We found the bug and for the people who reached out to us thank you!

As of today, we are reshipping out the books that showed up as "Delivered" to an L.A. Address and never arrived. It will take the warehouse 2-3 days to process, but then the 18 or so orders that toured the country will get new tracking numbers.

For everyone else! Hopefully you are enjoying the book!

Remember, if you can, please leave us a review on DriveThru RPG! Everyone had all the files sent to them there already, so log in and give us a rating!

This is a tiny update, because we want to wait until all the books are through the shipping pipeline before we announce the next coming project: BUT ONE OF THEM CAN'T WAIT:

Storytellers Forge is officially launching The Black Ballad at ACEN!

Not only will we be at Booth 413 with The Black Ballad (bring yours by! Get it Signed!) We are also running a host of special events in the Hyatt TTRPG Room.

If you are going, sign up for a spot now at one of our tables: CLICK HERE

Or check out the schedule of events here!

Hey everyone! Rick here!

So, for most people, The Black Ballad has arrived or is arriving this week. Obviously, we are HELLA excited about this!

Of course, travel is the one part we have no control over, so it's always a bit of a nail-biter on our end hoping that our warriors make it through their journey without losing all their hit points. Luckily, most of them seem to be!

One Batch... is very confused, however.

If you see this in your tracking update:

Delivered, Individual Picked Up at Postal Facility

Usps, LOS ANGELES, CA, 90040, USA, United States, LOS ANGELES, United States

Email us at [email protected].

Easyship and the US Post office are very confused about why this is happening. We've already logged the 9-10 backers who reached out to us. We aren't sure if they are going back in for recalibration, are being sent to the warehouse, or... anything really.

We are in the dark :(

What we do know is that the post office has them, and they are either being rerouted to their final destination, or they are being sent back to us. Easyship will have an update on these ones for us in the middle of next week. 

I'm officially waiting until this snafu is resolved before I announce full celebration and what's coming next, so hopefully... that's next week!

If yours turned up though! Tag us! @STForgeStudios on all platforms or #TheBlackBallad #STForge!

Only a few books got confused, so the vast majority of you should have yours by now (or tomorrow) without any issue!

-Rick

Super quick update!

If you start getting your Black Ballad, can you tag @stforgestudios on your platform or even post something on Tiktok and tag us! Our tags are #BlackBallad #TPK #STForge #DiAmorte.

Thank you everyone so much!

Loot Box orders and International Backers should be getting their boxes this week. Pirate Ship is super speedy and they zoomed ahead of the standard orders. 

Because some of our books went on a little journey, the remainder is going out next week to about 606 backers as soon as I can press the "ship" button!

Everyone have a great weekend!

-Rick

Greetings Everyone! Happy April!

...even though Chicago weather is pulling the typical "It's still winter! Psyche!" things are moving on! Here's the shipping update:

All remaining items have arrived!

There was a shipping snafu where 280 Black Ballads went to the wrong address, and we had to get them rerouted to the distribution center. It also turns out, that it takes like two weeks to box 1000 Black Ballads to ready them for shipping.... so writes down that mental note.

That said, all I'm waiting on is confirmation of the wandering 280 copies physically arriving, and I press the go button.

We've been packing up loot boxes, and have all of them (and they are gorgeous), ready to go. Labels for shipping should be arriving today or tomorrow and then we will begin a round trip ferry to UPS or USPS.

...and yes, we hand packed those loot boxes because we wanted to see how that process went.

International Backers: I secretly released all standard orders a week ago. They are being packed and sent out. Just a heads up, and one thing we have NO control over, is border taxes and fees. Some countries have them. Some countries don't. It changes based on government policy and is far far beyond our scope of influence and reach. So if you get an email saying your book is at your customs office and they slapped an extra fee on it, I apologize in advance. Hopefully it doesn't happen too much, but I know Canada vs US are currently having a government grudge match or something.

