The PLEDGE MANAGER is Open for Business!
about 3 years ago – Thu, Sep 30, 2021 at 04:50:39 AM

Hi Friends!

This is possibly the most exciting project update I’ve had the pleasure of writing on this project so far, so hold on tight! Ready?

THE PLEDGE MANAGER IS OPEN!!

We've done a  full day of the "Backerkit Smoke Test", where a random assortment of backers across all pledge levels & countries get their Pledge Manager early, to help identify bugs. We had only the smallest little shipping issue hiccups, and now, it's time to hit the Big Time.

At this point, you all should have received an email letting you know the Pledge Manager is live, with a link that will lead you straight to your survey. Once there, you should be able to see your original pledge, and whatever funds you backed the original campaign with. And then, it should take you on a Magical Mystery Tour of fun decisions you might need to make about coin styles, playmat designs, and the like. And then, you get to dive into Add On Land, where the fun really starts.

You’ll find all the individual items from the Kickstarter, as well as each of the individual stretch goals we opened. In addition, you’ll see a section called NEW ITEMS. LOTS for good stuff here, starting off with the new Contemporary: MATURE AUDIENCES Mini Companion we’ve talked about earlier. Also you’ll see several entries from Classic Reckless Deck, with the inventory that’s (finally) on its way to me from China right now. You’ll also find a new & unexpected option, which we’ll get to next, as I go into detail about some perks to look out for.

Playmats - and Mouse Pads!

In my attempt to get as many aspects of this project made here in the US, I reached out to my colleague and convention buddy, artist Drew Baker, who has a side playmat-printing business. Turns out he was keen to take on the work, and Lo! Playmat production moved from China to the US. One of the great things about working with a “Small Batch” printer is that he doesn’t have minimums for each design, which allowed me to offer you FIVE different playmat designs instead of three. And, on his menu of offerings was Mouse Pads,  which I hadn't actually considered before, and again, with no minimum order requirements. We certainly have plenty of great art exclusive to this project at our disposal, so I decided to make mouse pads an option! And, I decided to mirror the playmats, and offer five different art choices.

Dividers for both PSYCHE and Reckless Deck

We all knew that premium PVC dividers was a stretch goal from the campaign. I decided to do a second set of them for the Classic Reckless Deck categories as well, since I’ve been wanting them for Reckless Deck for a long time. You can add them on as individual items, or get them both together for a special price. The new version of the magnetic box (also found in New Items) also comes with your choice of one set, and you can add on the second set for a special price as well. Fun points of interest regarding the Reckless Deck set - first, there's a divider for the new POWERS category, which replaces the now-retired REINVENTION category. 10 all new POWERS cards can be found in the new printing of Volume 2, which is available in this Pledge Manager.  Second, you'll see  dividers for two 2 additional, never-before-announced new card categories that will be coming your way in 2022!

Digital Downloads

If you remember, each of you who backed at the Core Set level and above is eligible to receive a complete digital version of both the Core Set AND the Epic Fantasy Companion Deck. Those downloads will be available for you - pretty much right now! You should be prompted as part of your Pledge Manager to choose your preferred paper size for both sets, and will be able to get your download as soon as you complete the pledge manager. For those of you who maybe backed at a lower pledge amount, like say at the $1 level, or the single coin or the anthology level, because you planned to do your serious shopping in the Pledge Manager: if you want to get the digital downloads after you’ve buffed out your order, just message me through the Kickstarter. I’ll send you the digital files personally. One last thing about the downloads: these aren't work in progress versions - this is the FINAL, LOCKED CONTENT for both sets. So, BIG WINDOW into what the final content will look like in the printed sets. So go print ‘em out and play with ‘em! And FOR SURE let me know what you think in the comments.

Coin 3D Renders

The coin designs are currently represented by images of the 3D sculpts from the coin company, because that's where we are in the process. Most of them are what they call their “heat map” renders (which show the depth of the bevel of each of the sculpts), but a couple of them are the straight gold render version. I am waiting on updated renders for both the Horror & Urban Fantasy and Epic Fantasy designs, both of which will show off the improved final edge designs for each of them. And once I start getting photos of actual prototypes (or have actual physical coins in my hand), I’ll be updating the 3D render images with actual coin photos.

Updated Card Face Designs

Regardless of what level you backed, I encourage everyone to click on the Core Set in the Pledge Manager. In the images selection, you’ll see both the final card back design, as well as all the updated, final card face designs for each category. The card face designs have gotten a BIG UPGRADE since the original Kickstarter campaign last fall. I’d love to hear what you think of them, and if you have a favorite!

