Fantasy Grounds Module beta, FoundryVTT Module Updates, Printing Updates, and More!
about 2 years ago – Thu, Mar 31, 2022 at 12:18:19 AM

Hey Folks-

Printing Updates

Progress is marching on. I'm going to do this in a bit of a reverse order to talk about printing first, but there's not too much to say. I'm told that it is going well and there is no issues, but it is still ongoing, and expected to be for some time before everything is complete. For the better and the worse, I'm largely a spectator on this process as I encourage the printers to print and the shippers to ship, but I'll be letting folks know when things should be arriving once I have more information. I'll give an update when printing is done, if I end up getting any more preview samples, or when books are starting to arrive at warehouses I'll send out the final reminder to lock down your addresses.

VTT Modules

There has fortunately been more tangible progress on the VTT side!

First of all, the Fantasy Grounds module has a beta version ready for you folks! The module so far has the Inventor, Psion, and I think all the spells they use. There will be more updates to this module to bring the rest of the content, and a reference guide (inside the Fantasy Grounds module) in future updates. This will be distributed through Backerkit to anyone that has the Fantasy Grounds module as part of their order within an hour of this update going up (it might be before the update goes up). It is currently distributing as we speak, though that can take awhile to process.

The Fantasy Grounds mod file and a helpful read me have been provided to the developer, as well as their contact information for any questions or issues (you can also reach to me to send anything along if you'd rather).

Second, the FoundryVTT module has been in beta for awhile, but for those keeping an eye on it has been slowly getting updated. It now has the base classes in it, and is getting more subclasses and disciplines added as it goes. For now it'll be fairly barebones, but in the next week or two it should have all the data in drag-and-drop status at least, and it already has all the spells, monsters, etc. It has also gotten all the crafting components added, and will have the new items from the compendium added shortly (probably going up with the update that'll add the Gadgetsmith... probably tomorrow, but shouldn't promise that).

To stress, both modules are currently work in progress beta versions, but if you've started using those platforms (Fantasy Grounds or FoundryVTT) since the Kickstarter and want to grab the module, you can always add them to your order or preorder here them still to get access to their current versions and all future updates to them :)

The Griffon Saddlebag Kickstarter... and a possible crafting expansion!

You folks will remember that I used to quite frequently give shout outs to other Kickstarters here, and today I'm happy to be able to do that again. If you haven't already seen it, Griffon's Saddlebag Volume 2 is live on Kickstarter now, and doing quite well!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thegriffonssaddlebag/the-griffons-saddlebag-book-2?ref=bae6uj

Not only is Griffin a good bloke and a friend, I've helped playtest many of the subclasses that will be appearing in his book, and if you they hit their stretch goals, I will be expanding the crafting system to cover ALL OF VOLUME 2 ITEMS in a PDF expansion. It'll be insane and I don't know how Griffin conned me into agreeing to do that (that's a lie, I said I'd be happy to do it as I think it'd really cool to have out there), but that will be a huge swath of new items for all walks of crafting if  they get there, so I'm wishing him the best on continuing to chew through those stretch goals!

In celebration of his Kickstarter, I expanded my adaption of his Volume 1 (with his blessing and encouragement). You can find items I adapted for his Volume One, A to C, adapted here.

Griffin is a Kickstarter Pro who has helped me out many times in getting my set up and churning along, so I have full confidence that it'll be smooth sailing, and he's got a little something for everyone over there and plenty of free samples.

I should note this isn't an ad (I'm not being paid or asked to promote) but am also not entirely uninvolved. As mentioned, I help Griffin with playtesting for character options, and if the stretch goal is reached, I'll be making the cross over integration for the crafting system... a quite sizeable PDF that I reckon will benefit folks over here as well as over there :)

As Always, More?

While I am involved trying to get printing and freight sorted out for getting the Kickstarter book into your hands, and am working on the FoundryVTT module, I've also got new content coming out as well. Recently released was a new set of Active Martial Feats. They even have a pretty long break down of their design and some thoughts, as well as their own FoundryVTT module in their reddit there, here. For folks that want to follow the latest releases as well as all the latest updates to everything, as always I can recommend the Discord as a great place to get ahold of information or directly send me any questions you have, and I've been updating my website with a wave of new content updates as well.

