Hello Scoundrels!
I've got a pre-print PDF for you! Check the link in the Backer Exclusive Content at the end of the Update, :)
Marx delivered the edited manuscript on A...
10
0
4
Chris Airiau (5MW Press)
about 2 months ago
Not Enough Scoundrels - April 2025 Update
Howdy-hey Scoundrels,
April has been rather volatile, with all these tariff problems, eh? The grand majority of y'all are in the US, and even though I live in France, I've ...
8
0
4
Chris Airiau (5MW Press)
2 months ago
Not Enough Scoundrels - March 2025 Update
Happy Equinox Scoundrels,
It’s been a slow month for Not Enough Scoundrels, so this is a quick update, folks.
Development notes from Josh
I got the Josh’s final notes back...
7
0
2
Chris Airiau (5MW Press)
3 months ago
Not Enough Scoundrels - February 2025 Update
Glad tidings Scoundrels,
I've got a pretty big update for you this month, split between art and game design! Let's dig in!
Art
First up, both Carly A-F and Lur Noise have t...
7
0
2
Chris Airiau (5MW Press)
4 months ago
Not Enough Scoundrels - January 2025 Update
Heya Scoundrels!
Happy New Year! January has been busy busy busy. All the artists received their art briefs for the week following the New Year, and I've already got some ...
7
0
0
Chris Airiau (5MW Press)
6 months ago
The dust has settled: Next Steps for Not Enough Scoundrels
Hello folks,
To all 1,266 of you, thanks a million! Literally! Mothership Month as a whole made 1mcr, it's incredible!
I am very thrilled that so many folk made such a sh...
I've got a pre-print PDF for you! Check the link in the Backer Exclusive Content at the end of the Update, :)
This is a "Full Document" screencap from last week, before it was filled with the rest of the pre-final art!
Marx delivered the edited manuscript on April 25th (the Friday after the last Update), and I generally finished the zine layout by May 6th. Less than an hour ago, Tim sent the final ship art!
What's nice too is that proofreading is finished! The Does Makes the Poison author Andrew C. Mason hopped on to proofread, and as a work trade, I'll soon be proofreading his zine, as well.
Another placeholder is the Juicy Family Co-op logo (pg. 5), a collaboration with SpicyTuna RPG's The Hands That Feed. Marco Serrano's working on that one!
To the two remaining Immortalizers: This is your last chance to work in your NPCs! I've sent multiple emails, please check your spam, :)
For the moment, I've popped in three new Scoundrels, one of which is 100% a placeholder while that Immortalizer and I work out a good time for our meeting (I'm still waiting to hear back from them. Tt's not easy, this timezone difference, lessons learned!).
Digital Assets
I've also finished the postcards, as well as digital & printable assets for Not Enough Scoundrels. The tokens look pretty good, I think, and I'm happy to get more out of Lur Noise's incredible art.
21 NPC Tokens!
The maps have three digital versions. The "maximum" player info version, with numerated layout, the layout-only version, and hull only. The printable PDFs are one 24pg packet of map variations, and set for US Letter page size (despite my A4/A5 heart, haha). The MAX version is what player crewmembers ought to be able to figure out with a scan of the ship, and is the version that appears on the postcards. There's a lil procedure in one portion of the Void Events that asks Wardens to use these maps.
Example of the printables shows highest info amount to least.
Printing Soooon
With Tim's final art in hand, I will order the test print (right after my . Unfortunately, this is a sloooooooooow process (US Printing + shipping to France) at an estimated 3 weeks. Once I have it in hand, I need to check for any necessary changes before pressing the big scary PRINT button for over 1000 zines.
When I hit the print button (maybe late June?), Violet from RV Games will open up the backer surveys. I'll provide more detail before the surveys go out, but our goal is to collect for shipping during this initial survey. In addition, you'll be able to upgrade your pledge and slap on more add-ons from the 5MW Press and RV Games catalogues.
Timeline
Blocking out the layout prior to editing really helped move this project ahead. I actually managed to gain some time on this, so we didn't fall behind at all.
As usual, here’s your monthly update to the Project Timeline:
June 2025: Print test checks & fixes
July 2025: BackerKit Surveys for shipping collections
August 2025: Fulfillment Begins
If we're lucky with the prints, we may even be able to start surveys early and begin fulfillment in July. In any case, we're definitely in the good window to stay on schedule for August fulfillment—barring catastrophe (which who knows, with this continued tariff BS).
