August 2021 Update - Printing Delays... and a Stretch Goal Delivery.
over 2 years ago – Tue, Aug 17, 2021 at 06:15:52 PM

Hello Renegades,

I'm sending out the month end update a bit early because I've got some crummy news to share and want to get it out to you as fast as possible so we can all be disappointed together. 

It's not all bad news - I have a reward ready to distribute today - but we'll get to the no-fun stuff first.

Something that we've suspected has been confirmed - there is a printing delay that will keep our hardcover rewards from shipping on time. After the year that was 2020, I was really excited to move on to 2021 and hopefully get closer to a "normal" routine and leave some of the Covid-related obstructions and hurdles in the rearview mirror. That was pretty naive, in retrospect.

Rich covers the big picture in his latest Monday Meeting Notes blog <here>, but the short version is that even though Onyx Path has mostly avoided the overseas manufacturing and shipping crisis that is currently plaguing many other game companies (and many other companies in general), they're not immune to ongoing issues related to ... well, everything from the past 18 months.

NEW LOCKDOWN AND DELIVERY PLAN

So, despite getting the PDF out to us a couple months early and having the digital files to the printer well in advance, Onyx Path won't be receiving the books until 2022. The printer is projecting February at this point. This is incredibly frustrating and disappointing, and sadly, probably something that you're going to be hearing from a bunch of companies over the next 6 months. 

The plan had been to lockdown orders, process any Backerkit payments, confirm addresses and be shipping the books this week. When we were still waiting for a confirmed delivery date at the start of the month, I pushed off the payment processing and address confirmation step because I was guessing we might be delayed. And here we are.

So, I'm going to undo our order lock, re-opening everyone's order in BackerKit, and we'll go through that whole process again at the end of the year. So expect an update in November that will look a lot like our July update with revised dates, and a plan to ship the books the second they hit the warehouse in February 2022.

To repeat: We're going back to square one and will Lock Orders in December 2021, Process Payments in January 2022, and Confirm Addresses in February 2022.

While that's incredibly frustrating, that doesn't mean the project will just go on hold until the hardcover rewards are printed. Again, from Rich's Monday Meeting Notes, the plan is to get the Backer PDFs updated on DriveThruRPG to the final print versions as soon as possible (if they haven't been already). You'll get a notice from DriveThru when that happens (depending on your communication settings with them), and are able to re-download the latest version of the Deviant: the Renegades PDF at any time from your digital library.

In fact, if you go to your digital library on DTRPG, you can select the UPDATED ONLY tab and just see those titles that have been updated since your last download. That makes it a little quicker to check.

In addition, Onyx Path is working on getting Print-on-Demand versions made available on DriveThruRPG and once those are approved, I'll be sending out discounted cost links for anyone who wants to order a print-on-demand copy. These won't be quite as awesome as our hardcover rewards when those are finally available next year and won't be a replacement, but at least make the book available in some form for us. I'll have more information when those become available to us.

DEARLY BLEAK

In the meantime, I do have one bit of good news... 

Remember this Stretch Goal during the campaign? Well, we hit it and now the novella is ready for distribution to backers.

Once, there was a boy named Dearly Bleak. That's not his birth name, but that's not the point. Dearly became so deathly ill, his parents allowed a smiling self-help cult to turn their son's body into a home for a cosmic maggot god.

"Ever the praises to the Conqueror Worm!"

"Ever the praises to the Crawling Library!"

"The Knowledge that Eats!"

"The Broodsac Sultan!"

Dearly was healed, and then everyone screamed. For a time, Dearly found himself all on his own, though

never ever alone. One day, to his delight, he found fellow misfits and deviants like him.

This is the story of the boy and the Worm and what they are willing to do to the conspiracies that

threaten their found family. This is the story of a boy who likes toys, lunchboxes, and catching

bullfrogs. But most of all, he likes brains.