Storytellers Forge Store: https://www.storytellersforge.com/shop is up and operational! Now that we have the ST Screens and Poker Decks, we'll get those items listed up there soon. They weren't available as an add on or previously obtainable outside of the loot boxes but they will be going forward! There will be an email and discord announcement when they finally go live, so if you want that ping:

DriveThru RPG Question! I'm thinking of giving everyone who backed this campaign a free pdf on DriveThru RPG for The Black Ballad. I know a lot of you probably use that for your library and we are officially listed on there. I've ordered a print-proof of their fancy print version and I'm curious to see what it looks like, but... if I set up digital distribution as well there:

Would you guys find that handy? (Leave a comment!) Would you be so kind to leave a review?

Projects We Love: In the tradition of closing out one campaign, while we wrap things up, it's always good to spotlight other projects currently trying to get off the ground:

That's all we have for the April Update (and it's a lot!), but there will be another short one mid-month once I get some feedback on DriveThruRPG, the Poker Decks up on the store, and finally press that glorious ship button for everyone!

Thank you everyone!

zooms in like an overcaffeinated squirrel.

I lied. Squirrels can't be over caffeinated. In fact, Hayles and Amanda ensure that I am always the perfect amount OF caffeinated and the Eldritch Editor Courteney always states I'm vastly more like an excitable black lab (who has a hated rivalry with bushes, long story, ask on discord).

ANYWAY Actual updates from Rick!

Black Ballad Production Phase is Complete! 

Special editions were arriving at the Easyship warehouse in LA and at the Midwest Distribution Center (Aka: The Southgate Garage) over this weekend. We now officially enter the distribution phase!

Garycon This Weekend!

We will be at Garycon this weekend joining forces with the Total Party Kill booth in the exhibitor hall. If you backed the Black Ballad AND are quick enough with a request we can pull your order from distribution and have it on hand (where we can actually sign it!) for pick up. Email [email protected] to let us know and I'll make sure to set one aside.

For those that didn't back yet... we will have a small handful of copies available if you want to pick up one!

StorytellersForge.Com is officially open!

https://www.storytellersforge.com/shop

With our book leaving production, ST Forge Studios is officially entering year 1 of business! Our shop is open! You can get some items (Like the USB Bundles, Adventure Journals, Seventh Age Novels, etc) already if you haven't been there.

We've also been updating our blog posts and getting our website polished up. There will be a time post Loot Box delivery that I'll be uploading some custom Dice, Poker Decks, and other items individually.

...and speaking of Dice... man, on our discord server, we had 3 sets of damaged cases for the metal dice. We made ONE post with a photo of the fallen soldier...

and it was like the legions of hell were unleashed upon our general chat since we were going to let each of the moderators pick someone to give them away too...

Y'all are some serious dice gremlins and I love it.

But it also highlights that... don't F@$K with gamers and their shiny math rocks... screw zombies, dice gremlins can devour a chessex semi-truck in less than a minute.

Speaking of our discord.... you should probably join:

The day of Sunday is upon us, and I'm bringing a few updates about production!

The Bad News: - Free Character Sheet Packs :(

Let's lead off with the bad news: If you are one of the backers who qualified for the free bundle 5-pack character sheets for a BASE book order, we have to cancel those 145 free packs. Reason being? They won't be here in time. By ANY measure. So the choice would be: Delay 1600 orders for free character sheet packs until April / May and pay warehousing fees. Or strike the 145 free packs.

We've gotta strike them. Chinese New Year ate our shipping and manufacturing of them. Even though we ordered them back in October... glares at global events... yeah some things are valid delays.

That said, you can download them for free at our store: https://www.storytellersforge.com/shop

The Physical Book Update:

We are still on track for everything else. Our printer for the main book is a U.S. Based printer and we will have everything going to Easyships Fulfillment center right smack in the middle of March.

From there, all standard editions will go out pretty much instantly.

Loot Box orders will be coming to Chicago where we will handpack them during the month of March, and need ONE item from the pallet of merch coming from China: The Poker Decks. We are predicting loot box orders go out in April which is still ahead of May!

