The OOTS Reprint Drive at Kickstarter: Pledge now to get exclusive rewards!

[The Giant]

Remember when I teased that I would be announcing a plan for getting the older OOTS books back in print? Well, that plan is here.

For the next 30 days, we're going to be running a pledge drive to raise the money needed to send War and XPs, the book that has been out-of-print the longest, back to the presses for a new run. We're using a site called Kickstarter to do so. If you're not familiar with it, it's a way for self-published creators such as myself to raise money in a risk-free way, because no one gets charged for their pledge unless the entire project meets its goal. You can read more about our pledge here, including a brief discussion about how Kickstarter works.

The most important part for the average OOTS fan is that if this succeeds, all the backers will get access to a brand-new never-before-seen OOTS prequel story. Telling the tale of the paladin O-Chul and how he first joined the Sapphire Guard, this PDF file will run at least 20 pages and is drawn in beautiful bluescale to best represent life in Azure City. Here's a shot of the cover:



But keep in mind that while I've plotted this story, I haven't written or drawn it yet...so if the pledge fails, it may never see the light of day. Dunh dunh DUNNNNNNNH!!

I've also designed a new magnet to match the ones we've given away in the past, this time featuring Roy:



And of course, you can order copies of the hopefully-soon-to-be-reprinted War and XPs. Plus, for a few fans with deep pockets, we're offering a handful of premium rewards, including original crayon drawings, autographed copies of certain books, the chance to commission another separate OOTS story with any character you choose, and even a once-in-a-lifetime walk-on cameo for your D&D character in The Order of the Stick.

I'll mostly be making progress reports using Kickstarter's update feature, but I'm going to keep this thread open for questions about the project from people who are curious. Feel free to ask about the project, Kickstarter in general, or the new story. Thanks in advance to everyone who pledges!

[Jzadek]

I wish I had the cash to pledge more, as some of those rewards are properly awesome, but I guess I'll have to stick with the $10. Poor Tarn Merrick will never become a star....
Ah, well. It's good to see these return to print, I've been looking for them for a while. Do we have any info on when we'll see the Origin of PCs come out, assuming the pledge works?

[Druness]

Okay, I've pledged $52 for a copy and shipping to Canada. Kickstarter's amounts are going up fast!

[Avaris]

...

You had my money at 'O-chul'

[Mando Knight]

Does this mean that all the comic pages for the next few weeks will be replaced by hour-or-longer specials featuring How the Paladin Got His Scar, with "commercial breaks" reminding us that we could get a Roy magnet?

(Those things always messed up my TV-watching schedule as a kid. A lack of cable didn't help, either...)

But more seriously, if I had 500 gp $45 or more slack in my budget, I'd definitely pledge that much. Looks like I'll just have to rearrange numbers so I can squeeze out that $10...

[The Giant]

Originally Posted by Jzadek

Do we have any info on when we'll see the Origin of PCs come out, assuming the pledge works?

If the drive meets the listed goal, then we'll start working toward the amount needed for On the Origin of PCs. I'll tell you how much that is when we get near it. The good news is, that book is a LOT cheaper to print than WAXP. The bad news is that its been in print longer and has been out-of-stock for less time, so not as many people will be clamoring for it. If we get the increased amount then, both books will be reprinted at the same time; this would actually be ideal, since the printer will give me a slight price break for printing multiple books at once.

If the WAXP drive succeeds but not by enough to reprint OTOPCs, then it probably won't be reprinted until after I've put out the next new OOTS book, whenever that ends up being.

[Ted The Bug]

Wow, between this and the new comics, you've been really busy these past few weeks. I like it!

In the immortal words of Phillip J. Fry, "Shut up and take my money!" Kickstarter is awesome, and I'm glad you've found a way to fund future projects without having to reply on donations.

[Avaris]

Question regarding the drawings of characters (specifically the $600 pledge offer): by 'D&D' is it correct to assume that the offer is limited to generically fantasy characters as you'd find in a normal campaign, or is D&D supposed to encompass rps in general?

For example, if requested would you be willing/able to draw characters from a sci-fi/superhero/[insert other setting here] game?

At this stage I'm not asking with a particular thing in mind (haven't yet figured out how much I can afford), but the question occured to me and I thought others may wish to know the answer.

[Whiffet]

Did you say O-Chul? YES! Here, take my money! Take five thousand dollars! (Heh, yeah, like I could afford that much... oh well.)

The little comic on that page is hilarious. How long is the line in it? If it won't have a wait of more than a couple hours, I'd like to get in it.

