Salutations, Scions!
I'm posting early because we're in the final hours of this campaign and I want to get this out to you with as much time as possible before we get to the end. So, expect some sleepy run-on sentences.
With
Scion: God, Onyx Path decided to try something new, but still pretty familiar. For those who've participated in previous crowdfunding campaigns from Onyx Path, there isn't much different here other than the URL at the top of the page. And, again for those who've backed earlier campaigns, BackerKit is a known quantity - we've used them as a Pledge Manager for every campaign I've run and Onyx Path was using them long before I showed up.
Despite that familiarity and similarity to previous efforts, it's still a new platform and requires some extra effort to hunt down and find us. And I'm so happy that you did! It's been a great ride throughout the campaign, but those first few rocket ship days were amazing, blasting through our funding target within hours. You came when called and help make this book a reality!
As I post this, our campaign time is slowly unwinding and we have a handful of hours left before the conclusion. We seem to be in store for a fantastic finish, though!
Key Updates from this Final Week
Whether you've just discovered your divine spark or you're working your way through apotheosis, these are good items to review to make sure that we all end up where we want to be.
Refresher Course
Note for New Backers: Please check out the updates listed above. There's a lot of information there that will be important to know about before the end, like how we're not including international shipping charges in our pledges for this campaign and instead will be charging them in our pledge manager before we ship out the books, and you can also read the entire draft manuscript before the end of the campaign and any pledges are processed.
Note for Since-the-Start Backers: It's probably a good idea to review that stuff as well. Never hurts to make sure you haven't missed anything! And remember to add any feedback on the draft manuscript to the Feedback Form before the campaign ends so the developers and writers can be guided through the next stages of development and editing!
We've had, and will have, a bunch of new backers join in during these last days. I want to take a moment to highlight some key Update posts that new backers may want to check out (and existing backers may want to read as a refresher!).
MANUSCRIPT PREVIEW - As noted, the
complete Preview Manuscript for the book is available for you to review prior to the conclusion of the campaign. If you're a backer, you'll have access to this preview manuscript after the campaign. Remember, though, there are still some minor edits, development and proofing that need to be done. But, you can consider it about 98.7% finished. Making the manuscript available for review before the campaign ends ensures that everyone knows exactly what our goal is - making this book - and are on board with our aims for this project. Thanks for your support, we're all in this together!
Nov 13 Update - PLEDGE TIERS - your best starting point for figuring out which Backer Reward Level to choose to help support this project.
Your key decision: Go Digital with the PDF only or go Hardcover + PDF?
- ASPIRANT - This is the PDF-only reward tiers. So, if you're saving trees or saving shelf space - or avoiding the shipping charges that are absolutely ever-increasing - these are the reward tier options that you should begin with. The PDFs will be fulfilled by our partners at DriveThruRPG.com - when they are ready, you will receive a link to add it to your DTRPG library at no cost and be able to download at your leisure.
- RELIC- This reward tier includes the PDF as well as the hardcover version of the book. It'll look amazing on your shelf, especially if they're placed next to your other Scion Second Edition books, but may incur shipping costs depending on your location. As noted, international shipping charges will be calculated later and charged in the Pledge Manager. We'll have exact shipping costs once the book is in production and we know the specifications, but we do expect it to be expensive. See our estimates on the front pate. If you're an international backer, you can pledge at the Aspirant tier and upgrade to the Relic tier once the shipping costs are known before we lockdown orders.
- Petitioner - If you want access to the manuscript previews but don't yet know if you want the PDFs or hardcover rewards, this tier also grants you access to the Pledge Manager after the campaign so you can upgrade your pledge in the future.
ADD ON REWARDS- the other half of the Reward Tiers update, including information on the second step of pledging. There are several Add On options that you can pre-pay for as part of your pledge process. including the other
Scion Second Edition books (
Origin, Hero, Demigod, as well as
Dragon and
Masks of the Mythos) and related supplements, as well as the the Storyguide Reference Screen that we unlocked via Stretch Goal and beginner bundles for two of Onyx Path's other
Storypath system games -
Trinity Continuum and
They Came From.
ADD ON selections will be confirmed in the post-campaign Pledge Manager.
STRETCH GOALS - bonus rewards and options for those who supported this campaign! Check out this update for our big list of unlocked rewards and our remaining targets.
1. Choose Wisely
Choosing the correct Pledge Level for your desired rewards, and then filling in any "gaps" with add-ons, ensures that you'll be claiming all of your desired rewards as a thank you for supporting this project and bringing this world to life.
Remember, your PLEDGE AMOUNT is equal to your REWARD TIER + optional ADD ON FUNDING only - Any International Shipping costs will be collected at a later date. You will also be able to select Add On options in the Pledge Manager after the campaign, but remember that only funds added during the campaign count towards Stretch Goal funding targets.
Also to note, only those who participate during the campaign are able to have Stretch Goal rewards added automatically to their rewards lists. If you're waiting to pre-order at a later time, it's better to pledge to the Petitioner tier now and then simply upgrade your pledge later to include these bonus rewards.
