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
10 days 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
12 days 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
12 days 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 ...
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James Bell
13 days ago
At Last, the Liminals... Manuscript Preview #10
Hello Players,
We're in our final days, and it's time for our final section of the draft manusript! As of this update, backers have access to the entire approved draft and c...
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James Bell
16 days ago
Final Days Review: Pledge Tiers and Add On Options
Hello Players,
I know we're in the middle of a busy weekend, but there's lots of key bits of information to examine today, so please make sure you read this before the campa...
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.
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 large number of backers, we extended the campaign with a last minute Backer Train taking us into Overtime!! That was cool! It's still a recent feature, but we love testing out new bits and seeing how much more fun we can have with our campaigns.
There's more to celebrate! Not only did we fund the project in the first day, we also unlocked THIRTEEN Stretch Goals. From standard Onyx Path milestone markers to an expanded Companion full of more options for your gameand TWO short stories!
It came down to the last few days but we managed to hit every Stretch Goal we'd posted and then unlocked ONE MORE STRETCH GOAL in the final hours of the campaign! I hadn't even posted this one. It was in the dare-to-dream file folder.
EXALTED NOVELLA II
A second short story written to explore the world of the Exalted and the play experience will be will be added to the rewards list of all backers receiving the Exalted: Essence Player's Guide PDF [ALCHEMICAL PLEDGE+]
Great job!
MILESTONE MARKERS
Monitoring our pace during the mid-campaign, these milestone markers are great celebratory moments allowing us to keep our focus, and fun rewards going out to all who supported this project during the Crowdfunding campaign.
These rewards will automatically be added as bonus rewards to all backers who have pledged to the Dragon-Blooded Exalt tier or any other tier.
REDBUBBLE SHIRT DESIGN
An Exalted: Essence Player's Guide-themed Backer shirt will be hosted on Onyx Path's Redbubble store for a limited time. All backers will be notified when the shirt design becomes available for purchase. [DRAGON-BLOODED PLEDGE+]
DESKTOP WALLPAPER
Exceptional Exalted: Essence Player's Guide artwork will be used to create a digital wallpaper for your computer desktop. The digital wallpaper will be added to the rewards list of all backers supporting this project. [DRAGON-BLOODED PLEDGE+]
VTT TOKEN PACK
Digital assets will be created to support online play for Exalted: Essence, including key character and creature tokens from this book. This online asset pack will be added to the rewards list of all backers supporting this project. [DRAGON-BLOODED PLEDGE+]
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+]
NEW EXALTED FICTION
I've shared two fiction pieces that will be included in the book (appearing before the Exalted of Creation and the Exalted from Other Realms in the final book). We also have a great Add On for several Exalted novellas, which are all pretty awesome in my opinion. So, adding another is a great idea.
These rewards will automatically be added as bonus rewards to all backers who have pledged to a tier that includes the Exalted: Essence Player's Guide PDF as one of their rewards.
EXALTED NOVELLA
A short story written to explore the world of the Exalted and the play experience will be will be added to the rewards list of all backers receiving the Exalted: Essence Player's Guide PDF [ALCHEMICAL PLEDGE+]
EXALTED NOVELLA II
A second short story written to explore the world of the Exalted and the play experience will be will be added to the rewards list of all backers receiving the Exalted: Essence Player's Guide PDF [ALCHEMICAL PLEDGE+]
NEW CONTENT - BUILDING A SUPPLEMENT
Assembled via Stretch Goal achievements, we've built an additional supplement that will automatically be added as a bonus reward to all backers receiving one of the hardcover editions as part of their rewards list. Digtial rewards backers can add this as an Add On option to their rewards.