Pre-Order Store is Closed! BUT PAPERBACK VERSIONS ARE AVAILABLE!

If you missed the crowdfunding version, or the special edition cost was a little too spicy for you, the paperback is now available on Amazon for $64.99: CLICK HERE!

(That is a really solid option for International people btw).

Storytellers Forge Shop is now up!

Seriously! It's taking a while and it's still in beta, but check out our shop! https://www.storytellersforge.com/shop

We've moved off the backerkit store finally (because we are that close!) and we've got stuff available! I'm trying to take feedback on store ideas / layout while making squarespace work right. So I put everything in different categories like "International Friendly!" or "Free Stuff!" for easy searching. The main Special Edition Black Ballad book isn't up there yet, because we don't have the function to host preorders, but you can get the digital copy or some of our other books.

Also, we have a ton of photos of the adventure journals! These things turned out great! I'll end this post with a thank you, and then a swath of pictures for the adventure journals and other physical merch comin' in! Special thanks to our Eldritch Editor Courteney for taking photos as things roll in!

*steps up to microphone.*

*taps.*

*taps again.*

Attention fellow androids, vampires, cryptids and hoomans on this ball of rock that hurtles around a gigantic ball of nuclear fire.

We at Storytellers Forge would like to officially celebrate: The Black Ballad.

It's been just under a year since we began this journey and speaking from my own coffee infused heart, thank you.

The full and final ADA versions and Epubs should be in your inboxes. Enjoy the fields of slaughter! Laugh manically when a TPK happens! Or brace yourselves for a tale of tragedy in the setting we have created.

Printing and physical versions are still weeks out, but please:

Tweet about it! Find us on socials!

Join our Discord!

https://discord.gg/7f7R5jNXkf

Share with us your thoughts on The Black Ballad!

It is with much pride that we were able to fulfill our end of the bargain and deliver something so gorgeous to our earliest supporters.

For those who have subscribed to the Backer Kit emails, but haven't bought in yet: The PDF and Epub Versions are available at https://www.storytellersforge.com/shop/the-black-ballad.

-Rick Heinz

*Yeets writer brain onto the keyboard. Writer brain goes squish and leaks coffee.*

Rick here! Time for a quick Black Ballad update! 

*Allow Rick's brain a moment to jitter silently on the keyboard that in less than a year since crowdfunding, we are at the printing stage.*

That said, this announcement is important: We are only placing ONE order for The Special Edition. We aren't going to order mountains of stock on our first project, and want to preload our next projects. Since the Black Ballad has a standard edition that will always be available, we are going pretty light on the print run order. Which means: In 72 Hours, I'm closing the Preorder store.

This is basically your last chance to pre-order the Black Ballad Special Edition. If you get the physical copy, it also comes with all the digital content as well (so no need to order both).

CLICK HERE TO GRAB YOUR COPY!

Now... let's talk digital variants!

The Black Ballad will be released in Epub format on Google Books, Amazon, etc etc. Epub is TOTALLY different from PDF. PDF versions are WAY prettier and filled with all the art assets.

ePubs are streamlined, formatted, and presented differently to play along with user comments, self bookmarking, searching, smart text, etc etc. It's taken a bit, but Niki Tantillo has finally done the first test conversions for the Epub release. I've attached some sample screenshots below.

Anyone Who Backed at least the Digital Tier will be getting the Epub Variant for Free. This is part of our digital package, and well... frankly a perk for supporting us during crowdfunding when we need it most.

So, thank you!

Here's some images :)

Hey everyone! Updates!

We are putting the final touches on the PDF over the next two-four weeks. All our other digital assets are getting ready to roll very soon. That includes soundtrack, Gamble of Fates, Pathfinder Conversion, the main book, map pack, and more!

All we need to do is get our print proof pdf set to the printers first, and then we will turn our focus back on setting up full digital fulfillment while that is rolling!

