Date Correction! Schedule 2025*
about 1 year ago
– Sun, Mar 09, 2025 at 05:51:23 AM
Greetings All!
In the cold light of Daylight Savings morning, the typo was realized.
Schedule:
The timeline is tighter than I’d like, but we’re still within an acceptable margin, especially for a smaller print run compared to massive projects. Keep an eye out for shipping in Q2 2025*, with deliveries expected by Q3 2025* at the latest.
Apologies for the mild panic, I missed it during my personal review. Getting back to it now. It's all ready later than I like, no reason to worry about 2026.
Be Safe, and thank you for pointing it out in the comments.
Post-GAMA: Early March Update!
about 1 year ago
– Sat, Mar 08, 2025 at 10:15:42 PM
Greetings All!
Apologies for the late weekend update. I wanted to get this out after GAMA, but between the weather change and some allergies, I ended up with a sinus infection that took up all of my free time this week. Now, let’s dive into the news!
GAMA Recap
As always, this expo was an incredible experience. As an industry cornerstone, it remains unmatched. It offered an opportunity for a face-to-face time with my manufacturer—a much-needed catch up and ensure we're aligned moving forward.
Die-Lines & Proofs:
After a series of reviews and updates, there’s both good news and bad news—mainly related to refining my die-lines and how I had been presenting layouts. While this isn’t the biggest setback, it does mean I’ll need to make some additional layout adjustments before I’m ready for sampling. Several elements need to be brought up to standard, including the book itself—which is the big task. Luckily I have help, we’ll be running through it until it’s right.
Samples & Approvals:
So what does this mean? Over the next few weeks, I’ll be working quickly to reorder samples and push items through for approval. My goal is to have the PPCs (pre-production copies) ready for sign-off within 2–3 weeks of the new die-line completions. This is my top priority right now, so it’s a rolling review.
Project Schedule:
The timeline is tighter than I’d like, but we’re still within an acceptable margin, especially for a smaller print run compared to massive projects. Keep an eye out for shipping in Q2 2026, with deliveries expected by Q3 2026 at the latest.
KS Messages:
For those who have messaged me on Kickstarter over the past two weeks—I’m getting to them now! Between the GAMA travel and the crummy week, it’s been a struggle to make sure I don’t lose track. To ensure I give each message my full attention, I’ve held off on responding until I could focus properly. Expect my replies this week!
I’m going to finish up some more outstanding items tonight while this low grade fever peters out, and then we should be all ahead full come Monday. As always, I’ll have Discord opened on a monitor tab while plugging away.
Apologies if this update is less pristine, I don’t make my editor check messaging on the weekends.
Be Safe & Keep Playing, I’ll be back with more news soon!
- Hos (Dungeon Scribe)
Jan 2025 - Steady Going
about 1 year ago
– Fri, Jan 31, 2025 at 07:36:38 PM
Rolling in at the tail end of January with an update—short and sweet, and all good news if you’re looking to save time. But if you’re here for some of the details, read along.
Timeline Check-In: So Far, So Good
The updated timeline is holding steady, and I’ve had my head down making sure everything stays on track. It’s a lot. I have always known that, but I’m having a good time again. Even small progress is a reward at the end of the day, or early morning.
CNY - Working Through:
With our manufacturer on their well-earned break for Chinese New Year, I’ve been cutting my teeth on additional die-lines. The goal is to make sure as many hiccups and details are refined before we move into the Wet Proofs and Testing phases once they return for production. This is always a planned break, so no surprises here—just keeping the gears turning so we can hit the ground running when the factory reopens.
Proofing & Art Passes:
As always the process continues, and I’ve been deep in art tweaks while also wrapping up art direction for the final outliers. A few deadlines have slipped, but at this point, I’m not grumbling as long as we make the finish line which is within a full sprint.
If you’ve seen me at all these past months, it was probably just the ghost of a feral artist, clawing their way through the late-night hours. It’s a relentless cycle, but progress is progress, and I’m happy to be making up ground.
The Three Patrons:
These three were the biggest wild cards, because I was stepping farther out from my usual style to make impressively tough CR Monsters. That’s also likely why I am loving the unique process. They’ve each undergone some major reworks due to the help of some incredible professional creature designers, and the results have been something special. If you haven’t taken a close look at them in a while, I’d encourage a revisit.