Update Your Shipping Address

Over the past months, many, many of you have reached out to me wanting to update your mailing address. Now is your moment! The Pledge Manager will prompt you to input your most current or preffered shipping address, and you can take care of that little detail very easily.

Last thing I want to say is, if any of you experience technical problems or hiccups with the PM, please message me immediately.

And the LAST last thing, just so this update isn’t a total giant word salad: check out this STUNNING new piece of Reckless Deck art, by concept artist Lauren St Onge! This is for the Classic Reckless Deck divider set, for one of those new categories I told you about:

Have fun splashing around in the Pledge Manager!

Clark

The Last Details Before the Pledge Manager Opens
over 3 years ago – Tue, Sep 21, 2021 at 05:20:33 PM

This one will be VERY quick, as I have things I can be doing to get the pledge manager opened. BUT, since I told you I was aiming to open it by Labor Day and Labor Day has come & gone (and also since many of you were requesting a check-in) I wanted to break down for you where we're at with that.

It has been all about the pledge manager lately. A TON of work has gone into it, to try and make both the shopping and the shipping ends of things accurate and functional. It is VERY VERY CLOSE to ready. Here are the 3 things we're completing:

1. The Final Coin Renders. The folks at Signature Coins and I have been in very close contact lately, looking at proofs, discussing feedback, and doing revisions. They have been relentless in their committment to getting every last detail right. The very last designs we're waiting for are their solutions for the irregular edge treatments on 3 coins - Fantasy, Lovecraftian, and Horror. I think they're super clear now on what I need, and seem totally confindent they can do it. I hope to have those images by early to mid week. Once I approve them, I'll get the last images uploaded to the pledge manager, and the coins will be complete in the PM.

2. Canada Shipping Pricing. All the shipping rates are done for everywhere in the world except Canada. (WTF, Canada?) Turns out, I had to work hard to find a fulfillment partner, becasue most of the Canadian fulfillment & warehouse services are booked to capacity already through spring of 2022.  Thanks, COVID. But after a lot of googling, I finally found the right company to handle Canada fulfillment. I have another call with them tomorrow afternoon, and I should get the rates I need then. I'll get them entered into the PM, and the shipping setup will be 100% complete.

3. The Digital Download Versions. If you remember, every backer who backed at the $35 Core Set level and above is eligible for a digital version of both the Core Set and the Epic Fantasy Companion. I want you to be able to download those at the end of completing your pledge manager. Our designer Mary Ann and I are in the final stages of getting those PDFs complete, proofed, and uploaded. So,  you should be able to walk away from your PM experience with a motherload of awesome content that you can put to use right away. No need to wait to spice up game night or shred your way through your next first draft. These digital download versions are just for you guys, btw. A different version of Digital Downloads will be available to new pre-order backers, but they certainly won't be free, and they'll likely be limited to 70-

75%-ish of the entire content of both sets.

I VERY MUCH want to get the PM open by the end of this week, & I'm doing my best to make that happen. The PM has been a very deep and very complex rabbit hole, and I'm sorry it's taken me this long to nail it down. Thanks for your continued patience - I'm very eager to get this sucker open and let you guys ride the rides and play in the playground! And as for me, I'm dying to get out of Global Shipping Purgatory and get back to completing the remaining cover art and interior anthology illustrations. 

Meanwhile, here are some images of the cool cool heat map renders of the coins that show the relief levels of the 3D sculpts.

Fingers crossed for an open Pledge Manager by the end of the week!

Clark

Quick & Dirty update on Pledge Manager Status & Production Wins
over 3 years ago – Wed, Aug 11, 2021 at 08:21:10 PM

Creative Friends!

I am DEEP IN IT right now, so I'm gonna make this as rock em' sock em' as I can, because every productivity moment counts right now.

Production has Begun!

We have seen the start of big chunks of money changing hands, and the wheels of production are turning in two key areas! SIGNATURE COINS has begun their 3D sculpting for the coin series, and STAR WARS artist and mat-printer Drew Baker has begun work on the playmats. It was important to me to try and secure a US-based source for the playmats, and many fellow artists in my industry recommended Drew. Drew has been a personal friend and "convention ringer" (definition: if they're gonna be there, I'll for sure have someone fun to hang out with) for years now, and the added endorsement of several colleagues saying his playmats are top notch made using him a no-brainer. The added advantage of using a "small batch" printer is that now you will have FIVE playmat options to choose from instead of three. And all the playmats will be 100% printed in the USA. 

