Gen Con Bound!!!
over 5 years ago – Tue, Jul 30, 2019 at 08:20:19 PM

Folks, just a quick update that we are headed to the Greatest Four Days in Gaming!

Also wanted you to know that per my last update, BackerKit has *not* responded to me yet. This is super unusual for them but they will be at Gen Con and I'll be talking to them there. If you don't know what this is about - just carry on, rolls some dice, and we'll talk soon!

All my best,

Danny

Full Steam Ahead!
over 5 years ago – Sat, Jul 20, 2019 at 05:36:57 PM

Hello everybody! I hope you are having a good summer. Or winter for those of you down under.

With Gen Con getting close it seemed like a good time to get an update out. So here we go!

The Book is Looking Fantastic

Daniel Marshall is crushing it with the look of the book. Daniel and I went back and forth before settling on the tome's style elements and overall appearance. We ironed out some problems the original book had and introduced a couple of new layout features. I think you'll be very happy with the results.

Anomicoalition has been on point with the maps, improving several of the originals. Here's a side-by-side comparison of one just to show you what I mean. These are the Twinklestar Caverns, a kind of mini dungeon in the temple. The map on the right is from the original book. It's a great map, but there was a bit of room for improvement - so Anomiecoalition stepped in. It's not a massive difference, but it's pretty nice.

You may not be aware but there are 2 pieces of fiction in the book. The first sets the stage for the entire thing and we've moved it from the Appendix to the front of the book. The second piece is a massive poem that you need to solve a major quest. I commissioned a few pieces of art to jazz these stories up a bit and make them more reader friendly. I am super happy with the results. 

For my part the conversion of the book went slower than expected but was more fun than I thought it would be. I didn't realize I'd have to write rules to include Masterwork items into 5th edition. I didn't realize there were so many typos in the original manuscript (*cough*). 

But the real challenge was replacing certain monsters or creating them whole cloth. See those glowing lights in the map above? Those are Lantern Archons from Pathfinder and they simply do not exist in D&D. Well, they didn't until I created them anyways... 

The Printing of the Book is Slightly Delayed 

A bit of bad news here but it's not very bad. The book is going to be just a bit late. Sorry folks. I try very hard to keep Hammerdog's production in the USA, but ran into capacity issues with US printers on my last project, The Dread House (translation: the printers were so busy the book was delayed). Also, the deluxe covers planned for some of the books were beyond the capability of the US printers I'd used in the past. Therefore, I had chosen a printer from China for this incarnation of Jing. Some of you may be aware that the US threatened tariffs on China which caused widespread concern in the gaming industry. Well the sanctions never happened but it was enough to disrupt the printing schedules of lots of projects. I took a "wait and see" approach to the whole thing but since the tariffs never manifested, I have recommitted to printing in China. However, my approach delayed things by a few weeks - which I'll take over 25% tariffs any day. I will get you a firmer date as soon as I can. 

Miniatures and Accessories 

Everything here is going along as expected. I'm waiting to give final approval on the "ooze" additions to the minis packs and then casting can begin! These ooze creatures are critical to the functioning of the temple as the Kobolds use Protean Jelly to "Clean" everything. Some of those jellies escape and gain sentience becoming ooze people. Newcomers to the world they are easily controlled by the evil Slimefather, a gangster-like ooze that rules with an iron grip. No, make that a jelly grip.

I will soon be turning my attention to the accessories such as the screen inserts and treasure cards. I won't be able to do that however, until I get through The Best 4 Days in Gaming. Speaking of which... 

Gen Con 

Please stop by and see us at Gen Con! We will have some Jing samples to get you excited, including page samples, some tiles, and some miniatures! Nothing for Jing 5e will be able to be picked up - although you COULD pick up your Dice of Fortune/Misfortune since we'll have those on hand. Or you can take the opportunity to buy extras. :) We will of course have the Pathfinder version of Jing available. 

For those who love to play - we have submitted a few last minute Jing events for Gen Con but they have not yet been approved. Unfortunately, we are understaffed this year and couldn't run more events. If you are super keen to play, keep your eyes peeled for last minute additions. 

BackerKit 

Sorry for the delay on BackerKit. Some of you had asked for a version of Jing for your favorite Virtual Tabletop. A few asked for sds files for the miniatures. I had not wanted to launch BackerKit until I was 100% on those deliverables but at this point I am launching without them. I will not "lock down" BackerKit until later so we may get these added in before fulfillment begins. But if not we'll launch those on our website later and make you aware. 

