Brockie Thanks You!

Recap and Analysis: The Adventure Campaigns

It's over.

("Thank fuck" say most of you who have been bombarded with updates. I do have two new modules that should be in stock and ready to sell next week, so take that breath of air between blitzes while you can.)

4 projects funded. 15 didn't.

To the people who contributed to Vincent's project, and for the higher levels of Brockie's, give us a few days to ready the procedures to get your PDFs or shirts/posters/tickets to you. Things have been nuts here.

To those two people in for the Collectors hardcover option: I'll take care of you. Give me some time to think of how, but "ha ha, fuck you, you paid $450/$500 for 4 adventures!" is not how this is going to be handled.

The Final Totals (see day-by-day totals here):

$7545.00 The Seclusium of Orphone by Baker and Sheppard
$7050.00 Broodmother Sky Fortress by Rients and Robertson
$6623.00 Horror Among Thieves by Green
$6601.00 Towers Two by Brockie

$3221.00 We Who Are Lost by Kreider
$1680.00 Of Unknown Provenance by Curtis and Sterns
$1620.00 The Unbegotten Citadel by Cook and Lofgren
$1270.00 The House of Bone and Amber by Crawford Earl Geier
$  920.00 Machinations of the Space Princess by Desborough and Phoenix
$  740.00 The Depths of Paranoia by Steen and Rainville
$  690.00 Strange and Sinister Shores by Bingham
$  650.00 Normal for Norfolk by Seppälä and Longmore
$  645.00 Escaping Leviathan by Alfrey
$  540.00 The Dreaming Plague by Vuorela and Makkonen
$  500.00 The Land that Exuded Evil by Miller and Aitken
$  470.00 Red in Beak and Claw by Särkijärvi and Rainville
$  460.00 Pyre by Pett and Syrigos
$  350.00 I Hate Myself For What I Must Do by Pohjola and Sammallahti
$  340.00 Poor Blighters by Sparks and Sparks and Allen

Total Contributions: $41,915.00

How Are You Feeling, Jim?

I'm feeling good. 4 out of 19 isn't so great, but we drew over $11,000 in the final 36 hours so it was a strong finish and we ended up so far ahead of where I thought we would as of Friday.

And the authors themselves can be thanked for that. Rients funded without any gimmicks, but Baker, Green, and Brockie did things that made their projects stand out and here we are. (Cook, Kreider, and Steen did as well, but they didn't catch on for whatever reason.)

What Happened?

There was one key assumption to the whole thing:

Each author's fans would follow them to their adventure here.

Or, "The byline is more important than the brand." That assumption led to:

Those fans would sufficiently fund a enough projects to a point where people who wanted a bunch could swoop in with the high-dollar perks to finish them off and get a big bunch at a discount.

... and the more adventures that were involved, the bigger that discount could be. And the bigger the discount, the more people would go for it!

And that's why there were 19 adventures.

Oops.

 Couldn't You Have Gone With Less Adventures?

A smaller number of adventures would not necessarily have been a bigger success. Rients and Baker, the first two to fund, were last-minute replacements. They weren't even supposed to be part of the whole thing! I thought Green would only ever fund as a knock-on effect of a dozen other people funding first.

Basically, my popularity radar is so dysfunctional it's not even funny. (I also thought Isle of the Unknown would be way more popular than the hardcover Carcosa because it was brand new, as another example.) So less adventures up for grabs might have ended up with less appealing writers doing it.

Because honestly, could anyone have predicted Kelvin Green drawing over four times the money Monte Cook did? I can't believe that now. I thought Cook was the shoe-in for "will fund first and fast." I thought I was so fucking brilliant and amazing for getting him on board.

But the paying audience disagreed.

Likewise, I thought Michael Curtis, who has Stonehell and the DUNGEON frickin ALPHABET under his belt, would be the far-and-away OSR leader, especially after Maliszewski and the ACKS crew dropped out. But Rients outdrew him more than 4-1. I'm still trying to figure that one out.

There is the theory that certain people are more likely to get their stuff out there anyway... The thinking: Curtis, for example, always has projects going for publication, so if he has a good idea it'll show up eventually. Rients, on the other hand, hardly ever publishes anything, and not on a  professional level, so this might be Our Only Chance to get it!

