Reward Distribution - Existing PDF Rewards Going Out to Backers!
Hello Essence Players,
It's been about a week since we started sending out our Pledge Manager invitations. If you haven't yet filled out your backer survey, please do so as ...
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James Bell
10 days ago
Pledge Manager Surveys Coming This Week!
Hello Essence Players,
Welcome to the final third of May and the first update of this new phase of the project.
We finished up the Crowdfunding portion of our campaign almo...
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James Bell
about 1 month ago
Excelsior! The XSPG Campaign has Concluded!
Hello Players,
Thanks to the support of more than 1500 backers, Onyx Path will be able to develop and print the Exalted: Essence Player's Guide!
Not only did we rally a la...
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James Bell
about 1 month ago
FINAL HOURS: CHECKLIST & WHAT COMES NEXT
Hello Players,
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 1,540 backers! We've ...
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James Bell
about 1 month ago
An Extra Day for Exalted: Essentials!
Hey Players,
I've got a few schedules on my computer and a print-out of my project calendar for the month. But the year that is 2025 doesn't care about plans, so I've got a ...
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James Bell
about 1 month ago
Final Days Review - Stretch Goals
Hello Players,
We're not quite in the final 48 hours, but getting very close! Within these last hours, I wanted to review some important topics, most especially our current ...
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 1,540 backers! We've unlocked TWELVE Stretch Goals, adding some cool bonus rewards for supporters of this campaign!
That's right - we've unlocked every posted Stretch Goal for this project, including the final one that I hadn't even announced yet! There was a longshot chance that I'd be sharing it today and maybe we'd need a mighty backer train to achieve, but we're already there! Amazing Work!
ACHIEVED At $105,000 in Funding - STREAMING OVERLAY
A set of overlays for your online game will be created, for your use when streaming your Exalted: Essence session. This reward will be added to the rewards list for all backers supporting this project. [DRAGON-BLOODED PLEDGE+]
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 have unlocked some Stretch Goal milestones, a new novella, and a companion book that will be added to all pledge tiers containing one of the hardcover editions or available as an Add On for digital reward tiers.
FINAL DAY CHECKLIST
Whether you're a Dragon-Blooded freshly chosen by the Elemental Dragons or an heroic Solar hero of legend, these are some good topics to review over these final five hours...
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, the standard hardcover version or the deluxe hardcover edition (all hardcovers also come with the PDF version).
Alchemical Exalted
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 options 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 and be able to download at your leisure.
Sidereal Exalted
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. This reward tier also includes the "Essence Extended" PDF supplement built via Stretch Goal achievement as a free bonus reward.
Lunar Exalted
This reward tier includes the deluxe 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. This reward tier also includes the "Essence Extended" PDF supplement built via Stretch Goal achievement as a free bonus reward.
Need the Exalted: Essence Core Rules as well? They form the system upon which the Exalted: Essence Player's Guide isbuilt. We've set up three one-click pledge options to get you started! If you don't already have a copy of the Exalted: Essence Core Rulebook, you soon will by choosing any of these reward tiers.
Liminal Exalted contains PDF versions of both the Exalted: Essenc Player's Guide sourcebook as well as the Exalted: Essence Core Rules.
Getimian Exalted gets you both the PDF and standard hardcover books for both the Exalted: Essence Player's Guide sourcebook and the Exalted: Essence Core Rules.
Solar Exalted will get you both the PDF and Deluxe Edition hardcover books for both the Exalted: Essence Player's Guide sourcebook and the Exalted: Essence Core Rules.
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 Alchemical Exalted tier and upgrade inthe pledge managerto one of the hardcover tiers 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 a ton of interesting Exalted: Essence and Exalted Third Edition books and supplements, plus option to add the "Essence Extended" companion that we built via Stretch Goal to any digital pledge tiers.
ADD ON selections will be available in the post-campaign Pledge Manager as well.
Also to note, only those who participate during the campaign are able to add Stretch Goal rewards to their rewards lists. If you're waiting to pre-order at a later time, it's better to pledge to the Dragon-Blooded Exalted tier now and then simply upgrade your pledge later to have the option to include these bonus rewards.
Additionally, this may go without saying,please review your personal budgetand ensure you've selected the appropriate reward tier and add ons for your current financial situation. BackerKit will begincharging your payment methodat midnight, so ensure you've budgeted correctly. Choose what works best for you now and is affordable at this time, knowing that you can upgrade your pledge level or choose Add Ons in the Pledge Manager at a late date.
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
Readthe 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, and we're dealing with an imperfect world. Schedules sometimes go awry)
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.
Evidently we've scheduled the campaign to conclude on April 25th at 2:00 pm Eastern, 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! The power of rolling dice!
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 mid-May, 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 before the end of May 2025.
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 got a big tax refund and decide it's time to trade up to the deluxe 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 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 Exalted core rulebook and expansions as well as the fiction and music bundles. 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 end of May. 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 the Exalted: Essence Player's Guide. 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!
We're going to finish off with the Exalted of Creation today with some new Exigents. We're gonna learn about Architects, God Admirals, March Lords, and the Soverigns of Uluiru. Lots of cool stuff, and I know many of us have dreamed of something like the God Admirals for a long time!
One quick thing to note before we get into the manuscript.
Shipping Costs will be Collected in the Pledge Manager
First up, it's amazingly expensive to ship, especially from Onyx Path's home base in the US. And that's as of today - we're all in the dark about how things will look in 2 years. We get that, but there's not much we can do at this time. Onyx Path is in a difficult space where the company is big enough that they're not saving money by fulfilling out of Rich's garage, but small enough that they haven't been able to set up ongoing international partners to handle portions of the fulfillment. So we are where we are - for now.
