More digital content! Setting soundtracks, character options for Foundry VTT, and an all-inclusive Book Two module version for Foundry!
almost 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!
almost 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

Book Two PDF is distributing now! Submit found errors to saddleb.ag/fix! Criir .stl files are out, too! PLUS: a week in a cabin, and a great monster compendium!
almost 2 years ago – Tue, May 10, 2022 at 01:23:00 PM

Hey everyone!

As the title says, I've just hit the distribution button on Backerkit for the PDF of Book Two! You should receive your copies within the next hour or so, but it can take up to 24 hours for Backerkit to refresh and redistribute downloads after it doublechecks itself.

The PDF (and getting it):

You'll be able to find this in your Digital Downloads section of Backerkit. Log into Backerkit as a backer and then navigate to the project for Book Two. You'll see a Digital Downloads tab there under your order, which is where your Ledger+ and Book One digital files are also stored.

This is a preview of the book! You will see a few preview-related things, which I've put here at the top of the document:

This is a big PDF. To get it to fit on Backerkit, I've had to cut a few corners to get the size down. Backerkit has a maximum file size of 250mb—less than a third of the fully exported size. Please rest assured that if you see any pixelation in the PDF that it is not an indication of the final print quality.

Discovered errors should be shared with me to fix! Please do so by submitting them at saddleb.ag/fix.

When the final version of the PDF is released (i.e. when the book goes to print), I'll upload the uncompressed PDF in pieces that align with the book's parts (1-4), which will (hopefully) fit into the filesize limit. In any case, I'll make sure that you have access to the full rez options that you can combine into a full PDF with a digital tool. They're pretty easy to come by.

If you're looking for your name in the credits and don't see it, please make sure you completed your survey on Backerkit with the name you wanted to include. This only applies if you backed during the campaign, and didn't pre-order the PDF through the Backerkit store. In any case, I'll be redrawing names with each PDF release, so if you don't see your name now, you will in the future.

Criir 3D files are out!

Also, the Criir miniatures are ready! Those have also just gone out, and if you got the .stl file in your order, you'll see the full .zip come through with all the files you'll need to print it at home with your choice of two base designs. Have fun with your 3D printers and modeling!

What's next:

Coming up soon is the Bulette Takes the Liar soundtrack and fable PDF! These are so beautiful, and I really hope you enjoy them when you get them. Will Savino has done an incredible job with the musical accompaniment, and the illustrations that pair with the story are perfectly whimsical for a short, Grimm-like tale.

After that are the setting sound tracks! These are getting organized into playlists as we speak, although there may be another way we choose to present them instead for that maximum cool factor.

There's also a small bonus Foundry module that includes the character options from the book. That'll be out this month as well.

After that it's continuing the grind on getting physical products made! I've put out a tech pack for the journals now and am getting responses from the manufacturer to narrow in on those designs, and the tech packs for the key loop and dice bag are coming soon after.

They're still doing some prototyping for the GM screens to find the best solution to what I have in mind, so I appreciate your patience on that front. Things have been shaky in the Chinese manufacturing space, so getting definitive answers for it has been a little up in the air. Again, thanks for your continued patience with that. I really think it'll be worth the wait!

I'll have some dice prototypes to show you soon, too! They've really nailed the gelatinous cube look I was going for, and the Bulette Takes the Liar set is looking properly grim so far. I can't wait to show you!

A quick week in the woods

If you didn't know, I'm a one man band when it comes to most things with the Saddlebag. I've also been continuing to put out daily content throughout preparing and fulfilling the Kickstarter so far. As a result, I'm pretty beat.

I'm taking a week off, but will be back next Monday to respond to everyone who comments or has a question or message in the interim. In case you need a response immediately, please reach out to a moderator on Discord. They have the means to reach me in a pinch. Again, if you can wait a week for me, I'd certainly appreciate it, but I also understand that some things are emergencies and simply can't be delayed. Thank you for your understanding and continued support!

BONUS: Check out this gorgeous 400-page compendium of monsters and more from my friends at Studio Agate!

