5E Starter Set - Full Digital Release - NEW MAPS, Upgrades, and 1.5 remaster
about 2 years ago – Thu, Feb 10, 2022 at 02:26:34 AM

Wow, there's a lot to talk about. I'm VERY excited to get into it, because I've wanted to put this update out for a while now. I'm just going to rapid-fire through these pipeline bullet points so I can get to the conversation faster:

• We made the 5E Starter Set and shipped it to domestic backers
• We prepared the listing to send copies to Amazon, so everyone else can get access to these glorious kits
• We said to ourselves "At retail/amazon this really needs a box"
• We began shopping for someone to produce a large 12x18 fully printed box, like the 5E Starter Set itself
• We started making the digital release
• We said "hey, since it's digital, lets make some new / missing maps"
• We got enough questions, and had enough new digital content, we figured we'd make a PDF of the "players guide" to help everyone out and feel more professional
• We realized "Shouldn't those New/Missing maps be printed in future copies, to go in the box?"
• We decided to add more digital maps
• We realized "Shouldn't these PDF players guides be printed in comic-book style and goo in the box?"
• We upgraded the Players Guide with more maps and content
• We launched the Roleplaying Objects 2.0 Kickstarter, using die-cut object pages (WHICH IS AWESOMEEE!) and then said "shouldn't a sheet of these new RPG Objects be included in this kit?"
• We realized this was not simply a small upgrade anymore
• We decided to add even MORE digital maps, objects, and overlay layers
• We reached out to Ultimate Guard again to make those Flexxfolios we STILL want
• We decided to create an ENTIRE digital Phandelver, which is like 180 inches wide and includes every building at full scale, and then compressed it like a boss so it'll actually fit in VTT!
• Ultimate Guard told us "No. Since covid our company is somewhat dead and we don.t do this anymore" SAD. But still, a great idea / lets get more Flexxfolios or find another Mini-American storage solution
• We made even MORE more digital maps
• We upgraded the Players Guide again, reflecting both the physical kits and the full digital kits
• We "Finished" the FULL Digital Kit for the 5E Starter Set, and it's releasing today 

Sooo... lets get into what I'm trying to say here. The delays weren't "delays" as much as we kept increasing the scope of the work. The work itself is so amazing, we couldn't help ourselves, and while that slows down progress on making "the next kit" a bit, THIS kit still didn't really feel done, or as good as we could make it.

THIS full digital release finally matches our vision of what this 5E Starter Set can be. The digital aides are fantastic, if you do anything in VTT you're going to want it! You're going to LOVE it! You're going to get it FOR FREE anyway, so you might as well accept it!

Digital redemption codes / emails are automatically being sent to every one of your email addresses and I'll push "go" about 4.5 seconds after I post this update. If you think you should have a full digital kit, and you didn't get one, reach out to [email protected] and we'll send you one. It's "for sale" on DriveThrurpg.com but if you're a backer you should NOT pay for it ... just let us give you a copy.

Even if you DON'T use VTT, the players guide PDF is AMAZING and guides you through our thought process from A-Z, shows off our minis, shows off our maps, talks about the digital bonus items, talks about the physical items, and is just genuinely helpful.

Arcknight will be playing the 5E Starter Set LIVE on Twitch!

Firstly, great timing that this is all finished and releasing to you, because tomorrow, Arcknight starts its very first DnD Stream on Twitch! We'll be playing on Thursdays, from 4pm CST to approximately 8pm, though end time may fluctuate. Even if you have little interest in twitch, we would greatly appreciate you heading over to  https://www.twitch.tv/arcknightgames and follow us, or watch live for even a few moments, as it'll skyrocket our metrics and make us more visible to others.

We're going to be using all of the assets from the 5E Starter Set, as well as demoing prints of the new maps that didn't make it into the final release (goblin ambush site, random encounter pages, banshees hut, old owl well, etc)

Secondly, come with me on this rhetorical journey:

Hardbound Support: 5E Starter Set 1.5 Remastered

If we make a 1.5 kit, we want to make sure that existing backers are covered. We would offer existing backers an upgrade option essentially at cost, something as cheap as possible. We're considering $10 + s&h. In exchange, you would get the following:

• A 12" x 18" x 1.5" retail box
• Additional maps
• A new sheet of overlay object doodads
• A physical Players Guide
•  A custom set of dice in the colors of the project (green and brown)

All of your existing components could drop straight in the box, and this box would be the same size and format as all of our future Hardbound Support kits.

Heres an early sample of the dice idea: but instead of mixing blue + green (which made a chaotic mix of browns as the inks blend together), the HBS1 set would use green + light brown, the colors of the project as seen on the cover, and reflecting the green dragon and owlbear.

90%+ of this work would already be finished, but this would let us collect production counts to have the boxes and dice produced, and whose cost can be very high -unless- we have larger backer counts.

It would also be a way to put the Hardbound Support project in front of more people who've never seen it, and show a much more complete picture of what these Hardbound Support kits are capable of becoming.

