Stretch Goal Round-up // FOLOMO
about 6 years ago – Thu, Apr 12, 2018 at 08:15:58 AM

Hello Dragon-Backers!

We have just passed the halfway point of this Kickstarter Campaign. The launch seems so long ago, and the next few weeks will fly by, but trust me when I say we've got just over 2 weeks left. And, since we're right in the middle of it, I just wanted to send an update with a quick look back, and a quick look ahead.

STRETCH GOALS ACCOMPLISHED

According to my math, we've managed to pass 16 Stretch Goal funding targets in the page 16 days! (And that doesn't include the countdown targets that were used to add additional reward tiers!) That's averages out to an impressive Stretch Goal achievement per day -- is there any chance we can keep that up, and maybe hit another 14 by the end of the campaign? Aim for the stars, I say!

To follow my mantra for this project - manageable projects, reasonable additions, achievable results - most of the additional content is being added to the Dragon-Blooded Companion PDF, Heirs to the Shogunate. This keeps the main project from getting side-tracked or knocked offline, but still allows us to expand the world of Exalted in exciting ways.

Here's what's been added to the Dragon-Blooded: Heirs to the Shogunate supplement so far:

• CHARMS EXPANSION - new Charms 
• LOOKSHY EXPANSION - Additional setting detail and mechanics for Lookshy, including stats and Evocations for their fabled gunzosha armor 
• LOOKSHY EXPANSION #2 - Additional setting detail and mechanics for Lookshy, elaborating on military forces and redoubts 
• FOREST WITCHES EXPANSION– Additional setting detail and mechanics for the Forest Witches, including mechanics for the dead of Atsiluth Eternal 
• FOREST WITCHES EXPANSION #2– Additional setting detail and mechanics for the Forest Witches, including stats for numina of the mists 
• OUTCASTE EXPANSION - Additional setting detail and mechanics for outcaste groups 
• OUTCASTE EXPANSION #2- Additional setting detail and mechanics for more outcaste groups 
• CADET HOUSE EXPANSION – Additional setting detail and mechanics for the Scarlet Dynasty’s cadet houses 
• PRASAD EXPANSION – Additional setting detail and mechanics for the Empire of Prasad 
• REALM EXPANSION #1: War in the West – A section dealing with the impending war between House Peleps and House V’neef 
• QC EXPANSION #1 – Quick Character write-ups for Tepet Arada, Ragara, Karal Linwei, Peleps Deled, and V’neef
  

Already shaping up to be a massive supplement, and that doesn't even include additional material that may be added via Special Reward Tier. And we're not even done - more Stretch Goals to come!

Beyond the DB Companion, we've also achieved Stretch Goals for these rewards:

• A Storyteller Screen included as an Add On Reward
• Digital Wallpaper showcasing awesome Dragon-Blooded art
• A Dragon-Blooded novella
• Additional funds to increase the art budget for Dragon-Blooded: What Fire Has Wrought
• At least TWO additional silk ribbon book marks in the deluxe edition hardcover of Dragon-Blooded: What Fire Has Wrought

NEXT STRETCH GOALS

At $231,000 in funding - HEIRS TO THE SHOGUNATE – LOOKSHY EXPANSION #3: A section on the gentes and individual Lookshyans of note will be added to the Dragon-Blooded Companion PDF.

At $240,000 in funding - HEIRS TO THE SHOGUNATE – REALM EXPANSION #2: Secondary Schools - materials to run games set in the secondary schools will be added to the Dragon-Blooded Companion PDF.

Thanks to everyone who's suggested Stretch Goal ideas and new topics for Heirs to the Shogunate! You can see a lot of these suggestions in the items we've added, and the ones that will hopefully come up soon (What? More Prasad? More on Outcaste groups? Warstriders? What?!?) Remember that the Exalted line is just getting warmed up... there will be more books to come, and more topics covered! So, if you don't see something you've mentioned, don't worry - good ideas live on, and may get covered in future supplements that can really dig into the subject! Your enthusiasm and support keeps fueling this fire and lights the path ahead.

FOLOMO

You know what FOMO is? The Fear of Missing Out? That drives a lot of pop culture and kickstarter campaigns - whether you want to jump on a one-time only limited edition, or be part of an exciting water-cooler moment, FOMO can get you interested and excited about things that may have otherwise slipped past you.

