Mid October: New Decks & Timlines Update!
6 months ago
– Tue, Oct 14, 2025 at 09:09:47 PM
A very sleep deprived, Greetings All!
I hope you’ve been well since the last update, so we’ll dive right in and get this underway.
Digital Decks Update:
The previous Decks 1–6 received their updates earlier, were joined by the freshly added Decks 7 & 8 last week.
Deck 9 was also just added to Digital Downloads, where it will be getting some refinement/updates closer to a final product by the end of this work week.
Some decks only need icon fixes; others have a few late-stage edit questions. As those are resolved, I’ll be updating them to represent these fixes.
Special Note:
This round includes the newly updated Deck:1-6, improving upon the previous v3 release. Huge thanks again for all that contributed edits, these changes have led to additional theorycrafting and revisions! All of which are helping with the final quality polish.
If you want to take a look at 6-9 for updates, they are open for feedback!
(1-5 are still available for notes, but waiting for v5 might save you sometime)
Next Steps: (Oct 14-18th)
Hardcopy Review (Decks 1-8):
Editing on paper is always a huge boon for me. Something tangible helps me focus and catch issues I might miss on screen. I’m currently reviewing the following areas. (Decks 1-6 have already been reviewed, with notes compiled as of this update.)
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Edition Creep: The icons and slight layout methods have evolved between Decks 1 and 9. This review helps me align everything and eliminate smaller inconsistencies.
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Visibility: Seeing these printed makes it much easier to gauge readability and table usability. The new stat circles (“mod & save”) are quite small, so I want to ensure they stand out visually and not just through assemble cues.
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Font Clarity: Some older-edition fonts are getting lost in the background when printed, so those are being adjusted.
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Double Checks: A few words managed to sneak past the bolding pass — I’m flagging and updating these ASAP.
Resolve Issues:
A handful of missing cards and mismatched backs have surfaced and moved to the top of the list. These should have been caught earlier, but the physical print review is proving effective for spotting them.
Deck 9:
I’m currently finalizing the missing icons and card backs. These will be completed before the end of the week.
Deck 10:
I’m aiming to upload this by October 25th, alongside the v5 versions of the other decks. That said, I don’t want to rush and risk missing anything critical. You can expect this digital download to be available before October 31st for full review.
Beta Book PDF:
This has been slightly delayed by the edit pass, as it’s being cross-updated with the latest edits, which is taking more time than anticipated. Progress is steady, just slower than I’d prefer. The goal is to have this ready to share by October 31st.
Timeline:
Overall, we’re still moving full steam ahead. I’m roughly 2 weeks behind the proposed schedule but still have a 1.5-month buffer built in to keep everything on track. This window was originally meant for a casual review and edit phase, but I’ll be hunkering down to push v5 out for final notes so we can pivot toward the Beta Book PDF ASAP.
More to come with the next Deck!
Be Safe & Keep Playing! I’ll be working on at least a somewhat updated Deck 9 for the AM.
Kickstarter Update: New Decks & Beta Timeline
6 months ago
– Sun, Sep 28, 2025 at 12:03:24 AM
Greetings All!
Swinging by for the timeline context for some of the rolling digital updates dropping recently.
Export/Hiccup:
Even with the new pipeline, these decks are still built in Illustrator (compared to InDesign like the book) that means they are all exported individually, front and back and then renamed and sorted. This typically takes 1-2 hours per deck, which are then stitched together in InDesign for the pdfs (.5 - 1hr), and that’s how it’s allocated into the timeline.
This hit a snag with the latest exports, that it bumped up to 5 - 6hrs per deck, and that pushed out the upload dates. This is solved with more hours per week on the Deck end of production, but each deck has ended up eating up some additional timeline.
Deck 1-5:
The biggest updates in the past weeks, getting these all processed to go out together. These now represent the new icons, stat displays, and latest editing pass. These are rendered out fresh and flowed into the Digital Deck PDFs (Standard and Oversized) with the updated reference sheet.
