Sorry this took a little longer than I expected, but we are now on Voter's Choice Round 2. Round 1 received over 3,000 votes, which is a very good turn out (and part of why validation took a little longer than expected!), and had some interesting results. The Round 1 Winners were...
Warden: Astral (42.9%)
Occultist:Voidwatcher(51.6% - the only thing to get over 50% of the votes!)
Warlord:Dreadlord/Tyrant(47%)
Spellblade:Flying Sword(39.7%)
Spell Theme:Gravity Spells(46.3%)
Keep in mind that the runner ups will be included for potential redemption in Round 3 (if a runner up wins in Round 2, the 3rd place will be used as the runner up in Round 3 against the Round 2 Runner Up, etc).
The runners-up were Time Warden (40.4%), Witch Doctor (46.7%), Spellweaver Warlord (46%), and Glyph Knight (37.8%). After getting opinions on both sides of the fence, I'm not going to release the full voting totals to avoid biasing the results of Round 2, but I may release all the voting data at the end if folks are curious. I'm revealing the runner ups here just because they'll be included in Round 3... though winning Round 3 will be harder, so vote your favorite options in for Round 2!
I've also dropped the lowest rated option from each (Psion Warden (15.7%), Hierophant (23%), Divine Warlord (20.3%), Buff Blade Spellblade (15.9%).
All races were pretty close - particularly at the start. None of the ones that ended up winning were winning at the end of the first day besides Gravity Spells (which took the lead from the start and never lost it). It does seem there is a pretty large astral bias with Astral Warden, Voidwatcher Occultist, and Gravity Spells all taking home gold in the first round, so we'll see how things go with those out of the running.
To answer some questions that came up last time.
Your email does not have to match your Google Account. The Google account is just to make it harder to vote multiple times, since validating the vote is a pain.
You can vote for as many options as you want for each option. The top option will win. The second place will be included in Round 3.
I was fairly surprised by what ended up winning. I only predicted the winner of 2 categories correctly, though one more of my predictions was a Runner Up. Spellblade was the most surprising to me, as I didn't have either of those options in my top 3.
Patreon is currently voting on a Warden option as well, so if they end up picking the same option as the Voter's Choice here, it'll take second place from the Voter's Choice poll as its winner. As there's been some confusion on that, the Patreon polls aren't really tied to the KS, it's just part of the patreon that they get to vote on a player option choice every month or so.
Voting will beopen for at least a week, and probably a little longer.
General Updates
The KCCC Digital Rewards have been distributed through Backerkit. This means KCCC PDF, VTT, Token, Art, etc rewards are available through Backerkit. KCCC is the last Kickstarter. KCLL (this Kickstarter) is expected to distribute the PDF in August, though I think we'll see an early version and incomplete version of the PDF next month. As always, if you are looking to stay as up to date as possible, there are already versions available on the website for many things, and I share new content in the Discord as I post it.
All the best,
-Kibbles
Voter's Choice Round 1 and Pledge Manager Rollout.
almost 2 years ago
– Mon, Mar 20, 2023 at 07:27:19 PM
Your votes will be validated against your email address. There's no validation in place to prevent you from voting with other email addresses, but those votes will be discarded before the final tally (as that's technologically complicated), so be sure to use your Kickstarter email to vote.
The options here are from my patreon subclass polls + the voter's choice submission form. The patrons on patreon get to pick some subclasses (as normal), the Voter's Choice subclasses will be bonus options on top of those. One popular recommendation that's not in this poll, for example, is a Metal Warden, and that's because the patrons already voted that one in to be the next up option.
Additionally, some options don't appear simple because they are too close to existing concepts to fully render out (for example, a Prophet Occultist would generally be too similar to an Oracle Occultist to likely be a fully fleshed out idea).
The voter's choice round 1 poll will remain open for 1 week.
Backerkit - Pledge Manager Rollout Begins!
So to head off some confusion here, I use the terms "Backerkit" and "Pledge Manager" interchangeably, because the service offered by Backerkit kit is called a "pledge manager". It's come to my attention that there's other pledge managers now and one of them is confusingly called "pledge manager", but to clarify... this will run the pledge manager through backerkit.
How this will work
5% of people will get their survey link tonight (within minutes of this update going out). These people are a "Smoke Test" to make sure there's not major issues. If you are in that 5% and you see an issue, please reach out to me. About 24-48 hours after that goes out (depending if there are any issues), all the rest of the surveys will go out.
You get the survey no matter what tier you are at. If you are at a digital tier, you don't have to add any additional information or pay shipping (as there's nothing to ship). If you are at a physical tier, you'll need to put your address in if it wasn't pulled in automatically from Kickstarter and pay shipping (Note: you won't be charged until orders lock many months from now, I'll keep you folks updated when that is coming, and you'll have several months to get things sorted between that and shipping; you'll just see the estimate from the shipping company as you lock in your order).
