Survey Status Update + Infernal Dice Availability!
over 2 years 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 two slots 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!

Kickstarter Shoutout

Some of you may remember seeing that Hos (aka, "The Dungeon Scribe")—who is contributing the fantastic Orcish "Storm's Herald" item to Caliya's Chronicle of Runes—is running a Kickstarter of his own: Dungeon Scribe's Magical Oddities—Item Tome for D&D 5e & BFR, which ends in less than 24 hours!

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.

Make sure to check it out at the link below!

Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ds-magical-oddities/dungeon-scribes-magical-oddities-5e-item-tome?ref=9r6e8a

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 2 years 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.

Without any further ado, the poll results:

•  1st place: Asteroid Dwarf (Subrace) / Constellar (Language) – 83,350 points
•  2nd place: Gnoll (Race) / Gnoll (Language) – 81,110 points
•  3rd place: Ratfolk (Race) / Skitterspeak (Language) – 77,975 points
•  4th place: Vegepygmy (Race) / Vegepygmy (Language) – 75,400 points
•  5th place: Miremorph (Lineage) / Bloopsplat (Language) – 74,175 points

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.

– Tony

Reminder: Voter's Choice Poll Ends Tomorrow!
over 2 years ago – Mon, Jul 31, 2023 at 11:51:03 AM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Voter's Choice Poll + FAQs! (For Backers' Eyes Only)
over 2 years ago – Thu, Jul 27, 2023 at 04:51:53 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

We Did It – Campaign Complete! So What's Next?
over 2 years 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...

• 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.
• 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