Tag Archives: Kickstarter

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Registered For UCon

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Registration opened yesterday for UCon. It was a crazy busy day at work, so I wasn’t able to finish my registration until later. I was both worried and excited that the games I wanted to play might be sold out.

I am also running one session of Metamorphosis Alpha Saturday morning. I had reviewed my entry and asked for a clarification that it is 1st edition, since someone PM’d me about it. I have run two play tests of it via Roll20 & Google Hangouts. I just need to write up all my notes, and we should be ready for mayhem!

I then noticed that +Tim Snider’s Thundarr scenario for Mutant Future was at the same time as my MA game. (Have you ever felt like Charlie Brown when Lucy pulls the football away? Except this time, Charlie Brown managed to pull it away…. AUGGHH!!)  I messaged Tim since I could not find the time it was set for at Con On The Cob. I realized that I had not yet registered for it, and it’s only a few weeks away. Sad news for me, Tim’s only running it at UCon. My bad for not thinking to check.

Here’s my schedule copied and pasted from my registration email. they have my PayPal payment, so I should be all set. I added a note of who is running which games with their G+ page linked.

I’m looking forward to a good time!

  • FRI 9a – Dungeon Crawl Classics: Skymasters of the Puple Planey (4615, 4615) ($3.00 x1) $3.00 – Jim Wampler (I look forward to meeting Jim.)
  • FRI 1p – Dungeon Crawl Classics: Halls of the Minotaur (4592, 4592) ($3.00 x1) $3.00 – Laura Rose Williams (Her first time to GM at a con! Go Meat Dwarf! Also the first RPG for which I have had a woman GM.)
  • FRI 6p – OSR Discussion Panel: Old School City Scapes Roundtable Panel (4641, 4641) ($0.00 x1) $0.00
  • FRI 8p – Swords & Wizardry : Swords and Wizardry Invades Michigan–The Maze of Eternity (4859, 4859) ($4.50 x1) $4.50 – Bill Webb (My first time to play Swords & Wizardry, but it is so close to the original RPG. I look forward to meeting Bill.)
  • SAT 9a – Metamorphosis Alpha 1st ed. – Red Shirt Metamorphosis (4788) – Yours Truly
  • SAT 2p – Cryptworld: Wasted (4671, 4671) ($3.00 x1) $3.00 – +Tim Snyder (My first time to play Cryptworld.)
  • SAT 8p – Warriors of the Red Planet: Princess Zira & the Jungle Ruins (4469, 4469) ($3.00 x1) $3.00 – Brett Slocum (My first time to play Tekumal. I look forward to meeting  Brett.)
  • SUN 2p – Delving Deeper: In Search of the Unknowable (4445, 4445) ($3.00 x1) $3.00 – Adam Muszkiewicz (My first time to play Delving Deeper, but it is so close to the original OD&D, which I technically never played, the closest was Blue Box Basic.)

They finally sent out surveys about the Epsilon City Kickstarter add-ons. As I read the email explaining it, I take it that they will ship the things already in stock separately. So maybe I will have some of this stuff in time for UCon….

I’m getting the softcover of the MA Collector’s Edition, the poster sized deck plan, and Robots Among Us. Wish I could afford more.

#WardenCrew

RPGs

Yes, I Backed Another Kickstarter

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I recently wrote that I wouldn’t be backing any other Kickstarters until all the outstanding ones delivered.

That was before I knew that +Peter Regan, of Oubliette Magazine and Square Hex would be offering his latest Kickstarter, the B/X Monster Reference Index.

It is a spiral bound reference with over 500 B/X monsters in a one line format for each. It will come in at 24 pages. For about $6.00 you get one, and less than $5.00 shipping from the UK.

I went in for the pledge level that gets me two of them, with shipping, only about $17.00.

Why two of them? Because I can! Who doesn’t need a backup of one of these?

This is Peter’s 14th Kickstarter! All of them have Funded and been delivered in a timely manner. He obviously has done the work in advance, and is just using Kickstarter to fund. He has a short time frame to get it out the door. He knows his market base and seems to have a laser-like focus to accomplish these projects.

