July 2024 Update - Existing PDFs going out
almost 2 years ago
– Wed, Jul 17, 2024 at 04:10:49 AM
Hello Outlanders,
It's been just about
three weeks since we started sending our our Pledge Manager invites. If you haven't yet filled out your backer survey, please do so as soon as possible - you can change it or update it right up until the books are printing and we're getting ready to ship. We use the Pledge Manager for all reward fulfillment, so having your backer page set up ensures you'll be getting your rewards in a timely manner.
If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at
https://at-the-gates.backerkit.com
DIGITAL REWARD DISTRIBUTION
Many of the rewards for our Crowdfunding projects take a lot of time and effort to complete. Usually, the campaign is a means of moving the project from an idea (even when it's a mostly-fully-written idea) into the actual channel that turns it into a project/product. It'll be a while before we're ready to talk about delivery on At The Gates, and even longer for our projects generated via Stretch Goals (the Companion supplement, the Jumpstart, and the rest).
That said, there are a few rewards that are available now, as they were mostly add-on PDFs or bundles of existing products. And now we can work on getting those out to you over the weekend.
The following Add On Rewards Will Be Distributed This Week:
- Trinity Continuum Digital Starter Bundle
- Scion Second Edition Digital Starter Bundle
- They Came From Digital Starter Bundle
Within each of those items are 4-5 PDF products, so it's a much bigger list than it appears. It's basically this section from our Add On menu during the campaign.
If you want any of these and didn't add them on during the campaign, you can still update your BackerKit page and add them to your rewards list. See the
BackerKit How-To instructions above.
REWARD DISTRIBUTION
Your link to claim these digital rewards will be sent out by our BackerKit pledge manager
over the next few days. Since we are using our partners at DriveThruRPG as the hosts for these, you will need to set up a DriveThru account if you don't have one already. If you encounter any problems with downloading your rewards, please contact DTRPG's customer service to resolve the matter, they've always been top-rated for customer service.
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/contact_us.ph
The best way to ensure these redemption codes work smoothly is to log in to your DTRPG account first, and then click (or copy) the link shown in your BackerKit.
Again, you will receive an e-mail from BackerKit with links for these rewards over the next 2-3 days if any of them are on your expected list of rewards. I'll be releasing them in waves, so don't panic if you only see a couple links at first... the rest are coming. (We're in a digital world, but there are still a lot of manual processes. And there are many links to go out!!)
The easiest way to see if you've got digital downloads available is to login to your backerkit account:
https://at-the-gates.backerkit.com and it'll show anything available. Your backerkit account should also confirm all rewards that you should expect from your reward tier selected.
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT
In addition to redemption links for these digital rewards, all backers have received a link to the compiled draft manuscript. This link can be found in your BackerKit digital rewards page, and you likely received an e-mail linking to that with the Backer Survey invitations. Again, this isn't a new manuscript, it's just all of the pieces we shared during the campaign put together in order. It's the same link that I share at the bottom of these campaign updates, but I want to make sure you have access to it in any place that makes sense.
MONTHLY UPDATES
With the Pledge Manager up and running, this is officially the first "regular" monthly update for our project. I'll send these updates out every month to let you know where we sit. We're still in the earliest stages of this post-campaign, where projects make incremental movements along the progress path. A lot of months will be pretty similar, just a quick note to let you know that the Onyx Path team is still working on it. Any time we have a new reward or something of interest to share, I'll include that as well.
At the end of each month, I'll include a summary of our rewards and their current status (they'll either be delivered or marked as still pending, possibly with additional details if I know more). I'll also list any relevant Update posts, in case you want to go back and check into something.
Each month, I'll list our "Pending" rewards and our "Delivered" rewards. We'll track the project status of our pending rewards by filling in the stage dots, and I'll note which update (and include a link) with each delivered reward, in case you want to go back and re-read the relevant update for more information. If any of these rewards were on your pledge list, you can access download codes in your BackerKit Digital Rewards page. And once they've been added to your DriveThruRPG library, you can access them through your DTRPG digital library at any time.
REWARDS STILL PENDING
There's a lot of stuff on this list! Our main reward, the AT THE GATES PDF, standard and deluxe hardcover, along with the Print-on-Demand option, is all part of that first line, and those various formats will be rewarded at different stages near the end of the production side. Right now, we can see that the manuscript is in editing before one final development pass finishes that up and then it's on to Art Direction.
I'll post this chart in each monthly update, and fill in dots as projects move along.