REWARD DISTRIBUTION

Your link to claim your Dearly Bleak (a Deviant: The Renegades Novella) PDF will be sent out by our BackerKit pledge manager over the next day. Since we are using our partners at DriveThruFiction as the host for this, you will need to set up a DriveThru account if you don't have one already. (Your login and password are the same as DriveThruRPG, and your digital library works across all DriveThru storefronts) If you encounter any problems with downloading your rewards, please contact DTRPG's customer service to resolve the matter, they've always been top-rated for customer service. http://www.drivethrurpg.com/contact_us.php

The easiest way to see if you've got digital downloads available is to login to your backerkit account: https://deviant-the-renegades.backerkit.com/backer/digital_rewards and it'll show anything available. Your backerkit account should also confirm all rewards that you should expect from your reward tier selected.

Again, you will receive an e-mail from BackerKit with a link for this reward over the next 24 hours if it is on your expected list of rewards.

If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://deviant-the-renegades.backerkit.com/

If you used your Facebook credentials to log in to your Kickstarter account, the BackerKit survey is sent to the email address you use for your Facebook account. If you have another email address that you prefer to use, please contact support at  https://deviant-the-renegades.backerkit.com/faq

(Remember to login to DriveThruFiction prior to clicking or pasting the discount link in your BackerKit digital rewards locker, if you that was part of your rewards list! Once you log in, the system will be able to add this title to your cart at no cost.)

BACKER PDF VERSION

This is the first version of Dearly Beloved to be released. We've sent you this initial version because:

1) Onyx Path wants to get it to you as quickly as possible. With a disappointing delay hitting the hardcover rewards, it will be nice to have this tiny little celebration to offset a small portion of that heartbreak!

2) To thank you for your support! This project, literally, is a direct result of your support during the Kickstarter campaign. You deserve to see it before anyone else!

3) To make the final version the best it can be! The author, editing, and development teams have done their best to proofread and correct any errors and typos - but some always sneak through. If you catch any typos, incorrect math, visual glitches, and the like, we want to hear about them and correct them before we send the book off to print.

With that in mind, I'd like to introduce the Dearly Beloved Feedback Form!

Onyx Path has launched a special Dearly Beloved Feedback Form, which you can access here: https://forms.gle/33dkLgccqxniKicz7

Generally, we try to keep errata collection open for the next 2 weeks, although it may be accessible a little bit longer due to the chaotic nature of the world we're in now. Still, please report what you can as soon as possible to make sure we're getting everything covered.

We won't be collecting errata from other spots, just this specific form. Please note this form will be for errata only - typos, incorrect math, page elements that overlap incorrectly, etc. It won't be for book discussion - you can do that in a different thread, or on the Kickstarter comments page.

Also, they already know about the Page XX notations - those are usually corrected after any changes are made and the books are being finalized.

After any needed corrections are made (based on your feedback!), we will prepare an updated final PDF version of the book and you will receive a notice from DrivethruFiction that you can re-download your file with the latest version.

You've already made this novella a reality with your Kickstarter support. Now you can make it even better by helping us crowdsource any minor errors and corrections.

REWARD TRACKING - Completed Rewards (Sent to Backers)

• "Celebration of Darkness" PDF Rewards (Update #38, posted 11/27/19)
• Backer T-Shirt Redbubble Link (Update #43, posted 4/17/20)
• Deviant: The Renegades Backer PDF (Update #53, 01/04/21)
• Dearly Bleak - a Deviant: The Renegades Novella (Update #62, 08/17/21)

REWARD TRACKING - PENDING

• Deviant: The Renegades Hardcover - Delayed at Printer until 2022
• Deviant: The Renegades PoD Coupon - Coming Soon
• Deviant: The Renegades Storyteller Screen - Delayed at Printer until 2022
• Clades Companion PDF - in Editing phase of production
• Devoted Companion PDF - Now in Post-Editing Development phase of production
• Digital Wallpaper

The Devoted Companion has moved forward on the progress track. Hopefully we'll see the two companions before too much longer, at least giving us something to look forward to while we wait for the printer to finish our hardcover books.

