I've backed 14 Kickstarters. One I cancelled out of due to the creator using their Kickstarter adverts to futher their unrelated personal socio-politco beliefs. Another funded and the person took off with the money. Their husband would later ensure everyone was repaid their monies. Another one is still funding. Four have funded, but not shipped. One of those four is past due, but the parties involved have begun a campaign to keep backers in the know. The company is reputable, the author did a bad job on time and communication management. It happens. I've backed another project from said company and buy their products when I can find it.
The other Kickstarters are:
- The Dracula Dossier: a sandbox approach to Night's Black Agents
- Chill 3rd Edition: hunting supernatural creatures
- The Last Parsec: sci-fi gaming using Savage Worlds rules
- Amazing Adventures: pulp action
- Blue Dungeon Tiles: tiles that are laminated, designed for use with erase markers, and come with rooms, hallways, stairs, etc. on them
- Transhuman: The Eclipse Players Guide: yet another awesomely designed product from Posthuman Studios
- The Guide to Glorantha: an encyclopedic approach to the world of Glorantha, two massive tomes
I've read most of them, but not all. I have yet to use any of these products at the table. Some, I backed to have for future games. I backed other Kickstarters, because they were friends' projects and I wanted to see them succeed.
The one I think I am most pleased that I backed is also the one with the most heartburn surrounding its release. The Blue Dungeon Tiles from Kevin Chenevert was plagued with delays. There were design changes, composition of materials changes, shipping delays, more shipping delays, and I think there may have been personal sickness involved at some point. It was painful to watch happen and I truly felt bad for him.
However, out of all of the products I backed, this one will get the most use. I can use it with any game. I can use it repeatedly. My order fits in one medium, white "arrow" shipping box for easy storage. It also allows me to completely design a dungeon and not need to use a hex map. Granted, the tiles are filled with squares, not hexes which are my preference. It doesn't matter, because I no longer need to draw out the spacecraft, dungeon, or villain's lair on a hex map. I simply design the space on graph paper, like I would with a hex map, and then pull out the pieces I need. I can place the tiles out as the party traverses the map and not worry about removing cardstock from the hex map or drawing it out as they go. It adds flexibility to old school style game play.
Still, I've enjoyed each of the Kickstarters I have received. While I was running my own Night's Black Agents campaign, I perused The Dracula Dossier for ideas. Amazing Adventures keeps my friend Jason Vey in business and gets me on more covers (by accident). Chill 3rd edition gets the book back on shelves and helps Growling Door Games keep making good products. The Last Parsec provides me with memories of Traveller and the fun I had with that product. Transhuman is yet another beautifully laid out book for the sci-fi game I am most likely to run in the future. The Guide to Glorantha is the most intense set of books I think I've seen since Aria or Nobilis. These are seriously beautiful books whose publishers put a lot of time and effort into. I wish I had the space on my shelves to have backed the physical copies of the books. The Acrobat files are awesome, but wow are those physical books even better.
Be seeing you. . .
#RPGaDay2015 Day 2 Kickstarter Most Pleased I Backed
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