Podcasts about backerkit

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2026 12:20

Send us Fan MailWelcome to You heard it hear last where we talk about news, you've already heard.https://www.enworld.org/threads/dice-pioneer-louis-zocchi-passes-away.718828/Lou ZahKey, the father of dice passed away at 91 recently. If you've ever played a table top roleplaying game then odds are you've rolled some of Lou's dice. He and his company Gamescience were the first in the United States to manufacture polyhedral dice. He is also the inventor of the 100-sided "Zocchihedron."In addition to dice, Zocchi worked on many games and magazines, including a number of wargames including Star Fleet Battles and The Battle of Britain. He was inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming's Hall of Fame in 1987 and was presented with the E. Gary Gygax Lifetime Achievement Award at Gary Con in 2022.I am not only a fan of dice, but I loved The Battle of Britain game and likely still have the original box floating around the house somewhere.Thanks for all the dice and the hours of great gaming Lou.Christina, I know you are a massive dice nerd. This news had to strike a chord.Kick to ChristinaWhat about you Mike. I have a feeling you were into the Battle of Britain as well.Kick to MikeNext up we have another Backerkit release that is tapping into the zeitgeist and personally I find it very Meta.https://www.enworld.org/threads/rpg-crowdfunding-news-%E2%80%93-dungeon-crawler-carl-rpg-historica-arcanum-lairs-legends-3-and-more.718847/Renegade Game Studios is crowdfunding a Dungeon Crawler Carl TTRPG and Card Game. Dungeon Crawler Carl is a LitRPG book series by author Matt Dinniman that has become very popular. It involves Carl a regular guy and his ex-girlfriends cat that get sucked into a world spanning dungeon created by aliens. It's a book that uses gaming tropes and plays out like a roleplaying game. So we have a company making a roleplaying game about a book that is based on a world that is a roleplaying game…Yep, that tracks.I have read the first book and it's fun. Nothing earth-shattering or amazing, but it does what it set out to do. I have even used the idea from the book in my first Shadowdark adventure, because I couldn't figure out how to make Shadowdark work for roleplaying.Christina, Any experience with Dungeon Crawler Carl or thoughts on the Meta of the moment?Kick to ChristinaMike, what about you?Kick to MikeAnd there you have it, all the news you've already heard.

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The Weekly Podcast no.333 – 13 Omens, Dungeon Crawler Carl, CTHULHU Returns and Symbaroum Turns 10

Idle Red Hands

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 26, 2026 46:14

Paizo, which has focused exclusively on Pathfinder and Starfinder for the past 25 years, is launching a new rules-lite, modern, supernatural horror TTRPG called 13 Omens. The game is designed by Paizo veterans Jason Bulmahn and Joe Pasini, and it is set in a dark reflection of our world beset by horrifying specters, bloodthirsty killers, and cursed places. Although few mechanical details are currently available, the description of it being “rules-lite” suggests the game will not use the Pathfinder 2E system as a base. The Dungeon Crawler Carl TTRPG from Renegade Game Studios is making history by becoming the most-followed TTRPG launch in crowdfunding, raising over $5.3 million in its first 24 hours on BackerKit. The game adapts the popular LitRPG novel series by Matt Dinniman, which chronicles the adventures of Carl and his sapient cat, Princess Donut, as they are forced to compete in a hyper-violent, 18-level World Dungeon broadcast to an intergalactic audience. The TTRPG uses a skill-based D20 system where players can choose from over 30 species and unique classes like Shotgun Messenger, and players roll all the dice while the Gamemaster takes on the role of the System AI. Cthulhu, the terrifying entity created by H.P. Lovecraft, is officially entering the Dungeons & Dragons multiverse via the upcoming 5.5e supplement, Ravenloft: The Horrors Within, which is set for release in June. The ultimate eldritch monster will be a Darklord for a new Domain of Dread known as Innsmouth and will receive a complete stat block, lore, and associated magic items. While Cthulhu was briefly included in the 1980 AD&D *Deities & Demigods* supplement before being removed due to a copyright dispute, this release marks his triumphant, official return to core D&D content. Free League Publishing is marking the 10th anniversary of its dark fantasy RPG Symbaroum with a new Kickstarter launching on May 19th. The campaign will feature a revised core rulebook set, which reorganizes the original content into three books, alongside a brand new campaign setting called City States of Vendilyn – A Ravaged Realm. The new setting details a realm devastated by the malevolent elves of Duskwood. Symbaroum is known for its gritty and deadly gameplay that uses a D20 roll-under core mechanic. #13omens #dungeoncrawlercarl #cthulhu #symbaroum Paizo 13 Omens Mailing List: https://r2.dotdigital-pages.com/p/4XTJ-ACS/13-omens-news Dune Bundles: Physical – https://humblebundleinc.sjv.io/1G1KE9 Digital – https://humblebundleinc.sjv.io/WO4PBA Warmachine on MyMiniFactory: https://mmf.io/upturned Mantic Companion App: https://companion.manticgames.com/ Use our Referral code: MCTXEE Support Us by Shopping on DTRPG (afilliate link): https://www.drivethrurpg.com?affiliate_id=2081746 Matt’s DriveThruRPG Publications: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?author=Matthew%20Robinson https://substack.com/@matthewrobinson3 Chris on social media: https://hyvemynd.itch.io/ Jeremy's Links: http://www.abusecartoons.com/ http://www.rcharvey.com Support Us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/upturnedtable Give us a tip on our livestream: https://streamlabs.com/upturnedtabletop/tip Donate or give us a tip on Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/2754JZFW2QZU4 Intro song is “Chips” by KokoroNoMe https://kokoronome.bandcamp.com/

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Audio EXP podcast: April 25th - Convention cancellations, Symbaroum's return, and Coyote vs Acme

Geek Native's Audio EXP

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2026 6:55

As April draws to a close, Girdy tackles a deeply frustrating week for the events sector, marked by the sudden shutdown of WizardCon 2 and the cancellation of the 2026 London Film and Comic Con due to soaring international flight costs. The tabletop industry brings more positive news, with Free League celebrating the tenth anniversary of their acclaimed dark fantasy roleplaying game Symbaroum, alongside a deep dive into how BackerKit is challenging traditional crowdfunding norms. We also look at the leaked Coyote vs Acme trailer and highlight vital medical fundraisers for two beloved industry figures. About Audio EXP Audio EXP is Geek Native's podcast. Each week, there's some favourite or exciting geeky news, conventions, interviews, and thought pieces. The average length of the podcast is around 10 minutes. You will find a transcript of this week's podcast and links to the stories mentioned here: https://www.geeknative.com/233302/audio-exp-330-convention-cancellations-symbaroums-return-and-coyote-vs-acme/

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WWR 77 ☉ F-Infiniti & Orbital Blues Month w. Wes Franks

The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2026 85:27

Pull them belts tight one more time as we dive into our last foray into Orbital Blues Month. On this episode, Wythe chats with Wes Franks (of Carrion Comfort fame) about F-Infiniti, the stand-alone racing supplement for Orbital Blues! We also get updates about Wes' (very excellent) project, Come On In (see WWR episode 59, if you missed it!), talk about how community can help mitigate burn out, and what's coming around the bend next for Wes. Check out Wes' work: https://www.carrion-comfort.com/ Make sure to check out Orbital Blues Month on Backerkit: https://www.backerkit.com/c/collections/orbital-blues-month?ref=bk-discover-project-banner Back F-Inifniti today: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/plus-one-exp/formula-infiniti For more about Stillfleet Studio: www.stillfleet.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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E168. What words are in your dungeon? ft. @joe_plays_games

Meeple2Meeple

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2026 53:02

The conversation covers the development and inspiration behind the game Word Dungeon, the journey of the game's creator, and the challenges of playtesting and crowdfunding. It also explores the different types of dungeons and the experiences with Kickstarter and BackerKit. The conversation delves into the challenges of playtesting and game design, the importance of community support, and the decision to self-publish. It also explores the need for better onboarding for new designers and the impact of playtesting feedback on game development.TakeawaysWord Dungeon is a solo puzzle game that combines wordplay with dungeon crawling.The process of playtesting and crowdfunding a game involves vulnerability and the pursuit of a better game. Playtesting challengesCommunity supportSelf-publishing decisionsOnboarding for new designersImpact of playtesting feedbackChapters00:00 Introduction to Word Dungeon06:25 Replayability and Community Involvement14:11 Community Involvement and Crowdsourcing20:26 Experiences with Kickstarter and BackerKit26:37 Challenges of Playtesting and Vulnerability36:13 Community Support and Self-Publishing Decisions43:04 Onboarding for New Designers and Impact of Playtesting Feedback

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Kickstarter Tips for Authors: Rewards, Shipping, Marketing, and Lessons Learned