Expect the next update, at the latest, Monday, June 23rd.
April has been rather volatile, with all these tariff problems, eh? The grand majority of y'all are in the US, and even though I live in France, I've always envisioned printing these books with Mixam US. The big issue there is keeping a close eye on paper prices as we near the printing stages. I'll continue to keep an eye on this issue, as we all are, and let folk know options when we're closing in on the physical fulfillment stage.
Otherwise, not much else to report! Check the details:
Immortalized Scoundrels
After my late March call out to our remaining seven top level backers, I heard back from one other person, 😅 I think I'm going to have to be a bit more aggressive in my emails to the remaining Immortalizers going forward!
I was able to meet with two backers since the last update, though! It was a fun time chatting with these folk, and working on two new Scoundrels: Frank & Miss Purple.
Frank. He/him. Grease slathered hair plastered on an irregular bald spot. Coughs up coffee sludge, "So, look, the big money's in sausage franchising, see? Now, take my fuckin' sausages or get the fuck out my face."
Miss Purple. She/her. Lavender bucket hat. White permed hair, muted plaid handbag. Unassuming. Tugs elbow, "Dearies, your next Job, I do not agree with your partners. I suggest you cross them. For me," smiles. Secretly an Android.
Ship Art
Last week, I got in the latest drafts of the ship art from Tim. Check it out:
Reclamation Hauler (formerly "Junk Barge")
Current Work-in-Progress (WIP): Heavyfire Cruiser HAMMERHEAD
Tim is working on finishing up the Hammerhead. He's testing out another iteration with the sidepods angled upwards rather than down on the bottom. The "teeth" on this shark look real mean though, and I'm looking forward to sharing the final version with y'all.
Also, Tim wanted to share this composite image that truly shows how "mega" the Megafreighter is:
This truly is a rich-ass Core world ship, look at that big mofo!
Timeline
I delivered the manuscript to Marx on March 31, and they began copyediting last week. I still don't have the edited manuscript, so it's looking like finalizing the editing and starting layout will stretch into May. I did realize, however, that I can order the print tests before/as proofreading is taking place, so with luck, we can stick to the timeline for now.
As usual, here’s your monthly update to the Project Timeline:
May 2025: Copyediting & Layout
June 2025: Layout & Digital Assets
July 2025: Print tests & Proofreading
August 2025: Fulfillment Begins
Thanks y'all for your patience as this has been slow moving the past few weeks. I'm really eager to get my hands on that edited manuscript and kick this document into turbo.
It’s been a slow month for Not Enough Scoundrels, so this is a quick update, folks.
Development notes from Josh
I got the Josh’s final notes back late last week. Most were small adjustments here and there, and the one big piece to look at boosting is the Reputation system.
Initially, the Reputation Score was a one-dimensional range, similar to how reputation works in Hull Breach, Vol. 1. Josh pointed out a simple multitrack system for Reputation that I’m going to have a go at porting into Not Enough Scoundrels. What excites me about multitrack Reputation is that this creates more dynamic stakes, and the repercussions could be utilized as tools by the players.
I’m confident I’ll have this new lil revamped section finished by the end of the week, and pass the manuscript to Marx Shepherd by March 31st at the latest! Then, it’s layout time.
Crossover Frenzy
Including Wages of Sin‘s Bounty Levels (BL) and courtroom charges, I’ve managed to collaborate with creators from every Mothership Month project. I’m excited that Not Enough Scoundrels includes NPCs, items, factions, and other Easter Egg references to these projects. Other than fun copyediting formatting (read: not fun), checking the manuscript for all 20 references (actually fun) is one of the last steps for the manuscript before copyediting!
Speaking of last steps…
Immortalized Scoundrels
After my early March call out to our ten top level backers. I heard back from three people, and was able to meet with two to create Scoundrels for the 1d100 Scoundrels table. Meet Void Atlas and Thunder:
Void Atlas. He/they. Brick house. All black wool turtleneck, pilled and worn, puffs his black beard over pinchable cheeks and missing earlobe. “I got the latest Outer Rimming boxes in. Slip ’em ’tween the Super Neutron comix.” Winks.
Thunder. He/they. Brows furrow under strong widow’s peak. Straight black hair like silk drapes falls over this large lad’s shoulders. “Triple pay, no bullshit. But ONLY if you bring me a cryopod. With a tasty treat inside.” Licks teeth.
