VTT, Maps, & NEW Luke Gygax Book!
over 1 year ago – Wed, Apr 05, 2023 at 11:51:25 AM

Virtual Tabletops

I alluded to this in an earlier....BUT I'm excited to announce that we've added several VTT packages to ADD-ONs for your online gaming pleasure. We'll create Vagabond's Guide to Dalriada ports for Roll20, Fantasy Grounds, and Shard Tabletop.

You can add them using the add-on page on Kickstarter and they will also be available in the pledge manager on Backerkit soon after the Kickstarter ends.

I'm aware that we're currently leaving Foundry on the table. I can't give you a solid answer about where we're at on that front yet as a lot is up in the air at the minute. I would love to provide that package too as I personally love Foundry, but we'll see how much more information we can gather before this campaign ends. It could be we can't provide it at all. It could also be that we have to provide it later.

Either way, I'll keep you posted. 

Map Packs

Some of you have asked for more information on the map pack. Here's the thing. I'm still working with the manufacturer to figure out how many we can do give the price. But rest assured we'll include as many as possible given the price range. The size of each map will be around A3 with possibility of adding a few A2 maps too, so about a standard map you would use on your gaming table or bigger.

We weren't sure wether we were going to go with a box of maps versus an ringbound A3 book of maps. The latter will allow us to provide a higher number of maps. But a box has the advantage of being smaller. When have more information and samples from manufacturing, we'll let you know. Essentially, we want to provide the best value to you as the backer. We just aren't 100% about the details right now.

I don't yet have any map art as these haven't been commissioned. We will base maps on the locations players will travel through in Dalriada. I'm a big believer in connecting products. In other words, not making a random selection of maps, but making maps that make sense to purchase alongside Vagabond's Guide to Dalriada as that will have more utility. That said, maps will also make great generic maps for forest, mountain, wilderness, feywild, urban, rural, village, and plane encounters...and many more.

Here are a few examples of maps we've already published in other books just to give you a rough idea:

Digital Maps

To make you aware, we are also working a digital map pack into a new stretch goal. Keep an eye on it appearing in the stretch goals over the next few days.

When we provide digital maps...we usually send them gridded and ungridded.

Kickstarter Corner

This NEW book is pretty special. I played in Luke Gygax's Okkirim world twice in Vegas last year. And it was AWESOME! Luke is an incredibly talented GM and playing in the world of Okkirim was so much fun I just had to get the books. So when I saw this new book just launch on Kickstarter...I may just have peed myself a little.

Here's what the page itself says:

The Fate of Chentoufi

A 5th Edition adventure for a party of 4-5 characters of levels 8-9th level.

This is the third and final installment of the exciting Oculus of Senrahbah series! The epic conclusion will be roughly 50 pages of Okkorim goodness, making the entire trilogy over 100 pages of information and fun in Luke's world!

Be part of creating a great new 5e adventure with Luke Gygax and his team. Pledge HERE!

Until the next update.

Cheers,

Paddy

New Stretch Goals & Clans!!!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Apr 04, 2023 at 12:43:59 PM

Stretch Goals #12 & 13

Congratulations on unlocking Character Sheets (PDFs) for printing and additional bookmark ribbons on the Vagabond's Guide to Dalriada Premium Cover!

Character sheets will be decorated with Celtic-inspired art and designs and will include a space for clan info should you wish to use that mechanic in your games.

I had the honor of attending Gary Con a few days back and have been meeting with other people in the tabletop gaming industry while on the road. It's been a lot of fund building connections, but I feel it's time to come home and get back in the saddle...so I look forward to flying back on Friday.

Character Sheets and Clans

As you've probably already noticed, we have 10 clan badges/enamel pins. Each of these represent a clan you can choose when creating your character. Being a member of a clan can grant boons but can also come with a cost while traveling through the world of Dalriada. For example: Being a member of Clan Lir might grant you freedom of travel through Clan O'Donald lands without worrying about threats. But it might also increase the rate of random encounters in the lands of Clan Lynch.

We're excited to develop this concept further and make clans and backgrounds a more integral part of the story and character development. Making the game feel more immersive and interconnected for players while not giving the GM more work is always a fine goal.

Premium Book Ribbons

We're adding 3 book ribbons to the Premium Book. These will be green, blue, and red to denote Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Mann, respectively, where we drew much of the inspiration for the book. I don't know about you, but I love having more than one book marker when preparing a campaign because sometimes there's just so much to track!

More Add-On Information!

As you'll see under the Add-ons section on the Kickstarter page, we've included more information for some of the add-ons. Currently, there is more information for the Tarot Deck in particular. You'll find images for the Premium Edition and the Dice. We'll include more text with those images over the next day or two.

We'll also provide more info on the card decks before the campaign ends and maybe clan pins...though we've already included more info for those in this update.

If there's anything else in particular you'd like to see in more detail, comment below and I'll do my best to post that info in one of the next updates.

We aren't too far from the next stretch goal ($300,000) which is hard to believe!!! I'd personally love to see us hit the Clan Generator though that is on the high end ($400,000). Do you reckon we could unlock that? I think if we shared the link on Twitter and other places and it got picked up by just one of the right people we could definitely make it happen.