[The Giant]

Originally Posted by Avaris

Question regarding the drawings of characters (specifically the $600 pledge offer): by 'D&D' is it correct to assume that the offer is limited to generically fantasy characters as you'd find in a normal campaign, or is D&D supposed to encompass rps in general?

For example, if requested would you be willing/able to draw characters from a sci-fi/superhero/[insert other setting here] game?

At this stage I'm not asking with a particular thing in mind (haven't yet figured out how much I can afford), but the question occured to me and I thought others may wish to know the answer.

Yes, absolutely, whatever RPG characters you have in mind will be fine, as long as you're willing to explain whatever races or equipment or what have you that the other game features. Also, no characters that are the intellectual property of someone else; you can ask me to draw YOUR superheroes, but you can't ask me to draw the Justice League.

I may change the reward wording to reflect that...

[Gift Jeraff]

Hmmm... A signed crayon drawing of Xykon and Thog is very tempting. Though I damaged DStP's front cover badly, so a new signed one would be sweet, but it's not like I put my books on display. And my money-saving gut says just go for the $10 one (which is what I went with, for now). So...conflicted...

Very excited about the O-Chul story, though. Really curious to see how bluescale turns out.

EDIT: Heheh. Just noticed the mouseover text on the news page.

[Anarion]

e-mailed my D&D group about possibly raising up to the $600 amount to get our party drawn.

I have a question though. If we raised a bit more than $600, would it be possible to add a 7th character to the drawing (6 magnets would still be fine, but we have 7 PCs in our campaign)?

[The Succubus]

Originally Posted by Ted The Bug

Wow, between this and the new comics, you've been really busy these past few weeks. I like it!

In the immortal words of Phillip J. Fry, "Shut up and take my money!" Kickstarter is awesome, and I'm glad you've found a way to fund future projects without having to reply on donations.

Seconded - just plegded $70 for a signed War and XP. =D

[YohanLeafheart]

Nooo Too late and missed the quota on the $100 mark =( So I had to settle on the $60 One (plus shipping). Rich, do you think you can find a few more of those special edition magnets around so I can up my pledge and hit it?

Another thing I would like to ask. Is it possible to try to fund the O'chul backstory as a printed book? With a new level possible? I would love to have it marked as -2 and have it on my collection.

[Kobold-Bard]

I'm curious who pledged $1,250 & which character they picked.

Sadly that's too rich for my blood, but you'll probably get a $60 one from me.

[The Giant]

Originally Posted by Anarion

e-mailed my D&D group about possibly raising up to the $600 amount to get our party drawn.

I have a question though. If we raised a bit more than $600, would it be possible to add a 7th character to the drawing (6 magnets would still be fine, but we have 7 PCs in our campaign)?

Yeah, I'm sure we can work something out on that front. Frankly, I'm not going to quibble about a 7th PC because I assumed that the 6 PC party would have 1-3 "pets" anyway (animal companions, familiars, etc.). So it's fine if you want to stretch it to seven.

Originally Posted by YohanLeafheart

Rich, do you think you can find a few more of those special edition magnets around so I can up my pledge and hit it?

I don't have any more, but I have calls in to some friends who might from back in the convention days. If they become available, you'll be able to switch your pledge then.

[The Giant]

Originally Posted by Kobold-Bard

I'm curious who pledged $1,250 & which character they picked.

When I find out, I'll let you know.

[YohanLeafheart]

Gah, and another question, is it possible to choose more than one reward with a pledge? So for example, if I pledge $90, can I get the $60 level plus 3 of the 10$ level?

[Kobold-Bard]

Originally Posted by YohanLeafheart

Gah, and another question, is it possible to choose more than one reward with a pledge? So for example, if I pledge $90, can I get the $60 level plus 3 of the 10$ level?

Similar question. If I pledge 70 & 75 (including international postage) for the WotXP & DStP ones, I can do that right?

[CloakedDancer]

Originally Posted by The Giant

Yes, absolutely, whatever RPG characters you have in mind will be fine, as long as you're willing to explain whatever races or equipment or what have you that the other game features. Also, no characters that are the intellectual property of someone else; you can ask me to draw YOUR superheroes, but you can't ask me to draw the Justice League.

I may change the reward wording to reflect that...

Thanks for the clarification. We switched to Pathfinder recently, and that was a concern of mine. But now...

[ORione]

Originally Posted by YohanLeafheart

Gah, and another question, is it possible to choose more than one reward with a pledge? So for example, if I pledge $90, can I get the $60 level plus 3 of the 10$ level?

You could probably pledge multiple times.

