Post Campaign Update #2: Samples! Samples Everywhere!
over 3 years ago – Fri, Aug 28, 2020 at 01:48:38 AM

Hi everyone,

I hope you've had a great August, and thank you for filling out your surveys. There are still around 300 outstanding surveys, so please do complete them if you haven't already – if I don't have your address I won't be able to send you a copy of Roll & Play, and I would hate for you to miss out! If you have lost your survey email, please get in touch and I can send it over to you.

The book is coming together really well, and it has been extended to include 100 pages split across five chapters: People, Items, Encounters, Combat and World Building. At my last count, there were well over 120 random tables... phew!

I have written and designed all of the content pages to a first draft standard. The next stage involves finalising the layout of the book and designing the chapter openers, imprint page and acknowledgement pages before I send everything off to the proofreader in mid-September. Everything is currently on track to have the books printed and sent out by the end of November, so that they reach you by mid-December as planned!

I received samples of the bookmarks recently, and I'm really happy with them, the geometric dice pattern on the back looks great. They're a nice thickness and laminated with a matte finish, the black and white bookmark is uncoated so you can decorate it to match your campaign setting or favourite character. I know you're going to love them, I've actually already started using one to keep track in one of my D&D sourcebooks!

I wanted to show off the pencil samples as well – they're really bright and colourful, and match the colours on the cover perfectly. The pencils will eventually have the Roll & Play logo printed on them but that is a sample for another day!

I'm really enjoying the process so far, and I can't wait to share more of the book with you. If you have any questions about the project then please leave a comment below (or message me) and I will get back to you.

Until next time, keep rolling,

Sam.

Cards Charged 3rd August
over 3 years ago – Sat, Aug 01, 2020 at 06:59:14 PM

Hi everyone,

Thank you for filling out your backer surveys. The orders were locked in on Friday, and I now have the final numbers for production – exciting! I will be shipping out 7,093 Roll & Play books to over 60 countries, wow, a huge thank you to everyone who backed this project!

If you purchased add-ons with your survey, your card will be charged on Monday 3rd August 18:00BST / 10:00PDT. Please make sure your payment method is entered correctly and has sufficient funds so processing your order doesn't get delayed. If you have already paid with PayPal, you will not be charged again.

Once the orders are locked and paid for, you will still have until Friday October 9th to change your address from within your BackerKit account if you need to. After this date I will need to prepare for manufacturing and logistics.

As always, if you have any questions please send me a Kickstarter message and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Have a great week,

Sam.

All Survey Emails Sent (Check Your Junk Folder Just In Case!)
almost 4 years ago – Sat, Jul 11, 2020 at 03:19:07 AM

Hi everyone,

I wanted to confirm that all surveys have now been sent! A whopping 65% of the surveys were filled out in the first couple of days which is amazing, thank you to everyone who has filled their survey out so far. You have until July 31st to complete your survey, and until the end of October to change your shipping address on your survey if you need to.

The emails were sent from a website called BackerKit, so please keep an eye out for it. I know that some email providers have been flagging the surveys as junk or spam, so please check these folders in your email account just in case.

If your survey didn't reach you, you can generate a new survey for your pledge here: https://roll-and-play.backerkit.com/ If you are having any issues or have any questions about the surveys, please drop me a Kickstarter message or email me and I will try to get back to you and resolve your issue as soon as I can :)

All the best, have a great day,

Sam.

Survey Batches in Progress!
almost 4 years ago – Wed, Jul 08, 2020 at 11:26:15 PM

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update to let you know the backer surveys are currently being sent out to ALL backers in batches, this delivery process will continue to run over the next few days. The surveys are being sent out from a website called BackerKit, so keep your eyes peeled :)

The process of getting them out to you took a few days longer as I am based in the UK and Kickstarter is based in the US, which meant Kickstarter took a bit longer than the usual 14 days to clear the funding. But this is all sorted now, and the backer surveys are on their way to you!