ESSENCE EXTENDED (Exalts of Creation Expansion I)
Onyx Path will create a supplement further exploring the Solars and Sidereals. This supplement will be released for purchase on DriveThruRPG and added as a free bonus reward to all backers receiving the Exalted: Essence Player's Guide standard hardcover or Deluxe Edition[SIDEREAL PLEDGE+]
ESSENCE EXTENDED (Exalts of Creation Expansion II)
Onyx Path will expand the new supplement, adding material on Dragon-Blooded and Lunars. This supplement will be released for purchase on DriveThruRPG and added as a free bonus reward to all backers receiving the Exalted: Essence Player's Guide standard hardcover or Deluxe Edition [SIDEREAL PLEDGE+]
ESSENCE EXTENDED (Exalts of Other Realms Expansion I)
Onyx Path will expand the new supplement, adding material on Abyssals and Infernals. This supplement will be released for purchase on DriveThruRPG and added as a free bonus reward to all backers receiving the Exalted: Essence Player's Guide standard hardcover or Deluxe Edition [SIDEREAL PLEDGE+]
ESSENCE EXTENDED (Exalts of Other Realms Expansion II)
Onyx Path will expand the new supplement, adding material on Alchemicals, Getimians, and Liminals. This supplement will be released for purchase on DriveThruRPG and added as a free bonus reward to all backers receiving the Exalted: Essence Player's Guide standard hardcover or Deluxe Edition [SIDEREAL PLEDGE+]
ESSENCE EXTENDED (Exigents Expansion)
Onyx Path will expand the new supplement, adding two new Exigent write-ups. This supplement will be released for purchase on DriveThruRPG and added as a free bonus reward to all backers receiving the Exalted: Essence Player's Guide standard hardcover or Deluxe Edition [SIDEREAL PLEDGE+]
ESSENCE EXTENDED (Exigents Expansion)
Onyx Path will expand the new supplement, adding an additional two new Exigent write-ups. This supplement will be released for purchase on DriveThruRPG and added as a free bonus reward to all backers receiving the Exalted: Essence Player's Guide standard hardcover or Deluxe Edition [SIDEREAL PLEDGE+]
ESSENCE EXTENDED (Universal Charms Expansion)
Onyx Path will expand the "Essence Extended" supplement, adding more Universal Charms. This supplement will be released for purchase on DriveThruRPG and added as a free bonus reward to all backers receiving the Exalted: Essence Player's Guide standard hardcover or Deluxe Edition [SIDEREAL PLEDGE+]
And all of that is, of course, on top of our main purpose here - the creating of the actual book itself! This is the real reward - everything else is a bonus!
So a huge congratulations to Monica and the team on this project, and to all of the backers who've joined in to make this possible. I'm happy about the goals we hit and rewards we introduced, but I'm also always amazed and excited about having more than 1000 backers join in during this campaign, and we really surpassed that dream target! Exalted fans are always a delight, and I'm happy that I get to share in the excitement and enthusiasm in my own little corner of the project!
AN EXTRA THANK YOU!
So, thank you to all the backers who supported us and made this happen. And an extra thanks to everyone who participated online, either in the Community comments section of the campaign, and on social media around the web. Thanks to everyone who talked about the project on the Discord and thanks to the Onyx Path team who answered questions and provided insight.
COMMUNICATION
So, as noted in today's earlier update, starting in May I'll be sending out updates once a month and whenever we've got a new goal, survey, or other item to cover. If you have any questions or need clarification on something related to the campaign, feel free to get in touch. I may take a bit to answer as I handle some family business and recover from the past few weeks, but eventually I'll have an answer!
I'll also see if I can sneak a compiled draft manuscript out to you maybe in a few weeks. Nothing changed, just smashed together in order.
TO CONTACT ME
Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your forthcoming survey page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.
ONYX PATH DISCUSSION CHANNELS
If you've got questions about the rules or setting, or just want to discuss this game with other fans (as well as the Onyx Path writers and developers!), you can check out these Onyx Path discussion zones:
Backers make it better! That's the real Charm happening here.
The Discord is particularly lively, and I loved seeing the thoughts and jokes as the chapters came out bit by bit.
BackerKit will begin collected pledges and processing payments later tonight, so be ready for that.
I hope everyone is able to finish April in a good place, and I'll be in touch next month.
High fives all around in the comment section and on the Discord, and you'll hear from me again in a month-or-so when I've got the pledge manager set up and ready to roll out!
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 quick update to our schedule.
Despite planning on ending the campaign on Thursday, April 24th at 2:00 PM Easter time (or, at least, heading into Overtime Mode at that point) - the project was set up to actually end on April 25th!
So, our 24-hour countdown has become a 48-hour countdown!
I've spent the past 12 hours sitting with a very sick old dog as she struggles through a vestibular incident, so I'm going to use the extra time to spend some more time with a struggling pet and regroup and I'll be back on FRIDAY MORNING with our FINAL DAY checklist!
Exalted: Essence Player's Guide finishes the crowdfunding campaign on APRIL 25th at 2:00 PM Eastern Time