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 20, 2026 93:59

Kickstarter has become a key part of the author business for those who want to make more money per book, connect directly with readers, and produce beautiful editions they're proud of. In this episode, I share excerpts from interviews with Oriana Leckert, Head of Publishing at Kickstarter, Russell Nohelty, and Sacha Black, alongside my own hard-won lessons from six campaigns that have now made over $140K combined. Whether you're considering your first campaign or looking to refine your process, we cover everything from overcoming your fears to rewards, fulfilment, shipping, marketing, and why I keep coming back for more. In the intro, Writing StoryBundle; Spotify Expands Audiobook Features and Printed Books; Draft2Digital Activation and Maintenance Fees; comment by Kevin McLaughlin; and Barnes & Noble Press change to Minimum Retail Price for Printed Books; AI-Assisted Artisan Author webinars. This show is supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Joanna Penn is an award-winning New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers, dark fantasy, short stories and travel memoir under J.F. Penn and also writes non-fiction for authors and hosts The Creative Penn Podcast. What Kickstarter is and why it works differently from a normal book launch The fears that held me back for almost a decade — and whether they were justified Starting small: Why you don't need sprayed edges and special hardbacks to run a successful campaign. Creative reward ideas beyond merch: digital rewards, experiential rewards, naming rights, and bundling your backlist Common mistakes that sink campaigns: overestimating your reach, getting shipping costs wrong, and not allowing enough time Fulfilment realities, printing timelines, and reinvesting profit into future stock Marketing your campaign: pre-launch signups, content marketing, email lists, social media scheduling, and Facebook/Meta ads My update for campaign #7, Bones of the Deep: what's changed, what I'm doing differently, and how AI tools are part of my process now Why I now love Kickstarter campaigns and how the spike income model fits a sustainable creative career You can find my Kickstarter campaign for Bones of the Deep here (until 5 May, 2026) and all my previous campaigns here. Introduction Jo: In this episode, I've included excerpts from my own previous solo show about Kickstarter, as well as excerpts from interviews with Oriana Leckert, the Head of Publishing at Kickstarter; Russell Nohelty, who has done lots of successful Kickstarter campaigns and teaches direct sales; and Sacha Black, who did a six-figure campaign last year. I've also added my updates to the end of the episode filling in any last thoughts. You can listen to the full episodes here: Kickstarter for Authors with Oriana Leckert The Mindset and Business of Selling Direct with Russell Nohelty Lessons Learned and Tips from Pilgrimage, My First Kickstarter Campaign Two Different Approaches to Selling Direct with Sacha Black and Joanna Penn What is Kickstarter, and why use it instead of a normal book launch? Here's Oriana Leckert, Head of Publishing at Kickstarter — and the numbers she shares will be higher now, as the episode is from February 2025. Oriana: Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform. We are unique in the crowdfunding landscape for a few reasons. We are only for creative projects, so you can't use Kickstarter for medical bills, investment funding, or charitable donations. Every project has to create something new to share with the world. Jo: Have you got any numbers on how big the Kickstarter industry is now with publishing, or anything you can share around that? Oriana: Yeah, I would love to. First I'll tell you Kickstarter overall by the numbers. Since our inception, there have been 273,000 projects funded, eight and a half billion — with a “b” — billion dollars pledged, from more than 24 million backers. In publishing specifically, we've had 69,000 projects launched, 3.2 million unique backers, and over $380 million pledged to campaigns. I have lots of other stats, but a few things I'll share. The publishing category keeps growing The publishing category has grown year over year, every year since 2017, in terms of number of projects launched, number of projects successful, and the overall success rate. There has never been a dip since 2017. Another stat I really love about the publishing category: if you look at campaigns that have at least 25 backers, the overall success rate is 84%. I think that's really telling, because 25 backers is a little bit more than your mum, your best friend, the folks who are essentially obligated to support anything you do. So if you can get a little bit beyond that inner circle, your chances of succeeding on the platform are tremendously high. Backers are paying more — and waiting longer Another thing I wanted to call out — I just got some new numbers around this. The average backing amount per backer across the whole category has nearly doubled since 2020. We used to see an average backing around $40, and it's currently at $72 per backer. I think this is clearly around the trend of special and deluxe editions, but it's a great indication that backer behaviour on Kickstarter is just very different from your general book-buying public. People don't come here looking for 99-cent ebooks — the lowest bargain-basement prices. Folks are really willing to pay more because they understand this is a different kind of thing. It's not exactly a purchase. It really is supporting, bringing a strange and wonderful new thing into the world that wouldn't exist before. People are also much more forgiving about timelines. If you buy something from most online booksellers, you're expecting to have it in your hands within a couple of days. People wait months and sometimes years to get their Kickstarter rewards, and they don't mind if the creator is clear and transparent. You're also doing the work of demystifying the publishing process. Why does it take so long? Where are books printed? How long does it take them to ship via freight over the ocean? What do all these things really look like? So it's really interesting just figuring out what your backers want and will bear versus the general book-buying public out in the world. Kickstarter is not just for “desperate” authors anymore Oriana: People used to think Kickstarter was just for desperate folks who couldn't get a book deal through the traditional systems. The change has been so dramatic — people now understand that Kickstarter can be transformative for an author's career, and that it can work for traditional publishing, indie publishing, hybrid publishing, all kinds of authors. Kickstarter is really about collapsing the boundaries between a writer and their readers, a publisher and their fan base, any creative person and their audience. And there are so many benefits to doing that. You get to really thrill your backers with new and exciting rewards. You get to turn what can be a standard book release into a moment. You get to build your brand, your profile, get press, test out ambitious projects. You get to understand so much more about your audience and what they want and how you can give it to them. It's been really marvellous seeing the great success that people can have on our platform and outside of it. Why do a Kickstarter campaign? Jo: Why Kickstarter and not a usual book launch? Benefits for backers If you back a Kickstarter, you get special editions, bonus content, interesting merchandise, bundles, digital specials, print specials, early access. All of them pretty much are really cool books from creators you either already love or those you've never heard of, because you just want to see their cool stuff. I've started buying books from people I have never heard of because I think their books are really cool. Once you start supporting campaigns on Kickstarter, the algorithm will recommend campaigns for you. It's essentially a different way of shopping for great books and other products, and it's just another part of my ecosystem for how I shop. It's a form of direct sales, so you also have a closer connection with the creator. You can message them, for example, and they get it — rather than buying through an online retailer or bookstore. Benefits for creators In terms of benefits for creators, you get to know people in a more personal way through the campaign, messaging with people and connecting more than you would when selling through a retailer, when you don't know who is buying your books. As an author, you can make more money more quickly and retain a higher percentage of the royalties, rather than wait months or years to get paid and have a large percentage taken out by everyone down the chain — publishers, platforms, distributors, and retailers. Brandon Sanderson's $41 million Kickstarter was clearly the pinnacle of what can be achieved, but many authors are happy making a few thousand for their book project upfront and use campaigns multiple times during the year. Kickstarter takes 5% for their fee, although of course you have to factor in the cost of production and marketing. But even then, I make more profit on my book sales through selling ebooks and audiobooks direct, and also printing with BookVault, than I do with KDP Print or IngramSpark print on demand. Higher average order and faster payment Another way you make more money is that the average order per customer is higher with Kickstarter than sales on the usual stores. The average order on my campaign was £37.24 — that's around $45 US — which is at least four times higher than I might have made selling Pilgrimage in the usual way on the major retailers. You get paid two weeks after the campaign finishes, so the money is in your bank account much faster than if you sell on retailers. In terms of cash flow, make sure you time your campaign so you get the money before you have to pay for printing, shipping, and other significant bills. Spike income vs monthly income There are many creators who now make Kickstarter the core of their business. It's a spike income model rather than a monthly income, which most indie authors are used to. The monthly income model is fantastic — I love getting money every month — but it also has the effect of making indie authors behave as if this is a normal job: work every month, get paid every month, put out another book so you get paid in another few months' time. With the Kickstarter model, you can get a bigger chunk of money in one go, so you could potentially move to a big launch and then take more time off before ramping up to the next launch months later. And amusingly, this sounds a bit more like traditional publishing. It's just that as an indie author, when you get that amount of money, it's much bigger. So that kind of launch tempo is an attractive prospect if you think about it: if I just get this big spike of money even once a year, that's really cool. And then of course you can sell it later. What are some of the fears that might stop you? Jo: I held back from doing a Kickstarter for years — almost a decade, in fact — where I backed campaigns and resisted doing a campaign for my own books. Here are some of my fears. Prepare to face your fears Jo: This entire experience thrust me out of my comfort zone and into a new way of creating, launching, and connecting with readers. Pilgrimage is my first memoir, my first special hardback with colour photos, and my first Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. So I had a lot to learn. The book is very personal and I bare my soul about some dark times, so that was terrifying in itself, let alone trying a new product edition and publishing platform. On the evening I clicked the launch button — and yes, you have to actually click an actual launch button — my heart was hammering out of my chest. I have not felt that nervous since probably the first time publishing on Amazon. I was afraid of failure. I was afraid of being embarrassed if my campaign didn't fund. I wrote a book on marketing — how to market a book — so I would be mortified if I had not funded. In fact, I even changed my target from £5,000 to £1,000 the night before, as I was so terrified it wouldn't fund. I was afraid of getting something terribly wrong and ending up out of pocket through issues with printing and shipping. I was afraid of letting backers down by promising something I might not be able to deliver. I was afraid I had overcommitted myself to a whole load of work I might even resent doing. I am a one-person business, and although I work with freelancers, I still do pretty much everything myself. I am a control freak — you might have noticed. So yes, there was a lot of apprehension and fear. You don't have to go huge Another fear might be the fear of failure — that you'll put up a campaign and no one will buy from you. But one answer is just to do a modest campaign. You don't have to do special hardbacks or merchandise. As Russell says: Russell: Somehow all of the teaching that we have given over the last two years has been executed in a way that makes it seem like you have to do this enormous campaign with sprayed edges and big, beautiful hardcovers and interior illustrations and vellum and all of that stuff. And I want to say first: that is absolutely not true. You don't have to do any of those things. If you look at two of the last three campaigns I've done, all I was offering was paperback books and ebooks, and then audio commentary for one of the campaigns. You can do a Kickstarter — and I often will tell people, especially if they're not an already successful author — do a campaign that is small and easy to get data on before you do something big. The direct connection is actually the point Jo: One of my resistances to this was a sort of, “Oh, I'm actually going to have to do a more higher-touch thing.” But as you say, the reframe is: oh my goodness, this is amazing, because I actually do get to connect with people. Just yesterday I sent a signed book — Pilgrimage, which I did my last Kickstarter on — and this guy was like, “I bought it for myself. Can you sign it to me, because I'm going to do the Camino in a wheelchair?” And I was just so touched. Emailing him back, I just felt, oh my goodness, I'm having a connection with this person that if they'd just bought a book on Amazon, I would not have had. So now it's almost like — it's this totally different view of my business, which is that direct-first means a much more personal way. It really is like we're in that thousand true fans moment that we first talked about 20 years ago. Were my fears realised? Jo: Just to recap, I was afraid of failure and embarrassment if I failed to fund, of getting something wrong and being out of pocket, of letting backers down, and of overcommitting myself and resenting the workload. Really, the only thing that happened was overcommitment and a lot more work than I expected. But the time I put in was also likely the reason for the campaign's success and the reason that the other things didn't happen. I had to learn a new platform and a new approach to publishing and book marketing, so it was kind of a mini degree at the same time. So yes, I will do another Kickstarter — but only for special projects that are suited to this kind of intensive campaign. Tips for campaigns In this section, Oriana shares her thoughts on rewards, and then I'll go into some more of my tips. Thinking beyond merch Oriana: The rewards are really at the heart of the Kickstarter proposition and what makes this kind of fundraising so interesting and thrilling. Basically, your process is you're inviting people on a creative journey. You're saying, “I'm going to make this cool thing. I want your support, and in exchange, you're going to get stuff, you're going to get to be part of my process.” Obviously your main reward is going to be your book, or your series, or if you're a publishing company, your season — whatever it is. That's your main tier. Then you're going to build everything else out above and below that. A lot of people think rewards means swag and merch. Which is fine, but merch can add a lot to your production costs. It's causing you to learn how to produce all kinds of things that maybe you've never done before. So that's not the only way to do it. If you're going to do some merch, I think it's nice to come up with some custom items that feel really related to the work that you're doing. If you've got a romance novel with a pivotal scene on the beach, maybe you'd make some candles that smell like the ocean. Maybe you do some kind of handkerchief that's printed with the pattern of the dress your heroine is wearing. Digital and experiential rewards Oriana: But you can really think beyond merch into digital rewards and experiential rewards. There are a lot of parts of the writing process that can be pulled out and packaged as rewards — things like notes from the field, outtakes, deleted scenes. I've had people write bloopers, as if it were a comedy movie, added new scenes or novellas, other pieces from different works that you've done. Certainly your backlist and other books you've written can all be included. We've seen people do tours of the writer's studio, things like that. Also think about what skills you have in addition to your writing. Perhaps you're excellent at marketing or social media or poetry — you can offer webinars on those sorts of things. Other kinds of ways that people can experience your creative practice. High-end and naming rewards Oriana: Then you can get into high-end, one-off, crazy rewards. One whole section of rewards I love is naming rights. We've seen all kinds — “We'll name the dragon after your dog, or after your mother-in-law. We'll name the hero after your son.” There's a LitRPG novelist named Matt Dinniman who does this really well. He writes these big-cast novels — there are dungeons, and you're in an intergalactic reality TV show with hundreds of characters. In his last campaign, for $666 he would kill you off in his next book, and for $777 he'd let you live and write a whole scene around you personally. You can also do book release parties. You can do book clubs. If you're writing children's books, you can do colouring pages or supplemental material for teachers or other educators. The sky is really the limit, and it is based on your creativity and the things that both you can make and that your audience wants. This is another opportunity — talk to them. Ask them: if I'm going to do a piece of swag, would you rather have an enamel pin or a makeup bag? If I'm going to do alternate covers, would you like the blue cover or the red cover? See what your people are interested in, and then figure out whether it's possible for you to deliver it to them. Learn about the platform from experts Jo: I've been publishing and selling books through online retailers, as well as my own store, since 2008. I know what I'm doing, but I still had a lot to learn. With Kickstarter, it's essentially a completely different ecosystem, with different rules and a different audience, so you have to learn the ropes. Even if you're super successful in other places, you might crash and burn on Kickstarter unless you understand how it works and change your approach accordingly. Start backing campaigns Jo: See how it feels to back Kickstarter campaigns and discover what draws you in as a reader and a fan of specific things. You might find projects you love outside of books — there's plenty of other projects outside of books. You can browse the publishing category to find new books, and also use the search to find things you might like. In this way, you can support fellow creators and learn how the Kickstarter site works for discoverability and marketing. Make sure you go through the Kickstarter.com resources — they have a creator pack which will give you direction on the campaign. Also, their terms of use are really important to read, as there are some assumptions you'll have because you've published on another platform that are incorrect. So do not assume you know what you're doing if this is your first campaign. Ask