Hello, old-school and pinball fans! (and fans of both!)
The really important part of this update is Joe Goodman getting back into the top scores on his favorite pinball machine, which we'll discuss below. But in more mundane matters, we are progressing well through the layout stage. Actually, that is the most important part, so we'll cover the layout progress first! Just kidding about the pinball scores... but we will cover that below, too!
In this previous update we showed you layouts of Old-School Adventures #1. It's 95% done; we are in final proofreading, adding a few pages at the end to get to the correct page multiples, and a few other minor tweaks.
In today's update, we will show you layout pages from various Pinball Crawl Classics adventures. Each adventure is in layout, and the artists are furiously working to finalize the remaining images.
Here, then, are a bunch of pinball layout pages!
Once all the layout is complete for Pinball Crawl Classics, we anticipate sending this job to the printer. We're very close now. Hopefully before the next update!
Castle Whiterock is Nearing $500k!
Probably worth mentioning that Castle Whiterock is live and closing in on $500k. We've cleared literally all the stretch goals, so we went back and added more. Backers also get a free book! The Book of Bonus Adventures is yours if you support it. More details here!
High Score on Bride of Pinbot
Now, on to important matters! In the previous update, I discussed how some guy named Ethan turned out to be a pinball wizard and wiped me off the Bride of Pinbot high scores. At that time I had #1 at a score of just under 13 million. Well, the good news is I've clawed my way back to #3 and achieved a high score of 17 million, my personal best. It's still a long way back to #1 (Ethan set a high bar) but I'm slowly getting there!
TL;DR: Everything is moving. For the UK & EU it’s almost moving towards you directly. Fulfilment will begin in early May.
What kind of psychopath makes an evil toy like this for children?
You know those old slidy tile puzzles you did when you were a kid? Or the Wolf, Chicken, Grain boat riddle? Have you considered doing them for a job? But also parts of the river may be on fire, the chicken and wolf have closed the airspace around the far bank, and the slide puzzles occasionally have tariffs added or removed…
All this to say, that the moving of things around the globe for this project is well underway, and we’re approaching some seriously good news for all Backers in the foreseeable (and predictable) future.
Last week the Ways & Means books and new edition of Heart arrived in both our UK & EU warehouses from the manufacturer. They sailed through any legal processing, and as we’re sending this out, the warehouse teams have begun the process of picking & packing our freight deliveries for the USA and Australian warehouses.
The final timelines for the USA and Australian freight movements are both still in negotiations, with boats and airplanes operating in the challenging environment we call ‘the world’. But we’re working with trusted partners, and are confident with the timetables we have for goods to arrive. We are requesting that no Delving Machines are used, due to their habit of screwing with time, but we have been warned that we may be forced to use the most eldrich horror of all: Amtrak.
We’ve got our sights set on shipping all the final items out of warehouses before the end of this week, with eyes on fulfilment beginning in the USA and Australia/Pacific around the end of May/early June.
We’re waiting on the final delivery of Delve Decks to make their way to our UK warehouse from China. USA & Australian copies have already arrived, but we’re expecting this final piece of the puzzle will be completed before the end of the month. At which point we will have all the items required to fulfil our UK backers.
There will be one final movement from the UK to the EU of the Delve Decks, a quick hop over ‘het Kanaal’ to the Netherlands and that will allow us to begin EU and Middle East deliveries as well.
Here’s the current timeline by location:
UK
The first UK packages will go out at the end of April, starting with orders that don’t contain the Delve Deck and working up to the largest packages over the following weeks. We will post another Update shortly before addresses are locked for this area, this will also be accompanied by an email from BackerKit about Locking Addresses. Look out for that email, or update your address NOW!
It will take a few weeks to fill all these orders. You’ll get a tracking code and we will also update your order in Backerkit so you know when it’s shipped. We’ll also update you again when fulfilment is done.
EU/Middle East
The first EU packages will go out in early May, again starting with orders that don’t contain the Delve Deck and working up to the larger and more complex orders over the following weeks, once the decks have arrived at the warehouse.
Once EU orders have been processed, the warehouse will move on to Backers from EEA and Middle East countries. This requires export paperwork, and requires a little more time to set up and put through with the correct customs paperwork.
Further details about the exact timeline for both of these will be in our next Backer Update.
America, Canada, South Americas
Things are coming together nicely. The freight shipments to our US warehouse partners have been packed in the UK & EU. We’re booking passage by boat and air for these items at present. It usually takes about 30-35 days to get things by boat to the USA. But unexpected bugs (literal) discovered when the boat arrives in the US port or train gremlins (metaphorical) slowing movement on the tracks can add a few extra days.
Once we know we’ve cleared USA border controls, we’ll have a clearer sense of the timeline, and we can begin to lock addresses and get your fulfilment started. Currently we’re expecting that information to come our way around the middle of May, with fulfilment beginning after that.
