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!