As always, I will continue to post our list of delivered and pending rewards with each monthly update, so that we can track everything that's needed and keep on the same page. Also, feel free to check out Onyx Path's Monday Meeting Notes posts (linked here) which will give you a weekly status report on ALL of the projects Onyx Path has on the go.

TO CONTACT JAMES

• Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
• Via Kickstarter: Click Richard Thomas under the "Created By" heading on the main page, and then press the "Contact Me" button - the message will come to me!
• Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.

Pushing Back the Lockdown a Bit...
over 2 years ago – Thu, Aug 05, 2021 at 12:30:44 AM

Hey Renegades,

Well, the plan was to hit the "process payments" button last week and lock down addresses today. However... my schedule didn't quite line up to make that happen. A couple of things that got postponed last year ended up popping up for this past week, and I'm actually heading out of town today. No bad surprises, just delayed birthday stuff, so year-old cake is in order.

In trying to push things a bit I ran up against a BackerKit shutdown happening for the next bit of August - they've surpassed 10,000 projects and are taking a bit of time off to celebrate and enjoy. 

SO: Since we're still waiting on official final word from the printer on when the books will be delivered, I'm going to delay the BackerKit payment processing and address lockdown until later in August. I'll send out an update when we're able to schedule the revised dates, and I'll make sure that there's enough advance notice for payment processing that you're not caught unaware or unprepared. (And a reminder, this only applies to pre-orders and purchases made in BackerKit.)

If this messes up anything for you - if it's better for you to have your payment processed this week instead of waiting until some time later when we know the shipping schedule - throw me a message with your BackerKit e-mail address and let me know you want your payment processed ASAP and I'll press the green button on your order. But otherwise, I'll hopefully have revised dates before too long.

TO CONTACT JAMES

• Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
• Via Kickstarter: Click Richard Thomas under the "Created By" heading on the main page, and then press the "Contact Me" button - the message will come to me!
• Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.

Again, apologies for the shifting schedule and I'll be in touch once all of my tools, systems, information, and timing is aligned!

July 2021 Update
over 2 years ago – Tue, Jul 27, 2021 at 03:55:05 PM

Hello Renegades,

It's the final week of the month, and time for an update! This also coincides with our Lockdown Schedule, so a great reminder about what's going on.

As per last month's update, we're in the middle or our BackerKit Lockdown: finalizing order quantities, processing payments, and confirming shipping information in an effort to keep out in front of the manufacturing process so that we're all ready to act once those books hit the warehouse.

FIRST: LOCKDOWN SCHEDULE

We have confirmed everyone's final order and locked those counts in place. Today we move on to Step 2: Payment Processing.

2. CONFIRM ALL PAYMENT INFORMATION - For any additions you made in BackerKit, pre-orders, or any payments that did not process at the end of the Kickstarter campaign, please ensure your payment information is up to date, valid, and ready to be processed by JULY 27, 2021. Tonight, I will instruct BackerKit to lock down and process all outstanding payments.

NEXT: ANTICIPATED SHIPPING

As mentioned, this is our normal process and schedule to keep ahead of manufacturing and have all of the information available to our fulfillment partners so they can act quickly once the books are delivered to their warehouse.

Now, "normal" is not a word I'd use to describe the current situation most of the world finds itself in. The books and reference screens are not being printed overseas, which avoids a lot of the shipping issues that are hindering our friends and colleagues in the industry. That said, printing in North America isn't without issue right now, and most printers are experiencing massive scheduling issues as resources (staff, equipment, paper!) are in short supply and all of the projects delayed over the past year are smashed onto the schedule at the same time. I'm hearing reports of 6-8 weeks delay before stuff even begins printing in many cases.

