Player Friendly Maps are Live on BackerKit!
about 4 years ago – Sun, Aug 16, 2020 at 10:56:53 PM

For those of you that purchased this pack, good news. Anomiecoalition, our lead mapper was able to crack through more maps than I'd hoped and we are getting caught up. As a result I decided to switch up strategies. And actually I should have thought of it before. Instead of delivering Part 1 and 2 of the maps - I'm just giving them all to you now. 14 of them have issues - anything from a single blemish to all monster locations showing. But we'll get those fixed and will update them on BackerKit as quick as we can.

To help you identify those maps that will be updated, we've ended their names with three exclamation marks, for example - The Training Grounds!!!

There are *** 83 *** map assets in 11 zip files downloadable on BackerKit. 76 of those assets are player friendly maps. 7 maps are "DM ONLY" in that they were not designed for online play, but are included for completion.

The majority of these assets are in png format, though there are a few jpegs and gifs in the mix. We'll homogenize the formats when we do the final update and if you need a different format, please let me know. Also, if you notice anything on a map that we missed or you think should be different, feel free to DM me about it so we can fix it in the final update. Our experience in this field is limited and we want to make sure you have what you need.

And don't forget, if you need a particular map that is marked with !!! to play right away, let me know and we'll prioritize it for you.

Enjoy your online journeys through the Grande Temple of Jing! I can't wait to hear your stories!

Danny

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men
about 4 years ago – Thu, Aug 13, 2020 at 11:00:21 PM

Hello folks. At times like this I am reminded of the famous quote by John Steinbeck "The best laid plans of mice and men, often go awry." I think we've all faced that in the past several months, but wow - I didn't expect these events to delay our project this much. We'll get through it but I want to apologize up front that things continue to drag out. Some of it is Covid, some of it is human error, but all of it is my responsibility. So again, please accept my apologies, as well as my assurances that this project will ultimately deliver to your satisfaction. In the meantime:

The DM Treasure Chest is Live!

I promised you this PDF a month ago and I didn't deliver. The reason was that the treasure chest contains some floor tiles for some key rooms in the temple. Well, as I gave the PDF a final look over, I noticed that some of the maps had artifacts on them that shouldn't be there. Arrows. Symbols. Things the players wouldn't see. This caused me to do an audit on the player friendly maps that we had originally created for Realm Works a few years ago. And I was disappointed. Clearly, CLEARLY we had botched the job and hadn't even been aware. This is largely due to a misunderstanding on my part from when we did the original map exports. I hadn't played in VTTs back then and gave some unclear instructions to my team. As a result, many maps had errors. And I didn't realize this until I was reviewing them for upload.

I informed my lead mapper who got to work as soon as possible. He fixed up the maps needed for the Treasure Chest to get it done - and I'm happy to say it's now available to download on Backer Kit!

I want to explain to you that we overstuffed the chest a bit. This final add-on is 58 pages of printables, and a 6 page adventure. That means that when you add the Player's Guide and the Mini Screen Inserts the DM Treasure Chest delivers you *** 85+ *** pages of extra content to be used with the Grande Temple of Jing! The Player's Guide in particular is several more pages than originally projected. And we tweaked the floor tile offer just a bit, cutting the Gravecaves and Strange Floors, and adding extra pages for the Master's Arena and Slimetown. For the "Tools" section of the toolbox, we even added a few pages of extras to the PDF. These won't appear in the printed version of the treasure chest, but they are there if you want to print them yourself. I hope one day COVID clears up enough that you can bring these cool tools to a table and put them to use. But I'm sure you'll be playing remote for a few months yet. Which brings us to...

Player Friendly Maps! (Part 1)

As I said our lead mapper jumped on the fixes but we ran into technical snags with our files, and personal delays on both our parts. So the process of fixing 40 or so maps has been taking unfortunately, forever.

