Shipping Update
over 2 years ago – Wed, Oct 11, 2023 at 08:42:13 AM

Hey Folks,

Last update, I mentioned I'd been struggling with a health issue. I don't usually like to go too far into my personal life but since it's affected my ability to fulfill orders, I owe it to you all to let you know what's going on. I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease at the end of August. It has been a miserable illness that has tremendously affected my ability to work. Three weeks ago, I had a week where (between my two jobs) I was scheduled to work 64 hours. After pushing myself as hard as I could, I managed to eke out 45 minutes. The two biggest symptoms have been exhaustion and brain fog (essentially feeling like I just got a concussion) but fortunately, after a month of medication, I'm finally feeling about 40% better. 

I had intended to fulfill this project by mid September and then launch ALIVE INSIDE, our latest Kickstarter project, about three weeks ago. However, I needed to make the hard decision to launch before the project was completely wrapped up or else wait until after the holidays. 

As it stands, I've managed to send out nearly half of all physical rewards. I believe by the end of the week, I should be at about 75%. I'm working on order fulfillment today and should be able to do a few hours tomorrow and Friday as well. Thank you so much for your patience and I also appreciate those of you who have backed ALIVE INSIDE.

ALIVE INSIDE is a modern horror survival TTRPG with an adventure module focused on a zombie apocalypse scenario set in Vermont. This is a major passion project of mine that I have been working on for nearly 7 years now. Because of my illness, I wasn't able to work on promoting the project nearly as much as I would have so I super appreciate anyone who has taken a look at it. 

That's all for now, folks, and thanks again for your patience, kindness, and understanding.

Shane

Packaging Done! Shipping to Start Tomorrow
over 2 years ago – Mon, Sep 18, 2023 at 04:22:10 PM

Hey Folks!

This is just a brief update to let you know that the packaging of the NPC Cards, NPC Lair Maps, Tavern Menus, and the NPC Character Sheets wrapped up today! We are all set to begin shipping order beginning tomorrow. 

The way we typically ship order is we begin with domestic order first and we usually begin with the orders with the least number of items then move up to the ones with the most items. We typically can ship about 75-100 orders per day once we get going. That means we should get through about 90% of orders this week.

One issue is that our Adventurer's Agency book has been delayed and so there are 13 orders containing a physical copy of that book that will be delayed until we receive the print run. We are hoping those will arrive before the end of the year. 

I do want to apologize as I was hoping to begin shipping orders last week. However, I have been dealing with an illness for the last three weeks that has completely exhausted me. I'm recovering now but it put a major cap on my productivity the last few weeks.

That's it for now! I will post another update next week to let you all know how shipping is going. Thanks all!

Shane

They're Here!
over 2 years ago – Mon, Sep 11, 2023 at 01:49:13 PM

Hey Folks,

Check out what arrived!

We've received a ton of boxes over the past week and now have everything we need to fulfill the kickstarter! I'm counting out and packaging the NPC Cards right now and will need to do the same for the Tavern Menus, NPC Lair Maps, and other rewards. However, I hope to start shipping out orders by the end of the week! Stay tuned.

Shane

Digital Rewards are Here!
over 2 years ago – Fri, Aug 25, 2023 at 02:27:05 PM

Hey Everyone! 

Digital Rewards

I am so pleased to share that 99% of this Kickstarter's digital rewards are here and delivered through BackerKit. If you are receiving digital rewards, you should have received an email in the last two days explaining how to access your rewards. Most rewards are downloaded directly through BackerKit though some larger files are too big to upload there, and so in those cases, directions have been provided through BackerKit on how to download them through our website.

The only digital reward still outstanding are the 10 NPC Lair Battlemaps unlocked by stretch goals. We will wrap these up over the next 3 weeks and get these to you as soon as possible. My twin five-year-old kids are off from school next weeks so we will be taking a week long camping trip together. Wish me luck! Once I get back, I will focus on wrapping up these last maps.

Physical Rewards

All of the physical rewards for this project have been sent out to the printing press! The press we are using for this project has a faster-than-average turn around time. We should get all of the items sent to us by September 8th and the following week will be spent packaging up orders and shuttling them down the mountain to our local USPS. That means that 95% of you should receive your rewards by the end of September!

Our last two book projects before Villains & Villagers had serious delays to fulfillment and I am so pleased that Villains & Villagers will be fulfilled 2 months ahead of schedule!

I will have the next update in about a month with some pictures of the rewards when they arrive at our studio and pictures of the fulfillment process. Until then, have a wonderful end of summer and I hope you enjoy your digital rewards!

Shane

Editing in Final Phase
over 2 years ago – Thu, Aug 10, 2023 at 07:40:15 AM

Hey Folks!

I normally post these updates once per months on Monday's but this weekend is my 10 year wedding anniversary so my wife and I will be taking a long weekend away. 

Editing

The book officially entered the final stage of editing last week. There was a delay because our normal copy editor, Frank Ard, was offered employment in a new state and is currently moving homes with his wife and young son and putting his old house on the market. Frank will still be editing projects for us but I have brought on another copy editor, Becky McKenna, who I have known and worked with for nearly 10 years now. Becky began editing Villains & Villagers last week for the final pass-through. We are anticipating that she will complete this stage of editing by the end of the month and that I will be able to place the order with the printer in early September. 

Digital Fulfillment

Our goal is to finalize the digital downloads for nearly all of the rewards for Villains & Villagers and make them available for download by the end of this month. It's possible that may bleed over into September but we are pushing hard to get everything set up over the next couple of weeks.

That's it for now! I will have another update in September to announce as soon as the book enters the printing stage!

Shane