Upcoming Kickstarter: Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay

[petespahn]

Well, I'm about to take my first stab at a Kickstarter project for the City of Dolmvay, mainly to offset the cost of art and maps. This will be my pitch and the breakdown of the pledge levels. I'm posting here looking for feedback, and also to give everyone a head's up in case anyone was planning to purchase another SNG product. Comments and questions are most welcome!


Kickstarter: Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay
The Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay is a Labyrinth Lord™ supplement for the Chronicles of Amherth™ campaign setting that details the people, layout, and government of the City of Dolmvay. The city was specifically designed to give Labyrinth Lords a convenient city setting to place their adventures.

The Guidebook will be largely open content and will be offered for free under RPGNow's Pay What You Want Program.. My goal is to provide professional and amateur publishers with a common city setting to publish their city-based adventures.

Costs
All money earned from Kickstarter pledges will be put towards artwork and maps, so the more backing I receive the prettier the product will look. I expect the look of the product to be a factor when attempting to get other publishers on board, so the more professional it looks, the better.

Challenges
This is my first experience with Kickstarter, so I want to make sure everyone knows that up front. However, this is not my first experience with publishing. I have been publishing Labyrinth Lord™ products (particularly adventures and a campaign setting) on a steady pace for the past three years and I have recently been managing the release of the Brave the Labyrinth fanzines. Hopefully that helps to set your mind at ease.

If not, let me assure you that the Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay will be released. There is no question of that. The writing is about 85% complete. I plan to be finished with the entire project by the first quarter of 2014 at the very latest---quite possibly much sooner. A lot of it will depend on how quickly I get the art and maps back. I've also included a full-length adventure module as a stretch goal which will have to be fleshed out if that goal is met (it is currently in outline form).

Progress reports will be sent out weekly to interested backers (I'll create a mailing list for those who wish to participate). The initial report will be a detailed summary of the product's contents. Future reports will describe my overall progress and include select pieces of artwork and/or maps. I will also be available to answer questions and respond to feedback.

Stretch Goals
$1000
A full length city-based adventure for 3-6 characters of 1st-3rd levels entitled Oak Grove Shadows. This adventure will be available for sale on RPGNow at the usual price of $4.95 (PDF) or $7.95 (softcover). The PDF will be free to backers who pledge $20 or more to the Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay.

$1500
A special edition hardcover of the Guidebook of the City of Dolmvay that includes the adventure Oak Grove Shadows. This edition will be available for sale through RPGNow in PDF and softcover format. The special edition hardcover and PDF will be free to backers who pledge $50 or more to the Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay.

Pledge Levels
The following pledge levels are available for the Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay.

Pledge $1-$9
There are no special rewards at this level. The Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay is a free product, so this would just be a donation to help out a small press OSR publisher. Thanks!

Pledge $10 or more
At this level, you get a PDF copy of the Chronicles of Amherth™ campaign setting as well as PDF copies of the adventures Atarin's Delve, Blood Moon Rising, the Inn of Lost Heroes, Pyramid of the Dragon, and the Stealer of Children.

Pledge $20 or more
At this level, you get all of the perks from the previous levels as well as PDF copies of the adventure the Shrine of St. Aleena as well as the Ghoul Keep and the Ghoul Lands setting supplement.

Pledge $25 or more
At this level, you get all of the perks from the previous levels as well as a softcover copy of the Chronicles of Amherth™ campaign setting.

Pledge $35 or more
At this level you get all of the perks from the previous levels plus a softcover copy of the Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay within one month of its release. In addition, Small Niche Games will work with you to create an NPC to be included in the Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay. This can be an entirely new NPC or a former character whose name you'd like to see in print. The NPC will be illustrated by a professional artist (possibly as part of a scene) and the image will be included in the Guidebook.

Pledge $50 or more (15 slots)
At this level you get all of the perks from the previous levels, but instead of a softcover, you receive a hardcover copy of the Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay within one month of its release. In addition, Small Niche Games will work with you to create an NPC to be included in the Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay. This can be an entirely new NPC or a former character whose name you'd like to see in print. This NPC will be an important NPC such as a nobleman, the head of a wealthy merchant house, a guild master, or even a member of the royal family. The NPC will be illustrated by a professional artist (possibly as part of a scene) and the image will be included in the Guidebook. Plot hooks and adventure seeds surrounding the character will also be created.

Pledge $100 or more (5 slots)
At this level, you get all of the perks from the previous levels, including the hardcover copy of the Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay. In addition, Small Niche Games will work with you to create a venerated saint of the Church of Law and Order, complete with his or her own holy day, religious symbols, and festival description. This saint can be an entirely new creation or based on a former character whose name and deeds you'd like to see elevated to sainthood. The saint will be illustrated by a professional artist and the image will be included in the Guidebook.

[GreyKatana]

Cool!
Could be interested at the 10$ level.

Keep up the good work.

[Blood axe]

Im definitely in! Cant wait to see more. Keep us posted.
I know I want a print copy of this.

[MattyHelms]

Drat - I just bought the softcover of Chronicles of Amherth!

Would you consider a tier at maybe $30 that is the softcover of the Guidebook but no content creation?

[petespahn]

Drat - I just bought the softcover of Chronicles of Amherth!

Would you consider a tier at maybe $30 that is the softcover of the Guidebook but no content creation?

Yes I could certainly do something like that.

And oops I forgot to mention my target goal for this is $500! Not so much to scare people off, but enough to cover some of those estimated art + maps + printing and shipping costs. If it brings in more that'll be great, especially if it's enough to cover the stretch goals!

Thanks everyone!

[Wulfgar22]

I'd definitely be in for a soft or hard cover copy...depending on your international shipping rates to the UK. Any idea what you'd be charging? Or can you leave it to RPGnow (who use local UK printers)?

[petespahn]

I'd definitely be in for a soft or hard cover copy...depending on your international shipping rates to the UK. Any idea what you'd be charging? Or can you leave it to RPGnow (who use local UK printers)?

That's something I was looking into. I've factored shipping rates into the pledge levels for US shipping so for example a pledge of $50 includes printing and shipping. I'm not as familiar with international shipping rates so I was planning to charge a flat $5 fee per book for international shipping. So, if you pledged at $50, you'd have to tack on an extra $10 (Chronicles of Amherth + Guidebook softcovers) for a total price/pledge of $60. I'll probably end up losing money per unit, but I don't see any other way to do it the way Kickstarter is set up.

[John Adams]

I really like Ghoul Keep, so I know I will support it. plus, I got an old character that needs sainthood.

[jackel]

Thanks for the heads up, Pete. Do you have a time frame as to when this might happen? I might be able to pitch in.

[petespahn]

Thanks for the heads up, Pete. Do you have a time frame as to when this might happen? I might be able to pitch in.

All I'm waiting on is approval for my Amazon business account which should take less than a week. As soon as it does, I'll be going live with the Kickstarter.