Reward Distribution - Existing Rewards Going Out to Backers!
Hello Forge Friends!
It's been just over a week since we started sending out our Pledge Manager invitations . If you haven't yet filled out your backer survey, please do so ...
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James Bell
9 days ago
Pledge Manager Surveys Coming This Week!
Hello Cogs in the Machine!
Welcome to 2025 and our first update of this new phase of the project.
We finished up the Crowdfunding portion of our campaign at the end of 202...
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James Bell
about 1 month ago
Compiled Draft Manuscript
Hello Cogs in the Machine,
This is not a real update, just a quick note during this weird liminal time in the middle of the holidays before the new year has started and I'm ...
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James Bell
about 2 months ago
The Forge has Cooled!
Hello Cogs!
I don't know the correct metaphor, but the campaign has ended! In a triumphant fashion!
Thanks to the support of more than 1,930 backers, Onyx Path will b...
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James Bell
about 2 months ago
Final Hour!
One final hour to go!
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James Bell
about 2 months ago
FINAL HOURS: CHECKLIST & WHAT COMES NEXT
Hello Machine Cogs,
Welcome to the final hours of this campaign! We've had a pretty great run - funding very quickly and coming up to the end with more than 1,850 backers! W...
This is not a real update, just a quick note during this weird liminal time in the middle of the holidays before the new year has started and I'm back on the clock. Sort of.
Anyway, I'm posting this because I took a moment and mashed all of the manuscript previews together into one big document to share with you. This isn't a new manuscript and doesn't contain any material different from the previews we had during the campaign - it's just all throw together in one big document, which may make it easier to read? Or perhaps less easy to read, but maybe easier to keep track of?
Either way, if there are any issues - if I missed a section or put something out of order - let me know and I'll hammer on them as we start into January. I'll be back midway through January to launch our Pledge Manager and get the first wave or existing rewards sorted, but until then, here's the re-forged draft manuscript, compiled from all of the pieces we shared during the campaign.
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT PREVIEWS - BACKERS ONLY
Remember, thanks to BackerKit magic, these download links are visible to Backers only - you must be logged in and reading this on the website to have access to the manuscript preview link. So, if you're reading this via e-mail, click that "Learn More" button on the bottom and I'll see you below this title treatment.
It's been just over a week since we started sending out our Pledge Manager invitations . If you haven't yet filled out your backer survey, please do so as soon as possible - you can change it or update it right up until the books are printing and we're getting ready to ship. We use the Pledge Manager for all reward fulfillment, so having your backer page set up ensures you'll be getting your rewards in a timely manner.
If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://alchemicals.backerkit.com/
Many of the rewards for our Crowdfunding projects take a lot of time and effort to complete. Usually, the campaign is a means of moving the project from an idea (even when it's a mostly-fully-written idea) into the actual channel that turns it into a project/product. It'll be a while before we're ready to talk about delivery of Alchemicals: Forged by the Machine God, and even longer for the Stretch Goal projects.
That said, there are many rewards that are available now, as they were mostly add-on pre-orders or bundles of existing products. And now we can work on getting those out to you over the weekend.
The following Add On Rewards WillBe Distributed This Week:
Alchemicals: Forged by the Machine God Draft Manuscript
Exalted Third Edition Core Rules PDF + Discounted PoD Codes
Dragon-Blooded: What Fire Has Wrought PDF + Discounted PoD Codes
Lunars: Fangs at the Gate PDF + Discounted PoD Codes
Exigents: Out of the Ashes PDF + Discounted PoD Codes
Sidereals: Charting Fate's Course PDF + Discounted PoD Codes
Abyssals: Sworn to the Grave Draft Manuscript
Exalted: Essence PDF + Discounted PoD Codes
Many-Faced Strangers PDF + Discounted PoD Codes
Across the Eight Directions PDF + Discounted PoD Codes
Crucible of Legend PDF + Discounted PoD Codes
Arms of the Chosen PDF + Discounted PoD Codes
The Realm PDF + Discounted PoD Codes
Exalted Music Bundle
Exalted Fiction Bundle
It's basically this section from our Add On menu during the campaign.