Printing Update (Print Proofs in Hand!)
about 2 years ago – Wed, Mar 02, 2022 at 05:28:35 PM

Hey Folks-

Very minor update here, but I told several folks I'd share out when I had the first physical copies, so here they are:

It will still take some time for printing and shipping to finish. I still have the same expected target of probably around April, but it will vary a bit based on region and various factors impacting global shipping.

I just wanted to update folks that I had the books in hand, and I am so far very happy with them - I cannot wait to get them out to you folks.

All the best,

-Kibbles

Updates: Printing schedule, PDF v1.1, and FoundryVTT module beta version.
about 2 years ago – Sat, Jan 29, 2022 at 01:31:38 AM

Hey Folks-

There is not too much to update, but I wanted to give a general update on things.

Printing

Things are sorted out on this front, but nothing is particularly quick. At the end of last year I was working to find a printer that could offer a somewhat better turn around time (as the originally planned one had significant delays), and found one that I'm working with (via a recommendation of some good folks that had used them for large 5e Kickstarter projects before). Unfortunately we weren't able to get the print-proofs finalized before Chinese New Years, so production printing isn't going to complete until after Chinese New Years. I am currently expecting books to start arriving in places around March or April, but I want to stress that's just my best guess. Obviously this is much later than I was hoping, but I can only offer I'm doing all I can get to get things marched along through the steps. I want this book out to folks as least as much as folks want the book, but it's mostly out of my hands at this point, beyond shepherding things along.

I'm in contact with the various folks that will be helping me with shipping and distribution (Nord Games and ShipQuest based on region) which are both pros at TTRPG Kickstarter fulfilment stuff, and have been a great help in getting things sorted out.

PDF v1.1

This should be out early next month, but don't expect any changes beyond small corrections and formatting fixes. This is largely the print version adapted back to the PDF version. It's been done for awhile, I just keep pushing back sending it out as I want to make sure it captures everything (I don't want to keep sending out little updates to the PDF, as the feels that'd be a little annoying to keep up with). It (and the printed version) will certainly not be without any mistakes still, but it's come a long way since the rough draft days :)

FoundryVTT Module

This is the main update here as I have something for folks that are keen to get started using this. As I've mentioned, the VTT modules were outsourced, and for variety of reasons are taking a bit longer than expected. As I have some knowledge on Foundry, I've started taking up parts of that module myself, and come up with a limited beta version of the module. I will distribute this through Backerkit for folks with the FoundryVTT module as part of their order.

This does not have the classes or crafting in it - this is unfortunate, as those are what most people probably want, but (in an unfortunate bit of irony) because I knew those were what folks would want, those are what I had the folks this was outsourced to start on, so I've been working backwards on the rest of the items for what I started to pick up myself, and consequently we've ended up with a bit of a strange order, but it does have the following items:

• Subclasses - these are all in the compendium KCCC Subclasses with all their features. They will not automatically level up (though you can use the SRD functionality by removing the subclass name from the class name field in Foundry). But all features are drag linked to the subclass and will work with drag-and-drop functionality. This references the KCCC Spells and FoundryVTT 5e system Spells (SRD) compendium, though those are strictly needed to use it (spells just won't be drag and drop without them).
• Monsters - this includes all monsters in the book (including NPCs). This is in the KCCC Monsters compendium. Tokens are included for most monsters, and all them should be ready to drag and dropped onto the battlefield. This likewise references the KCCC Spells and Spells (SRD) compendiums.
• Spells - this is the KCCC Spells compendium, and should have all the spells in the book. This doesn't have anything too fancy (like attached effects), but are all ready to use.
• Feats - these are straight forward; KCCC Feats compendium with all the book feats.
• Races - these are straight forward; KCCC Races compendium. Stat adjustments and features are listed, but manually added.
• Backgrounds - these are straightforward, just data from the backgrounds. In the KCCC Backgrounds compendium.

I'll keep folks updated on the classes and update the module as I get those. This should be functional for all the items listed above, but this is a beta version of the module I'm still testing. If you have the FoundryVTT module in your pledge/order, you should get an email with a download link/instructions within a few hours of this update (probably roughly immediately after it). I would actually recommend just using the Manifest URL provided in the instructions section, but I am distributing the module files itself for those that prefer to add it manually or if there are any issues using the manifest url and managing the module install through Foundry.

Fantasy Grounds Module

I unfortunately don't have an update here yet, but I'll let folks know as soon as I know more.