5E Starter Field Guide (digital link), Gencon 2021, Virtual Tour
over 2 years ago – Thu, Sep 16, 2021 at 01:38:47 AM

Hey everybody!

5E Starter Field Guide

Download the 5E Starter Field Guide!

http://www.arcknight.com/5e-starter/field-guide.pdf

This PDF is a free companion to the 5E Starter Set, showing map layouts, tips, community suggestions, and additional arcknight products you may be interested in.

Additionally, the Field Guide will be periodically updated to include links to Digital Maps for side adventures, or links to digital downloads for additional pieces, such as for random encounter tables. Most of these will be released on our Patreon, but many (including this first digital map for the Old Well!) are free posts, so you can absolutely go get the new map if you're interested.

GenCon 2021

We're currently attending GenCon 2021, which is our first in-person event since Covid. If you're attending the show, we'd love to have you come say hi!

Our booth # is 2610

However, if you aren't attending the show for any reason, we decided to film a quick Virtual Tour as well;

Patreon

After we get back from GenCon, we'll be scheduling the release of all remaining digital packs for the 5E Starter Set, and working on our second side-quest map, to support the Banshee encounter.

https://www.patreon.com/Arcknight

In the mean time, Patreon continues to release regular maps, minis, and other goodies, with this month being our first "adventure contest"!

It was a ton of fun, with our winning adventure being a sort of fantasy/western scenario with similarities/inspiration to The Hateful Eight, in which an infamous gnome alchemist is being escorted to his own trial (and likely execution) by guards, but are forced to stop in an old fort. As the scenario unpacks, we find that some guards, and other patrons of the fort are working for the criminals, as well as various other plans set in motion to help cover their escape.

As promised in the original Patreon pitch, every unit, object, map, and other goodie needed to make the scenario work is being included in the release, which will have alchemical objects, dynamite, fantasy/western gang members, a mine shaft, an entire fortress, gallows, pillory, and much more!

You can read more about the contest results here.

Digital Release 1/6 - Ruined Castle, News, Patreon
almost 3 years ago – Tue, Jul 13, 2021 at 09:33:44 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Update - All Production is 100% Complete! PCXP, Aasimar, Dwarven Draugr, Reanimated Villagers. Teaser for new project.
almost 3 years ago – Wed, Jun 23, 2021 at 02:29:30 AM

I'm so excited to FINALLY announce that this project is completely produced.

• PC Expansion Pack is printed.
• Aasimar - Forms of Power is printed.
• Dwarven Draugr is printed.
• Reanimated Villagers is printed.

We're pushing these out the door, and then it will be done.

We've had the final art assets for a few weeks, and I've been chomping at the bit to print. We had a major delay getting more plastic, and then some unexpected problems with our printer. Frankly I've been more than a little paranoid lately. I didn't want to make any announcement, and then have the final production run go wrong. Alas, after several hours of banging our heads against the wall, we got it all working and printed, and it's beautiful.

I PRESENT TO THEEEE, PCEXPEEEE

What a collection of new character assets!

64 pieces is a MASSIVE amount of people! In case you cant tell whats in there, lets recap the final art for this set;

The Aasimar (Forms of Power) Warband

The Aasimar warband includes 5x Aasimar, each with a second form that represents the various "forms of power" they can enable.

The Aasimar warband comes on 10x etched semi-transparent "Fools Gold" bases.

Dwarven Draugr Warband

The Dwarven Draugr are now complete, with regular soldiers, spearmaidens, champions, and a Jarl.

This warband comes on semi-transparent bronze bases, etched 1-10 (they can look pretty black in photos)

Reanimated Villagers Warband

Sometimes, your necromancer just needs MOAR zombies! And the problem with many zombies, is that they just aren't right - maybe they're soldiers, or covered in blood... or just too ... specific. But the scenario is pretty classic - a plague passes through town, or the recently dead are being reanimated. We want these dead to just look like regular people - only droves of them (and undead!). Reanimated Villagers are JUST what the witch doctor ordered.

The Reanimated Warband comes on 10x etched semi-transparent ivory bases.

Delivery Schedule - NOW

All of the copies are printed, die-cut, and ready to go. As fast as we can assemble them (maps still need to be plucked and checked, boxes made, etc) they're going out the door. EVERY remaining backer is cleared to ship. You'll all see your shipping notifications ASAP.

If you need last-second address corrections, be quick and email [email protected] with your name, and your new address. Thats all we need, and we'll update them directly in Shipstation.

Updating your address in Backerkit will - NOT HELP YOU- since all of the orders are already in our shipping system and waiting to go.

If you've recently emailed us asking where the custom pieces are, or where your missing Warband is, here they are =P You'll get your remaining items very soon.

We'll be cranking out these orders for the next week or two, and I hope to have a Post-Mortem update as soon as possible with an emphatic "ITS DONE".