The project already funded today. He keeps any stretch goals within reason, and does good work. This one has a two week time frame to ensure it is delivered before Christmas.

Reading the comments, backers get the PDF and a Spreadsheet, plus the cover will be laminated. Other stretch goals may be a possibility.

RPGs

Kickstarter Chaos

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A well publicized Kickstarter funded well over a year ago and had a lot of drama during the leading up to, during, and following GenCon.

I won’t will name the Kickstarters, but and will point out that it’s their failings should be a lesson to all who are running or plan to run a Kickstarter.

  • Be realistic
  • Plan for the unexpected
    • Review all the points that massive failure can happen. That is, anything that is out of your control, such as suppliers and other third parties.
  • Kickstarter is a use of technology. Use technology to keep track of stuff.
    • There is no excuse for not having a timeline your whole team can follow, or lists of backers and their reward levels.
    • At least use a spreadsheet to keep track of things. Kickstarter and other companies have some sort of tools to help with this, as I understand it.
  • Don’t spend the money without a budget/spending plan.
    • This should be prepared BEFORE launch.
  • Don’t use the money for things not associated with the Kickstarter.
    • The incentive for you to get rich off Kickstarter is to do it well, on time, and under budget. Take your share AFTER the Kickstarter is fulfilled, i.e. EVERY item is shipped.
  • Make shipping costs in addition to the initial pledge.
    • Too many have failed due to their own success and not accounting for all the various shipping costs.
  • Don’t whine about all the reasons you can’t.
    • Keep it simple, be honest (always and should go without saying).
    • If there’s a problem, don’t wait, let the backers know.
    • I’ve made mistakes in my job, but I always admit when I make them right away, and I call my boss before the customer calls my boss. I drop everything and fix the mess I made so that it does not grow and compound and make even more work.
      • If you have ever ran an SQL statement on a live database and left out a phrase to limit it to the desired data, you know what I’m talking about.
  • Regular updates are key.
    • If you must launch the week of GenCon, don’t let the Kickstarter languish and lose momentum.
  • For books/rules have the text ready before launch. Don’t wait to start when the funds are released. Do the work first. If it is worth others giving their hard-earned money, it is worth you doing your part before holding out your hand.
  • Under promise and over deliver. Pad your public timeline, so that you know you can make it. You can have a private timeline for delivery, if you want.
  • If it is a team effort, make sure you have the right members on our team.
    • If you sign up to do something for a Kickstarter project, don’t string your colleagues along then at the last minute before your deadline, admit you did nothing, leaving the team holding the bag and trying to pick up the pieces.
  • As much public accountability of things as needed to reassure backers. If you leave room for doubt, show the actual books to people.
    • If you are not an accountant, not good with money, don’t know Excel, get someone on your team to do this. You will have to pay them.
    • Pay your taxes off the top. A simple rule of thumb, at least 30% needs to be held out for taxes. If you don’t know how to handle the Social Security, Medicare, federal, state, and local taxes, get a tax adviser. Most small towns have one.
  • If it is a total failure, refund the money instead of stringing people along.
    • If you blew the money, be ready for anger and unhelpful comments from the backlash, and lose the trust that anyone in the RPG field had in you.
  • Don’t add on stupid crap that just makes it harder to deliver.
    • Some Kickstarters get lost in their own success and let themselves lose self control and add on anything that comes into their head.
      • I like what Benoist and Ernie did with the Marmoreal Tomb. It appears to me that they made a list of small goals that could easily be added on and contracted out without delaying delivery. Any goals they add to that, all appear to fit and follow the same pattern.
  • Add-ons should be relevant and add value.
  • Don’t get people lined up to do the work and not pay them.
    • Pay your artists and other what you agreed. Have a written contract so their is no ambiguity about who gets what.
    • If someone is an employee, make it clear that they are an employee and working for the specified hourly wage or salary.
  • I have not heard of anyone dying before they could deliver a Kickstarter, but I read that the Symbaroun RPG translation Indiegogo had a team member die. It slowed them down, but they are still moving forward.
    • This should fall under planning for the worst. All the more reason to have as much done before launch.
    • Everyone dies and no one knows when it is their time. We are adults, be as responsible for fulfillment as if you were preparing for the worst for your family.
    • I bet you could find some insurance company that offers Kickstarter insurance, or at the very least have your main talent take out a term life policy until everything is ready to ship, or shipped.
  • As for advice from others who have done Kickstarter to make sure you haven’t left out anything.
  • If you only have one idea worthy of Kickstarter, it might be better to get someone with experience with Kickstarter to help you do it.
    • If you have lots of ideas, make the first one small and make sure it is manageable to make sure it is a success. If it funds, you should line up everything, so that once the funds are released you can roll with it.

