MR
over 2 years ago – Wed, Jan 19, 2022 at 01:18:10 PM

Hi all!  Happy new year.  

Apologies for the delay over the last several weeks.  My wife just got home from surgery last night, and I've also been hoping to have received the reprint proofs of all of these books.  That shipment did arrive over the weekend, but I've not yet had a chance to review them; hopefully that will happen this weekend.

Fulfillment / Refund Options Email Sent

All of you who are entitled to hardcopies, who have NOT yet received what you're entitled to, have been emailed directly.  In that email, you've been asked your preference as to:

A: Refund or hardcopy fulfillment, 

B: Venmo/PayPal or shipping address.

C: Rules system preference (for hardcopies only).

No rush on getting back to me with your preferences.

I do realize that some of you have already attempted to express your preferences, either via direct email, or comment, or Kickstarter message.  I must ask you to please reply to the "CONFIRM YOUR PREFERENCES" email so I can make sure and log your desires.

Timing

There's a lot to manage and I appreciate your patience and assistance in helping me make sure each and every one of you gets your preference and so I can make sure you're all satisfied in the end.

I will begin refunding and ordering/shipping later this month.  In each case, I will email you directly when I trigger your fulfillment or refund so you know what's happening, and when it's happening.

Onward!

Hardcover Fulfillment Update
over 2 years ago – Thu, Dec 16, 2021 at 08:42:38 AM

Hi, all.  Some good news and some bad news.

Good News & Bad News

Good news is, my wife is through chemo, so I'm a bit less distracted and have slightly more time on my plate.

Bad news is, it's been so long since I had submitted and proofed the hardcover files, that DTRPG has changed its standard... they now require a different measurement of bleed on the content file.

What Does This Mean?

It means I need to spend about $1100 just to re-order all of the proofs for all of the hardcovers.  Then they need to ship, and I need to approve.  But the good news is, at that point, I will have the time and resources to resume fulfillment of hardcovers to all of those still interested.

Refunds

As I've said all along, I'm more than willing to offer a refund to anyone who has decided that they only want the PDFs of the books.  That's more than fair, given the enormous time delay here, and even the most well-intentioned backer's patience is truly tested in this scenario.  Believe me,  I understand.

Not to mention, given how enormous all of the books turned out to be, and how much more expensive printing costs have risen to be, it's actually cheaper for me to refund a disappointed backer than to send them print copes.

What Now?

• I have reformatted all of the content files (all 28 of them) and am pulling the trigger on the re-order later this week.
  
• Before Christmas, I will be emailing each of you who are still entitled to a hardcopy directly and individually.  You can reply to that with your latest mailing address, whether you prefer a refund or want a hardcopy still, and what rules system you want your hardcopy in if that applies.
  
• I realize that some of you have already reached out via comment or post or update reply stating your desires; so that I can stay organized and so that none of you falls through the cracks, please reply to my reach-out so I know for certain what your preferences are so I can accommodate them.
  
• For those interested in a refund, I anticipate processing those starting in January.
  
• For those preferring their hardcopies still, I will begin ordering and shipping those in January as well, assuming DTRPG prints and ships the revised-bleed proofs in that timeframe.
  

Thank You

Obviously, this is not how I wanted things to conclude in terms of fulfillment.  I still am committed to sending each backer entitled to hardcopies who still wants them what they are owed, and to refunding all backers who would prefer that option instead.

Regardless of how things shake out over the next few months, I want to thank you all for helping to fuel what is, and remains, the largest fantasy RPG bestiary of all time, something that, despite unwanted delays, turned out to be every inch what I had envisioned.

Thank you.

Onward!

IGS State of the Realm Q3 2021
over 2 years ago – Tue, Oct 26, 2021 at 07:31:26 PM

State of the Realm

A bit late, I'll be the first to admit, but you can check out all of the details here.

It's late mainly because I really wanted to finish the FlexTale Encounter Generator Solo Adventuring Toolkit before I shared the broader status of things, and that massive book released today, so huzzah!

If you're entitled to that book, check your inbox for a free copy notification from DriveThruRPG.

Up Next

The Western Realm Gazetteer is next in the pipeline.  With the massive amount of work I've already finished on it, I should be able to finish that by the end of the year.