One error we noticed is that the item tool for the Pre-order store doesn't allow us to set different shipping rates or zero those out. So if you are a pre-order purchaser and ordered a digital tier, email [email protected] and tell them. We've let them know as well. 

There is no shipping for digital stuff, so, let's make sure that gets zeroed out. 

Otherwise, as soon as I have more final files to share: Everyone is getting their stuff! Almost there!

Also, fret not about the shipping failed charges. Stripe and Backerkit are currently having a death battle and ironing out some bug or something. Even we are sitting are waiting for that fix.

-Rick

*FLAILS!*

The Playtest / Early Draft of the final PDF for the Black Ballad was sent to all backers with the digital tier today!

This is *not* the final PDF. We know there are still a few places we are getting some extra art in on and final PDF tweaks that will happen, but it's at an ABSOLUTELY gorgeous place where we can finally share it off for anyone who pledged at that tier.

IF YOU CATCH ANYTHING! LET US KNOW ON DISCORD SO WE CAN FIX IT!

https://discord.gg/7f7R5jNXkf

^ Join us there!

We move to the next phase of the PDF on Jan 4th! So that's the deadline for anyone who catches anything. This is also a great test of the Backerkit Digital Distribution system for us. So let us know how it works!

If you are one of the 4,735 followers in our Launch email and you didn't get the Black Ballad yet... the Preorder store only remains open till the beginning of Jan! Hint hint. Nudge nudge.

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY!

Enjoy everyone!

A LOT of hardwork and love went into this project at every step of the way, and we are absolutely thrilled that since we crowdfunded in March / April last year - we are able to release this version before the years end. 

We are in the home stretch!

Thank you,

The STF Team!

Rick here everyone! As we enter the season of the Krampus, the folk metal continues to play on my list and we start looking at what comes next.

Namely, getting the Black Ballad into your hands.

This update is a quick one because we have every intention of doing a MUCH bigger update in two weeks... one that hopefully includes the early release PDF version. Here is the timeline!

Black Ballad Timeline:

-December:

*Release early pdf to everyone. Hopefully in time for the holidays. This will be done through Backerkits Digital Fulfillment as an early test!! This isn't the final pdf, and we fully expect catches and changes once a huge crowd of people gets their eyes on it. So PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT YOU CATCH! It's our final chance with the PDF before we trigger the print run.

*Order final print run for Purgatory Poker Deck, Duskwalker, Adventure Journal, ST Screen, and other supplemental items.

-January:

*Make final PDF adjustments and the rest of digital package for release.
*Order USB Sticks of digital elements for loot box.
*Order Print Run of the Black Ballad.
*Load Shipping and Handling based of 2024 rates for everyone.
*Close down preorder store.

-Feb / March / April: Print proof adjustment and shipping logistics. <-It's in this window, where we will start showcasing what's coming up for ST Forge in 2024. All I can say for now is, I hope everyone likes novels!

That's the news, and... it wouldn't go without an update if we didn't share some artwork!

Here is the one of the colors (there will be several) for Ashlynn's Adventure Journal by Diana Lang and Courteney Penney!

**Rick thrusts Niki into the Backer Update section because he firmly believes that Layout artists are the unsung heroes of the TTRPG world.**

Hiya everyone! I am Niki your resident layout artist, here to share a little bit about me and, more importantly, some info and updates on The Black Ballad.

So about me…I am artist amongst many other things: a typesetter, a cover design, a lady with 3 cats, and a big FFXIV fan. Learning typeset happened on a whim, however over time, I experimented with more complicated designs and eventually incorporating my own illustrations into the layouts which is now how I'm here! The Black Ballad layout takes inspiration from various sources. From Greek and Gothic architecture, Greco-Roman relief sculptures, Nokron the Eternal City from Elden Ring (one of the best areas in the game btw), other artists like Nekro and above all else, the content and themes from The Black Ballad.