REWARDS DISTRIBUTED TO BACKERS
-
Trinity Continuum Digital Starter Bundle (July 17 '24 Update)
-
Scion Second Edition Digital Starter Bundle (July 17 '24 Update)
-
They Came From Digital Starter Bundle (July 17 '24 Update)
Once a project finishes up on the progress chart and is distributed to backers, I'll move it down to this list and note which update talks about reward distribution for that item in case you want to go back and get more information.
ONYX PATH PROJECT TRACKING
You can find the
weekly Monday Meeting blog updates <here>, which note any projects with status changes since the previous Month End summary. The project statuses listed are current as of last Monday, so do check it out each Monday night to see if anything may have progressed!
I will continue to post regular updates everymonth until the final reward has gone out.
ONYX PATH DISCUSSION CHANNELS
You may be able to get further insight and possibly some in-depth conversation at these Onyx Path discussion zones:
TO CONTACT JAMES
- Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
- Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.
CURRENTLY FUNDING
Scion: Mythic Shards presents alternate realities for the World of Scion and provides new rules for players and Storyguides to incorporate into their games. Each chapter explores a single shard of reality at varying tiers of Scion gameplay. These chapters are standalone from each other and don’t need to be consumed with the other chapters in order to start playing.
Scion’s setting — the World — is an exciting place where heroes are larger than life, and Fate always lurks in the shadows, pulling strings. It is a place of urban fantasy where the legends and myths of our ancestors live in a world that’s much like our own.
But, there are some tales that belong to another world — stories that need another place to breathe and come alive — places like…
-
After the End: A post apocalyptic desert full of peril and opportunities for new beginnings
-
Cyber-Scion: A cyberpunk dystopia where Scions pilot mecha to fight corporate kaiju
-
Farewell to Heroes: Gritty noir cities where Scions are illegal
-
Four Color: A place of superheroes, alter-egos, and over-the-top excitement
-
Space Odyssey: An entire galaxy of starships and aliens
Pledge Manager Surveys Coming Soon!
almost 2 years ago
– Thu, Jun 27, 2024 at 06:50:57 AM
Hello Outlanders,
It's time for our first update of the post-Crowdfunding campaign phase!
We finished up the Crowdfunding portion of our campaign just three weeks ago with a successful run, adding many backers and extra bonus rewards. Now it's time to start the next phase of the project - the Post-Campaign, where we track the progress of the various projects we helped fund and send out rewards as they become available.
To help with all of that we use BackerKit's Pledge Manager.
Today's Topics
- BackerKit Pledge Manager Surveys Coming Soon
- Compiled Draft Manuscript (available in BackerKit Digital Rewards)
- Coming Next
BACKER SURVEYS
Over the next handful of days (June 27-July 2), you’ll receive an email from us with a special link to your Pledge Manager survey. It’s important to respond to your survey as quickly as you can since we need this information to fulfill your rewards.
You don’t need to create a BackerKit account to fill out your survey (although you probably already have one from pledging to this campaign). When you receive the email with the survey, click the survey invitation link to respond. Answer the questions about your reward preferences, provide shipping information, and purchase add-on items if you like.
You don’t have access to this survey link yet, but it will be available later this week via email!
The e-mail will have a button that looks something like this:
After you respond to your survey, you can go back later and change your responses at any time before we close the surveys and get our final counts, and that won't happen until the books are being printed and we're preparing to ship.
If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at
https://at-the-gates.backerkit.com/If you have any other questions or concerns, you can post them to the comments for this update, the comment section, or message me via one of these methods:
TO CONTACT JAMES
- Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
- Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.
If there are any issues you find with the Pledge Manager, please contact me as soon as possible to let me know. It rolls out in waves so that I can correct issues on the fly and make it work as best possible as people come on board.
I had initially expected to be sending this out three weeks from now, but I'm going to try to sneak in a vacation in 10 days so hammered on this and somehow got it done early. The chances of a few errors in the Pledge Manager set up are ...
greater than zero ... so let me know if you see something off and I'll fix it as quickly as possible.
Within the BackerKit Survey and Pledge Manager, you can:
- Review your Pledge Tier Selection and Rewards
- Upgrade your Reward Tier pledge selection
- Confirm Add On selections
- Set up payment information for any failed payments from the Crowdfunding campaign or to pay for any new Add On options selected.
When you click on your BackerKit invitation link, you should see something like this...
From the Pledge Manager welcome page you can choose to
-
Review Your Pledge Level and Rewards
-
Start Your Survey, confirming pledge rewards, confirming or selecting new Add On options, and confirming any shipping and payment info that may be needed
- Switch Your Pledge Level
If you've pledged to a reward tier that includes physical rewards, you can enter your shipping country at this stage. As noted during our campaign, we haven't set shipping costs yet - those will be calculated and added in when we're preparing to ship the book. That won't be for a long time, though, and there will be plenty of opportunity - and notice - for you to make changes.
