Final Week Review - Reward Tiers
over 3 years ago – Wed, Aug 19, 2020 at 09:13:32 PM

Greetings Gravediggers,

We're in the final week countdown for They Came from Beyond the Grave! on Kickstarter - it ends on Thursday, August 20th at 2:00 PM EDT - there's still time to recruit additional backers, but we're definitely getting closer to the finish line. With that in mind, I wanted to touch on some of the basics over the next 5 days to make sure that everyone has all of the information they need to support the project in the way that works best for them.

Review topics to cover over these final days:

• Reward Tiers
• Add-Ons
• Stretch Goal Review
• Final Checklist & Next Steps

Whether you're just spending a single night in a haunted manor or tracking down a vampire to finally end his terrible legacy, these are good items to review to make sure that we all end up where we want to be.

(An aside, if you're a new backer, make sure you check out the Final Week resource post. It has links to the manuscript previews, actual plays, podcast deep dives, and inspirational trailers!)

BACKER REWARD TIERS

Like it says right at the top of the campaign page, we've come together to help create a fully developed PDF and traditionally printed game book featuring cinematic adventures into terror in the form of the They Came from Beyond the Grave! RPG. To borrow an analogy that I've used in past Kickstarter campaigns, this works similar to the "Viewers Like You" support campaign from your local Public Broadcasting Station (for those who get American television channels or watched Sesame Street in the pre-HBO era): There are various levels of support that you can pledge to, and these come with various levels of rewards offered as a thank you. Like getting a tote bag or t-shirt when you give money to public broadcasting to fund them doing their thing, you can get rewards for helping Onyx Path work on this project.

Let's review the Backer Reward Tiers to ensure that you've pledged to a Reward Tier that provides all the rewards you wish to receive.

Exploring Your Options: Digital Only or Hardcover + PDF

The main reward offered in this campaign is, of course, the main goal of the entire proposition: the They Came from Beyond the Grave! RPG rulebook. The first decision you need to make in figuring out your reward tier is whether you want to receive a digital PDF version or if you want the hardcover book.

PDF ONLY REWARD TIERS:

• GREMLIN IN THE WALLS
• PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION OF SUFFERING

These are PDF-only reward tiers. So, if you're saving trees or saving shelf space - or avoiding the shipping charges that seem to be ever-increasing - these are the reward tier options 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 and be able to download at your leisure.

HARDCOVER+PDF REWARD TIERS:

• KEEPER OF KARSTEIN MANOR
• EVIL TWINS
• HORROR HAMMERER
• CRYPTKEEPER
• THE PERFECT EXPERIMENT
• DR. FRANKENSTEIN

These reward tiers include the traditionally-printed hardcover version of this book. That means the books are produced in a larger print run at one time, and will have the best production values, from color clarity and appearance to binding and materials. In addition, these options also include the PDF version, so you will get a digital copy as described above.

And, yeah, there's also the DARK HOUSE OF BLOOD AND SHADOWS Retail Tier if you're a pre-approved retail backer!

The only Reward Tier that does not include the PDF version of the book is THE LIVING DEAD tier. You should select this Reward Tier if you want to support the project and maybe participate in the Pledge Manager but do not currently wish to receive either a PDF or hardcover version of the final book.

You'll note that the middle column - Access to Manuscript Previews - is included in ALL reward tiers. That's one of the perks of participating in this kickstarter campaign!

MANUSCRIPT PREVIEWS – All Reward Tiers include access to Backers-Only manuscript previews. With the exception of the final two chapters (which will be posted on Tuesday), I have posted the entire manuscript across multiple sections. You must be a kickstarter backer to access these previews, as the link will remain in a backers-only update post. The manuscript previews likely will not be available to those who pre-order the book at a later date.

QUIP and CINEMATIC CARDS PRINT & PLAY PDF- More than 100 cards featuring perfect phrases and one-liners to drop in during key moments of play, as well as Cinematic metagame abilities. You'll get a PDF that you can print and cut out to use at your gaming table.

OPTIONAL "AT COST" PoD VERSION –  For They Came from Beyond the Grave!, you will have the option of using DriveThruRPG.com’s Print-On-Demand service to purchase a physical, printed copy directly from their PoD partners at as close as we can get to the cost of printing and shipping (this cost is not included in your pledge, and you do not need to increase the cost of your pledge to use this option). When the PoD versions are available to order (which will be some time after the book has gone to print), you will receive links to purchase these versions of the book from DriveThruRPG.com. You DO NOT need to take advantage of this PoD offer as it does not affect in any way your pledge rewards.

