NEXT Update for Vagabond's Guide
4 months ago – Tue, Jan 30, 2024 at 08:58:09 AM

Dear Backers,

I hope this message finds you well.

We appreciate your ongoing support and commitment to our project.

Given some recent discourse, I want to provide an honest update on where things are at.

Over the last eight months, our company has unexpectedly faced several heavy blows, creating something of a perfect storm. We want to be fully transparent with you and our greater community on the reality of the situation both to manage expectations in terms of timelines and provide reassurance for any concerns.

We continue to progress projects as quickly as we can against the rising costs since Covid and other challenges. For example, as you might already be aware from other updates and our newsletter, our Facebook ads accounts were disabled, our website was deleted, and social media content and platforms were destroyed in Q4 2023. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

We are a family-run business based in Ireland with a small team and these challenges have knocked us off balance to say the least.

Things have been made even more difficult by individuals formerly associated with the business jeopardizing the livelihoods of our small team of employees and the fulfilment of our projects.

Luck of the Irish? Not here…

In some ways, it would be easier to admit defeat and shut everything down.

But that isn’t who we are!

We’ve committed to these projects (and to you), and as long as it might be taking, we ARE bring open projects to completion.

But first, we need to get things back on track after the year that was 2023.

Our small team is working tirelessly to recover and I couldn’t be prouder or more grateful to be surrounded by such incredible people.

To ensure we can deliver on our promises and close out open projects, we’re dedicating February and March to regrouping and figuring out the details for how we’ll proceed for the rest of 2024. During this period, we won’t have as much time to respond to comments/emails, but please understand that this decision is crucial for the long-term success of open projects.

Our commitment to transparency means that we will provide a detailed breakdown of our plans and strategies for 2024 by the end of February. 

We know we’re talking about less communication for a little while when communication hasn’t exactly been stellar in the first place. But focussing on regrouping will ensure we honor our promises and deliver on our commitments.

We want to express our gratitude for the understanding and grace our creative partners and the community have already extended. We acknowledge that frustrations can run high, especially concerning slowness in closing out projects. However, we want to assure you that we fight diligently to preserve what we have built over the years, and we refuse to let those seeking to undermine our efforts succeed.

 Vagabond's Guide to Dalriada Update

We had an in-depth meeting with our team on this project at the beginning of January.

The project is now outlined for what parts of writing are still needed, what is currently being reviewed and what refinements need to be made in accordance with the incredible response the the sample that went out at the end of 2023. It will likely be late Spring when the writing reaches completion, but we will be sharing every bit of progress along the way. 

The mechanics for the deities are currently being reviewed and we've also now got a much more even spread between Scottish and Irish / blended deities that have the same origin but are known by different names, e.g. Ogma/Ogmios.

All art still outstanding for the project has been mapped out and continues to roll in. We've got several new pieces reaching completion in the next few weeks that I'm eager to share with you all at the end of February.

I will also have more details around the Tarot deck and physical rewards by that time, too.

Thank you again for your continued patience and support.

*Please check your notifications as I am sending out a digital bundle of some of our one shots to thank you for your patience while continue to work hard on this project.

Kayleigh, Paddy & Team Penny Dragon

 

Broken Link - CORRECTED
5 months ago – Tue, Dec 05, 2023 at 11:26:22 AM

My Apologies

Thank you for all the messages about the 404 error.

Going to try this again.

Get your sample PDF HERE.

I'm also placing the URL below in the event my not-so-tech-savvy-self does the same thing twice!

https://www.pennydragon.games/product/vagabonds-guide-to-dalriada-sample-pdf/

Password: VagabondG

Apologies once again,

Kayleigh

Get Your Vagabond's Guide Sample PDF
5 months ago – Tue, Dec 05, 2023 at 05:23:56 AM

We Got This Figured Out

The taster PDF for Vagabond's Guide is now available to download HERE.

This page is password protected. Please use: VagabondG to access your PDF.

We look forward to hearing your feedback in the coming days and weeks. 

We're so delighted with the progress that is being made and we value each and every bit of feedback - positive and negative. Arguably, the negative feedback helps the most as addressing those are what will aid is in adjusting any glaring issues and making the necessary changes for an exceptional final product. 

This is a big project that we aim to weave together as close to perfection as possible. It is wonderful seeing it all coming together.

Unlock the Vault

We're ending 2023 with a final PDF-only one shot adventure! 

Tomb of the Undead King features the Key of Abjuration, as included in Chapter 2 of our book Aizendore’s Vault of Tragic Treasure. The key is an interesting magic items in its own right and a fine reward for adventurers completing the one shot. However, it can also be used in conjunction with the 7 other keys to unlock Aizendore’s vault.

Though designed to stand on their own and to plug into any setting, this series of one shots can also be set in Midestra. Installments in Unlock the Vault will feature the 8 keys and several other adventures aimed at locating and navigating the fabled vault of the mysterious collector, Aizek Aizendore.

