Final Two Days for OSE Sedra!; Stretch Goal reminder
4 months ago
– Thu, Dec 21, 2023 at 08:48:27 AM
We're down to roughly the last two days (just under 60 hours) for the Sedra campaign. We've recently crossed over about $10K, with 163 backers tallied so far. We also got tapped as a Kickstarter Project We Love, which is a nice comment on the campaign, its content, and presentation.
I've been working the text, and have a tentative design that combines some of the work from Best Supporting Actors with that of prior books. Some examples:
Here's something from early on in the book, though I feel I want to tweak some things about the table presentation (it's a little tight). I also see a few things that need tweaking, but that's part of the "convert, layout, art, and then read-and-edit" process.
Another slice from the book:
This one provides a typical "low noble" of the warrior strata of the societies typical of both the Duchy of Thorns and Gwalathar - two names you might be familiar with from Vampire Hunter Belladonna and Dragon Hunt, two of the prior solos from Gaming Ballistic (all of which are available as add-ons if you are not familiar but are intrigued).
As we drive to the campaign conclusion (Saturday, Dec 23, at 9pm Central) I wanted to remind folks that there is a stretch goal out there, that's both quite a stretch and ... really not that far away.
The Sedra Sourcebook will switch over to a hardcover offset print book for everyone who orders a physical copy if any one of the following things happen:
- 500 backers total
- $30,000
- 300 physical book orders
All of these are roughly the same, and of course the really key one is that 300 physical books. At that point, we all win. The only thing that would suffer is the deadline, which would probably push physical reward delivery out by roughly 2 months: a month to print it and another month to get it here across the Atlantic.
On the difficult side ... this campaign currently has 165 backers total, $10K, and maybe 90 physical book orders. We're basically looking at having to triple the current support level. So that seems like a lot.
On the other hand ... the campaign only needs 320-340 more backers, depending how you slice it, to hit the hardcover printing. Relative to prior Kickstarters I've run (especially the OSE Solos), that's just not that many.
So while it's not looking like a sure thing, it's also not impossible ... and we could get there with a bit more support and visibility.
With that, I'll get back to work on the Sedra Sourcebook, and check in on Saturday as we come to the finish line!
Gaming Ballistic would very much appreciate your pledge on this campaign. It will help 2024 start off right, and allow a lot more product to come to OSE with ready-to-use settings, adventures, NPCs, monsters and more.
-dhc
Three Days Remain in Best Supporting Actors! Retail Pledges Added
about 1 year ago
– Wed, Apr 05, 2023 at 09:52:57 AM
We're down to the last three days of Best Supporting Actors, which ends 9pm Central on Saturday, April 8. This post will be the only promo in this group for the campaign. It was selected as a Kickstarter "Project We Love" and featured in Necrotic Gnome's last newsletter.
The campaign funded on March 20 and is approaching the first stretch goal - a custom cover. The final goal is an upgrade of the book from softcover digital printing to sewn offset print run. The book is A5 format, and looking like 208 pages...though more is possible depending on how things shake out.
The characters are made for Old-School Essentials, but are easily moved between any rule set that is based on the older B/X or Advanced rules.
What's in it?
A preliminary Table of Contents. This will change as the book matures, but not too much.
Early Starting Character Previews
Some of the campaign updates featured preliminary views of some of the starting tier characters. These make excellent "who's in the tavern?" chance encounters, as well as being an outstanding grab-and-go resource for a pickup game or if a mimic eats one of the characters early in the session.
The Severed Hand
Also featured is a fragment of a former mercenary company. Mostly mid-level characters, they represent an elite force that could be menacing a settlement, or be hired as allies or opposition by an opposing faction.
Deslen is the squad leader, and 11 more characters are provided to round out the group.
Characters are all human for convenience, but using the race-and-class options from the Advanced Fantasy Player's Tome, can be made into anything the GM needs.
Mentors and Masterminds Preview
Finally, I did some work on the smaller set of characters - 17 in total - who are coming in north of the equivalent of 100,000 XP. These vary from 7 HD to 11 HD, and most are single-class specialists. Half are Classic Fantasy, the other from Advanced Fantasy in terms of class choice (though there's also one Fighter-4/Magic-User-7 in there as an adventurer for hire).
The introductory text makes suggestions on how to use these higher-tier characters, while the actual examples present the worked characters. Duisy, above, makes a good source of bespoke magic items if you have the time and money...or as a quest-giver as she tasks adventurers with retrieving magical ingredients for her work. You can also see that she has some of the 40+ new spells featured in the introduction of the book.
Tis make a good adversary; she has already stolen something, and the PCs are tasked with apprehending her (good luck), or at least returning what was stolen.
New Cover Approaches
For a while I've been pretty sure that the stretch goal for the new cover will be reached. Looking at the "followers" who haven't yet backed the project, one might expect a last-few-day surge that would cover that goal and more.
As a result, I've been working with Billy Blue on the new cover. With some discussion, we concluded the existing text layout was not as conducive to good art presentation as it could be, so we tweaked it.
He's still working with me on the sketch, but I'm very pleased with the progress; I hope to show you the preliminary cover pencils in the next day or so.
I can say this:
The front features two parties of adventurers, all taken from the pages of the book. Let's say Vikings versus Ronin in flavor. This will replicate the "NPC Encounters: Adventuring Parties" section of the Advanced Fantasy Referee's Tome and show one of the best uses of the book: when the Referee needs a half-dozen opposing murder-hobos bent on the same goals as the players.
The two groups will be arguing in front of a dungeon entrance. Loudly arguing. Focusing more on each other than what's creeping out of the dark from the caverns beyond. Also not paying attention to the Severed Hand mercenaries, who are approaching both groups from the woods on the back cover.
I'm really looking forward to the final product; Billy does great work.
Retail Pledges Added
I always wait to the end for these, but I've added two retail pledges to the mix.
- The first is five copies of just the Best Supporting Actors books, with no PDFs. That's $75 and is half off the $30-per-book Kickstarter price. If we hit the hardcover stretch goal at $25,000, those of course get upgraded to the hardback right along with all the other physical copies.
- The second level is three copies each of not just the Best Supporting Actors hardcopy, but also three each of the OSE solo adventures. That's a smaller amount of each one, but a wider variety for your shelves.
For retailers who want more than 5 or 3 each (depending on pledge levels), add-ons that duplicate the tiers are available.
Add-Ons: OSE Solo Adventures and more
In addition to the PDF and physical copy of the Best Supporting Actors volume, there are optional quick-reference cards available for ease of lookup at the table. The art is on the back so you can show the players the art while the Referee looks at the stats.
Additionally, Gaming Ballistic's previous work with Choose-Your-Own-Adventure flavored solo-play modules are also available. If you're new to Old-School Essentials, both physical and digital copies of the core rules can be had as add-ons, or as part of certain "jump start" pledge levels.
Please Pledge for Best Supporting Actors. I'm told that a trove of NPCs like this is a resource that grows more useful as you become familiar with it.
