Offset Printing at 600 Backers
about 5 years ago – Sat, Mar 16, 2019 at 12:14:36 AM

So you may have seen it teased across Twitter and the image on the Kickstarter. Well now it's time to talk about it a little more!

Offset Printing

Pretty much since Day one, folx have asked about Offset printing. With it being an artbook, many fans wanted a higher quality book. Something that you usually tend to get with the traditional route, and something I totally agree with. However, the initial budget and plan was around using Drive Thru RPG to keep risks and costs low.

So with the Kickstarter doing well, we can finally heed your call. At 600 backers we will have the numbers to do offset printing from...

PrintNinja! (pew pew)

Same cost to all backers but with improved quality! On top of that, I worked up something EXTRA smexy at the 100k tier. I'll throw more details out there after we've passed the 35k for some DRAGONS!

Stretch Goal #7 Unlocked - Top Notch Editing and Formatting
about 5 years ago – Fri, Mar 15, 2019 at 01:26:10 AM

Instead of doing one big fat update, I thought it would be better to split these up. I can't believe how fast we're clipping through these Stretch Goals. It feels so good!

So what's in this next Stretch Goal?

Top Notch Editing and Formatting

This tier is where we add on a layer of finish to the whole project. With the count now at THREE books, it's clear that additional hands are needed. And not just friends who are editors, doing it for Free.99, but professionals. People whose very job is to clean up my grammatical mess. 

Those special people deserve to be paid.

So who is on the editing team for "Welcome to Tikor"? Well portions of the tabletop community will certainly recognize these names.

Nicholas Johnson, also known around the Twitterverse as Draconick, is the first member of the editing team! Anyone who has read his work or seen his tweets knows that he has a way with words. And seemingly impeccable grammar. He's agreed to join the editing team to help make these books silky smooth. He takes commissions for editing, so make sure to hit him up.

Imachinate works as the Editing Chair at Worldbuilding Magazine. I did an interview for them that was published in their February Issue, "Death and Taxes". It was a fantastic interview and I recommend all the backers to read it. When I  first read the interview I was instantly blown away by the editing. They had somehow retained my voice while making it flow. After reading that interview I knew that whoever edited it was someone I needed in the future.

These two literary beast will be apart of the overall editing process for the upcoming books. They surely won't be the only two editors, I'm sure. I received a number of requests and offers from people willing to edit and proofread. Depending on how things go, that may still happen. But these two were on my list before the Kickstarter even started due to the work I'd already seen.

Post Kickstarter I'll throw up a Google Form to take in applicants for Editing in case we need more.

With that we now have a slightly longer road to....

 Fourth PDF - "The Animalists' Guide to Creatures" - Art by Jonah Lobe and T'umo Mere 

Stretch Goals #6 Unlocked - Pantheons of Tikor
about 5 years ago – Fri, Mar 15, 2019 at 01:21:21 AM

It's redundant at this point, but WOW we are just killing this Kickstarter right now! Special shout out to the Twitter fam for being the the highest percentage of backers. I'm personally touched by all of the positive reception we're receiving. It makes ignoring the trolls that much easier. 

So what did you all unlock now?

Pantheons of Tikor

This book exists as the bridge between the humans and deities of Tikor. A gateway into the enormous breadth of divine beings that walk the terra firma of Tikor.

On Tikor the gods don't sit in some ephemeral space, plotting and lording over humans. Instead, they mingle with the mortals. Seeing a deity isn't something rare or magical, it's part of the day to day fabric of the world.  However, the bond between deity and human changes depending on where you go.

Garuda wins when it comes to sheer quantity of deities. In fact, there are no true estimates as to the number. The sprawling forests and winding caverns make for places where deities exist that only few remember. Or pockets of humans that only their deities know about.

Vinyata on the other hand, only has four true deities. Their Four Pillars exist as physical manifestations of their patron god, Ryuu-jin. One of the pillars is always present during governmental business, and their general guidance is sought after more than naught.

Grimnest lives up to its reputation of being free. There are no known deities in Grimnest, and while many have speculated as to why, none know for certain. Instead of grand beings, the government-less land has an abundance of spirits. Ancestral spirits that guide their kin through the perils of life.

This book will detail the pantheons of the major cultures and countries with detailed illustrations of each god! As well I'll be adding in a few short stories detailing some of humanities most interesting interactions with deities.

Next up....

Top Notch Editing and Formatting

Stretch Goal #5 Unlocked - A 10 Page Comic featuring Nubia, Pirate Lord
about 5 years ago – Tue, Mar 12, 2019 at 10:24:01 PM

Second day, fifth Stretch Goal unlocked! We are just clipping along with this hype train! This is one of the goals that I myself have been eagerly hoping we would get to.

I've been a huge fan of comics, basically ever since I was a kid. I've also been someone who's been very sad at the lack of good black characters in comics. We have a few, but that's it. A few.  So with Swordsfall I knew that one day I would want to tackle a comic. I just never would have guessed it to be so soon.