But I want you to get started. So I'll be uploading all the maps that are ready this weekend as Part 1 of 2. This will cover an array of random levels as well as the entryways to the temple, the meta levels, and the first Grande levels. Basically the stuff that gets you going in the temple and a bit more. While you digest those/use those in VTT we'll fix up the rest and I'll add them to BackerKit as Part 2 as soon as they are done. If there is a map that is not in Part 1 that you want to use right now, just let us know and we'll prioritize it for you. We WANT you to play. Which brings us to:

The Book

For those of you awaiting the hardcover, it's officially facepalm time. Our book is fine, I guarantee that. But the array of delays I have faced with the printer over the past 45 days has become mind numbing, and there is little to be done about it. I don't want to go all negative here with details, things happen in business during such strange times. I am super frustrated with the situation but again, I promise we'll get through it. I truly hope you are all enjoying the PDF and everything else we've delivered in the meantime. But like many of you, I want to be holding this book! 

In the Meantime

Check out Dead Dog Dungeon! It's the add-on adventure that comes in the DM Treasure Chest. Remember - one basic mechanic of the temple is that Jing will resurrect the party if they TPK. Well, this optional adventure allows you to reincarnate them as dogs or cats instead! They go through a short gauntlet/dungeon adventure as animals without their powers. If they succeed, they get their bodies back. It's bound to be a lot of fun for those of you evil enough to spring it on your group. Especially if you have tokens or miniatures of cats and dogs to represent them!

Danny

Time to Download!
over 4 years ago – Fri, Jul 03, 2020 at 08:05:56 PM

Folks, todays downloads are ready for you! Please enjoy exploring the temple! Please share your stories with us!

PLEASE keep in mind that most of these files will be treated as living documents. That means they will get updates if/when it is warranted. For example, the Mini Screen Inserts are getting an update now. And a book as big as this one always has typos that make it past editing. So when the time comes we'll give you an improved version of that as well.

As always, we'd love to hear from about your adventures in the temple. Please don't ever hesitate to share how your group defeated a particular level with ease - or had a TPK on a level they should have been able to clear in their sleep. And DEFINITELY tell us about all the crazy things they think of and do as they run through Jing's masterpiece.

Cap'n She Cannot Take It! She's Gonna Break Up!

Sorry these are going out later today than anticipated. I actually ran into file size limits when I was doing the uploads. D'oh! Really should have seen that coming. I managed to get the book under the wire, but the STL files (for those that bought them) are cut into 3 parts. 

OK folks that's it for now. Enjoy the files. We'll talk soon!

Danny

Are You Ready To Explore The Grande Temple of Jing?
over 4 years ago – Tue, Jun 30, 2020 at 11:10:15 AM

Hello folks!

Our book is not here yet so as promised, I'm going to start delivering all other products starting July 1st. As feared the COVID pandemic derailed everyone and everything involved with the project, even folks who were helping me out with the peripherals like the DM Toolbox. But don't worry - the printer has us on the schedule and we WILL get the book - and it will be glorious as you'll soon see from the PDF.

As I'd feared my distribution and retail partners are still hurting in an uncertain market. Without in-store gaming it is difficult for many to support RPGs at this time, which is a problem for Hammerdog, not yourselves. But print runs on a book this big are bolstered by retailer support and without it, things get (and got) very tight. So I thank you for the patience and understanding you've lent me thus far. It's been a crazy minefield as you can imagine. 

But let's get you some product.

Fulfillment Schedule

July 1st 

• The PDF of the book will be available through BackerKit.
• The Player's Guide will be available through BackerKit.
• The STL files of the miniatures will be available through BackerKit.
• I will update the Mini Screen Inserts on BackerKit.

July 7th

• I will release the remaining files from the DIGITAL Version of the DM Treasure Chest through BackerKit. This includes the Initiative Cards, the Bookmarks, the Invitations, the Floor Tiles, the Game Aids, the Magic Item Cards, and Dead Dog Dungeon.
• I will release the player friendly maps for digital tabletops through BackerKit.
• US and Canadian Backers will be given the option of shipping their physical rewards minus the book at this time. This includes the Mini Screen, The PRINTED version of the DM Treasure Chest, the Miniatures, and the Dice. Hammerdog will pay freight to ship the book on arrival at no extra cost to you. You can choose to hold for the book at this time.
• European customers will be given the same option but if they choose to split their shipment in this way they will unfortunately have to pay VAT on this first part. I advertised this KS as "Euro Friendly" and I meant it. But that assumed I was able to ship everything in one package from inside Europe. Europeans that wish to hold for the book will not pay VAT on anything.
• AUS/NZ customers that do NOT have the PRINTED version of the DM Treasure Chest will also be given this option. Those that DO have the PRINTED DM Treasure Chest will have to wait for their physical rewards to ship all together, as the cost of splitting those shipments is unfortunately sky high. 