Australia/NZ/Asia-Pacific
Pallets are packed for shipment to our Australian fulfilment centre – they'll be handling everything Asia-Pacific-related through the AusPost system. These will go onto an airplane in the next week or so and, customs willing, will be at the fulfilment centre in about 3 weeks time (mid May).
Once we know we’ve cleared Australian border controls and it’s all been inspected for illegal fruit and bugs (in this case, the absence of them), we’ll lock addresses and get your fulfilment started. Currently we’re expecting that information to come our way around the middle of May, with fulfilment beginning after that.
Generally
Thank you for supporting this project, folks - it’s been a fantastic creative endeavour and we couldn’t do this without you. We’d love to see pictures of your parcels as they start to arrive - you can tag us on Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook, or pop links in the comments here.
As always, there’s a risk things will get dinged, damaged or lost in transit. If that happens to you, we want to put it right. If anything goes wrong with your parcel, get in touch with Jim or myself in the Customer Service mines by emailing [email protected].
Expect more communication in the next week or two,
It's been a long ride, but we're very close to the end. I know I was supposed to drop an update last week, but I knew something special was right around the corner, so I pushed it back a wee bit. Hope you can forgive me. ;)
Before we get into the big news, I'd like to show off some new art! Some incredible backers have left their mark on Huckleberry. They've created three new Mavericks to be added to our roster of "Legends." You'll be seeing more of these characters soon, as we add their character sheets to the stack of pre-gens and release their backstories.
Character design by Simon Aspirot, Pasa Mangiok (Prim), Thad Schrader, and Marc from Tales of Myth & Mayhem. Art by George Sellas.
The Leaper by Thad Schrader
The Murre by Pasa Mangiok (Prim) and Simon Aspirot
The Stag by Marc from Tales of Myth & Mayhem
Creative Commons
Huckleberry's mechanics are now published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. While the BackerKit campaign was live, I sent a poll asking everyone what license they would prefer Huck to be released under. Creative Commons was by far the favorite, receiving 62% of the vote and more votes than all of the other options combined. Ask and ye shall receive!
What does this mean? Basically, anyone who wants to make a game using Huckleberry's mechanics can freely do so. You can release your own bounties, player options, or campaigns. You could even adapt Huckleberry into a wholly new system. Been wanting to play Huckleberry, but in space? Now you can make it happen—you can even sell it!
The important thing to know is that this license is very open. The biggest requirement is simply that you attribute Huckleberry somewhere in your copyright text. If you want more details, check out www.HuckleberryRPG.com/hucksrd. Don't be afraid to reach out with any questions.
Homebrewery Templates
If creating for Huckleberry sounds exciting to you then you're gonna love this. LongJohnJones has created not just one, but two different Huckleberry templates for Homebrewery, the free and open source markdown editor. The templates mimic the style of the Corebook and our Bounties. Directions to get started are built into the template, making this the quickest way to make high quality Huckleberry content.
If you like the templates, give him a big "Thank You!" He put a lot of work and love into these. He's also offered to answer anyone's questions in the discord!
Production Update
Our accessories continue to work their way through various stages of production. Dice are in full swing, All Rolled Ups are almost finished and shipping to my fulfilment center next week or the week after. As of yesterday, Huckleberry's playing card deck is out of production and safely delivered to my fulfillment center in the US!
It'll still be some time before these accessories ship out, of course. Books have yet to start printing and we are shipping the entire pledge together to keep shipping costs as low as possible. But it's quite a bit of fun for me to see this project becoming a reality!
Huckleberry v1.5 is released!
Speaking of books, we are very close to sending the PDFs off to the printer! Season of Avarice is in layout right now and the Corebook is now finished. It's been automatically updated in your DriveThruRPG library, so go give it a download! This is by far the biggest update Huckleberry has received, adding 89 new pages. Dylan Grinder and Kienna Shaw's contribution was so meaty that we needed to break it into two chapters. Here's an overview of the major changes:
89 new pages.
Two new chapters, instead of the promised one chapter.
17 new hostiles, for a total of 43.
An 18 page glossary of the game's mechanics and terms, fully hyperlinked in the PDF.
And of course, tons of new art!
What's Next
I need your help! The Corebook is going to the print in a few short weeks, which means I'm on a bug hunt. If you spot any typos, contradictions, or references to outdated mechanics, please report them to me on the Adventures in Lollygagging discord. We have a forum dedicated to squashing all the bugs and typos. Together, we should be able to take down the swarm. After that, A Season of Avarice is on its way to you and the process starts all over again!
Sometime in the next couple weeks, I'll send out surveys. It'll be where you pay for shipping and is also your last chance to add-on extra accessories. You can't have too many decks of playing cards... ;)
We are incredibly close to the end and I'm so grateful you put your trust in me to see this project through. If you're happy with Huckleberry v1.5, it would mean a lot if you told your friends, your favorite forum, or left a review on DriveThruRPG. As far as I'm concerned, this is just the beginning and the more people along for the ride, the better.