To check out this project CLICK HERE.

Happy Holidays

Wishing you all a very merry festive season. Paddy and I (I'm Paddy's wife Kayleigh)  will be doing our best to keep up with comments and messages (I know there are a good few people waiting for a message response from us and we are working our way down that list) over the holidays.

We will be back with another detailed update on the project the first week of January. Paddy may have one more shorter update relating to project timeline for next week though. We are currently working on what this looks like.

Thanks again for your enthusiasm and support of this project!

Cheers,

Kayleigh

Sample PDF News for Vagabond's Guide
6 months ago – Wed, Nov 29, 2023 at 08:35:05 AM

Sample PDF Heading Your Way

I've got another thorough project update for you.

Our team has been hard at work on the creation of the taster PDF for Vagabond's Guide. Please keep an eye on your inboxes in the latter half of this week.

This is a great opportunity for us to hear your thoughts on the direction and styling of this book, and to take on board the things you'd like to see more or less of in the final product. We value your input.

The majority of our team is hails from these parts and as such this project has special meaning to us. It is a joy to bring something to life that feels like a part of who we are.

Timeline Adjustments

This is something that is important to us. And to all of you who have backed the project.

Our team is working on the adjusted timeline and I will be able to bring this to you once we have worked out all the details. 

Writing and art is continuing on the project and will continue on into the new year. The goal is for all writing to be completed by January 2024, after this is will be edited and proofed a number of times before going to layout.

There is outstanding art requiring development and completion. I will have a more detailed breakdown of what this looks like after our project progress meeting at the beginning of December.

Our First Annual General Meeting 

This week our small creative team met for our first AGM.

This is a big milestone for us and was an opportunity to look at the last couple of years. We've learnt a lot in this time. We also finally got to look at samples of some  long awaited products.

Penny Dragon was started two weeks before covid hit and in many ways the knock on effect of this has resulted in an uphill battle. 

We have past projects very slowly approaching completion, but the important part is that we are still moving forward. We are still showing up and working beyond hard in the background.

Looking to 2024, we will finally see so many things reach completion. And we are so grateful to the small team of creatives we have the privilege to work with and who have stuck by us through thick and thin.

We are especially grateful to our backers. Without all of you keeping us going, none of this would be possible. 

Penny Dragon Advent

As a way to thank everyone who has supported our small company we've cooked up something fun for the festive season!

For every day of advent we will have a FREE magic item, monster, encounter or adventure available for download. 

Each daily download will be revealed on our Tiktok account and available to download for 24 hours via our web store.

If you'd like to see download reveal each day you can follow our Tiktok account HERE.

You can also visit our website daily to get your FREE download.

Thank you again for your support!

Cheers,

Paddy

NEXT Update for Vagabond's Guide - Celtic D&D 5e
6 months ago – Mon, Nov 06, 2023 at 02:41:02 PM

General News

I'm back with another update for Vagabond's Guide to Dalriada.

First off, I know I'm a couple of days late on the date I promised, and for good reason. My wife and I do the bulk of the management together including preparing and writing project updates. We're a family run company with a very small creative team. 

Last week our eldest daughter took ill with a serious infection that led to her being hospitalised. As you can imagine, our management of updates (and indeed almost all things in life) ground to a halt. 

I'm relieved to report that she has now been discharged to continue treatment and recovery at home. 

We appreciate your patience while we get caught up with work.

Vagabond's Guide Taster PDF

As mentioned in my previous update, a large chunk of writing and game design has been completed. Our team is working on a taster PDF for this project to give you an idea of the direction we are taking the project with both the writing and the art/styling.  All being well, that will be with you for our next update. 

We've actually been experimenting with the styling of the deity art. I'd love to get your thoughts on the way we've taken things for King Bres, created by the incredibly talented Leonardo Lambrecht. 

With one of our main writers leaving to pursue his Masters in Creative Writing in the summer, we've been thrown off track somewhat. So our original timeline needs a little bit of an adjustment. That said, we're still working on what that will look like realistically and will be providing thorough updates to keep everyone in the loop each step of the way. 

Emerald Heist 

Emerald Heist: Leprechaun’s Gold is currently in its second round of revision. The battle map and magic item art is almost ready and at that point writing and art will go to our graphic designer, Piotr, to weave his magic. We love this adventure and and can't wait to get it into your hands!

Speaking of Adventures...

Did you know we have several celtic-inspired one shot adventures also set in Dalriada? 

The Curse of King Culainn, The Black Rabbit and The Salmon of Knowledge.

We've actually packaged them into a bundle recently to make them easier to locate on the website. And better yet, you're getting 3 for the price of 2!

If you'd like to check it out, you can find the bundle HERE.

You will also find more detailed descriptions of the adventures on the web store.

Until the next update,

Paddy