I would have thought the opposite: "Oh, Curtis and Cook and the other frequently published writers have their own shit to do, no reason they'd do anything like that'd resemble what they'd do for LotFP. Rients could post whatever he wanted whenever he wanted since he's not got a steady stream of RPG work to do."

So maybe it's a good thing I threw a whole lot at the wall to see what would stick, because I'm generally pretty clueless.

Did the Target Amount Need to Be That High On Each Adventure?

No, it didn't need to be. I could have hardballed negotiations with each and every writer and artist and had adventure goals starting from $3500 in some cases.

But if I was going to kickstart (heh) my business by building a catalog on the backs of these people, I was going to make damn sure they were going to be compensated decently for it. These aren't really even top writing rates, just much-better-than-average in RPG-land (or WOW HOLY SHIT for most in OSR land). Brockie and Green are going to get quite decent piles of cash when they turn their adventures in, and Baker/Sheppard and Rients/Robertson will be splitting quite decent piles of cash. And they all deserve their piles.

I suppose a lot more could have succeeded if I'd negotiated shit rates for the talent. But fuck that. Paying people well makes me feel good (and makes the wife think I'm crazy and never going to be able to afford to buy her that mansion :D).

So What Happens to the Unfunded Projects?

I have to say that a lot of people got attached to their projects as the month went on. I got attached to some of them. Some of the authors have their own publishing imprints.

I think, sooner or later, at least a dozen of these things will see the light of day. Not on the original production schedule, and not with the same financial security a funded project would have afforded the creators (and for those that will not be published by LotFP, not half as cool in their presentation - sorry guys)... but I don't think a lot of the authors will leave them alone.

If any of those are released by LotFP down the line, Gardening Society members will get double their usual discount.

Any Other Questions?

Ask in the comments, on the LotFP message board, G+, or wherever. People were watching how this whole thing would do, and I think there were lessons to learn.

I'm glad I did this.

You've done your part. Now it's time to get our noses down and get all our shit done.

LotFP Crowdfunding Will Return in 2013 for the

FUND A HUGE "FREE RPG DAY" PRINT RUN FOR LOTFP

campaign.

The Last Campaign Update (Promise!) - Your Last Chance!

Broodmother Sky Fortress has funded.

Seclusium of Orphone has funded.

Horror Among Thieves is FUNDED.

Towers Two. FUNDED.

Next is Anna Kreider's We Who Are Lost. Grab Bag contributors get an original piece of b/w art, Faithful get color.

Do we have one more miracle in us?




3 hours left as I write this.

If you want the Conley sandbox, exclusive to these campaigns, you need contribute $30 to a funding project.

The higher perk levels have been turned off on Broodmother and Seclusium and Horror and Towers but are still live on Lost:

$100 Grab Bag on We Who Are Lost means, if it funds, you get all four adventures, Conley's thing, and an adventure from me.If you want to be more supportive, the Faithful levels gets you my 64 page adventure plus a booklet of other stuff with Zak cover art, neither of which will appear outside of this campaign.

The Final Day

The top four which have special offers attached. Start with Kelvin's give what you can, and let's see if we can't knock off one or two of these. 21 hours left.

We Who Are Lost: Anna Kreider's Offer!

Seems everyone's getting into the "here's some extra stuff if you fund this!" craze. These authors are excited!

The new deal:

For Grab Bag level contributors, Anna Kreider will do a custom finished black and white ink character illustration. For anyone who contributes at The Faithful or higher, she will do a finished color character illustration. Backers will receive signed originals.



26 hours left for everyone. Let's get another one or two of these done, yes?

Monte Cook's Unbegotten Citadel: Free Ptolus PDF with Grab Bags or Higher Perks!

37 hours, $4900 to go.

Monte Cook has just told me that every Grab Bag ($100) level or greater contribution on his project gets the Ptolus: Monte Cook's City by the Spire PDF if it funds. That thing costs $60 on its own!

To review: For that $100, if Cook's project funds, you get:

Monte Cook's Unbegotten Citadel
Jeff Rients' Broodmother Sky Fortress
Vincent Baker's Seclusium of Orphone
+ up to three other adventures should any fund (working on it...!)