The good news is that, if you're reading this, you haven't missed out. You're on board, you're in the know. So, this next section isn't for you. It's for the person beside you, who's not reading this. So I need you to pass the word on.

I get lots - LOTS - of e-mails from people who just missed one of these Kickstarter Campaigns. Either they meant to pledge and somehow got the dates wrong, or they only found out after it was finished. While some of these projects become available through game stores or via digital and PoD partners, there's never a price-structure or reward combination that comes close to what's offered during the Kickstarter campaign. I have to reply to these e-mails and tell the poor fan that they've unfortunately missed their opportunity this time. The Kickstarter campaigns run for 30 days, and once they close, the deal is done.

I've got FOLOMO - the Fear of Letting Others Miss Out. I do my best to let everyone know what's going on with our campaign, and what we're trying to build here, but I need your help. Make sure you spread the word; make sure it's not one of your friends or gaming group that I'm replying to in three weeks, letting them know that the opportunity has passed. The book being created here really is a limited edition, deluxe one-time offer. The Kickstarter Reward Tier pricing is not retail pricing. There may be some extra copies for sale after the campaign, but they'll be at a substantial markup, and will not include all of the additional rewards offered here. So, please, just make sure you've let any friend that may be interested know about this campaign in next two weeks.

And, because I've got FOLOMO, let me note these numbers so that nobody reading this misses out. As of the time of posting this update:

• There are 36 slots left for the Archimandrite of the Immaculate Order Reward Tier that includes Onyx Path's last copies of the Exalted 3rd Edition deluxe hardcover. When these go, they will have no more.
• There are 8 slots left for the General of the Maelstrom Legion Reward Tier, where you get to name an NPC entered into the official Exalted canon. 
• There are 14 slots left for the Sorcerer of the White Register Reward Tier, which has the developers work on a custom Charm for you.
• There's 1 slot left in the Admiral of the Merchant Fleet and 5 slots available in the Admiral of the Fire Fleet Reward Tiers, which feature the opportunity to have the developers do a Quick Character write-up for one of your favorite Dragon-Blooded NPCs from a past edition.
• There are 6 slots available for the Honored Elder of a Great House Reward Tier, where you provide the description for an interior illustration and have an artist bring your character to life (at least, metaphorically).

Most of us have already locked in our Reward Tier, factoring in our needs, wants, and budget (PLEASE - make sure you factor in your budget!) But, if you were considering treating yourself or maybe spending some extra birthday cash, I just wanted to make sure you knew about these options!

And, with all of that... onward to Lookshy! Onward to cloth maps! Onward to Secondary Schools! And... more Pizza Dragons!?  I've said too much! 

#EX3DB

Backers Only - Manuscript Preview Part 3
about 6 years ago – Tue, Apr 10, 2018 at 04:05:50 AM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Immaculate Order / Sorcerer Reward Tier
about 6 years ago – Sat, Apr 07, 2018 at 05:35:01 AM

Hello Dragon-Backers,

And welcome to our second Realm Saturday! Today, we will be sharing another excerpt from The Realm, this time discussing the Immaculate Order.

The Immaculate Philosophy

Consider the humble farmer and the fertile hen.

It’s the way of the farmer to tend to her fields, her animals, and her family; her just reward is the fruit of her labor and the honor of her family. It’s the way of the hen to provide from her body, in the form of egg, flesh, and chicks; her just reward is the shelter and feed of the farm. The farmer, secure in her place, respects and nurtures the lesser creatures in her care. The hen, secure in her place, honors and obeys the farmer that cares for her. So it is from earth to Heaven: The lesser creature shelters beneath the greater, and gives honor and obedience in return. At Creation’s heights, the Princes of the Earth. In its depths, the plants and creatures of the soil. When all see to their duties, all prosper, and Creation prospers with them.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS PREVIEW

 NEW REWARD TIER

Just like we did two days ago, we'll start a countdown to add a new limited Reward Tier.