Pledge Manager

Please believe me when I say I am turning myself inside out trying to get this thing open for you. The good news: I've put in a LOT of PM work lately, and I think I have a) all the items and options listed & all their add ons or item-specific questions functioning correctly, and b) all the US shipping working properly as well. Here are the things that need to get nailed down before I can open it: 

INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING. Here's the setback news: the fulfillment partner I've been in touch with since before the Kickstarter is essentially a no-go. They feel "it isn't a good match for their services". So first an foremost, OUCH. That's like, 10 months of vendor schmoozing up in smoke. (Basically, their business model is for clients that want to set up permanent business operations internationally. It took us a LOOOONG time to figure out we weren't compatible.) Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE regular international business, but RD isn't there yet. 

BUT. After just ONE DAY of calls and emails, I feel like I've found a couple of great new options who seem to be a) much more on board with doing a "one and done" fulfillment job in their region consisting of 200-ish packages, b) who are extremely personable & very knowledgeable about Kickstarter-specific fulfillment, and c) know the specific fees of their region WAY better. 

This has to GET DONE and GET DONE RIGHT before I can open up the PM. in these COVID-y, Delta-Variant times, international shipping realities are changing literally month to month. No joke, it's a shit time to be fulfilling a Kickstarter. I'm trying to find our international backers (who we love) their best deal possible, without personally getting stuck holding the bag for tens of thousands of dollars because I didn't do my homework & I effed it all up.

ART. I'm totally willing to open the PM without 100% of the package art in place. You guys already know if you want the Steampunk & Victorian Expansion or the Horror & Urban Fantasy Expansion based on content alone - you're not likely gonna be sucked in by a cool cover. But for things like coins & playmats, which live & die by how cool they look, you need to SEE it to know whether or not you WANT it.

The good news here is, coin sculpts are FULLY IN PROGRESS. I've already sent Signature Coins notes and feedback on 6 out of 8 coin sculpts. You guys can expect finals within the next 7 days. As soon as I have final approved sculpts, I'll upload the images to the Pledge Manager, and you'll have excellent visual representation to help you decide which coins you want. The sculpts are looking AMAZING, and I hope you're all as excited about them as I am. 

Playmat designs are 95% DONE. Art is complete, but in some cases we just need a little tweaking & retrofitting in order to fit the format dimensions.

Now, Let's look at what's up with content.

Content Progress

Content is very, VERY far along. And let's face it - the card content is the beating heart of this whole project.

All CORE cards are now LOCKED. MOTIVATIONS (the new name for what started as SUPEROBJECTIVES), STRENGTHS, FLAWS, and GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES are done and DONE.

All CONTEMPORARY cards are now LOCKED, (And so, content for the CORE SET is now 100% DONE.)

The addition of 23 cards of content to each of the 7 Companion Decks really did put me back in writer mode for sets that were otherwise locked. And, I really haven't been able to completely fill out any one set since the addition of those 23 cards. Here's why: I DO NOT BELIEVE in shitty, filler, boring, peg-warmer card content. If I'm not excited about a card's drama and story potential, it ain't going in the set. There's LOTS AND LOTS of potential cards on the cutting room floor. Mmm. They're there for a reason. 

Luckily, I'm 3-5 cards away from RE-LOCKING 5 out of 7 companions. LOVECRAFTIAN & NOIR needs a few more really deep-dive Lovecraftian lore references, and an extra QC pass to make sure I've hit that 1930's-40's pulp crime + creeping cosmic horror tone right on the money. And ESPIONAGE & BLACK OPS, the one expansion I've always known would be the most difficult (due to the special knowledge base needed to make it feel authentic) is still under construction, but TOTALLY headed in the right direction.

 That's what I got for you guys. Like I said, quick & dirty, with no pretty pictures or art reveals. If you don't hear from me for a bit, it's becasue I'm trying to get that Pledge Manager OPEN. In fact, you probably won't hear from me again until I can reliably say "Pledge Manager Opening Next Week". I want it open before Labor Day Weekend. Cross your fingers. TRUST ME when I say no one wants the PM open more than I do. 

Enjoy the tail end of your summer, and I hope to be in touch with good news in the next 2 weeks.

