Forged In Shadows Update
almost 4 years ago
– Sun, Aug 30, 2020 at 08:39:48 PM
Hello Friends,
You're love and support continues to pour in as more and more of you are receiving your MDG loot, and we couldn't be more humbled and appreciative of you all. Thank you again so much!
New & Improved Forged In Shadows Adventure!
As you all know, one of the stretch goals for the Moebius Deck of Wonders campaign was a 1-shot adventure featuring Moebius Spinn as an NPC. It's still coming, but you are going to get much, much more than just a simple 1-shot adventure. After months of writing and development, the scope of the adventure we had in mind morphed and expanded into a full-fledged adventure, complete with a detailed write-up of Valkhaldur Citadel, the city where the adventure takes place, and the birthplace of none other than Moebius Spinn himself. We also added a lot of detailed NPC's, fantastic full-color artwork, and a 4-page character worksheet that we are calling the Ultimate Character Creation Worksheet that will help you flesh out every bit of detail about your character's past, traits, personality and much more. At the end of the process you will have fully detailed character that can be used in any TTRPG genre or game system.
Why the delay?
There have been a number of factors (COVID, extended development, re-writes, testing, addition of much more art and content, etc), but mostly its because we didn't want to just phone it in, even though it was a freebie. That's not how we operate around here. We wanted to give you the best possible product we could produce. For those of you who've received your rewards from the Moebius Deck of Wonders campaign, you've been able to see for yourself the quality of the products that we can deliver, and the Forged In Shadows adventure will be no different.
Adventure Concept
The Forged in Shadows adventure will be unique, as it is designed to "forge" a legitimate, 1st level adventurer out of a 0-level, classless character (commoner, tradesman, farmer, nobleman, etc). Each character will start without a predetermined class in mind, but instead, they will chose a carrier, trade, or play as an unskilled commoner. Through the course of the adventure your character will face challenges and obstacles that cover most of the common base adventure classes, and are designed to flesh out what your character is good at and what they aren't. Each skill test will be tracked (fails and successes) and by the end of the adventure, hopefully you will have some clues (some more obvious than others) of what adventure path (class) your character would be best suited for or drawn towards.
Sometimes there’s a little gap in your character’s story - that pivotal event that immediately thrust them from their common life to that of an adventurer. That’s what this adventure is designed to do. Fill that little gap that makes your character’s story complete in a fun and memorable way.
Play-testing
Play-testing confirmed that this adventure was a lot of fun. What was equally interesting and satisfying, was that when the adventure was over, everyone overwhelmingly wanted to keep playing their 0-level (now 1st level) characters.
Some interesting outcomes after play-testing: We had a half-orc gravedigger that was forged into a Cleric, a halfling siege operator forged into a Bard, and a human city guardsman forged into a Ranger.
System
The whole adventure is self contained and uses a generic percentile-based system to determine the outcome of skill checks and other tests. There isn't a complex system to learn, but if you desire, you can easily convert it to your favorite game system, although this isn't necessary.
Forged In Shadows Kickstarter - Sept 15th Launch
All of this added content and art comes at price (to us), however. Several of you ordered physical copies of the adventure in advance (thank you for that), but unfortunately it wasn't enough to cover production costs. So to help with that, and to potentially reach more people that might be interested in our vision for this project, we are launching a small campaign on Kickstarter.
Our goal will be to raise an additional $2,000 to help cover the added cost of additional artwork and content, but also so we can buy enough copies to bring the production costs down. Like most things, the more you buy in bulk, the cheaper the per item cost is.
Do I Have To Kick-in On This Kickstarer?
Absolutely not. Every backer from the original Moebius Deck of Wonders campaign will still get their free PDF copy of the adventure, and likewise, those that purchased physical copies will still get those copies at no added cost to you.
For those that didn't chose the hard copy from the Moebius campaign and would now like one, or if you want to gift an extra copy to a friend or family member, or even pick up some add-ons that you missed the first time, this is your chance.
What If It Doesn't Fund?
We don't think that will happen with such a small amount to be raised, but rest assured, even if we raise $0 dollars for this campaign, we will suck up the costs and give you one hell-of-a product that you will be proud to show off. That's our word.
How Can I Help?
Word of mouth is always appreciated, and to be honest, carries the most weight with your fellow gamers. People trust the endorsement of those that they know and trust. If you feel like we've done a good job and delivered good products to you at a fair price, sharing the Kickstarter with your gaming groups and social media accounts would be greatly appreciated.