Around $210,686 in funding - NEW REWARD TIER - Sorcerer of the White Register will be added to the Kickstarter Campaign. The Tier be limited to 20 Backers and will offer the following rewards:

• SPECIAL: The developers will work with you to develop a custom Charm, which may be included in the Dragon-Blooded Companion PDF (or a subsequent Exalted 3rd Edition supplement, if necessary). 
• Dragon-Blooded: What Fire Has Wrought Deluxe Hardcover version  
• Dragon-Blooded: What Fire Has Wrought PDF version 
• Manuscript Previews 
• Heirs to the Shogunate – the Dragon-Blooded Companion PDF 
• Optional "at cost" PoD version of Dragon-Blooded: What Fire Has Wrought 
• Your name will be listed as a Kickstarter supporter in the final book under the heading "Founder of The Realm." 
• You will be given a "Special Thanks" credit in the Dragon-Blooded Companion PDF. 
•  Additional shipping charges may be added based on your location.
  

And, Speaking of Stretch Goals...

We've already added TWO stretch goals since we last did our summary. Here are the next two that we hope to achieve:

 At $214,000 in funding - HEIRS TO THE SHOGUNATE – OUTCASTE EXPANSION #2 - Additional setting detail and mechanics for outcaste groups featured in What Fire Has Wrought will be added to the Dragon-Blooded Companion PDF.

 At $216,000 in funding - DELUXE UPGRADE - we will add at least two more silk book marks to the Deluxe hardcover edition of Dragon-Blooded: What Fire Has Wrought.

So, let's keep at it! Spread the word and share your enthusiasm! With the potential to add more info about Outcaste groups to the Dragon-Blooded Companion, remember to let us know which are your favorites!

#EX3DB

- James

Dev Diary: Outcastes
about 6 years ago – Thu, Apr 05, 2018 at 08:38:26 AM

From the developers:

This week, we’re going to focus on outcastes. You’ll be getting a bit of development history, reasons why we include them, and some specifics on each of the groups included in Chapter 4.

The Dragon-Blooded have always had a strong default setting in the Realm, but the intrigues and imperialism of the Scarlet Dynasty are far from the only stories you can tell with them. An outcastes game can diverge dramatically from the standard mode of play that Dynastic Dragon-Blooded support, and opens up room for character concepts that would be hard to reconcile with the Realm.

Lookshy has been the most prominent outcaste group across every edition of Exalted. While the Realm is a decadent aristocracy that profits off the engines of empire, Lookshy is a military junta that hearkens back to the war-torn past of the Shogunate. Lookshy’s seen some changes from past editions. While its arsenals still boast warstriders, skyships, and gunzosha armor, their numbers have been dialed back, letting the Dragon-Blooded of the Seventh Legion really shine as Lookshy’s greatest strength. We’ve put more focus on the gentes — Lookshy’s equivalent of the Great Houses, named after the ancient Roman social structure — fleshing them out and giving them more distinctive identities. We’ve also tried to avoid portraying Lookshy as “the good guys” opposed to the Realm. Playing a Lookshyan Dragon-Blood doesn’t let you avoid thorny issues of morality, although the particular quandaries you’re confronted with might be different.

The Wanasaan offer an example of how a single Dragon-Blooded family might carve out a place in Creation. Their isolated locale, singular mission, and distinctive style of sorcery (you’ll see their initiation in weeks to come) sets them up for a play experience of exorcists wandering the land and confronting the unquiet dead. A Wanasaan Dragon-Blood is also well-suited to mixed play alongside the Liminal Exalted in ways that Dynastic Dragon-Blooded might not be.

The Sisterhood of Pearls is both an illustration of what a heretical splinter sect of the Immaculate Order might look like, and a hook for a self-contained story about the inherent tensions in a utopian religious commune. Outside of that, the Sisterhood can also provide a lot of mileage as NPCs — they might serve as potentially-justified antagonists to Immaculate monks and other devout Dynasts, or present a different kind of Wyld Hunt to Solars or Lunars.

The Temple of the Reverent Whisper places outcastes in the context of one of Exalted’s signature setting elements: Great Forks, the city of many gods. A Dragon-Blooded devotee of the Temple can enjoy the benefits of having a god as a patron or mentor, engaging all in all sorts of fraternization that the Realm’s Immaculate Order would never tolerate. A divine patron’s demands can serve as a driver of stories, as can the Temple’s ferocious enforcement of its monopoly and the regional conflicts within the Scavenger Lands.

