Cult-Crafter Post-Campaign Update #10 - Delays, art progress, etc. etc.
Happy New Year, everyone!
The TL;DR is that this is an long-overdue update, and you're still getting your game!
The longer update is that I'm really sorry for the radio silence. To be honest, there isn't a great reason behind no updates for the past four months besides of a combination of work getting insanely busy and then burning out right before the holidays and then the constant shame spiral of not really making as much progress as I would have liked on the game.
So with Chinese New Year/ Golden Week around the corner, I'm racing to try and get everything finished to place an order before then. That said, it's looking like the timelines is currently sitting at early June. So only a year late -_-
That said, a majority of the cards are illustrated, meaning that I'm now in hustle mode to get all the cultist cards illustrated and finalized for print by the end of January.
Major apologies for the delay - I've learned to only try to do one new thing at a time. Doing a massive number of custom portraits, dealing with international shipping at this level (boxes of cards are large and heavy!), and building a tabletop game apparently sent me much farther off course than I had expected.
Anyway, I will show you a smattering of card art now to try and make up for the lack of updates.
PS - If you see yourself and you hate it, email me and let's talk about what you don't like. [email protected].
PPS- So when the tariffs hit and I was considering refunding everyone, instead of working on Cult Crafter like I should have, I started building a new tabletop RPG system like the deviant little ADHD artist I am. If you see me start marketing that and you're extremely offended that I'm crowdfunding again before I finish producing Cult Crafter, I totally understand your feelings AND the hustle is real. So if I haven't totally lost your interest and trust, and you're at all interested in playing the opposition to the Order of the Dark Wheel, the Sisters of the Dawn, then hop over here to check out the teaser page for some fireball-slinging, rules-lite, patriarchy-disrupting witchy fun.
[Cult Crafter] Post-Campaign Update #9 - Custom Cultists LAST CALL! Local Zine Pickup!
Heyo fam!
As I steadily traverse the cultist illustrations, I wanted to share a few with you so far!
I also wanted to remind Custom Cultist backers that today's the deadline for you to at least respond to my email that you've gotten before I'll have to move forward assuming you're not going to redeem your custom portrait. If you didn't get the email, please check spam/promotions, and then reach out ASAP!
Also, the cultist lore zines and the Void Queen stickers have landed, so if you happen to be in Southern California and are planning on attending either Seaside Oddities in Ventura, CA, or Son of Monsterpalooza in Burbank, CA (or DesignerCon in Las Vegas, NV) AND you want to pick either of these things up, let me know!
Anyway, hope you all have a great weekend and back to painting portraits for me!
I just wanted to pop in real quick with an update!
So the cultist illustrations are well on their way, but I'm still waiting to hear back from some folk!
PLEASE - IF YOU BACKED AS A CUSTOM CULTIST, check your email! Maybe it's in spam, maybe it's not, but look for something from "Rick Kitagawa Cult Crafter" and search trash, promotions, etc.
Every backer who has pledged at this level has received at least 2 emails - so please make sure that you respond. I totally understand having a bajillion project updates plus real life (ugh) stuff to deal with, but IF I DON'T HEAR FROM YOU BY SEPTEMBER 19TH I'LL HAVE TO ILLUSTRATE A RANDOM CHARACTER FOR YOUR CARD.
PS - Folks who filled out the form but didn't send a photo yet..please send a photo.
If you backed at this level and need some help, don't hesitate to email me or reply in a comment and I'll reach out.
Anyway, as we slide into spooky season, stay safe out there!
Also, here's a spread from the lore zine to keep things interested.
[Cult Crafter] Post-Campaign Update #7! Surveys are out!
Hello everyone!
The surveys have slithered out from the local shunned building and should be sitting in your inbox, waiting for your diligent response.
If you did not get a survey, let me know and I can track it down for you.
I'll be locking down orders with notices as they come in..meaning that you'll get a notice that you'll have 48 hours to make any final changes. I'm doing this since a) you can update your shipping address until we're getting closer to ship, and b) you can't get your digital download of the lore zine until I lock your order.