My ultimate goal was to deliver a design that stands out with the story being told. I hope you all love what you have seen so far but I am here to show you some more! This week, I designed and painted out the chapter headings and formatted how letters will appear.  Our section pages are made using the awesome art by __ and each section will include an accompanying full page piece by various other artists.  As of now, everything is right on schedule. All of the main body text has been laid out with the proper fonts, sizes, and spacing. The remainder of this month will mainly be focused on bringing in the art and formatting the tables and drop-in text as well as updating and creating assets as needed. Thanks for tuning in to this update and can't wait to bring you more as we get closer to completion!

-Niki Tantillo

**Here is an example of the Layout evolution of a page spread! Also, if you haven't gotten a preorder copy of the Black Ballad, the Black Ballad preorder store on Backerkit will only be open until we place our Print Order!**

358 Days Until Next Halloween!

Just had to get that out there.

Hey everyone! Rick here! Happily enjoying the start of Nanowrimo and making sure I hit my wordcounts every day for my own novels (so far, it's holding strong! Coffee supplies are holding!)

Given that it is Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month, where all us authors try and cram 50,000 words together into a semblance of a compelling story), I figured it's the perfect time to talk about Duskwalker and show everyone the prologue and typeset!

But First: Black Ballad Update!

-Layout is underway, and at the end of the month we will have really pretty things to show you!
-I'm checking my mail every day for the first print-proofs of the Poker Deck, ST Screen, and Sunless Crossing maps before we start running them off. As soon as I can take photos, I'll drop em here!
-100% of the book, including the two sidequests pdfs are all done with editing and in layout. All artwork has been completed. Everyone who helped build the project has been taken care of.
-We are still on track for loading the shipping and handling costs for physicals backers in Janurary. We are holding off on loading the $ into the dashboards for the 2024 shipping rates, but all the contracts are taken care of.

And Then... ST Forge Update!

-We have been working on some projects in the background for next year and beyond. This time, we have the benefit of being able to write content ahead of time to get the drafts done prior to crowdfunding. Here are ones I have no problems revealing!

-Modern Gods, by Michael O.J. Ever want to play a god in NY? An American Gods inspired TTRPG using the powered-by-the-Apocalypse engine. It's currently in developmental edits and will need some time to cook in the brain buckets, but we are excited to head out with something non-5E related.

-Cthuhlu Dreamnt, by Action Fiction - The Action Fiction squad is hard at work writing and creating everything for this mind-bender of a sci-fi horror TTRPG after their successful crowdfunding.

-Several others are assembling their ingredients and aren't ready for announcement just yet...

-Tales of the Black Ballad by... Authors! - At the moment, I don't want to reveal much yet until the manuscripts are final, but The Black Ballad will be returning in 2024 with a series of novels... much like this one:

Dusk Walker! By Crystal Wood!

Every backer who ordered a loot box or grabbed the add-on will be getting Duskwalker. A story set well before the events of the Black Ballad Campaign, and focus on the origins of the first Unhallowed (one of our species within the Black Ballad).

The book will be available in Audiobook, Epub, Pdf, and Trade Paper. Important note: This is not a Lit RPG. It's a full fledged fantasy novel (with a splash of spice) that is a perfect example of the types of stories that can be told within the Sunless Crossing.

We wanted to share with everyone how the interior of our novels will be looking and showcase 4Horsemen Publishing. Their team absolutely crushes book interiors. 

So here is the prologue! For a little while yet... you can still order the Duskwalker Novel from our preorder store, but VERY soon, this will be transitioning into the ether of bookstores to begin it's journey. 

Rick here! Time to talk updates! I come bearing production news and I can cackle with insane madness and glee.

This update is going to focus on some number crunch and shipping updates / serve as open information on crowdfunding. Not to bury the lede as it were:

Shipping table has finally been run through and we have our final pricing! (In some cases, less than what we estimated on the crowdfunding main-page). We will have Backerkit load these numbers in and start applying them in the coming weeks. (Although I might wait until closer to November / December).

