Post GenCon update! Manufacturer prototypes, griffon sneak peak, filler art progress, and more.
over 2 years ago – Wed, Aug 10, 2022 at 01:34:51 AM

Hey everyone!

I've got a few things to show so far! Thanks for your patience and continued enthusiasm! If you caught me at GenCon, thank you so much for saying hi! It was great to see you, truly.

Journal Prototype (Video)

This video shows the first journal prototype, which just came in this morning. I talk about the materials being used, what's being changed, touch-ups, etc. In general, though, it's looking good!

Griffon Bestiary sneak peaks

I've gotten almost half of these griffons' art already cleared for the digital bestiary bonus. At this point I don't think I'll hit that September mark for having those to you, but it'll definitely be ready sometime in the fall. Since it's digital, you'll get it the second that it's ready!

Part of the extended timeline for this is caused by the fact that I'm working with the same artist, Damien Mammoliti, for all of these. This way I can make sure that every griffon looks really consistent and cool. Damien's done a lot of work in the TTRPG scene for monster art already, so you may recognize some of his work already.

Anyway, here's a sneak peak of the Celestial and Hellish griffons' artwork:

Filler Art!

The last few pieces of filler art are being wrapped up right now. Once they're done, I'll be able to add them into the book, double check that I've integrated all the great bug-reporting you've found so far since release, and then get you an updated PDF at the same time that I send these files out for printing. Again, if you've found any issues, you can let me know at saddleb.ag/fix so I can knock 'em out!

And, if you backed the Kickstarter but didn't see your name in the back of the PDF, it's probably because you hadn't filled out the backer survey by the time I'd exported your names from Backerkit. Don't worry, it'll be there in the final!

Other Kickstarters worth supporting:

Humblewood Tales— Final 48 hours!

I mentioned this project before when it launched, but Humblewood is one of the core stories and worlds from Hit Point Press. With over 200 pages of new content that’s fully compatible with all your 5e games, including premade characters, a full bestiary, myriads of new magic items and more, there’s plenty of thrills to be had for both new and seasoned Humblewood adventurers.

Tales from Sina Una

Similarly, Tales From Sina Una is a 200+ page adventure anthology, presenting ten brand new adventures that take place across the islands introduced in the critically-acclaimed Islands of Sina Una. Fight, survive and overcome the dangers and challenges of spirits, monsters, people, and even gods themselves as you delve into a world inspired by pre-colonial Filipino mythology and culture. To help with these new threats and foes, you’ll find new subclasses, new feats, and new magic items that you can find across the islands.

Setting playlists are live! A second round of Backpack prototypes! Humblewood Tales!
over 2 years ago – Fri, Jul 08, 2022 at 12:37:26 AM

Hey everyone!

I wanted to give a shoutout, first and foremost, to my close friends at Hit Point Press for their latest Kickstarter release: Humblewood Tales. If you missed their iconic initial Humblewood Kickstarter, now is an incredible time to jump into the Humblewood universe with delightful (playable) woodland creatures and, now, a book full of magical stories on which to go adventure. Humblewood is a staple in the third-party creator space, and this latest addition to the IP is extremely welcome and exciting. I promise that it's worth your support!

Setting Spotify Soundtracks Now Live

If you'd seen the link at the start of the Book's Part III section, you'd see that there's a Maps link and Music link. The Maps link lets you download a great selection of gorgeous, relevant maps from Cze and Peku. Until now, the Music link wasn't hooked up to anything. But as of right now, you can visit that link (saddleb.ag/b2music) to get easy access to whatever setting playlist you wanted on any device with Spotify access. Also included in this list is the Bulette Takes the Liar soundtrack. Again, a huge thank you and shoutout to Will Savino for the music. He's tremendously skilled. If you haven't listened to the soundtracks yet, let me seriously recommend them.

I hope you like this integration, and I really hope you like the cinemagraphs that I had made to pair with these songs! You'll see these on mobile when you're playing each track (and not looking at the playlist screen). They're...man, I think they're really cool.

New Backpack prototypes!

Along with other prototypes being made, one of most complicated ones to get right is the backpack. However, it's going along swimmingly. Here's a video of the latest iteration:

There are a few details I wanna iron out yet: some of the printed graphics' fidelities, a couple seam locations, a couple color choices, etc., but this is a great look at how progress is being made with the bags! I hope you're as excited for these as I am! Remember that you can add these to your order at any time leading up to when your orders are locked later this year!

Other deliverables

Same as before: the remaining pieces of filler art are well underway! Their due-date is the end of next month, so we'll have the final(ish) PDF delivered very shortly thereafter. Your feedback submissions continue to be helpful! Thank you all so much for taking the time to read and enjoy the PDF!

The griffon art for the bestiary is progressing nicely as well! I'll share some of those here before too long, too. I also know that the compendium of crafting recipes is coming along smoothly, too! Again, I'll always keep you all up to date with progress as it's made.

That's it from me for now! Thank you all so much for your enthusiasm and support!

-g

At last! The GM screen interior design!
over 2 years ago – Thu, Jun 30, 2022 at 06:16:19 PM

Hey everyone!