If you click on your Pledge Level, you will see a list of all items included in your Pledge Rewards (including Stretch Goals and the Draft Manuscript), and also have the option to switch your Pledge Level, in case you've decided to get the hardcover pledge instead of the PDF-only pledge tier for example.
Once you've confirmed that your Pledge Level is correct and where you want it to be, you can GET STARTED with your BackerKit Pledge Manager Survey.
Once we've got a fair response to our survey and collected a reasonable amount of info, I'll be working on fulfilling rewards that are available now - like the PDFs of the titles included in our Add On section (for example, the Scion Second Edition Digital Starter Bundle, the Trinity Continuum Digital Starter Bundle, and the They Came From Digital Starter Bundle). Those will likely be coming to you in mid-July, and I'll send another update with more info when that time comes.
So, in summary:
- Look for an e-mail invitation to BackerKit's Pledge Manager sometime over the next 4-5 days
- Get Started on your survey
- Confirm your Pledge Level (or SWITCH your Pledge Level if you want to change it)
- Confirm and Select Any Add On options
- Confirm Your Shipping Information (if needed)
- Confirm Your Payment Information (if needed)
I will post an update in another week or two as I begin outlining the delivery of our first Add On rewards (the existing Starter Bundles, as noted above) and beginning distribution of those PDF rewards.
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT
Looking in the example pledge list above, you can see a listing for the Draft Manuscript. In your BackerKit digital rewards page, you will have access to the compiled draft manuscript. It won't be different from the one that was shared during the campaign - it'll just be all gathered together in one big file. The Draft Manuscript link may not be active when you first login to your BackerKit survey, but I'll throw the switch and it'll send you a notice next week after all of the invitations have gone out.
I will talk about how to access your BackerKit digital rewards links in an update coming later this month, when I send out the first wave of available rewards.
COMING NEXT
In the next 3 weeks or so, I'll send an update with details about the distribution for that first wave of Starter Bundle rewards. I'll also get the compiled draft manuscript up and ready for you.
We'll also begin our regular monthly check-ins, tracking the progress of this project as it moves through this phase. It'll take some time, but we'll have regular updates all through the process. I'll also have notes on how to check the weekly and monthly All Project Progress updates on Onyx Path's website.
TO CONTACT JAMES
- Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
- Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.
CURRENTLY FUNDING - ONYX PATH ADJACENT
From
The Bodhana Group, the Branch Riders tabletop roleplaying game is currently in a campaign on Kickstarter. The Bodhana Group advocates for and utilizes tabletop gaming as a directed therapeutic and clinical practice that can benefit personal growth as well as enhance social and educational services to individuals and families. Gaming has usefulness in education, skill building and therapeutic applications.
Branch Riders is an RPG that came out of years of design and development - with the help of some of the Onyx Path team - to be a fun and compelling game first and foremost, but with the right therapeutic and skill-building tools "under the hood" for trained instructors to utilize beyond that.
If you're interested in a multi-genre action-packed easy-to-learn and -teach fun game with different approaches to problem solving and a variety of GM tools and player challenges, come check it out!
The Gates Have Closed!
almost 2 years ago
– Thu, Jun 06, 2024 at 11:06:36 AM
Hello Outlanders,
We did it! We all came together for this big Event in Everend and haven enabled bringing this amazing game from a dream to a reality!
Thanks to the support of more than 1,230 backers, Onyx Path will be able to develop and print hardcover editions for
At The Gates!
Not only did we blow past the 1,200 backer count that we dream of, we extended the campaign with a last minute Backer Train taking us into Overtime!! That was cool! It's still a recent feature, but we love testing out new bits and seeing how much more fun we can have with our campaigns.
There's more to celebrate! Not only did we fund the project in the first day, we also unlocked an even dozen Stretch Goals. From standard Onyx Path milestone markers to a jumpstart campaign launcher to an expanded Companion full of more options for your game!
It came down to the last few days but we managed to hit every Stretch Goal we'd posted and passed 275% of our funding target!
Our Bonus Reward Collection
Some Milestone Markers
ADDITIONAL UNLOCKED ADD ON OPTIONS
ONLINE TOOLS
BEST OF ALL, MORE CONTENT
A DOZEN STRETCH GOALS
I'm so happy that we were able to unlock the last section for the Companion! I'm really looking forward to seeing how Danielle and the team can expand on the options we've already got, and then add more fun stuff for our characters to do! And Legendary Weapons just sound amazing!