for feedback before launch Jo: Once you have a draft of your campaign, ask specific people to review it before it launches. You can share a preview prior to launch and get feedback on your page. This helps you refine your story and the rewards, answer any questions before the campaign goes live, and it can also help pique the interest of your audience. I asked specific people who had done Kickstarter campaigns for help at different stages of the process, and this was really useful too. Review common mistakes from other campaigns Jo: If you examine how others made mistakes, you can learn from them. The most common seem to be: Not finishing the book before the campaign Getting the financials wrong for production, shipping, and any other rewards. I know some authors who have ended up breaking even, or sometimes even out of pocket from campaigns. Don't do that. Not making the most of the story sales page and not including everything necessary, so backers don't understand and don't want to support the campaign — essentially, not being clear enough Setting unrealistic goals, like expecting to make six figures on a first campaign Not allowing enough time for everything Not seeking feedback from people who have done it before Not marketing the campaign enough Overpromising and under-delivering Poor communication with backers about the status of rewards Set aside more time than you think you need Jo: The campaign ended up being far more significant than I expected in terms of workload and time to complete. Everyone told me that beforehand, but it was still a surprise. It took time to prepare the multiple editions for the rewards. I usually produce an ebook, paperback, and a large print edition, and I narrate my own nonfiction audiobooks. But for this Kickstarter, I also wanted to do this special hardback with colour photos, a flyleaf cover and silver foil. I wanted to create a special print product I could be proud of. I'm proud of all my books in terms of the content, but the usual paperback print-on-demand books are more about the content than the true beauty of the product. For Pilgrimage: A Book of My Heart, I wanted a special edition, so I worked with Jane on the design, going through my photos from the various pilgrimages to find those that resonated with the content — for example, the cadaver tomb at Canterbury, and my Compostela from the Camino de Santiago. Once we finished, I had that proof copy rushed so we could turn around everything. And I love, love, love the hardback. It has a silken-finish cover and it feels lovely and weighty. The pictures came out well, as the paper is of a higher quality and weight to allow for colour printing. Overall, I am incredibly proud of the finished product. I even sent a copy to my mother-in-law, which I have never done before. And yes, she thinks it's good. I definitely should have allowed more time, as I spent most of the Christmas and New Year period working on the book, recording and editing the audiobook, and preparing for the campaign. I also didn't have time to prepare, record, edit, and produce the Writing Setting and Sense of Place course until after the campaign, and it was really hard to find the energy to do this afterwards. Building the campaign page Jo: It took time to build the Kickstarter campaign page, create the video, and incorporate feedback. Most authors don't write sales pages anymore. Sure, we write a sales description for the book page on the retailers, but we don't often do a whole page for multiple editions. On Kickstarter, you are basically writing a sales page for your campaign, which they call a “story.” Some of your existing audience might just click through and back the campaign without reading it, but most backers will check out the details to find answers to any questions they have. It is a very long page, and you also need a video — or you don't need one, but it's highly recommended. It's best to record the video at the last stage when everything else is done. You can still see my Kickstarter video on my campaign page, so I won't go through everything in detail. But the key aspects are: Who the campaign is aimed at Why the campaign is important to me and the book What products are available Pictures of everything — the page should be really visual — and I included the images in the video as well Sample chapters and sample audio Specifications, with weight, pages, listening time, table of contents About me, the author Stretch goals Add-ons Any questions, risks, and challenges So it's pretty long. Then the reward levels have to be set up carefully for each pledge level with shipping costs, and specific details about what's included. Eventually, I felt like my page had way too much information, but since I didn't really get many backer questions, I guess it did what it was supposed to do. I rewrote and edited that page so many times — adding and changing the order of things, responding to feedback, switching things around. But hopefully I can use that as a template for other campaigns. Marketing takes time too Jo: It took time to prepare the marketing for the campaign. I'm pretty low-key for most launches these days — I publish a book, send a few emails to my lists, announce it on the podcast, do a little social media, update my websites, and move on to the next book. So this was probably my biggest effort in terms of a launch since my first novel back in 2011. I only had a two-week campaign, so I needed to make the most of that window. I'm going to detail the marketing in a separate section, but it took a lot of time to prepare the various things and execute them, as well as keep the energy up for promotion during the campaign. Two weeks was definitely the longest I would want to do — I was really over it by the end. Delivering stretch rewards Jo: It took more time to create and deliver the extra stretch rewards I promised. Since I had pretty low expectations of funding, I set my first stretch goal at £10,000 for “Lessons Learned from Writing a Travel Memoir.” When I promised it, I thought it might be a few pages of tips, and I didn't even think we would get there. But I'm incapable of delivering something that is half done. So when we did hit £10,000, I wrote essentially a short book on the topic, which I then formatted as an ebook and recorded as an audiobook. I'm actually going to turn that into a proper book at some point, so the content will get reused. But that definitely took more time than I expected, because I hadn't prepared it in advance. The backer spreadsheet and fulfilment Jo: It took time to figure out the backer spreadsheet and check all the fulfilment details. Once you finish your campaign, you send out surveys for mailing addresses and to fulfil rewards. I also needed to turn the backer report into a printing order for BookVault, and that was nerve-wracking. The spreadsheets were different formats, and then we spot-checked the orders to make sure people got the right books based on their orders. I was petrified that some people might get the wrong book, and I checked and checked and checked — both on the spreadsheet, and then once the orders were loaded, I checked BookVault as well. I was worried I'd have to resend the right book, which would end up with me out of pocket because they'd have to do double printing and shipping. But thankfully, all the checking made everything good, and I haven't heard from anyone who got the wrong book. Following up with backers Jo: It took time to follow up on failed payments and address issues. Most backers were easy to deal with — they received the updates and Kickstarter emails, they filled in the surveys, and I didn't have any problems. But there were problems with about 5% of backers, most of which were not their fault. There were failed payments when banks thought Kickstarter might be fraud. There were missed emails because of issues with deliverability, so backers didn't receive the rewards, or they didn't fill in the survey and return their address, which meant I couldn't do the order with BookVault — I had to do it later or manually. I had to follow up with every single one of these, some of them multiple times, and I slowly reduced my list of outstanding backers. A tip: If you back a Kickstarter campaign, please log on to Kickstarter a few weeks after the campaign has finished and check for updates. It's possible that you're not receiving the emails from Kickstarter, and the creator may need details from you in order to fulfil your pledge. Tax implications Jo: It took time to figure out the tax implications. This is not legal or financial advice, and your taxes will vary by jurisdiction. Please ask your accountant how you need to treat Kickstarter or any other book-related income. Wherever you are in the world, you will need to pay tax on the income, because we all have income tax, but the complicating factor is whether you also need to consider sales tax. And this definitely differs by jurisdiction. I went to my accountant, who said we should handle it as per any other book sales. I followed my accountant's advice, which treats backers the same way as my customers who buy on Shopify. Ask a professional in your jurisdiction about taxes and finances, even if you are in the UK. I cannot answer any questions. I'm not an accountant. Closing the loop Jo: I haven't had much time to do anything else, as I felt like I couldn't start anything new until everything in the campaign was finished. As soon as the campaign window closed, I felt like I had an open loop in my brain. I desperately wanted to close it in order to say the project was done. I have now delivered all the book and course rewards, and these lessons learned are really the last part of it. I've talked before about the different kinds of energy you need as an author — starting energy, pushing-through energy, and finishing energy. Once the campaign was funded, my finishing energy kicked in and I was driven to get everything finished as soon as possible. I sent the digital rewards out within a few days of the campaign closing, and also shipped the unsigned books, ordered the print books, then went and signed them, and then recorded the course. It has been my primary focus for the last few months, and I haven't been able to do much else except the podcast, which is my weekly commitment to you. Once again, I should have blocked out the time. Bonus tip: Don't plan an international speaking and book research trip during the campaign. International shipping and fulfilment Jo: Be careful with international shipping and fulfilment of signed books or products. Shipping costs can sink your campaign if you get them wrong, so be very careful with this area. I have sold books in 175 countries, and this podcast has a listenership in 228 countries, so I really wanted to have a completely international campaign. I wanted to ship Pilgrimage in any format to any country. Originally I thought I would just charge a bit extra for the book and include shipping. But once I set the book editions up at BookVault and I had the weight and dimensions sorted, I started checking the shipping costs to different countries. For example, we lived in New Zealand for seven years — my husband is a New Zealander, so we go back — so I definitely had to sell in New Zealand. And of course the shipping to New Zealand is very, very different to the US, for example. It is crazy how much shipping costs vary. I discovered I couldn't just assume it would all wash out and I'd end up making a profit somehow. I had to be a lot more careful with the calculations. So I focused on my biggest markets, which in terms of my book sales are the US, UK, European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. I added a note on the campaign to say I would add any other country for print shipping if people contacted me. As it turned out, no one asked for any other countries, so that was the best way to go in the end. If you're in a country where the shipping is outrageous — if you're willing to pay for the shipping, then that's absolutely fine. It's just that for the campaign, I had to focus. When the unexpected happens Jo: Of course, you can try to prepare for everything and then something unexpected and out of your control happens. A big spanner in the works for my campaign was the Russian hack, which took down the UK Royal Mail just before my launch. If you're not in the UK, you wouldn't have heard about this, because in some ways it's a very small issue — but it basically took down Royal Mail and a lot of shipping went into flux. It specifically hit the international side, and other shipping firms ramped up to take the slack. But it made planning for the launch difficult, as the prices were shifting and I didn't know how delivery was going to work. Even for posting in the UK it was hard, because the mail offices were getting backed up. Once again, I'm grateful for BookVault's adaptability, because I could check different addresses and shipping prices even as things changed, and they added new providers for shipping. About 95% of my shipping ended up being within an acceptable range of what I charged. So do your research, weigh and measure your items so you can get exact quotes for each. Check what kind of packaging you need. If you're doing your own shipping, you have to actually type in the shipping costs per reward and per country — it's a lot of manual setup to get it right. But this is critical, so check and double-check — and in fact, I triple- and quadruple-checked, then went to sleep, and then the next day checked again. Having spent 13 years as an IT consultant prior to this career as an author, I will always remember and have learned from the fact that something just might not be working, and then literally if you just go away, go to bed, come back the next day, it'll probably just be working. Sometimes it actually works. So yes, I did that, and every time I checked, pretty much I found something I'd typed in that didn't quite match, because you also have to retype — if you include all the books in the add-ons, you have to type it again. I didn't stop checking until the day before the launch, and then it was right. I was happy, and everything seemed to be fine. Shipping is always a moving target Jo: Revisiting this section made me laugh, because as I record this, in the week before I launch Bones of the Deep, international shipping is disrupted again — by the war in Iran, and the Strait of Hormuz being closed, which is affecting fuel prices. This underscores yet again how important it is to check your shipping. Of course, you can add shipping on later — Kickstarter allows this, as does BackerKit and other services. But as a backer, a customer of people on the platform, I hate being asked to pay shipping later. And since I hate that myself, I don't want other people to feel the same way. So just add a little buffer in, as asking people to pay an extra dollar in their pledge is not that big a deal, but you being out of pocket for every book shipped may well be. Sacha Black on pre-launch and fulfilment In an interview I did with Sacha Black, who writes as Ruby Roe, in December 2025, we talked about her issues with fulfilment. Sacha does a lot of complex printing, shipping, and custom book boxes and more. Her last campaign made over six figures, but of course it had its challenges. Here's Sacha with some of her tips, and then Oriana to close out this section with some other mistakes. Sacha: The first thing is — even before you start your Kickstarter — the pre-launch followers are critical. A lot of people think, “Well…” I guess there's a lot of loud noise about all these big numbers about how much people can make on Kickstarter, but actually a lot of it is driven by you, the author, pushing your audience to Kickstarter. You need more pre-launch followers than you think you do. Lots of people don't put enough impetus on the marketing beforehand. Almost all of our Kickstarter marketing is beforehand, because we drive so many people to that follow button. The other thing we do is early-bird pricing. We get the majority of our income on a campaign on day one. I think it was something wild, like 80% this time was on day one, so that's really important. Fulfilment takes longer than you think Sacha: The second thing is, it takes so, so very much longer than you think it does to fulfil a campaign, and you must factor in that cost. Because if it's not you fulfilling, you're paying somebody else to fulfil it. And if it is you fulfilling it, you must account for your own time in the pricing of your campaign. The other thing is that the amount of time it takes to fulfil is directly proportionate to the size of the campaign. So you do have to think about that. The other lesson we have learned is that overseas printing will drag your timelines out far longer than you think. So whatever you think it's going to take you to fulfil — add several months more onto that, and put that information in your campaign. Reinvesting profit and exclusive rewards Sacha: The last thing — if you have some profit in the Kickstarter, because not all Kickstarters are actually massively profitable. They either don't account enough for shipping, or they don't account enough in the pricing. Thankfully, ours have been profitable, but we've actually reinvested that profit back into buying more stock and more merchandise, which not everybody would want to do if they don't have a warehouse. However, we do have one. We are stockpiling merchandise and books so that we can do mystery boxes later on down the line. It's probably a year away, but we are buying extra of everything so that we have that in the warehouse. So it depends on what you want to do with your profit. For us, it was all about buying more books, basically. The other thing to think about is: what is it that you're doing that's exclusive to Kickstarter? Because you will get backers on Kickstarter who want that quirky, unique thing that they're not going to be able to get anywhere else. But what about you? You've done more Kickstarters than me — what do you think is the biggest lesson you've learned? Tiers, bundles, and AI for planning rewards Jo: Well, I think all of mine together add up to the one you just did. Although I will comment — you said something like £75 per pre-launch backer. That is obviously dependent on your tiers for the rewards, so most authors won't have that amount. My average order value, which I know is slightly different, but I don't offer things like book boxes as you have — so a lot of it will depend on the tiers. Some people will do a Kickstarter just with an ebook — just with one ebook and maybe a bundle of ebooks — so you're never going to make it up to that kind of value. So this is important too: have a look at what people offer on their different levels of Kickstarter. In fact, here's my AI tip for the day. What you can do — what I did with my Buried and the Drowned campaign recently — is, you know, I'm happy uploading my book. I uploaded it to ChatGPT and said, “Tell me, what are some ideas for the different reward tiers that I can do on Kickstarter?” And it will give you some ideas for what you can do, what kind of bundles you might want to do. So bundling your backlist is another thing you can do — as upsells, or you can just do it like I did for Blood Vintage, where I did a horror bundle of four standalone horror books in one of the upper tiers. Bundling is a good way to do it, and also upselling your backlist is a really good way to up things. And also, if you do it digitally — for ebooks and audiobooks — there's a lot less time in fulfilment. Oriana on the biggest mistakes Jo: What are some of the top mistakes you see that mean the campaign doesn't fund, or there are other issues? Oriana: Totally. I mean, the biggest mistake I think authors make — or any creator — is overestimating their ability to reach their crowd. Making sure that your ambition matches your reach is the number one most important thing to come close to guaranteeing that you will be successful. If you're an emerging writer and you're still building your audience and you don't have that many followers or subscribers out in the world, you should