General Ramblings

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me. Discord is probably the place you'll get the answer fastest, but I do try to follow up on Kickstarter messages, reddit messages, or website form messages as I can. If you've sent me a message and didn't hear back, I apologize, but feel free to give me another poke. Sometimes these fall through the cracks.

Addresses don't need to be locked yet for shipping, but I'll give you folks head's up when they do. The print volume is locked, so I'm keeping an eye on preorders. I'll close down physical preorders if we get within the margin of overprint (reserving 10% overprint to ensure there's copies to cover anything lost in shipping or the like).

As always, I appreciate the patience you folks have had with getting these things out. In a small corner of my mind as the Kickstarter closed last year I had hoped perhaps I'd be running the next one by this time this year, but things just take a bit longer than expected.

As most pieces of the Kickstarter aren't on my direct plate anymore (some work on the VTT modules I'm picking up as per above not withstanding), I'm we are starting to see a march of new things. For folks interested in what I'm working on next, there's a poll for the next subclass for Occultist over on the patreon, and I think we'll see my first new class in quite awhile next month.

Thanks!

-Kibbles

Update: Digital Rewards Distributed, Print Production Status
over 2 years ago – Thu, Dec 23, 2021 at 08:47:22 PM

Hey Folks-

I'd been waiting a bit to write this update until I could give better ETAs, but as I've been getting some requests for updates through Kickstarter, I thought I'd send out this quick update.

• Digital Rewards including the Compendium PDF 1.0 have been distributed through Backerkit. There will be a 1.1 version with some small updates, but this is mostly done. The art pack, token pack, character sheets, and standalones have also been distributed. If you do not have your digital rewards, please check your email as they now distribute through Backerkit emails. Feel free to reach out here or on Discord if you having any issues there.
• The FoundryVTT/Fantasy Grounds conversions are both coming, but neither are ready yet. I'm in communication with folks for how to get those complete. I don't know too much more than you folks as far as firm ETA. I will start picking up some of the work on the FoundryVTT as part of my broader effort to bring more of my content to that platform, but most of these are being done by third parties.
• The print version is in progress, but going to take awhile. I had been waiting for an ETA date before I sent out the update, because an update that there will be an update when I have that isn't too helpful, but I don't want folks to think I've forgotten about it :) I'm contact with the printers, but there is pretty major supply chain delays that has made things difficult - you'll hear pretty much the same from any Kickstarter at the moment.

In order to distribute the digital version, the Backerkit orders had to be locked and charged, so those orders have processed. You can still update your address if need be though. If you encounter any issues there, please let me know.

I will send out another update when I have more info to share about when printing will be complete and shipping will start - different regions will probably get their books on some degree of different schedule there. I don't have those dates in hand yet, but you folks will be the first to know when I do.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out or drop by the Discord.

All the best,

-Kibbles

Final Rough Draft & First Round of Digital Rewards (via Backerkit)
over 2 years ago – Wed, Nov 24, 2021 at 04:21:12 AM

Hey Folks-

I've just started the distribution of Final Rough Draft through Backerkit. This is extremely similar to the Penultimate Rough Draft you folks saw a few days ago, with somewhat more editing. There's still a few things left to edit, and folks are working to get those polished up, but if you see anything you want to contribute to the editing, feel free to add it to the Copy Edit Sheet here (under the KS Draft Tab).

There will be two more drafts after this:

• In two weeks, we will get the Final Print Draft. This is what will go to the printers. I will keep you folks updated throughout the printing and shipping process, but expect delays. International shipping is a bit of a mess at the moment.
• Shortly after that, we will get the Final PDF Draft. This will include quite a bit more document linking and PDF convenience features that don't apply to the print version.

Also included in the first round of digital distribution are is the Art Pack (in Part 1 and Part 2 due to file size; these are high resolution art assets used throughout the book), Token Pack, and the Supplemental Character Sheets (for Inventor, Psion, and Crafting).

More digital rewards will be distributed with future updates. The VTT versions I'll keep you posted on as I have more updates to share there.

Let me know if you have any questions. This should also be when Backerkit will charge cards (so you can get access to the digital downloads). If there are any issues, let me know and I will help out as I can, but don't worry - there is plenty of time to sort out any issues. Addresses will not yet be locked, and I'll give you a folk an update on when that will be, but expect it to be a little ways off still.

All the best,

-Kibbles