PLEDGE MANAGER ACCESS - After the campaign is over we'll launch BackerKit, our post-campaign pledge manager, and invite the backers to set up their rewards via survey. This allows you to confirm your pledge and add on anything that you might have missed, as well as possibly increasing your pledged reward tier, should you choose to expand your reward selection. This option will give international backers additional time to investigate shipping options, should they choose, knowing they can confirm a physical reward at a later date. Funding collected in BackerKit after the campaign does not count toward any campaign Stretch Goals, however.

Choosing Your Reward Tier

There has been some churn over this past week - a few Reward Tier adjustments and changes by backers, as budgets changed and people have seen the game in play. In these final days it's best to ensure that you've selected the Reward Tier that offers you the options and rewards you want to receive and are ready to lock down. This timing - before the campaign ends - is the absolute most affordable and inclusive these rewards will be, and will save headaches and heartbreaks if fully considered now.

WAIT! What about special reward tiers?!

Right! In addition to our "core" Reward Tiers, we've got another area for consideration. These are the Premium Rewards.

Multiple Copies

If you are backing for yourself and a friend (or just want a second copy for your collection), the EVIL TWINS  Tier was designed for you, with two copies of all rewards included in your pledge.

And, if you are a retailer interested in making this available in your store, a special retailer tier, the DARK HOUSE OF BLOOD AND SHADWOS tier is open to you upon prior approval from Onyx Path (please email [email protected] prior to selecting this reward to confirm your status).

As noted on the main page of our campaign, shipping outside the US has gotten quite expensive. Splitting the shipping cost across multiple copies in a single shipment is one way to bring the cost per book down, if you're able to coordinate your backing and delivery with friends.

Premium Reward Tiers

These special reward tiers offer some enhanced interaction with the setting, from submitting a name that will be used for a NPC  worked into the setting, getting an insert signed by as many of the creative team as we can manage, the opportunity to submit reference photos and serve as an art model for an interior illustration, or even the chance to contribute to the creation of a creature!

These options are extremely limited. If you were interested in a premium reward tier that is completely accounted for, keep an eye on them during the final days of the campaign, as there is sometimes movement that opens them up as we approach the conclusion.

Summary

So, with all of that said - consider your Reward Tier selection. Are you backing to receive your copy of the PDF or hardcover version of They Came from Beyond the Grave!? Did you jump on one of the limited premium reward options?

Make sure your Reward Tier matches what you're looking for - or, at least, covers most of what you're interested in. On Sunday, we'll cover Add Ons and talk about how to tweak your Reward List to ensure you're getting anything that might be missing from your list.

And, with that, we continue our exploration of this spooky old house! Let's lock in our Reward Tiers and keep working towards growing the project so everyone has a chance to join in. DO NOT MISS OUT! And on to our final week and our campaign conclusion!

#TheyCameFromBeyondTheGrave!

FINAL WEEK
over 3 years ago – Wed, Aug 19, 2020 at 09:00:40 PM

Greetings Gravediggers,

We're officially in the FINAL WEEK of the kickstarter campaign. Over this final week I'll be sharing a bunch of instruction and review-type posts about Reward Tiers & Add-Ons, and What Comes Next, so if you've got any process questions or are wondering about how the kickstarter 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.

Final Week Schedule

• Aug 15 - Reward Tiers 
• Aug 16 - Add On Options 
• Aug 19 - Stretch Goal Review 
• Aug 20 - Checklist and Next Steps  

I'll also have the final manuscript preview posted on Aug 18, which will make the ENTIRE current manuscript available for review before this project finishes! Also, I'm really hoping we can maybe hit one last Stretch Goal before we review our accomplishments on August 19th. A couple of really solid days will get us there, and the final days always bring excitement!

The true impetus behind this post, though, is our big push during this final week! Together, we've done the hard work of this campaign - we've come together to fund the development and production of this book - so now it's time to make sure that we're not missing any potential backers.

Be an Ambassador

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 duly-deputized ambassador for this Kickstarter project. It's time to find more brave heroes and ask them to help us explore this ancient manor (and the secret crypts below?). Safety in numbers!

I know I end every update post 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 They Came from Beyond the Grave! until 2:01 PM EDT next Thursday August 20th (when the campaign has ended). Yes, family and friends are tired of me talking about it on our weekly Zoom check-in or grocery drop-off, but we'll have a whole new set of topics to discuss in just one week, and they've learned to tolerate me during a kickstarter campaign (for now). But here's the thing - there are others around who haven't heard or don't know about the campaign.

Resources to Share

For new backers and potential players, here are a few key resources to be aware of for this campaign.

PREVIEW MANUSCRIPT - Backers are able to review the (soon-to-be) complete manuscript for this game before the campaign closes and any pledges are processed. Unlike the characters in this game, you'll know exactly what you're getting yourself into! How often does that happen in life? 

SEE and HEAR the GAME PLAYED! - In addition to being able to read the entire book, you won't have to imagine what a session can be like! We've got examples of They Came from Beyond the Grave! in action!