Again, you won't be charged shipping until we get closer to actually shipping this out, so just a friendly reminder about that.
That's it for now, but more to come soon!
Thank you!
PS - If you're interested in some other monster art, I'll be running a sale/fundraiser to raise money to support abandoned cats. More details to come, but it'll start this Saturday the 26th and run until the end of the month.
[Cult Crafter] Post-Campaign Update #6! Smoke test has begun!
Howdy everyone!
I just wanted to let y'all know that surveys have started going out via smoke test - this means that 5% of you will get your survey today, and after 48 hours, assuming nothing breaks, surveys will then go out to everyone else!
Remember, shipping is not due at this time, but it will charge your card if you add on anything you missed at the time of the campaign closing.
Thanks again, and let me know if you have any questions! Otherwise, you should all be seeing your surveys by Wednesday!
Apologies for the late update - I got tied up with a recent new kidney disease diagnosis for one of my cats, so I lost a full day earlier last week. Thankfully, we're getting her on a kidney-supportive prescription diet and she should hopefully still live a long life with us (she's not even 3 years old yet!).
Anyway, on to good news - I should be getting the printed proof of the zine in a few days from the printer, and I'll be sending out the digital copies via the survey tool as soon as I have BackerKit do some tweaks on their end.
For this campaign I'll be charging shipping closer to when the game is closer to actually shipping due to the volatility of shipping rates and freight and tariffs and everything else, and that's a feature I need BK to do on their end.
So surveys should be coming out in the next few days - meaning that you can pay for addons and upgrades and stuff now, and then shipping will be charged in a few months when I've got rates locked down. I'll do a smoke test (which goes out to about 5% of backers to make sure everything is kosher), and then the surveys will go out to everyone.
Anyway, here's a preview of the cover of the Zine, which looks nice and fleshy and visceral (IMHO) which is just what I was hoping for. It is a little less goth that I thought it would be, but I ended up going with this direction as it felt more like a grimoire bound in human flesh and teeth. While most of the exterior and interior covers are more photo-collaged heavy, most of the interior pages are text and illustration heavy, like this spread: Anyway, I'm pretty excited to get this out to you, but in the meantime thanks again for your patience with this as I make my way through the custom portraits and printing and all the other product production,
Oh yeah, here's the enamel pin photo I promised!
Thanks again, hope you're having a good start to the week, and I'll talk to you soon!
The Order of the Dark Wheel is recruiting new Head Cultists - will you rise to the challenge or be outmatched by another aspiring young demonologist looking to climb the ranks?
The back of the cultist deck
Cult Crafter is a 2-4 player game where players race to build the most profitable demon-worshipping cult. Blending a mix of skill and luck, you'll battle to recruit the wealthiest cultists and sacrifice those who are less useful or don't align with your cult's beliefs. That said, what's dead doesn't always stay dead, and those sacrificed cultists might rise from the grave and lend their tribute to an opposing cult.
Choose a demon god and dark idol to worship. Build sects, appoint cult leaders and followers, assassinate other cultists, or consult with the All-Seeing Oracle. Rake in the most tribute of all the cults and win!
But Cult Crafter can *literally* not be made without you - not only do we need your support to get the first run of this game made, we also need your face. There are also 42 cultists in the game, each with a unique affiliation and tribute value. I *could* just make up 42 random people, but I find it much more interesting to paint the portrait of backers.
Here's an example of the art style applied to portraiture...the top cultist is aligned with pain and rot, the bottom cultist is aligned with blood (which determines the background colors.)
So if you've ever wanted to be immortalized in a card game as a demon-worshipping cultist, here's your chance! You'll even get to name your cultist in the game (within reason - I've learned from Boaty McBoatface).
I also stream the card illustration process on Twitch, so join the next stream and give your feedback, encouragement, or ask questions about the game. Suggestions on stream have made it into the final illustrations before!
Make sure to sign up for updates on the game so you can get notified when we launch - we'll have special early bird tiers and rewards for returning backers from previous projects, so stay tuned!