The Seven Storms Brotherhood can serve either as antagonists — perhaps for a Sworn Kinship of Dragon-Blooded from the Realm or another outcaste group — or as a framework for a PC group, with players taking on the role of individual Storms for Water Margin-inspired games. What Fire Has Wrought also gives brief descriptions of half a dozen other outcaste groups, as potential background material for Dragon-Blooded PCs or plot hooks for Storytellers to use. Some of these are familiar faces, like the Rogue Legion of Saloy Hin that rebelled against the Realm after the Great Houses carved up the Imperial legions, or the deadly assassin clan called the Grass Spiders. Others are brand new to Exalted’s Third Edition, like the fae-blooded knights of the Cult of the Violet Fang; Heaven’s Dragons, who have lived among the gods in Yu-Shan since time immemorial; and Yatani’s Children, who claim to come from a different reality.

Thanks to the awesome efforts of our Kickstarter backers, we’re able to go into more detail on these outcaste groups in the Dragon-Blooded Companion, Heirs to the Shogunate. If you have any thoughts on which ones we should focus on, let us know!

Returning Reward Tiers // Stretch Goals
about 6 years ago – Thu, Apr 05, 2018 at 04:29:51 AM

Hello Dragon-Backers,

Two updates coming your way today! For this one, I want to share an update on some limited Reward Tiers and our current Stretch Goal targets. Later today, I'll share some behind-the-scenes stuff from the Dev Team.

SPECIAL REWARD TIERS

Now that we've passed $200,000 in funding (WOW!), other opportunities open up and the project grows in size to accommodate additional options. Talking about the Special Reward Tiers, like the General, Sorcerer, Admiral, etc. 

When the campaign was first posted, we set a limit on the amount of these rewards, based on how much work they'd be for the dev team and writers as a portion of the overall project. But, as the project grows, we have room to maybe re-introduce some of those rewards in new Reward Tiers. They'll still be limited in quantity, and priced at a premium, so won't really affect most of the backers. But for those who are interested and able, they'll also help fund more Stretch Goals for the rest of us! :) 

I didn't want to just sneak in new rewards, though, and leave them to be discovered - or maybe even undiscovered! So, what we're going to do is run the addition of these Reward Tiers alongside our Stretch Goal targets. 

Just to be clear - these are not Stretch Goals per se, but think of them as a count down timer so that we all know when they'll be added. We'll work on the General of the Maelstrom Legion Reward Tier first, and adapt this strategy as needed while we introduce the other limited Reward options over the next week.

Around $204,306 in funding - NEW REWARD TIER - General of the Maelstrom Legion will be added to the Kickstarter Campaign. The Tier be limited to 10 Backers and will offer the following rewards:

• SPECIAL: You will name an NPC added to official canon and featured in the Dragon-Blooded Companion PDF (or a subsequent Exalted 3rd Edition supplement if necessary). We reserve the right to modify your submission if necessary to conform to appropriateness with the setting. 
• Dragon-Blooded: What Fire Has Wrought Deluxe Hardcover version  
• Dragon-Blooded: What Fire Has Wrought PDF version 
• Manuscript Previews 
• Heirs to the Shogunate – the Dragon-Blooded Companion PDF 
• Optional "at cost" PoD version of Dragon-Blooded: What Fire Has Wrought 
• Your name will be listed as a Kickstarter supporter in the final book under the heading "Founder of The Realm." 
• You will be given a "Special Thanks" credit in the Dragon-Blooded Companion PDF. 
•  Additional shipping charges may be added based on your location.
  

Again, this won't affect most of us. But, like the discovery of those final copies of the deluxe hardcover version of Exalted 3rd Edition that we were able to use to create the Archimandrite of the Immaculate Order Reward Tier, I want to make sure that any opportunity that comes up is shared with this awesome community. 

And, speaking of Stretch Goals...

We achieved SO MANY Stretch Goal achievements in our first week! It's remarkable! Let's keep this momentum going...

At $205,000 in funding - HEIRS TO THE SHOGUNATE – FOREST WITCHES EXPANSION #2– Additional setting detail and mechanics for the Forest Witches, including stats for numina of the mists, will be added to the Dragon-Blooded Companion PDF.

At $208,000 in funding - Dragon-Blooded Novella – A short story written to better define the Dragon-Blooded play experience.

 At $214,000 in funding - HEIRS TO THE SHOGUNATE – OUTCASTE EXPANSION #2 - Additional setting detail and mechanics for outcaste groups featured in What Fire Has Wrought will be added to the Dragon-Blooded Companion PDF.

We'll touch on that potential Outcaste Expansion in another update later today. Stay tuned! And keep spreading the word!

#EX3DB

- James