• The Onyx Path Team plays during OnxyPathCon
• Red Moon Roleplaying's Cult of Abaddon Actual Play 
• Vorpal Tales They Came from Beyond the Grave! Actual Play
• The ONYX PATHCAST Team -  THEY CAME FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE ACTUAL PLAY

And, if you want to hear more of the nitty-gritty and special effects that went into the creation, development, and writing of this game, the Onyx Pathcast featured a special episode discussing the game, researching movies, the differences between this game and They Came from Beneath the Sea!, and more! Check it out!

And, if you still need something to help potential backers understand what the game is about, we've got an inspiring collection of inspirational material! Check out all of these movie trailers that we've taken from the Inspiration list in the book! Some of my favorite discussions and comments on this campaign so far have been spurred by those trailer posts. Remembering classics and finding out about missed gems, checking into those trailers can easily send you down a rabbit hole on the internet. So much fun!

Share the Links!

1) Don't forget to share a link to the kickstarter 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 (hitting stretch goals certainly makes that easier!) and keep on inviting others to join in, either directly ("Come see...") or just by setting an example of your enthusiasm and interest.

Final Week

We've got one week to go, everyone! Thank you all so much for your support! Together, we're going to help make this game even more amazing. Let's finish strong! And let's see if we can't get that one more Stretch Goal before we review next Wednesday!

#TheyCameFromBeyondTheGrave!

Backers Only - Manuscript Preview # 4
over 3 years ago – Wed, Aug 19, 2020 at 07:44:55 AM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Final Fiction X - The house was angry
over 3 years ago – Mon, Aug 17, 2020 at 01:26:22 PM

The guests hadn’t had a moment’s peace since Lana lit that match. Sure, it got them out of the music room, but now the house was angry. It slammed doors and knocked over heavy statues as its guests ran by. The harpsichord in the music room banged out violent, discordant notes to add to the cacophony of pounding, ghostly footsteps, and horrible wails. The guests stayed together at first — there was safety in numbers, after all — but the house was an old pro at this sort of thing.

It tripped Dr. Ward, who was the last in line, on a wrinkled bit of carpet. When she got up, the hallway her companions had disappeared down was a blank wall.

Russ Bracknell’s camera strap snagged on a statue’s outstretched hand. The marble closed into a fist. By the time he decided to abandon the camera, he found himself alone in a room full of statues. Their heads slowly turned to regard him.

Delores Grady heard someone cry for help. It sounded like a child. She broke off from the group to go help.

Lana Nakagawa fell through a rotted bit of flooring, down, down, down, into the dustiest of basements.

Joseph Wadlicks, alone at last, stood in the library, where a cozy fire blazed in the hearth. Above it hung four paintings, one of a musician Wadlicks thought might be an American country singer he just couldn’t name; another of a scared young man in a leather jacket, holding what looked like a crowbar; the third a woman throttling what appeared to be some kind of imp. Each bore a blank brass plate underneath, as if their tale, their names, hadn’t been cast in metal yet.

The last painting, the most curious one, depicted a man seated by the same cozy fire where Joseph found himself. He looked a lot like an old-timey version of Joseph, at least facially. Despite himself, he poured a brandy from a decanter and glass conveniently placed on the table him. Toasting the paintings and thanking the translucent servant he barely realized was there, he murmured “To life” before throwing the drink back.

***

Dr. Ward turned around. “When life gives you blank walls, you find another hallway,” she muttered. She went back the way she came, but now that was a blank wall, too.

Maybe she’d been mistaken? This house had so many similar-looking hallways. There were times throughout the night she’d been certain they were just traveling the same hallway over and over, only viewing it from a different angle. She turned again.

Another blank wall. This one was much closer than she remembered. With every turn, Dr. Ward found herself facing a newer, closer wall. They were closing in on her.

She ran up to the one before her now and pounded on it. “Help! Help! Someone get me out of here!” The wallpaper dented and cracks showed in the plaster, but not enough for her to break through.

She felt a presence at her back. Solid. Flat. Dr. Ward didn’t want to look over her shoulder. If she did, she feared the wall before her would squeeze in, too. As the presence breathed down her neck, she found herself cast back to a time, she thought it was the 1800s, watching her grandmother Gwen struggle against a man named Karnstein who was set on snatching her for his collection of brides. She remembered the tales… She was reliving them now, as if in her grandmother’s body, experiencing what she experienced. She remembered that just as her grandma broke free, so could she. With a yell, she thrust her elbow backward into the figure behind her.

It only helped the monster find purchase and drag her backward.

***

In the bottom left corner of Joseph’s painting, a tiny Doctor Jane Ward stood in a coffin-like box. One that was far too small for her.