A lot of these things apply to lots of Kickstarters that have been horror stories. The latest horror story was KotDT: LAS, which others have gone into more dept than I. What a train wreck. I used to be an EMT, so I’ve had my share or traffic accidents, I’m not curious to rubber neck on a real accident. But this whole fiasco was something else. I hope the guy comes through instead of stringing people along. I also hope it is his last success at cheating people. I haven’t followed up lately, but it seems like he’s going to jail.

I watch Kickstarters and am careful. The first Kickstarter I was burned was the CSIO re-print. Thankfully, it is just late, and I don’t have a lot of use for miniatures. The other is the Great Kingdom D&D movie that is in legal limbo. I have $50.00 tied up in that. Since Kickstarter froze it, there is no word from that team on what is going on. I have probably lost my money, but I hope one of them makes a movie and I get to see it.

It is easy to armchair quarterback, not having done a Kickstarter myself. I don’t have any ideas at this point, that are worthy of a Kickstarter. However, I think it is obvious, if you have backed multiple Kickstarters, and read of the experiences of others, to get a clue of what does and does not work. I might have an idea or two worthy of a PDF on DriveThruRPG/RPGNow, but those are fairly easy to do well as one person projects.

RPGs

Jim Ward

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As many already know, Jim Ward has been in the hospital for over a month and looks to be there much longer. As a freelance writer/game designer from the original TSR, if he can’t work, he doesn’t make money.

He had a hand in D&D and developed the first science fiction RPG – Metamorphosis Alpha, and others.

I encourage everyone to back the latest Metamorphosis Alpha Kickstarter. It has funded, but is no as well publicized as the rapidly growing Marmoreal Tomb Kickstarter that launched the same day. That would be great moral support.

There is also a GoFundMe drive to help with medical expenses, and was nearly at the initial 8,000 goal last night. This morning it is at $8,600 with a new goal of $15,000. With the costs of today’s hospital stays, this is a drop in the bucket. For some reason, in the days of the Affordable Care Act, his insurance is being unhelpful, so anything you can do will help.

You can also leave him a note of encouragement if you use Facebook. Use the money that you might spend on a stamp and postage to help. If you can’t do both the Kickstarter and the GoFundMe, please give what you can to the GoFundMe campaign.

Several other OSR Bloggers are holding raffles for items of interest to benefit Jim. If you can afford to give and want a chance at some cool stuff consider the following:

Tenkar & Matching Funds

James Spahn – White Star Proofs Raffle

Taylor Frank – The Dungeon Lord – Multiple Raffles [Edited September 20, 2016 to use Web Archive link as blog removed from Blogger.]

Tim at Gothridge Manor and other OSR bloggers with patreons are donating a portion of their proceeds.

Johua De Santo has made an RPG Bundle of his offerings on RPGNow, and has invited other content creators to join or make their own bundles.

As for me, I have backed the Metamorphosis Alpha and Marmoreal Tomb Kickstarters, and when I get paid tomorrow, I will give to the GoFundMe. If 1,000 people could give $5 it would go a long way. So far 180 people have gotten the GoFundMe to $8690. At least 30% of that will need to go towards Social Security, Medicare, Federal, and State taxes, so we need to give a lot to maximize how much actually go to medical bills.

RPGs

I Failed My Save Vs. Kickstarter

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You may have noticed that I ended my streak of publishing an article a day, my last post was for July 28. I thought I might finish out July with the daily run, but I did not try to come up with any ideas. When I quit trying, I soon had ideas for several posts. So, I will make notes on my ideas, and publish them as I get them finished. No rush. I found that I was spending more effort trying to maintain a daily post that I had little time for other RPG related stuff. So, I will publish something when I have an idea. I will spread them out, so the ideas I have on the back burner don’t all come at once.

