both in the book and in the CC document as examples of what items look like once runes have been transferred to them.
Just more goals that I'm so excited to include because of how much it will help round out the book and the system as a whole.
Kickstarter Spotlight
The latest "Fateforge" project is coming and going in a blaze of glory, as its campaign is only lasting for 10 days, so I wanted to make sure to give this one a shout before they finish tomorrow.
Available in both English and French (super cool), Fateforge won an Ennie last year. It's a standalone 5e-based modular RPG, and Studio Agate has brought it back to Kickstarter with even more features for your 5th Edition games!
Here's some more details from their page:
Fateforge is a self-contained RPG powered by an augmented 5E ruleset. These books offer a multitude of options and additional rules to create and play characters, as well as a new campaign setting: Eana.
The Fateforge Tetralogy is fully released and available in Pay What You Want on DriveThruRPG.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1176616619/fateforge-reprint-the-modular-5e-rpg?ref=2jpt6d
Thanks again for joining me on this epic journey, friends! As always, please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions, or leave a comment below.
– Tony