If you have any ideas, let us know!

This link has been shared A LOT already! So thank you. Let's get it out there more and see what we can do: bit.ly/3mTRczQ

Thanks for sharing it far and wide!

See you on the next update :)

Cheers,

Paddy

P.S. Did I tell you that I got to meet Jeff Easley and Chris Arneson (among others) and get a bunch of art signed. OMG, I was so excited and worked so hard not to fanboy all over the place (and failed miserably).

P.P.S. I also got a Jim Ward badge...but I didn't get a skull because I survived his game. Honestly, my character has survived 2 games with Jim Ward!!! But don't tell him that because he might kill me in the next one lol! In this game, 20+ characters entered the dungeon. Only 4 returned. It was a close call...and A LOT of fun!!!

P.P.P.S. Don't forget to share the link! bit.ly/3mTRczQ

Sample PDF & New Stretch Goals
over 1 year ago – Tue, Mar 21, 2023 at 08:02:39 PM

Stretch Goals #10 and 11

Plus more photographic evidence of Seamus Shenanigans down the page.

But first...

Congratulations on unlocking 2 new stretch goals! We'll add a new adventure area to the book and map of Dalriada. This will add 2 - 4 pages to the book. And we'll use thread binding on all the hardcovers.

You'll notice that we only recently added the thread binding stretch goal. That's because I already ordered a test print of this book to see what the cover and binding quality would look like. And to be honest...the thread binding it blew me away!

(I don't have the test print with me right now...I'm in Lake Geneva for GaryCon...but will include a pic in the next update)

One of the biggest complaints I see about TTRPG print books is that the glue in the binding often fails or opening the book all the way causes tears on the binding pages. Well, using thread binding fixes both those problems. It means pages won't fall out (I'm looking at you WoTC) and it avoids tears along the inside of the spine because it is reinforced. This costs a good but more per book, but we can justify it now that we've hit the stretch goal!

And now I'm even more excited to get this book printed!

Sample PDF

You can now find a Sample PDF under the stretch goals on the Kickstarter Page. It contains samples of our races, subclasses, magic items, spells, and more. 

Just click on the Image and it will link you to jumpshare where you can download the PDF directly.

Please bear in mind that these are very early drafts that are still in development and these will likely look quite different by the time they go to print in August/September. That said, all feedback is welcome.

Shenanigans With Seamus

Speaking of being in Chicago...Seamus and I flew in the other day in time for Paddy's Day. So we joined the locals in celebration. As the designated driver I didn't drink myself. But Seamus wasn't quite so wise.

Not being from around these parts we inquired of a passersby regarding the nearest Irish Tavern and were pointed in the direction of the Celtic Crossing.

No sooner did we walk through the door than a stranger bought Seamus a Guinness. And he wasted no time in wetting his whiskers.

Being a charming sort of fellow with the gift of the gab, of course, he attracted the attention of a couple of lovely ladies who insisted on gifting him with a kiss so sweet.

Then it was back for another Guinness...or five...against my better judgement. And before we knew it...the time to depart that fine establishment was upon us and we called for a carriage to bring us back to our accommodation.

The craic was mighty, as they say back in god's country, but so was the hangover.

Join us in the next update for more Shenanigans with Seamus. 

In the meantime, you can get your very own charming Seamus the leprechaun plushie on the Kickstarter.

Kickstarter Corner

As you probably already know I support a lot of Kickstarters on my personal account (88 and counting). I do my best to support small creators and I especially support my very talented friends when they take to Kickstarter for the first time.

My friend Tara Ellis, who I men back in November at an author conference in Las Vegas, is an awesome human being and incredibly talented author with a silly number of books published. Seriously, she makes me look like a snail...frozen in permafrost.

Anyway, she's launching a new series of novels and needs help funding the prequel that will get the story started. Please consider supporting here HERE.

A little more information if you need it:

That's it for today's update.

Still working on the following: 

• A closer look at add-ons with images (tarot deck, dice, etc)
• A meet the team section

We should have these details ready in a few days. And I'll share a few images of Seamus as GaryCon if I can snap any.

Until next time.

Have a goodun'!

Slán agus beannacht,

Paddy

3 More Stretch Goals Unlocked and Plushie!
over 1 year ago – Sat, Mar 18, 2023 at 03:38:49 PM

Stretch Goals #7 - #9

Congratulations on unlocking another 3 stretch goals.

Honestly, I'm struggling to keep these updates rolling as fast as you're unlocking stretch goals!!!

You've unlocked a poster of Dalriada, a new subclass, and the upgrade to a level 1 - 5 adventure.

The poster will be a variation on the map with alternative art and will be very useful for your VTT campaigns. While on that point, we're still in the process of setting up the VTT add-ons. We've confirmed Shard tabletop and are working on another three. We aim to have confirmation on those by the next weekend.

We're still working on which new subclass we want to create as our designers have so many great ideas! We'll let you know when a decision has been made. If there are any subclasses in particular you'd like to see, let us know in the comments and I'll bring it up during the next game design meeting!