And all of that is, of course, on top of our main purpose here - the creating of the actual book itself! This is the real reward - everything else is a bonus!
So a huge congratulations to Danielle and the creative team on this project, and to all of the backers who've joined in to make this possible. I'm happy about the goals we hit and rewards we introduced, but I'm also always amazed and excited about having more than 1000 backers join in during this campaign. A new game - even one that's built on a known system - is always a risk. But when a game finds and builds a community, it's extra rewarding. And this is just the beginning, I'm sure...
AN EXTRA THANK YOU!
So, thank you to all the backers who supported us and made this happen. And an extra thanks to everyone who participated online, either in the Community comments section of the campaign, and on social media around the web. Thanks to everyone who talked about the project on the Discord and thanks to the Onyx Path team who answered questions and provided insight.
COMMUNICATION
So, as noted in today's earlier update, starting in July I'll be sending out updates once a month and whenever we've got a new goal, survey, or other item to cover. If you have any questions or need clarification on something related to the campaign, feel free to get in touch. I may take a bit to answer as I recover from these past four weeks and sneak in a week's vacation somewhere in there, but I'll eventually have an answer!
TO CONTACT ME
-
Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
-
Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your forthcoming survey page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.
ONYX PATH DISCUSSION CHANNELS
If you've got questions about the rules or setting, or just want to discuss this game with other fans (as well as the Onyx Path writers and developers!), you can check out these Onyx Path discussion zones:
Let's all gather together At The Gates!
The Discord is particularly lively, and I loved seeing the thoughts and jokes as the chapters came out bit by bit.
BackerKit will begin collected pledges and processing payments later tonight, so be ready for that.
#AtTheGates
FINAL HOURS: CHECKLIST & WHAT COMES NEXT
almost 2 years ago
– Thu, Jun 06, 2024 at 03:41:33 AM
Hello Outlanders,
Welcome to the final hours of this campaign! We've had a pretty great run - funding very quickly and coming up to the end with more than 1,200 backers! We've unlocked TWELVE Stretch Goals, adding some cool bonus rewards for supporters of this campaign!
The most important part of this campaign, though, is that we have successfully funded this project! Thanks to everyone who's come out to support this campaign, we'll be getting this cool book!
As mentioned, backers will also receive a pile of Stretch Goals as bonus rewards, including the expanded Companion, a Jumpstart scenario, the option for additional Add On rewards, a digital wallpaper, and more!
FINAL DAY CHECKLIST
Whether you've newly discovered the daemons or have faced down a Winter Dragon, these are some good topics to review over these final six hours...
1. KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SUPPORTING
You can listen to
Episode 313 and
Episode 310 of the Onyx Pathcast to hear developers and writers talk about working on the book and then creating characters for the system. A great way to confirm what the team is building is to hear their actual words. Or you can see and hear the game in play with the Actual Play episodes listed in
<This Update>Backers can read the entire current draft of the manuscript <HERE>. Please make sure you read the manuscript before the campaign concludes so you know exactly what you're pledging to support.
2. PLEDGE TIERS and ADD ONS
This update breaks down your best starting point for figuring out which Backer Reward Tier to choose to help support this project in a way that works for you.
The first decision you need to make in figuring out your reward tier is whether you want to receive the PDF version or the regular or deluxe hardcover edition (which comes with bonus PDF versions).
-
DIVINER: This is the PDF-only reward tier. So, if you're saving trees or saving shelf space - or avoiding the shipping charges that are absolutely ever-increasing - this is the reward tier option that you should begin with. The PDF will be fulfilled by our partners at DriveThruRPG.com - when it is ready, you will receive a link to add it to your DTRPG library at no cost for you to download at your leisure.
-
MAGE: This reward tier includes the standard hardcover version of this book. Shipping costs ARE NOT included in the cost of your pledge. You will be charged for shipping after the campaign through the pledge manager. In addition, this option also includes the PDF version, so you will get a digital copy as described above.
-
WARRIOR: This reward tier includes the limited edition deluxe version of At The Gates hardcover book, with a leatherette cover, special cover design, and bound-in silk bookmark. Shipping costs ARE NOT included in the cost of your pledge. You will be charged for shipping after the campaign through the pledge manager. In addition, this option also includes the PDF version, so you will get a digital copy as described above.
