A cosmopolitan, planar-fantasy roleplaying game.
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Hello Everyone,
It's been a little while since I last updated you fine folks on the progress for Sig and the associated stretch goals. I thought I would leave a brief message up up here to keep you apprised.
Since my last update, I have prepared the complete Reference Deck of cards and sent it out to DriveThruCards for proofing. I got my proof back a few weeks ago and it was pretty fantastic overall. Here are some handy pictures to show what it looks like so far!
There's plenty of work to be done to improve the cards, eliminating some typos, and preparing the tuck boxes. Despite that, the progress is pretty impressive.
While I was waiting for the reference deck proofs, I was also busy working on the NPC deck and both decks should be ready at the same time.
This project is still bouncing around the back of my mind, and I'm continuing to explore different directions to take this project. I was slightly surprised about which specific elements of Blades in the Dark were not released in the SRD, which has forced me to adapt my design to accommodate it. It's still in the early stages though and I don't expect a final product in the immediate future.
I hope to publicly release the decks of Sig within the next couple months, in part because I have three exciting new projects which are in different stages of development.
After the War is my memetic horror science-fiction game which I'm currently designing with Alasdair Stuart. Like Sig, it's a game about community struggle, relationships, and refugees. Unlike Sig, it's all about people trying to build a new home after the solar system was devastated by a galactic war.
Fate of the Galaxy is my political space-opera game which I'm currently designing with Mark Richardson, the award-winning cartographer and designer of Headspace. We are working on this game of leadership, strategy, and diplomacy on a galactic scale. It's powered by Fate Core, and it's going to be amazing.
Circles of Power is my fantasy game about sorcery and society. This is a game of wizards fighting oppression, powered by the apocalypse. You play the Wise, the only wielders of magic and the only salvation for the marginalised communities to which you belong.
If you are interested in being notified when any of these projects are launched on kickstarter or otherwise released, please feel free to sign up for notifications using the link below.
Regards,
Jason Pitre, Genesis of Legend Publishing
I just wanted to let everyone know that I believe that all of the core rewards for Sig have now been fulfilled. If you have _not_ received your pledge reward for this kickstarter, please contact me at your earliest convenience so that I can make sure you get what’s owed.
As for the stretch goals, I’m still working on those decks of cards and tinkering with my design ideas for Freebooters. I hope to get the decks of reference/npc cards out this spring, but I will take the time to make sure they are high quality.
On March 1st, copies of Sig will be officially released. Everyone will be able to buy copies online from myself or Indie Press Revolution. Your FLGS will be able to order copies from Indie Press Revolution and ACD Distribution. I’m excited for new people to discover Sig.
Happy Gaming!
Jason Pitre, Genesis of Legend Publishing
All of the backer copies of Sig have been sent out at this point, and the vast majority of you are already enjoying your copy. I have just received and paid my final invoice for the project, so now is a great time for some radical transparency.
During every kickstarter campaign, we make a habit of doing a full budget breakdown so that our backers can see where all of their hard-won pledges were spent. This campaign is no different, and it’s a treat to dig into the campaign results. All values are in Canadian dollars and rounded up, for consistency’s sake. As a reminder, the campaign was a wild success with 454 backers who pledged CA$ 17,145 to help bring this project to life.
Total Income: $16,538
The majority of the book expenses in terms of art, indexing, freelance writing, and editing were accounted for in the previous kickstarter for Sig: The City Between. The stretch goals for this new campaign (Roll20 sheet, Quickstart, and development of two POD decks of cards) were intentionally designed to be low cost, and primarily depending on my time.
Note, I will be accounting for my time at the end!
External Development Costs: $650
Printing and Shipping are always the most expensive portions of any project. We worked with Krakenprint out of Chicago, works in partnership with a printer in Taiwan for this work. Despite a few bumps on the road, they printed some of the most beautiful books I have ever seen. They even produced the map and index handouts that come along for the ride. They printed about 2000 lbs of books which is a heck of a feat.
Printing Costs: $11,357
Shipping is almost always a nightmare, but Magpie Games continues to be a fantastic resource. The fine folks at Magpie came into their office on _the weekend_ after their office closed for Christmas, just to receive ~800 lbs of Sig. They then shipped out the vast majority of the copies to backers in the USA and Internationally. I personally shipped out a handful of Canadian copies, copies to Benefactors, and copies which also included copies of Spark. Together, all of the books should be out the door.
Shipping Costs: $4,149
In a perfect world, everything which remains would be profit. The astute amongst you will recall that I promised to account for my time. I’m notoriously bad about actually paying myself, so I’m actively trying to fix that.
After all of the calculations, you will see a grand total of $382 remaining in terms of cash, and another 650 copies of the book remaining. Selling those copies at conventions, via Indie Press Revolution, or through traditional distribution (ACD/Lion Rampant), should help me pay myself and save for future projects. Now, there is a calculation on how much I will be paying myself for my work, rather than being directed toward future projects. I will be setting aside funding for my work under the following model, at least paying myself at my minimum pricing:
I will be paying myself a total of $4,000 for my work toward the project, and I’m already 10% of the way! Everything past that point will be dedicated to my next creative projects including Circles of Power, After the War, and Fate of the Galaxy.
Do you have any questions or concerns? Please let me know in the comments, and I will be happy to share more information!
Hello everyone,
I just wanted to take a moment to give you a short kickstarter status update for the New Year. As mentioned in the last update, the books were shipped out from the printers in December. I personally received 90 copies at my home, while the remainder are with the kickstarter fulfilment service (Magpie Games) or with Indie Press Revolution (for future sales). Since I had some limited copies available at my home, I shipped a limited number of them out to backers directly.
I will be travelling for the next couple weeks without limited internet access. There may be delays in responding to any messages you might send me during that period, so I wanted to make certain you were aware of that fact.
Now that the books are on their way, I’m looking to the future of Sig. I’m looking to spread the word and show people the beauty of the City Between. That’s why I’m looking for game masters who might be interested in running games at major conventions such as Origins or GenCon If you might be interested in becoming a Herald of Sig, please get in touch at [email protected]. I will get back to any potential Heralds after I return from my travels.
Thank you for your time, and may the new year treat you well.
Jason Pitre, Genesis of Legend Publishing