My friends at Studio Agate create gorgeous books that may just as easily be movie props. This next compendium from them is no different, and offers a ton of great options for both players and GMs alike! Here's the pitch:

Creatures: Netherworld is a 400-page monster compendium and toolbox for your next campaign, featuring more than 180 illustrated creatures for all levels, including 150 entirely original ones and 30 great classics with a new spin such as the Aboleth or the Chuul, 5 playable species (Drow, Duergar, Sidhe of the depths, Grimlocks, and Svirfneblins), adventure hooks, new feats and handicaps, 12 original magic items, 8 original archetypes providing you with material to design new monsters for your games... and much more!

When you go through the Book Two PDF for the Saddlebag, you'll see that this team is also credited for the art on the monsters/creatures in one of the appendices (for some fun new warlock patrons!). You'll be able to see first hand how lovely their art is, and their books are just filled to the brim with more like it.

Definitely consider supporting this great Kickstarter campaign!

That's it from me for now! Thank you all again so much for your support and enthusiasm through all of this! You've been nothing short of spectacular, and I'm so excited to get everything to your homes and tables as best I can. See you in a week!

Until next time, keep on adventuring!

-g

Smoke test surveys going out now! All others going out later today! Check your inbox!
almost 2 years ago – Fri, Apr 29, 2022 at 08:31:19 PM

Hey everyone! Happy Saturday! It's time for surveys to start rolling out!

The smoke test is going out RIGHT NOW. That means that 5% of you will get these surveys in your inboxes. Check your email! If you got one, go through the process of completing it and adjust your order however you need to. If you run into any issues, please email me directly at [email protected]. Backerkit staff don't really work weekends (good for them, honestly), so it'll just be me on deck today to handle any immediate support issues that come up. If you find something wrong, let me know so I can fix it for the other 95%! That being said, I've gone through this with a very fine comb and think it should be watertight.

After the smoke test comes back clear, I'll go ahead and send out all remaining surveys. I'll post a short update here once the final batch has gone out. In general, if you don't see it after the final batch has gone out, give it another half hour (it can take time to go through) and also remember to check your spam folder.

And! If your order on Kickstarter failed to go through: don't worry! Your orders are intact. You'll be prompted to update your payment information in Backerkit. Easy peasy.

Your orders should include your digital rewards that are already available: namely your Ledger+ codes, PDFs of Book One, and the Foundry VTT pack. I've gone ahead and copied over the timeline for digital rewards from a previous update here for easy reference:

Digital rewards going out today:

• PDF of Book One
• Ledger+ Access Codes: Books One
• Ledger+ Access Codes: Books Two
• Ledger+ Total Access Codes
• Foundry Book Two item bundle

Rewards going out shortly thereafter through end-of-May:

• PDF Book Two — this will still have some missing filler art, but is perfect for you to start using at home. Proofreaders, if you find anything, I'll have means of contacting me about it and cataloging your finds! This should be pretty tight, though: lots of folks have already combed through it! Let's see if Ind Fonts is sneaking around again.
•  BONUS: Foundry VTT update with races and subclasses
• Setting soundtracks should be live, too.
• Bulette Takes the Liar fable PDF and soundtrack
• Criir STL

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.

Again, if you run into any issues (which I don't think you will), shoot me an email ([email protected]) and I'll do my best to make it right asap before sending out the remainder of the surveys.

Whoo-hoo! That's it for now! Talk more soon!

-g

Ledger+ Codes for Book Two are working! Have fun!
almost 2 years ago – Fri, Apr 29, 2022 at 10:45:59 AM

Hey everyone!

Here's my short update letting you know that the Ledger+ Book Two codes are working as intended now! You may need to give it a refresh if you're already on the page, but that's it! You won't need to reapply any codes or use a new one.

Also a quick reminder that Ledger+ codes and access are not the same as a PDF or a PDF download. The PDF of Book Two is coming sometime next month!

Thank you to everyone for the awesome showing of support today, and for being super cool to me throughout the day with and during your support questions and concerns. Your kindness and enthusiasm really go a long way! You're really awesome!

Have fun with the Ledger+! Talk more soon!

-g