not try to fund a multi-volume leather-bound omnibus. Do a real honest assessment of who's in your crowd, how to find them, what percentage of them are likely to support what you're doing, and then find a project that feels realistic based on those numbers. That's really the biggest thing, conceptually. Building a strong project page Oriana: As far as tips for a project page — again, back campaigns and look at what other people are doing. A project page can be either as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. You definitely want to talk about the book: what is in it, what you're writing. Do a trope card if you want — we're seeing those all over the site. Say what kind of book it is, and the specs: page count, trim size, cover design. Obviously if you're doing a special edition, exactly what sorts of bells and whistles, with a prototype if you can. But you can be really expansive from there. What are your inspirations? Who are your collaborators? What brought you to this work? What are some of the things that make you excited about your writing practice, your timeline, your budget? What made you choose these rewards and how you're going to produce them? All those sorts of things will make backers feel both more trusting that you will do the things you're promising, and just more excited to be part of your journey. Marketing your Kickstarter campaign Let's talk about marketing. First, a snippet from Oriana, and then I'll share specifics around marketing tips — many of which are useful if you're launching in any other way. Kickstarter's algorithm rewards attention Oriana: Being on Kickstarter will help you grow your audience, but it's definitely not everything. You really do need to bring your people first. Our algorithm works on attention, so any project that's getting clicks, getting backings, getting comments — our algorithm says, “Oh, people want to look at this. We will expose it to more and more people.” That means raising it up in search results, slotting it into various of the macros and carousels around the site. Our recommendation engine powers recommended projects on the top of campaigns and at the bottom of emails. We are doing a lot to make sure that projects are being surfaced to folks who want to see them. Talk about the book while you're writing it Jo: Talk and share about the book while you're writing it, even though you might not know what it will turn into. I always share my book research and projects in progress, so this was nothing new. But Pilgrimage was years in the making, so I had years of sharing aspects of it. I've shared pictures from every pilgrimage walk on Instagram at @jfpennauthor and Facebook at J.F. Penn Author, and sometimes Facebook The Creative Penn. I've talked on this podcast about each walk, and I've done solo episodes and blog posts about each on my Books and Travel podcast and blog. I also did a poll and shared my book cover design process, and then I did an article on why I ignored target-reader feedback in the end. All this meant that many in my community — including you listening — became aware of my solo walking and also my ecclesiastical interest, my architecture interest, and you enjoyed my photos along the way if you follow me on social media. So when I announced the launch, it was the culmination of years of build-up. Use the pre-launch page early Jo: Set up the Kickstarter pre-launch page as early as possible, and keep promoting it. You can launch a pre-launch page once Kickstarter has approved your project, and you don't have to have finished everything to make it available — just complete the personal and business setup, and fill in enough detail so they can verify your identity and judge the campaign to be real and within the guidelines, and not a scam or spam campaign. I started to promote my pre-launch page, and by the time we went live, I had people signed up on launch. Those people get an email from Kickstarter. Those people were responsible for my campaign funding within the first few minutes, and then taking it to 5x the target within the first 24 hours. Then I started to email my lists, and all of this type of thing. But it was those pre-launch signups that really kick-started — see what I did there? — the whole thing. The benefit of using Kickstarter for multiple projects is that previous backers are notified of your new project. This compounds the effect over time, and is why those who use Kickstarter successfully do multiple campaigns. Kickstarter SEO and on-platform marketing Jo: Kickstarter has its own ecosystem. There's a discovery algorithm that can help you find projects you might like as a backer, and there are different ways to search, but only certain aspects appear in the search. So your title, subtitle, and your header image need to be optimised so people can find you. Your story sales page needs to be clear, with a compelling pitch. People also have to want your rewards, so marketing has to be baked into the products you're offering and who you're trying to attract. Your video doesn't need to be a professional-level product, but it does need to connect with potential backers, so take the time to make a good one. If you've never made a video before, you will need time to upskill. Kickstarter also has social media. Use #KickstarterReads and tag @KickstarterReads. If your project funds quickly and has a good trajectory, you might get picked for the “Projects We Love” badge, which also gives you better discoverability. I got that pretty fast. You can also tag Kickstarter on social media and inform them of your campaign. Content marketing Jo: Content marketing is offering something useful or interesting or inspiring or funny or entertaining for free, in order to attract your target market so they buy your book. This might be an article or blog post, video, audio, podcast, social media, whatever. For fiction, it's usually a free book or a short story or other free examples of your writing that draw people in. Content marketing is my favourite form of marketing, as it is about attraction, not interruption. It also involves creating something in the world that lasts over time, as opposed to an ephemeral spike ad or a social media post that quickly disappears. Each has its place, of course, and I use them all. This podcast is content marketing, although it now also provides direct revenue in the form of corporate advertising and Patreon support. Thank you, patrons and advertisers — and I consider this to be part of my creative body of work. My Books and Travel podcast is also content marketing. Guest appearances for the launch Jo: For this launch, I did content marketing on my own sites and shows, as well as other people's, which I arranged and recorded in advance. I've also mentioned the campaign in the introduction to every one of these shows leading up to the launch and during the launch. I was on some podcasts: Sacred Steps with Kevin Donahue, Wish I'd Known Then… For Writers with Sara Rosett and Jami Albright, Travel Writing World with Jeremy Bassetti, and Into the Woods with Holly Worton. I also did several of my own. I did one on this feed. I did another on the Books and Travel feed. I also included two chapters from the audiobook on the Books and Travel podcast. All of these took time to prepare and produce, but each is a chance for another person to hear about the book. Plus, they're evergreen, and Pilgrimage is available for everyone to buy now, so I can point people at Pilgrimage on other stores. Use a redirection URL Jo: For all my marketing, I used JFPenn.com/pilgrimage, which I can redirect using the Pretty Links plugin on WordPress and point to wherever I want it to go. Before the launch, it went to the pre-launch page; then the campaign itself; and now it goes to the book page. Once I build a special landing page, it will go there. Depending on where you're listening will depend on where it goes, but that's JFPenn.com/pilgrimage. The URL needs to be easy to say out loud for use in podcast interviews and audio-first media. Email your list multiple times Jo: Some things change in book marketing — like the emergence of new platforms like TikTok — but one thing has stayed the same for decades: if you have an email list, you can always sell books. Your email list consists of people who have opted in to hear from you, so you can email them about normal launches as well as your Kickstarter campaign. I have two email lists: one for The Creative Penn around writing, and the other around J.F. Penn for my fiction. I emailed both lists multiple times at different times in the campaign. I use ConvertKit for my email, but there are other options for authors. Use referral links for tracking Jo: Use specific referral links for different aspects of the campaign for tracking returns. Kickstarter allows you to create different tracking links so you can link revenue to specific marketing events. For example, I used one link for my Creative Penn email list, another for my J.F. Penn email list, and yet another for my Facebook advertising. You can also add the Meta pixel and Google Analytics code to the campaign, which can also help with figuring out advertising. And if you don't know what those are, don't worry — you don't have to use them. Book images and social media Jo: I initially mocked up the book using cover images on MockupShots.com, and then resized them in Canva in order to create social media images. I later did a book photo shoot with the hardback in different places to give me more marketing assets to play with — all of which I will use over time as part of ongoing marketing. I prepared and scheduled social media posts to go out every day, and I did that in advance, primarily for Twitter at @thecreativepenn, my Instagram and Facebook at J.F. Penn Author, and also Facebook at The Creative Penn. It was a lot of work, but I really enjoyed it — weirdly — and I need to do more of this for my other books, especially as with Shopify, Facebook, and Instagram link directly into my store, so I can tag books. These days social commerce is a lot smoother through mobile, so someone can see an image on social, click through, and buy immediately. I also did some quotes from the book — so I did pictures, I also did quotes — and I blatantly used our cute British Shorthair cats, Cashew and Ramen, for marketing reasons. I use Buffer to schedule my social media, but there are other tools. I also asked some friends who are travel influencers to share the book, and I sent them the hardback in advance so they could review if they liked. Thanks to Sarah Baxter and Alastair Humphreys for sharing the book, and especially a big thank you to Anna McNuff, who gave birth to twins that week and still managed to share about Pilgrimage. Backer engagement and stretch goals Jo: Let's be clear — it was not natural for me to push a book every day for two weeks. I also felt awkward about engaging with backers multiple times, let alone the wider community who I was sure was sick of my book, but I did it anyway, as it was only a short campaign of two weeks. I sent four updates during the campaign to backers, some of which are visible to the public on my Kickstarter, and then I sent updates afterwards with delivery of the rewards. Although I did resist the stretch goals, as I mentioned earlier, I went with “Notes on Writing a Travel Memoir” and the backer live Q&A. I did scramble to decide on and deliver those, as I really didn't think I would need them — which is crazy. I had such low expectations of what I might achieve. But next time I would definitely plan stretch goals in advance and in more detail. Facebook advertising Jo: I did some Facebook ads for the campaign — although I should call them Meta ads, because they're also on Instagram. I primarily aimed them at my email lists and people who follow my pages, but also some wider reach using lookalike lists and walking interests. I used a tracking link, so I know that the revenue that came in through people backing it more than paid for the ads. So I would do more of this next time. Marketing things I didn't do Jo: I didn't try to get any press or traditional media attention, mainly because I would have had to approach outlets much earlier in the process. I didn't have the hardback finished until a few weeks before the campaign, rather than a few months before, which is when pitching for press is a better idea. I also didn't collaborate with other creators on Kickstarter, even though I knew other authors doing campaigns at the same time. A couple of people asked me about cross-promotion, but their campaigns were not at all related to Pilgrimage. As with all book marketing, there is only a point to cross-promotion if you target the same readers. I had intended to do some Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube Live videos, but I struggle with live videos in general — and especially when I'm tired — so I didn't go ahead with those. I might consider more of those next time. Do a survey for everyone Jo: My tip is — do a survey for everyone. As part of a campaign I previously backed, I noticed that I didn't actually need to do a survey for the digital backers, because they could just get the rewards if I emailed through Kickstarter. And sure enough, you can just email the BookFunnel links, the course discount code, etc., through the campaign. But this was a mistake. I should have done a survey for everyone. If you do a survey, you can get the real email, as some people use a cloaked email. You can also include a checkbox asking people if they want to sign up for your email list. Respecting backer data Jo: So while you do get the email addresses of everyone who backs your campaign in your backer report, you cannot just upload them to your email provider and start emailing them about your other books. Kickstarter's terms of use include the following: When you use Kickstarter, and especially if you create a successful project, you may receive information about other users, including things like their names, email addresses, and postal addresses. This information is provided for the purpose of participating in a Kickstarter project. Don't use it for other purposes and don't abuse it. This is about data protection and privacy laws. Basically, Kickstarter is the platform in this instance, and people have signed up to receive emails from Kickstarter, but not from you. All emails about the campaign go through Kickstarter, and you don't have permission to just upload that list to your own email system and start sending more emails. They have not specifically said they want that, unless they have in a survey with opt-in — which I didn't do. Of course, there are indirect ways to attract people to sign up for your list. My book Pilgrimage includes ways to hear from me further, so some backers will go on and sign up for my free thriller ebook at JFPenn.com/free, or my Author Blueprint at TheCreativePenn.com/blueprint. You can also do updates later, for example when you have a new campaign, and in this way Kickstarter acts as a different ecosystem for email. Should you consider a Kickstarter campaign for your book? Jo: To be honest — only if you consider this to be a career you want to invest in, and a platform you want to do more than one campaign with. If you just have one book or a couple of books, or you're just starting out, or you don't want to do marketing and connect with readers, then definitely don't do a Kickstarter. It is not some magic button that will make you money — like uploading to Amazon is not a magic button that will make you money. It takes time and effort to have a successful campaign. But if you do want to build a long-term author business, then selling direct should have some part to play, and Kickstarter is a great way to make more money per book and connect with readers. It's really only the beginning of the trend of authors selling direct, so don't worry — you can learn how to do this over time. Update for Bones of the Deep, my 7th campaign in April 2026 Jo: It was interesting to revisit my lessons learned and other people's tips, and really, there are only a few things that have changed. I love doing Kickstarter campaigns now Firstly, I absolutely love doing Kickstarter campaigns. I am not nervous at all anymore, and I am just so thrilled to produce gorgeous hardback editions of my books this way. I love delivering beautiful books and new stories or nonfiction to my readers. I love doing the discovery writing webinars and the coaching, and just in general, I appreciate the opportunity to publish this way. I feel like a “real author” — with beautiful hardbacks, doing a signing, getting photos and emails from readers who receive the books. Custom printing keeps expanding In terms of other changes, over the last few years since Pilgrimage, BookVault has expanded their custom printing, so now I have custom endpapers, sprayed edges, different kinds of foil, as well as the silken paper and the ribbon and photos inside. These gorgeous editions are my personal creative reason to keep doing campaigns. I love saying “I made this!” And over time, I would love to get all my backlist into special editions. A repeatable process I'm still doing similar kinds of rewards — the book in all editions — and it's all finished so it's lower stress. Even the audiobook narration is done, so I can fulfil immediately. There's just the live discovery writing webinar to do, and stretch goal Q&A and consulting sessions. I'm also doing bundles, and all my backlist gets bundled in the add-ons, so I have a repeatable process, which makes things easier. Using AI in production I'm using more AI, specifically in the images and video. I love making book images with ChatGPT and Gemini's Nano Banana, and story images with Midjourney, and I use ElevenLabs with my voice clone for audiobooks. I fill in all the details in the AI section of the Kickstarter page, so you can go have a look at that and model it as you like. Spike income, realistic expectations I still like the spike income — but to be clear, my campaigns have varied in terms of financial success, as would be expected given they are all so different. My highest was Writing the Shadow at over £36,000 ($48,000), and my lowest was The Buried and the Drowned, a short story collection, at just under £8,000 ($10,700) — not a surprise at how different they are, given the audiences. Together my campaigns have now made £105,868 (just over $140,000), which I am very happy with. And of course, that's just the beginning, as then I put the books on my stores — JFPennBooks.com and CreativePennBooks.com — and on the usual platforms. A sustainable launch rhythm I still like the project approach — the short-term campaign focus — as I am good at sustaining marketing energy for a short period, and then I can drop off again. As I discussed with Sara Rosett last week as well, it feels sustainable for my career, unlike constant social media or ads. Lower-key marketing this time around I'm putting a lot less energy into marketing in general, relying on pre-launch signups over months of build-up as I talk about my writing process on the podcast, then emailing my lists, announcing it here, and scheduling some social media. It's pretty low-key these days, and that is a happy thing. However, for this campaign, I am planning to run some Meta ads direct to the campaign page, since I have Claude Code/Cowork to help me set them up and run them and crunch the data — and that takes the strain off considerably. More campaigns to come I will definitely be doing more Kickstarter campaigns, most likely a nonfiction one next. I am so glad I was able to get over my fears and do that first one, and I hope that encourages you to consider what might be possible for you and your book. So, if you'd like to check out my campaign for Bones of the Deep — even if you don't want the book, you can always model the sales page, or check out the book trailer — it's at JFPenn.com/bones. That link will go to the Kickstarter campaign from 20 April until early May 2026, and will then redirect. The post Kickstarter Tips for Authors: Rewards, Shipping, Marketing, and Lessons Learned first appeared on The Creative Penn.