So on to my giving in and supporting not one, not two, but three new Kickstarters. I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I was going to say no to new Kickstarters.

The first Kickstarter I gave into is the Remix Mini, Android based PC. I don’t really need another computer, but for the price, I can set up a PC in a different room, and use it for my entertainment PC, so I don’t have to sit in my office chair to watch movies. Not RPG related, but a neat project. This one has the biggest possibility to flop, due to its own success. $50 won’t break the bank, so why not?

Next is the new Metamorphosis Alpha Kickstarter, Epsilon City. I’ve been kicking myself since I talked myself out of the MA re-print Kickstarter last year, $80 seemed a bit much. For $65 I am getting Epsilon City and a softcover of the MA re-print. It would be cool if they had the GM screen as an add on. It is well past its funding goal with 30 days to go.

Finally, the Marmoreal Tomb Campaign Starter by  Ernest Gary Gygax, Jr. with Benoist Poiré. It funded in the first day, and has hit four of the initial seven stretch goals. I was happy that they got the Jeff Easley cover option. The goal just unlocked is for James Spahn to do a Science Fiction conversion. I hear that James knows something about science fiction RPGs. [I keed, I keed.] It has 30 days to go, so it could easily unlock all the goals, and perhaps add additional ones.

I don’t know if any other “must have” RPG kickstarters are coming. Knowing my luck, I am sure there are. I have resisted other cool Kickstarters, so I know I am mostly safe.

Of the four outstanding Kickstarters I am waiting on, the Grimtooth’s Traps just announced an update to the PDF and softcover copies of the printed book, so it is nearing completion.

The City State Kickstarter is aiming for a November fulfillment of the book. I believe that makes it a year late. They are still working on the miniatures, for those that ordered them.

The other Kickstarter only recently funded, and is on track.

The one I don’t expect movement is the documentary, due to the legal wrangling.

There was a lot of kerfuffle about rogue Kickstarters in the lead up to GenCon, but I won’t go into that here.

The thing to remember about backing a Kickstarter is to know who is running it and if they can handle it.

RPGs

DungeonMorphs 2: Cities & Villages: Map Generator Dice/Cards by Inkwell Ideas – They’re Here!

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I backed this Kickstarter last year, and it was intended to ship by the end of May, and my dice set of five dice, plus two challenge goal bonus dice arrived today. I haven’t had a follow up post on this since this one in December. In addition to the dice, the five dice set has a small canvas dice bag, labeled Dungeonmorph Dice.

I knew this might be here today, after the update email on Saturday. I was glad to finally get it. My desire for them was to help give me ideas to flesh out a large ruined city. Aspects of my personal project keep dragging on and on due to real life, etc. I’m glad I finally have it,!

Now the outstanding Kickstarters I have backed are down to four:

  • Grimtooth’s Ultimate Traps Collection (The PDF is done and an update with bookmarks and clean up is nearly ready for us to review, before the book is printed. I order the hard cover.)
  • City State of the Invincible Overlord (I went for the book and the maps. I hope I get my stuff soon. The last update at the end of June indicated the first draft is done.
  • The Planet Mercenary RPG (I didn’t get the game, I got the book – “THE SEVENTY MAXIMS OF MAXIMALLY EFFECTIVE MERCENARIES”.)
  • Finally, the one I don’t expect anything to happen: The Great Kingdom, which was supposed to ship this month; before all the legal issues.

While I might back other Kickstarters, I’m not sure how many of them will be RPG related. Most likely, they will be nostalgia related, such as stuff from back in the day that I never had, or no longer have.

 

RPGs

Kickstarter Vetting and Best Practices

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This article started as a comment to +Erik Tenkar’s post at Tenkar’s Tavern about vetting Kickstarters. That is, he is planning to look at RPG related Kickstarters and share if he sees warning signs about potential train wrecks. On the plus side, it will help highlight the ones most likely to be worth the risk.

