Short answer: Yes!

Longer answer: All the content herein has been published digitally under the OGL 1.0(a) on Patreon. Furthermore, Wizards of the Coast (owner of this license) have recently put the entire System Reference Document under creative commons.

Last updated: March 28, 2023 08:07

Yes, we are partnering with Backerkit.

We are working to have Backerkit ready the moment Kickstarter transfer funds through to us (May 11th). When that happens, we’ll run a smoke test, where 10% of backers receive an email to fill out the survey to receive your rewards. If that goes smoothly, everyone will receive an email survey shortly thereafter. Make sure you use an email address you have access to on Kickstarter otherwise you may not receive this email.

Once we have charged cards for postage (which we will do regularly following the surveys), you will gain access to content like the PDFs for beta playtesting. These files will be distributed through Backerkit and we will provide guidance on how to do that in an update on this campaign.

Last updated: March 28, 2023 08:09

When the Kickstarter campaign concludes (April 27th), Kickstarter charges the payment method you chose when you made a pledge. If this payment fails, Kickstarter will keep trying this charge for the next two weeks.

If that still fails, the payment will be marked as outstanding on Backerkit. You will have the option to adjust your payment method in Backerkit and we can charge it again there.

If you choose a physical reward you will have to pay for postage and, potentially, sales tax (some items, like books, have 0% sales tax in certain countries). This will be charge for in Backerkit and will vary depending on what you order, where you are, and what the sales tax is in your location.

Last updated: March 28, 2023 08:09

Yes.

Last updated: March 28, 2023 08:09

Short answer: Yes!

Longer answer: Yes, when we send out the Backerkit survey, you will have the chance to upgrade your book to the deluxe version for $30. You can do this regardless of which tier you are in.

Last updated: March 28, 2023 08:09

There are two ways to do this.

Kickstarter. When you make a pledge in Kickstarter, it gives you the option to choose addons. If you want to add addons after you make a pledge, you can hit ‘manage my pledge’ (on the top right of the KS campaign page on desktop). Managing your pledge does not affect your pledge number, so you will still be eligible for any early backer rewards.

Backerkit. You can change your pledge to a higher tier, or add more addons, in Backerkit. You’ll have the option to do this when we send out our surveys

Last updated: March 28, 2023 08:09

You don’t have to do anything. Here’s how this works:

You back the project. Kickstarter makes a timestamp of when you backed. In Backerkit we select everyone who backed before the 72-hour mark. We remove the people who didn’t back at one of the physical tiers. Everyone in the group that’s left gets asked a question in their Backerkit survey. They can choose whether they want the pin. If you say yes, it’s added to your order :)

You’ll be able to see the die in your backer rewards.

NOTE: if you edit your pledge, that’s fine, the timestamp doesn’t change. If you cancel your pledge, then it’s deleted and you might miss out.

Last updated: March 28, 2023 08:09

Short answer: Yes.

Longer answer: Every item in the book has at least one magic item card. Because we use rarity variants (versions of the item at high or lower power), some magic items have more than one card—one for each rarity variant.

Last updated: March 28, 2023 08:09

L’Arsene’s Ledger has been in progress for over 2 years; every week we make magic items on the Loot Tavern patreon. This is the culmination of that work, the best items rebalanced and reworked in a single tome! At launch the status of the project is as follows: Art. All the art for this project, bar wanted posters, tavern brawler, and stretch goals, is done. Items. L’Arsene’s Ledger is 95% complete. Hunts. Motes of the Divine is complete. Familiars. The MotD familiars are complete. Handouts. The MotD handouts are 80% complete (awaiting wanted posters). Subclasses. The charlatan rogue and brewmaster barbarian subclasses are being playtested. The way of the artisan monk, swarm keeper tamer, and tavern brawler fighter are in editing. Crafting Workshop. The crafting workshop is onto its 3rd draft and will go into playtesting during the campaign. Item Cards. The items have been updated and the item cards are being imported into a new template. Current progress: 16%. Current pace: 20% per week. Digital Asset Bundle. All the art is done, bar stretch goals (i.e. tokens). Art needs to be re-sized and compressed which will be done when campaign concludes. VTT Packages. These will begin to be made once feedback is received and implemented. We expect this to take 3 months (Octobver 2023).

Feedback Timeline. The KS concludes April 27th. Two weeks after this (May 12th), the backers will be ported over to Backerkit. We will then release L’Arsene’s PDF and the Motes of the Divine PDF for a 5-week playtesting period ending June 16th. We aim to have all feedback implemented 3 weeks after that (July 7th).

Last updated: March 28, 2023 08:26

We are aware that we can’t control all elements, such as manufacturer overload, freighting logistics, and international relations. We can only control what we make ourselves; to offset the impact of possible production delays we are launching this Kickstarter with the book close to completion. By the end of the KS the book and item cards should be complete, allowing us to proceed through playtesting and get the final files to manufacturers soon thereafter.

Stretch Goals. The stretch goals we’ve chosen have either already been written (such as potential additional item themes), or they involve other designers (such as tokens), freeing up our time. We are actively playtesting the Crafting Workshop and subclasses and have allocated 5 weeks to receive and implement feedback after the campaign concludes.

Manufacturing. Manufacturers have been chosen for physical products. The designs of physical accessories (dice, mug etc.) have been checked and confirmed by the manufacturer. We are currently iterating through samples of these products.

We have allocated three months to receive the first print tests (October 2024) and two more months to work through the back-and-forth we experienced when producing Heliana’s Guide. We anticipate manufacturers will take off most of February for Chinese New Year and have allocated 4 months for mass production. We anticipate 2 months to source freight and deliver it to our warehouses in the USA, UK, and Australia, and a further two months to complete all region-specific fulfilment. From Kickstarter completion to fulfilment we estimate 15 months.

Last updated: March 28, 2023 08:09

Heliana’s Guide to Monster Hunting funded in July 2021 and was our first big Kickstarter project (our previous one being a much simpler Kickstarter for class-specific pins). We underestimated how long many stages of the product would take, from building a team to writing the book, to collecting and implementing feedback, to liaising back and forth with our manufacturers; things that we learnt from and have accounted for this time around.

The current progress on Heliana’s Guide is: Everything is written, edited, playtested, re-edited, proofread, and all files have been sent to the manufacturer. The manufacturer has sent us production photos (see Heliana campaign update 53) and we expect to have the (hopefully final) test copies in our hands soon. Pins, gemstone dice, resin dice, and wall hangings are all produced and in the warehouse. All digital products except for VTT packages have been delivered and are available on Backerkit. See the updates in the latest update on the Heliana campaign for specific VTT platform updates. Fulfilment partners are locked in and ready to receive and distribute the products.

Last updated: March 28, 2023 08:09

Our hands-on time with Heliana’s Guide is at an end; we’re monitoring progress, answering questions from our manufacturing and fulfilment partners, and communicating this all as best we can. Over the past year and a half, we’ve built a great team of artists, writers, and digital converters; no-one wants to be idle while manufacturing and fulfilment are under way! We have so many ideas on ways to make your games more fun and we want to make those projects a reality! Launching L’Arsene’s Ledger in no way delays getting Heliana’s into your hands. It’s coming, you’re gonna love it, and you’re gonna love this.

Last updated: March 28, 2023 08:09

Short answer: No.

Long answer: No, the team that is working on this has finished with their work on Heliana’s Guide. Manufacturing for this will happen after Heliana’s Guide has been manufactured.

Last updated: March 28, 2023 08:09