Me being on Paris time—a six hour difference from EST, and nine hours from the west coast—does not make my calendar very appealing to most folk, hah, so I think I’ll likely have to wake up in the middle of the night to work out these other Scoundrels.
Immortalizers, keep an eye on your email and let’s get this manuscript to Marx, :)
Timeline
Copyediting is next up, then it’s the fun task of throwing the text into layout. Layout comes with its own rounds of edits, too. There’s always a sentence too long here, or a dangling word that needs to be pulled up. Like I’ve mentioned before, I have a character limit for each table entry I need to stick to. It’s a laborious process, but pretty fun and very satisfying.
Again, here’s an update to the Project Timeline:
April 2025: Copyediting & Layout
May 2025: Layout & Digital Assets
June 2025: Proofreading
July 2025: Print tests
August 2025: Fulfillment Begins
Next Update
The next update for Not Enough Scoundrels is coming your way on April 21st. I’m looking forward to sharing pre-proofread example spreads next month! Images make the updates a bit more exciting, eh?
I've got a pretty big update for you this month, split between art and game design! Let's dig in!
Art
First up, both Carly A-F and Lur Noise have turned in their art finals for the zine! Tim is making progress too, and I do have some more sketches to share. Note that the layout is a Work In Progress!
Carly A-F. Art Final. Layout WIP.
Tim Zygor. Art WIP. Layout WIP.
As I shared last month, Lur Noise blew the art brief outta the park. In addition to the NPC profiles, I also commissioned two other pieces. The first is a sort of chapter header at the split where the zine becomes tables tables tables.
All of these NPCs (except the Narrator) are in the 1d100 Scoundrels table!
The second piece is for the new cover, which I chose to change for two reasons: (1) I made the original cover when I wasn’t even confident this project hit its second stretch goal, and (2) working with Lur Noise has been amazing. I feel her art shows the zine’s heart, not to mention bringing a more unified art direction to tie the work together.
Not Enough Scoundrels was a much more modest project before launch, and the campaign success has given me the possibility to develop the zine for more longevity for which, again, I heartily thank you all, :)
Design Updates, Campaign Framework
As I mentioned last month, Josh Domanski gave the most crucial feedback on the Campaign Framework and Spacecrawl. Cracking the issues he raised has been a lot more work than I expected, a process which took a ton of binned writing to finally figure out.
First, the Spacecrawl now has a new step: The Job Turn. As Josh rightly pointed out, the most crucial part of tramp freight work is finding the cargo, not drifting on the long road. The Job Turn provides guidance for Wardens on how to build out NPC-PC relations, how that works with the Faction dynamics, and getting those freight contracts. No one’s gonna give a bunch of nobodies their precious cargo, gotta do some Favors or maybe a little Job, yeah?
All of that keys into the new campaign framework. I binned the original framework centered around the Megafreighter, and now instead, invite your ship crew to the Sandcastle Sector:
Sandcastle Sector is a WIP. Subject to change.
The Sandcastle Sector is a sandbox of star systems, Ports and hyperlanes. This sandbox provides a Port’s Faction dynamics, hyperlane connections, and freight specialties to give your campaign the footing you need for all your space trucking and underhanded dealings.
The Ports on the Sandcastle Sector map are specifically only Trade Ports. There are other Ports within and hyperlanes out of the Sandcastle Sector. The campaign framework provides a dynamic gap to plug in other Mothership modules while being full enough of Scoundrels, Contraband, and Faction interplay to keep players engaged with the local social problems.
I’m very confident that this addition has made the zine a much better tool for space trucker and smuggling games, and most importantly, more immediately playable.
Timeline
Last time I said I'd have the manuscript to Josh by the end of the week. That was before the Sandcastle Sector existed. It took a lot longer to figure out than I'd anticipated (while also, life was happening, hah). This time, I've already turned in the manuscript over to Josh for that second round of development. With the bulk of the changes made, I think the future revisions ought to be much smoother and quicker.
To improve workflow on the digital assets, here's an update to the Project Timeline from the campaign page:
March 2025: Editing
April 2025: Layout
May2025: Digital Assets
June 2025: Proofreading
July 2025: Print tests
August 2025: Fulfillment Begins
Next Update
The next update for Not Enough Scoundrels is coming your way on March 24th. By then, I'm hoping that I’ll be working through copyediting. With most of the art complete, the visual updates will be focused on layout progress and digital asset development. See ya after the equinox!
