With so much to read in the draft manuscripts, I'd sort of lost track as to how long we've been running this campaign, but we're already starting our final week! And with that, it's time to start our Final Week Countdown!
Over the next 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.
Final Week Guide
June 15 - Reward Tier & Add On Review
June 16 - Manuscript Preview 3B - Exalted and Supernatural Antagonists
June 17 - Stretch Goal Review
June 18 - Final Day Checklist & What Comes Next
The Campaign ends on June 18th at 2:00 PM Eastern Time... sort of.
We've got a brand new Time Extension Charm and we may be able to manipulate our planned finish line a bit. We're going to try and unleash our Exalted power when we get to the big finale! 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 June18th at 2:00 pm Eeastern Time, 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! Exalted indeed!
Sparking New Backers
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 an Essential Influencer for this Crowdfunding project. It's time to share your excitement for the Exalted: Essence Storyteller's Guide! 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.
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 the ExEss STG until 2:01 PM Eastern next Thursday June 18th (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? Sports. Sports is the answer. Anyway - 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 Exalted fans who haven't yet heard about this campaign and would love to join in. We're right in the middle of the latest chaos storm - tons of different things competing for our attention - 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.
Onyx Path does their best to let everyone know about their projects through their social media, streams, youtube videos, and on their webpage, but I still get fans contacting me affer every campaign saying they just missed out! And even though you will be able to pre-order the book through the Pledge Manager later, late backers won't be able to Add On the Storyteller's Supplement that we've built via Stretch Goal achievement to their pre-order items.
So, let's help out our awesome Exalted: Essence fans and make sure that we've spread the word as best we can and everyone has an opportunity to participate in this campaign!
Draft Manuscript
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 back half of Chapter 3 coming on Tuesday, the entirety of the advice, systems, and options from this book are available for download and review by backers. That's a massive pile of alternate rules, options, story-building plans, and antagonists and more for your Exalted!
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 half of chapter 3 of the book next week before we reach the finish line. This final chapter is all about Exalted and Supernatural antagonists. In fact, here's a taste of what's coming your way next week:
Dragon Kings
Dragon Kings are survivors of an ancient race, once allies of the Exalted, now scattered with little memories of their past glory. Dragon Kings begin life as feral youths, roaming the wilds as packs; most die from violence or deprivation in these early days. Those who make it to adulthood begin to regain human-like intelligence, speech and tool-use, but it takes much longer for memories of their past lives to come back; most sapient Dragon Kings eke out lives as simple hunter-gatherers or as scavengers in their ancient ruins. Only a few, whether ancient sleepers awakened into the Second Age or adults who survive many decades cultivating their Essence, manage to reclaim their ancient heritage.
Variant: Feral Youth
Young Dragon Kings are aggressive, predatory beasts of surprising cunning, easily able to overpower human warriors. Feral Youths cannot change their clade and do not walk upright; Ankloks are quadrupedal, heavily armored beasts, Mosoks are serpentine water-dwellers with shortened limbs, Pteroks walk on the claws of their leathery wings when not aloft, and Raptoks are lithe, bipedal, hunched-over creatures with bright feathers keeping their long foreclaws close to their chests.
Virtues: Courage/Ambition (Assert Dominance) Primary Pool(8): Tracking, Fighting, Flying or Running or Swimming or Resist Environment Secondary Pool(6): Intimidate, Senses, Stealth Tertiary Pool (4) Essence: 1 Health Levels: 7 Resolve: 3 Defense: 5 Hardness: 4 Soak: 5
Attacks and Qualities
Enormous Size (Anklok) (Exalted Essence p. 316), Harrier and Opportunistic Threat (Raptok) (Exalted Essence p. 320)
Flowing Form (Mosok): Mosoks always qualify for stealth while underwater.
Soaring Form (Pterok): Pteroks gain double-9s on movement rolls while in the air, but are hindered while on the ground.
Breath of Clarity (All): When a character uses a Charm or other magical ability in the Dragon King’s presence, it rolls Senses at Difficulty 3 to become aware of it. Success does not inform it of the magic’s nature but heightens its aggression.
Feral Dragon Kings are highly territorial. They use threat displays to ward off intruders, but those who do not heed the warnings are attacked with overwhelming violence. Feral Dragon Kings are undersocialized juveniles lacking their normal teaching structures and do not behave like normal predators: they are aggressive to the point of recklessness, their pack structures are confused and shaped by violence, and they are drawn to places that resonate with their past lives. Displays of magic stir a remembrance of what they lost, which they find painful and drives them to greater hostility.
Exalted: Essence Chat
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!
Final Week
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 the possiblities of Exalted: Essence together, sharing our feedback with the writers and delving into the draft manuscript, and let's see if we can't get another Stretch Goal before we review next Wednesday!
At $60,000 in Funding - Antagonists from the Threshold
Exalted: Essence Storyteller's Supplement - Antagonists from the Threshold - The Stretch Goal built storyteller's supplement will be expanded to include antagonists that could be found in or related to the Threshold.
At $70,000 in Funding - Adventures in the Threshold
Exalted: Essence Storyteller's Supplement - Adventures in the Threshold - A set of plot hooks, scenario ideas, and perhaps story outlines set in and around the Threshold will be added to the Exalted Essence Storyteller's supplement being built by Stretch Goal achievements.
Have a great Friday and weekend, keep spreading the word, send the developers your feedback using the Feedback Form included with every draft manuscript download update. I'll share a sneak peek at the next manuscript tomorrow, and I'll be back on Monday to review all of the Pledge Tier options and Add On Reward choices!
We finish this campaign NEXT THURSDAY! Let's keep at it!