TBD

• The book will ship at no extra cost to all backers that purchased it, regardless of whether or not they split their physical rewards.
• I do not anticipate seeing the book before August.

And Now, The Grande Temple of Jing

Here are some juicy details on your book!

• The book is *** 520 *** pages of awesome
• It will come shrinkwrapped with 3 bookmarks inside of it to help you track stuff. Of course those that bought the deluxe version will also have a silk ribbon bookmark sewn into the spine. Fancy!
• The book contains over *** 60 *** levels gathered in 10 clusters called "Grande Levels." *** 20 *** of the levels, known a the "Meta Levels" have no fixed place and are supposed to be put on any Grande Level you like.
• The book has superior layout and organization to the original, and contains 73 NEW pieces art bringing the total # of art assets in the book to *** 300 ***!
• The Appendix is a whopping *** 60 *** pages, and contains a *** 10 THOUSAND word *** epic poem (yes, 10,000 words), 27 Riddles, 158 Pre-generated treasure piles, 14 Awesome Magic Items, 36 Monsters, as well as a handful of Spells, Environmental Hazards, NPCs, and Extra Maps. It even adds rules for Masterwork and Ghost Touch items to 5th edition!

To get you excited for Wednesday, I present to you the Table of Contents. Like the entire book, the TOC breaks the rules on what you should expect from an RPG adventure book. This one shows you where each level is located, and the suggested Tier/Level of the characters that could tackle it. It's organized by Grande Level (GL) and has a picture from each GL to brighten things up. And if that doesn't set the stage for the rest of the book, nothing will.

I truly hope you enjoy this sneak peek. Feel free to ask me questions about these levels in the comments. I LOVE talking about this dungeon! 

Well that's it for now folks. Thanks for everything. I hope you like what you see. And if you are in Canada or the USA, happy Canada Day/Independence Day!

All my best,

Danny

Update/Plan
over 4 years ago – Thu, May 14, 2020 at 07:42:13 PM

Hello folks!

I hope this finds you all healthy and safe.

Here we are in the month of May and the USA is starting to open back up, state-by-state. That means I should be hearing soon from my business partners in distribution and retail as to when they plan to open up again. As I’ve mentioned in the past I want to give them every opportunity to get The Grande Temple of Jing into stores as the book was designed for precisely that. Plus, more than ever Hammerdog needs the sales of those extra books to justify creating it in the first place (translation – to keep the company going we have to do more sales than we do on our Kickstarters). That said I don’t want to make you wait forever so I’m drawing a line in the sand even though I don’t have a hard date yet on the book landing. Therefore…

Fulfillment Begins July 1st

Folks I don’t want to keep holding back. Early mistakes on my part, the decision to print in China, and the Covid 19 pandemic have really conspired to delay this product. Therefore, even though it is a detriment for Hammerdog to release the PDF of the book early, on July 1st I will release it along with all electronic rewards to backers. If the book is here and releasable on July 1st great. If not, I will fulfill all orders for physical product (the screen, inserts, dice, miniatures, etc.) at that time and then ship the book when it arrives at Hammerdog’s expense. You will be given an option to take your physical product at that time or to wait for the book. The goal of course is to get you the book *BEFORE* it goes into retail stores, as that is part of the appeal of backing a Kickstarter like this.

I hope everyone understands the need for this approach. There are a number of factors I need to balance, and this seems the best plan to me. As always, I know some of you are infinitely patient with Kickstarters and I thank you for that. But for those that would like to see their products sooner than later, this should help bridge the gap.

Still Looking For Painters

Folks, I’m still looking for anyone interested in painting Jing miniatures for me when I attend conventions and run Jing. We still don’t know if Gen Con is happening, but we are acting as if it is, and we need minis for it. If you have painting skills and would like to earn some cache with Hammerdog (and maybe even some cash!) please do reach out to me.

Thank you for everything folks. Please be safe out there.

Danny