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 1,200 backers! We've unlocked TWELVE Stretch Goals, adding some cool bonus rewards for supporters of this campaign!
The most important part of this campaign, though, is that we have successfully funded this project! Thanks to everyone who's come out to support this campaign, we'll be getting this cool book!
As mentioned, backers will also receive a pile of Stretch Goals as bonus rewards, including the expanded Companion, a Jumpstart scenario, the option for additional Add On rewards, a digital wallpaper, and more!
FINAL DAY CHECKLIST
Whether you've newly discovered the daemons or have faced down a Winter Dragon, these are some good topics to review over these final six hours...
1. KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SUPPORTING
You can listen to Episode 313 and Episode 310 of the Onyx Pathcast to hear developers and writers talk about working on the book and then creating characters for the system. A great way to confirm what the team is building is to hear their actual words. Or you can see and hear the game in play with the Actual Play episodes listed in <This Update>
This update breaks down your best starting point for figuring out which Backer Reward Tier to choose to help support this project in a way that works for you.
The first decision you need to make in figuring out your reward tier is whether you want to receive the PDF version or the regular or deluxe hardcover edition (which comes with bonus PDF versions).
DIVINER: This is the PDF-only reward tier. So, if you're saving trees or saving shelf space - or avoiding the shipping charges that are absolutely ever-increasing - this is the reward tier option that you should begin with. The PDF will be fulfilled by our partners at DriveThruRPG.com - when it is ready, you will receive a link to add it to your DTRPG library at no cost for you to download at your leisure.
MAGE: This reward tier includes the standard hardcover version of this book. Shipping costs ARE NOT included in the cost of your pledge. You will be charged for shipping after the campaign through the pledge manager. In addition, this option also includes the PDF version, so you will get a digital copy as described above.
WARRIOR: This reward tier includes the limited edition deluxe version of At The Gates hardcover book, with a leatherette cover, special cover design, and bound-in silk bookmark. Shipping costs ARE NOT included in the cost of your pledge. You will be charged for shipping after the campaign through the pledge manager. In addition, this option also includes the PDF version, so you will get a digital copy as described above.
As noted, shipping charges will be calculated later and charged in the BackerKit Pledge Manager. We'll have exact shipping costs once the book is in production and we know the specifications, but we do expect it to be expensive. See our estimates on the front pate. If you're an international backer, you can pledge to the Diviner tier and upgrade inthe pledge managerto the hardcover tier once the shipping costs are known before we lockdown orders.
ADD-ON OPTIONS - The other half of our Reward Tiers update, including information on the second step of pledging. There are several Add On options that you can add as part of your pledging process, including The World Below core rulebook in PDF or hardcover or deluxe hardcover, an At the Gates Storyguide Screen, bookmark set, enamel pins, and more! We've also got digital bundles of older edition product that are well worth checking out!
ADD ON selections will be available in the post-campaign Pledge Manager as well.
SO: Ensure that you've selected the Reward Tier you want, and select any Add On options you wish to include. AND - make sure that you are comfortable with the Pledge amount, in terms of it covering everything you want and theaffordabilityof the pledge at this moment!
I'm going to speak against my own self interest for a moment, and repeat something I say at the end of every campaign - 2024 has been financially challenging for many, and there's still lots of uncertainty ahead. Ensure that your circumstances enable to afford this pledge at this moment - BackerKit will begin processing payments late tonight after the campaign ends and neither Onyx Path nor I have any involvement in that process. If you are unsure of your financial situation but don't want to miss out, please pledge for a tier you can afford now and know that you will be able to upgrade to open pledge levels in our post-campaign Pledge Manager for some time before the book is completed. There are no refunds for regret, and the funds raised start being spent immediately on paying for the work done thus far and the additional work ahead plus the projects unlocked via Stretch Goal. So please be financially responsible.
Choose a Reward Tier You Can Afford
Readthe Manuscripts and Make Sure You Know What You're Getting
Be Aware of the Projected Delivery Date (Onyx Path will try to deliver earlier than this, but the book will take some time to get perfect)
3. PAYMENT AND CONTACT INFORMATION
Once you're comfortable with your pledge, please ensure that the payment and contact information in your BackerKit account is up to date and correct. Making sure your e-mail is entered correctly and your credit card isn't expired will speed up the next step process. (I have learned from experience!)
