Hello Scions,

We're officially in the Final Week countdown for this BackerKit crowdfunding campaign. Even with our weird time change day we can only carry on for so many hours, and we'll be coming to an end next Thursday, November 17th.

Over this final week I'll be touching on a handful of instructional and review-type posts about Pledge Tiers and reward lists and Add On options, and also reviewing our Stretch Goal progress and outlining what comes next. So if you've got any process questions or are wondering about any of the parts of this campaign, hopefully I'll answer those questions as we work towards the end. Of course, if you're still wondering about something, please ask and I'll help as best I can.

I know, this is something I've already said many times (and seem to say during every project!), but for this final week, you are officially the Messenger of the Gods and can invite anyone to this campaign to dance with the divine and see if they've got an interest in joining our cause. By that strained metaphor, I'm saying it's time to share your excitement for Scion: God! Basically, we want to recruit as many interested heroes and demigods as possible to form our own mighty pantheon over this final week.

I know I end every update post with "Keep spreading the word! Invite others to join in!" - but what does that mean, and how do you do it?

Easy answer - don't stop talking about Scion: God until 2:01 PM EST next Thursday November 17th (when the campaign has ended). Yes, family and friends (and the people getting their tires swapped earlier this morning) were tired of me talking about it, but what else have I got to talk about? And they've learned to tolerate me during a crowdfunding campaign. But here's the thing - there are others around who haven't heard or don't know about the campaign.

We've branched out into a new realm with this campaign - a new Terra Incognita or Overworld perhaps - utilizing BackerKit's brand new crowdfunding platform. Though most of our previous backers have utilized BackerKit in some capacity, many may not be aware of this aspect of their services or the fact that our crowdfunding campaign is currently running. So, please, spread the word as best you can, sharing in your social circles and on your social media as much as possible over this final week.

All of that said, there are a few things to remember before we finish the campaign and your pledges are collected. I don't think these are really deterrents, but it is stuff best discussed and referenced before we finish to ensure everyone has a complete understanding of the process.

You'll have the current approved draft manuscript in your hands at the end of the campaign. And, really, aside from some minor corrections and maybe some rules clarifications, you'll have everything you need to start exploring the epic scope of Scion: God.

Which is good, because these books take some time to put together. Even though we'll have the nearly there manuscript, Onyx Path works very hard to create these books at a high standard, and that takes time. In our FAQ, you'll see that the PDF reward is projected to release to backers by March 2024, and the hardcover by September 2024. The plan is to get them to you earlier - as quickly as possible while managing workloads and quality - but things happen to slow the process sometimes. We've built in plenty of padding in those dates to account for some of the unexpected hurdles, but just be aware that we're at the beginning of the process, not yet in sight of the finish line.

I will be in constant contact after the campaign, and you'll know about each stage of progress along the way. I'll talk more about that on our final update, when we go over the Next Steps.

One quick note about International Shipping before we get into the manuscript previews. Unlike most previous Onyx Path crowdfunded projects, we won’t be collecting funds to cover International Shipping during this campaign. Instead, we’ll be charging for shipping in the Pledge Manager once the books are being printed and we can deal with the actual shipping charges rather than using our best-guesses this far out. We’re still anticipating pretty hefty costs to ship the book internationally (see our current guesses on the front page) so be forewarned, but we’ll cross that enormous bridge when we get to it.

And lastly, something to think about - before the end of this campaign, before any pledges are processed or payments are collected, you'll be able to read the entire Scion: God book. This allows you to ensure that you're backing a project you're interested in and know exactly what you're getting in to. We've got a final preview to share on Tuesday, but there are no secrets we're keeping about this project. Once the campaign is finished, the process to move it along the progress track starts immediately, and we want to make sure that everyone is interested in coming along with us on the ride.

So, if you've reviewed the material and this game isn't for you, you can cancel your pledge before next Thursday and we'll wish you well and hope a future project captures your interest. If you're on the fence, it's best to pledge to a reward tier that you can afford and are comfortable with now - you'll be able to upgrade your pledge after the campaign, but it's much more difficult to reverse a decision filled with regret later.

And with those caveats covered, I also want to point out the really great stuff about supporting the project and backing now. First off, not only do backers have access to the draft manuscript, but you've also got access to the Feedback Form which Onyx Path is using during this campaign to collect errata and see what needs to be clarified or corrected. The Feedback Form goes directly to the developers and writers for this project and will help guide them through the next steps of development and editing as the project continues down the progress path.

We've unlocked three new supplements via our Funding Accomplishment stretch goals, and these rewards will be added - for free - as bonus rewards to backers receiving the Scion: God PDF as one of their pledge rewards. The Scion: God Jumpstart PDF, the Scion: God Companion PDF, and Divine Inspiration PDF are all new rewards that only existed as ideas before the campaign started, but thanks to the support of all backers they will become a reality. And better, they'll automatically be rewarded to those who supported this campaign. 

In fact, these projects are still growing - we've got Stretch Goal targets ahead that further expand the material that may be included. The more backers we have, the bigger these projects get, and the more backers we'll be sending them out to when completed.

I'll talk about this a bit more when I talk about our next steps on our final day, but backing the campaign now - at any pledge level - opens up full participation in the Pledge Manager after the crowdfunding campaign concludes. Within the Pledge Manager, you'll be able to confirm or select Add On options as well as upgrading your reward tier should you wish. So backing now opens up access to flexibility and additional options right up until we're ready to ship our rewards.

We've got one week to go, everyone! Thank you all so much for your support! Like new gods forming their own pantheon, we've come together to achieve mighty goals! Over the past 3 weeks, working together, we've funded the book and unlocked SEVEN stretch goals, including a jumpstart with ready-made characters, the Companion providing additional insight and rules for aspects of your game, and Divine Inspiration to help build your own epic mythology and stories!

Let's continue to work together to grow our backer count and enjoy these moments of escape from the chaos and confusion of the world, if only for a brief moment. Let's trade some quips, speculate about upcoming Overworlds and Adversaries and imagine new Legendary Relics and epic deeds, and celebrate all that this campaign has done in the next week!

And let's continue our campaign towards the next Stretch Goal! Will we have more to review next Wednesday when we share the wonder of our discoveries? I certainly think so!