Digital Reward Distribution - Existing PDFs going out this week!
about 3 years ago – Wed, Feb 10, 2021 at 08:36:10 PM

Hello Hornsaw Heroes,

It's been almost three weeks since we launched our BackerKit Post-Campaign Pledge Manager, and most of you have visited, set up your Add On rewards, and confirmed your reward selections. With that information, I've been able to set up and start allocation on some of our existing rewards (i.e., the Scarred Lands Player's Guide and Scarred Lands Creature Collection PDFs and many of the other Add On titles).

DIGITAL REWARD DISTRIBUTION

Many of the rewards for our kickstarter projects take a lot of time and effort to complete. Usually, the kickstarter is a means of moving the project from an idea (even when it's a mostly-fully-written idea) into the actual channel that turns it into a project/product. It'll be a while before we're ready to talk about delivery on Scarred Lands: Dead Man's Rust, and even longer for our projects generated via Stretch Goals (the Gazetteers, the VTT token packs).

That said, there are a few rewards that are available now, as they were mostly add-on PDFs of existing products. And now, we can work on getting those out to you before the weekend.

The following Add On and Stretch Goal Rewards Will Be Distributed This Week:

[Add On] Scarred Lands 5E Player's Guide PDF
[Add On] Scarred Lands 5E Creature Collection PDF
[Add On] Yugman's Guide to Ghelspad - Collected Edition PDF
[Add On] Wise & The Wicked 5E PDF
[Add On] Blood Sea: The Crimson Abyss 5E PDF
[Add On] Scarred Lands: Spiragos Saga PDF
[Stretch Goal] Scarred Lands Spell Cards 5E PDF
[Stretch Goal] Scarred Lands Magic Item Cards Set 1 PDF
[Stretch Goal] Scarred Lands Magic Item Cards Set 2 PDF
[Stretch Goal] Scarred Lands Magic Item Cards Set 3 PDF

REWARD DISTRIBUTION

Your link to claim these digital rewards will be sent out by our BackerKit pledge manager over the week. Since we are using our partners at DriveThruRPG as the hosts for these, you will need to set up a DriveThru account if you don't have one already. If you encounter any problems with downloading your rewards, please contact DTRPG's customer service to resolve the matter, they've always been top-rated for customer service. http://www.drivethrurpg.com/contact_us.ph

Again, you will receive an e-mail from BackerKit with links for these rewards over the next 3 days if any of them are on your expected list of rewards. I'll be releasing them in waves, so don't panic if you only see a handful of links at first... the rest are coming. (We're in a digital world, but there are still a lot of manual processes. And there are A LOT of links to go out!!)

The easiest way to see if you've got digital downloads available is to login to your backerkit account:

https://dead-mans-rust.backerkit.com/backer/digital_rewards and it'll show anything available. Your backerkit account should also confirm all rewards that you should expect from your reward tier selected.

Which is a good reminder for those who haven't yet logged in to BackerKit, and also those who will want to revisit and/or revise their survey (maybe you've decided to take another look at the Add Ons, now that they're going out?)

If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://dead-mans-rust.backerkit.com

If you used your Facebook credentials to log in to your Kickstarter account, the BackerKit survey is sent to the email address you use for your Facebook account. If you have another email address that you prefer to use, please contact support at https://dead-mans-rust.backerkit.com/faq

OK, that's a lot of stuff for an update as we're heading into The Quarantine Valentine Weekend. I'll be back at the end of the month with our regular, ongoing status check-ins. Keep an eye out for reward e-mails (coming over the next few days), and revisit your survey if you want to review your pledge rewards and confirm your Add On options.

TO CONTACT JAMES

Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
Via Kickstarter: Click Onyx Path under the "Created By" heading on the main page, and then press the "Contact Me" button - the message will come to me!
Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.

NOW ON KICKSTARTER

Surveys Going Out This Weekend!
over 3 years ago – Fri, Jan 22, 2021 at 08:56:04 PM

Hey there, Heroes of the Hornsaw!