All of that said, I haven't heard any confirmations one way or another at this point. I'm going to continue proceeding with our Lockdown Schedule and we'll be ready on our end for whenever the books appear. Hopefully they're ready in August, but if there is a delay, we'll be ready for them the moment they're done.

Which takes us to the next step in the Lockdown Process:

3. CONFIRM SHIPPING INFORMATION - Please ensure your shipping information is up-to-date with your expected address for August/September 2021. Please ensure that this information is entered and correct by AUG 3, 2021. In one week, I will take the shipping information we have for you in BackerKit and provide that to our fulfillment partners, so they can schedule the picking and packing of orders, with plans to begin shipping hopefully not too long thereafter.

The moment I find out an estimated delivery date to our warehouse, I'll let you know. I'm still going to lockdown shipping information next week, but if you end up moving in August before the books go out (or September, or whenever it ends up being), no need to panic. Just contact me as soon as possible and we'll get it all sorted.

To review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://deviant-the-renegades.backerkit.com/

If you used your Facebook credentials to log in to your Kickstarter account, the BackerKit survey is sent to the email address you use for your Facebook account. If you have another email address that you prefer to use, please contact support at  https://deviant-the-renegades.backerkit.com/faq

REWARD TRACKING - Completed Rewards (Sent to Backers)

• "Celebration of Darkness" PDF Rewards (Update #38, posted 11/27/19)
• Backer T-Shirt Redbubble Link (Update #43, posted 4/17/20)
• Deviant: The Renegades Backer PDF (Update #53, 01/04/21)

REWARD TRACKING - PENDING

• Deviant: The Renegades Hardcover - Printer Prep
• Deviant: The Renegades PoD Coupon
• Deviant: The Renegades Storyteller Screen - Printer Prep
• Clades Companion PDF - in Editing phase of production
• Devoted Companion PDF - in Editing phase of production
• Digital Wallpaper
• Dearly Bleak - a Deviant: The Renegades Novella - at Paradox for approval

"Press Prep" continues for our book and screen. I'm hopeful that will turn into "Printing" before too much longer, but patience is appreciated. The good news is it looks like one of our rewards, the Novella, will be coming before too much longer, pending licensor approval.

As always, I will continue to post our list of delivered and pending rewards with each monthly update, so that we can track everything that's needed and keep on the same page. Also, feel free to check out Onyx Path's Monday Meeting Notes posts (linked here) which will give you a weekly status report on ALL of the projects Onyx Path has on the go.

TO CONTACT JAMES

• Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
• Via Kickstarter: Click Richard Thomas under the "Created By" heading on the main page, and then press the "Contact Me" button - the message will come to me!
• Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.

NOW ON KICKSTARTER

June 2021 Update
almost 3 years ago – Tue, Jun 22, 2021 at 05:34:01 PM

Hello Renegades,

As we start summer and finish June, it's time for our month end update.

First up, I've got two bits to share from the recent Onyx Path Virtual Gaming Convention 2021! First up, the panel that I mentioned in last month's update, covering many of the many, many projects Onyx Path is working on for the Chronicles of Darkness line.

And then let's follow that with the Deviant: The Renegades Actual Play that was showcased as part of the convention. Join Storyteller @madeofkimchi, along with players @voodooarcade, @zakrulz, @pattyshakes_ as they play Deviant the Renegades at Onyx Path Con 2021

I love seeing the games we've helped crowdfund in action!

Lock your tray tables and bring your seats to a full upright position...

Onyx Path is in communication with the printer and will begin the final processes soon to bring our books into the world. There's still some hoops to jump through, and some hurdles to jump, but it's time to begin our lockdown process in anticipation of shipping the books in the next few months.

BACKERKIT LOCKDOWN PROCESS

All of that said, it means it's time to start locking in their backer and pre-order quantities, collect any outstanding payments, and confirm shipping information so they know how to allocate the books. The first step in this process is for everyone to review their BackerKit information and ensure it's accurate.