The best we can do at this point is to plan carefully, advise everyone up front that shipping will likely be expensive (see our projections on the main page) and only charge what it costs us when the time comes. We’ll be charging for shipping in the Pledge Manager once the books are being printed and we can deal with the actual shipping charges rather than using our best-guesses this far out. If you aren't sure you want the hardcover or other physical items, you can pledge to the PDF tier now and upgrade your pledge in the Pledge Manager once we know the final shipping costs.
Draft Manuscript Previews
Over the course of these 4 weeks, backers will receive the entire current draft manuscript for Exalted: Essence Player's Guide, but it's not going to come to you all in one go. The previews will come out in Exalt-based sections throughout the campaign. This helps me seem interesting over the the 28 day campaign, but it's more about guiding the conversation and helping steer feedback for the developers.
Because they want your feedback! These manuscript previews are of the current draft manuscript – the document in its latest, approved form. This may not be the final form after editing and any additional development, but you can consider it about 95% finished, so keep that in mind.
In fact, you can help guide the team through the next stages of development by providing feedback on these manuscript previews! The Onyx Path team has set up a special Feedback Form just for campaign backers for this very purpose: https://forms.gle/sqmxdW6u87pT3Mhg8
You can use this Feedback Form to share your thoughts directly with the Exalted: Essence creative team to help guide them through the next rounds of development and editing.
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT PREVIEWS - BACKERS ONLY
Remember, thanks to BackerKit magic, these download links are visible to Backers only - you must be logged in and reading this on the website to have access to the manuscript preview links. So, if you're reading this via e-mail, click that "Learn More" link on the bottom and I'll see you below the Exalted emblem.
It's been about a week since we started sending out our Pledge Manager invitations. 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://exalted-essence-players-guide.backerkit.com/
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 of Exalted: Essence Player's Guide, and even longer for the Stretch Goal projects.
That said, there are many rewards that are available now, as they were mostly add-ons for existing products. And now we can work on getting those out to you over the next few days.
The following Add On Rewards WillBe Distributed This Week:
Exalted: Essence Core Rulebook PDF
Pillars of Creation PDF
Tomb of Memory PDF
Deeds Yet Undone PDF
Across the Eight Directions PDF
The Realm PDF
Heirs to the Shogunate PDF
Many-Faced Strangers PDF
Exalted Third Edition Core Rules PDF
Dragon-Blooded: What Fire Has Wrought PDF
Lunars: Fangs at the Gate PDF
Exigents: Out of the Ashes PDF
Sidereals: Charting Fate's Course PDF
Abyssals: Sworn to the Grave Draft Manuscript
Alchemicals: Forged by the Machine God Draft Manuscript
Exalted Music Bundle
Exalted Fiction Bundle
It's basically this section from our Add On menu during the campaign.
The redemption codes will come out in waves. The first wave will have links to add the PDF files to your DriveThru cart at $0 cost. In a few weeks, I'll have a second wave that will have links to order the PoD versions at a discounted cost.
REWARD DISTRIBUTION
Your link to claim these digital rewards will be sent out by our BackerKit pledge manager over the nextweek, as noted above. 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
Thebest 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 week 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 manylinks to go out!!)
The easiest way to see if you've got digital downloads available is to login to your backerkit account: https://exalted-essence-players-guide.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, in June I'll have our first "regular" 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.
That's for the end of next month, though. For now, enjoy your Add On rewards!
ONYX PATH VIRTUAL GAMING CONVENTION
Onyx Path Virtual Gaming Convention 2025 is just around the corner! As they enter the final weeks of preparation, the schedule is settling in. Some panels and actual plays needed minor tweaks, which is normal for this stage of the game. People’s availability shifts and schedule issues bubble up, but so far they’ve been able to roll with the punches pretty easily and are on track for a smooth, fun, and informative show!
They’re also getting games for attendees to play ramped up via Startplaying.games. There are already a few games set up, and your encouraged to consider setting one up yourself, if you like running games! It’s a great opportunity to try out games you might not otherwise get the chance to, meet new players, and make a few bucks. Onyx Path's partners at Envoy who run convention games for them will also be running games via Startplaying.games and those entries will be showing up very soon at https://startplaying.games/event/onyx-path-2025!
The current description of "Wrath Stoked Bonfire Soul" suggests Dragon-Blooded are immune to the damage from the Charm but Infernals are not. I'm guessing that isn't the intent.
Welcome to the final third of May and the first update of this new phase of the project.
We finished up the Crowdfunding portion of our campaign almost four weeks ago with a successful run, adding many backers and funding additional projects. 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 SurveysComing Soon
CompiledDraft Manuscript (available in BackerKit Digital Rewards)
ComingNext
BACKER SURVEYS
Over the next handfulof days (May 21-24), 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 laterthis 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://exalted-essence-players-guide.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 in June, but managed to get to it a little early! That said, 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.
Whenyou 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 GETSTARTED 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 various Exalted: Essence and Exalted Third Edition books). Those will likely be coming to you in the first week of June, 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 2-4 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 two weeks as I begin outlining the delivery of our first Add On rewards (the existing title PDFs, 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 sections we shared during the campaign, it'll just be those bits all mashed into one compiled version. There's a link for that compiled version at the bottom of this update post (when viewed on the BackerKit site), but I'll also have a download link sit alongside your other rewards on the Pledge Manager's Digital Reward Page. 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 early next month, when I send out the first wave of available rewards.
COMING NEXT
In a few weeks or so, I'll send an update with details about the distribution for that first wave of existing XS / Ex3 rewards. I'll also get the compiled draft manuscript up and ready for you to download from your Pledge Manager page (though you can download it now from this page, as noted above).
At the end of June we'll 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.