And the thing that excites me the most is the level 1 - 5 adventure. This means adding about 30 - 60 pages to the book. We're considering making it an optional intro for Eye of Balor (see previous update for details). The adventure deserves a post of its own, but I want to do that justice and will need to wait until the game designers have finished an outline before sharing that with you because a lot can change between now and then.

Add-On Details

Pleas bear with us regarding add-on details. We want to give you a closer look at dice and more details on things like the Aisling Tarot Deck. To do that we'll be doing a spotlight for a bunch of items on later updates as we've already got a load of great samples from manufacturers. We'll also add bigger graphics near the bottom of the Kickstarter page.

Example, we got a bunch of dice, plushies, coins, pins, and others. I'm eager to share those with you.

The plushies arrived just before I flew from Dublin to Chicago on Tuesday (attending Gary Con in Lake Geneva). Naturally one of them wanted to accompany me on my trip...because who wouldn't want to go to Gary Con?

We live on the beautiful North Coast in the rolling Glens of Antrim. It takes about 1 hour to reach Belfast bust station and then 2 hours to Dublin Airport, but the plushie didn't get up to too much mischief.

The plushie cracked open his pipe for a few puffs while we waited for the bus. It was a fairly civil afternoon.

One of the flight attendants came by and asked if Seamus had enough to drink. And thus Seamus the globe-trotting leprechaun was born. Seamus was delighted to get his own seat on the plane and not be shoved inside an overhead locker. It was an 8-hour flight but was very comfortable since it was only about 75% booked. Seamus was happy and that was all that mattered.

By the time we found the rental area (please do something about your signage, O'Hara) Seamus was ready for a kip. 1 hour and 45 minutes to go but we reached Lake Geneva in the end.

These are just a few shenanigans we got up to on this trip.

Next time we bring you news of a night out on St. Patrick's Day...where things may have gotten a little messy.

Plushie Details

I want you to know that Seamus and the plushies on the Kickstarter page are samples only. They are fairly basic mockups created as proof of concepts. They will have a lot more detail and better materials by the time they go to production. We'll need several more iterations of samples before we're happy to get them all ordered.

Examples of planned changes: The final plushie will have faux fair for his hair and beard in place of felt. They'll have plastic eyes instead of fabric eyes. The brim of their hat will be sturdier. 

You get the idea.

We'll post more updates and add-on information soon.

Oh, and we have so many more awesome stretch goals to unlock...including a few new ones we'll throw into the mix next week.

We're SO close to the $200,000 goal. Share this campaign with your gaming friend and help us get over that line and onto the next stretch goal!

Please share this link: http://bit.ly/3mTRczQ

Until the next stretch goal, have a goodun' hey!

Cheers,

Paddy

New Stretch Goals & New Add-Ons
over 1 year ago – Thu, Mar 16, 2023 at 11:31:42 AM

Stretch Goals #5 and #6 Unlocked!

Congratulations on unlocking the Level 1 to 4 Adventure and New Adventure Area stretch goals!

Adventure Upgrade

I haven't really talked about this aspect of the book yet. One of the complaints I've seen in setting books over the years is that they don't provide adventures for playing in that setting or they only include a handful of short encounters lacking true substance.

In Vagabond's Guide to Dalriada, we want to address that problem by including a level 1 - 5 campaign. Will we hit level 5? I don't know. But I wasn't expecting us to hit level 4 already...so if we hit the next upgrade to level 5 (possibly today), it won't surprise me!

What exactly will this adventure look like?

Think of it like Lost Mine of Phandelver, where the players become really familiar with a small section of the the Sword Coast and its various characters. The adventure may even act as an optional additional introductory adventure for our upcoming Eye of Balor campaign which pits the party against the fomorians and the dark powers who manipulate them...not to mention a colossal creature who wears a laser canon on his head...enter the mass disintegration spell!

This means adding significantly to the page count.

But we're here for it!

I'll save details about the level 1 - 5 adventure for when we hit the level 5 goal.

I didn't want to share this yet as it's just a rough mockup at this stage...but I figured you guys have blown everything out of the water and deserve to see where we plan on taking the Dalriada setting. And yes, this will most likely be its own Kickstarter after we fulfill Dalriada later this year.

Remember! 

You saw it here first!!!

New Adventure Area

Vagabond's Guide to Dalriada includes a chapter on the peoples and places of Dalriada. These location will be packed with information, including detailed descriptions, area maps, NPCs who live there, and anything of note the party might encounter there.

We'll add another such location to the book, giving you even more real-estate for running your Celtic adventure!

Other Updates

- We've added more upgrades as add-ons so you can upgrade the various covers in the tiers should you wish to do so.

- We're still working on the VTT add-ons. More info inbound later today.

- We're working on providing better snapshots and more info on various add-ons such as the Aisling Tarot Deck.

Also...As I write this, we're almost at another Stretch Goal, so I'll be writing another one of these soon. Then we have a poster, new subclass, and the level 5 adventure upgrade!

I wonder if we'll hit all those today?

Sharing this link with your gaming friends might help :) 

http://bit.ly/3mTRczQ

Chat to you again in the next update!

Have a great International Irish Heritage Day Eve!?

Cheers,

Paddy