If your pledge failed on Kickstarter, this will be your chance to fix it; you'll just see your order as not having any payment credited to it, and need to pay the full amount through Backerkit.
Custom Content Tier. I will reach out this week to Legacy Tier backers individually; we'll handle that through email once the pledge manager is up and I have the list of folks.
There is no rush here. There will eventually be a rush, and I'll let you know loud and clear when the deadline to fill this out will be, but you'll have months, so don't worry too much about refreshing until you get it, just expect the pledge manager link to come into your email this week.
I will post another update in 1 week for Voter's Choice Round 2, at which point if you don't have your pledge manager link, I'll reach out.
Art Corner!
As we go, I like to throw in some art as it comes in from the artists, to give folks something nicer to look at after they've slogged through all those words!
I've actually gotten a few pieces, but we'll start with a set of character art:
Sun Warden, Cultist Occultist, and Mage Hunter Spellblade
Summary
As always, please reach out to me here or on the Discord if you have any questions. As always, and Kickstarter updates will be pinged over there with the @Kickstarter role you can select in the role selection channel, and I'm around to answer any questions you have. Likewise, I check through messages and comments every couple days here to follow up on everything.
All the best,
-Kibbles
Preorders/Late Pledges Now Available; Pledge Manager Next Week; Pledge Processing Answers.
almost 2 years ago
– Thu, Mar 09, 2023 at 05:48:05 PM
Hey Folks-
Pledge Manager - Next Week
I just wanted to make a quick update that it'll be another week before the pledge manager is up - I know said I was hoping I'd get it up this week, but I sort forgot backerkit recommends it goes up 14 days after the campaign to give payments time to process and the like, so 14 days it shall be (7 days from now).
On my side, I've entered all the shipping data and add ons, etc, so it'll just be testing to make sure it works. It may actually take a bit longer to get to folks as they run some smoke tests once it's up, but it shouldn't be too much after that everyone has access to it.
Pre-Order/Late Pledges - Now Available
You can now complete a late pledge/pre-order here. So this was a bit of a misunderstanding on my part, I thought I needed the Pledge Manager up to launch this, but it turns out I can launch this separately. Since a lot of folks have been asking for that, I've gone ahead and put it up now. If you see anything that looks wrong, please let me know.
FAQ - Pledge Payment Processing
While I'm here to give that update I also wanted to answer some questions that have cropped up with pledge processing, late pledges, etc.
Pledge Processing Failure. If there's been any issue getting your pledge processed, you don't need to fret. You'll be able to mend your payment once it gets into Backerkit still, so even though Kickstarter says the deadline has passed, you'll be fine.
Basically Any Other Problem. Wait for the pledge manager and we can probably fix it - Card failed and couldn't retry in time -> wait for the pledge manager. Prepaid card failed because money wasn't found? -> wait for the pledge manager. I don't mean to make light of frustrating issues, just know that I don't have any control or insight into Kickstarter payment processing, so there's just nothing else I can tell folks there.
Voter's Choice Polls - Starting Next Week
I was going to do that this week, but there's a lot of options and I didn't want to rush it, so I'll take a bit of time, compile up the first vote, and we'll start those off with the next update sometime next week.
All the best,
-Kibbles
The Finish Line! 450K! That's it, folks! Here's what comes next...
almost 2 years ago
– Thu, Mar 02, 2023 at 03:17:39 PM
Hey Folks-
That's it! We're done, and what a campaign it was. This has blown away all expectations I had, and will be an amazing book.
The Infinite Stretch Goal
We unlocked... checks final total... 50... Epic Boons. Huh. That's definitely a number of boons I expected to write. This is fine. That is a totally reasonable number of epic boons.
On top of that we unlocked 5 additional subclasses added to the Kibbles' Reference Document.
What Comes Next
The Pledge Manager will be up in 1-2 weeks (could be a bit longer). This is where you will enter your address, and, well, manage your pledge.
The first round of Voter's Choice votes will be in 1-2 weeks, with each vote staying open for at least a week. We should expect them about two every weeks until they are complete (3 rounds in total).
The final PDF with art and editing is expected to be in August 2023. This date is obviously my best guess, but I see no reason at the moment that will be significantly off. I will keep you updated as we get closer. I would expect roughly monthly updates on the progress toward that draft; first with standalone versions of the content (classes, feats, subclasses, and spells), and then with combined drafts starting in 2-3 months from now that start getting more refined toward the final draft as editors chew on that, art is filled in, etc.
Digital Rewards from the last Kickstarter (like the KCCC PDF) will be delivered probably about a few days after the Pledge Manager goes up; they may take up to a week.
Physical Rewards from the last Kickstarter ordered through this one will ship with the rewards of this Kickstarter (as reprints will be happening at the same time, due to shipping reasons).
For now, I'll be posting as I have new things for (drafts, polls, etc). At some point I'll switch to monthly updates, and we'll keep those up until the Kickstarter is delivered (like with the last one).
If you are one of the chosen few Legacy tier patrons with a custom piece content piece, I will reach out to you once pledges are processed and we'll sync up about your custom content piece. If you want to get a head start, feel free to reach out to me at any time.
Likewise for folks at the Retailer tier feel free to reach out if you have any questions; always happy to work with folks to make sure it goes smoothly or if you need to customize your order.
Where you can go now
As always, for folks that want to stay on top of what I'm doing, I recommend...
My Discord, where I can usually be found, and is full of knowledgeable folks that can answer most questions.
My Website, where there is tons of free content already posted for folks to start using immediately.
My Patreon, where I just posted my March update, and I continue to post monthly content, updates, etc. That's where a lot of this content originates from.
But never feel you have to go anywhere. I'll update you right here as we go, and you'll be getting emails through Backerkit for digital rewards.
And that's a wrap, folks.
Thank you for your support. You are the folks that made this happen.
-Kibbles
400K! Kibbles' Reference Document for the Creative Commons locked in! Closing in on the last 24 hours... bonus stretch goals?
almost 2 years ago
– Wed, Mar 01, 2023 at 10:55:37 AM
Hey Folks
400K - Kibbles Reference Document
First of all, 400k is an amazing milestone. We've smashed through a goal I wasn't sure we would make when I revealed it yesterday before the ink had time to dry.
So before we launch into anything else, let's celebrate that over 100 pages of content (and probably close to 200 pages) including the all 6 of my classes (with at least 1 subclass each), my feats, my spells, and a huge amount of other content will be destined for the Creative Commons. I will start releasing some of those pieces soon, but the whole combined Kibbles' Reference Document will take a bit longer to compile. I will take some care to make sure it's available in both PDF and form that's easier to Copy/Paste... after all, the point of this is for it to be easy to grab and use.
Bonus Infinite Stretch Goals
So it's pretty clear that 400K was my final stretch goal. But I also said I'd keep giving you folks stretch goals, so here's the deal. I'll make a truly infinite stretch goal, that's both a token gesture, and fairly appropriate to the situation. This was a recommendation, and I felt one that had a lot of merit.
For each 1K over 400K, I'll make a revised or brand new Epic Boon. Currently, that puts it as 2. How many will this end up? I have no idea. If we hit some silly number, well, I can make a lot of them.
These are not going to be huge fancy things like feats, but they will be rebalanced and considered for what sort of things characters do that could be used as epic progression, divine rewards, or other special occasions. Power increases are noticeable and consistently useful in providing a unique edge.
Additionally, for each 10K we hit (should we 410K), I'll release yet another subclass into Creative Commons as part of Kibbles' Reference Document.
Those will be our two Final Final Infinite Stretch Goals. The more that gets piled on, the more we get.
I've known Mike awhile now, though I only got to talking to them more frequently during the OGL situation in January, but they are pillar of the TTRPG scene, and I'm confident their book will be a great entry into their The Lazy DM series, tackling the subject of... well, you know... it's right in the title... Forging Foes! More tips, tricks, and tools to whip up the right monster for the job is always welcome!
They have a 30 page free sample (that you can just click on and get with no sign ups, as Mike is so fond of!), so you'll be able to see ahead of time what sort of thing and if its the right tool for your arsenal. Mike's made a bunch of books now, and I think this is a Kickstarter you have a good bit of confidence in, so if it sounds like what you are looking for, head over and check it out!
Wrap Up
There's nothing left to say I haven't already said... including that line. 400K an amazing milestone, and doubles my most optimistic estimates going into the Kickstarter. It doubles my last Kickstarter which already blew me away.
But I'm pretty confident in getting you the best version of this increasingly massive book. I will save details for after the end when we get there - but to hit some of the big ones: yes there will be a pledge manager, it might be a week or two before its up (I'm just a mortal bloke and setting it up now, but its going to take me a bit and there's some hoops to jump through with testing and verification). Yes you'll be able to pick your VTT versions from any of the 4 available there. The final PDF is estimated in August, but draft versions will be available well before then.
As always, you can join the Discord to get directly ahold of me or get answers from other folks, and it's always worth noting that I have a website where a ton of stuff is already available for free.