As noted, shipping charges will be calculated later and charged in the BackerKit Pledge Manager. We'll have exact shipping costs once the book is in production and we know the specifications, but we do expect it to be expensive. See our estimates on the front pate. If you're an international backer, you can pledge to the Diviner tier and upgrade in the pledge manager to the hardcover tier once the shipping costs are known before we lockdown orders.
ADD-ON OPTIONS - The other half of our Reward Tiers update, including information on the second step of pledging. There are several Add On options that you can add as part of your pledging process, including The World Below core rulebook in PDF or hardcover or deluxe hardcover, an At the Gates Storyguide Screen, bookmark set, enamel pins, and more! We've also got digital bundles of older edition product that are well worth checking out!
ADD ON selections will be available in the post-campaign Pledge Manager as well.
SO: Ensure that you've selected the Reward Tier you want, and select any Add On options you wish to include. AND - make sure that you are comfortable with the Pledge amount, in terms of it covering everything you want and the affordability of the pledge at this moment!
I'm going to speak against my own self interest for a moment, and repeat something I say at the end of every campaign - 2024 has been financially challenging for many, and there's still lots of uncertainty ahead. Ensure that your circumstances enable to afford this pledge at this moment - BackerKit will begin processing payments late tonight after the campaign ends and neither Onyx Path nor I have any involvement in that process. If you are unsure of your financial situation but don't want to miss out, please pledge for a tier you can afford now and know that you will be able to upgrade to open pledge levels in our post-campaign Pledge Manager for some time before the book is completed. There are no refunds for regret, and the funds raised start being spent immediately on paying for the work done thus far and the additional work ahead plus the projects unlocked via Stretch Goal. So please be financially responsible.
- Choose a Reward Tier You Can Afford
-
Read the Manuscripts and Make Sure You Know What You're Getting
-
Be Aware of the Projected Delivery Date (Onyx Path will try to deliver earlier than this, but the book will take some time to get perfect)
3. PAYMENT AND CONTACT INFORMATION
Once you're comfortable with your pledge, please ensure that the payment and contact information in your BackerKit account is up to date and correct. Making sure your e-mail is entered correctly and your credit card isn't expired will speed up the next step process. (
I have learned from experience!)
4. OVERTIME MODE
Overtime Mode extends the campaign past its original end time to give backers a final chance to make their pledge and adds an interesting twist to the end of the campaign. How long will it extend? That’s entirely up to backers: The campaign will keep going for an additional 10 minutes as long as pledges keep coming in – a chain of back-to-back pledges is called the
Backer Train. The campaign will end only when the Backer Train stops after a period of 10 minutes passing without any pledges.
You’ll know we’re in Overtime Mode when the campaign’s Backer Train counter displays a bright rainbow border and a new countdown that resets to 10 minutes after each new backer joins that final Backer Train ride.
So, we've scheduled the campaign to conclude on June 6th at 2:00 pm EDT, but it'll be extended in 10 minute chunks as long as backers keep pledging. Will we add an extra 10 minutes? An extra 20? Or will it all finish up as we programmed? Who knows, but we'll find out together! At The Gates indeed!
WHAT COMES NEXT?
5. AFTER THE CAMPAIGN ENDS
First, we celebrate. The campaign page will subtly change, locking out the ability to pledge and showing the final totals. We'll give socially-distanced high fives and digital fist bumps in the Community section and over on Discord.
Then, the BackerKit payment process begins. Starting late tonight and continuing over the next week, Backerkit will begin charging your payment methods for the total amount you've pledged.
If there is an issue with your payment method (expired credit card or incorrect number or pre-paid Visa awaiting funds, for example), BackerKit will keep trying to process payment during this time.
Once this step is done, which will likely be by tmid-June, BackerKit will confirm everything with Onyx Path and I can begin to set up the project in the Pledge Manager and load in all of the campaign data.
In addition to providing the crowdfunding platform for this campaign, BackerKit is also Onyx Path's regular Pledge Manager partner.
BackerKit provides a robust fulfillment integration and pledge management program that will allow us to work with all of the data and distribute the rewards to you. It will take me about a month to set the project up. Once I've got it all entered and built, the team from BackerKit will review to ensure I didn't mess anything up too badly, and then I'll make any changes they've suggested and we can move on to the Survey stage.
6. BACKERKIT SURVEYS
Once BackerKit says I'm good to go, I will send out a survey to all backers. This is why confirming your e-mail is important!
The BackerKit survey is both a verb and a noun - it will collect data for the analysis of some aspect of a group (enabling Onyx Path to set print runs, prioritize new projects, and fine-tune future campaigns), as well as providing a general review or summary of the reward tier you've chosen, confirm all of the rewards associated with that reward tier, and confirm your total pledge amount.
