Pick a card, any card!
about 1 year ago – Wed, Jun 14, 2023 at 03:01:13 PM

Greetings, rogues! There's so much more to report!

The Death Dealing production is going very well! All 54 card designs are finished. My latest task has been to create a chart to allow you to "pick a card" if you don't have a deck of cards. This will work with percentile dice (d100) (or a d54 if you're using a VTT like Foundry, or a random-number-generator). It's important to me that the subclass work even if you don't have a deck of cards available.

As another option... I've created a web page for randomly picking a Death Dealing card. You can try it here: https://steveconley.com/death-dealing-deck/

It works on desktops, tablets, and mobile devices. Clicking the design shows a random card and clicking "Shuffle Deck" will re-shuffle the cards allowing you to pick a new random card. Every card is loaded into the page including the deadly Face cards, the beneficial Aces, and the calamitous Fool and Joker cards. Check it out!

 Title-page art is complete...

I was really struggling with this piece. This is the first image inside the book and I wanted something as visually interesting and emblemematic of Death Dealing's contents as the walking flagon is for Intoximancy. I did a lot of sketches and I came up with this. I really like it...

 I just wish I had come up with this art before the Kickstarter campaign. It needs to be a sticker!

 The cover is pretty much finalized...

I shared the updated art last time but I've now redone the cover text and I'm much happier with the logo and the layout. 

And the House...

It always wins! This one took forever to sculpt and illustrate but I'm very happy with how it turned out. It's gigantic and will cover two pages of the book.

This weekend, I'll be a guest of Heroes Con in Charlotte, North Carolina.  I'll return to my desk on Monday and will be back to work on the Death Dealing PDF. 

I'm working really hard on Death Dealing and I hope you'll love it!

Thank you again for your amazing support! And extra thanks to all my new Patreon supporters!

-- Steve

https://patreon.com/steveconley

A Death Dealing update: Revised cover art, Shuffling Mound, and locking orders!
about 1 year ago – Mon, May 15, 2023 at 09:39:00 AM

Here's a quick update and a few new sneak peeks!

Backerkit orders will be locked over the next 72 hours - look for a final notification later today! These final numbers will tell me just how many of each book, deck, and miniature I need to make!

I've mostly finished the cover art! I removed the placeholder blood and painted in the card's magical effects. I'm really happy with it and hope you are too!

Here's a first look at the creature art for the Shuffling Mound. I sculpted the shapes using the Nomad app so there will be an STL available in the future!

And lastly, I'm on track to share the Death Dealing card deck preview this week! I'm currently revising the art for all the number cards - I wasn't happy with how the initial version was looking. I'm excited to share the new designs with you!

Thank you again for your amazing support!

-- Steve 

BTW... today's the last day for Patreon supporters to get the four Dredges STL files with their support. The next sculpt will be the undead knight Kevin the Illegible.  https://patreon.com/steveconley

A big Death Dealing update: Subclass preview, Backerkit surveys going out, and Dredges!
over 1 year ago – Thu, Apr 13, 2023 at 10:16:51 PM

Greetings, rogues! There is a LOT to report...

• Backer surveys start going out tonight!
• The Backerkit pre-order store is now open for those who missed the campaign
• The subclass features are previewed below! What do you think?
• New 3D-printable sculpts: Dredges!

Backer surveys are on their way!

I received Backerkit's approval today so the surveys will start going out tonight! The system will send the first batch of surveys to 5% of backers to make sure everything works. The rest of the surveys will go out tomorrow and over the weekend!

Also, the Death Dealing Backerkit pre-order store is now live so anyone who missed the campaign can pre-order physical rewards! Digital rewards and add-ons are not available for pre-order unless you're a Kickstarter backer.

Death Dealing Subclass Features...

These are not final and I'd love your feedback. You can comment below, on my Discord, or via Kickstarter messaging.  A preview of the Death Dealing Deck will come next week. (And I'm sure I'll rewrite/edit the text a million times before we go to press.)

Some of these features may be useful every game, others will be very situational. I hope all of them are fun!

The Cheat Death feature, for instance may be a bit too powerful or just as likely might never come up in your game.

And now, Dredges...

These creatures have appeared in The Middle Age webcomic and their stat blocks will appear in Death Dealing. The printable STL files are available as add-ons through your backer surveys but if you can't wait, they're available free this month to my Patreon supporters and for sale in my web shop.

 Thank you all so much for your amazing support! 

-- Steve

https://patreon.com/steveconley

A quick Death Dealing update and some other Kickstarters worth checking out
over 1 year ago – Fri, Mar 17, 2023 at 07:47:47 PM

The work on Death Dealing is going really well! I expect to have the subclass ready for backers to preview early next month!

Meanwhile... I'll also be preparing the Backerkit pre-order shop so people who missed the campaign will be able to get their orders in before we go to press. Backers will also be able to use Backerkit to add items to their Kickstarter pledge. I'll let everyone know when the pre-order shop goes live.

And now, some art... here's a look at one of the bonus creatures we unlocked. Eagle-eyed readers of my webcomic The Middle Age, will recognize these. This is a medium Dredge.

I have another update at the end of next week. But before I go...

Here are a couple of Kickstarters worth checking out...

Swords: Cut the Deck

This game is from Matthew Wills, the cartoonist of the stabbingly-popular SWORDS webcomic. Matthew describes the game as, "A fast-paced tabletop game where you try to outmaneuver your opponents in an epic contest of wits and steel."  I contributed art for one of the cards but don't hold that against him.

You can check it out here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/swordscomic/swords-cut-the-deck

 And in the graphic novel side of things, there's...

Amber Atoms: Blast Off!

Amber Atoms is by cartoonist Kelly Yates who's worked on projects like the Doctor Who comics and the My Hero Academia toy line. This is the first time the four issues of Kellys's sci-fi adventure story have been collected. It's fun and I really like Kelly's art!

You can check out the campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1278188118/amber-atoms-blast-off

I'm so happy with how well their campaigns are going. Please give them a look!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

-- Steve 

Woohoo! Death Dealing is funded!
over 1 year ago – Thu, Mar 09, 2023 at 08:11:05 PM

Thank you all so much!

Thanks to you, we're going to have even more spells, magic items, creatures, and illustrations!

As Death Dealing comes together, I'll keep you updated every step of the way. 

I'll also be sharing with you previews of the subclass and the Death Dealing Deck of cards. I'd love your feedback before they go to print. And in the coming days, look for a message from me for downloading your bonus copy of The Middle Age Volume 1. 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out!

Thank you for making this campaign such a success!

-- Steve

https://www.patreon.com/steveconley

https://www.twitch.tv/steveconley