4.OVERTIME MODE
Overtime Mode extends the campaign past its original end time to give backers a final chance to make their pledge and adds an interesting twist to the end of the campaign. How long will it extend? That’s entirely up to backers: The campaign will keep going for an additional 10 minutes as long as pledges keep coming in – a chain of back-to-back pledges is called the Backer Train. The campaign will end only when the Backer Train stops after a period of 10 minutes passing without any pledges.
You’ll know we’re in Overtime Mode when the campaign’s Backer Train counter displays a bright rainbow border and a new countdown that resets to 10 minutes after each new backer joins that final Backer Train ride.
So, we've scheduled the campaign to conclude on June 6th at 2:00 pm EDT, but it'll be extended in 10 minute chunks as long as backers keep pledging. Will we add an extra 10 minutes? An extra 20? Or will it all finish up as we programmed? Who knows, but we'll find out together! At The Gates indeed!
WHAT COMES NEXT?
5. AFTER THE CAMPAIGN ENDS
First, we celebrate. The campaign page will subtly change, locking out the ability to pledge and showing the final totals. We'll give socially-distanced high fives and digital fist bumps in the Community section and over on Discord.
Then, the BackerKit payment process begins. Starting late tonight and continuing over the next week, Backerkit will begin charging your payment methods for the total amount you've pledged.
If there is an issue with your payment method (expired credit card or incorrect number or pre-paid Visa awaiting funds, for example), BackerKit will keep trying to process payment during this time.
Once this step is done, which will likely be by tmid-June, BackerKit will confirm everything with Onyx Path and I can begin to set up the project in the Pledge Manager and load in all of the campaign data.
In addition to providing the crowdfunding platform for this campaign, BackerKit is also Onyx Path's regular Pledge Manager partner.
BackerKit provides a robust fulfillment integration and pledge management program that will allow us to work with all of the data and distribute the rewards to you. It will take me about a month to set the project up. Once I've got it all entered and built, the team from BackerKit will review to ensure I didn't mess anything up too badly, and then I'll make any changes they've suggested and we can move on to the Survey stage.
6. BACKERKIT SURVEYS
Once BackerKit says I'm good to go, I will send out a survey to all backers. This is why confirming your e-mail is important!
The BackerKit survey is both a verb and a noun - it will collect data for the analysis of some aspect of a group (enabling Onyx Path to set print runs, prioritize new projects, and fine-tune future campaigns), as well as providing a general review or summary of the reward tier you've chosen, confirm all of the rewards associated with that reward tier, and confirm your total pledge amount.
I expect Surveys to go out by late July 2024.
During the Survey period, you can choose to increase your reward tier and add on additional options. If you've found $20 in your spring jacket or found an alternate income source and decide it's time to trade up to the hardcover version of the book or include another add-on, you can do so at this time. Note, you will not be able to reduce your reward tier selection, only increase.
If you selected Add On options, they'll be added to your reward list automatically.
Note that you'll be able to upgrade your pledge tier for quite some time - until we're getting ready to print the book itself and have figured out International shipping costs. So don't feel pressure to have it all figured out right away - we'll make sure there's plenty of time to get it all sorted before the books go out.
Similarly, if you have a hardcover book as one of your rewards, the survey will ask you to confirm your shipping address, even though it'll be some time before we ship out the final product. Do not worry about moving before shipping begins - you will be able to update BackerKit right up until the point that we begin fulfilling the final book. We will send out a notice prior to lock down so you can update any information.
I'll also use the Survey to confirm some details for the premium reward tiers.
7. REWARD DISTRIBUTION
Once the surveys are up and running, I'll prepare fulfillment for the existing rewards - the Add On options that are all currently available, like the digital starter bundles and the World Below draft manuscript. Depending on how smoothly the Pledge Manager process goes, those should be out fairly soon after the survey stage starts. So, let's say the existing PDF rewards will be out to you by the start of August. That's only the beginning, though.
This is a long process, but I will send out regular updates (usually at the end of the month) to keep you up to speed on Onyx Path's progress. There will be strings of updates that are just "still working on it," but I will share new artwork or information when I can.
Eventually, we will have a completed PDF of At The Gates. Onyx Path will take some time to distribute, review, and compile any errata or corrections that need to be made. When they've made any necessary changes, they'll make an updated version of the PDF available in your DriveThruRPG digital library and then begin creating print-ready files for the Print-on-Demand and the hardcover versions.
It's yet another long road ahead, likely full of twists and turns and surprises, but one that we wouldn't be undertaking if not for your ongoing support.
So - one final time - please spread the word to any potential backers and fans, and thanks so much for a great campaign!