Will There Be Add-ons?
Yes! We still need to confirm that the handmade items (deck box and dice bags) will be available due to shortages of supplies, but for sure the Moebius Deck of Wonders, Mystic Storm dice, Dragon's Mana dice, pins, and stickers will be available as add-ons at the lower Kickstarter price for those that missed out the first go around or would like to purchase more. We may even have some new add-ons as well. We'll give you more info on this soon.
What's The New Projected Delivery Date For Forged In Shadows?
The vast majority of the whole adventure book has been completed, and a good portion of it has been laid out. We are still waiting on additional art to be completed and we would like to do a few more rounds of editing and play-testing.
Having said that, given the current chaotic flux we find our world in these days, we want to give ourselves enough cushion for any unforeseeable circumstances that may delay production (COVID-19, trade war, continued rise in shipping costs, etc). We are setting the delivery date for February 2021. It's likely that we will deliver much sooner than this, but it gives us some room for error.
Thank You!
Thank you again for all of your support and we hope that you will continue on this adventure with us. We promise it will be worth the wait!
Cheers,
Michael & Kim
Deck Boxes and Dice Bags Oh My!
almost 4 years ago
– Sun, Aug 30, 2020 at 12:25:22 PM
Hello Friends!
Over the last few weeks everyone has been receiving their Mystic Dragon Games loot and the feedback has been wonderful. It really warms our hearts to hear so many people loving the quality of the products and their excitement in wanting to put them in their games ASAP. We've received tons of emails, messages, and tags on social media posts, and we can't say thank you enough for taking a chance on us and believing in our vision. It really means the world to us. Thank for from the bottom of our hearts. Rest assured there is lots more to come from MDG!
The Small Print
A handful of you have reached out to us and mentioned that for various reasons you were having some issues reading the print on the deck inserts, particularly those who didn't also purchase the digital version of the cards. We hear you and we are coming to your rescue!
I'll be sending out a quick fix to the handful of people that have reached out to us in the short term, but long term we'll be working on a more official pdf version of the card descriptions with a larger font that will be made available for free download for everyone who wants it.
Dog Might Games
Just a quick reminder that all of the custom Deck Boxes that Dog Might Games created for us comes with a Lifetime Warranty. If for whatever reason your deck arrives with some quality issues, please reach out to Lindsey Rode ([email protected]) and she will take care of you.
If it's damage caused by a shipping/mishandling, that's a different issue. In those rare cases just email us directly and we will take care it for you.
Missing/Damaged Items
With nearly 800 orders filled, thankfully there has only been a handful of issues with missing or damaged goods so far. If you've received missing or damaged goods, please shoot us an email and we will make sure you are taken care of. We want to make sure you get what you paid for and in good working order so that you can use them.
Forged In Shadows
I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is this has been delayed, so if you purchased a hard copy of the adventure, it will be coming at a later date. The good news, which is related to the bad news, is that it is no longer a simple 1-shot adventure. Even though this was a free digital unlock from the Moebius Deck of Wonders campaign, we didn't want to just throw something together to meet the minimum requirement. And as we worked on the project if began to expand from its original concept and something much grander in scale began to emerge.
The Forged In Shadows adventure is no longer a 1-shot, but rather a full fledged adventure that should last several game sessions, filled with wonderful, full-colored artwork, background history on Valkhaldur Citadel (location of the adventure and the birthplace of Moebius Spinn), lots of fleshed out NPC's, and much much more. Now that you've been able to see the level of quality from the products we've delivered so far, you can expect same level of quality in Forged In Shadows. I'll be posting more details on this tomorrow.
Hope everyone enjoys their Mystic Dragon Games loot this weekend!
Cheers,
Michael & Kim
(mysticdragongm AT gmail DOT com)
Shipping Update & More
almost 4 years ago
– Sun, Aug 23, 2020 at 11:44:03 PM
US Fulfillment Update
Hello Friends,
All US Backers should have been sent tracking #'s now, with the exception of poster orders. We are waiting to hear back from our fulfillment team regarding those that ordered physical posters as well, but your tracking #'s should be coming soon if you haven't gotten them already. Aside from the poster packages, all US orders have been delivered to the US Post Office and should be arriving on your doorsteps VERY soon! Woot!