Since Abyssals: Sworn to the Grave still in development, anyone who added the pre-order to their rewards list will receive the draft manuscript for that projects. As with our draft manuscript, there are still rounds of editing and development that the text is going through or has gone through, but you can consider it about 95% there.
REWARD DISTRIBUTION
Your link to claim these digital rewards will be sent out by our BackerKit pledge manager over the nextfew days. Since we are using our partners at DriveThruRPG as the hosts for these, you will need to set up a DriveThru account if you don't have one already. If you encounter any problems with downloading your rewards, please contact DTRPG's customer service to resolve the matter, they've always been top-rated for customer service. http://www.drivethrurpg.com/contact_us.ph
Thebest way to ensure these redemption codes work smoothly is to log in to your DTRPG account first, and then click (or copy) the link shown in your BackerKit.
Again, you will receive an e-mail from BackerKit with links for these rewards over the next 1-2 days if any of them are on your expected list of rewards. I'll be releasing them in waves, so don't panic if you only see a couple links at first... the rest are coming. (We're in a digital world, but there are still a lot of manual processes. And there are manylinks to go out!!)
The easiest way to see if you've got digital downloads available is to login to your backerkit account: https://alchemicals.backerkit.com/ and it'll show anything available. Your backerkit account should also confirm all rewards that you should expect from your reward tier selected.
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT
In addition to redemption links for these digital rewards, all backers have received a link to the compiled draft manuscript. This link can be found in your BackerKit digital rewards page, and you likely received an e-mail linking to that with the Backer Survey invitations. Again, this isn't a new manuscript, it's just all of the pieces we shared during the campaign put together in order. It's the same link that I share at the bottom of these campaign updates, but I want to make sure you have access to it in any place that makes sense.
MONTHLY UPDATES
With the Pledge Manager up and running, next month I'll have our first "regular" update for our project. I'll send these updates out every month to let you know where we sit. We're still in the earliest stages of this post-campaign, where projects make incremental movements along the progress path. A lot of months will be pretty similar, just a quick note to let you know that the Onyx Path team is still working on it. Any time we have a new reward or something of interest to share, I'll include that as well.
At the end of each month, I'll include a summary of our rewards and their current status (they'll either be delivered or marked as still pending, possibly with additional details if I know more). I'll also list any relevant Update posts, in case you want to go back and check into something.
Each month, I'll list our "Pending" rewards and our "Delivered" rewards. We'll track the project status of our pending rewards by filling in the stage dots, and I'll note which update (and include a link) with each delivered reward, in case you want to go back and re-read the relevant update for more information. If any of these rewards were on your pledge list, you can access download codes in your BackerKit Digital Rewards page. And once they've been added to your DriveThruRPG library, you can access them through your DTRPG digital library at any time.
That's for February, though. For now, enjoy your Exalted Add On rewards!
Onyx Path Project Tracking
You can read Onyx Path's most recent monthly summary, covering all projects and their status up to that point here: <December 2024 Project Status Summary>
You can find the weekly Monday Meeting blog updates <here>, which note any projects with status changes since the previous Month End summary. The project statuses listed are current as of last Monday, so do check it out each Monday night to see if anything may have progressed!
I will continue to post regular updates every month until the final reward has gone out.
Remember: You can use the links at the bottom of this e-mail to unsubscribe from updates or Manage your notification settings. These status updates are available on the campaign page for you to review at any time.
Onyx Path Disccusion Channels
If you've got questions about the rules or setting, or just want to discuss this game with other fans (as well as the Onyx Path writers and developers!), you can check out these Onyx Path discussion zones:
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Welcome to 2025 and our first update of this new phase of the project.