(The booklets are a depreciated asset.)
Deck 6!:
This new format was the most recent drop, this was added to digital downloads this Saturday AM.
Check it out in Digital Downloads, and let me know if you have additional questions.
Next Deck Drop Dates:
Here are the next coming up dates in which that file will be updated to include additional decks. This will press past the initial deadline but be limping over the line along with the Beta.
Deck 7: Between Sunday 28th & (Very Early) Monday 29th
- (Exporting these tonight and tomorrow night)
Deck 8 & 9: Between Friday 3rd & Sunday 5th
- (Next Thursday - Sunday, might be staggered)
Deck 10: By October 8th & October 12th
WIP Art:
You’ll notice ‘Charge Breaker’ in Deck 6, and a few cards in the upcoming Deck 7 have WIP tagged for the art (Golden Fleece / Brace / Hat).
These are getting next rendered (Ink to Final) stages with haste. It was a call to get these decks out for review/error feedback instead of holding them back for 4-6 hours per render.
The list is manageable, I’ll be popping them in with single Exports throughout October.
Feedback Form:
All exports are getting individually reviewed across the 3 versions (doc, decks, book) to ensure that there aren’t any outliers.
But with the timeline any eyes on can help, main offenders are typically.
- Bold/Italics not carrying through the whole word.
- Misspelling in effects
- Quote doesn’t match the item
- Stray period or lack of period.
- Misspelling in Icons (occasionally for the odd ones)
If interested, check out the form to contribute any findings: Feedback Form!
Beta Book Drops:
For breathing room, I’m bumping the Beta release from Oct 1 - 7th to the 8th-12th. I’ll feel more comfortable with the extra time this has been eaten up, as well as entering some of the latest editor catches.
The goal is the 8th, but please keep an eye out between the 8th-12th. The weekends tend to carry the grace of any additional last minute changes.
I’m diving back into it, captivated by the a thrilling rush to fill in the remaining gaps and check out the new decks as you are able!
Be Safe & Keeping Playing.
August Update: Production & Timeline
7 months ago
– Wed, Aug 27, 2025 at 11:24:33 AM
Greetings All!
Back with another August update to follow up from GenCon. There were a few bumps along the way, but things are headed in the right direction.
Health:
After a short amount of exhaustion rest post GenCon, and another round of fevers. I followed through on the promise to check in on health and got back to the doctor. This led to a rapid follow up with other doctors and the general conscientious that, with some measured changes/medication, I’ll be in a much better place going forward with managing exhaustion spells.
This resulted in some recommended downtime, plus a small outage from adjusting to medication, and now some more energy. I’m back slugging away, pacing myself and feeling confident I can get through the upcoming deadlines. I’ll send up flares if anything falters here earlier than later.
Production:
Both the factory and I feel confident moving into production. We have a firm deadline for all file delivery set for the end of October. We've been in pretty consistent meetings for the last few weeks between stretches of rest and I’m feeling much better about the progress.
With the tariff extension, and funding from the NDA work covering U.S. imports, we pulled the trigger on several elements into production. So that means, we are set to get rolling on several elements while we line up the remaining files, with the last delivery to them being the Book.
(If there is a 200% increase due to China & Magnets, we’ll find a work around.)
Timelines:
What does starting production mean?
