April Update
over 2 years ago
– Mon, May 02, 2022 at 04:38:11 PM
Getting this monthly update in just under the wire again...
At the moment, the layout is about 98% done. All we're really waiting on is for me to write some fiction snippets for the chapter openers and then to do a final proofread of the whole book. If any backers want a sneak preview of the PDF as it stands, drop me an email at [email protected]. Every book can always use another set of eyes on it before it goes to press, and we'd be happy to have yours on it too.
Speaking of going to press, we've been working with this wonderful printer that you might have heard of before if you went to high school in the US: Jostens. They print a massive amount of high school yearbooks, which means they know how to do a wonderful job with short-run, hardcover, letter-sized books like ours. The downside is that because they print all those yearbooks, their presses are busy until mid-June.
I could try to go with another printer, but getting an equivalent price would likely mean printing in Asia. Given the global supply chain issues ramping up once again, it seems smarter to wait until those presses reopen and having our book be first in line when they do. Jostens prints at their HQ in Tennessee, which is close enough for me to drive to myself if I have to.
All that said, I plan to have the PDF out to you as soon as it's fully ready. The print books will get to us sometime in August, and we'll get them shipped out to you as soon as we can after they arrive, putting us right on track.
Meanwhile, I'm wrestling with the shipping tables on the BackerKit preorder store. Once I have those set up properly, I'll open that up. We'll close down pre-orders when we send the book to press in mid-June, which should give you a month or so to add anything you like to your orders.
If you're looking for something else to playtest in the meantime, check out the new Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Playtest Book. It just came out on the 20th, and it already hit Publishers Weekly's bestseller list for trade paperback book.
More news as we have it. Thanks, as always, for your support!
March Update
over 2 years ago
– Fri, Apr 01, 2022 at 12:11:44 AM
Squeaking this one in under the monthly wire...
Unfortunately, the layout for the book is not quite done. We're about 90% there, though, and it's looking great. At the moment, it's coming in at a whopping 280 pages. This is both great — as it means more stuff for you — and not-so-great — as I'll have to get new print quotes for the book, which I've already started doing.
Anyhow, here's the Table of Contents as proof of life.
We should be able to get the last bits wrapped up shortly, and — global supply chain issues aside — we're still on track for an August delivery for the books.
I ran the adventure in the book a couple of times at Gary Con this past weekend, and I'm planning to run it at KublaCon and Nexus Game Fair too. It hums along pretty well, but every time the party seems to come up with a delightful new way to surprise me. That's a large chunk of the fun of RPGs, though, isn't it?
February Update
almost 3 years ago
– Tue, Mar 01, 2022 at 07:40:13 PM
Hi, Backers!
Shotguns & Sorcery: The 5E Sourcebook is moving right along. Progress is a little slower than I'd hoped in my more optimistic moments, but we're still on track to meet that August delivery date, barring any major issues with global supply chains. Although I'm planning to print in the US, for instance, to avoid much of that stuff, a worldwide paper shortage has developed. That's all wildly out of my control, though, so let's focus on things that aren't.
I finally finished editing the manuscript and turned it over to the excellent Mike Brodu for layout. With luck, we'll have that back and ready sometime in the next few weeks. If all goes well, we'll have the PDF ready to go by the end of March, although it's possible that could slip into April. Either way, once that's done, I'll get BackerKit set up to lock in your pledges and then get everything off to the printer. That gives us roughly five months till the book's projected delivery date, so we should be in good shape.
At that point, I'll also turn over the manuscript to my son Pat, who's taking on the duties for converting it all to the Shard Tabletop VTT. He got some training for it over the holidays, and he's eager to get cracking on it.
Thanks to the backers who volunteered to playtest the rules in this book. I sent those out last night, so if you were expecting to get those from me and didn't, please ping me again, either here or at [email protected]. If anyone else would like a crack at them, you're welcome to join the fun.
Meanwhile, I hired the amazing Matt Sturm to produce the fillable PDF character sheet, and he did a fantastic job with it, as you can see below. It comes in both black and white and color, as well as standard printable and fillable, for a total of four different variants.
If you want to, you can download and start using them right away. I can't guarantee that link will work forever, but once we have everything set up in DriveThruRPG, I'll send you copies via that as well.
Things have been a little nuts around here as I put the finishing touches on the Marvel Mutiverse Role-Playing Game: Playtest Rulebook. That should be out around April 20, so look for it at your friendly local games or comics store. I'm also working on Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus (a new mobile game in soft launch in various regions right now) and two other video games that haven't been announced yet. Still, never fret! I'm just as excited about this project as you are, and I'm always plugging away at it.
Thanks so much for your support!
January Update
almost 3 years ago
– Tue, Jan 18, 2022 at 07:18:33 AM
Hi, Backers!
Holidays and pandemic aside, things are moving along pretty well here. I'm editing the manuscript and about to turn it over to Mike Brodu, the graphic designer who handled the layout of Shotguns & Sorcery: The Roleplaying Game (the Cypher System version of the setting). At that point, we might realize that we need a few more piece of artwork, which I've arranged to commission from Outland Entertainment, the folks who originally published the RPG.
With luck, we'll have the 5E PDF in your hands in February or even March, well ahead of schedule. However, I'm committed to doing a good job rather than a rush job with this book, so we'll make sure we take the time to get it right.
If anyone is interested in playtesting some of the crunchier bits of the book, please contact me at [email protected]. I'd be happy to send you copies of that for your feedback. Either way, I hope you're all having a good start to your year.
Thanks for your support!
Omnibus and Comic Book Coming Your Way!
about 3 years ago
– Mon, Dec 06, 2021 at 10:57:57 AM
Hi, Backers!
It's been a wild couple weeks since the Kickstarter campaign closed, and we've been keeping busy. The money finally arrived from Kickstarter, which means that all pledges they've been able to collect have been collected. That also means it's time to send you some goodies!
I am right now sending copies of Shotguns & Sorcery: The Omnibus and Shotguns & Sorcery: The Wizard's Wife to everyone who pledged at the $30 level and above. They should be coming to you via DriveThruRPG, so look for an email from them tonight. Those links are good for about 30 days, so be sure to collect your goodies soon.
If you have any problems managing that, please contact me. Sometimes it slips your mind. Other times, the email gets caught in your spam folder. Whatever happens, we'll do what we can to help you out.
If your pledge did not go through, please contact me at [email protected], and we'll try to figure what we can work out.
Meanwhile, the amazing Rob Schwalb has already finished his development pass on the book and pronounced it good to go. The next step is to get it edited and then laid out, and we're still on track to get that done in plenty of time.
I hope you all have wonderful holidays, wherever you are, and that you get to celebrate them with people you love. I'll post more here when there's more news to post.
Thanks for your support!