Starting next month, February 2021, I will send out the first of our regular month end updates. Near the end of each month, I will be sending out an update with status notes on our main project as well as the Stretch Goal projects we added. As noted in previous updates, these projects take a long time to put together. You've seen the manuscript preview PDF, but there are still many moving pieces and puzzles to solve in turning this into an awesome book. These month-end updates ensure that communication is constant and consistent, and that we're all on the same page with regards to where we stand.

That's info for February, though. Let's talk about this month instead, because...

I will also be sending out the BackerKit Pledge Manager surveys over the next 4 days!

But, before we begin all of that - I hope everyone's keeping safe and managing through our current times as best possible. I don't know how things will look as the world continues to change, but hoping the best for all of you.

BACKER SURVEYS

Over the next few days, you’ll receive an email from us with a special link to your BackerKit survey. It’s important to respond to your survey as quickly as you can since we need this information to fulfill your rewards.

You don’t need to create a BackerKit account to fill out your survey. When you receive the email with the survey, click the survey invitation link to respond. Answer the questions about your reward preferences, provide shipping information, and purchase add-on items if you like. You don’t have access to this survey link yet, but it will be available soon via email!

After you respond to your survey, you can go back later and change your responses at any time before we close the surveys and get our final counts, and that won't happen until the books are printed and we're preparing to ship.

If you have any other questions or concerns, you can post them to the comments for this update, the comment section, or message me via one of these methods:

TO CONTACT JAMES

Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
Via Kickstarter: Click Onyx Path under the "Created By" heading on the main page, and then press the "Contact Me" button - the message will come to me!
Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.

If there are any issues you find with the Pledge Manager, please contact me as soon as possible to let me know. It rolls out in waves so that I can correct issues on the fly and make it work as best possible as people come on board.

Please send me an e-mail (to the address above) if there were any tweaks or changes that need to be made to your BackerKit survey that we talked about during the campaign. I have aged about thirty years during the pandemic and my memory is... not as good as I'd like.

Within the BackerKit Survey and Pledge Manager, you can:

Review your Pledge Tier Selection and Rewards
Upgrade your Reward Tier pledge selection
Confirm Add On selections
Set up payment information for any failed payments from the Kickstarter campaign or to pay for any new Add On options selected

When you click on your BackerKit invitation link, you should see something like this...

This is what BackerKit looked like when I clicked on the invitation link

From the BackerKit welcome page you can choose to

1 - Review Your Pledge Level and Rewards

2 - Switch Your Pledge Level

3 - Start Your Survey, confirming pledge rewards, selecting Add On options, and confirming any shipping and payment info that may be needed

If you select option 1, your Pledge Level, you will see a list of all items included in your Pledge Rewards, and also have the option to upgrade your Pledge Level, in case you've decided to get the hardcover instead of just the PDF, or want to choose a multiple copy reward.

Selecting My Pledge Level reveals my Pledge Reward List and other details.

Once you've confirmed that your Pledge Level is correct and where you want it to be, you can GET STARTED with your BackerKit Pledge Manager Survey.

Once we've got a fair response to our survey and collected a reasonable amount of info, I'll be working on fulfilling rewards that are available now - like the PDFs of the titles included in our Add On section (Scarred Lands Players Guide PDF and Creature Collection PDF and other existing PDFs).

So, in summary:

Look for an e-mail invitation to BackerKit sometime over the next few days
Get Started on your survey
Confirm your Pledge Level
Select Any Add On options
Confirm Your Shipping Information (if needed)
Confirm Your Payment Information (if needed)

I will post an update in another few weeks or so, outlining the delivery of our first Add On rewards (the existing PDF titles, as noted above) and beginning distribution of those PDF rewards. And, you'll hear from me again at the end of February as I begin our regular month end status updates.

