BackerKit FAQ
How does BackerKit crowdfunding work?
Crowdfunding is a collaborative way to bring ideas and projects to life. Project creators post their idea for a project, and backers pledge money to make the project possible. Backers get behind the scenes access and backer-only rewards, which can include exclusive products, special pricing, creative input, content, and more.
To become a backer, select a pledge level that features the reward(s) you would like to receive when the project is successfully completed and make your contribution.
All-or-nothing crowdfunding model: The creator sets a funding goal and a deadline to raise funds. If the project does not meet the goal by the deadline, backers credit cards are not charged and no money changes hands.
Crowdfunding projects can happen at various stages of the creative process. Make sure to check the estimated timeline of when rewards will be delivered. Project creators will keep you updated on the progress toward completion and delivery of your rewards.
Backing a crowdfunding campaign is not the same as purchasing an item from a store. When you back a campaign you are supporting the creation of something new. Rewards are almost always delivered, but are not guaranteed.
When will I be charged for my pledge?
Your payment method will not be charged right away. You will be charged for the amount of your pledge when the campaign ends and the project reaches its funding goal. You will not be charged if the campaign does not reach its funding goal.
What happens after the campaign is over?
The Creator will send out a survey that will ask you for more information about your pledge, your shipping information, additional items you may want to add to your pledge, and collect shipping fees if applicable.
The survey will be sent to the email address we have on file with your pledge.
Any additional payment will be charged when you complete your survey and confirm your order.
Project FAQ
I already purchased Deep Cuts when it first came out, is there something different about this version?
Deep Cuts as it stands is ready to use in your game. Evil Hat is commissioning a sensitivity reader and an editor to take another pass through the text. In addition, Sean Nittner is collaborating with John on a few nuances throughout the book. So the end result will be different than the current version of Deep Cuts but ultimately the final version produced here will also be released on DriveThruRPG and itch.io through John's imprint One Seven Designs. Your previous purchase will be in sync with the resulting text created by this campaign.
If I already purchased Deep Cuts, do I get some sort of discount?
We're grateful you're a fan! That purchase helped compensate John for the time and effort that went into the original design. This campaign is primarily focused on funding a print run of the book, along with the limited edition extras, and the hiring of an editor and proofreader. Plus the work of creating the Roll20 module, managing and promoting the BackerKit campaign, and delivery, etc. So the short answer is, we can't offer a discount to prior purchasers. We do think we're offering a very reasonable price on the hardcover edition and it will be a book you'll cherish and use for years. If you don't see the utility - or just prefer to stick to PDFs - we totally get that as well.
Will this project be impacted by tariffs?
We've taken the most reasonable steps to avoid whatever impacts we can directly influence. We're only printing in the U.S. and we're only delivering in the U.S. For over a decade we have worked with printers based in the U.S. That is not a political decision, it's simply a matter of practicality and preference. We tend to do (comparatively) small print runs, we try to deliver within fairly tight turnaround times, and we haven't found a need to produce our books overseas. However, that does not rule out other tariff-related consequences. Our printer might get slammed with new orders, increasing demand and raising prices. A supplier might use paper sourced from Canada or ink produced in China. These could cause unexpected price increases. Frankly the situation changes from week-to-week, which is an unhealthy state of affairs for any business. But if tariffs do create unmanageable expenses which we can't foresee and mitigate, we'll do our best to communicate the impact it will have on you. We'd love to give you a firm, reliable answer. Unfortunately we do not have firm or reliable leadership in place, so we're giving you our best guess. Might change next week, or in the next 90 days. We promise to keep you informed when these changes result in consequences that will directly affect you.
Why are we only shipping to to the USA?
For this campaign we're only shipping domestically within the United States. HOWEVER: We have listened to the feedback from our fans abroad and have decided that when the game goes into retail, we will release an allotment of the Limited Edition version to our international distributors. That means if you live outside the US you should have the opportunity to buy a Limited Edition copy of Deep Cuts from your local game shop. Support your FLGS! We're certainly frustrated by the shipping situation but here's the background for our decision: Pricing and delivery schedules remain extremely volatile. The tariff situation fluctuates weekly and there are no guarantees that other countries won't levy retaliatory tariffs on exports coming from the US. Simply put, there's no stable, cogent trade policy. We can't predict what might happen between the start of this project in May and our planned delivery of December 2025 and therefore we're forced to adopt a deeply cautious position. If you live outside the U.S. consider these options: • Backing at the PDF + POD tier. In prior campaigns, the POD version has been ready weeks or months before the physical books have been produced. If you place your POD order as soon as the codes are ready, it's very likely you'll have a physical book in your hands before our print run reaches your local game store. • Waiting until the book reaches your local retailer (online or neighborhood). Our PDF guarantee means that any time you buy one of our books new in a physical form, you get the PDF for free. • Backing at the Roll20 Compendium Bundle tier. We make sure our Compendium offerings on Roll20 contain all the text from the source game, we create customizable backgrounds, full sets of tokens and clocks, handouts, and more. If you use Roll20, there's an immense amount of functionality in our modules and it's an easy way to share the game with your entire group. This level also gets you the PDF and POD copies so it's really your best bet all around. • If you are deeply invested in getting the rewards from this campaign, investigate using a freight forwarder. This is likely neither cheap nor will it shield you from tariff-induced chaos, but it will provide a U.S. address we can ship to. The whole situation is very frustrating, but we're a small company with no influence over the forces at work here. We appreciate your patience and understanding.