We finished up the Crowdfunding portion of our campaign at the end of 2024 with a successful run, adding many backers and bonus rewards. Now it's time to start the next phase of the project - the Post-Campaign, where we track the progress of the various projects we helped fund and send out rewards as they become available.
To help with all of that we use BackerKit's Pledge Manager.
Today's Topics
BackerKit Pledge Manager SurveysComing Soon
CompiledDraft Manuscript (available in BackerKit Digital Rewards)
ComingNext
BACKER SURVEYS
Over the next handfulof days (Jan 21-24), you’ll receive an email from us with a special link to your Pledge Manager survey. It’s important to respond to your survey as quickly as you can since we need this information to fulfill your rewards.
You don’t need to create a BackerKit account to fill out your survey (although you probably already have one from pledging to this campaign). When you receive the email with the survey, click the survey invitation link to respond. Answer the questions about your reward preferences, provide shipping information, and purchase add-on items if you like. You don’t have access to this survey link yet, but it will be available laterthis week via email!
The e-mail will have a button that looks something like this:
After you respond to your survey, you can go back later and change your responses at any time before we close the surveys and get our final counts, and that won't happen until the books are being printed and we're preparing to ship.
If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://alchemicals.backerkit.com/
If you have any other questions or concerns, you can post them to the comments for this update, the comment section, or message me via one of these methods:
TO CONTACT JAMES
Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.
If there are any issues you find with the Pledge Manager, please contact me as soon as possible to let me know. It rolls out in waves so that I can correct issues on the fly and make it work as best possible as people come on board.
I had initially expected to be sending this out a week ago, but 2025 has already been a grind. The chances of a few errors in the Pledge Manager set up are ... greater than zero ... so let me know if you see something off and I'll fix it as quickly as possible.
Within the BackerKit Survey and Pledge Manager, you can:
Review your Pledge Tier Selection and Rewards
Upgrade your Reward Tier pledge selection
Confirm Add On selections
Set up payment information for any failed payments from the Crowdfunding campaign or to pay for any new Add On options selected.
Whenyou click on your BackerKit invitation link,you should see something like this...
From the Pledge Manager welcome page you can choose to
Review Your Pledge Level and Rewards
Start Your Survey, confirming pledge rewards, confirming or selecting new Add On options, and confirming any shipping and payment info that may be needed
Switch Your Pledge Level
If you've pledged to a reward tier that includes physical rewards, you can enter your shipping country at this stage. As noted during our campaign, we haven't set shipping costs yet - those will be calculated and added in when we're preparing to ship the book. That won't be for a long time, though, and there will be plenty of opportunity - and notice - for you to make changes.
If you click on your Pledge Level, you will see a list of all items included in your Pledge Rewards (including Stretch Goals and the Draft Manuscript), and also have the option to switch your Pledge Level, in case you've decided to get the hardcover pledge instead of the PDF-only pledge tier for example.
Once you've confirmed that your Pledge Level is correct and where you want it to be, you can GETSTARTED with your BackerKit Pledge Manager Survey.
Once we've got a fair response to our survey and collected a reasonable amount of info, I'll be working on fulfilling rewards that are available now - like the PDFs of the titles included in our Add On section (for example, the various Exalted Third Edition splat books and supplements). Those will likely be coming to you January 29th, and I'll send another update with more info when that time comes.
So, in summary:
Look for an e-mail invitation to BackerKit's Pledge Manager sometime over the next 4-5 days
Get Started on your survey
Confirm your Pledge Level (or SWITCH your Pledge Level if you want to change it)
Confirm and Select Any Add On options
Confirm Your Shipping Information (if needed)
Confirm Your Payment Information (if needed)
I will post an update in another week as I begin outlining the delivery of our first Add On rewards (the existing title PDFs, as noted above) and beginning distribution of those PDF rewards.