I expect Surveys to go out by late July 2024.
During the Survey period, you can choose to increase your reward tier and add on additional options. If you've found $20 in your spring jacket or found an alternate income source and decide it's time to trade up to the hardcover version of the book or include another add-on, you can do so at this time. Note, you will not be able to reduce your reward tier selection, only increase.
If you selected Add On options, they'll be added to your reward list automatically.
Note that you'll be able to upgrade your pledge tier for quite some time - until we're getting ready to print the book itself and have figured out International shipping costs. So don't feel pressure to have it all figured out right away - we'll make sure there's plenty of time to get it all sorted before the books go out.
Similarly, if you have a hardcover book as one of your rewards, the survey will ask you to confirm your shipping address, even though it'll be some time before we ship out the final product. Do not worry about moving before shipping begins - you will be able to update BackerKit right up until the point that we begin fulfilling the final book. We will send out a notice prior to lock down so you can update any information.
I'll also use the Survey to confirm some details for the premium reward tiers.
7. REWARD DISTRIBUTION
Once the surveys are up and running, I'll prepare fulfillment for the existing rewards - the Add On options that are all currently available, like the digital starter bundles and the World Below draft manuscript. Depending on how smoothly the Pledge Manager process goes, those should be out fairly soon after the survey stage starts. So, let's say the existing PDF rewards will be out to you by the start of August. That's only the beginning, though.
This is a long process, but I will send out regular updates (usually at the end of the month) to keep you up to speed on Onyx Path's progress. There will be strings of updates that are just "still working on it," but I will share new artwork or information when I can.
Eventually, we will have a completed PDF of At The Gates. Onyx Path will take some time to distribute, review, and compile any errata or corrections that need to be made. When they've made any necessary changes, they'll make an updated version of the PDF available in your DriveThruRPG digital library and then begin creating print-ready files for the Print-on-Demand and the hardcover versions.
It's yet another long road ahead, likely full of twists and turns and surprises, but one that we wouldn't be undertaking if not for your ongoing support.
So - one final time - please spread the word to any potential backers and fans, and thanks so much for a great campaign!
#AtTheGates
Final Days Review - Stretch Goals
almost 2 years ago
– Wed, Jun 05, 2024 at 05:54:49 AM
Hello Outlanders!
We're not quite in the final 24 hours, but getting very close! With these last hours, I wanted to review some important topics, most especially our current Stretch Goal situation! Let's get reviewin'!
We're in the Final Days countdown for this Crowdfunding campaign.
At The Gates finishes the crowdfunding campaign on Thursday, June 6th at 2:00 PM EDT. There's still time to Inspire others to help explore Everend, but we're definitely getting closer to the finish line. With that in mind, I wanted to touch on some of the basics over these final four days to make sure everyone has the information they need to support this project in the way that works best for them.
Final Days Schedule
Whether you're a veteran of many daemon summonings or just learning your first Art, these are some good topics to review over this week to make sure we all end up where we want to be.
(An aside, if you're a new backer, make sure you check out our Final Week Countdown / Resource Update. It has links to the manuscript previews, podcasts, and a ton of Actual Play sessions.)
Refresher Course
Note for New Backers: Please check out the updates listed above. There's a lot of information there that will be important to know about before the end, like how we're not including international shipping charges in our pledges for this campaign and instead will be charging them in our pledge manager before we ship out the books, and you can also read the entire draft manuscript before the end of the campaign and any pledges are processed.
Note for Since-the-Start Backers: It's probably a good idea to review that stuff as well. Never hurts to make sure you haven't missed anything! And it's fun to listen to those podcasts and watch the Actual Plays.
We've had, and will have, a bunch of new backers join in during these last days. I want to take a moment to highlight some key Update posts that new backers may want to check out (and existing backers may want to read as a refresher!).
MANUSCRIPT PREVIEW - As noted, the
complete Preview Manuscript for the book is available for you to review prior to the conclusion of the campaign. If you're a backer, you'll have access to this preview manuscript after the campaign. Remember, though, there are still some minor edits, development and proofing that need to be done. But, you can consider it about 98.7% finished. Making the manuscript available for review before the campaign ends ensures that everyone knows exactly what our goal is - making this book - and are on board with our aims for this project. Thanks for your support, we're all in this together!
PLEDGE TIERS - This update breaks down your best starting point for figuring out which Backer Reward Tier to choose to help support this project in a way that works for you.
The first decision you need to make in figuring out your reward tier is whether you want to receive the PDF version or the regular or deluxe hardcover edition (which comes with bonus PDF versions).