Now, I was going to have BackerKit launched this weekend, but they've added a new feature that allows me to calculate a single freight cost for your rewards PLUS your add-ons. This is a FANTASTIC feature that I really wish I'd had on my last Kickstarter. It must be in BETA test because it requires special access. I've requested that access and I'm sure BackerKit will respond quickly and positively. So anticipate BackerKit launching early next week.

And That's All Folks! 

As always, thank you so much for your support. Enjoy the rest of summer (or winter) and we'll talk again after Gen Con! 

All my best, Danny

 

Mid May Update // Want to Help? - Looking for a few Developers, Proofreaders, and Editors
over 5 years ago – Tue, May 14, 2019 at 11:07:56 AM

Hello Folks!

Just wanted to drop you a quick line on this cold May day to say things are going well. I've just finished rearranging parts of the original book for better flow, and I've started the process of converting the original book to 5e. Daniel Marshall (whose initials are DM - how perfect is that?) is our layout person for this project. He's currently working on the new look of the book in conjunction with myself and things are progressing nicely. Anomiecoalition has begun updating some of the maps, making improvements as needed. Everything is currently on track. I won't turn my attention to the accessories until the book is done and to the printer so there's nothing to say about them just yet.

There's also not much news on the miniatures front. The sculpts for the protean jellies, their humanoid forms, and the slimefather are in queue right now with the sculptor. There's no official timeline for them yet, but there should be by the next update.

Backerkit is almost ready to launch and of course I'll send an update when it does. Remember in Backerkit we'll finalize freight and you'll be able to select add-ons if you'd like any. Backerkit will be open for a good long time so there's no need to rush or panic about any of this just yet. You've got lots of time to save up for that pack of miniatures you were thinking of getting...

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Want to help with the finishing touches?

Folks just as on past projects I'd like to offer some of you a chance to help with the finishing touches on the book. First, I'm looking for a handful of people to proofread parts of the book as we get set to finalize it. Proofreading is it's own reward. :) However, if any of you are professional editors and would like to lend your skills in that capacity, I would compensate you for your time.

Perhaps most importantly if you are skilled at writing creature stat blocks, magic items, and traps for 5th edition I'd LOVE to hear from you. Especially if you have some free time in the next couple of weeks. I could use a Trapmaster, a Magic Item Specialist, and one or three Monster Makers - STAT!  :) If you have skills, ie. this is not your first stab at this kind of stuff, LMK. I can offer a developer's credit in return for your help. If you are a professional 5e developer, we can discuss compensation for your time.

If you are interested in helping in any of these capacities, please send me a message via Kickstarter.

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Know of a Typo?

Finally, if you are the owner of the original Pathfinder version of the book, and noticed a typo, an alignment error, or an outright mistake in that book - now is the time to speak up!  I've caught a lot of them - there's no need to tell me about the 39 Cloud Giants that somehow snuck into Harpytown unnoticed ;D - but I *DO* want to make this the best book possible - so don't hesitate to drop me a line to tell me what you found. Thanks!

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Well that's it for now folks. Thanks!

Danny

Thank you one and all!
over 5 years ago – Sat, Apr 27, 2019 at 10:57:33 PM

Well, that's a wrap! Whether you joined early and watched the whole thing unfold, or jumped on for the late surge - we hope you enjoyed this campaign. We certainly enjoyed bringing it to you.

I'd like to give a special shoutout to all those of you who shared this Kickstarter by word of mouth or social media. Every single impression and suggestion you made helped us reach our goals.

I'd also like to give a special nod to Gregaridog, Hammerdogs newest addition. Based in Europe he watched the Kickstarter while I slept, and coordinated the Reddit post that brought many of you here. He's been running on little sleep for days so I sent him to bed a couple of hours ago.

As for me, the roller coaster ride is done, and the adrenaline of the last 72 hours is fading fast. My house is a mess and I look like a caveman. There's only one thing left I can do. Time for me to hit the showers.

Goodnight all!

Danny

Your father was a hamster, and your mother smelt of elderberries!
over 5 years ago – Sat, Apr 27, 2019 at 03:39:08 PM

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