100 More Starter Set Hardcovers Available!
over 1 year ago – Fri, Aug 26, 2022 at 10:00:12 PM

Thanks to Cristin at Exalted Funeral, our allocation for the $85 OSE Hardcopy Starter Kit (US Hub) reward level has been increased by another 100 books, to 200 total.

This should cover all reasonable expectations of demand. It will even cover optimism.

Irrational Exuberance? Yeah, that'll push past.

But somewhat seriously, my best-ever "conversion" of followers to backers has been 52%.  If we did that...we'd STILL have books to spare for the Backerkit phase.

59 Hours and Counting in Old-School Solos
over 1 year ago – Fri, Aug 26, 2022 at 05:51:10 AM

We're about to enter the last phase of the campaign. Tonight at 8pm Central, Kickstarter will send out the 48-hour warning bell, and we'll be in for the wild ride that so frequently ends crowdfunding campaigns!

As we roll in, I wanted to bring your attention to two items:

• There are a limited number of the Hardcopy Starter Kit remaining. I'm looking to see if I can get a boost to our allocation, but if not, there are currently only about a dozen remaining. If those are of interest, you may need to act fast. If I run out of books, you won't be able to change to this pledge in Backerkit.
• There's a "home-stretch" goal for digital versions of the Quick-Reference cards at 900 backers ... and we only have 280 to go to reach that goal. We have over 1,200 following who haven't yet backed...so this is looking pretty doable. Every monster, PC, and NPC in the adventures will have a card.

This project is already my second-best for number of backers, and given my best-ever is 685, I feel graciously and enthusiastically welcomed to the Old-School Community so far. 

So thanks...and I hope you jump on. 

Gaming Ballistic Weekly Update - Week ending Aug 19
over 1 year ago – Thu, Aug 25, 2022 at 02:54:40 PM

This week was mostly head-down on the Old-School Essentials project, but also a bunch of playtesting done on two different Dungeon Fantasy RPG projects. Complicated by my wife being away and then arriving home on a delayed flight that landed at 1:15am. I still don’t know what day of the week it is.

• The big push was on the Old-School Solos project. The campaign stands at a solid 540 backers as I type this, and has an astonishing 1,288 followers with 1,130 who will make the back/not-back decision in the final 48 hours of the campaign, it would seem.
• I’m seeing a lot of dropped pledges this time; financial stresses abound.
• Right after this goes live, I’ll be updating the campaign with a new stretch goal at 900 backers and adding the card deck as an add-on for purchase.
• Shields Up playtest continues with a lot of good feedback. The biggest issues turfed up this week involved synergy and niche-stomping due to some overenthusiastic “and this skill applies too!” that we’ll pare back so that the Wrestler doesn’t become better with shields than (say) the Shield-Bearer from DFC3.
• Serpents of Legend saw a near-complete draft as well as some active fight-tests. An amphisbaena surprised and TPK’d a party of 125-point characters; it did not TPK a party of 300-pointers. This is desired behavior, though we may tweak it down just a notch.
• Another KS velocity note: the last four days have been good but definitely slower than the week prior. About 10 backers per day, with would put me at about 600 headed into the final 48 hours. That would still put the project somewhere in the 2nd through 4th best I’ve done, even without any conversion in the 48-hour surge.
• I have finalized the core design elements for monster and NPC/PC cards for the OSE. Details below.
• Dark Lord’s Doom is fully laid out, but I’m working with Rob Conley to adjust the fights. Right now they’re a bit killer.
• The third interview for the OSE Kickstarter went live. Check that out in the media section.

Gaming Ballistic Patreon

To help with ongoing funding of art and speed eventual time to delivery, Gaming Ballistic started a Patreon in January 2021. Here’s the weekly update on Patreon status.

• Membership status: 60 patrons and $451 per month.
• Special Content in August: Preview of Shields Up. Preview of monster stats for Serpents of Legend. Dark Lord’s doom preliminary layout.