Clark

Manufacturing Plans, A Big Announcement, and Art Reveals!
over 3 years ago – Tue, Jul 20, 2021 at 01:35:55 AM

Hi friends!

I see several of you have made requests for another project update. Happy to oblige - SO MUCH to tell you. A lot has happened really fast, so strap in.

New Manufacturing Plan

MADE IN THE USA is a GO. I’ve received all the notes and pricing I need to make an informed decision, and I can now share the exciting news that printing is moving from China to Orlando, Florida! Shuffled Ink will be producing all the cards and packaging at their home facility here in the US.

 I’ll be very proud and excited to display “made in the USA” on all my products! Another reason this will work so well for us is we’ll now be taking advantage of Shuffled Ink’s fulfillment services. Fulfillment shipping will happen direct from the same facility it all gets printed in. Which means, the product doesn’t have to travel AT ALL from the manufacturer to a separate fulfillment entity. I think this should save us at least a MONTH in our overall timeline (as far as when domestic fulfillment will begin), since there will be no waiting for freight shipping from China, or for the products to have to go through customs in the US, and then make their way across the US to a fulfillment house in some giant truck. As for Canada, the UK & the EU, and Australia, your inventory will be freight shipped out of Florida to fulfillment facilities in your countries (both the UK & EU will get fulfilled out of Ireland), and your orders will be packed and shipped from there.

There is one down side. Sadly, spot gloss on cards had to go. Apparently, my contact at the printer spoke too soon, and neither foil nor spot UV on the card backs is possible at their Florida facility. So the cards themselves will be straight CMYK printing, with no extra enhancements. But I’m making it up to you by adding spot UV to the lids of the Core Set and all seven of the Companion Decks.

The other great thing about this news is I’m no longer waiting for someone else to get me crucial information before I can complete the Pledge Manager! I’ll get started on putting all the new shipping rates into the PM, and I should have news soon on when we can finally get that sucker opened up!

(Which again, for all of you who have emailed me asking to change your shipping address, is where you'll be able to take care of that really easily.)

The Gods Have Smiled on You

You all just got a BUNCH more cards. Wait, what? Turns out, it SAVES the project money to do card counts that conform to entire sheets the manufacturer uses. First, that means 8 cards from the core set need to get cut, taking it from 400 cards to 392. Boo. BUT, each of the 7 companion decks is going from 200 cards up to 223!! (224, really, but I’ll be utilizing that 224th card in each Companion as an instructions card.) Which means the net gain of content to the systemis 153 added cards, for which you need to do nothing, and pay nothing. You just get it. Meanwhile, I’ve dug in to do all that extra writing for 23 added cards in sets I thought were 99% LOCKED.

Art Reveals!

Finally, you guys haven’t seen any art reveals in a long while. Here’s a look at 2 of the images you haven’t seen for the premium category dividers! You’ll also see these turning up decorating areas of the collector’s box, and of course, they're PLAYMAT design possibilities! What do you think, gang? Should either of these be playmats?

And, here’s the thing I’ve been killing myself on most recently: getting the 7 covers designed for the Companion Decks! Though they’re a lot of work, they’re fun as hell to do, and I think all 7 of them as a set are gonna look spectacular. If you follow @recklessdeck on Instagram (which if you don’t, WTF? Please give us a follow!), you may have seen these in the past couple of days. Either way, here are your first two Companion Deck cover designs!

And currently on my Cintiq screen is the cover for the ESPIONAGE & BLACK OPS Companion. Sound off in the comments below about what you think of the art and all the new news!

More Soon,

Clark

Content FIRST LOOK: The CONTEMPORARY & CONTEMPORARY: MA Sets
over 3 years ago – Wed, Jun 16, 2021 at 03:17:09 AM

Hi Reckless Friends!

OK, first of all, a huge, heartfelt THANK YOU to each of you who liked and commented on the last update. It was a tricky thing to raise the issues of potential US production, and the possible swapping out of foil backs for spot UV. I feared it would read as a sneaky bait & switch, or as a sign that the project was in trouble. The OVERWHELMING amount of support I received about a) you clearly not giving two sh*ts about the foil, and b) really coming out in vociferous support of this being potentially a “MADE IN THE USA” product was a massive power-up towards feeling like I was on the right track as a project creator, and that my backers were on board for the journey. Again, nothing has been locked in yet, as I am still waiting on pricing, but I will for sure keep you informed.