NOW ON KICKSTARTER

The ancient powers never fully went away. They wander our roads and cities, mingling with the teeming masses of humanity. Characters in Scion Second Edition begin as humans touched by fate, heirs to great powers and incredible destinies. In the core setting for Scion, characters discover they are the children of Gods, inheriting mantles, accomplishing great deeds, and deciding their own destinies. It’s a game about divinity and humanity, and everything in between — and now, with these two expansions, everything beyond as well. Scion: Dragon and Scion: Masks of the Mythos open new pathways, new origins, and new secrets for Scion Second Edition.

Check it out on Kickstarter! We've already funded and unlocked 12 Stretch Goals! As with Dead Man's Rust, backers will have access to the complete draft manuscript prior to the end of the campaign!

<Scion Expands with Dragon and Masks of the Mythos - Now on Kickstarter>

Backers Only - New Compiled Manuscript Link
over 3 years ago – Tue, Jan 05, 2021 at 05:26:12 AM

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

Dead Man's Rust - Time To Rest!
over 3 years ago – Tue, Dec 29, 2020 at 01:02:41 PM

Hello Heroes of the Hornsaw!

WE DID IT!

We funded Dead Man's Rust a brand new mega-campaign and exploration of the Hornsaw Forest (and Gleaming Valley!) for the Scarred Lands 5E Setting.

So ready for 2020 to end, but glad it's going on on a solid note! What a fun campaign and what an excellent book!

And not just that! What an adventure we had - unlocking TWELVE Stretch Goals!

That's right! Remember yesterday morning, when I was all, "We've hit 9 goals. Can we get to 10?" Well, we did that and then another for good measure!

LOOK WHAT WE DID TODAY!

UNLOCKED! - At $27,000 in funding – Card Decks: 5E Spell Deck & Magic Items 1 – All backers receiving the Dead Man’s Rust PDF as part of their pledge rewards will have a discounted Print-on-Demand option and the PDFs of Scarred Lands: 5E Spell Cards and Scarred Lands: Magic Items 1 added to their rewards list.

UNLOCKED! -At $28,000 in funding – Card Decks: Magic Items 2 & 3 – All backers receiving the Dead Man’s Rust PDF as part of their pledge rewards will have a discounted Print-on-Demand option and the PDFs of Scarred Lands: Magic Items 2 and 3 added to their rewards list.

AND THEN...

Just when I thought we'd done an awesome job, you took it up a notch! Even as the final minutes counted down, we hit our final target...

UNLOCKED! - At $30,000 in funding – Gazetteer: Burok Torn – A supplemental PDF focused on the ancient dwarven city of Burok Torn, providing hooks and guidance on how to incorporate it into the Dead Man’s Rust mega-adventure. All backers receiving the Dead Man’s Rust PDF will automatically have the Burok Torn Gazetteer PDF added to their rewards list.

TWELVE STRETCH GOALS!!!

THANK YOU!

Thanks to your support, not only have we funded the production and printing of Scarred Lands: Dead Man's Rust, but we've also added 6 VTT Token and Map packs, with digital assets to help run online encounters in the world of the Scarred Lands. We'll have monster/character tokens and a few VTT-ready encounter maps covering:

Broadreach Horizon
Dwarves
Elves
Hornsaw Forest
Glivid-Autel
Golden Citadel

But that's not all! Thanks To Your Support, not only have we funded Scarred Lands: Dead Man's Rust and added 6 VTT Token and Map Packs, but we've also added another project to the list: Gazetteer: Dier Drendal - a PDF supplement focused on the underground city of Dier Drendal, providing hooks and guidance on how to incorporate it into the Dead Man’s Rust mega-adventure.

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL! THANKS TO YOUR SUPPORT, not only have we funded Scarred Lands: Dead Man's Rust and added 6 VTT Token and Map Packs and Gazetteer: Dier Drendal, we've also added another project to the list: Gazetteer: Burok Torn - a PDF supplement focused the ancient dwarven city of Burok Torn, providing hooks and guidance on how to incorporate it into the Dead Man’s Rust mega-adventure

SO! Thank you for your support! And I'm so excited to hear tales of new adventures in the Scarred Lands and see this book in action!