Standard Custom Deck Boxes
We received the last of the custom deck boxes (standard version) from Dog Might Games this past Thursday, and I must say that they look even more impressive in person. The added layer of dark maple really makes them pop. We are very happy with the way these came out and hope you are too. The first wave of standard deck box packages are going out Monday, and the rest a few days after that.
If you ordered dice bags and/or Sleeved deck boxes with your Standard deck boxes, those will all be shipped together this coming week.
Missing or Damaged Goods
Of course we and our fulfillment team do our very very best to make sure your rewards arrive safely and complete, but errors or things beyond our control do happen on occasion. If for whatever reason you received damaged or missing goods, please email us directly for the quickest response (mysticdragongm AT gmail DOT com). I will personally make sure you are taken care of.
New Web Page Coming Soon
We love the look of our old web page, but it's not designed in a way that makes it community friendly. So we've hired a group of professionals to go in and do a total revamp of our site with the community in mind, complete with a forum so you can share your ideas and modifications to the Moebius Deck of Wonders with your fellow gamers. More on this later.
Sneak Peak
Share Your New Treasures
Everyone will be getting their MDG goodies soon and that makes us very happy. It means the world to us that you put your faith and support into us and this project. We can't say that enough. We also love seeing you happy with your MDG swag and gear. If you decide to share your MDG goodies to the world, please tag us so we can share in your excitement.
Twitter: @mystic_dragongm
Instagram: @mysticdragongames
Facebook: @mystic.dragon.games
Much love,
-Michael & Kim
Non-US Backer Tracking #'s Sent
almost 4 years ago
– Sat, Aug 15, 2020 at 02:02:49 AM
Non-US Backer Tracking #'s Sent
Hello Friends,
All non-US bakers should be receiving an email with your tracking information (check your spam folders), with the exception of the handful of New Zealanders. SF Express, a Chinese carrier, doesn't ship directly to New Zealand, so we had to come up with a work around. Your tracking numbers will be sent to you once your package has arrived in Hong Kong. From there a DHL tracking number will be generate and we will share it with you.
If you are having trouble accessing the SF Express website, try temporarily disabling any virus programs or firewalls first and try again, or try using a different web browser. Sometimes Chinese websites don't play nice with other countries. If you are still having issues and you just absolutely need to know the status of your package, contact us and I'll take care of you personally.
US Orders
All US orders have been shipped directly to us for distribution. Once we receive them (in a few weeks), we will mail them out and send you tracking numbers. This was our workaround to help keep shipping costs down due to COVID-19 and other unforeseeable factors. For those that ordered physical posters, your orders required special packaging, so your orders will be lagging behind by about a week.
US orders will be shipped out from our home base via USPS, so you shouldn't have any issues with accessing your tracking information.
Standard Deck Boxes
Got word from Dog Might Games today that they should be shipping the Standard deck boxes out to us on Monday, and we will begin shipping them out to you soon after that. If you've ordered a standard deck box and a dice bag, or a standard deck box along with a Sleeved version, you will be receiving all of these goodies together in this shipment.
Sleeved Deck Boxes
With the exception of non-US backers who ordered Sleeved versions of the custom deck boxes, you should have received yours in the mail by now. If you decide to share pictures of your goodies via social media, please tag us. We love seeing our labors of love out in the wild!
Twitter: @mystic_dragongm
Instagram: @mysticdragongames
Facebook: @mystic.dragon.games
Hope everyone has fun-filled gaming weekend!
-Michael & Kim
Everything Has Shipped!
almost 4 years ago
– Tue, Aug 11, 2020 at 05:37:18 PM
Everything Has Shipped!
Well, almost everything. We got word from our fulfillment team that all orders/pledges have been shipped out to both non-US countries AND the US. Woot! There's a couple of straggler packages that required special packaging, but those should go out today. Given any unforeseen shipping delays, we expect everyone to have their goodies by the end of Aug (or there abouts).
Standard Deck Boxes
All of the Sleeved versions of the deck boxes went out last week. We should be getting an update from Dog Might Games by the end of the week with an estimated date when the Standard boxes will be shipped to us. Like many small businesses, they were forced to shut down for a few months due to COVID, so they are working really hard to get caught back up with all of their orders. Once we have more information we will share it.
Thank you again for your patience as we worked through all of the unforeseen challenges that 2020 has brought us.
Have a great week!
-Michael & Kim