SO: Ensure that you've selected the Pledge Tier you want, and maybe add funds for any Add On options you wish to select during the Pledge Manager phase. AND - make sure that you are comfortable with the Pledge amount, in terms of it covering everything you want and the affordability of the pledge at this moment!
I'm going to speak against my own self interest for a moment, and repeat myself one last time - though 2022 has been a bit better than the past two years, the world is still unpredictable and some futures are a little less certain. Ensure that your circumstances enable to afford this pledge at this moment - BackerKit will begin processing payments after the campaign ends and neither Onyx Path nor I have any involvement in that process. If you are unsure of your financial situation but don't want to miss out, please pledge for a tier you can afford now and know that you will be able to upgrade to open pledge levels in our post-campaign Pledge Manager for some time before the book is completed.
- Choose a Reward Tier You Can Afford
-
Read the Manuscripts and Make Sure You Know What You're Getting
-
Be Aware of the Projected Delivery Date (Onyx Path will try to deliver earlier than this, but the book will take some time to get perfect)
2. PAYMENT AND CONTACT INFORMATION
Once you're comfortable with your pledge, please ensure that the payment and contact information in your BackerKit account is up to date and correct. Making sure your e-mail is entered correctly and your credit card isn't expired will speed up the next step process. (
I have learned from experience!)
WHAT COMES NEXT?
3. AFTER THE CAMPAIGN ENDS
First, we celebrate. BackerKit may send out a virtual "Hooray!" email confirming the campaign ended with final totals. We'll give socially-distanced high fives and digital fist bumps in the Community section.
Then, the BackerKit payment process begins. Over the next week, Backerkit will begin charging your payment methods for the total amount you've pledged.
If there is an issue with your payment method (expired credit card or incorrect number or pre-paid Visa awaiting funds, for example), BackerKit will keep trying to process payment during this time.
Once this step is done, which will likely be by the end of November, BackerKit will confirm everything with Onyx Path and I can begin to set up the project in the Pledge Manager and load in all of the campaign data.
In addition to providing the crowdfunding platform for this campaign, BackerKit is also Onyx Path's regular Pledge Manager partner.
BackerKit provides a robust fulfillment integration and pledge management program that will allow us to work with all of the data and distribute the rewards to you. It will take me a few weeks to set the project up. Once I've got it all entered and built, the team from BackerKit will review to ensure I didn't mess anything up too badly, and then I'll make any changes they've suggested and we can move on to the Survey stage.
4. BACKERKIT SURVEYS
Once BackerKit says I'm good to go, I will send out a survey to all backers. This is why confirming your e-mail is important!
The BackerKit survey is both a verb and a noun - it will collect data for the analysis of some aspect of a group (enabling Onyx Path to set print runs, prioritize new projects, and fine-tune future kickstarters), as well as providing a general review or summary of the reward tier you've chosen, confirm all of the rewards associated with that reward tier, and confirm your total pledge amount.
I expect Surveys to go out by mid-December 2022.
During the Survey period, you can choose to increase your reward tier and add on additional options. If you've gone back to work or found an alternate income source and decide it's time to trade up to the hardcover version of the boos or include another add-on, you can do so at this time. Note, you will not be able to reduce your reward tier selection, only increase.
If you pre-funded Add Ons, you'll confirm your selections at this time.
Note that you'll be able to upgrade your pledge tier for quite some time - until we're getting ready to print the book itself and have figured out International shipping costs. So don't feel pressure to have it all figured out right away - we'll make sure there's plenty of time to get it all sorted before the books go out.
Similarly, if you have the hardcover book as one of your rewards, the survey will ask you to confirm your shipping address, even though it'll be some time before we ship out the final product. Do not worry about moving before shipping begins - you will be able to update BackerKit right up until the point that we begin fulfilling the final book. We will send out a notice prior to lock down so you can update any information.
I'll also use the Survey to confirm some details for the premium reward tiers.
5. REWARD DISTRIBUTION
Once the surveys are up and running, I'll prepare fulfillment for the existing rewards - the Add On options that are all currently available. Depending on how smoothly the Pledge Manager process goes, those should be out fairly soon after the survey stage starts. That's only the beginning, though.
This is a long process, but I will send out regular updates (usually at the end of the month) to keep you up to speed on Onyx Path's progress. There will be strings of updates that are just "still working on it," but I will share new artwork or information when I can.
Eventually, we will have a completed PDF of Scion: God. Onyx Path will take some time to distribute, review, and compile any errata or corrections that need to be made. When they've made any necessary changes, they'll make an updated version of the PDF available in your DriveThruRPG digital library and then begin creating print-ready files for the Print-on-Demand and the hardcover versions.
It's yet another long road ahead, likely full of twists and turns and unexpected challenges, but one that we wouldn't be undertaking if not for your faith and support.
#ScionGod
