Hello Shardstriders,

There are moments it feels like we just started this campaign, but in truth we've been running for just over three weeks now and we're now officially in our FINAL WEEK COUNTDOWN!

Over this final week I'll be sharing a handful of instruction and review-type posts about Reward Tiers & Add Ons, Stretch Goal reviews, and What Comes Next, so if you've got any process questions or are wondering about how the Crowdfunding steps work, I'm hoping to clarify any remaining questions before we finish. Of course, if you're still wondering about something, please ask and I'll help as best I can.

This book and campaign are all about these alternate realities that open up new possibilities. We're going to check out one of those new possibilities with this campaign and see what happens! It's called "OVERTIME MODE" and it allows us to keep the campaign rolling as long as backers are pledging.

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!

Not only have we come together to fund the development and creation of this book, we've also helped kick it up a notch! When we started, the book contained five different setting shards - alternate versions of The World that enabled us to explore our Scion characters from a slightly different angle.

Over the course of the Crowdfunding campaign, backers have gained access to the current draft version of each of these setting explorations (with the exception of Space Odyssey, which will come on Tuesday). You can read the book before the campaign ends, before any pledges are processed and payments collected.

But being a backer has also given you a vote on what new shards to explore - because we've added a SIXTH shard to the book via Stretch Goal. We had a poll running for the past week, looking for backers to help choose the new shard setting that will be developed for the final book, and now all of the votes are in! 

And the winner, with 44% of the votes, is...

Should we stop there? Are six shards enough to hint at possibilities and present new takes on our Scion games? Or - with one week left -  can we introduce the possibility of s Seventh Shard for our final book?

At $40,000 in Funding - ADDITIONAL MYTHIC SHARD #2 - A seventh Mythic Shard setting for Scion second edition will be added to the Scion: Mythic Shards PDF and hardcover book. The theme for this additional Shard will be decided by Backer vote!

That's right! If we manage to achieve $40,000 in Funding, the developers and writers will come up with a SEVENTH SHARD to add to the Scion: Mythic Shards book. The theme of the new shard will be decided with a Backer Poll.

Your options for a new shard, should we achieve this Stretch Goal target:

 

 

The poll for backers to vote on their favorite will run until the moment the campaign ends. You must be a backer to have a vote for the possible new shard, so join in before the end if you haven't already!  Again, we'll be voting now, but this shard will only be added to the development list and added to the eventual Scion: Mythic Shards book if we unlock this Stretch Goal at $40,000 in Funding!

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 a Mythic Shards Ambassador for this Crowdfunding project. It's time to share your excitement for Scion and Mythic Shards! Basically, we want to recruit as many curious backers as possible to see how long we can keep our Backer Train running over this final week.

It probably wouldn't hurt to have others to votes for that final seventh shard as well! 

I know I've ended many update posts 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 Mythic Shards until 2:01 PM EDT next Thursday August 15th  (and then as long as we continue running in Overtime Mode). Yes, family and friends are 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.

There are many, many Onyx Path and Scion fans who haven't yet heard about this campaign and would love to join in. We're right in the middle of a very busy season - tons of different things competing for our attention and changing schedules and nicer weather - so it's not surprising that new backers are just finding out about the campaign every day. If you have an opportunity to let someone know, please do and let's make sure they have a chance to join in before the end.

If you're inviting new backers, or if you are a new backer (hi new backers!), here are a few key resources to be aware of for this campaign.

Backers are able to review the (soon-to-be) complete manuscript for this book before the campaign closes and any pledges are processed. With the exception of the Space Odyssey section coming on Tuesday, the entirety of the rules and options from this book are available for download and review by backers, along with all of the setting information for these shard sections! 

Anyone who pledges to this campaign before the end can read the entire book now AND provide feedback directly to the developers to help guide the manuscript through the final phases of development and editing!

And, if you join now, as I've noted, we'll be posting the final chapter of the book next week before we reach the finish line. This final chapter is all about taking your Scion story into space, and we'll have some preview fiction from that section tomorrow.

Plus, all backers joining in before the end get to vote on the topic for a possible seventh shard - and hopefully help us add it to the book by unlocking that $40,000 Stretch Goal target!