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Don't Be Suspicious with Alex from Hootenanny Games - Boards & Swords #283

Boards & Swords

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 20, 2026

BackerKit has a huge selection of great RPG campaigns this month, speaking of crowdfunding, CMON might be back? And also, time to get dangerous in your D&D games! Plus, we have Alex Kimerling from Hootenanny Games on the show to talk about one of their newest board games, Sneaky Scallywags!

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Don't Be Suspicious with Alex from Hootenanny Games - Boards & Swords #283

Boards & Swords Super Feed

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 20, 2026

WWR 76 ☉ Fistful of Stars & Orbital Blues Month w. Adam Stations

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Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2026 65:32

All aboard! We're back for more Orbital Blues Month, this time with Adam Station from STATIONS, creators of An Infinity of Ships, 100 Strangers, I Don't Belong Here, and more. We chat with Adam about their collaboration with Soul Muppet (as well as Kayla Dice, Lone Archivist, and Rob Turpin!) for Orbital Blues Month — Fistful of Stars: Adventures on the Greenlight Express. Tune in to hear about system-agnostic and -specific writing, therapeutic horror, the joy of collaboration, and SPACE TRAINS. Orbital Blues Month is going on for all of April! Follow along on BackerKit here: https://www.backerkit.com/c/collections/orbital-blues-month Back A Fistful of Stars today! https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/stations/a-fistful-of-stars-adventures-on-the-green-light-express For more from STATIONS: www.72stations.com For more from Stillfleet Studio: www.stillfleet.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You Heard it Here Last S4E8

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 15, 2026 23:37

Send us Fan MailWelcome to you heard it here last where we talk about news, you've already heard. https://www.enworld.org/threads/neopets-terminates-geekifys-license-ttrpg-in-jeopardy.718325/Let's start with some interesting and maybe concerning news that can Kickstart a deeper discussion. You'll get that pun in a minute. Neopets, the free virtual-pet website launched in 1999 where users can adopt, customize, and care for virtual creatures has terminated it's IP license agreement with Geekify for a tabletop roleplaying game. Geekify is a custom marketing, creative design, and manufacturing company out of Colorado that has worked with Neopets in the past bringing out a number of products. In 2024 a Kickstarter was launched for Geekify to bring out a Neopets tabletop roleplaying game and it raised over 427,000 dollars.Recently a playtest was released that showed the game was a combat focus 5e variant and to say Neopets wasn't happy was an understatement. The immediately withdrew the licensing from Geekify for the product.And the big question is, now what.Let's start Mike. What does this mean for the people who funded the Kickstarter? Do they get their money back?[Kick to Mike]Christina. What ethical responsibility does Neopets have to the people who kickstarted the roleplaying game?[Kick to Christina]Mike, where do you think the communication broke down and who's responsibility is it, Neopets or Geekify?[Kick to Mike]Christina, why did Neopets let a company that doesn't design games, design a game?[Kick to Christina]To anyone, what does this mean going forward with game designers wanting to work with IPs. As far as I can tell this might be the first time the IP has been withdrawn after a game was basically “sold” Is this just another hit to the model of big companies using crowdfunding instead of traditional publishing methods?To anyone, is this going to hurt Kickstarter and Backerkit in the future.And there you have it, all the news, you've already heard.

Shadowdark RPG - Hell Unearthed Episode 02 and Conclusion | Actual Play Amuse-bouche

3d6 Down The Line

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 14, 2026 118:12

Mike runs the boyz through the conclusion of the Shadowdark zine dungeon HELL UNEARTHED, by Cameron Maas! Something extraplanar and awful is being kept prisoner in the forgotten tomb, but its wards are failing! Time to break out the cold iron and get to work.Hell Unearthed is by Cameron Maas.Purchase it ⁠here⁠.Join his ⁠Patreon⁠!Check out RESERVOIR, Cameron's next project on BackerKit! ⁠Between Two Cairns Podcast Episode⁠ from Jan 9, 2026, featuring an in-depth review of Hell Unearthed by Yochai Gal and Brad Kerr.Shadowdark is by Kelsey Dionne, published by The Arcane Library.Purchase it ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠.Watch our previous ⁠Amuse-bouches⁠, featuring Shadowdark and Pirate Borg!Explore more 3d6 Down the Line at our official ⁠website⁠! Three finished campaigns are ready for your enjoyment: 22 episodes of the perilous, fairy-tale forest of Dolmenwood, our sprawling, 114 episode-long delve into The Halls of Arden Vul megadungeon, and our 24 episode long Mothership campaign, Gradient Descent. Find our House Rules (culled from numerous luminary OSR sources), character sheets, both video and audio only versions of every episode, and lots more! If you'd like to not only listen to us, but also watch our ugly mugs, check out the episode on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Support our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and enjoy awesome benefits! Join our friendly and lively ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ server!Grab some 3d6 DTL ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠merchandise⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Maps used in the podcast banner by Dyson Logos.Intro music by Muzaproduction.

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Papotage Indécent n°23 - Le mois Orbital Blues

IND100 Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2026 69:53

A l'occasion du mois Orbital Blues sur la plateforme Backerkit (du 1er avril au 1er mai 2026), retrouvez notre dernier papotage.Nous vous proposons un résumé du cadre de jeu d'Orbital Blues, ce que l'on joue (création de personnage) et comment l'on y joue (règles de base).Enfin, un tour complet des 6 projets en cours de financements pour ce mois d'avril.Bonne écoute.

