Despite the fact that we spent several weeks adjusting our files and commissioning a whole new set of proofs, yesterday the EU/UK print partners for DriveThruRPG again started cancelling parts of POD orders for Designers & Dragons Origins.
After notifying DTRPG of the situation, they chose to cancel all the books in the existing orders and issue complete refunds. The PODs will be unavailable until an actual, fully-vetted fix (that includes delivery to the UK/EU) is in place.
We're very, very sorry about the canceled orders. We understand that it's frustrating for you. It's equally frustrating for us. We were assured the issue had been fixed. Obviously, it was not.
We will keep everyone posted when we do arrive at a solution but it may take some time because we want this thoroughly sorted out before we activate the PODs again.
Again, we apologize for the disappointment, irritation, and inconvenience. We're working on your behalf to get this resolved. We'll let you know when it's been addressed to our satisfaction.
We're happy to announce that the POD printing issues have been resolved. If you were holding off on ordering any print-on-demand copies of Designers & Dragons Origins, you can do that now.
For customers who placed orders where one or more PODs were canceled, DriveThruRPG has refunded the full cost of any cancelled books and all associated shipping costs. Within the next day or two you will receive an email via our Publisher Account with DTRPG that contains a redemption link for each cancelled item so you can order them again.
Please note: If you had multiple items cancelled, you will receive a separate email for each item. (That's just one of the limitations of the way DTRPG can process these through their system.) If you want to consolidate your replacements into one order to save on shipping, make sure you've got an email for every item you want to order before you start clicking through.
For example, if you ordered PODs of the full set but your copies of Volume 2 and Volume 4 were cancelled by the printer, you will get two separate emails with a link to order your at-cost POD copy - one for Vol 2, and another email & link for Vol 4. To save on shipping, make sure you have the emails for both volumes before you click through the redemption links and place your order.
We want to apologize for the inconvenience and we appreciate everyone's patience as we've worked with DTRPG and their printing partners to resolve this.
Coming Up Next week is the retail release of Designers & Dragons Origins!
If you made a pledge for the PDFs and would like to own these handsome books in hardcover, head to your local game shop next Monday or you can pre-order from us directly on our webstore.
The 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s and Platinum Appendix in POD! For those of you who purchased the PDF/PODs of the original Designers & Dragons series, we're queueing up those coupon codes for the at-cost PODs and will be releasing them shortly as well.
Given that these titles have black & white interiors, we don't anticipate any type of saturation/color issues to pop up with the printer. Keep an eye on your email for those codes, we'll be releasing them through BackerKit.
Over the weekend a number of people who placed POD orders had their orders partially or fully canceled by DriveThruRPG. This stems from an issue with the files for the PODs that was not caught by their printer during our proofing process. It only popped up once multiple orders started flowing through the print queue.
We are currently working with DriveThru and their printer to fix the files. We're also hoping to improve their proofing processes in order to avoid this situation in the future.
Until we get this fix, please do not use the POD coupons we issued. DriveThruRPG will cancel them and then it just becomes more of a customer service tangle.
We're hoping to get this resolved quickly but keep in mind that the standard process is to upload new test files and then actually print a set of proofing copies. The turnaround for that is generally a few weeks.
We're very sorry for this inconvenience. We ordered two sets of proofs and had no issue, but these problems nonetheless should have been caught earlier.
If you are one of the people affected by these cancellations: please be assured that we have your order info from DriveThruRPG. We will make sure you are refunded for the full amount of your cancelled order plus shipping. Keep in mind we have to sort out the details on that on a case-by-case basis with DriveThruRPG so it may take a week or two to issue those refunds.
Thanks for your patience. We'll post another update when the PODs are ready to go again.
In the meantime, if you have a question about this (or any other issue with your rewards) you can email us at [email protected]
Happy to announce that we are about to send out the at-cost POD codes for Designers & Dragons Origins. A few quick reminders:
If you backed for the physical books, you do not need to redeem the codes to get your physical copies. We are shipping out your books right now. These codes are an optional bonus and only come in a softcover finish.