The CONTEMPORARY COMPANION

ENOUGH BUSINESS. Last week, I promised you a fun update, where we’re not talking about production or problem solving, but are just exploring some of the incredibly cool content that is coming your way. Everything I’ll share with you in this ongoing series of “spoiler” updates will showcase content that is Post-Kickstarter, so it’ll be all new to you. Hopefully this will be a great way for you to not only get to know the different decks better, but also to crib some advance content that you’re welcome to start using in your writing & gaming right away! (Seriously. Grab these & go make stuff.)

Let’s start at the beginning, with the 200 card CONTEMPORARY Companion, and its latest offspring, the CONTEMPORARY: MA 60 card mini. This should be a great opportunity to clarify what the difference between the two is, and to illustrate why I felt compelled to create the new MATURE AUDIENCES mini.

First, let’s do a breakdown I hope to repeat for every one of these content-exploration posts, a fun exercise I like to call WHAT'S IN THE SET?

• Present Day-Grounded Jobs & Careers
• Real World Crime & Murder
• Mysterious Backstory, Mysterious Wealth
• Love, Marriage, Romance, & Infidelity
• Workplace Intrigue (which dovetails with both Infidelity & Crime)
• Family Drama
• High Stakes Moral & Ethical Dilemmas
• Fame Intrigue (includes Social Media & Reality Stardom, Pro & College Sports, the Music Industry, & Hollywood)
• Encounters with Law Enforcement
• Life & Death Brushes with Nature & the Environment

Now, before you Sci Fi & Fantasy-based writers and gamers scoff at this list and shout “this has NOTHING to do with what I write, or the way I game!”, please PAUSE a minute, and let me tell you, the Contemporary cards will get used in pretty much everything you do with this system. So often in play testing, we have found that interspersing the Contemporary Companion’s grounded human relationships, and moments of honesty & dishonesty in both your character’s personal and professional lives adds the dramatic depth that transcends the flashy, genre-based adventure & derring-do, and makes people invest emotionally in your characters and their story. I will demonstrate this in future posts, where I mix Contemporary in with other genre sets. But now, let’s reveal some content!

OCCUPATIONS

SECRETS

FORMATIVE EVENTS

INCITING INCIDENTS

The MATURE AUDIENCES Mini Companion

Again, why did I do this? Because in play testing, some of the content proved really polarizing, and for some, not just challenging, but “triggering”. Or, to put it in more pedestrian terms: for some, it ceased to be fun & creative, & instead forced them to confront something painful or traumatizing. And, because some of it could be deemed inappropriate for teens, depending on the individual family. I saw a need to create a bit of a barrier for parents & individuals between the really hot button stuff, that allowed them to exercise control over what content got released into their own kids’ - or their own - creative development. The Core Set is in NO WAY a “Kid’s Set” or a “YA (Young Adult) Set”, & I hope the examples I've just posted prove that. But, that doesn’t mean I’m out to exclude all teens, OR freak out parents by creating an 18+ base set, either. I am not restricting access to the MA Mini in any way; anyone who wants it can buy it. If some or all of this mini is content parents want to expose their kids to, it's right there for them. But I’ve done enough shows & conventions to know that parents are really interested in Reckless Deck as a tool for their kids’ creativity - but are also highly tuned in to what might be a little too much too soon. This way, there’s a bit of a “pressure valve” for parents, teens - and also more conservative adult users who don’t want polarizing content thrown in their face at random. As an actor and an illustrator, I'm determined to put the more intense content out there - but I’m not out to be the arbiter of what is and isn't appropriate for your kids - or yourself, for that matter.

This mini breaks with the established pattern of the other Companions, and swaps out OCCUPATIONS for 15 new GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES cards. Let’s play another round of What’s in the Set?

• Traumatic National Events
• Mass Shootings & School Shootings
• Child Murder & Crimes Against Children
• Sexual Abuse
• Drug Use & Drug Addiction
• Race & Minority Motivated Violence
• MA-Worthy Sex, Relationships, & Sexual Extremes (includes the sexually aware, the sexually adventurous, and the sexually criminal)

Let's Reveal some content! If this kind of content is not for you, feel free to bail out now.

GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES

SECRETS

FORMATIVE EVENTS

INCITING INCIDENTS

I invite you to tell me your thoughts, & I'm looking forward to your feedback in the comments below! 

Tune in next time, for a tour of EPIC FANTASY and EPIC FANTASY DARK!

Until then,

Clark