But First... Black Ballad Production Updates:

!!Niki Tantillo has officially begun layout as of a week ago!!

This means that we will finally have pretty updates of laid out versions of the Black Ballad right on track. Our schedule is for the first full pdf to be completed by 12/15, but you'll all be seeing screenshots and updates. I might actually have Niki write an update for everyone. I firmly believe Layout Artists are some of the unsung heroes of the TTRPG World. Here are the formats the Black Ballad will be available in when she's done:

PDF Format
ADA Compliant PDF for Online
Ebook version!! .epub format. <-Handy for you ST's out there with Nooks and other E readers.

We will also have the sidequest: Gamble of Fates and the Pathfinder Conversion Packet done at the same time!

*my muppet flail knows no bounds*.

Additionally, the invoice and print production for: The Poker Deck, GM Screen, Character Sheet Packs, and Map of the Sunless Crossing has been ordered. (Rick is going to have a big pallet of stuff showing up at his place sometime). All we have to do is print tests on the little products first.

Crowdfunding and Shipping:

Crowdfunding a TTRPG project is always a shot in the dark. We made it with the Black Ballad, but couldn't have done it without all your support.

As of today, almost everyone on the project has been paid! Plus all our contributors benefit from being able to buy the book for signings at conventions (from artists to writers to layout to editors). The only people left outstanding are a few remaining art pieces that are currently being polished up and manufacturing costs.

So how did we fair on this project?

We raised $154,000 roughly. With our goal of $65,000 estimated for creation. Obviously, stretch goals add some cost (like getting the DiAmorte orchestral elements all paid for and composed!).

What's the biggest cost that everyone thinking about a running a TTRPG Crowdfunding should watch out for?

Marketing and Crowdfunding Fees. Between Stripe, Platform Fees, Ad Costs, and ROAS numbers, it was pretty much close to 40% of what we raised. <--This was not a surprise. This isn't my first time crowdfunding or being involved or talking to other studio heads, and so we planned for it. But the question comes up often enough I figured I'd tell everyone all at once. PLAN FOR THAT! If you are running a crowdfunding campaign, don't assume the money raised is what shows up in your account. You have to account for an operating budget of about 60% of total funds raised to pay everyone and actually PRINT what you are selling.

As you run more (and this was our first as ST Forge) that percentage goes down a little more, which allows you to keep building more worlds - so don't be off put by that either. It's sort of the cost of getting everything all built and launched. If you want to ask us about crowdfunding on discord, you can do so by joining our server. I'm more than happy to offer advice to other people taking the plunge!

Shipping Tables!

Just so everyone knows what to expect for shipping costs, we had our shipper take everyones order and go through an entire spreadsheet and determine an average cost for region on shipping. These are estimates of course (and there WILL be fluctuation up or down) based on someones individual order. But I'll be honest - at the start of this - I couldn't for the life of me find good shipping estimate tables. So we built one.

We will be loading these into everyone's orders accordingly in the coming weeks as we finalize everything. ST Forge is trying Backerkits new Beta Feature that allows us to add accurate shipping per order after the campaign closes based off book weight and order quantity, so we will see how it goes. Either way, now that we have some updated shipping tables, everyone should have some good baseline budget info for their own projects. (Just for the love of all curses upon pointy-D4 dice... remember that these are estimates and budgets and everything is always up to the shipping gods at the last minute).

If you guys want me to write up some blog posts on this kinda stuff or do Tiktok updates on production elements, let me know. I'm curious if people actually find these helpful or not! Because I can always just talk content.

But thank you so much everyone! I can't wait to share with you the PDF when it's done!

-Rick

[Edit, I'm working up a new one for 2024. Let's just say, prices jumped (like we predicted). But shipping costs are now loaded. If you are an international backer and looking at stickershock (looking at you Guam), please email us at [email protected]. We can't help ease the cost of shipping (we have no control), but we can possibly do something to help make it more worthwhile]