These are at-cost codes, that does not mean "free." These codes allow you to purchase a softcover POD copy for the rock-bottom lowest price it takes to print them via POD. We have stripped off any commission and royalties we normally earn via DriveThruRPG and set the price to the bare minimum. These are big books, each volume costs around $18 to print, and that price does not including shipping.
The codes are single-use. Be sure you are logged in to your DriveThruRPG account and ready to order. If you are idly checking out the price and decide to come back later you may not be able to redeem the code.
We're still prepping the POD files for the original Designers & Dragons series (70s-00s plus Platinum Appendix). If you added those items to your pledge, they will be coming at a later date. Note those items were only available as add-ons, they're not automatically sent to every backer.
SHIPPING UPDATE Packages have been flowing out of the warehouse. We're really grateful to our crack team over there for getting the rewards sent out.
As is always the case, a small number of packages have been damaged in transit. If your books arrive damaged or defective, we will replace them at no cost to you.
Just email [email protected] with your shipping address and a couple photos of the problem and we will replace them for free.
That's the news for today! Thanks again for your support.
This was included in our latest update but it's worth repeating:
If your rewards are damaged or defective, we will replace them at no cost to you. In any fulfillment operation like this, there are always a few difficult-to-spot defective copies or shipping mishaps.
If you end up with a damaged or defective copy, just contact customer service at [email protected] with your shipping address information and one or two photos of the defects you’ve spotted in your copy, and we’ll figure out how to fix it.
We do our best, but sometimes UPS does their worst.
Integration with DriveThruRPG Unlike previous projects we are not sending out coupon codes for DriveThruRPG. We're using a new integration between DTRPG and BackerKit.
Basically, here's how it works:
On your Digital Rewards page you will see a section that looks like this:
When you click ANY ONE of the "Go to my DriveThruRPG library" links, the system will automatically add all the rewards you have available into your DTRPG library.
You do not have to click through each individual link, any one of them triggers the process to load up your library. You may have to let the page run for a minute, the process is not instantaneous.
A few backers use a different email address for DTRPG than they do for BackerKit. We're working with both companies to address this gap going forward but in the meantime if you are one of them, email [email protected]and we will work with you to get the titles into your DTRPG account. (You can also just download the PDFs directly from your BackerKit rewards page, there is no need to use DTRPG at all if you don't want to.)
Shipping Underway! Yesterday we sent over the backer shipping file and our warehouse has begun packaging and shipping out rewards. A few notes about this process:
Addresses are now locked, so if you need to update yours please email [email protected] ASAP.
You should get an email notification when your package is scanned by the carrier. Note that this event doesn't provide enough information to predict when your package going to arrive, and that's not in our hands, so the email notification generated by our ShipStation software does not give an arrival timeline. Consider it more of a "heads-up."
If your rewards are damaged or defective, we will replace them at no cost to you. In any fulfillment operation like this, there are always a few difficult-to-spot defective copies or shipping mishaps. We're doing our best to make sure you get a pristine set of books but if you end up with a damaged or defective copy, just contact customer service at [email protected] with your shipping address information and one or two photos of the defects you’ve spotted in your copy, and we’ll figure out how to fix it. That’s on us, not you.
POD & Audiobook Status We've received an initial set of hardcopies produced by DTRPG for the POD offerings. We're waiting for everyone on the team to review and sign off of them. Once that happens we will distribute those codes as well. We'll post another update when that happens.
The audiobook versions are also still in production, we'll let you know when we hit a milestone there.
Thank you! We're excited to begin delivering this magnus opus of TSR history. We hope you enjoy the expansive work author Shannon Appelcline has put in. There are over 1500 pages of research and commentary across the four volumes of Designers & Dragons Origins!
Thank you for your support and patience as we approach the last few turns in the minotaur's maze of production.