"3.PF" edition conversions by Owen KC Stephens in PDF format for the above adventures
The Ptolus PDF
A sandbox setting by Rob Conley in print and PDF
A 8-12 page new Raggi adventure

 Plus two fans have offered up personal items for Grab Bag contributors to help this along, check with them for terms and all that stuff: Here and here.

That's Two.. 48 Hours Left... the next THREE!

Over $2000 in less than 12 hours... you guys rock.  ROCK, I say.

I have to say that out of all the pitches I got in the beginning, it was Baker's that excited me the most and it's his that I most wanted to see funded. So I'm very HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY that you guys made it happen. w00000000t! (Baker's extended his offer to everyone who contributed to his campaign regardless of when, by the way. I'll email everyone after the campaign ends and we'll get that going.)

Now then... 50 hours left.

If you haven't yet contributed, I'd say the $100 Grab Bag is the "optimum" perk to go for on the next projects. You get up to 6 adventures that fund (which realistically means you get everything that will fund from this campaign series barring a major miracle) in print and PDF and the Conley sandbox.

We need 123 of you to go in on these projects at that level (assuming nobody else contributes).

Let's do it.

I'll sweeten the deal a bit. You get a Raggi-penned adventure (probably 8 or 12 pages) in print + PDF as a bonus with a $100+ contribution (and this is retroactive to the higher contributors to the already funded projects). It won't be exclusive, but you won't pay anything more for it if you go in at the Grab Bag level on a funded adventure.

If you're feeling generous and helpful, there's still the Faithful level perks. The big thing there at this point is getting the exclusive 64 page Raggi adventure (that will be released in abridged form down the line, but never in that 64 page form) and the booklet with the Zak cover art.

Who's next? Only a few hundred bucks separates the next three in line, so I present them to you:

The gimmick: Even if Kelvin's project doesn't fund, all funders get it for free anyway! Details here.

There are a few examples of Kelvin's writing floating about. His Horror Comes to Haddonfield won "Best Horror" in the 2011 One Page Dungeon contest. A Rough Night at the Dog & Bastard won "Best Relationship Map" in the 2012 One Page Dungeon contest. And he wrote the Call of Cthulhu scenario Dinner with Susan.

He is also a frequent artistic contributor to Fight On! and has submitted a number of magic items to that publication.

Kreider is the author of the Polaris supplement Thou Art But a Warrior and a frequent contributor to the Gaming as Women blog under the name wundergeek.

The extra perks: $50 gets you a signed T-shirt and poster, $75 gets you those and 2 tickets to a show and you get to meet Brockie (full details on the campaign page, add $15 for extra shipping charges if you're outside the US). You get all the benefits of the $30 level (adventure in print and PDF, Conley sandbox) with those perks as well.

Brockie is the lead singer of GWAR, a novelist, and an old-school gamer who started in the 70s.

Vincent Baker sweetens the deal!

From Vincent Baker:

"Holy crap friends! This is so close!

63 hours to go, $1360 left to raise.

From this point on, every new backer gets a free PDF of their choice of one of my games. Every new backer at $30 or more gets their choice of two!

- Apocalypse World (including all 6 Limited Edition playbooks)
- Dogs in the Vineyard (moral brinkmanship in a West that never quite was)
- kill puppies for satan (the one that started it all)
- In a Wicked Age (my beautiful, flawed Sword & Sorcery game)
- Murderous Ghosts (my newest and, at this writing, the most accessible rpg there is)
- Poison'd (a blood-soaked pirate game of ambition and betrayal, for adults, please)

We can do it!"

He is also taking questions about his games here.

(Note that this is Baker's own offer and the fulfillment of these will be a matter between Baker and the particular contributor.) 

That's One.

And now I have to worry about giving the Faithful and especially Collecting Faithful value for their contributions.

We have work to do, people!

Next Up:

Does Baker have 73 fans willing to spend $30 to get a work by Vince Baker, cover and interior art by Cynthia Sheppard, and a sandbox supplement by Rob Conley? I THINK HE DOES.



Dark Horse Pick:

Does Dave Brockie have 57 fans who would want an adventure by him, plus the Conley thing, plus a signed T-shirt, poster, and 2 tickets to a GWAR show? I THINK HE DOES.



