Stretch Goal#3 Smashed!
about 3 years ago – Sat, Feb 11, 2023 at 05:22:40 AM

Hey Folks! 

We’re not even four full days into the project and we are completely funded and we’ve unlocked THREE stretch goals! This latest stretch goal means that Joe and I will choose five more NPCs who will get their own lair map which will be made available to all backers as a free digital download. 

The next stretch goal, which will unlock if we can hit $20,000, will allow us to commission a design for a hireling contract. This handy tool will help GMs track hirelings the party works with and can be used as a fun player handout!

That’s all for now! Hope you all have a great weekend!

Shane

Stretch Goal #3 SOOO CLOSE!
about 3 years ago – Fri, Feb 10, 2023 at 10:39:07 AM

Hey Folks,

Early Bird Deal Over!

First - the Early Bird deal is now over and all physical backers beginning at backer #293 and lower will receive a free Bookmark with their pledge rewards. Thanks for being here!

Stretch Goal Unlock Imminent

He are just a few more backers away from unlocking Stretch Goal #3! As we wait to knock that one out, I wanted to share that this morning, I was able to send SEVEN new art commissions out to our artists for Villains & Villagers! Thanks to the excess of funding, we're able to increase the amount of original art for this project which is almost like a secret stretch goal. I am hoping that we may have some new art to show you in the next week or two.

Are You on Discord?

Also, I wanted to let folks know that we have a Discord Channel if you wanted to join. We have a growing community of players over there and you're welcome to join, talk about the project, or gaming in general! You can find us on Discord HERE.

Third Party Love

I also wanted to give a shout out to Penny Dragon Games! They have a $1 One Shot Kickstarter that is ending in just a few hours. If you're looking for some cool third party 5e content, check them out! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/odos/one-dollar-one-shot-the-salmon-of-knowledge/description

Also, not to tease too much, but Joe just had ANOTHER fantastic idea for a possible stretch goal/add on. We've got some really awesome surprises in store for you all as this project moves along.

Hope you all have a great day. Happy gaming and have a nice weekend!

Shane

Are You Trying New RPGs This Month? Plus, New Stretch Goals Revealed!
about 3 years ago – Thu, Feb 09, 2023 at 07:52:20 AM

Hey Folks,

Oh man, we are creeping closer and closer to that 3rd Stretch Goal! This has been such an amazing campaign thanks to you all and I am so proud to share that in just its first 48 hours, this project has ALREADY exceeded the total funding we received from two of our six previous projects. We are working hard to promote Villains & Villagers and should get some help spreading the word from our friends at Kobold Press, Nord Games, and several other third part publishers. If you'd like to help, feel free to share this project with your gaming friends, on social media, and Reddit. 

Game Group Questionnaire

Before we get into our new stretch goals, I wanted to pass along a resource that might be helpful. The last few weeks, there has been a HUGE surge of interest in trying out new tabletop RPGs from indie publishers. However, this shakeup may lead to having to find new players or even a new gaming group. Or, maybe you just want an easy way to see what RPG systems your gaming group has already tried or is interested in trying. If so, consider checking out our Game Group Questionnaire. This can be a helpful GM tool for new groups looking to start a campaign or for old groups that want to try something new. You can learn more about it and access it for free here. https://www.headlesshydrapress.com/gaming-group-questionnaire

New Stretch Goals!

If you watched Mocha Bear's YouTube video of our project (Check Yesterday's Update) you may remember he asked for a custom NPC lair as a battlemap for NPC creator backers. We thought this was a great idea and so if we reach $25K, that's exactly what we'll do! And on top of it, ALL backers will receive a bonus digital download containing these 5 extra battle maps. 

For the $20,000 goal, Joe came up with an idea yesterday that we could create a hireling contract that could help track camp followers and hirelings that help the party. GMs can use this half-page handout to organize their campaign or print it out and provide it to the party as another immersive handout. 

Artist Spotlight

One of our favorite go-to artists is Alec Adams. This is now our third project with which we've worked with him and we couldn't be more thrilled to have him on the team. Alec is a TTRPG lover and fantasy illustrator who lives in Maine. You can find some of his stock art available on DriveThruRPG and you can also learn more about him at his website here. https://www.alecadamsart.com/

That's it for now, everyone! Thank you again, for helping us make Villains & Villagers a reality. We hope you have a wonderful day!

Shane

Stretch Goal #2 Unlocked! Plus, Some Things to Share
about 3 years ago – Wed, Feb 08, 2023 at 08:06:24 AM

Hey Folks!

Before I get into this morning's big update, I wanted to share an awesome video about our project from one of our very own backers, Mocha Bear! Thank you so much for the generous video. Mocha Bear makes some great Kickstarter review and unboxing videos and if you haven't checked out his content, take a look. 

We are cruising right along and thanks to all of your support, we have unlocked another stretch goal! We will now be able to expand the number of premade NPCs from 15 to 20! Joe has some really cool ideas for new characters that I think you all will love. We'll have some previews to share in the next week or two. Between these two stretch goals you've unlocked, the anticipated page count for Villains & Villages is now around 85 pages!

We are also lining up our next few Stretch Goals that we will announce soon. We have a wish list of Stretch Goals we want to reveal but we've gotten a couple of new ideas from our backers that we LOVE and so we are shifting a few things around. 

Now that we have blown past our funding goal, we can also now commission some additional artwork for the book. I will be contacting our three go-to artists today about these commissions and I hope to have some new works to share during the campaign. 

And speaking of our artists, I wanted to give a shoutout to our lead Illustrator, Pawel Parol who made the cover art for Villains & Villagers. Pawel has bee a key part of our team for three years now. You can check out more of his artwork on Artstation as well as browse some of his stock art on DriveThruRPG.

Lastly, I wanted to share another awesome Third Party Creator with you all. JVC Perry is FREQUENTLY tapped for freelance work by LoreSmyth and Nord Games. He's a great writer and a very cool fantasy world visionary. When he has time, he launches his own independent projects and he has one that JUST launched. If you're someone who plays D&D 5e and want to check out a cool project by a Third Party Creator, you won't go wrong with this one.  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jvcparry/escape-from-undergarden-rpg-adventure-for-5e?ref=11f2u6

Stretch Goal #1 Unlocked!!!
about 3 years ago – Tue, Feb 07, 2023 at 01:29:36 PM

Hey Folks,

Whoa! Joe and I went out to a late lunch to celebrate the successful Kickstarter launch and look what happened while we were away! We blew past the first stretch goal and are already almost halfway to the second!

Thanks to you amazing folks, we can now add three new random tables to the book and add even more depth and utility to the random NPC tables in the book. With our next stretch goal, the extra funding will allow us to add to the page count of the book and add FIVE new premade NPCs! Joe is taking the lead on writing the NPCs and he has some really cool ideas for some new ones we can add. 

Thank you to all of our amazing backers who have joined us here. We are so appreciative that you're helping to fund this project and its only because of the generosity in people like you that Third Party Publishers like us can exist.

Speaking of Third Party Publishers, I wanted to give a quick shoutout to our friends over at Nord Games. They have a project that's live right now that you might be interested in. It is a system neutral Character creation system that utilizes Tarot cards. If you are looking to add great NPCs to your game, this could be another great resource - and I have never been disappointed in any of my Nord Games products.  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nordgames/the-oracle-character-generator-for-fantasy-rpgs?ref=3335uo