[Quinton250]

Originally Posted by Druness

Okay, I've pledged $52 for a copy and shipping to Canada. Kickstarter's amounts are going up fast!

Ditto for me. However, I have an additional question.

Assuming this drive succeeds, would it be possible to bundle other (in stock) books along with the copy of War & XPs I'll be receiving, and save on some shipping costs?

EDIT: I should clarify, I mean a selection of whatever books would be available at ookoodook at the time of the drives completion. I wouldn't mind adding Snips/Snails and maybe a compilation book or two depending on what's available.

[The Giant]

Originally Posted by YohanLeafheart

Gah, and another question, is it possible to choose more than one reward with a pledge? So for example, if I pledge $90, can I get the $60 level plus 3 of the 10$ level?

Unfortunately, you can't pick more than one reward or pledge multiple times from the same account. I'll have to think about how to work this idea and I'll get back to you later on it.

Originally Posted by Kobold-Bard

Similar question. If I pledge 70 & 75 (including international postage) for the WotXP & DStP ones, I can do that right?

If you want both, pledge for the Don't Split the Party reward, then use the messaging at Kickstarter to send me a note saying that you want the signed WAXP too. Make sure you include what country you're in. I'll get back to you with the price for both, depending on shipping concerns.

[YohanLeafheart]

Originally Posted by The Giant

Unfortunately, you can't pick more than one reward or pledge multiple times from the same account. I'll have to think about how to work this idea and I'll get back to you later on it.

Thank you, I appreciate. Also, is it possible to get signed copies of other books besides War and Xp and DStP? I ask because I do not own yet the Dragon Sails and Start of Darkness, but do have DStP. So if I could get them signed through the drive I would probably do so.

[bluewurm]

Rich, a few questions if I may, mostly about pledge levels:

1. You've set the goal at $57K, which is the minimum needed to get 'War and XPs' back into print... but how many copies will get printed? could people still get "shut out"? presumably anyone who makes the $45 level pledge WILL get a copy IF it ends up being reprinted (since the $45 level includes the book.) There is no gaurantee of availability at lower pledge levels though, right?

2. Can you give us a rough estimate (either now or once we hit the "war and xps" goal) of what it will take to get the other books reprinted?

3. the $100 level is sold out, was that a mistake or did you run out of the older magnets? if you only ran out of SOME of them could you add a new level to allow the ones you do still have to be purchased?

4. I'm confused about the $1250 pledge level, everyone gets it as long as one person pays, right? (assuming this to be the case, and assuming Rich doesnt mind, could we find a large group willing to "go in on this together" to make it more manageable?)

I'm in for at least the $45 to get a copy of the reprinted book, but I'll wait to see what you (Rich) have to say about the magnets before I actually pledge, thanks!

[MoonCat]

Ach. I only wish I had 5,000 dollars. At any rate, I'm definitely going to take part in this!

Hmm. Maybe I can convince my family to help me donate if I pretend it's for my birthday...

[Maxios]

Would the RPG character appear in a bit role (ie: in the background of a scene in the tavern), or would the character have a more important role?

[YohanLeafheart]

Originally Posted by MoonCat

Ach. I only wish I had 5,000 dollars. At any rate, I'm definitely going to take part in this!

Tell me about it. My problem is that my wedding is this year. For a moment there I though about assault my wedding account to pay for it but I would be divorced in no time if I did that.

Also Rick, can I use that image on your signature to link to the drive on the site I'm an admin?

[Kobold-Bard]

Originally Posted by The Giant

Unfortunately, you can't pick more than one reward or pledge multiple times from the same account. I'll have to think about how to work this idea and I'll get back to you later on it.

If you want both, pledge for the Don't Split the Party reward, then use the messaging at Kickstarter to send me a note saying that you want the signed WAXP too. Make sure you include what country you're in. I'll get back to you with the price for both, depending on shipping concerns.

Done & done. Shipping reduction would be cool if possible.

Edit:

Originally Posted by Maxios

Would the RPG character appear in a bit role (ie: in the background of a scene in the tavern), or would the character have a more important role?

I assume they'll get a strip where they meet & interact with the OotS members. They're the focus, with little to no story advancement in it. Sort of like Fruit Pie the Sorcerer.

[MoonCat]

Originally Posted by Maxios

Would the RPG character appear in a bit role (ie: in the background of a scene in the tavern), or would the character have a more important role?

and what would happen if the character would look completely out of place in whatever themed place the OoTs will be at?

I can hardly imagine Enor fitting in at Azure City, or Miko in Bleedingham, and they're actually part of the story.