AN EXTRA THANK YOU!

So, thank you to all the backers who supported us and made this happen. And a personal thanks to everyone who participated online, either in the comments section of the kickstarter, on social media around the web, and all of those who participated in Actual Plays, podcasts, and Youtube deep dives into the lore of the Scarred Lands!

There's obviously a lot going on in the world right now - a lot of uncertainty and unknowns compounding already challenging times, and just general exhaustion as we make it through the final days of 2020 - but it's been really great to see the community come together to support this project and turn it into a big success. This has been especially true for me over these past few days! Watching the backer count climb and seeing all of the support has been a real joy! It's appreciated!

COMMUNICATION

So, as noted in the previous update, I'll be sending out updates once a month and whenever we've got a new goal, survey, or other item to cover. If you have any questions or need clarification on something related to the kickstarter, feel free to get in touch. I may take a bit to answer as I recover from this past month, but I'll eventually be in touch!

TO CONTACT ME

Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
Via Kickstarter: Click Onyx Path under the "Created By" heading on the main page, and then press the "Contact Me" button - the message will come to me!

For setting stuff and questions about the game itself, it's probably best to post to the Onyx Path Discussion Group here: ONYX PATH FORUM. Many of you already participate on those boards, and you know the Scarred Lands experts are all there.

So, thanks to everyone for helping build this community and this game and helping give hollow knights in the Gleaming Valley a fighting chance!

Now to attend to other business and eventually collapse for a few hours and recover from the awesomeness of the last couple days! High fives in the comment section, and you'll hear from me again i the new year!

#HappyHolidays

#ScarredLands

#DeadMansRust

#ConciergeMustRest

FINAL HOURS: CHECKLIST & WHAT COMES NEXT
over 3 years ago – Tue, Dec 29, 2020 at 09:22:53 AM

Hello Heroes of the Hornsaw,

Welcome to the final hours of this campaign. What an amazing ride this project has been! These past 30 days have been a mega-adventure, starting with a great first day and continuing that enthusiasm and excitement right up until the end. Our funding amount and backer count climbed through every step of the campaign, which has just been great!

As I prepare to post this, we are just hours from the end of this campaign, and approaching an amazing finish!

Great job, everyone!

REFRESHER COURSE

We've had, and will have, a lot of new backers join in during these last days. I want to take a moment to highlight some key Update posts that new backers may want to check out (and existing backers may want to read as a refresher!).

MANUSCRIPT PREVIEW- As noted, the complete Preview Manuscript is available for you to review prior to the conclusion of the campaign. If you're a backer, you'll have access to this preview manuscript after the campaign. Remember, though, there are still some minor edits, development and proofing that need to be done. But, you can consider this about 96.8% finished. Making the manuscript available for review before the campaign ends ensures that everyone know exactly what our goal is - making this book - and are on board with our aims for this project. So, unlike the secrets of Glivid-Autel, no unknown dangers to be found here!

December 18 update - REWARD TIERS - your best starting point for figuring out which Backer Reward Level to choose to help support this project.

December 19 update - ADD ON REWARDS - the important companion piece to the Reward Tiers topic, including information on how to increase your pledge amount to maybe add the Creature Collection or maybe the Vigil Watch PDF bundle to your list of rewards.

December 22 update - STRETCH GOALS - and check out all of the above and beyond rewards we're getting thanks to the community! We’ve already added one more accomplishment since yesterday. Can we add one or even two more before the end?

Shipping is calculated automatically by Kickstarter, based on your location. If you're using the desktop webpage, you can select your Add On options when you confirm your pledge level. If using the mobile app, Add On rewards will be selected in the post-campaign pledge manager sent out once payment processing is complete.

SO: Ensure that you've selected the Reward Tier you want, and included funding for any Add Ons you wish to include. AND - make sure that you are comfortable with the Pledge Total amount, in terms of it covering everything you want and its' affordability.