I think that is a good idea. The RPG crowd should work together to encourage those with good ideas to be successful before they launch their Kickstaters (or other online funding drives). Proper planning and allowing for timing variables and the unexpected before jumping in. I think those who are strong in the creative aspect and have little or no planning/scheduling skills should find someone to join their team, or spend the time to learn those skills.

Erik has written a sort of things to avoid with Kickstarters in the past. Perhaps putting together a PDF of what has worked in the past, what hasn’t worked, and let the creators know these are the criteria for the vetting posts.

His Note on the Pedion Kickstarter is helpful but brief. [I don’t have miniatures, and am working to downsize stuff I don’t use. The stuff on my downsize list takes up many times what my RPG space occupies.]

I think those of us that either read Erik’s posts about Kickstarters, or who have backed Kickstarters, or both, know that miniatures as add-ons, and shwag for stretch goals can kill a project. Just as much as unrealistic timelines and not planning for shipping, taxes, and Kickstarter fees.

Perhaps a PDF linked to the right. Feedback from those who ran successful Kickstarters or links to examples of well run campaigns would be good. I liked the advice from the NTPRG panel +Richard LeBlanc, of New Big Dragon/SavevsDragon, who shared the audio  yesterday.

It would be great to get poorly planed & executed Kickstarters on the right track before they start, so those with a good track record don’t get a black eye from guilt by association.

I don’t mean to discourage good ideas, or halt creativity. But good intentions aren’t enough to make a Kickstarter a success.

The old adage of under promise and over deliver is appropriate. At the bare minimum, do what you said you would do. Doing more is great, not meeting the minimum of what you said is failure.

I am sure that there are others in the RPG hobby, like me, who have dreams of publishing our own content someday. For many of us, it may only be a dream, but it we take the steps to do it or share it, we should do it in a way that adds value to the hobby; and not leave one looking like a cheating money grubber, or total incompetent.

Before I attempt even something as “simple” as a PDF on DriveThruRPG/RPGNow, I know that I have a lot I need to learn, on top of writing, revision, and editing any such product. Even a free product says a lot about one’s capabilities and integrity. Rising to the level of a Kickstarter, one has to make that a job and put in a lot of time before even considering clicking the launch button. From what I have seen of Kickstarters that succeed vs. those that failed, those that put in the time and effort up front to get all their ducks in a row, tend to succeed. Simply put, those that PLAN to succeed will succeed if they are backed.

My definition of a successful Kickstarter is one that delivers in the time frame listed, or adjusted time frame clearly and timely reported to backers.

Those Kickstarters that should have been successful and weren’t tend to be the ones that add unrealistic stretch goals that they have not researched and planned as meticulously as everything else. Or to have a major player in the product wig out after leading the team to believe they were working on it this whole time, so things just get worse.

The team involved matters. If you or someone on your team has health issues, especially mental health issues, either get their part out of the way before launch, or they should be gracious enough to bow out before they screw over their team. [There is no shame in having mental health issues. However, if you know about your issues, you should be professional and courteous enough to share with your team and build that into your plan.]

Accidents happen. As someone who survived a major car accident many years ago, I know how quickly one can leave this mortal coil. {I don’t recommend sleeping and driving at the same time.] If something like that happened, what would happen to delivery? To my knowledge, there is not a situation like this, but it would not surprise me if a major actor in a funded Kickstarter dropped dead, what would that do? I think that is another argument for getting more done before clicking the launch button.

If you do a Kickstarter, you should act like it is your job, and put the required amount of effort into it. The most successful Kickstarters have the text complete, and maybe only need the final layout done. Those that put their own money into it up front to get a jump on things, which also save headaches.

Communicate any delays with your backers. Have a tool, whether a calendar, notebook, spreadsheet, or scheduling app to track where you are in the project. If your project funds on the first day, forget stretch goals and make sure the object of the Kickstarter is DONE or well on it’s way by the time the funding deadline hits and you get your funds.

The bar for someone’s first Kickstarter is very high. Some individuals have the skills to do it all on their own. If you are not one of those individuals, you need to either hire or acquire those skills to fill in the gap.

I hope that we see all the scoundrels ignored and wasting their time and soon give up, so that the true gems shine out and we can gain the benefit of the good stuff!