Despite the fact that we spent several weeks adjusting our files and commissioning a whole new set of proofs, yesterday the EU/UK print partners for DriveThruRPG again started cancelling parts of POD orders for Designers & Dragons Origins.
After notifying DTRPG of the situation, they chose to cancel all the books in the existing orders and issue complete refunds. The PODs will be unavailable until an actual, fully-vetted fix (that includes delivery to the UK/EU) is in place.
We're very, very sorry about the canceled orders. We understand that it's frustrating for you. It's equally frustrating for us. We were assured the issue had been fixed. Obviously, it was not.
We will keep everyone posted when we do arrive at a solution but it may take some time because we want this thoroughly sorted out before we activate the PODs again.
Again, we apologize for the disappointment, irritation, and inconvenience. We're working on your behalf to get this resolved. We'll let you know when it's been addressed to our satisfaction.
We're happy to announce that the POD printing issues have been resolved. If you were holding off on ordering any print-on-demand copies of Designers & Dragons Origins, you can do that now.
For customers who placed orders where one or more PODs were canceled, DriveThruRPG has refunded the full cost of any cancelled books and all associated shipping costs. Within the next day or two you will receive an email via our Publisher Account with DTRPG that contains a redemption link for each cancelled item so you can order them again.
Please note: If you had multiple items cancelled, you will receive a separate email for each item. (That's just one of the limitations of the way DTRPG can process these through their system.) If you want to consolidate your replacements into one order to save on shipping, make sure you've got an email for every item you want to order before you start clicking through.
For example, if you ordered PODs of the full set but your copies of Volume 2 and Volume 4 were cancelled by the printer, you will get two separate emails with a link to order your at-cost POD copy - one for Vol 2, and another email & link for Vol 4. To save on shipping, make sure you have the emails for both volumes before you click through the redemption links and place your order.
We want to apologize for the inconvenience and we appreciate everyone's patience as we've worked with DTRPG and their printing partners to resolve this.
Coming Up Next week is the retail release of Designers & Dragons Origins!
If you made a pledge for the PDFs and would like to own these handsome books in hardcover, head to your local game shop next Monday or you can pre-order from us directly on our webstore.
The 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s and Platinum Appendix in POD! For those of you who purchased the PDF/PODs of the original Designers & Dragons series, we're queueing up those coupon codes for the at-cost PODs and will be releasing them shortly as well.
Given that these titles have black & white interiors, we don't anticipate any type of saturation/color issues to pop up with the printer. Keep an eye on your email for those codes, we'll be releasing them through BackerKit.
Over the weekend a number of people who placed POD orders had their orders partially or fully canceled by DriveThruRPG. This stems from an issue with the files for the PODs that was not caught by their printer during our proofing process. It only popped up once multiple orders started flowing through the print queue.
We are currently working with DriveThru and their printer to fix the files. We're also hoping to improve their proofing processes in order to avoid this situation in the future.
Until we get this fix, please do not use the POD coupons we issued. DriveThruRPG will cancel them and then it just becomes more of a customer service tangle.
We're hoping to get this resolved quickly but keep in mind that the standard process is to upload new test files and then actually print a set of proofing copies. The turnaround for that is generally a few weeks.
We're very sorry for this inconvenience. We ordered two sets of proofs and had no issue, but these problems nonetheless should have been caught earlier.
If you are one of the people affected by these cancellations: please be assured that we have your order info from DriveThruRPG. We will make sure you are refunded for the full amount of your cancelled order plus shipping. Keep in mind we have to sort out the details on that on a case-by-case basis with DriveThruRPG so it may take a week or two to issue those refunds.
Thanks for your patience. We'll post another update when the PODs are ready to go again.
In the meantime, if you have a question about this (or any other issue with your rewards) you can email us at [email protected]
We use essential cookies and our own first-party analytics to run BackerKit. With your consent, we also use cookies to measure our marketing and share data with advertising partners to show you relevant ads. Accept to allow all cookies, or reject to turn off the optional ones.
Read our cookie policy.