I'm going to speak against my own self interest for a moment, and repeat myself one last time - the world has become a bit more unpredictable and some futures are a little less certain. Ensure that your circumstances enable to afford this pledge at this moment - Kickstarter will begin processing payments after the campaign ends and neither Onyx Path nor I have any involvement in that process. If you are unsure of your financial situation but don't want to miss out, please pledge for a tier you can afford now and know that you will likely be able to upgrade to open pledge levels in our post-campaign Pledge Manager for some time before the book is completed.

2. PAYMENT AND CONTACT INFORMATION

Once you're comfortable with your pledge, please ensure that the payment and contact information in your kickstarter account is up to date and correct. Making sure your e-mail is entered correctly and your credit card isn't expired will speed up the next step process. (I have learned from experience!)

WHAT COMES NEXT?

3. AFTER THE CAMPAIGN ENDS

First, we celebrate. Kickstarter will send out a "Hooray!" email confirming the campaign ended with final totals. We'll give sociallly-distanced high fives and virtual fist bumps in the comments section.

Then, the Kickstarter payment process begins. Over the next week, kickstarter will begin charging your payment methods for the total amount you've pledged.

If there is an issue with your payment method (expired credit card or incorrect number or pre-paid Visa awaiting funds, for example), Kickstarter will keep trying to process payment during this time.

Once this step is done, which will likely be the start of 2021, Kickstarter will confirm everything with Onyx Path and I can begin to set up the project with BackerKit and link it to the Kickstarter data.

BackerKit is a robust fulfillment integration and pledge management program that will allow us to work with all of the data and distribute the rewards to you. It will take me a few weeks to set the project up. Once I've got it all entered and built, the team from BackerKit will review to ensure I didn't mess anything up too badly, and then I'll make any changes they've suggested and we can move on to the Survey stage.

4. BACKERKIT SURVEYS

Once BackerKit says I'm good to go, I will send out a survey to all backers. This is why confirming your e-mail is important!

The BackerKit survey is both a verb and a noun - it will collect data for the analysis of some aspect of a group (enabling Onyx Path to set print runs, prioritize new projects, and fine-tune future kickstarters), as well as providing a general review or summary of the reward tier you've chosen, confirm all of the rewards associated with that reward tier, and confirm your total pledge amount.

I expect Surveys to go out by the end of January 2021. If you opted to include any Add-On rewards to your pledge, this is the point where you will confirm them. BackerKit will deduct the cost of your reward tier (+shipping) from your total pledge and show you how much you have to allocate for add-on purchases. You simply select the ones you want and proceed. From that point forward, those add-ons will be included in your list of rewards.

During the Survey period, you can also also choose to increase your reward tier. If you've gone back to work or found an alternate income source and decide it's time to trade up to get two copies of the book or include another add-on, you can do so at this time. Note, you will not be able to reduce your reward tier selection, only increase.

If there was an issue with payment to Kickstarter, you should also be able to address that at this point in the process.

The survey will ask you to confirm your shipping address, even though it'll be some time before we ship out the final product. Do not worry about moving before shipping begins - you will be able to update BackerKit right up until the point that we begin fulfilling the final book. We will send out a notice prior to lock down so you can update any information.

I'll also use the Survey to confirm some details for the limited and premium reward tiers.

5. REWARD DISTRIBUTION

This is a long process, but I will send out regular updates (usually at the end of the month) to keep you up to speed on our progress. There will be strings of updates that are just "still working on it," but I will share new artwork or information when I can.

Eventually, we will have a completed PDF of Scarred Lands: Dead Man's Rust. We'll take some time to distribute, review, and compile any errata or corrections that need to be made. When we've made any necessary changes, we'll send out updated copy of the PDFs and then begin creating print-ready files for the Print-on-Demand and deluxe hardcover version.

It's yet another long process ahead, but one that we wouldn't be on if not for your faith and support.

Dead Man's Rust - a mega-adventure for Scarred Lands 5E

Created by Onyx Path / Scarred Lands

Latest Updates from Our Project: