A fully detailed collection of fantasy animals for RPG games; if they run, jump, swim, or fly, you'll find them in Niwri's Menagerie!
I hope everyone is being safe and sound! Just wanted to let everyone know that cards are being charged today through backerkit today! Thank you for all your support!
Hello everyone! I hope everyone is fine and fit and avoiding the chaos that is present in the world currently. As I posted yesterday, we have been hit with no way of making funds on a lot of our wooden products we make. In 2019, we did 19 comic conventions, game expos, and anime festivals. So, we were ramped up for 2020 with the hope of doing 24 to 30 of them (all with mostly me and two of my good friends and partners working the majority of them). That is roughly 60% of Deep Dungeons Games' annual income and 30% coming from Kickstarter projects, and the final 10% being online sales.
Why am I telling you this you might ask, and that is so you know that we will have to buckle down and depend more heavily than before on our writing capabilities and online sales than ever before during this chaos? We also know that a lot of you all and our fellow creators (or similar exhibitors/vendors from conventions) have been affected by this.
So, first of all, thank you for your support of our projects and everything for this project other than printing has been paid for, so there are no worries of any failure of this project or others. The worst-case we foresee with anything is a delay in printing (but we do not think that will be an issue). So, really it is just waiting until we are ready to print before we can cut those checks.
If you want to help us keep afloat, then support our digital or print products during the survey or order a shirt! Shirts are one of those deals that the more you order the cheaper you can get them and I also do not want to put anyone in a bind financially! So, the digital products are usually half the price or less than our printed products and a T-shirt is usually around the $20 range. I think by supporting those areas then we can find a happy medium. Honestly, though you all have done enough just helping us with our writing and if we launch another project (which of course is already in the writing/planning stage and we have a plant to launch it around the May timeline) then just trust that we have either put everything into the creating of that project or it is fully written excluding stretch goals.
Also, please remember by supporting us you're not supporting just Deep Dungeon Games or our personal workers. You are supporting tons of freelance writers, cartographers, and artists as well. I personally manage all these projects and disperse as much of the work out to as many areas as I can.
ANYWAYS! The below list is the content left to complete before it is ready for editing!
I believe that is all we have left to complete before everything is ready for editing! Which overall is not a whole lot, so this project should move pretty quickly! Our editor is currently finishing up the consumable items for Harolds then he is moving full force onto this project! So if you have any questions just let us know!
Everyone, please be safe and sound! I wish I could meet every one of you and tell you all thank you but until then VIRTUAL HUGS!
Regards
Deep Dungeon Games
Hey everyone a quick update, I will send a larger one out later for everyone!
Bad News.....
As I am sure everyone is aware there is a bit of a current issue with this whole corona thing and regardless of how you feel about it. It has affected us on the event side of things, and that means we have had our next two months of conventions that we were going to be vending at cancel.
That means I am going to have to think outside of the box when it comes to paying the bills and all that, but never fear I am very capable of doing that. As a disabled veteran, I am somewhat limited to what I can and cannot do for work for multiple reasons and being self-employed allows me to manage my disability, remain creative, and enjoy what I do. I am sure that Deep Dungeon Games is not the only one affected but please send good vibes and thoughts our way over the next couple of months while hopefully, this chaos works itself out.
Good News...
Art and writing are on schedule and we will be doing the smoke test today!
Also, we have a chance to add on more animals through the book as Animal Add On Stretch Goal - basically for every 100 backers that support this addon will unlock 10 more animals for the book. If we do not get at least 100 who support that add on then we will refund the backers who support that. If you think its not for you or cannot support that is fine, but we know you guys wanted more animals, and this will cover the art, editing, and writing cost of those 10 for every 100 backers who support it. If we only hit, say 150 then we will round up to where the most appropriate animal is for the book. I do hope that makes sense and we are really trying to listen to your alls wants and needs for this project.
Regards
Deep Dungeon Games
Hello Backers,
BAM, and just like that, we come to the end of another campaign and truly it is one of our favorite projects thus far. The creating of content or running any business is scary enough and every time we launch a project there is a ton of fear and anxiety for rejection and failure but then we get another great boost of support from you folks. It's awesome, you are all awesome and you inspire us and we hope you will keep letting us create for you.
We set out with the goal to at very least get the writings of myself edited and a few pieces of art to form a book, but with your help, we've created so much more. You've helped us to enhance the content, expand our customer base, and grow our business.
THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!
Also if you ever think your pledge does not matter, we lost around 5k in backers dropping out from the project. Of course, we understand but you are all part of the project and together you all make it happen!
Ok, so now below you will find the outline for this update:
So, what happens now?
We have a lot of work ahead of us but at this point, I have been awake for 20+ hours and need some rest. Yet, that is not going to happen as Deep Dungeon Games will be in Lubbock, TX this weekend for Lubbockcon. It is one of our more local conventions and we love going to that one and meeting local folks to us that support us just like all of you amazing people.
Writing - So at this point, we are really done with the majority of the writing other than small edits and some dungeon creating but there will be no delay in writer's block or content creation. The inspiration from Harolds really took off for me and the book flew together for us and we are happy to be around 85% done will all the writing.
Artwork - The artists have been working in the background without anyone but myself really knowing about it. The total art list includes 60 illustrations of the animals in Niwri's, 10 fully colored dungeon maps, 50 one of a kind dungeon illustrations that will include things like NPC art, enemy art, and other details along those lines, 7 illustrations for the classes and races for the book, and of course the different covers.
Editing - The editor should be able to get started on this sometimes in the month of April, but as we all he stays busy with tons of other projects when we are not able to keep him busy. So, as he is basically the last step before printing when I say that it is all to the editor that means we are almost ready to print!
Playtesting - It's been very exciting to send backers previews of our content and for backers to be some of the first individuals to get eyes on the content for our books. That being said we will be doing that with this book as well and everyone will be able to see this content and have an opportunity to playtest it, help us find errors, and drool over the wait for the final product. The more eyes on the product will help us make a better product overall and ensure that it is everything you want it to be.
Production - With Harold the Halflings Herbology Handbook currently getting a graphic design work over and full edit that leaves The Weavers Writings on the Wilds next in line to be fine-tuned with surgical precision that our editor seems to do magically. After those two are done and moved out one at a time to the printing company then this book will be next in line. We and many other publishers have run into issues with delays in receiving the product from overseas, so we are hoping to find a US-Based production facility to ensure that we are able to get this book done for you. We will keep you informed of any progress we make and we are looking for quality above all else.
Just a quick heads up to keep an eye on your inbox for your Backerkit Survey invite and some of you will be the first as part of the small "Smoke Test" to begin with to make sure things are working correctly, then we will be sending all of the surveys later today or tomorrow.
We will be sending out the Backerkit surveys as soon as Kickstarter releases the funds in 15 days.
In that survey, you will have the option to add on any additional items you wish as well as verify your shipping addresses. Please take the time to fill out the survey that was sent to you in messages so that we can add your input on future projects like this.
Switching Your Pledge - On the first page of the survey below the big green button that reads "Get Started" you'll see a link that reads "switch your pledge level ". This is how you'll change from one pledge level to another. For example, if you pledged for the PDF during the campaign but decided you want the physical book instead, you can use this link to switch to that pledge.
Locking Down Orders - During the Backerkit we will have to manually go in and close out the orders and wrap up the orders. This means we will be locking down orders and charging cards on a regular basis, perhaps weekly. This way you aren't charged for shipping and add ons just before your order is fulfilled and then wonder what the charge is for. Basically the purchase was fresh in your mind so you know to expect the charge. You can refrain from completing your survey for as long as you want before fulfillment if you don't want to be charged immediately, that's no problem. Additionally, if you do fill out your survey but end up changing addresses or wanting to modify your order, just let us know and we can unlock your order or make the changes manually for you.
The next update we send out will be when we start sending out surveys
As of right now all of our printed products will be available as addons and if anything changes we will let you know. In addition, we will be adding a few other items that we think are awesome for you all on the Backerkit as well.
Items from this project that will be addons are the
- Kickstarter exclusive plushie
- from the wilds T-shirt
- The PDF & Physical book
Let us know if you have any questions or requests.
So, below is our approximate updated timeline from the timeline on the Kickstarter page:
This is an estimated timeline, but hiccups do happen. I once had to babysit my grandmother's goldfish and ensure it did not drown (just kidding). We will keep you updated on our progress and any changes through Kickstarter updates. We will hopefully be done way before the September date and you all will be the first to know.
100 Backers Voting - Mini-Boss From Dungeon
200 Backer Voting - Pit Fighting
300 backer Voting - Fantasy Race
400 backers - Help us pick a subclass for the book
500 backers - Large art piece voted on by backers
We had to make some changes to the goals do to us not hitting the appropriate funds to add those components to the book but we are letting backers vote on the art selection instead.
600 backers - Large art for the amphibian section
700 backers - Large art for the bird section
800 backers - Large art for the reptile section
900 backers - Large art for the fish section
These polls will not close until the next update to give everyone a chance to get there vote in, but after the next update, the selections will be done. So, if you would like to vote on these poll just click the above links.
AGAIN THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! I NEED A NAP AND I WILL HOLLER AT YOU ALL SOON!
Hey everyone! This is just a quick update! First of all, THANK YOU!
You all have made this project amazing! As you know we have several books, but this is by far one of my favorites! It combines so well with the flora book of ours and the survival book that is almost complete as well. This handbook will combine art, story inspiration, and useful content to truly elevate your games and since our main focus is giving you content to help with world-building and creation, we are rather happy about it all!
THANK YOU, BACKERS, WE COULD NOT DO THIS WITHOUT YOU!
I also want to take this time to thank all the collaborators in this project! You are all so important to this project and I can not tell each of you thank you enough! Your work and creativity make me want to be better and keep creating!
Chad Ehrhardt - Writer for the majority of the dungeons on this project and has been a great friend to have during this entire process of having a gaming company.
R. Lee Brown - Editor and final layout designer and he also help by keeping me on the right path when often times feedback is hard to find.
Paul Benford - The primary artist for this project and a truly amazing artist and individual.
Terry Huddleston - Another great artist for this project and a man who's art is as great as his personality.
Tony aka "Shakenbake Art" - A local Texan artist who I have become friends with as we both find ourselves at the same events for the last couple of years.
A personal thank you to all my friends, family, and people who do not throw in the towel when the going gets tough! I could not do any of this without the backers that believe in us, but I also could not do it without you!
The insane thing is of just how many people we manage and get involved with on these projects. It starts with you the backers, but on the backend, I just am amazed at how many people we are bringing into the fold with projects and content creating for you all! I started down in the basement in 2016 and shortly after we have been consistently creating for you all! We have so much more coming everyone, and each project we learn, grown, and create even better content! I am not sure how many of you all have been with us from the first, but you can probably see the growth!
So, as the final 48 is approaching it will be the final chance to upgrade and everything, and remember you will not be able to upgrade your cover choice during the survey. This is because to me its about the support of the project and not about getting a few more bucks on the backend. I really love creating for you all and pour so much of myself, my mental state, and my creativity into these projects and I really want them to be everything you want them to be.
A FEW CO SHARING CAMPAIGNS - CHECK THEM OUT
We always like to co-share other campaigns especially with smaller companies or individuals like us! This helps spread the word about campaigns we like and also spread our campaign to people that may not have heard about us just yet. They shared our campaign so we want to share their campaigns with you as well.
Descent into Midnightuses the award-winning Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) system developed by Vincent and Meguey Baker and used in popular roleplaying games like Masks: A New Generation, Monsterhearts, and Headspace. PbtA is a story-focused system that incorporates the best of both narrative and mechanical gameplay. Though players familiar with other PbtA games will have a solid foundation with Descent into Midnight, we have developed the setting and mechanics to inspire your imagination in new and surprising ways.
Spheres of Might & Power
Classes, spells, powers, and skills are the tools we use to tell grand tabletop stories. Whether it's exploring strange new worlds or telling tales of gripping battles, these are the frameworks that we use to inhabit powerful wizards, hardened warriors, and battle to save - or destroy - the world that they inhabit.
DO NOT FORGET TO SHARE!
This project is all of ours, so let's make it finish strong!
Let's finish strong everyone! We are on the final stretch and lastly THANK YOU ALL!
Regards
Deep Dungeon Games