To review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://deviant-the-renegades.backerkit.com/

If you used your Facebook credentials to log in to your Kickstarter account, the BackerKit survey is sent to the email address you use for your Facebook account. If you have another email address that you prefer to use, please contact support at  https://deviant-the-renegades.backerkit.com/faq

LOCKDOWN SCHEDULE

1. CONFIRM REWARDS - I'll be locking down all Reward Lists, so if you wanted to add any additional rewards, please do so by JULY 15, 2021. In just over three weeks, I will lock down all reward lists and you won't be able to adjust or add anything after that time.

2. CONFIRM ALL PAYMENT INFORMATION - For any additions you made in BackerKit, pre-orders, or any payments that did not process at the end of the Kickstarter campaign, please ensure your payment information is up to date, valid, and ready to be processed by JULY 27, 2021. In five weeks, I will instruct BackerKit to lock down and process all outstanding payments.

3. CONFIRM SHIPPING INFORMATION - Please ensure your shipping information is up-to-date with your expected address for August 2021. Please ensure that this information is entered and correct by AUG 3, 2021. In six weeks, I will take the shipping information we have for you in BackerKit and provide that to our fulfillment partners, so they can schedule the picking and packing of orders, with plans to begin shipping hopefully not long thereafter.

Quick note on schedules and timelines

2021 continues the trend established last year, demonstrating that time does not work the way we think, and all plans need to be adjustable on the fly. I'm ahead of the game here, as printing hasn't yet started, but hopefully this keeps us ahead and allows us to make alterations as needed. Obviously, these dates and the idea of delivering in August are our best guesses based on current projections. Everything seems on track to get these books out in the summer shipment, but should things change, I'll send communication and we'll update as necessary.

ADDRESS CONFIRMATION & DELIVERY OBLIGATIONS.

Consider this the (at least) seven-weeks-from-fulfillment warning to update your information, after which point, you agree that our responsibility to you is to ship your order as listed in our BackerKit pledge manager system, that title and risk passes to you upon delivery to a common carrier for such shipment, and you are responsible for import duties or any other duties that may be payable to the relevant tax authorities, providing correct address information and ensuring this address is deliverable by normal methods. Failure to confirm mailing address prior to August 3, 2021 will be taken as agreement that all obligations have been met and no further action or effort is required on the part of Onyx Path.

That's my brief surface-style pretend-legal notice saying, basically, we're going to ship to the address you've provided by our cut off date, so please ensure your information is as accurate as possible. And, we'll do our best to get the book into your hands and make sure it all works out! But we can only work with the information we have, and shipping systems as they are today. Things have been weird lately, so let's work together to make it happen. I'll do my best on my end!

(Of course, if you're getting digital rewards only, you don't need to worry about your address. This is just for the physical books and screens).

SHIPPING UPDATE TO COME

This is all in anticipation of shipping sometime in August. We'll have at least a few updates before that time, and I will send another update when the books are actually ready to go and will begin shipping, but we need to have this information locked down prior to that stage. If you find yourself in an unusual circumstance or your residence unexpectedly changes between August 3 and the date I send out the shipping update, contact me to see what I can do at that time.

REWARD TRACKING - Completed Rewards (Sent to Backers)

• "Celebration of Darkness" PDF Rewards (Update #38, posted 11/27/19)
• Backer T-Shirt Redbubble Link (Update #43, posted 4/17/20)
• Deviant: The Renegades Backer PDF (Update #53, 01/04/21)

REWARD TRACKING - PENDING

• Deviant: The Renegades Hardcover - Printer Prep
• Deviant: The Renegades PoD Coupon
• Deviant: The Renegades Storyteller Screen - Printer Prep
• Clades Companion PDF - in Editing phase of production
• Devoted Companion PDF - in Editing phase of production
• Digital Wallpaper
• Dearly Bleak - a Deviant: The Renegades Novella - in Post-Editing Development phase of production

So, the first stages of the print process are beginning! That's good to hear! Can't wait for this one.