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT
Looking in the example pledge list above, you can see a listing for the Draft Manuscript. In your BackerKit digital rewards page, you will have access to the compiled draft manuscript. It won't be different from the one that was shared a few weeks ago and again at the bottom of this page - I'll just be moving your link to sit along side your other rewards on the Pledge Manager's Digital Reward Page. The Draft Manuscript link may not be active when you first login to your BackerKit survey, but I'll throw the switch and it'll send you a notice next week after all of the invitations have gone out.
I will talk about how to access your BackerKit digital rewards links in an update coming later this month, when I send out the first wave of available rewards.
COMING NEXT
In the a week or so, I'll send an update with details about the distribution for that first wave of existing Exalted rewards. I'll also get the compiled draft manuscript up and ready for you.
In February we'll begin our regular monthly check-ins, tracking the progress of this project as it moves through this phase. It'll take some time, but we'll have regular updates all through the process. I'll also have notes on how to check the weekly and monthly All Project Progress updates on Onyx Path's website.
TO CONTACT JAMES
Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.
I don't know the correct metaphor, but the campaign has ended! In a triumphant fashion!
Thanks to the support of more than 1,930 backers, Onyx Path will be able to develop and print deluxe hardcover editions for Alchemicals: Forged by the Machine God!
Not only did we come really close to 2000 backers, we extended the campaign with a last minute Backer Train taking us into Overtime!! That was cool! It's still a recent feature, but we love testing out new bits and seeing how much more fun we can have with our campaigns.
There's more to celebrate! Not only did we fund the project in the first day, we also unlocked SIXTEEN Stretch Goals. From standard Onyx Path milestone markers to an expanded Companion full of more options for your game!
It came down to the last few days but we managed to hit every Stretch Goal we'd posted and then unlocked ONE MORE STRETCH GOAL in the final minutes of the campaign!
That's right - the backer train at the end took us just past $160,000 and one more special addition to our Alchemicals Companion! Eagle-eyed backers noticed a quiet $160,000 Achievement listed in the Community section without any further details. Well, I don't like to promise things that we may not hit, so didn't really flesh it out until the final minutes, but we managed to add one final expansion...
[ACHIEVED] At $160,000 in Funding - ALCHEMICALS COMPANION:Might of the Machine-Titans - A collection of high-Essence Alchemical Charms designed for colossi, along with the terrifying Collapsing Point of Judgment style, a martial art that only colossi can master.
Our Bonus Reward Collection
Some Milestone Markers
A NEW ADD ON
NEW CONTENT - EXPANDING A SUPPLEMENT
This Alchemicals Companion PDF was expanded via Stretch Goal achievement, with each achieved goal unlocking a new section in the book, and will be added as a bonus reward to all backers receiving the Alchemicals: Forged by the Machine God PDF as one of their pledge rewards.
[ACHIEVED] ALCHEMICALS COMPANION: The Lost City of Tekun - The disappearance of the metropolis Tekun is a mystery to the Eight Nations — but now, the truth is revealed. Cast though the Seal of Eight Divinities, the lost city has survived deep in the vast underground caverns of Creation. Its people still preserve the Octet’s culture and faith despite their isolation from the Machine God, a flickering light of hope amidst the many perils of the deep.
[ACHIEVED] ALCHEMICALS COMPANION: The Forge of Legends - Additional Storyteller advice and plot hooks for Alchemical campaigns, whether in Autochthonia or Creation.
[ACHIEVED] ALCHEMICALS COMPANION: Beyond the Eight Nations - An expansion of Autochthonia’s reaches and those who dwell within: tunnel folk societies, Alchemical outcasts, and gruesome horrors born of the Blight.
[ACHIEVED] ALCHEMICALS COMPANION: God-Machinery of Exalted Power -A panoply of Alchemical Charms and submodule upgrades, as well as Light-Sharpening Blade style, a martial art that makes use of beamklaves.
