PDF Released
I have updated the PDF in your digital library. You should automatically get an email notifying you. If it got trapped in spam or something else, access your li...
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Knight Vision Creative
about 1 month ago
PDF Status. Next Steps.
PDF Status
We're close! The last two art pieces did make it, but one of them still needs work.
The final version of Kolossys came in and looks spectacular!
The last art p...
PDF is On-Track Targeted for Release May 31st
As I'm sure you're tired of hearing, I've had to spend way more time trying to navigate the ever changing lava fields of the ta...
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Knight Vision Creative
3 months ago
🧿Tariffs. Backer Lore. Manuscript Update
I kept planning to send out an update, then the tariff details would change, and I'd need to research what that meant for Knight Vision Creative on repeat. I'm not sure when ...
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Knight Vision Creative
5 months ago
🧿Your PDFs Are Headed Your Way Tomorrow!
Hello Adventurer!
I’ve been working behind the scenes to level up your experience with Echoes of the Shattered Age—and I’ve got big news!
📚 How You’ll Get Your Content
Afte...
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Knight Vision Creative
4 months ago
🧿Quick Update
Hey, Brendan here!
Just wanted to pop in real quick and give you an update.
I'm right next to the finish line for some killer material for you, but I keep hitting hurdles....
I have updated the PDF in your digital library. You should automatically get an email notifying you. If it got trapped in spam or something else, access your library directly. I put a short video together if you get stuck:
PDF Updates
Their Legacy Lives On - A member of our community had his son pass away a few days ago. I reworked a section of the book to immortalize them in the tome. It is too small a gesture, but I'm glad it gave them some brightness in this dark time.
Creature Descriptions Revamped - The editor highlighted that we should give a little more detail for some of the creatures to make sure the DM has what they need to run the creatures. I was thinking about this and decided why not make some read aloud text to accomplish this and give the DM something they could literally read to the players to introduce the creature. Now that I've thought of it, I don't know why it isn't standard for all creatures that need it.
I Wrote a Poem - I originally had a section providing an example of how the creatures could be reworked for different themes. After expanding that idea into an entire toolkit to change themes, I decided on final proof read that this section was redundant and not as good as the new toolkit. I took it out and replaced it with a poem the characters could uncover that highlights the challenges they face.
Final Sketch of Zephyr's Veil - The artist delivered and we have a really cool hand drawn sketch of the evolution of Zephyr's Veil.
Final Kolossys is in! - Final piece came out amazing! Best part of this is we had a miscommunication that actually led to a way better vision from the artist than I had in my brief.
Index is Built - I find indexes to be super useful as one tool in the toolkit for finding what I'm looking for. I really struggle with new books that don't take the time to build this feature for their readers. I hope you use the crap out of it as it is time consuming, but so worth the effort.
Next Version - I'm expecting somewhere between 1 to 3 additional updates to the PDF.
I need to go through and implement my subclass balancing system to validate everything feels good at all tiers of play in relation to the rest of the options available.
I will potentially have feedback from the printer that minor adjustments need to be made to formatting to ensure print quality.
There may be additional points of clarification needed based on your feedback.
Next Steps
Once the printer has validated all pages will print correctly, we'll move straight into printing.
If you have any questions or need anything, please don't hesitate to reach out!
We're close! The last two art pieces did make it, but one of them still needs work.
The final version of Kolossys came in and looks spectacular! The last art piece, Creed's Zephyr's Veil sketch arrived, but it still needs work.
I'm not going to quite make the estimated delivery of May 31st, but we're very close. The tariff whiplash discussion delays put me a little behind and this last art piece is probably going to take another week to finalize based on where it sits. We're still within the buffer for the hardcovers, so we should not have any issues with the final books heading out.
Next Steps
There are a handful of things that need to be finalized for the PDF.
Zephyr's Veil sketch
Build the index
Double check all the cross linking (see page XX for ABC)
Final check for any layout artifacts
Make updates based on printer preflight feedback
There will be about two weeks for any additional changes you raise to make it into the final before printing as well.
Once the PDF is finalized, the print process will proceed.
It takes about a month for the printing to complete. The longest tent pole is the drying and binding of the cover, though there are a surprising number of steps in the full process.