If you would like to upgrade your pledge to a higher level please do so on the first page so your survey is set up correctly, as questions differ for each pledge level. After you click 'Get Started' you will be led through a series of questions, then you will be led to the Add-On Store – it's here you can add extra books, notebooks, pencils, extra bookmarks and more to your existing pledge rewards.

If you do not receive your backer survey by Saturday 11th July 12:00BST, then please let me know. You will have until July 31st to complete your survey, and I will send a reminder about this as that time approaches. Cards will be charged for any add-ons you purchase at the beginning of August.

Please drop me a Kickstarter message if you have any questions about your pledge or about the survey, or contact me by email.

Thanks guys, I hope you're having a great week so far,

Sam.

Post Campaign Update #1: Surveys, Bookmarks and Varnish!
almost 4 years ago – Sat, Jul 04, 2020 at 01:12:57 AM

Hi everyone,

The Roll & Play campaign ended a couple of weeks ago, so I wanted to let you know how the project has been moving forward, and what happens next.

Dice Competition Winner

The entries have been counted and the winner has been drawn! Congratulations, Patrick Kansa, for winning three sets of dice and an upgraded pledge! I was really excited to see so many people enter this competition, thank you for all of your entries, and look out for more competitions in the future :D

Backer Surveys

The backer surveys will be sent around by a company called BackerKit next week, they will be delivered in batches throughout the week so you may not receive yours straight away – please keep your eyes peeled for their email as answering this survey will confirm your pledge. In the survey you will be able to choose your book/PDF colour, add extra items to your rewards, edit your address or pay any outstanding balances that you might have (a handful of backers' payments were declined, I have contacted everyone this has affected). At the beginning of the survey there will also be an option to upgrade your pledge level if you would like to, you will have to do this first as it affects the rest of the questions the survey will ask. It should all be self-explanatory, but please reach out if you have any queries.

The surveys will be open for the whole of July, and close on the 31st. Payments for any add-on items will be taken at the beginning of August. I will alert you before these dates, so don't worry! You will have until the end of October to make any changes to your address within BackerKit, but after this time the option to do this will be locked as we prepare for shipping in November.

If you have any issues or questions about the surveys, then please don't hesitate to get in touch :)

Bookmarks

Introducing the Roll & Play bookmarks! I have upgraded the spec of the bookmarks to include lamination and they will also now have printing on BOTH sides. The design is based on the book covers and they also have a cool geometric dice pattern on the reverse. The third bookmark won't be laminated, so it will be 100% customisable – you can colour it to match your favourite character or RPG system, or to match your Game Master's Notebook! These bookmarks will be a great asset to track your favourite tables, so look out for them in the Add-on Store within your backer survey, or upgrade your physical pledge to Bandit level or above, all of which include the bookmarks as a default. 

Cover Special Finishes

Talking of adding extra quality to the finished product, I am SO excited to reveal that the front covers will be embellished with Spot Varnish! This means the Roll & Play logo will have a gloss finish which will really compliment the matt lamination of the cover (which was unlocked through the Cover Finish stretch goal). Check out the video above to see how the varnish looks.

After unlocking the Cover Finish stretch goal, I was able to increase the cover thickness from 250gsm to 350gsm thickness. But, I wanted to tell you that I have further increased the paper stock thickness from 350gsm to an EVEN thicker 450gsm to give the book more weight, durability and quality. You're going to love it!

Sneak Peek

And finally, here is a sneak peek at another spread – it's a dreams and nightmares generator! Are your players resting near a powerful monster, or have they decided to camp in a haunted forest? Have their sleep interrupted by nightmares and it will add a real sense of peril to the group dynamic! Alternatively, pleasant dreams are a great way to introduce a new plot, or a secret from a player's history, or spark a new adventure. I hope you like them, I'm really looking forward to using these pages during my games.

That's all for now, but I will be in touch again with some more updates in the future as the project develops. In the meantime, keep an eye out next week for BackerKit's incoming backer survey (they can sometimes end up in your Junk Mail). And as always, if you have any questions then please drop me a Kickstarter message, contact me by email, or reach out on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

All the best, keep rolling,

Sam.