Steady in July. I know what I need to do for 2023 to help with this, but I need some breathing room to do it.

Gaming Ballistic in Media

• I was on Talking Crit with Tenkar and Bad Mike, and we chatted for two hours. Robert Douglas, one of my playtesters and frequent backers, said “…those two hours flew by,” so apparently it was at least entertaining.
• I recorded Old-School Essentials with Che Webster, and it’s up and live.
• The interview I did “A Sonata in GURPS with Gaming Ballistic” with one of the Steves at Me and Steve Talk RPGs went live.
• Rob Conley of Bat in the Attic posted a short review of the version of Till Death Do Us Part that I sent him, the first of the four to be “basically complete.”

Currently Manufacturing/Fulfilling/Shipping

Projects where hardcopies and PDFs are going out or scheduled to do so.

• I still need to go through comp copies for ALL products via DriveThruRPG from TDDUP. That was a miss.

Crowdfunding and Product Launches

Old-School Solo Adventures

• Launched Aug 4 at 10am. Funded by 11am. Currently just over $24,400.
• This is a very healthy project, in actuality and even more in potential. Various projections put the final total near $35-40K, which is dancing around 785 or more backers. More, maybe even 900–1000, is not impossible.
• Glynn Seal of MonkeyBlood Design and Publishing and I iterated on the design of some NPC/PC and Monster cards for the project!
  I need to do a count, but I suspect around 160 cards, roughly 40 per adventure. Roughly.
  
• The Halfway Through! Kickstarter post/update has a lot in it.

Product Announcements

The full Product Catalog has been updated for Spring 2022 and probably needs an update for Summer 2022 before the summer actually ends.

Let Us Rejoice! is a systemless exploration of festivals and gatherings as great ways to make a world come alive. Uses and collects the Nordlond material that is scattered over several books as examples, but also goes further than that. This will be GB’s first systemless release, it was aimed at mid-August, but since that’s three days away, that’s not happening. I really wanted to get this into 2022, but it may slip into 2023. That’s not a problem as such; having a robust “what’s coming next” is good.

Serpents of Legend. Formerly “Bestiary Project 1,” this is partially just a book of cool snake-themed monsters written by Marko Vujnovic (the Chaotic GM). But it also contains some serious serpent-related cosmology for Nordlond, and a really nifty section on snake cults. More work, this time on the rules and prose section. When fighting critters the size of hills, you might need guidance for fighting a monster while standing on top of the monster.

Shields Up! Testable draft being tested! Author paid. Fight-tests and theorycraft testing both going on if you’re a Patreon Subscriber.

In Development

Writing and content creation for announced projects. Some of this may be cryptic.

• The “Bugstiary.” Contract signed. Work slower than anticipated (which itself was anticipated). This one is looking at 32 pages, and much more of a strict bestiary book of cool bug-and-insect themed monsters.
• Delvers to Grow Companion. Some new professions. A whole bunch of new disad packages. Epic Upgrades. Who knows what else will strike me? September/October plan. I know what I want to do with this one, and shall get on it as soon as this OSE project is finished.
• Gear Catalog 1? There’s a good start at what is probably a nice 32-page book, maybe a bit more. Also DFRPG. I’ve talked with a potential author on this one and we need to work out a few things, but not in a bad way.
• Inns and Taverns, by Marshall LaPira. Systemless. Still postponed indefinitely. A good time for this would either be along with Let Us Rejoice (in a few months) or real close to the end of the year.
• Two Warring Houses, by Douglas Cole. Systemless. On hold.
• Infinite Archipelago is going to be my new framework for settings that should cross over systems. I have plans for TFT/OSE version of Nordlond, plus more, that GMs will be able to pick and choose and place what’s there. It implies sea travel in many ways, so there are ideas around that. Looking forward to this as a building block for 2023.
• Secret TFT Setting by David Pulver. Chatted with David about plans for this, and there’s a hole in his schedule at the end of the year. Chatted more, and liking how it works.
• Secret Nordlond-ish Setting by [CENSORED].
• OSE Conversions of Character Collections. I don’t see why not. Monsters, ready-to-go PCs/NPCs with just enough background to make ‘em interesting. Some art for visualization. I may work on this together with two other CC volumes I’d like to make, so they hit as a six-book bundle.

