Backerkit is Under Review... and we were able to save quite a bit of shipping for many of you!
12 months ago – Tue, Sep 19, 2023 at 09:57:23 AM

Hey everyone!

I just finished submitting Backerkit. It likely has a few kinks to work out, particularly as it relates to domestic shipping costs and media mail. So it may still be a day or two. Hopefully, no later than Friday. In my experience, the folks at BK are pretty fast.

Some good news, however, is that many of the countries we shipped to will get some significant savings with the shipping fees, notably the United Kingdom and Australia and a lot of EU countries that are getting more than just the core book (core set, peach set, cherry set, etc.)

We tried to save wherever we could while still leaving a little room in case shipping rates increase in the next 12 months, but I think you'll all be pretty satisfied with the result. Only a few countries ended up being a little higher than we expected, notably Greece, Malta, and Cyprus.

Anywho, once this is all done, we should get to cranking on the quickstart rules, which we plan to start shipping in October.

Thanks all!

Dave

Backerkit is 90% set-up... we're just waiting on shipping quotes.
12 months ago – Mon, Sep 18, 2023 at 07:44:08 AM

Hey everyone!

Just a quick update on the Backerkit. We've got everything set up on the back end. Now we're just finalizing shipping quotes to ensure we don't charge too much or too little. As soon as we get the information from our shipping partners, we'll get this beast up and running.

Thanks for your patience!

 - Dave

Backerkit is coming soon
about 1 year ago – Wed, Sep 13, 2023 at 02:50:58 PM

Hey all!

Just letting you know that I'm working my way through the backerkit and should have it up and running soon. A nasty bout with allergies and some other duties slowed things down a bit, but we should have it rockin' and a rollin' either late this week or early next, depending on how long the review takes.

Thanks for your patience!

In the meantime, let me know any additional add-ons you want for this.

Thanks!

 - Dave

Happy funding day—Backerkit coming soon!
about 1 year ago – Thu, Sep 07, 2023 at 06:32:51 AM

Good morning, friends!

Today is funding day, which means Kickstarter sends us the funds from the campaign. This allows us to set up the Backerkit Pledge Manager, the tool we use to organize the rewards on the campaign and charge shipping. It usually takes 2-3 business days to get Backerkit set up correctly, so you can expect me to deliver a message on Monday or Tuesday letting you know it's online and ready for you. Some of you may get in early with what is known as the "smoke test," where the Backerkit system tests a few backers before going out to everyone.

Once Backerkit is up and running, that's when we'll start working on the immediate releases, namely the Quickstarter rules book, which will become available, and the other three scenario books that were stretch goals for all of you. If you missed any of the add-ons during the Kickstarter or want to upgrade your tier, you can do that in Backerkit, too.

I'll have a complete estimated schedule for you all shortly after Backerkit starts, giving my best guesses on when certain content will be released.

Bob, who handles the CS on Kickstarter, will be gone for the next few days, so we may be slow to respond to questions over the weekend. 

Thanks again, everyone! We look forward to getting these products in your hands!

 - Dave

Awesome work everyone! Thank you for making this a success!
about 1 year ago – Thu, Aug 24, 2023 at 03:21:23 PM

Hey everyone!

It's been about 8 hours since we crossed the finish line, and I've finally got a chance to breathe and focus on an update for you all.

Thank everyone so much for helping us with this project. What started as a meme just a few months ago has now become a reality, as with your help, we're able to create an entire product line for Badge Quest and the Brave Blossoms.

Timeline

Here is a rough timeline of what to expect moving forward. Keep in mind that anything can happen between now and these dates. This is our sixth Kickstarter, so we've gotten pretty good at leaving lots of room for hiccups. Regardless, if something goes wrong that slows down our timeline, you'll be the first to know.

Today—8/24/2023: The Kickstarter campaign ends and the work begins. Kickstarter will start charging all of you for the rewards and add-ons over the course of the next two weeks.

Two weeks from today—9/7/23: Kickstarter sends us the funds from the Kickstarter, at which point we can open up the Backerkit Pledge Manager. Once the Pledge Manager is open, you can add in your shipping information, add any last-minute add-ons, make changes to your tier, and so forth. 

Please note that our bank calls us "BroadSword Monthly" and may flag payments. Capital One is especially notorious for doing this. I'll remind you again as we get closer to the date.

Approximately one month from today—10/15/23: The Badge Quest Quickstart book finalizes and we will send it to our local printers. If you ordered a copy or paid the shipping to replace your original book, you will receive a copy between mid-October and mid-November (barring any sort of disasters). PDFs will come out at approximately the same time.

November 2023, December 2023, and January 2024: The accessory quickstart books will be written and shipped to those who ordered them. PDFs will come out at approximately the same time.

January—March 2024: All of the remaining content will arrive in PDF format, including the main campaign book. We've slated the book for July release in PDF format to give us some breathing room just in case something goes wrong. All other stretch goals and add-ons in digital format will also arrive.

April—May 2024: Printing! All of the content we can't print with local printers will start printing with our partners in China.

June—August 2024: Fulfillment. So long as we stay on schedule, we should start sending out the rewards for the Kickstarter in the summer of 2024. It might come earlier, but I'd prefer to be safe, underpromise, and overdeliver.

Next up... expect an update about Backerkit.

We will probably be a little quiet for the next few days as we're getting the Backerkit ready and finalizing all the add-ons/extra tiers. Once Backerkit is live in two weeks, we'll notify everyone here.

In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to reach out either here on the Kickstarter itself or to Aubrey and Bob at [email protected]

Once more, thanks, everyone! 

We're excited to bring this project to life with you!

 - Dave and the DMDave Publishing Team