Joseph narrowed his eyes and took another drink. “Wadlicks… Wadlicks… I am Joseph… Wadlicks…”

***

Delores followed the cries up two sets of stairs, and into the nursery. When they’d visited before, the room was full of dustcloth-covered furniture and cobwebs. The blackboard had had one word scrawled on it in a childish hand: DIE.But now, it was perfectly pleasant: softly lit, its walls covered with cartoon animals. Clean, unbroken toys were strewn about, and the blackboard contained only the ABCs.

Three children sat before it, singing the alphabet song.

There was never anything creepy about children singing, was there? Certainly not. Even when they droned it more than sang it, softly and very high?

No. It was fine.

“Hello, children,” whispered Delores. “Come with me. I’ll bring you somewhere safe.”

They turned to face her. Except, the children had no faces. “Wherever you are is safe, Delores,” they said, even though they had no mouths. “Come sing with us.”

The nursery door slammed closed.

Delores closed her eyes. She thought of everything that might bring her strength: her pendants, her belief in the common decency in most things supernatural, the book of handwritten ghost tales she’d bought from a curiosity shop, penned by a Kitty Halliday. She thought of the time Halliday wrote of facing a family of monstrous spiders. She tried to will herself to that place as she had many times before, pulling on the will of that fabled hunter of monsters, looking for insight from the woman she didn’t even know was her distant ancestor.

She found herself there. She was Kitty. She was living the life of this fabled monster hunter and yes, she felt all the wisdom she could learn from this would help her resist whatever was happening in the house.

And yet, when Delores opened her eyes again, she wished she hadn’t.

***

In the bottom right of the painting, Delores sat on the floor with several blank-faced children, teaching them their ABCs. Joseph stared on, blankly. Two deep silhouettes of men beside him watched on, enthusiastically quivering.

“Wadlicks… Clawskid… Caskwild…”

***

The statues clawed for Russ, but he’d spent plenty of time chasing after stories and running from dogs when he trespassed in the name of getting a scoop. He ducked and dodged beneath grasping alabaster arms.

Then, one caught him in its embrace, and Russ felt his luck run out. “Ladies, if you wanted to dance, you only had to ask politely,” he said, even as it began to crush him. As he let out a scream, he found himself viewing a scene — no, living one — involving his great-grandfather James Aberforth. He recognized the inspector from an old family photo, the one that made Russ want to become a photographer in the first place — pacing through some caves alongside a woman with a bizarre accent, all while a pack of bestial monsters tracked them. Yes, he was there. He was in the late 1800s, picking up all the tools of the trade old Jim Aberforth learned on the job.

Unfortunately for Russ, his grandfather was able to put up a fight against the werewolves. All Russ could do was struggle limply against the statue as it forced the breath from his lungs and he imagined himself somewhere in the deep and distant past.

***

Then the statue’s head exploded in a rain of plaster. The arms let him go, and the statue toppled over with a resounding thud. Lana stood on the other side, dust-covered and bloody, wielding a rusty-headed sledgehammer.

“Lana! You’re okay!”

She glared at him. “There’s an acid pit. In the basement.No, I’m not okay, and I won’t be until I’m out of this house. Where are the others?”

“I don’t know. I—” Russ sucked in a lungful of plaster dust and needed a moment for the coughing fit to subside. “I haven’t seen them since I wound up in here.”

“They’re probably dead already,” she said. “This house doesn’t want to let any of us go.”

“What happened to you? How did you get here?”

“Let’s just say the house will think twice before it tries throwing anyone else into that acid pit,” said Lana, as if that explained anything. “I think the spirit of my great, great aunt Shinobu is here, guiding me… Come on. I’m going to knock a hole in every wall until we get outside. You with me?”

“Yes ma’am.” Russ checked his camera. Through all his trials tonight, the lens remained intact. He was already imagining the Pulitzer-winning picture he’d snap of Lana fighting their way out, sledgehammer in mid-swing.

But the house seemed to like its walls without holes in them. The statuary door blew open, and a great gust of wind kicked up plaster dust and debris, pushing the two toward the exit. It grew stronger as it blew them along the house, in a straight path to the front door. It shoved them out, and those great double doors slammed shut. Locks clicked into place. Chain locks rattled. Bolt locks slid home.

“Were there even that many locks on the door when we got here?” Russ asked.

“I didn’t count,” said Lana. “Let’s get out of here and never look back.”

***

In the third-floor library, the images of Lana and Russ faded from the portrait.

“That’s all right,” said Joseph, who was no longer quite Joseph Wadlicks, and was rather more Joseph Sackwild, the house’s rightful owner. “We always find other guests, don’t we grandpa? Great-grandpa?”

The specters of Nicholas Sackwild and Edward Sackwild watched on, amused and hungry for the next offering.

#TheyCameFromBeyondTheGrave!