Book Design Update and Release Schedule
over 3 years ago – Sat, Dec 03, 2022 at 01:29:47 AM

Hello everyone, I was hoping to have better news today and have been frantically working behind the scenes to get this sorted out, but unfortunately due to some major issues with our design schedule, we've found ourselves in a rough spot.

When we started the Kickstarter, the book was about one or two days of design work away from completion and we had every assumption that it would be ready by then. Unfortunately, our communications with our designer have been difficult, we will frequently lose contact with them for weeks on end and in that time that final amount of work has yet to be completed. We last had contact with our designer on Monday with a promise to finish the project by Wednesday. The designer has again dropped off contact despite several texts, emails and Discord messages reaching out and we have no reasonable expectation at this time as to when the book is going to be completed. We do not have access to the InDesign file either, so we can't engage another designer to just finish it up.

Here's what we're going to do to rectify this as best we can. We will be releasing the PDF WIP book to everyone shortly, once we have a chance to complete the Backerkit and get everything moving. Due to the constant schedule sliding, we are also investigating another designer to redo this project from scratch - this is far from ideal considering we've already invested considerable money up front into the completion of this project which we would prefer not to but are prepared to write off as a loss. We will cover this cost internally with our own funds and we will not touch the Kickstarter funds for this or reduce any of the rewards we promised, this will simply be a considerable schedule slide for which we cannot apologize enough.

I honestly hate that I've been put in a situation where this is all I am able to do, to say nothing of the potential loss of the entire original design budget and the schedule slide all but ensuring we will not have our new books for our upcoming conventions and the financial hit that that will bring us. All that said, we are committed to completing this project and delivering on our promises, and will absorb all the cost with our own self-funding. I hope to have more updates soon with regards to how we will be moving forward, if all goes well our designer will get back to us and finish the book so we can just release it and start printing but with the constant delays and communication issues we can't rely on expecting things will work out so easily.

-Liana

Kickstarter complete! $10,852 Raised!
over 3 years ago – Mon, Oct 24, 2022 at 01:39:21 PM

We did it. Not only did we raise enough for the second printing, we raised almost $5,000 more than our target! This is the biggest Kickstarter we have ever run, and we are so grateful to everyone for their interest and passionate support! 

Today, we will be setting up a Backerkit to manage the account, as well as get the payments processed. As a reminder, we haven't yet charged for shipping, we will be aggregating our shipment costs on the back end and charging you at cost once the books are ready to ship, so be ready for that in a few months.

Once Backerkit is set up, we will get the updated PDF of the core book (and Best in Class for those who backed for it) right away. This will also give the opportunity for those who backed above our highest rate to purchase additional copies and goods. Those who backed for lower tier rewards will also have the opportunity to raise their contributions for additional tier rewards. Once we've confirmed the timeline, we will provide another update on the status of the printing, our hope is that we will have the printed books on hand by late February. Once that's settled, we will start sending out the books!

The Foes book will take a bit longer, we're going to be putting together some updates and, since we raised so much money, we are going to get cover art done so it'll have some nice art to accompany it to thank you all for your extreme generosity. We'll provide more information on that as we work with our writing team to get everything ready.

Thank you again for all of your support. We're excited to bring Valor to you again if you're already a player, or for the first time for new backers. We could not do this without you!

STRETCH GOAL ACHIEVED! FULL TEXT OF VILLAINS, CREATURES AND FOES INCOMING
over 3 years ago – Mon, Oct 24, 2022 at 03:24:22 AM

We made it! We reached our $10,000 stretch goal! Thank you so so much, everybody, for all of your help. We are absolutely blown away, for as small an operation as we are and a reprint of our book we blew our old number out of the water! 

This has unlocked the full text edition of Villains, Creatures and Foes. We will be working to start getting this book together and the lore, but on release this will have a full set of Foes across a number of levels for players to pick up! Anything beyond that will go to funding art toward the completion of the full book, which is our next major project to complete and print. 

We did it! Thank you again, from the bottom of our hearts. From everyone who pledged at the start and was willing to take a chance on us, to the fans who have stuck with us all these years, to all the new people who will be trying Valor for the first time, we are so so excited to bring this game to you. With your extra funding, you've enabled us to go even further in truly supporting Valor and making it a system you can take to any game store and find players. This is a big step on that journey, and we could not have done it without you!

$8,000 Raised! Entering the Home Stretch!
over 3 years ago – Thu, Oct 20, 2022 at 07:46:40 AM

First, thank you so much for all of your support in this campaign! We have just broken the $8,000 mark, exceeding the original release Kickstarter! We cannot be more grateful! We're now less than $2,000 away from our full text-only edition for Villains, Creatures and Foes for all backers! 

We're now down to our final week, and we're excited to share the updates and, hopefully, the Foes book as well! 

Primordial Guardians - Elemental Sovereigns
over 3 years ago – Thu, Oct 13, 2022 at 04:31:39 PM

First off, thank you everyone for the continued support! We've passed $7,500, and are a mere $2,500 from our stretch goal with 10 days remaining, and just $200 from surpassing the original printing Kickstarter! At this pace, the full text of Foes is well within our reach, so let's talk about some of the BIG bosses, the end-of-campaign challenges that are imposing in both power and size.

Primordial Guardians

When elemental ley lines emerge within the natural world, they infuse the region with their element, promoting a Guardian from among the natural fauna and monsters that dwell within to protect itself. Should the Ley Line survive and thrive, the Guardian will eventually gain in power and knowledge, becoming a fully sentient individual with their own hopes, dreams and ambitions. The greatest among these are the Primordial Guardians, those that have abided for centuries and are possessed of unassailable power. A party hoping to strike at a Primordial Guardian will struggle even at the height of their power, and that's assuming they can get through the Primordial Guardian's empire and hosts.

Behemoth

While many believe Behemoth to be a Guardian of Earth due to their enormous size, Behemoth is in fact a Primordial of Ice, an enormous Guardian that has thrived in the lowlands of the central Empire and transformed its territory into an enormous taiga that stretches for miles in all directions and populated with warm-blooded animals and monsters that have developed a command over the element of ice. Behemoth, despite being warm-blooded is known for hibernating for long periods of time and is known to be quite reclusive. However, when roused to action, Behemoth can unleash a swath of devastation in its rampage, laying waste to entire areas and leaving them frozen in place, monuments to the folly of mankind. Behemoth is, however, quite reasonable as Primordial goes, and has a deep respect for agreements and treaties making them the easiest Primordial to deal with, but woe betide those who violate the terms of a treaty, to those people Behemoth shows no mercy.

Leviathan

Leviathan is a young but powerful Primordial Guardian who lives deep beneath the ocean, infused with the power of Water. Holding dominion over a major trade route, Leviathan has proclivities that mortals tend to call "extortionist". Leviathan and his children demand heavy tolls from any human settlement hoping to pass through their waters unscathed, often in golden treasure and artwork to adorn his underwater palace which has become legendary, with tales of its boundless and untold wealth reaching the furthest corners of the empires of humanity. Even when tithed, Leviathan and his children are still known to sink ships occasionally on a whim, making traversing his domain exceptionally treacherous even in the best of times. 

Midgardsormr

The great serpent of earth Midgardsormr dwells deep under the mountains. It is said that her movements cause major tremors, making her domain treacherous to pass through due to the frequent landslides. Because her domain lies so deep within the ground, even reaching it is treacherous and not much is known about her or her children. Those rare folk who have made contact with her have described her as cool, collected, and guarded with little interest in the affairs of humankind, but no particular malice toward them.