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DIVINER: This is the PDF-only reward tier. So, if you're saving trees or saving shelf space - or avoiding the shipping charges that are absolutely ever-increasing - this is the reward tier option that you should begin with. The PDF will be fulfilled by our partners at DriveThruRPG.com - when it is ready, you will receive a link to add it to your DTRPG library at no cost for you to download at your leisure.
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MAGE: This reward tier includes the standard hardcover version of this book. Shipping costs ARE NOT included in the cost of your pledge. You will be charged for shipping after the campaign through the pledge manager. In addition, this option also includes the PDF version, so you will get a digital copy as described above.
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WARRIOR: This reward tier includes the limited edition deluxe version of At The Gates hardcover book, with a leatherette cover, special cover design, and bound-in silk bookmark. Shipping costs ARE NOT included in the cost of your pledge. You will be charged for shipping after the campaign through the pledge manager. In addition, this option also includes the PDF version, so you will get a digital copy as described above.
ADD-ON OPTIONS - The other half of our Reward Tiers update, including information on the second step of pledging. There are several Add On options that you can add as part of your pledging process, including The World Below core rulebook in PDF or hardcover or deluxe hardcover, an At the Gates Storyguide Screen, bookmark set, enamel pins, and more! We've also got digital bundles of older edition product that are well worth checking out!
Choose Wisely
Choosing the correct Reward Tier for your desired rewards, and then filling in any "gaps" with add-ons, ensures that you'll be claiming all of your desired rewards as a thank you for supporting this project and bringing this world to life.
Remember, your PLEDGE AMOUNT is equal to your REWARD TIER + ADD ONS only - Any International Shipping costs will be collected at a later date. You will also be able to select Add On options in the Pledge Manager after the campaign, but remember that only funds added during the campaign count towards Stretch Goal funding targets.
Also to note, only those who participate during the campaign are able to have Stretch Goal rewards added automatically to their rewards lists. If you're waiting to pre-order at a later time, it's better to pledge to the Everend Explorer tier now and then simply upgrade your pledge later to include these bonus rewards.
Tomorrow I'll be posting one further "Final Day" update, covering What Happens Next and outlining what to expect once the campaign ends.
But until then, we're going to hopefully hunt down a final Stretch Goal achievement as we race through our final day of the campaign!
Over the past 29 days as we've worked through this campaign we've not only funded the book but also unlocked ELEVEN Stretch Goal targets! That's right - we've unlocked one of the Stretch Goals that I had just posted a few days ago and thought would take us until the end of the campaign!
Within these Stretch Goals are some milestone markers that allowed us to maintain our pace through the middle parts of the campaign, a Companion with expanded content, and a cool new supplement that provides the perfect jumping on point for your game! Let's review and see what we've accomplished so far...
MILESTONE MARKERS
Helping us maintain our pace during the regular "Funding Plateau" and between new content goals, these milestone markers are great celebratory moments allowing us to keep our focus, and fun rewards going out to all who supported this project during the Crowdfunding campaign.
AT THE GATES Digital Wallpaper - Awesome At The Gates artwork will be used to create a wallpaper for your computer desktop. This digital wallpaper will be added to the rewards list of all backers supporting this project.
AT THE GATES SHIRT ON REDBUBBLE – An At The Gates-themed Backer shirt will be hosted on Onyx Path’s Redbubble store for a limited time. Only backers will be notified when the shirt becomes available for purchase.
ADD ON OPTIONS
The support that this campaign has received has allowed Onyx Path to offer a bunch of new Add On options! I love the look and feel of this game so far, and I'm looking forward to getting some of these additional rewards to add a bunch of At The Gates flavor to my office!
AT THE GATES Storyguide Screen - A three-panel Storyguide Reference Screen with charts and information for running a game set in the lands of Everend will be created and offered as an Add On to any hardcover reward tiers for +$25.
AT THE GATES Bookmark Set - Need something cool to mark your place? We'll have a set of six At The Gates cardstock bookmarks offered as an Add On to any hardcover reward tier for +$15.
NEW ADD ON: AT THE GATE CHIBI PINS - Five different soft enamel 2" pin designs will be available as an Add On option at $14 each or the set of all 5 for $60. Single pin selection will be confirmed in the Pledge Manager. Fulfillment will be handled by NerdyKeppie.com and additional shipping charges will be collected at time of fulfillment.