The two settings are part of a grand plan you’ll be seeing more of next year.

I note that for new authors, Delvers to Grow and Bestiary entries are fantastic ways to get into the game, as such projects lend themselves very well to focused writing and fast turn-around. The new concept that I’m shopping around to my circle of authors and contributors will be another entry…but the nature of the concepts requires a firm hand on the wheel for gamer utility. Some of my early discussions with authors are fluctuating between “oh, I get it, that’s cool” and “…but surely those restrictions don’t apply to my cool idea!” Yes, they do.

Friction

Bits of news and items that put a monkey in the wrench.

• I will never again schedule my child for a camp that’s 40 minutes away. Holy crap that’s a lot of wasted time in the car.
• I remain somewhat to very apprehensive about converting those 1,100 follower-not-backed to backers. I mean, I don’t expect to get them all, but a healthy turnout here would radically change how I can go about my business, in a good way.
• Too busy this week; didn’t start on the big Viking training sword.

Fair Winds

Information about things that move GB forward.

• The OSE project is really looking friendly. I’ve gotten some good feedback on the cards so far, so maybe they’ll be popular.
• Shields Up is looking really good. Initial fight-testing has shown some of the viability of the shield-fencing concepts for interesting play. We’re running into some precedent issues that challenge “thou shalt not nerf existing characters” and we have to address those before it goes live.
• Still wonder if I’ll actually cross the 1,000-backer mark this time. It doesn’t seem likely…but it’s also not implausible.
• Have done over $1,100 in sales from my Shopify store in August, which is outstanding. July wasn’t awful either, though maybe about half as much.
• Growth in “the typical project” backer count, more markets, some crossover, and stronger performance in my online sales from various channels is starting to make 2023 look healthy. 2022 isn’t looking bad either, but I can really start to see some turn-around in my prospects for achieving a no-regrets publishing career.

Home-Stretch Goal added at 900 backers or more!
over 1 year ago – Thu, Aug 25, 2022 at 02:54:37 PM

The campaign ends on Aug 27 ... and to help bring the project to a successful conclusion, Gaming Ballistic is introducing the project's only stretch goal. Call it a "home-stretch" goal if you would.

If the project hits 900 backers, every backer shall receive PDF copies of the quick-reference cards for the PCs, NPCs, and monsters in the PDFs for which you pledge.

Get "pick one?" You get digital copies of the cards in that adventure. Get all four? Get all the cards for these...something like 157 creatures.

(Physical decks only ship out of the USA, to the US, Canada, and Australia/New Zealand; PDFs are available everywhere, of course.)

Below are some WIP images of the cards. You can see some of the text is placeholder, and don't take it for granted that Gentry's stats won't change. That's the art, though!

New Add-on! Physical Deck of Reference Cards

Physical Deck: $50

Due to shipping challenges and expenses, this add-on only ships to the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

This add-on is for a physical deck of reference cards for the monsters in the four adventures. There will be at least 157 cards in the deck. The design above is a work-in-progress but should be close to the final; each card will also be tweaked for readability.

Monsters that are complicated - like dragons and werewolves - will have a second card listing the common abilities for all such creatures.

You can get the add-on in two ways, both of which involve using the "Manage your Pledge" feature of Kickstarter.

• Manage your pledge, and then simply increase your pledge by $50; this will appear as a credit in Backerkit. You will then add the card deck to your cart during the Backerkit survey. If you currently have a PDF-only pledge but want the physical cards...this is the way to go.
• If you currently have a physical pledge, you can Manage Your Pledge, select the SAME pledge, and then choose it as an add-on. Your pledge will be automatically increased.