Beyond that will be Artifacts & Artifice 3, and Gauntlets & Gaslight.

My thanks again to all of those eagerly awaiting these, and other products in the pipeline!  Hang in there!

Thank You

As always: thank you, for making what I do possible, and for all of the patience, wonderful feedback, and stories of enjoying the stuff we put out.

2021 has been an incredibly challenging, stressful, and chaotic year for many, and certainly for my family, but I'm thrilled that I've still been able to complete and publish some of our most useful, most successful, and best-received books ever.

Many of you have asked what you can do to help support our family's battle with cancer.  While it won't solve anyone's problems, it might feel good to check out our "F&%$ Cancer 2021 Charity" bundle.  It's a massive discount on a ton of our most successful and powerful books.

Stay safe, stay sane.

Onward!

IGS State of the Realm: Q2 2021
almost 3 years ago – Fri, Jul 16, 2021 at 03:22:03 AM

Hi, all!  Hope you're enjoying your summer for those who are in that season.

I apologize at the delay in providing a quarterly update several weeks into the actual quarter.

Challenges in 2021

I'll just say it: we sold our house, and my wife was diagnosed with cancer.  It's been a hell of a past few months.  I'm writing this literally the day after she started chemotherapy.

There's a good chance that you, as a kickstarter backer who doesn't know me or my wife personally, might see this as too much information to share.  But I've always tried to err on the side of transparency, and this sort of thing has a notable impact to my spare time, so I wanted to be clear.

There's also, sadly, a high probability that you know someone who has helped a loved one deal with cancer.  For that subset of people reading this, you know what's involved, and how big a disruption it can be.

Key Q2 Accomplishments

Despite the chaos and vileness of the past few months, I've still managed to steal some time for IGS.  Here's a quick summary of what's been achieved:

• Solo Adventuring Toolkit writing: About 80% complete the book now.  This is my entire hands-on, heads-down focus until I finish it, hopefully very soon!
  
• Cover art commissions completed: Gauntlets & Gaslight, Husks, Echoes of Time Forgotten, and Library Vitae
  
• Cover art commissions completed for several planned FTEG SAT related products: Thiefesque (a rules-light solo-play homage to the Roguelike genre) and Crucible (a rules-light solo-play homage to the Gauntlet video games).  These will be free to SAT backers.
  

2021 Outlook

I waited to post this update, and the State of the Realm Q2 update, until we had gotten the first chemo infusion completed.  To be honest I still don't know what the impact is going to be, either financially or logistically.  But it's a great scenario in terms of survivability and that's what matters in the long run.

As you know by now, I'm an optimist to a fault, so I'm still very excited about what I'll yet be able to accomplish this year.

My goal at the start of the year had been to finish all major pieces of my backlog by the first of next year.   That may not be entirely possible any more, but I'll still get close, I feel.

Detailed SotR

Please find the detailed State of the Realm update on the IGS website here.

Conclusion

I'm not exactly sure what else to say.  I'm not where I wanted to be, and there are grim undertones to that statement that haven't been there before.  But I'm still dedicated, and optimistic, and excited, and still getting stuff done.  Just not quite as quickly as I would have wanted.

Working on IGS stuff has quite literally kept me sane, especially recently,  I cannot imagine not doing it as a major part of my life, and I see no reason why that would ever change.

Stick with me.  I've got a lot more to do, and it's only going to get more awesome.  Thank you for your understanding and support.

Onward.  Now, more than ever.

MOA for DCC Published & Digitally Fulfilled!
about 3 years ago – Mon, Apr 19, 2021 at 08:20:28 PM

Production Update

Just a quick note that Monsters of Aquilae for Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) has been officially approved for release as DCC-compatible by Goodman Games!

As a result, it's been published and everyone entitled to a copy has been sent one via DriveThruRPG.

This and the OSR editions were sent to everyone who was entitled to a copy of Monsters of Aquilae (originally known as Aquilae Bestiary Volume 3) as a special thank-you bonus.

Next Steps

Next up is getting the proofs ordered, received, and approved for the hardcopies across all editions.  Stay tuned!

Onward!