Next Steps for Hardbound Support

Once the LMOP sets are shipped to all backers, we'll begin assembling sets for delivery to Amazon, to stock them and give a direct route for international backers to get theirs.

The next "Hardbound Support" project has been considered, but we're going to need a little time to address some of the major delays and problems we had with this campaign.

Our next Hardbound Support project will be considerably larger than this one - and we need our process streamlined so we're not having the same pitfalls.

It's not on our immediate horizon, but the plan for the next Hardbound Support project will be a double-feature with Curse of Strahd and Storm King's Thunder being tackled together in one pipeline. This means we will need a LOT of art, several new artists, and a much more robust system of tracking and managing finished assets and assigning work to them.

A majority of this project and it's delays were related to Covid. It seems strange, when it first hit and the world was falling apart, we told ourselves "well, we should be somewhat unaffected" after all, we consume very little materials, we have a tiny shop with only a few employees, and our artists work from home - all of us were essentially already quarantined. Eventually, we would all go on to get sick, but the 'days of being sick' didn't scratch the surface of the overall delays. To this day, I cant explain exactly 'why', but like everyone else, once things started to slip it all just cascaded into each other.

Covid had many direct impacts and slowdowns, but what it also did was unearth other underlying problems - in everything. Many of those problems are external, and I can make excuses. But many more are internal, and certainly CAN be addressed, improved, and possibly outright fixed.

Next Steps for Arcknight; RPG Objects 2.0

One silver lining, is despite Covid, we managed to find an excellent team. You may have seen James comment here or there in the comments section, and recently we've added Taylor and Lauren as well, doing videography, and account management respectively. They've been flung into the back end of this chaotic mess, and have helped me get back on track and deliver. Now that they've settled in a little, we're turning our attention to our first actual new project since the beginning of 2020.

We always knew we'd get to it, since our RPG object sheets are already quite helpful. Just like our other "2.0" project for 5E Spell Effects, we basically just need to take our existing product, clean it up, and die-cut it.

But ... we also can't help ourselves as we map out where we want this project to be, and where it could POSSIBLY go, and holy cow is it going to be a lot of objects.

Additionally, because the Nerdarchy Out of the Box kit already needed an absurdly complex die to die-cut those objects, the "development" curve is essentially already done. If we can make THAT die - every other die planned is relatively easy.

But let's not over complicate things. This project is going to be about objects, plain and simple.

We're taking our great plastic, making new dies, and printing colorful, often double-sided objects on it.

Furniture, walls, fire, boats, houses, siege weapons, lava pits, merchant stalls, traps, tables, you name it. Many themed packs and hundreds of objects.

Stay tuned for news!

HBS - 5E Starter Set is SHIPPING! Teasers for the Echoing Cave, the full kit, Twigblight and Stirges warbands.
almost 3 years ago – Fri, May 14, 2021 at 12:34:02 AM

The Echoing Cave

The finale of this adventure is built of EIGHT pages, in the most sprawling and insane layout we've ever made. Honestly, it's shocking how little we changed the format, adapting almost everything faithfully, with only a few changes to the entryway (all rooms with no encounters anyway).

Ironically, after we reflected on the modifications we were forced to make, our version is kinda better anyway, haha.

Without further ado, the Echoing Cave!

All of the tables in the warehouse are currently COVERED in boxes for assembling sets, so to take a physical picture I had to rig a plastic board in the middle of the warehouse and lay out all these tiles.

Many of you may not even have tables large enough for this map.... sorry, not sorry!

(Yes! This is a REAL PICTURE and I can prove it, haha)

Just imagine playing on this enormous map!

You wont have to imagine long! HBS1 IS SHIPPING!

We've been assembling sets, and they're starting to go out the door. It'll be a slow process while my assemblers get settled in because we're still clearing some OOTB international orders out as well, but then it'll pick up pace dramatically and we can probably do 50-60 boxes a DAY.

What exactly is shipping?

First, here's what would normally be in the HBS1 kit,

But if you recall, we added these guys in at the last moment for ALL BACKERS!

So the kit thats shipping right now looks more like this:

^ But even this is still missing the small promo for the RPG Mini Mounts that were throwing in as well (a random assortment of acrylic colored pieces).

We also created a new Coversheet for the set that will insert into the map envelope;

This first batch will be about 150/400 backers, with the bulk of the remaining orders waiting on the PC Expansion pack. 

PCXP Progress

The PCXP is the big item that's not yet finished, although more pieces keep rolling in. There's now about TEN unfinished pieces, and this will likely be finished and printing before the current HBS1 sets can even ship.

Here's some more teasers of finished PCXP pieces. This pack is gonna be a HUGE assortment of character options.

And then lastly, the final warbands have about 3 pieces to go, and 2 modifications to add wings to existing Aasimar. This project is almost entirely in the bag.

Next update will show our final piece selection for the PCXP and include a shipping progress update for all orders, as well as international availability for the pack, and updates on Amazon and international distribution.