Foundry System & Lucie's Art Online
about 5 years ago – Fri, Mar 12, 2021 at 01:39:21 PM

Phew! We just cleared 60k. I don't even.

It's super exciting to see our numbers climb like this, but also just a little bit nerve-wracking. The addition of the slipcase has added some complexity to the logistics, but more money means we'll be cushioned against any unforeseen costs.  And more backers means more people we have to please! Luckily, we're confident that Stonetop is up to that task.

Today I come to you with two announcements of interest:

65k stretch goal: Stonetop system for Foundry

If we hit 65k, we'll produce a full "system" for the Foundry Virtual Tabletop. Unlike the online play aids we'll be offering, which can be ported onto various platforms, this will integrate Stonetop's mechanics, components, and setting material into Foundry's platform, allowing for a comprehensive online play experience. A fan of the game came forward and offered to do this work (don't worry, we're paying them!), so Jeremy and I can keep our focus on writing, editing, and layout of the books. We are hoping to have this system ready to go by October 2021, the same time the physical books ship.

Lucie Draws Things

She certainly does. And there has been a bit of a clamor from backers over all of the lovely art we've been able to share so far. Enough of a clamor, in fact, for Lucie to set up her own web shop in order for people to get their hands on prints and original art. Lucie will be adding to this online portfolio as she continues to create art for the game, so if you're interested in nabbing an original or two as they become available, you may want to bookmark it.

Work continues apace as we focus on polishing the material that will comprise the playable preview we'll be sharing with all of you at the the close of the campaign. More news soon!

Jason

Introducing: The Lightbearer
about 5 years ago – Sun, Mar 07, 2021 at 09:33:53 PM

First of all: holy cow.  Less than a week in and we've blown through our stretch goals, over 1,000 people have backed this project, and more backers are continuing to join. It's humbling. I can't really express my gratitude, nor my excitement at welcoming you all to Stonetop.

As Jason mentioned in the last update, we're going to be extremely cautious about adding new stretch goals. I know the excitement of seeing goals get posted and then knocked down, but we need to beware of over-commitment. 

You all are putting a lot of faith in us. Our primary goal is—needs to be—delivering on the core promise of this campaign: the two game books and associated materials. 

Speaking of faith...

The Lightbearer was the first "spellcaster" playbook that I created for Stonetop. This is a lower-magic setting, and the magic that's there is meant to be mysterious, often subtle, very often dangerous and costly and creepy.  The challenge was to create a playbook with access to magic that wasn't particularly dark, but that still fit. 

The Lightbearer doesn't exactly cast spells. Rather, they consecrate a flame to the sun god, and then invoke power through that flame. This means that the Lightbearer needs to bear light; they need a lit candle, torch, or lantern at hand to use most of their magic. This gives them a very real, very practical limitation. In play, it often makes their magic feel tenuous and truly mystical. 

I also wanted a "divine" class that reflected what I see are the best parts of faith: kindness, hope, mercy, a sense of purpose and connection, inspiring without being arrogant. You can make your Lightbearer an overbearing, overzealous jerk if you really want to, but I hope that the playbook mostly leans away from that. 

You'll probably notice a very "Gandalf" feel to this playbook, with some hints of Gnosticism and Sufism, and just a pinch of Johnny Cash. It was one of my favorite playbooks to write. I hope you enjoy it!

-Jeremy

Stretch goal update
about 5 years ago – Thu, Mar 04, 2021 at 09:16:04 PM

Dear backers,

We have the great good fortune of finding ourselves in an unexpected and wonderful position—raising far more funds than we originally anticipated. Before launch, I thought we stood an outside chance of hitting 35k and as I type this we are approaching 40k. Thank you all for that!

We are currently discussing the best ways to take advantage of this position without overextending ourselves. We're excited to add more stretch goals, but they need to be meaningful and manageable, so they're going to be spaced further apart. We're also excited to get paid for all of our hard work, which your generous support now makes possible!

Today we're adding 4 new stretch goals. A couple of them won't require any stretching, since their funding levels have already been met, so maybe those are more like "surprise achievements." In any case, here's what's in store, with more to come as we sort out details behind the scenes.

STRETCH GOALS & SURPRISE ACHIEVEMENTS, ROUND 2

[SURPRISE ACHIEVEMENT!] $40,000: Slipcase. A sturdy, lovingly-designed container for both books. This had been on my wishlist from the moment we decided to break Stonetop into two volumes. Here's a very rough idea of what it might look like:

[SURPRISE ACHIEVEMENT!] $42,500: Hand-drawn map of Gordin's Delve. A bird's-eye view of Stonetop's closest neighboring settlement, drawn by Lucie.