I can’t wait to share some of the little surprises I’ve been cooking up for them. These aren’t just tweaks; they’re expansions including origins and goals, and I think they’ll bring something really unique to the final product.
That’s it for now—I’m diving back in, so full steam ahead!
As always, I try to keep a close ear to the discord and answer notifications or questions as soon as possible. I appreciate the patience and hope that this is a welcome update.
Be Safe, and Keep Playing!
December Update: Meh News/Good News
over 1 year ago
– Tue, Dec 03, 2024 at 11:03:19 PM
Greetings All!
Apologies for the delay with this update. It was originally planned as a November update, but due to scheduling conflicts and a bug, it’s now arriving in December. I’ve fallen into some old, unhealthy habits of burning the candle at all ends. That has led to a bit of overload, allowing a Holiday bug to wallop me into this week.
I’m working at setting better limits on time, mostly for health reasons, but I’ve been pretty wrapped up in it recently. I tend to funnel, losing track of the clock and calendar entirely. The only silver lining is that I’m perpetually on Discord, and I’m happy to chat directly whenever I pop up for air.
I spend long swathes of time buried in the project outside of consulting with freelancers, so I’d be happy to share tidbits of what I’m ‘eating of the elephant’ that day. Honestly, I was pretty shocked to realize it’s been two months.
The Meh News:
Timeline:
As you’ve probably guessed from my eagerness to share an update, along with the previous October update of needing layout assistance, I have not made the printing window for a December delivery.
Bad news sucks, I hate sharing it, I hate being the cause of it. I’m bummed, and probably will be until this entire project is on a boat that is making its way to you. I overextended myself, and both the project and I paid the price for it. Now it’s time to solve it.
The new printing date is planned for post-CNY (Chinese New Year), which is in February. This provides the necessary time to finish the remaining sections. That sets delivery for June or July 2025. Is it ideal? Not even close—but it’s the goal, and I’m sticking to it.
The product is moving from good to great, but most importantly, it just needs to get done.
Tariffs:
Am I worried about tariffs now that I’m shipping next year?
Absolutely. I’m utterly terrified. I’m terrified. Everything is paid for and in place, but this adds an extra layer of uncertainty. If tariffs become an issue, I’ll evaluate what that means and how to handle it. For now, though, it’s just a nagging concern—not a crisis.
It’ll go on the pile of worries to be ignored while I focus on tasks at hand. We stay on theme.
2024 Rules:
Are you updating all the items since this will release after the new rules are available?
If I had the bandwidth, I would try. If only to preserve the decks and books viability at tables and retail going forward. Unfortunately, I simply don’t. Right now, I’m holding everything together through sheer will. Thankfully, there should be significant crossover, and the differences will likely be minor. Ideally, an errata can address any discrepancies that arise.
Ask about 2024 Rules when the 2014 edition fully ships and there are no more loose ends.
Good News:
Things Are Moving:
Some late stragglers have been turning over art assets (not for items— those are still all me) for some outliers, and I’m thrilled to see those pieces finally moving along. The quality of the work has absolutely blown me away, and I can’t wait for you to see it all come together.
New Layout Tweaks:
I didn’t realize how much time I’d been wasting on layout until I handed it off to someone who specializes in it. While it was essential at the time, I’m definitely kicking myself now. The improvements range from minor to drastic, but the overall results are incredible. I’m so excited to share them with you once everything is in place, which leads into the next point.
Beta Share:
I’m targeting the end of January to share the beta. Feedback will be critical, as the final version will follow close behind in the next month. I’m really looking forward to getting it into your hands.
Manufacturing Front:
I have an in-person meeting scheduled with LongPack this week at PAXU for a project update. I’m looking forward to touching base and working to smooth out any remaining hiccups in the production process.
Various Etc:
There’s a lot happening behind the scenes, but it’s harder to get excited about it knowing I’ve missed the deadline—the one I didn’t want to miss. Books are hard, and this process has taught me so much compared to previous projects.
Because I can’t seem to help myself, I’ve also expanded a few things again—but more on that in the next update. There will also be a breakdown of a timeline for digital deliveries (fingers crossed) of several deliverables.