September to October 1st:
- Rolling Deck Releases (1-10)
- ‘Review Material’ Updates
October 1st to 7th:
- Beta Book Release
- New Feedback link (Grammar/Errate Catches)
October 7th to 31st:
- Outlier Files to Production
- Deluxe Handout Digital Releases
- Final Book Files Sent (End of Month)
November to January:
- Purposed Production Window
- Rolling Updates for Outliers
January (all) :
- 1 Week: Packaging
- 1 Week: Staging (Separating by Fulfillment Center)
- 1 Week: Pickup, Ground Shipping, Port Staging, and Loading
Feb to March:
- Begin Staggered Shipments
- CNY Begins
- 6 to 8 Weeks Sea Freight
- Customs Processing (Variable)
April to May:
- Lock Addresses
- Fulfillment Centers: Arrival & Sort (1-2 Weeks)
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Charge - Direct Shipping, VAT/Sales Tax, and Tariffs
- Shipping to You (1-3 weeks for outliers)
- VTT Deliveries Begin
June Onward:
- Heliana’s Conversion (TBD)
- ToV PDF (TBD)
General:
I’ve been pushing (as able) to get this locked in for the finish line. Leaning on some help and trusted creators to make it the rest of the way, I’ll be pushing on smaller updates to announce the bigger deliveries.
I'm going to take a small break now and then I’ll be back in a few hours to catch up.
Be Safe, and Keep Playing!
Late July Update!
8 months ago
– Thu, Jul 31, 2025 at 07:04:12 AM
Greetings All!
It’s been harder than I’d like to admit to update, both due to lack of time and the snail's pace of progress. There are massive things going on, but I’ll get into those below.
Before I Start However: Thank you to those that continue to reach out with kind words and support, it made a world of difference in the rougher times. I’m pretty isolated in my work, so you carry a lot of weight.
Now to get into the going ons.
Tariff’s:
This was a major concern, probably the main concern, and the main thing I have been working to address.
As of last update, when I wrapped, I didn’t have the capital to get them into the US where a majority of backers reside. I consulted with everyone from Hit Point Press to Kobold Press, It was a major stressor. Outside of taking out a business loan, I didn’t know how I’d cover the lump payment. It just was never planned into scope. A trade war, who knew?
Enter an NDA side gig. I torched the schedule for the chance to be able to smooth out delivery hiccups. It is something I can't talk about but offered a way around the hurdle of a sizeable fee. What did that mean? I was planning on a few weeks of nonstop work, paused everything and slept (when able) next to the computer. Well, it took closer to 2 months, and I definitely broke a lot of things (more below) in the process, but it offered a solution.
As long as the tariff stays within (30-50%) range, the containers won’t be turned away and I can get them into the country. As a single person company, this was a huge unlock and the biggest win this update.
US Tariffs update August 11th, I’ll be keeping a keen eye and update you with any changes.
Schedule:
So as you probably noticed the digital deliverables didn’t arrive. I was mid process when I detonated a bomb in the middle of the schedule to address the looming Tariff issue. It was a chance I couldn’t miss to make this happen, and it crushed everything.
To add salt to the wound: The Deck 1-5 updates were largely done, and I am immensely proud of them. Showing off the updated changes to the cards mostly involving the new icons and stat blocks. That hit a skid when I took extra burden, and I haven’t been able to take the last 5% steps and update the info sheets and upload. Getting on this ASAP.
There were promises that I would take care of myself this time around, and I’ve failed at that. I don’t think I’ve ever been as underwater as I was recently, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel for getting through. I'm meeting with production today so I am hoping to have an updated schedule shortly.
I’ve been stubborn to realize that there are just so many hours in a day and if the wheels fall off, I’m the only one here.
Health / Crashouts:
It turns out, after a certain age you can only cut out so much sleep and self medicate with caffeine while under a mountain of stress. The body started throwing up alarm bells.
Outside of a particularly bad case of food poisoning and a bout of fevers, it wasn’t too terrible until it was. I crashed out pretty hard health wise while still pushing forward, I know that can’t be something I keep putting off.
I don’t want to get too into the weeds, but I am seeking some additional help and have enlisted some doctor's appointments scheduled the moment I get back from GenCon. Hoping this can set it straight and start the long road of repairing.
GenCon:
I’ve arrived at GenCon for meetings. It's a work trip so that I can have a sit down and discuss the production timeline with my manufacturers. They, as always, have been a delight. The meeting is so that they can give me their timelines and listen to my feedback as well.