Despite some technical difficulties, Scion stalwart Michele Masala and Co-Developer Hiromi Cota (and a voice over from an Advil ad!?) hosted a special Crowdfunding Campaign Kickoff twitch stream (Featuring a special video from Kim Godwin) that you can check out <here>

Co-developer Kim Godwin sat down with the folks at The Old Ways Podcast for an in-depth interview, which is available to listen to at https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/32320657

In addition, Kim was also Eddy’s guest on an episode of the  Onyx Pathcast, availble <here> so take a listen as they talk about the book, as well as Kim’s excellent, ever-growing, body of work with Onyx Path!

Finally, for a sneak-peak at the final Shard coming next week, check out Awkward GM Corbin‘s vid as he takes a look at the Space Odyssey Shard, available here: https://youtu.be/aOdSb74Hh8I?si=SBPy-8upvnAXJ22V

Actual plays from the various shard settings can be found on Onyx Path's Youtube archive of Twitch streams.

I've said it before, but one of my favorite ways to learn about a game is to just watch it in action, and these one-shot sessions give a great insight into how these different shard settings affect and present a new take on a game of Scion. Even if you've already got an ongoing campaign, throwing a weird alternate universe one-shot adventure into the mix can be the perfect way to explore this game, and that idea is certainly presented here. Love it.

The Discord is particularly lively, but you might be able to gain further insight and some in-depth conversation at any of these Onyx Path discussion zones:

1) Don't forget to share a link to the Crowdfunding page in any discussion you have (where appropriate) - and feel free to pass any of the long list of links above to those who may need more info (or, just point them to this post!)

2) Don't forget to tell us about any post or review or discussion you write! Come to the comments section and let us know so we can all go and contribute! I know I keep saying it, but really - these last days are key. Keep the enthusiasm high and keep on inviting others to join in, either directly ("Come see...") or just by setting an example of your enthusiasm and interest.

I'm really interested to see if we can get a backer train going at the end of the campaign and wondering if we can keep rolling for another 10 or 20 minutes past our set end time!

We've got one week to go, everyone! Thank you all so much for your support! We work together because it's the right thing to do, and because backers make it better! Let's finish strong! And let's continue exploring these new but familiar Worlds together. We've got one last section coming our way on Tuesday, but remember... if we get enough new backers and support, we can be adding a SEVENTH SHARD before the end of the campaign, and the direction for that one will be decided by BACKER VOTE. So join in and vote and let's take this book on it's own journey of apotheosis from Hero (5 shard settings) to Demigod (6 shard settings!) to God with 7 shard settings!!

Oh yeah, there are also these four Stretch Goals to smash on our way!

At $36,000 in Funding - MYTHIC SHARDS REFERENCE GUIDE PDF - FAREWELL TO HEROES -  A series of charts and information for a Storyguide to use while running a Farewell to Heroes game will be added to the Reference Guide PDF. This PDF will automatically be added to the rewards list of all backers receiving the Scion: Mythic Shards PDF.

At $37,000 in Funding - NEW ADD ON - FAREWELL TO HEROES-THEMED DICE SET - A dice set selected to represent Farewell to Heroes will be offered as an option Add On to all backers pledging to a reward tier that includes a hardcover copy of Scion: Mythic Shards. A drawstring bag with ten 10-sided dice in Farewell to Heroes colors can be added to your pledge for +$20 each.

At $38,000 in Funding - MYTHIC SHARDS REFERENCE GUIDE PDF - FOUR COLORS -  A series of charts and information for a Storyguide to use while running a Four Colors game will be added to the Reference Guide PDF. This PDF will automatically be added to the rewards list of all backers receiving the Scion: Mythic Shards PDF.

At $39,000 in Funding - NEW ADD ON - FOUR COLORS-THEMED DICE SET - A dice set selected to represent Four Colors will be offered as an option Add On to all backers pledging to a reward tier that includes a hardcover copy of Scion: Mythic Shards. A drawstring bag with ten 10-sided dice in For Colors colors can be added to your pledge for +$20 each.