Final Thoughts:
Phew. This might not seem like much, but it took a while to gather and share all this. I’m hopeful that updates going forward will bring only good news. Things are moving; they just take time. I am also focused on the goal over perfection.
Your patience is beyond appreciated.
Be Safe, and Keep Playing.
-Hos
(Late) September Update - 1.7/Layout/Playtest Items!
over 1 year ago
– Fri, Oct 04, 2024 at 01:21:17 PM
Greetings Everyone!
Time for a quick but important update on what’s been happening and what's coming soon! Apologies for the delay on this one. I’ve been keeping the plates spinning, and while these updates look slapshot, they take a good deal of time.
PDF - 1.7 Update!
I think this might be my favorite one yet, but I’m impartial. So, here are some notes of changes.
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Text Formatting: This is now included throughout the entire book, and almost every item (baring those needing additional review).
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Minor Formatting Update: Scores/Checks made to match in usage, this will be reflected in the decks once I have a chance to update the PDFs.
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Identifiers: Item names with the art!
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Comic Pages: 3 of the 6 included!
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Backdrop Boxes: Included for GM Notes, Cursed Items, Paired Attunement. These are special callouts, some still need minor adjustments upon review.
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Additional Items!: I updated the art for a load of items. Honestly, I can’t remember all of it. It starts to be a blur after enough caffeine and photoshop layers. I do remember some of my favorites!
- Heart of the Fire Elemental (reworked and updated art)
- Wall of MOR TÙR-BÌDEAG (Less flat, and energy teeth!)
It’s really coming together, I was hoping to be well into Beta at this point, but that plays directly into the next blurb.
New Layout Artist:
I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job thus far, but the more changes and adjustments I make the more I realize where my skill is falling short of my ambition/schedule. The biggest perk of taking on additional work, this means that I am able to hire out the layout for the following to a trusted designer.
Layout Help Sections: Item Index Chart, Shield Chart Page, More Oddities - Feat/Spell, The Trio, The Maps Sections: Plus some general touches for the item chapter.
I’m excited to see what they are able to expand on while I can split my time with the other remaining tasks.
Playtest Shares:
Here are some of the additional stretch goal playtests, if you catch anything or have notes. Please check out the Doc!
PLAYTEST: More Oddities
I have never made many spells or feats. There are others who do it far better and with more elegance than I could ever hope to achieve. That clearly stated, I have made them for my tables in the past, and I’ve included them in the book. Thank you to my peers who helped me with updating and refining these. One is tied to Attunement Slots and Magical Items (shocker), and the other offers an expansion to my favorite versatility spell: Greater Find Familiar!
Late Additional: Verbiage tweaked on the Feat to account for a class I can’t mention that might have over the standard 3 Attuned Items.
PLAYTEST: The Trio (Scratch/Shepherd)
Shockingly, most of my experience lies in making lower level creatures. I make small creatures for my tables. This was a massive switch. So again, thank you to my peers who have helped me these past weeks tempering these into challenging and interesting Tier 4 creatures.
These playtests are to get a feeling of the monstrous NPC’s that make up potential patrons. These are essentially just the stat blocks. Not included: Flavor Story, Origins, Role Playing, Story Hooks, Traits, Additional Traits, Tactics. Those will be included shortly, but they are still getting refinement (shortening) passes.
Late Additional: Red Font denotes any feature still in flux. Shepherd has had more playtesting. Scratch is still coming into its own Monstrosity.
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Old Scratch: Charm / Controller Link!
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Dusk Shepherd: Implacable Warrior Link!
Scribe should be available as well in the next week or so. I’m trying to lock in the feel of their silence and hand pawn abilities without overwhelming the DM.
How do I find my Digital Download?
Hos’s Guide - Via Desktop, this might be different for others.
Backerkit Website> User Icon (Normally on the Top Right)> Your Surveys> Select the Kickstarter Title> Get Your Digital Downloads (Blue Button)!
I wish I had more to update you on currently, but I’m just heads down. I'm chasing production and outlying art on the daily. As soon as I get a clearer picture of things, so will you.
With supreme gratefulness, Be Safe and Keep Playing.
- Hos