We have gotten some recurring questions that we'd like to have the answers to in one place, and since the FAQ's page on BackerKit can't be accessed until the project launches, we decided to do an update with all of the important questions we get regularly answered, and we'll make sure to edit/review/add and change anything as we move forward.
Are you planning to localize all of the Sword World RPG books?
We will be working through the books with Group SNE. This will take some time. It won't all happen at once, but we are planning to do additional books and work through the back catalog. This crowdfunding campaign performing well would help to move that process along!
What will the size of the book be?
We are still finalizing, but it will likely be 8.5 x 11 (letter sized). This is because the Japanese written language is more space efficient, and the books would be insanely thick if we chose a smaller form.
Will it be in black and white?
We will be releasing the Sword World RPG Core Rules in full-color!
International fulfillment?
We are planning to ship to wherever we are able! While this campaign is allowed to ship to other countries, it will have to be on a country by country basis due to shipping restrictions. We will keep you updated!
FYI: Just a note to potential backers who want to reserve but are worried that we won’t ship to their countries: This reservation lasts till the day of launch so you don’t need to reserve immediately, and we should have some more information on shipping before launch.
Is this a 1:1 translation?
No, it functionally cannot be. However, we are working with Group SNE as the authority on the translation to make sure it's as close to the source information as possible. This requires difficult decisions, however, those decisions are being made with the original creators of the game in order to make sure you are getting to experience Sword World the way it was originally intended.
Will you be using Generative AI for art and translation? What is your stance on AI?
Our stance on AI is similar to what most game producers is: we have absolutely no intention at all to use generative ai in any part of the release of Sword World. We are working with Japanese artists, we are doing the translation, we are working with writers and proofreaders that are human, so every step of the way we are having humans produce the art and translation.
...we'll keep this page updated with more FAQs as they arise!
On behalf of Geo and myself from Ham & Egg Publishing, and Levi Combs, the co-writer of this double feature, THANK YOU !!!
We don't get to do the things we do without you; we are beyond grateful. We are looking forward to putting out a killer book that you and your friends will enjoy around the table or online.
So what's next?
Firstly, I have several promotional appearances lined up, and I will post links to them once they air.
Second, and most important, some folks in the Shadowdark community asked if I could give a more detailed preview of how the book will look, rather than the two pages I am showing at the end of the Story page.
I am thrilled to make this accommodation, and today I'll be working on a downloadable PDF with more pages. I am trying to figure out a way to do it in a non-spoilery way, and I am setting up Affinity now.
There will be another post later today with a DriveThru RPG link to download the preview.
Stay safe out there, and may the dice always roll in your favor.
The Mystery Snacks campaign is rolling along with guest writers on track for their first drafts! I am LOVING some of the ideas they've come up with, but I don't want to confirm titles just yet in case things change during draft revisions.
So far, I can say though, there have been ideas floating around that have touched on chaotic geese, a ghost writer, a community stew, automotons, and a circus! Like I said, these may change, but, in general, I think the current topics chosen really show a wide range of settings and mysteries, which is what I wanted to see. I'm hoping to share some tentative titles with you next time too!
For completed and next steps, here's a summary of what I'm tracking, and there's a more detailed discussion and update in the TTRPGkids Dev Log #20 on website. Basically, we're on track with the current focus being on drafts:
COMPLETED:
Feb – fund project
Mar – kick off guest writers (send guidelines, formatting + style guide)
Mar – set up pre-order store
Apr – guest writer check in
NEXT STEPS:
May – guest writer 1st drafts due
May – review 1st drafts
June – kick off guest writer 2nd drafts
June – guest writer 2nd draft due
June – kick off layout artist
July – final layout due
July – order proof (round 1)
Aug – proofs arrive, check, review update (round 1)
@Goodman Goblins, please unpin my original post and pin this one.
Room 1-1 - Included in CW
Room 1-2 - Made A Monster!
Room 1-3 - The Quarryton Calamity
Room 1-4 - Mutant Spawn of the Toadmother
Room 1-5 - The Carnivorous Cauldron
Room 1-6 - The Madness of Metronax
Room 1-7 - Steamlander
Room 1-8 - Siege on the Cerulean Spire
Room 1-9 - 101 Dungeon Encounters
Room 1-10 - When Dying Unicorns Dream
Room 1-11 - Forest of Terror
Room 1-12 - Castle Whiterock: An Illustrated Journey
Room 1-13 - Descent of the Ancient Fane
Room 1-14 - Tyche's Pouch
Sleepy Hollow - The Return of the Headless Horseman
The adventure is finished and codes have been sent, expect to see a notification today if you are set to receive this adventure. If you do not receive an e-mail, please look in your Backerkit account and you should see it under downloads. The adventure includes 5 Pre-generated Characters.
![Curseborne Jumpstart [Softcover Print Edition]](https://images.backerkit.com/active_storage/backerkit_production/blob/n8xwdiq92b8w3r6576pbjnm3npw3?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&w=600)