I’ll let you know what comes of it as soon as there is concrete information on production, and when I can have the digital files together. I’m hoping to get some rest for the first time in a while, I’ll hopefully have more news soon.
TLDR:
Main tariff issue was handled by a load of extra work, the extra work broke Hos (a bit), working on getting better. Digital Content forthcoming, responsible (reasonable) timeline coming shortly.
I’m just happy I can put aside one worry and focus back into completion. Apologies for the delay of updates, I’ve been struggling after the last one.
Special thanks to those who have been checking in on Discord. Things are getting better.
Be Safe and Keep Playing.
Tariffs & Samples! April/May Update.
11 months ago
– Thu, May 01, 2025 at 09:28:51 PM
Greetings All!
Back with an update on how things are going on my end, and how the world stage is toying with production.
Production:
Die-Lines have gone pretty darn well, with it leading to some formatting changes in the book layout for breathing space, suggested by the graphic design help.
While my main production company (all items except dice) has been going swimmingly, I couldn’t ask for a betweer partner in this process. However, the much delayed dice samplings have shown that they are not up to snuff. This is doubly disappointing as this was the same company that handled the previous kickstarter, however the sharp edged black and gold has shown clear flaws (more below).
I’m in the process of moving their production over to my main supplier using the templates and progress made previously to patch up any delays. Outside of that hiccup—and the broader trade issues—everything with the factory has been moving along well.
Samples:
As mentioned above, the latest dice sample was a major disappointment. After months of delay, the gold ended up looking like floating glitter, and it didn’t even properly fill the clear resin. It was a gut punch after all the time sunk into the process. Because of that, I’m shifting production to my primary production company, who will now be handling the sharp-edged dice going forward.
Samples Going Forward:
If you’re the type who enjoys a rabbit hole, check out the ongoing legislative conversations around the De Minimis Exception—which is how samples are currently classified.
The concern is that this exemption might be removed or restricted, meaning every single sample imported could start facing extra costs or delays. This means many samples will be shifting to photo approval going forward, as the tradewar keeps on giving.
Tariffs:
The massive elephant in the room, as mentioned in the last update, the fear is now an undeniable looming menace. As it stands, U.S. tariffs have made shipping for the board game industry nearly untenable. The margins we work with were never designed to absorb a sudden 145% increase in production costs.
If you’ve seen other kickstarters, this isn’t unforeseen, just unfortunate news. I had been scraping to cover the additional 20%, before the last spike pushed things completely out of hand.
I’ve spoken with manufacturers, fulfillment teams, and fellow creators—everyone’s saying the same thing: wait, watch, and plan. So that’s where we are. A holding pattern, with the goal to resume production once negotiations or policy changes bring things back within the realm of reason.
In the meantime, I’m pivoting to Digital Deliveries, with the updated schedule listed below.
(As of writing today, China has at least signaled a willingness to return to the table—so here’s hoping.)
Production vs Storage:
AKA - Why not Print and Store?
Due to the Tariffs, storage costs in China have Skyrocketed. It’s getting harder and harder to secure physical space, especially with the much bigger game companies beginning to buy out storage as shipments stall (or even return). That means the production-to-shipping has to be airtight, there is simply no place to store it.
So upon the advice of my manufacturer, I’m refining through an additional round of samples and seeing where we are at in another month before reapproaching printing.
So when can we expect stuff?:
Show answer, I’m still hopeful for Q3 2026 but it all depends on the factors above. In the meantime, it’s a hard pivot into providing the best Digital Deliveries possible.
End of May 2025:
Enhancements of Digital Decks 1 to 5
Delivery of Digital Decks 6 to 10
End of June 2025:
Delivery of Digital Book
Depending on how long this delay stretches, I’ll reassess and determine the best path forward—but for now, it’s simply not feasible. That said, I’m keeping my head down and creating, crafting, and making.
Be Safe, and Keep Playing.
- Hos (Dungeon Scribe)