RPGs

Dungeon Desk Pad Arrived

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My Dungeon Desk Pad order from the Kickstarter arrived. I ordered the base U.S. 3 pad order. It included two sheets of different sized hex sticker sheets that were part of a stretch goal. There are also some coupon with codes to save on Oubliette #9 and another for any Squarehex product. Oubliette #9 can be free with a Squarehex purchase. I’m not sharing the code, as they are for backers of the Kickstarter. The Squarehex coupon points out that another Kickstarter is coming in May.

The paper itself is quite heavy, there were three levels of stretch goals for heavier paper.

My box was a bit dinged and one corner of all three pads had a wrinkle, but it isn’t anything I am concerned about. The pads are still serviceable and will do what I need.

I did notice that the tear off is at the bottom. I don’t know if that is an American vs. European thing, creator’s preference, or a goof. I did not unwrap the other two pads. These pads are a bit bigger than two letter sized sheets of paper side by side.

I took a picture of this pad on top of one of the quad ruled desk pads I ordered last month. Of course, quad ruled desk pads got me started on this.

Now to put these pads, and my other recent pad purchases to use!

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Painting Hero Forge Mini – Part 1

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Here are the in-process pictures of my painting efforts for my Hero Forge Miniature of Griswald, my representation of my favorite AD&D character, from my brother Robert’s AD&D campaign.

While I was at it, I also painted my miniatures that I have had from back in the day and not yet painted.

I began with washing them with warm soapy water and gently scrubbed the non-painted ones with an old toothbrush.

After letting them air dry a few hours, I painted them with a coat of white Testors acrylic as a primer. I know there is a special primer, but my hand is not the steadiest for this detail work, and my eyes don’t see those small details so well. I finally have the patience to do a good job, but my hands aren’t as steady and my eyes aren’t as goo up close. Well, I have been nearsighted since junior high, and now have bifocals, but I have to take of my glasses to see anything closer than about 6-8 inches, like the back of my hand or when I am shaving. So I am curious to see how well this turns out. So we’ll call it an experiment. I don’t think I’ll have people seeking me out to do their miniatures, unless their eyes are in worse shape than mine.

There aren’t enough hours in the day to paint and let dry and repeat to get each part painted. I focused on the big parts, the cloaks. I let them dry overnight after each step. So instead of one article showing all the progress and the final result. I will break this up into multiple postings.

It takes up my work space to spread out my game materials. I have to use that space because I can close the door to keep my son’s cats out. The last thing I need is cats breaking or hiding these.

So here are the before and after priming pictures. Yes, those are blue shop towels under them. Much thicker than regular paper towels and I can wipe off excess paint from the rush without it soaking through.

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Hero Forge

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Hero Forge

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Oldest Minis – Example of the ones I pained decades ago vs. one unpainted.

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Oldest Minis – Example of the ones I pained decades ago vs. one unpainted.

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Oldest Minis – Example of the ones I pained decades ago vs. one unpainted.

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Oldest Minis – Example of the ones I pained decades ago vs. one unpainted.

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All my minis

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All my minis

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Hero Forge

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Dwarves with mattocks painted vs. unpainted. There were six in the original package. I’m not sure why I only ever painted one. Perhaps I was going to make each one look different.

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Dwarves with mattocks painted vs. unpainted.

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Dwarves with mattocks painted vs. unpainted.

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Dwarves with mattocks painted vs. unpainted.

 

Here are the after painting the cloaks & boots pictures. Yes, I know, that black is really dark, but it is a work in progress. It is only paint after all, and I can just start over if I goof it up or don’t like the end result. I had to take off my glasses so I could see the details when I had to hold them close. Do I get extra XP because I didn’t get paint on my glasses?

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Long shot – all primed.

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Hero Forge & Dwarven Mattockers primed.

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Hero Forge & Dwarven Mattockers primed.

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Ral Partha Three In One Pack Half-Elves Primed.

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Hero Forge & Ral Partha Three In One Pack Half-Elves cloaks painted.

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Hero Forge & Ral Partha Three In One Pack Half-Elves cloaks painted.

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Hero Forge & Ral Partha Three In One Pack Half-Elves cloaks painted.