Things are moving along on my end. Prototypes of the products are being made. Some are more complicated to get right than others, unsurprisingly.

Something that was a challenge for one of my manufacturers was creating a GM screen I was really excited about. Now, you may be saying "Griff, it's a GM screen. It's not complicated."

But wait!

See, I loved organizing my various folders and binders years ago when I was in school. Pockets and sleeves were huge for me, and even when I've GM'ed, I've had layers upon layers of small and large sheets of paper crammed in my GM screens' sleeves. Reaching down into those tall sleeves to get cards out is a hassle, and generally means you need to take down the screen to get your hand in there, too.

Well, I've worked with my production team to bring the function of those old school folders to the hum-drum GM screen we're all used to. Introducing: top-level folder pockets!

This screen is designed for you to store your notes, printouts, and cards (items, monsters, or otherwise) all within the GM screen. The tall sheet pockets are letter sized with thumb-friendly cutouts, so you can print from the Book's PDF (or any book's PDF, for that matter) and stuff 'em in there and take 'em back out with ease. On a separate layer on top of the tall sleeve is the secondary folder pocket, which can hold anything from treasure, to game notes, or, uh, grocery lists. I know I use a lot of index cards when GM'ing, and this will be great for that!

Each of the screen's four panels has both that large and small top pocket. That's a lot of storage options for your notes!

Anyway, I'm really excited for this, and I hope it was worth the wait! Thank you for your patience as I worked to finalize this design with my manufacturer. Getting a second PVC sheet on top of the first was really tricky, believe it or not!

Legendary backers already get one of these screens with their pledge, but if you wanted one of your own to add to your order, you can always add it through the backerkit preorder shop!

That's all for now! Until next time, keep on adventuring!

-g

More digital content! Setting soundtracks, character options for Foundry VTT, and an all-inclusive Book Two module version for Foundry!
over 2 years ago – Wed, Jun 01, 2022 at 12:16:03 AM

Hey everyone!

I've just hit the distribute buttons in Backerkit on these last three digital files for this stage of the Kickstarter fulfillment process:

• Soundtracks by Will Savino for the 14 settings in Part 3. Each track has a looping and standard variant! Everyone that got a Book Two PDF with their pledge (or as an add-on) will get these files!
• Book Two Character options for Foundry VTT (races and subclasses)
• A combined Book Two module for Foundry VTT, in case you'd rather install just the one file instead of the monthly modules from before! Includes all item and character option modules in one! (Both separate and combined modules will continue to be maintained, so pick whichever format works best for you)

Remember that Backerkit can take up to 24 hours to distribute these files. If you don't see them right now, check back in a bit!

Soundtracks will also be available on Spotify in the near future—I'll put out another update when they're live. Just waiting on a couple things to come through for them. I'm excited about it!

As a reminder, here's the planned rewards schedule from now going forward: 

Digital Rewards going out June through September:

• Updates to the PDF as needed leading up to the final printing version.
• Digital printable character sheets for those that got the journals. You're getting printed ones, obviously, but you can print new ones later or use 'em ahead of time!
• Griffons of the Multiverse Bestiary PDF
• Kibbles' crafting guide for The Griffon's Saddlebag: Book Two

Physical rewards: as soon as possible, obviously. Planned for February of '23.

That's it for me for now! Have fun, and keep on adventuring!

-g

The Bulette Takes the Liar PDF and Soundtrack are now on Backerkit!
over 2 years ago – Sat, May 28, 2022 at 03:40:45 AM

The fable and soundtrack to Bulette Takes the Liar, The Lie that Shook the Mountain, is now available to all backers on Backerkit! If you got a PDF of Book Two, you also get this digital reward!

It can take up to 24 hours for your files to appear, so if you don't see it and you got the PDF, hang tight and check back in a bit!

This .zip (and the files therein) will show up in your Backerkit's Digital Downloads section. The streamable soundtrack (on Spotify, for instance), will be live in a few weeks — there's some windup involved with getting content on those platforms. In the meantime, I hope you have a good time with these downloadable files. Enjoy the story and music, I'm very happy with them!

And, if you like the story and want a printed copy of it with the custom dice to go with it, you can always add the Bulette Takes the Liar dice set and booklet to your order on Backerkit!

Speaking of soundtracks! The setting soundtracks are organized and virtually ready. I'm waiting on or two more things for those to go out, but it should be good to go very soon!

GM screen and the PDF

I've been continuing to get samples made for the GM screen to get its internal construction finalized. I'm working hard to give you extra note and handout storage in there (without it becoming bulky or obscuring anything), so getting it just right has been a process—especially with manufacturers in and out of lockdowns. Thank you for your continued patience: I'm doing my best to make sure it's worth the wait!

I hope you've been having fun with the preview PDF of the book so far! Thank you to everyone who has submitted errors you've found, it's been super helpful! If you've found any errors on your own, remember to submit them to saddleb.ag/fix to let me know where and what they are!

That's it from me for now! Thank you everyone for your enthusiasm and exceptional kindness: you've made this process a delight!

Until next time, keep on adventuring!

-g