Hi everyone!

It's March and we have so much to share.

When it comes to crowdfunding surveys, a 90% completion rate is the magic number that we aim for. 90% tells us that we can safely place our manufacturing order, that we won't have any major surprises, and that we'll be making the right amount of product to avoid waste (or keep from running out).

Grandmaster surveys are now 88% complete, so we're almost there!

Before anyone panics, if you filled out a survey in the last month, you're set. BUT—if you haven't received a survey yet, this is a really good time to retrieve your survey and complete it.

However, we've also discovered through customer support inquiries over the last month that not everyone who thought they pledged . . . actually pledged.

It turns out there are at least a dozen people who signed up to follow the project, didn't realize they needed to pledge, and then sent support inquiries asking for links to surveys that didn't exist. The good news is that we CAN still accept late pledges. If you don't have a survey, and if it turns out you didn't make a pledge, visit this link to get your pledge in. But please, do it soon so that our manufacturing numbers are accurate.

As always, we're ready to provide support at [email protected].

We owe a massive thanks to the Valdemar fan community on our Discord server. As a final step before going to print, we released a proof of Grandmaster to a dozen fan proof-readers. Friends, these fans went to town. They pulled out original editions, compared italics, debated en-dashes and em-dashes, and worked through the book with a fine-toothed comb. And yes, they found typos that even our professional proofreader missed.

Since the stories came from different publishers and different eras, some even used different style guides! Some stories were retrieved from Misty's original digital manuscripts, while others were scanned and corrected. We've adjusted those styles to reflect a single, unified approach for consistency through the entire volume.

Meanwhile, the timeline researchers updated all of the dates in each chapter header, conforming them to the most recent version of the official timeline. Every story is now placed definitively where it belongs on the timeline, with other contemporaneous events listed as well so readers can place the story in context.

The good news is that we're now engaged in a final proofread over on Discord . . . and we're really, really close to done. While no work is ever perfect, we're all committed to honoring the text with the cleanest, clearest version of Grandmaster.

Well, so far 2025 is even more chaotic than we anticipated. Tariffs change from day to day, costs change as materials cross borders, and who knows what state the USPS will be in when we ship.

So we're taking concrete steps to mitigate all of that external chaos.

First of all, we're making sure that rewards shipping to backers outside the USA won't pass through the USA. Our fulfillment partner has warehouses in Canada, Hong Kong, and the EU. We'll fulfill internationally from one or more of those locations. (No promises yet on shipping to the EU from within the EU, but if we can we will.) In some cases we'll also source from different manufacturers, avoiding unpredictable import/export fees. The board game design community has been sharing horror stories about getting hit with bank-breaking fees when importing their goods to the USA, so we're remaining proactive to keep costs reasonable.

Secondly, we're exploring shipping US-bound rewards individually from a fulfillment center in Hong Kong, rather than from our Los Angeles warehouse. A quote is in progress. The political situation is so weird right now that this might end up being cheaper than importing and shipping domestically. We'll do our best to mitigate and cover all of Trump's extra costs, but it's impossible to know what policies will be in effect when rewards ship later this year. If the product due to our US backers gets hit by unmanageable tariffs, we may have to increase the cost of shipping for US backers. If you don't like the uncertainty, we encourage you to contact your Representatives and Senators and let them know exactly how you feel about the current trade war.

It's done! Later this week (or possibly even today), we'll send out redemption links to download Art of Grandmaster. Since this book is ready to go, there's no reason to wait!

We're so excited to share all of the original paintings, coloring pages, and the new map in gorgeous high definition. All of the artists did amazing work and we hope you're as thrilled as we are with the results.

Based on a Discord poll of our backers, we've made the following decisions for Art of Grandmaster and Grandmaster:

This way you get not only the experience we intended for Grandmaster (with full-color pages and no borders), but you get every single pixel for your prints and digital downloads.

Before we go to print, we want to make sure that we got the 300 Loremaster credit recipients correct.

The easiest way for us to check this is by releasing a digital download to that segment of backers, so that you can double-check your names. (If you need to change your name, email us THIS WEEK at [email protected])

If you answered all 18 trivia questions correctly, please watch your inbox for an email from BackerKit with a link to that file.

Hi everyone -

We're excited to share that 72% of backers have already completed their Grandmaster surveys. That's 2,794 out of 3,852 people!

While there's still plenty of time for most backers, there are eight Loremasters who need to get back to us ASAP so that we can credit you in Grandmaster and go to print. We've sent a series of emails to you, including individual emails today. If you are one of the eight Loremasters who haven't replied or completed your surveys, this week is your final chance to select the name that we use in the book to credit you for answering all eighteen trivia questions correctly. If we don't hear from the remaining Loremasters by Sunday, we will credit your BackerKit user names in the print book.

Why do I have to pay shipping on a digital reward?
You probably have a free physical reward in your cart (like a foil print, bookmark, or Loremaster patch). If you don't want to receive it, you can remove it and the shipping charge will go away.

Can I get a shipping scholarship?
Yes! Email [email protected] and we'll give you a credit for your shipping cost.

I haven't received my survey, what do I do?
You can retrieve your survey at this link or email [email protected].

I'm missing my rewards, is it time to panic?
Don't panic! Rewards have not shipped yet. We're running slightly behind schedule, but are generally on track to fulfill within our planned window.

I didn't get to pledge, is it too late?
We are still accepting late pledges at our pre-order store.

Can I order more copies of Grandmaster?
For now we're limiting everyone to two copies. If we get closer to the survey cut-off and more are available we'll let you know.

When is the survey cut-off date?
We'll leave surveys open as long as possible, but we really want you to complete surveys before we start shipping. Our standard policy is to allow late backer surveys for a full year after fulfillment commences. However, we will release extra stock (books and rewards not allocated to backers) to the public after primary fulfillment is completed.