Me signing off on Creed's Codex: Legends of the Psions prints last year
Something particularly neat is that they use these large metal print plates and have four copies of each, one for each of the colors: yellow, magenta, black, and cyan in the order below:
Part of the feat section of Creed's Codex: Legends of the Psions metal plates
Once the printing and binding is done, the books will be sent to the fulfillment center, and then packaged for each person and shipped out.
We're closing in and the book is really something!
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out! I'm here and happy to help!
Have a killer weekend, and I'll talk to you next week!
-Brendan
P.S. Don't forget to snag a free copy of the 110-page Tome of Endless Wonders on the next Kickstarter promotion page before I swap it out on the 13th!
As I'm sure you're tired of hearing, I've had to spend way more time trying to navigate the ever changing lava fields of the tariffs and unpredictable manufacturing landscape.
They probably influenced my art brief when I sent over the details for the Kolossys concept piece! The final version is going to be epic, but here's the work in progress. I love how the primal/elemental chaotic elements meshes with the construct/man-made appearance of the artifact's face.
I'm still on target to wrap up the PDF by the end of the month to meet the original schedule. It's going to be a mad dash to the end, but the end is insight.
Notes:
There are two outstanding illustrations we are closing in on (Kolossys above) and an architectural sketch of Zephyr's Veil done by Creed's own hand. I'm 90% confident about Kolossys. I give the architectural sketch a 75% chance of completion based on previous work with this artist.
Once the PDF is in your hands, I've budgeted time in the original schedule to take feedback on any balance issues, or any other issues, and make updates. We'll likely have a few number tweaks as we get a wider set of eyes and game types/combinations using the material.
When I preflight the PDF with the printer, we may identify issues where the text is at risk of printing artifacts based on image placement or other similar issues requiring small tweaks. This will result in some updates.
All updates will be compiled, and you'll get a notification when the version in your digital library is updated. If there is any errata in the future, you'll get those versions as well.
Once these changes are in, we'll proceed to printing as planned.
The infiltrator propaganda poster is one of my favorite ideas in the book!
Free 110-Page PDF
I put together a 110-page free PDF with tons of content for you.
You can snag it for free on the Kickstarter Follower page — but don’t wait. I’m swapping it out for new content on June 13th!
Once I wrap up the PDF preflight and get Creed's Codex: Echoes of the Shattered Age flowing through the printer, if you picked up the free preview you'll automatically get notified when I add another ~50 pages of content this summer now that the digital library is up and running!
Awe-Inspiring Artwork
I know I dropped a couple up above, but who says no to a few more epic page spreads?
I kept planning to send out an update, then the tariff details would change, and I'd need to research what that meant for Knight Vision Creative on repeat. I'm not sure when they'll stop changing, so let's just dive in!
Tariffs
I'm waiting on a quote update from the printer to see how bad the damage is. Because of the repeated changes, I don't know because they don't know. I'll likely have some difficult decisions to make, but until I have details everything is just speculation at the moment.
Backer Lore
On to fun stuff! I had a crazy number of submissions for lore for the book. I'm definitely not going to be able to fit it all in this book, but I have so far included over 40 of your snippets! Any that don't make it into this round, I plan to use in the Rift Wardens of the Nexus. The ideas were amazing, and I love that you took the time to submit them!
Manuscript Update
Original plan was to get you the PDF by May 31st and kick off the preflight printing checks at that point. I've had to spend more time than I want dealing with this ever shifting obstacle, so that may force the timeline to slip. In either case, I'll be uploading a new version of the PDF to your library in the next couple of weeks with additional content built out.
Most recently, I've been working on the details for the DM to easily use the setting materials. With great discussions in Discord, I've built this structure:
Read aloud text for each area
DM overview details of the area
Faction activities in the area
Transitioning between areas
3 Notable NPCs (pulled from your lore submissions!)
3 Points of Interest (POI) within the area
Read aloud text for POI
DM overview for POI
6 plot hooks with notes for the DM for each POI
I've kept the language tight and concise, allowing me to deliver an area plus the 3 POI in 2 pages worth of material. I've always found it tough to use setting material when it is a crapload of descriptions, but nothing to actually sink your teeth into. I've had the mantra of "actionability" blazing across my mind as I build this book.
I'm actively working on the manuscript live if you want to come check it out! You can drop any questions too!