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Ben Alexander

guide dragons cyberattacks ttrpg forgotten realms backerkit enworld

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 8, 2026 42:57

Send us Fan MailOn this episode we interview Ben Alexander. Ben is the artist for Parable Games and his new game Ion Heart Multiplayer has just launched on Backerkit. https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/parable-games/ion-heart-multiplayer-a-lo-fi-mech-ttrpgYou can contact Ben at Parable Games.https://www.parablegames.co.uk/?srsltid=AfmBOorW--NCFUPwIO6kfv6eQ9v2p9oam3Yi1bPb3pKfs97UfZYvXK4V

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This Week in TTRPG (3rd April 2026)

This Week In TTRPG

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 3, 2026 1:57

Your weekly summary of the TTRPG news in 3 minutes or less with Jessica Hancock. If you'd like to hear these stories discussed in more detail, you can listen to Morrus Unofficial TTRPG Talk Podcast or you can read all about it on www.ENworld.org Forgotten Realms cover to "Guide to the Dalelands" revealed, book delayed Hasbro Victim of Cyberattack, Some Websites Down But Not D&D Beyond Dungeons & Dragons releases Villainous Options playtest Traveller 5e live on Backerkit

WWR 75 ☉ PARAMOUR & Orbital Blues Month w. Josh Domanski

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 2, 2026 71:14

Howdy, space cowboy! Welcome back to Why We Roll, where we're continuing our Orbital Blues Month series with module designer, adventure writer, and the brains behind Vaulted Pyramid, Josh Domanski. We cover Josh's impressive catalog of zines for Mothership, Liminal Horror, and now for Orbital Blues from Soul Muppet Publishing with the upcoming zine, PARAMOUR. Tune in as we chat about writing agnostically, adventure as allegory, and... the Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffery? Make sure to follow Orbital Blues Month on Backerkit! https://www.backerkit.com/c/collections/orbital-blues-month And check out PARAMOUR here! https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/b976cc10-3f2b-4c54-9207-9fdc6251e5b1/landing?ref=scoundrels For more about Stillfleet Studio and all of our genre-chainsawing games, head to www.stillfleet.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Grumpy Guests – Dungeon Damsel & Xane Daniel

Grumpy Dungeon Masters

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2026 89:51

The Grumpy Dungeon Masters sit down and talk with Dungeon Damsel & Xane Daniel, the creators of the Druskara setting for Shadowdark. It's a living setting with incredible art. Check out the Backerkit at https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/dungeon-damsel-creations/druskara-a-twisted-fantasy-world-setting-for-shadowdark-rpg?gad_campaignid=23658262033

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WWR 74 ☉ Orbital Blues Month w. Zach "Jelly Muppet" Cox

The Ack Attack: with J and Z

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 19, 2026 64:29

Welcome back to Why We Roll, where even space cowgirls get the blues. Join us as we chat with Zach "Jelly Muppet" Cox (they/them) of SoulMuppet Publishing, one of three co-creators of the rules-lite space western RPG, Orbital Blues. We talk genre, the indelible connection between cowboys and sadness, the power of collaboration, and Orbital Blues Month—happening for all of April on Backerkit! From SoulMuppet, via Backerkit: "[Orbital Blues Month is a...] group-collab project hosted by SoulMuppet Publishing featuring a brand-new host of content from some of the most wanted Outlaws in the Orbital Blues third-party publishing space, as well as a new project from SoulMuppet Publishing. From new adventures and factions, to mechanics and audio dramas, Orbital Blues Month will grow the scene with new material wildly beyond what SoulMuppet could ever imagine making alone." Check out Orbital Blues Month here: https://www.backerkit.com/c/collections/orbital-blues-month SoulMuppet Publishing: https://usa.soulmuppet-store.co.uk/ SoulMuppet on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soulmuppet/ SoulMuppet on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/soulmuppet.co.uk For more Why We Roll, as well as info on all of Stillfleet Studio's genre-chainsawing games, head over to www.stillfleet.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Getting Your Own Month (w/ Zach Cox)

Yes Indie'd Pod

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 19, 2026 46:09

You can support this show on Patreon⁠⁠!In this episode, I talk to Zach Cox, founder of Soul Muppet Publishing.They are also the designer or co-designer of sad adventurer game Best Left Buried, sad Arthurian gunslinger game Inevitable, and sad vampire game Paint the Town Red. They also worked at Rowan Rook & Decard for a while. But the big news is that the scifi sad space cowboy game Orbital Blues (that they co-created) is getting its own month-long crowdfunding event at Backerkit, with both Soulmuppet and other designers making supplements and adventures for the game. Orbital Blues month: https://www.backerkit.com/c/collections/orbital-blues-monthOutlaws and Corporations: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/568d3a57-1379-4b32-9f67-0044b6d9066d/landing?ref=discover_email_landing_pagesSoul Muppet's website: https://soulmuppet-store.co.uk/Games MentionedCataphractsBECMIStygian LibraryGardens of YnnIf you liked this podcast, check out the weekly Indie RPG NewsletterMusic: eastern provided by mobygratis.

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Episode 247: Keeping Us Honest

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 17, 2026 68:23

Join us this week as our hosts J and Z try to catch up with the Best Picture nominees at the last minute with Netflix's "Train Dreams" (0:00:00). The guys cover a four-trailer Trailer Trash/Trailer Cash of Amazon's "The Boys", DC's "Lanterns", "In the Grey", and "Disclosure Day" (0:29:59) along with Brandon Sanderson's newest Backerkit campaign (0:59:40).

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Persephone: 1.4 - Nine to Five

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2026 54:10

Work, family, and giraffes. Fen dons a mask while Atlas tries to inspire. Back at the garage, Eloise opens up and Cedar has an unexpected encounter. CW: Misophonia (candy crunch)Check out the Blades '68 Backerkit from our Sponsors, Evil Hat Productions!For Transcripts, our Tip Jar, merch, and the official Discord Server: https://bloomandblight.com/Be sure to stick around after our credits for a word from friends of the show, Tabletop Talespinners Network!Theme Songs: "PRESS/LEAD" and "PRESS/LEAD (Jazz Lounge Vers.)" by Harper S.K.Songs featured courtesy Epidemic Sound: "Night Stalker" by WAve Saver, "Fresh Pastries" by Lofive, "Temple of Runha" by ELFL, "Monster (Instrumental Version)" by SEON & NINEXCIX, "Infinite Bloom" by Guustavv, "Soft Serve" by Brendon Moeller, "Entanglement" by Luba Hilman, "The Proven" by Sons of Hades, "Up and Up" by Lofive, "Growls" by Cecillia Lindh, and "You're a Believer (Instrumental Version)" by Stonekeepers.

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You Heard it Here Last S4E5

What Would The Smart Party Do?

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2026 19:33

Send a textWelcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news, you've already heard.I evidently missed this announcement in November of 2025, so when I got the email from Backerkit about an upcoming launch I might be interested in, I was surprised. Traveller 5e from Mongoose Publishing was coming to Backerkit in March of 2026. https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/4bb4fe4f-753f-484d-8133-870c7c591797/landing?ref=home-pageMy first thought was they were printing a new edition of Traveller, but then I remembered Marc Miller had produced Traveller 5th Edition in 2013. Of course, Mongoose has taken over publishing, but they are in the 2nd edition…then it hit me like a ton of bricks. It was Traveller for Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition.I'm sure if I tried real hard, I could come up with something more useless, but I gotta tell you, right now I'm out of ideas. What a complete waste.Traveller is an iconic roleplaying game with specific systems that work perfectly in that science fiction world it portrays. Rewriting the entire thing for D&D 5E … Stop it. Just Stop it. I know that 5E is the biggest selling game out there and I know this is just a money grab, but Damit people, open another roleplaying game book.I typically cheer for anything that brings more eyes to our hobby, but this isn't a rising tide, it's a tsunami destroying what's good about independent games and alternatives to D&D.I'm tapping out on this one.Christina, thoughts?[Kick to Christina]Mike[Kick to Mike]You might think after my lead in I would avoid all things Hasbro, but our next article from EN World is just too interesting to pass up. We've talked a lot about AI on our podcast and in Hasbro's latest earnings call Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks addressed the company's use of AI.https://www.enworld.org/threads/hasbro-ceo-says-ai-integration-has-been-a-clear-success.717852/“We're beyond experimentation. We're deploying AI across financial planning, forecasting, order management, supply chain operations, training and everyday productivity.” Cocks said. He also broke down how creatives use the tools.Mike, AI has recently become a huge part of your life and after diving into it and embracing it in the workforce you got promoted to COO. Briefly breakdown why AI is the future, whether we like it or not.[Kick to Mike]Christina hit us with the ethical issues[kick to Christina]And there you have it, all the news, you've already heard.

[Preview] Legends of Akeroth: Songs of a Lost Age by Crossed Paths Press

DMs After Dark

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2026 206:36

Greetings from Erwick! This is a special preview one-shot of Legends of Akeroth: Songs of a Lost Age by Crossed Paths Press, designers of other great games such as Brambletrek, Drakonym, the Covens of Midnight, and more! If you like 90s JRPG video games, this system emulates it in really interesting ways that we hope you like! check out the link above for the Backerkit, which is still live when this episode drops! ----more---- Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel! In case you haven't heard, our Redbubble has incredible RuneQuest art by Katrin Dirim available as shirts, stickers, pillows, and more, so check out all our new DMs After Dark merch!! If you enjoy our streams, podcasts (plural! have you checked out the Rene Plays Games podcast?), or just our general nerdiness, please consider giving us a 5-star rating on your podcast app of choice! Like, follow, and subscribe to our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram so you can comment & chat with us about all things RPGs. And, as always, come hang out and catch our live streams on our Twitch or catch up on our YouTube. Music in the Episode (in order of appearance): DMs After Dark Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

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Tim Denee - Blades '68

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2026 56:05

Love Blades in the Dark, but want that Swinging 60s vibe? Maybe you're more of a Tinker, Tailor, spy maker kind of guy? Join us this time to go all psychedelic and groovy (or dark and moody) with Tim Denee telling us all about the new Blades '68.With guest Stunt Ben, Chris (aka Dirk the Dice off of The Grognard Files)Out on Backerkit

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EP 307 | We review VENGEANCE CALIFORNIA

The Weekly Scroll TTRPG Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2026 90:20

On this episode of The Weekly Scroll Podcast, Ryan is joined by Garry Snow of Dieku Game to review VENGEANCE CALIFORNIA from Hounskull, an over-the-top, ultra-violent, narrative RPG designed to recreate pulpy revenge fantasies like Kill Bill, John Wick, or Mandy.Find Vengeance California here: https://hounskul.itch.io/vengeance-californiaFind Dieku Games here: https://diekugames.com/Find the Fang Dungeon Bestiary on Backerkit here: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/dieku-games/fang-dungeon-bestiary0:00 Start0:35 Garry Snow and Dieku5:00 Zinuary and Fang Dungeon Bestiary12:00 Vengeance California Info20:45 "What is this game?"23:15 Rules Breakdown32:45 Character Generation51:45 Thoughts, Likes, and Dislikes59:00 Metrics1:28:05 Garry's links and outroAll our links here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/theweeklyscroll⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@theweeklyscroll⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.twitch.tv/theweeklyscroll⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/the.weekly.scroll⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/theweeklyscroll.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/SQYEuebVab⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠At-Coast Merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bonfire.com/store/the-weekly-scroll/⁠⁠

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Persephone: 1.3 - Grapefruits and Oranges

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 19, 2026 54:43

Tempers flare as the team discusses the outcome of their qualifier and exactly what Eloise was up to outside of Yona. Later, Carmen digs into the mysteries of Persephone Protocol's finances, and Cedar looks for some extra spending money. CW: Police Sirens, police encounter. Check out the Blades '68 Backerkit from our Sponsors, Evil Hat Productions! For Transcripts, our Tip Jar, merch, and the official Discord Server: https://bloomandblight.com/ Be sure to stick around after our credits for a word from friends of the show, The Heart is a Dungeon! Theme Song: "PRESS/LEAD" and "Seconds Rising Star (Reprise)" by Harper S.K. Songs featured courtesy Epidemic Sound: "Black Hawks" by Akibakid, "Electromagic" by Akibakid, "Arcane Sun" by Max Anson, "Blah Blah" by Heyson, and "You're a Believer (Instrumental Version)" by Stonekeepers.