[ACHIEVED] ALCHEMICALS COMPANION: The Ever-Spreading Blight -Quick Character traits for Apostates, those Alchemicals corrupted by Autochthon’s Blight, and the lesser gremlins that stalk the Realm of Brass and Shadows. [ACHIEVED] ALCHEMICALS COMPANION: Industrial Assembly of the Chosen -Quick Character traits for Alchemical heroes from across the Eight Nations — and Creation.
[ACHIEVED]ALCHEMICALS COMPANION: Ramos-Autrama, Riven by War - Once, Ramos-Autrama was not one city, but two: one from Yugash, and one from Sova. In the wake of the bitter War of Ashes between the two nations, the two war-torn metropoli found themselves forced together by Autochthonia’s theotectonic movements, isolated from both nations. Now, only the intervention of foreign powers keeps the city’s divided populace from turning on each other and restarting the war.
[ACHIEVED] ALCHEMICALS COMPANION:Servants of the Machine God - Quick Character traits for a variety of machine spirits found in the Realm of Brass and Shadow. [ACHIEVED] ALCHEMICALS COMPANION:Gods from the Machine - Expanded information on the Eight Divine Ministers, the Third Circle souls of Autochthon, as well as the Alchemical machine saints who serve the Divine Ministers in pursuit of their agendas.
[ACHIEVED] ALCHEMICALS COMPANION:Locust Crusades and Grasshopper Diplomacy - A Storyteller guide for playing out the first contact between Autochthonia and Creation and the myriad scenarios that might unfold once the Seal of Eight Divinities has been broken.
[ACHIEVED] - ALCHEMICALS COMPANION:Might of the Machine-Titans - A collection of high-Essence Alchemical Charms designed for colossi, along with the terrifying Collapsing Point of Judgment style, a martial art that only colossi can master.
That last one was an amazing surpise!
SIXTEEN STRETCH GOALS
I'm so happy that we were able to unlock the last section for the Companion! I'm really looking forward to seeing how Danielle and the team can expand on the options we've already got, and then add more fun stuff for our characters to do! And if bigger is better, then that last one really makes things awesome!
And all of that is, of course, on top of our main purpose here - the creating of the actual book itself! This is the real reward - everything else is a bonus!
So a huge congratulations to Danielle and Chazz and Vance and the team on this project, and to all of the backers who've joined in to make this possible. I'm happy about the goals we hit and rewards we introduced, but I'm also always amazed and excited about having more than 1000 backers join in during this campaign, and we nearly doubled that dream target! Exalted fans are always a delight, and I'm happy that I get to share in the excitement and enthusiasm in my own little corner of the project!
AN EXTRA THANK YOU!
So, thank you to all the backers who supported us and made this happen. And an extra thanks to everyone who participated online, either in the Community comments section of the campaign, and on social media around the web. Thanks to everyone who talked about the project on the Discord and thanks to the Onyx Path team who answered questions and provided insight.
COMMUNICATION
So, as noted in today's earlier update, starting in January I'll be sending out updates once a month and whenever we've got a new goal, survey, or other item to cover. If you have any questions or need clarification on something related to the campaign, feel free to get in touch. I may take a bit to answer as I recover from these past four weeks and take some time off until the New Year, but I'll eventually have an answer!
I'll also see if I can sneak a compiled draft manuscript out to you maybe in the final week of the year. Nothing changed, just smashed together in order.
TO CONTACT ME
Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your forthcoming survey page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.
ONYX PATH DISCUSSION CHANNELS
If you've got questions about the rules or setting, or just want to discuss this game with other fans (as well as the Onyx Path writers and developers!), you can check out these Onyx Path discussion zones:
Backers make it better! That's the real Alchemy happening here.
The Discord is particularly lively, and I loved seeing the thoughts and jokes as the chapters came out bit by bit.
BackerKit will begin collected pledges and processing payments later tonight, so be ready for that.
I hope everyone has a great holiday and year end and I'll be in touch quickly in a few weeks and then for real in January!
High fives all around in the comment section and on the Discord, and you'll hear from me again in a month-or-so when I've got the pledge manager set up and ready to roll out!