As always, I will continue to post our list of delivered and pending rewards with each monthly update, so that we can track everything that's needed and keep on the same page. Also, feel free to check out Onyx Path's Monday Meeting Notes posts (linked here) which will give you a weekly status report on ALL of the projects Onyx Path has on the go.

TO CONTACT JAMES

• Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
• Via Kickstarter: Click Richard Thomas under the "Created By" heading on the main page, and then press the "Contact Me" button - the message will come to me!
• Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.

FINAL DAYS ON KICKSTARTER

May 2021 Update
almost 3 years ago – Thu, May 27, 2021 at 05:13:37 PM

Hello Renegades,

Incremental progress is being made on our remaining rewards, but nothing major to report yet. OF course, the real source for information - the Onyx Path team - will be talking about their books and the Chronicles of Darkness as part of their upcoming online convention!

ONYX PATH VIRTUAL GAMING CONVENTION

Before I review our reward status, let me announce (or, copy Onyx Path's announcement!) the Second Onyx Path Virtual Gameing Convention will be coming to you live starting Friday, June 11th and running until Sunday, June 13th (including a special post-con Jackbox gamefest Sunday night hosted by Dixie)!

The GM Sign-up Page & Code of Conduct for OPP Con are now live:

Code of Conduct: https://intercom.help/startplayinggames/en/articles/5208570-onyx-path-code-of-conduct
GM Sign-up: https://intercom.help/startplayinggames/en/articles/5217651-onyx-path-virtual-gaming-convention-2021-faq

For More Info: https://blog.startplaying.games/posts/announcing-onyx-path-virtual-gaming-convention-2021

Here are some listings for their planned panels and Actual Play sessions:

A few things to highlight in there:

The What's Up With Onyx Path? panel on Saturday, June 12th at 12:00 PM EDT, and the Chronicles of Darkness panel on Sunday, June 13th at 1:00 PM EDT could be of interest.

In terms of Actual Play sessions, Deviant: The Renegades will be featured on Sunday, June 13th at 11:00 AM EDT, so that will be cool to check out.

REWARD TRACKING - Completed Rewards (Sent to Backers)

• "Celebration of Darkness" PDF Rewards (Update #38, posted 11/27/19)
• Backer T-Shirt Redbubble Link (Update #43, posted 4/17/20)
• Deviant: The Renegades Backer PDF (Update #53, 01/04/21)

REWARD TRACKING - PENDING

• Deviant: The Renegades Hardcover - Setting up Printer Specs 
• Deviant: The Renegades PoD Coupon
• Deviant: The Renegades Storyteller Screen - At Paradox for Approval 
• Clades Companion PDF - in Editing phase of production 
• Devoted Companion PDF - in Editing phase of production 
• Digital Wallpaper
• Dearly Bleak - a Deviant: The Renegades Novella - in Post-Editing Development phase of production 

So, the first stages of the print process are beginning! That's good to hear! Can't wait for this one.

As always, I will continue to post our list of delivered and pending rewards with each monthly update, so that we can track everything that's needed and keep on the same page. Also, feel free to check out Onyx Path's Monday Meeting Notes posts (linked here) which will give you a weekly status report on ALL of the projects Onyx Path has on the go.

TO CONTACT JAMES

•  Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
•  Via Kickstarter: Click Richard Thomas under the "Created By" heading on the main page, and then press the "Contact Me" button - the message will come to me!
•  Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.

NOW ON KICKSTARTER

Exalted: Essence features streamlined rules for a new way of playing a classic game, incorporating story-focused action and a presentation designed to appeal to new players and longtime fans alike. Featuring multiple classic Exalt types with Charms for each, written to enable ease of play, Exalted: Essence emphasizes story over character, character over mechanics, and mechanics over minutiae in order to drive Exalted: Essence toward engaging players with the myriad stories they can tell in the world of Creation.

Now on Kickstarter!