NEW ADD ON: AT THE GATE LOGO and SIGIL PINS - A single hard enamel screen-printed 2" At The Gates logo pin will be available as an Add On option for $14, and five different soft enamel 1.5" sigil pin designs will be available as an Add On option at $10 each or the set of all 5 for $45. Single pin selection will be confirmed in the Pledge Manager. Fulfillment will be handled by NerdyKeppie.com and additional shipping charges will be collected at time of fulfillment.
ONLINE TOOLS
IF you're anything like me, most of your gaming happens online these days. While my gaming group does make a special effort to get together in person at least a few times a year, our regular sessions take place via Discord and a VTT. These online tools help make those online sessions a little easier to run, and a little more thematic.
AT THE GATES VTT TOKEN PACK – Digital assets will be created to support online play for At The Gates, including key character and creature tokens from the book. This online asset pack will be added to the rewards list of all backers.
AT THE GATES STREAMING OVERLAY - A set of overlays for your online game will be created, for your use when streaming your At The Gates session. This reward will be added to the rewards list for all backers.
NEW CONTENT
We've added some projects that will give us even more content for this game! First we added a small Companion PDF and then expanded it's contents, and then we've just unlocked another supplement that will be a great tool for Storyguides wanting to launch a game in Everend!
AT THE GATES Companion - More On Professions and Arts - The At The Gates team will create a small Companion PDF containing more information on each of the Professions and new associated Arts (special Professional techniques). All backers receiving the
At The Gates PDF as one of their rewards will have the Companion PDF added to their rewards list as a bonus!
AT THE GATES Companion - New Advanced Paths - The Companion PDF will be expanded to include a section with new Advanced Profession Paths for characters to take if they want to unlock new Arts specific to their mastery of these professions. Backers receiving the At The Gates PDF as one of their rewards will automatically have the Companion PDF added to their rewards list as a bonus.
JUMPSTART PDF - An introductory scenario designed to welcome new players to the game, along with ready-made characters and a basic rules overview, will be created as a Jumpstart PDF supplement and added as a bonus to the rewards list of all backers receiving the At The Gates PDF.
I'm excited about this one! I'm always a fan of Onyx Path's jumpstart releases - the perfect launching pad to get my players into a new game, or the best quick option for those days when we just wanna play something new without digging too deep.
But having the Companion as a bonus reward for all backers is really huge! I already love the Professions in the core rules, along with their associated Arts and the Advanced Paths that were presented. And now we know we're gonna get more? Amazing!!
WHY STOP THERE?
It's great that we've unlocked 11 Stretch Goal rewards... but what about an even dozen?
With just over a day left in our campaign, I think one more Stretch Goal is certainly within our grasp. Let's do our best to unlock this before the end!
At $65,000 in Funding - AT THE GATES Companion - Legendary Weapons - The concept of Legendary Weapons will be introduced and explored in the Companion PDF, with examples and guidance to introduce your own to your game. All backers receiving the At The Gates PDF as one of their rewards will have the Companion PDF added to their rewards list as a bonus!
YOUR REWARDS!
That's right! You backed this project to help make and publish At The Gates! Our primary reward - the big thank you that we'll send out in appreciation for your support - are PDFs and/or hardcover copies of this book! BUT AS A BONUS, you may also have the At The Gates Companion PDF, Jumpstart PDF Supplement, a digital wallpaper, some online tools, and an opportunity to add to your wardrobe , plus a bunch of cool At The Gates add on options!
Not Much More Time
We've studied our Arts, but now is the time for action!
Unfortunately, we seem to continue to move forward at a regular pace, and our campaign will some come to the inescapable end. We've achieved our primary goal of funding the book, but there is still one possible Stretch Goal rewards that is almost within grasp! I know this last funding target may seem daunting, but it wouldn't be a STRETCH goals if we didn't have to really STRETCH to reach it! That last one may take a little bit of work. It's certainly within reach, but won't be easy, so let's keep at it!
So, as every update concludes: let's keep the enthusiasm rolling! Keep spreading the word and letting others know about this project. They've got this final day to jump in and share the Stretch Goals we've achieved!
And every backer who joins in as we approach the end is not only able to enjoy the additional rewards already added by the early fans and backers, but also help reward those early backers by maybe unlocking that final Companion section!
Remember, only the funds generated during the Crowdfunding campaign go toward achieving these Stretch Goal targets, so the time to act is now! Together, we can bring this game to life and make great things happen!
AT THE GATES enters OVERTIME MODE on Thursday, June 6th at 2:00 PM EDT.
We will finish up as soon as our backer train ends after that point! So let's see if we can't hit a final Stretch Goal and then keep that train running for an extra 10 or 20 minutes!!
#AtTheGates