PS. Hammers of the God is now out of print. :)

The Campaigns End on the 31st

LotFP's insane Grand Adventure Campaign is in its home stretch. There's a long way to go to get the adventures are funded, but there's still plenty of time if you're willing to get on board.

First, what the whole thing is about:

• 19 adventures by 19 different authors all up for crowdfunding in separate campaigns at the same time.
• Each adventure will be 32 or 48 pages, depending on the length of the adventure submitted by the writers and layout needs of the adventure.
• The adventures are for the LotFP Weird Fantasy RPG, but as LotFP is a second-generation "retro clone," the adventures will be easily compatible with all the other retro clones and the original games they are based on. Fans have also told me, to my amazement because this was never intended, that they have used LotFP adventures with games like D&D 3.5, 4e, Pathfinder, Call of Cthulhu/Runequest/Stormbringer and other BRP games, Warhammer Fantasy RPG 1+2e, the Warhammer 40K RPGs, Rolemaster, Shadow of Yesterday, and probably more I'm forgetting. YOU CAN USE THESE ADVENTURES!

The point of doing 19 adventures at once was to offer discounts for getting multiple adventure bundles. Those are still an option for those of you feeling confident or generous, but forget about that right now. Just look at individual adventures, and what the lower contribution levels get you for each adventure should they fund:

• $10 gets you the adventure on PDF. Layered, bookmarked, linked, the whole shebang.
• $20 gets you the print version of the adventure shipped first class from Finland, plus the PDF.
• $30 gets you the print version of the adventure shipped first class from Finland, plus the PDF, plus an exclusive print + PDF sandbox setting by Rob Conley (Majestic Wilderlands, Points of Light 1 & 2, etc.) that will not be available in any format anywhere except as a bonus item in these campaigns. You also get a bonus "What I Would Do With This Adventure in My Campaign" sheet by James Edward Raggi IV.

Even if any particular adventure had $0 pledged on it (and all have a lot more than that), it would only take 200 people to get an adventure funded at the $30 level. Me, I think for example Monte Cook has 200 fans that could gain enjoyment and game value out of his adventure and the bonus sandbox that comes along with it. The same holds true for each and every author. We have plenty of time to get this done. (As I write this Cook still needs 167 at this level to fund. Jeff Rients needs 21.)

So why should *you* participate in this?

• You are putting money into the creator's hands. Over 50% of each adventure's $6000 goal goes directly to the writer and the artist. Plus money to the editor. And the layout/graphic designer. LotFP won't make a dime until after these are printed and put into general sale for all the non-diehards who didn't jump on the campaigns.
• Each author gets "final cut" on the adventure. You're getting what Jeff Rients wants to do. What Kelvin Green wants to do. What Anna Kreider wants to do. LotFP will provide editorial input but the writer has final say, and sets the tone for the artwork.
• You are getting old-school oriented stuff into stores and the public consciousness. LotFP now goes through Impressions to reach distribution, the same company that Goodman Games, Pelgrane Press, Troll Lord Games, Goblinoid Games, and more uses to reach retail. The $6000 goal includes a large enough print run to go into distribution, so supporting these campaigns means we can get names like Jeff Rients, Michael Curtis, Kevin Crawford, etc on (more) shelves and taking up gamer headspace and making sure the Old School way is right in peoples' faces.
• You can get names like Vincent Baker, Monte Cook, Richard Pett, and Mike Pohjola, not known for their traditional publishing credits, to not only apply their creativity to our games, but also show them there's interest and money here. We can show them it is in their interest to be more interested in making cool things for us.
• COOL ADVENTURES! HELLO!

Some of the adventures have extra perk options:

• Kelvin Green's Horror Among Thieves has a special deal going... we're publishing the adventure whether or not it funds. If it doesn't fund, everyone who contributed automatically gets their money back at the end of the campaign but when it's ready we'll send you the adventure for FREE anyway.
• Dave Brockie (aka Oderus Urungus of GWAR)'s Towers Two has a T-shirt+poster deal at the $50 level and that plus GWAR concert tickets at the $75 level.
• Aeron Alfrey has art prints available at the $40 level and that and a poster at the $75 level.
• Jennifer Steen is fresh off her successful Project Ninja Panda Taco kickstarter, and the $30 level for her Depths of Paranoia adventure also includes a mini Princess Ninja Panda Taco

The full adventure list is here.