$45,000: Hand-drawn map of Marshedge. A bird's-eye view of the bustling town down east, where Brennan and his Claws hold sway, drawn by Lucie.

$47500: Annotated Actual Play. Hobbes LaGault, a longtime resident of Stonetop, will produce a series of annotated actual play videos with Jeremy running the game. Annotations will highlight GM moves as they are made, rules being referenced, player choices, mechanical interactions, and any missteps noticed in retrospect.

As mentioned above, we're being very cautious about what stretch goals we choose to take on. We only have about 5 months left before we need to get the files to the printer, so our focus needs to be on finishing the books. That being said, there are a few more stretch goals in the works!

In closing, I invite you to rest your eyes on the page spread from The Wider World and Other Wonders that I just finished laying out this morning:

International shipping update
about 5 years ago – Wed, Mar 03, 2021 at 08:57:53 PM

Okay, I've gone over 2021 rates with our fulfillment partner and it looks like we can safely lower our original shipping estimates. Phew.

Apologies to everyone who was put off by our original estimates. I hope these rates will be more agreeable.  As a reminder, shipping will be charged as part of the Backerkit survey that all backers will receive at the close of the campaign.

I'll have an update on our new round of stretch goals tomorrow!

REVISED SHIPPING ESTIMATES

• Canada/EU/UK: $22
• Norway/Switzerland: $38
• Australia: $25
• New Zealand: $30
• China, Macao, Hong Kong: $14
• Rest of Asia: $29
• All other countries: $70-100

Stretch goals and international shipping
about 5 years ago – Tue, Mar 02, 2021 at 12:20:15 AM

A few hours ago, Jeremy, Lucie and I had a Zoom call to celebrate the campaign's success, raising glasses in Wisconsin, Vermont, and the south of France. After we signed off I checked the main page again and saw that we had cleared several more stretch goals! So here's some more info on those.

STRETCH GOALS

As of this writing we've crossed the 25k threshold, which means you, dear backers, have currently racked up these additions to the base content:

•  Markdown conversion. All game text will be converted into Markdown and made available for public use under a CC-BY-SA license, allowing tech-savvy users to create ePub or web editions of the game text. This is great because anyone who wants to read or play Stonetop in the future will be able to access the complete rules online, for free.
•  Digital play aids. Since it was originally designed primarily for face-to-face play, Stonetop already possesses a full complement of printable play aids, but our current era of social distancing calls for tools dedicated to online play. This stretch goal includes a set of form-fillable PDFs for every game component that would benefit from that format—the character playbooks, the steading playbook/record, the playbook inserts (inventory, animal companion, etc.), and the arcana. It also gives us room to work on integrations for Foundry and Roll20.
•  Arcana Uncovered. The arcana (magic items) are a really fun and unique aspect of Stonetop's design. The base game comes with 18 major and 36 minor arcana, but Jeremy has more waiting in the Seeker's sanctum. Meeting this goal unlocks 2 more major arcana (which means more illustrations from Lucie), and 4 more minor arcana.
•  Adventure Starters. Stonetop's character creation process guarantees that every campaign kicks off on fertile ground, well-sown with the seeds of adventure, and the rules include clear guidelines to for the GM to nurture those seeds to fruition. Even so, having a palette of well-considered options on hand can ease the GM's load. This stretch goal allows Jeremy to develop 3 "adventure starters"—illustrated briefs, each 2-4 pages in length, which lay the foundation for situations ripe with mystery, opportunity, and danger.

INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING

My apologies to everyone who has been daunted by the high shipping estimates listed on the main campaign page. I set them purposely at the high end to ensure that we don't fall into a shipping trap by incurring unanticipated costs. I am waiting for news on the 2021 rates from our fulfillment partner, and crossing my fingers that we'll be able to significantly reduce the cost of international shipping. As soon as there is any change for the better I will post an update to let everyone know. Thank you for your patience on this!

MAP PRINTS

The map print add-ons offered by Lucie went in a flash, and a number of people have asked if more of them will be made available. I am looking into alternatives and larger versions, and have begun ordering test prints. My hope is that we'll be able to offer high quality maps as add-ons in the post-campaign Backerkit survey. They really are lovely! I'll report in here with news on that front as it develops.

GRATITUDE

As I write this, over 500 people have chosen to put money toward our labor of love. In today's world, that feels... it feels good. It makes us happy. We cannot thank you enough.

—Jason (and Jeremy and Lucie)