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Erin Green - Illustrator of the Fang Dungeon Bestiary on Zinetopia

Dieku Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2026 47:23

I welcomed Erin Green, who isn an incredible illustrator and art instructor from Vancouver, BC who has been teaching art for over 15 years to students of all ages.Erin is also illustrating many of the weird little monsters in the Fang Dungeon Bestiary which is currently crowdfunding on Backerkit as part of ZinetopiaTake Erin's Courseshttps://linktr.ee/ErinSGreenFollow Erin's YouTube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@children_of_the_craft Follow Erin's Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/children.of.the.craftBack the Fang Dungeon Bestiary:https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/dieku-games/fang-dungeon-bestiaryFollow the Fangelsehala Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/funwithfang#TTRPG #Zinetopia #osratounatv

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Chiron's Doom

The Unexplored Places

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2026 51:52

Chiron's Doom by Nick Bate: https://ickbat.itch.io/chirons-doom Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/unexploredcast Back Blades '68 on Backerkit: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/evil-hat/blades-68

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The Weekly Podcast no.323 – Blades 68, Pathfinder Beginner Box & STLs, Avatar Card Game and Hasbro Loves AI

Idle Red Hands

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 15, 2026 55:41

Blades ’68 is an official 450-page expansion for the TTRPG Blades in the Dark. This supplement advances the timeline 100 years to the “Swinging Sixties” in the city of Doskvol, an age of electroplasmic fusion and “Bluetime” spy games. The expansion introduces new playbooks, crews, and a revamped setting, alongside new rules for Harm, Resistance, Keys, Deadlocks, and an adapted Trouble Engine. The campaign has been overwhelmingly funded, with an expected delivery date of August 2026. Paizo, the publisher of Pathfinder, announced the new Pathfinder Beginner Box: Secrets of the Unlit Star, an all-inclusive entry point to Pathfinder Second Edition set for release on May 6th, 2026. The box set features a solo adventure, a 72-page Hero’s Handbook, an 88-page Game Master’s Guide, and updated rules for character options and adventure scenarios. Additionally, Paizo confirmed its commitment to the Pathfinder 2E Remaster with the release of Dark Archive Remastered and the announcement of Season of Ghosts Remastered. The company also partnered with One Page Rules to launch Paizo Printables, a new line of 3D printable wargaming miniature STLs compatible with the Age of Fantasy system, starting in Spring 2026. Maestro Media unveiled Avatar: Pandora's Power, a two-player asymmetric lane-battling card game based on the Avatar films. The game pits the resource-extractive RDA against the adaptive, land-rooted Na'vi factions, with the goal of reaching 30 points to decide Pandora’s fate. CEO Javon Frazier emphasized that the core experience is the asymmetry, with each faction playing a distinctly different game. Designed for ages 12 and up, the game plays in approximately 20-45 minutes and includes 170 Faction Cards, 18 Location Cards, and various tokens. Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks touted the company’s AI integration as a “clear success” during a recent earnings call, though he primarily referred to its deployment in non-creative, operational workflows such as financial planning, supply chains, and general productivity. Cocks stated that AI, in partnership with platforms like Google Gemini and OpenAI, is expected to free up over 1 million hours of lower-value work within the year. While he maintains a “human-centric creator-led approach,” Wizards of the Coast (WotC) has an explicit policy prohibiting its artists and writers from using generative AI for final D&D products, a stance that aligns with a user survey indicating over 60% of consumers would not buy D&D products made with AI. #blades68 #pathfinder #paizo #hasbro Blades ‘68 on Backerkit: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/evil-hat/blades-68 40-page Preview on DTRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/ja/product/553040/blades-68-preview?affiliate_id=2081746 Empire of Bones on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thepaintedwastelands/empire-of-bones Preview: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/554430?affiliate_id=2081746 Call of Cthulhu Bundle: https://humblebundleinc.sjv.io/Xmz13G Warmachine on MyMiniFactory: https://mmf.io/upturned Mantic Companion App: https://companion.manticgames.com/ Use our Referral code: MCTXEE Support us by Shopping at Miniature Market (afilliate link): https://miniature-market.sjv.io/K0yj7n Support Us by Shopping on DTRPG (afilliate link): https://www.drivethrurpg.com?affiliate_id=2081746 Matt’s DriveThruRPG Publications: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?author=Matthew%20Robinson https://substack.com/@matthewrobinson3 Chris on social media: https://hyvemynd.itch.io/ Jeremy's Links: http://www.abusecartoons.com/ http://www.rcharvey.com Support Us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/upturnedtable Give us a tip on our livestream: https://streamlabs.com/upturnedtabletop/tip Donate or give us a tip on Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/2754JZFW2QZU4 Intro song is “Chips” by KokoroNoMe https://kokoronome.bandcamp.com/

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Persephone: 1.2 - Heroes of Legend

Fumble GDR - Giochi di ruolo in radio

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 5, 2026 61:08

It's Persephone Protocol vs Team Intergalactic! With only one spot left in the Hades Cup, it's all on the line. Will Persephone Protocol take the victory, or will the team get more than they bargained for... CW: Simulated sci-fi combat sounds, fireworks/explosions Check out the Blades '68 Backerkit from our Sponsors, Evil Hat Productions! For Transcripts, our Tip Jar, and the official Discord Server: https://bloomandblight.com/ Be sure to stick around after our credits for a word from friends of the show, Game Master Monday!Theme Song: "PRESS/LEAD" and "Seconds Rising Star (Reprise)" by Harper S.K. Songs featured courtesy Epidemic Sound: "Black Hawks" by Akibakid, "Electromagic" by Akibakid, "Arcane Sun" by Max Anson, "Blah Blah" by Heyson, and "You're a Believer (Instrumental Version)" by Stonekeepers.

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Episode 151: Adventures in Pinball

Podcast – Spellburn

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2026 73:11

Just when you think everything has been done and there are no more frontiers, Goodman Games answers the question no one had in their brains. “What if we make adventures based on classic pinball games?” Of course the answer to that question is Pinball Crawl Classics (live on Backerkit right now). On this episode of […]

Sessione 0 - Coboldi: Secret Wars (speciale Dice First)

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2026 110:18

Per prepararci all'arrivo del nostro 13esimo compleanno, creiamo dei nuovi coboldi che faranno probabilmente a pezzi il multiverso di Fumble, usando Dice First, un gioco in arrivo con un crowdfunding su Backerkit portato avanti dallə amicə di GEDR Studio, cioè lo studio di game design di Genitori di Ruolo.Insieme a Claudio, dietro ai microfoni ci saranno Simone Bernardi, Simone Bonavita, Matteo Mantovanelli, e (per questa sessione 0 in cui dobbiamo seguire delle procedure che non sono nel quickstart del gioco) Luca Carbone.Se vuoi scoprire qualcosa di più sul gioco, scaricare il quickstart e ricevere una notifica quando il crowdfunding sarà attivo, puoi usare il link qui sotto!https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/genitori-di-ruolo/dice-first/launch_party?ref=fumbleTutti i nostri contenuti sono gratuiti e disponibili pubblicamente, rilasciati sotto licenza Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0: puoi distribuirli, manipolarli, copiarli quanto vuoi, e se hai dubbi su quali siano i limiti entro cui farlo puoi scriverci su Discord, dove saremo felice di risponderti.Un'ultima cosa: Quello che noi mettiamo in scena non è scriptato e giochiamo live, così come ci viene. Questo non vuol dire che sia l'unico modo o il modo giusto di giocare: se giochi in maniera diversa non è certo un problema, anzi, stai arricchendo il mondo!Fumble fa parte di Fumblecast, un network indipendente di podcast che parlano di giochi. Puoi scoprire di più sul nostro sito

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Persephone: 1.1 - Starting Lineup

heart songs buckle ama lineups dungeon requiem blades persephone discord server starting lineup backerkit merch shop evil hat productions

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 22, 2026 50:04

Welcome to Neo-Oliva Bay! 150 years after the events of Requiem, the qualifiers for the Hades Chassis Racing Cup are in full swing. Can local team Persephone Protocol make the cut? Buckle in and start your engines for a story about new magical girls discovering their magic, and their destinies! CW: Simulated sci-fi combat soundsCheck out the Blades '68 Backerkit from our Sponsors, Evil Hat Productions!For Cast/Character Info, our Merch Shop, and the official Discord Server: https://bloomandblight.com/ Be sure to stick around after our credits for a word from friends of the show, The Heart is a Dungeon! Theme Song: "PRESS/LEAD" and "Seconds Rising Star (Reprise)" by Harper S.K. Songs featured courtesy Epidemic Sound: "Black Hawks" by Akibakid, "Electromagic" by Akibakid, "CITYPOPPIN" by Akibakid, "Ama" by Akibakid, and "You're a Believer (Instrumental Version)" by Stonekeepers.

You Heard it Here Last S2E1

ComixLaunch: Crowdfunding for Writers, Artists & Self-Publishers on Kickstarter... and Beyond!

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 7, 2026 13:10

Send us a textWelcome to you heard it hear last, where we talk about news, you've already heard.Well, here we are in 2026 and this is our first episode of Season 4. We are having a great time and I hope you are as well. Speaking of great times our first bit of news is like a blast from the past for me.https://www.rascal.news/steve-jackson-games-announces-toon-second-edition/Steve Jackson Games has just launched a Backerkit for Toon Second Edition. Toon is a roleplaying game set in the world of cartoons. Not the animie stuff, but the good old fashioned Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies cartoons produced by Warner Brothers. I grew up on those, routing for Bugs Bunny and always laughing when proclaimed the wrong turn at Albuquerque. Steve Jackson Games launched the first edition in 1984 and I loved it. Now, over 40 years later they are bringing out the Second Edition.Mike, did you ever play Toon?[Kick to Mike]What about you Christina, where the Looney Tunes big for you growing up?[Kick to Christina]Next up we have a little interesting piece of news and maybe, just maybe a view of something to come.https://www.rascal.news/why-did-his-majesty-the-worm-skip-the-kickstarter/His Majesty the Worm is a tarot card RPG that was released in 2023. The creators utilized Itch.io and put up chapters as written with a pay-what-you-want request. They used the money gathered to help pay for artists and final printing costs. Now they are launching a supplement to His Majesty the Worm titled Castle Automatic. This mega dungeon in the Castlevania style isn't going the route of backerkit or kickstarter. Nope, they are simply doing pre-orders through Exalted Funereal. We have talked several times on the podcast about the problems with big companies getting involved in platforms that were originally designed for new creators and this seems like the logical outcome of those markets being dominated now by the big brands.Mike, Put on your business hat. What's this mean?[Kick to Mike]Christina, Thoughts?[Kick to Christina]And there you have it. All they news, you've already heard.

The Weekly Podcast no.317 – Warhammer PhD, Toon RPG Returns, Crack the Sun and Temeraire RPG

Idle Red Hands

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 21, 2025 57:46

The Finnish Foundation for Economic Education awarded a student, Aase Timonen, roughly $30,000 to fund her doctoral research into “transmedia worldbuilding in massive game franchises,” using the Warhammer franchise as her focus. Her research, conducted at the Game Research Lab at Tampere University, will examine how the broad spread of media (miniatures, novels, rules, etc.) has shaped Warhammer’s development, its shift toward competitive play, and its increasing canonicity. The classic 1984 Toon TTRPG is returning with a new 2nd Edition from Steve Jackson Games, slated for a Backerkit crowdfunding launch on December 17, 2025. Game designer Steve Jackson explains that the update, conceived at least four years prior, is being done because he likes the game and felt it was due. Key changes in the new edition include the simplification of character creation, the introduction of mnemonics, and a dramatic streamlining of the “Fall Down” mechanic to be based on missing three actions instead of three calendar minutes, eliminating clock-watching. The new edition will feature new art by Kyle Miller, all in color, and will be available in both hard and softcover. Draw Steel: Crack the Sun is a crowdfunder by MCDM Productions, which has successfully raised over $1.8 million. The campaign aims to determine the future of the Draw Steel product line and includes seven new products for 2026. These include Encounters, a 350-page third core rulebook filled with pre-made scenarios, NPCs, and skill tests; Between Sun and Shadow, a dedicated ancestry book adding eight new playable species like Goblins and Shadow Elves; and The Beastheart, a new class with four subclasses and fourteen animal companions. The main product is Crack the Sun, the first official epic campaign for Draw Steel, which is a mega-adventure in five acts for 3rd through 8th level heroes, along with three other new shorter adventures including the high-octane anti-hero adventure, The Condemned. The Temeraire RPG from Magpie Games is set to launch its crowdfunding campaign in “early 2026.” The role-playing game is based on Naomi Novik’s Temeraire alternate history fantasy series, which reimagines the Napoleonic Wars with an air force of sentient dragons and their human aviators. The game will focus on the dynamic between the dragon and its rider, incorporating elements of epic military battles, logistics, and supply lines, as well as “Regency era romance,” allowing players to take to the skies as both dragon and aviator while navigating the balance of duty and desire. The book series consists of nine novels, starting with His Majesty's Dragon. #warhammer #toonrpg #drawsteel #Temeraire Toon RPG Second Edition: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/steve-jackson-games/toon-the-cartoon-roleplaying-game Crack the Sun on Backerit: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/mcdm-productions/draw-steel-crack-the-sun Fallout RPG Sale: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/ja/product/366742/fallout-the-roleplaying-game-core-rulebook-pdf?affiliate_id=2081746 Free Guild Ball Starter Set: https://steamforged.com/products/guild-ball-starter-kit Warmachine on MyMiniFactory: https://mmf.io/upturned Mantic Companion App: https://companion.manticgames.com/ Use our Referral code: MCTXEE Support us by Shopping at Miniature Market (afilliate link): https://miniature-market.sjv.io/K0yj7n Support Us by Shopping on DTRPG (afilliate link): https://www.drivethrurpg.com?affiliate_id=2081746 Matt’s DriveThruRPG Publications: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?author=Matthew%20Robinson https://substack.com/@matthewrobinson3 Chris on social media: https://hyvemynd.itch.io/ Jeremy's Links: http://www.abusecartoons.com/ http://www.rcharvey.com Support Us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/upturnedtable Give us a tip on our livestream: https://streamlabs.com/upturnedtabletop/tip Donate or give us a tip on Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/2754JZFW2QZU4 Intro song is “Chips” by KokoroNoMe https://kokoronome.bandcamp.com/