10 Page Comic, "The Rise of Nubia" Prologue

So I always had this idea of this cool comic introduction to a few characters. One of them being my favorite right now, Nubia.

She's what most wouldn't think of when they think Pirate Lord. 

Female, average build, bald, quiet.

And that's exactly why she's so goddamn lethal. There's something about a character who is criminally underrated that's just delicious to write. Waiting for the inevitable moment that they remind the world just who they are.

People have been asking about the Corebook. So here's the current Introduction that has a little slice of her beginnings.

The comic will show a tiny bit of her sudden rise and a little bit into her life now. We'll introduce you to her personal squad, apply named the "Killer Krew". A quick intro -

•  Alara -  The one-armed second in command has managed to achieve a goal thought impossible. To be quieter than the notoriously stoic Captain.  The ocean life has a nasty habit of underestimating those who defy the common design. The sea floor is littered with the corpse of men who thought challenging a 1.5 meter, single-armed woman would be trivial. Alara is a prime example of why size doesn't matter. Especially when you're quick with a knife. 
•  Nivan -   Her title of Master of Arms was given to her as a personal title, not as a ship title. One earned in battle as, during one failed raid by a rival crew, Nivan cycled through 34 different weapons scattered around the battle. Each one used flawlessly, and brutally to clear the deck of the ship of the outmatched rivals. We know it was exactly 34 weapons used in that battle. Because she currently has everyone displayed in her quarters. Bloodstains still intact. As is often said, Nivan is different. 
•  La'Skrin - An enormous giant 2-meter tall slab of silent man. When the group walks into an area, it's often La'Skrin that's mistaken for the leader, or at the very least, the muscle. While La'Skrin is indeed every bit as powerful as he looks, he's actually a bit of a pacifist.Some of the members of his ship Dawn's Light joke that he's the heart of the Killer Krew. Just not while he's around, gentle or not, he's still 2 meters of brawn. 
•  Bloodhawk -  Don't call him a pet. Never call Bloodhawk, a pet. The last person who made that mistake now has to explain to strangers why they're missing an eye. Bloodhawk is a Brood Eagle, a species of eagle that originates from a disappearing island.  The eagle came to the captain of Heaven's Fall during the last Trial of Kings to drop off an invitation to the mysterious contest. People have killed over a single invitation to the king crowning event. Nubia though had no such aspirations. She ripped up the invite in full view of the eagle and her crew. The bird of prey glowered at the captain and the captain glared back. The bird soared down from its perch and onto the captain's shoulder in approval. Since then, he's never far from her side.

Also, their name is meta. So meta even Nubia recognizes it.

The door to the bank crashed in with a thunderous crack. A number of figures sauntered in through the debris fluttering in the air. As the smoke cleared, the disoriented teller sitting on the other side of the room began to make out the scene.
 

His eyes went wide, his brain was finally started to register the twin trademarks of the woman in front of him. A gleaming bald head, and brood eagle perching majestically on her shoulder.
 

"Nubia" he whispered.
 

His eyes slowly wavered over to the colossal hunk of man towering over her, and a petite one-armed woman. His eyes darted back and forth as the totality of at all began to hit home.
 

1...2...3...Wait. He'd read the bulletins, he knew all too well who this pirate team was. There was four of them, exactly four. His finger twitched as it inched slowly toward the just slightly raised beige button hidden away below him.
 

"Please, press it. The way you smell makes me wonder what color your blood is." a voice cooed sweetly in his ear. His body stiffened as he felt the cold sting of metal pressed to the side of his throat. 

That made four.
 

"Killer Krew" he whimpered as his legs began to give way. His knees clattering against the sides of his desk as the fear gripped him.
 

The cold captain of Heaven's Fall sneered slowly at the words. Her eyes slowly, steadily, sweeping over the teller, his eyes now brimming with tears.
 

"Such an annoying name" she spat out with a tsk of her teeth.

I had no art to show on this one, so just some lore and such. Hope you enjoyed a peek. With that we look onto our next Stretch Goal....

Third PDF - "Pantheons of Tikor"!

Stretch Goal #4 - Chibi Profession Art and Pins
about 5 years ago – Tue, Mar 12, 2019 at 01:25:55 PM

So I know this one is an odd one compared to the rest, but I really felt like I needed something CUTE. The setting can be fairly serious at times, so I wanted to brighten it up a bit. So let's see what we unlocked, shall we?

Chibi Profession Art and Pins

Graphic design guru, Taylor Ruddle, is the talent behind the Swordsfall logo and the Kickstarter layout. He also has a love for Japanese style chibi's, even studying the art in Japan. 

Chibi Swordsfall figures? Just seemed too cute and unique to pass up. He'll be done one for each of the 34 professions, each of them an animal chibi. And because it's Afropunk, it won't just be any animals, but ones from Africa itself.

Little Okapi Minos with tiny sniper rifles :) Pew Pew!

It looks like today we might unlock the next stretch, and one I'm suuuuper thrilled for,

 10 page Comic "The Rise of Nubia" Prologue