All backers who opt-in to the physical deck will receive a print-your-own version of the cards with their order.

Because the PDF is also a stretch goal, we'll wait and see if we make it. If we do...yay! If not, each adventure will have it's own cards available for $5, or all four for $15 in PDF form.

Hopefully we make it though!

Project Ends Saturday, Aug 27 at 8pm Central
over 1 year ago – Thu, Aug 25, 2022 at 02:54:21 PM

We're in the final days of the project. I wanted to recap some highlights.

Home-Stretch Goal and Add-ons

• In Update #14 I announced a "home-stretch" goal. If we hit 900 backers or more by the time the Kickstarter ends, everyone gets PDF copies of the new NPC/monster/PC cards that match the adventures they have selected. There are roughly 40 cards per adventure.
• Regardless, a physical deck of all the cards is available for $50. It comes with a PDF to print more of your own in case you want disposable cheat sheets. You may add this during the Kickstarter, you may add extra funds to cover it during the Kickstarter, or you may wait and add it in Backerkit. 
• If the grappling and wrestling rules from various D&D games have left you cold, consider adding Dungeon Grappling to your cart. This roughly 50 page book contains grappling rules that don't suck for OSR, Pathfinder RPG, and 5e in the same book. Not OSE explicitly, but the examples make it clear what to do.

Status and Schedule

Where are we?

• The project currently is my fourth-best ever, with 578 backers and 1,347 followers (of those total followers, 1,170 have not yet backed the project). That 1,170 is the number to watch: ultimately, whether or not we hit the home-strech goal at 900 backers and the final success state of the project depend on how many of those actually pledge. My best-ever is 685 backers...only 108 to go. It's already the most-followed campaign I've ever done. By a lot.
• I would strongly encourage campaign followers who may pledge late or by Backerkit pre-order to jump on at least at the $1 level. This puts your name/email on the list so that you're included in all Backerkit survey emails during that phase of the campaign.
• I am putting final touches on Till Death Do Us Part and Dark Lord's Doom. Rob Conley (of Bat in the Attic) and I spent three hours (!!) yesterday using numeric simulations to ensure that the fights in Dark Lord's Doom were properly set up to challenge the party and support the story properly based on the choices made. I'll ensure I do the same thing with the other adventures as well. Today I shall start on Vampire Hunter Belladonna, leaving Dragon Hunt for last. 
• Might need to get a third set of 50 books for the "OSE Hardcopy Starter Kit" for the US hub. Currently 71 out of 100 have been claimed. This is excellent. Over 130 "starter sets" in both physical and PDF form have already been claimed, which means 130 new people to playing OSE. Or at least 130 who want the Rules Tome.
• I will not be adding additional OSE Rules Tomes beyond my allocation during the Backerkit pre-order phase. Once my allocation is gone, it's gone, as I have to order and then have delivered the hardcopies to pre-stage for fulfillment. If it looks like we're getting a lot of $85 pledges by mid-morning on Friday, I'll ask for more, but 10am my time on Friday is 4pm in the UK, and that's where Exalted Funeral is located. So earlier is better for this pledge level!
• Setting up the Backerkit surveys won't take very long, and the key bit is that I don't have to know shipping information - including prices - until the "second wave" of Backerkit surveys when shipping is assessed and charged. I posted estimates (and they ARE estimates) in Update #4.
• Overall the schedule still looks good; I need to accelerate work on VHB and Dragon Hunt...but I'm getting faster at it the more I'm getting steeped in the rules minutia. A lot needs to happen this week...but a lot is planned to happen this week. So that's according to plan!

That's that. I'll send out another update Thursday morning, the 48-hour bell sounds Thursday at 8pm Central...and then it's just a whole lot of biting fingernails and hitting F5 until we end!