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TTRPG Year-in-Review for 2025

Dieku Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 18, 2025 117:54

2025 was another interesting year in the TTRPG Industry, and I was once again joined by Shannon Appelcline, author of the "Designers & Dragons" series, to provide historical context to the events of the year.Shannon shared his insights on a variety of topics including the tariffs, AI, economy, and other headwinds for TTRPGs, as well as talking about where things are going for indie game design.https://www.youtube.com/c/BudsRPGreview---------Pre-order Dragons & Designers on Backerkit:https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/evil-hat/designers-dragons-originsDesigners and Dragons website:https://www.designers-and-dragons.com---------Fang Dungeon Bestiary Backerkit:https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/3381d640-ea27-40dd-9972-ee85087e1353/landingBug Busters Kickstarter Pre-order:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/diekugames/bug-bustersWeb Site & Storehttps://diekugames.comPatreon:https://www.patreon.com/diekugamesTo learn more about Dieku Games:https://diekugames.itch.iohttps://www.instagram.com/diekugames https://www.twitter.com/diekugameshttps://www.tiktok.com/@diekugameshttps://www.patreon.com/diekugameshttps://diekugames.blogspot.comhttps://discord.com/invite/372RdeeMZD#OSR #TTRPG #DND

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Backerkit’s Holiday Market with Rob Multari

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 30, 2025 57:45

Backerkit has launched a first-of-its-kind crowdfunding event featuring READY TO SHIP rewards that will arrive in time for the holidays, to provide creators a trusted platform for online sales and collaboration and community cheer to ideally expand their reach! In this session, Tyler will chat with Rob Multari, who is participating in the event to discuss how it fits into his overall creative goals.

backerkit holiday market

Let's Moon 'em

Effekt

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 25, 2025 86:52 Transcription Available

Dedicated to Diggy00.00.40: Introductions00.04.26: World of Gaming: Twilight Sword from 2Little Mice and FreeLeague on Backer Kit; Ghost in the Shell RPG kickstarting; we are going to be at Dragonmeet running the Free League Stand and Selling Tales of tee Old West next door; we are also writing an epic Alien: Evolved adventure for UKGames expo. 00.23.02: Tales of the new Verse01.25.18: Next time and Goodbye Effekt is brought to you by Effekt Publishing. Music is by Stars in a Black Sea, used with kind permission of Free League Publishing.Like what we do?Sign up for updates on Tales of the Old West via our new website and download Tales of the Old West QuickDraw available for free on DriveThru. The core rules are now available on DriveThru too.Put our brand on your face! (and elsewhere)Buy pdfs via our DriveThru Affiliate linkLeave a review on iTunes or PodchaserFind our Actual Play recordings on effektap ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Mausritter: Tails from the Night Market

The Vintage RPG Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2025 22:27

So nice, we recorded it twice (because we lost the first recording). This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we talk to Tiger Wizard and Joey Royale about their entry for Mausritter Month. What happens at the circus while the humans are asleep? Find out in Tails from the Nightmarket! * * * Tails from the Night Market is live on Backerkit now, as part of the larger Mausritter Month. Lots of cool projects to check out. You can check out these links for more on Mausritter or The Estate box sets. Instagram? Old news. Join the Vintage RPG Newsletter! That's where all the cool kids are now! Stu's book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground is for sale now! Buy it! Patreon? Discord? Cool RPG things to buy? All the Vintage RPG links you need are right here in one place! Like, Rate, Subscribe and Review the Vintage RPG Podcast! Edited by the one and only R. Alex Murray. Send questions, comments or corrections to info@vintagerpg.com. Available on iTunes, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, YouTube and your favorite podcast clients. The Vintage RPG illustration is by Shafer Brown. Follow him on Twitter. Tune in next week for the next episode. Until then, may the dice always roll in your favor!

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episode 124.5 — pax unplugged expo hall 2025

Changeling the Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2025 37:06

Once more unto the breach, dear listeners, once more... Pooka is doing the PAX Unplugged thing this weekend, and spent their Friday accosting various TTRPG creators in the expo hall for short on the spot interviews. Herewith the fruits of those labors! As always for these convention minisodes, shouting through a mask over thousands of people in a cavernous space doesn't make for the best acoustics, but hopefully everything is still audible enough for you to get a sense of these games and their creators. If you also happen to be in attendance, do check out their booths (indicated below); if not, well, that's why the gods created the internet. The interviewees and their presences: Absurdist Productions (#4305), https://www.absurdistproductions.com/: Transformation and Seven Murders til Midnight The Bodhana Group (#4246), https://www.thebodhanagroup.org/: Branch Riders and assorted therapeutic initiatives The Storyteller Squad (#3934), https://www.thestorytellersquad.com/: monster of the week actual play podcast Bully Pulpit Games (#4349), https://bullypulpitgames.com/: Zhenya's Wonder Tales (available for pre-order on Backerkit at https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/bully-pulpit-games/zhenya-s-wonder-tales) and Durance Plus One Exp (#4143), https://plusoneexp.com/ and Gossamer Coast, https://www.gossamercoast.com/: Hinterlight (available on Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/glasscutter/hinterlight) + Robbi's Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/robbiaburns/ And then our usuals: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: podcast@changelingthepodcast.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699 Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPod Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChangelingThePodcast your host Pooka G (any pronoun/they) will carry on with the ritual of acquiring remaindered 90s TTRPG books until time reverses and THAC0 lives again. It is a happy talent to know how to play. —Ralph Waldo Emerson

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ComixLaunch Pro Spotlight: Cici Affini and Mark Romero Discuss Growing Their Audience by Launching on Backerkit

ComixLaunch: Crowdfunding for Writers, Artists & Self-Publishers on Kickstarter... and Beyond!

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 9, 2025 52:54

The team behind Attic Door Media step into the ComixLaunch Pro spotlight, sharing lessons learned growing their audience beyond Kickstarter by participating in Backerkit Crowdfunding special events, getting out of their comfort zone with marketing, and persevering through tough creative times!

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The Cradle (S2,E33)

Shrimp and Crits

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2025 97:56

Content Warnings: Language, Violence, Sexual Themes, Dark Themes A brief sojourn in the ancient hidden city of Surrinsandria. Cel learns a hard lesson with a piece of his past. Cord trains with her new pole sword and meets a new sparring partner. Gree contends with some of the harder parts of fatherhood. ------ Today's promo is for Pod Against the Machine! Check them out. ------ Donate here to save the world's forests: https://www.nationalforests.org/ ------ Back Absurdia's (meta)physical edition here on Backerkit! ------ Join our Shrimp and Crits Discord server for the official listening parties. These are every release day at 8:00PM EST. (full server only open to patrons) https://discord.gg/qCHktpeTDG ------ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ShrimpandCrits ------ You can follow our linktree (https://linktr.ee/ShrimpandCrits) to our website, social media, and much much more. Please subscribe, rate and review us on any podcatchers where you listen. If you'd like to get in touch, feel free to do so by email (shrimpandcritspodcast@gmail.com) or post (PO Box 60934 Nashville TN, 37206)

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Origins of Early Dungeons & Dragons Products - OD&D, B/X, BECMI and 1E

Dieku Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 14, 2025 32:50

I was once again joined by friend of the show, Shannon Appelcline, the author of the "Designers & Dragons" series, Free Trader Beowulf about the history of Traveller, and now the soon to be crowdfunded Designers and Dragons Origins, a four book series that delves into the history of how each TSR product up til 1995 came to be. Backerkit:https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/0477a26f-723e-4d2f-8f11-74cdc007daf1/landingFrom the birth of roleplaying to the discovery of the Forgotten Realms, from the rise of Basic D&D to the fall of Mystara, historian Shannon Appelcline brings you the Story of OD&D, BD&D, and AD&D 1e in Designers & Dragons: Origins.This massive 4-volume set covers the history behind each and every product released by TSR for OD&D, AD&D 1e, and Basic D&D.Unearthed Arcana, the legendary orange-covered B3, the super-rare Up the Garden Path. It's all here.The books are comprehensive in scope, but each entry is cleanly, clearly structured to be easily digestible. Find out for yourself in our free preview on DriveThruRPG:https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/539723/designers-dragons-origins-secret-door#DnD #OSR #ttrpg

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Bite The Hand - Malpractice

Technical Difficulties Gaming Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 8, 2025 92:45

A group of mercenaries are hired for a gig. A medical company VP, accused of some heinous crimes, rarely ventures out. But tonight, he's at a nightclub. Can this quartet get in, get him alive, and get him to some form of justice?Bite the Hand is a cyberpunk game in the Panic Engine (the system of Mothership) by Alexander Vigna and Spellbook Gaming. While you'll have skills and weapons to take down the corporate and social hierarchy, stress and panic can eat away at your ability to get the job done. Bite The Hand will open on Backerkit on November 3rd, 2025. Malpractice will be included in that version of the book. If you want to try Bite the Hand for yourself, a beta version is available now at Spellbook Gaming's itch.io.Spellbook Gaming can also be found on their website, on YouTube, and their Discord. They also run the Roll for Distraction podcast, available wherever you stream podcasts, as well as their website and YouTube.Alex - GMAdam - Delun Gates - TurncoatBen - Jeffrey "Dullahan" Germain - RogueDan - Waverly Honeysutt - TechnicianGreg - Grayson "Phenex" Best - Soldier

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The Calendar (S2,E32)

Shrimp and Crits

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2025 68:10

Content Warnings: Language, Violence, Sexual Themes, Dark Themes The climb to the ancient city of Surrinsandria continues as the Skywaymen face the final test of the three Solitaries. They reach mind-boggling heights on this epic climb into the Koorindin Mountains. ------ Today's promo is for Kitten Marlowe! Check them out. ------ Donate here to save the world's forests: https://www.nationalforests.org/ ------ Back Absurdia's (meta)physical edition here on Backerkit! ------ Join our Shrimp and Crits Discord server for the official listening parties. These are every release day at 8:00PM EST. (full server only open to patrons) https://discord.gg/qCHktpeTDG ------ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ShrimpandCrits ------ You can follow our linktree (https://linktr.ee/ShrimpandCrits) to our website, social media, and much much more. Please subscribe, rate and review us on any podcatchers where you listen. If you'd like to get in touch, feel free to do so by email (shrimpandcritspodcast@gmail.com) or post (PO Box 60934 Nashville TN, 37206)

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RTFM: Praise the Hawkmoth King

RTFM

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2025 76:44

Praise him like you should! We're talking about Praise the Hawkmoth King by Sage the Anagogue, a PbtA game about teenagers, demons, and messed up sex. So yeah, there are some trigger warnings. (Praise the Hawkmoth King is coming to Backerkit on October 31.)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

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