February Update: Locking Orders (and other news!)
25 days ago – Wed, Mar 01, 2023 at 03:26:05 AM

Hi everyone,

We are having TONS of fun putting this book together. We are at a point in the creative process where new stories, artwork and layouts are emerging all the time – it's so exciting! Read on to hear more about what we've been up to this month and learn about how you'll be able to give feedback on some of the One-Shot Wonders sessions in development. There's also an important update on charging cards.

Locking Orders

We will be locking orders for this project on Friday 3rd March. After this point, you won't be able to make any changes to your pledge rewards. If you can’t access your survey, or have misplaced the original pledge management email, you can generate a new pledge manager here.

Charging Cards

Cards will be charged shortly after orders are locked on Friday 3rd March. You will be charged for any items you added in the pledge manager, as well as the price of shipping your pledge.

Please make sure that the cards you have saved on your pledge manager have not expired and have the amounts needed on them before this date, so there aren't any issues. If there are problems with taking payment, you will be alerted by BackerKit, and they will try again a couple of days afterwards.

(NOTE: If you chose the PayPal payment method in your pledge manager, payment was taken immediately after you completed your pledge manager, and you will not be charged on Friday.)

Locking Addresses

You won't be able to change your pledge rewards after 3rd March, but you will be able to change your address for a little while longer. So, if you're moving house soon, don't worry!

We'll post another update with a warning before we lock addresses (approx. August 2023), so you can make sure your address is correct for shipping. Alternatively, if you aren't sure of your future address, we would recommend updating your pledge manager to a friend or family member's address so that your package isn't lost.

If you have any questions, email us using hello@rollandplaypress.com, and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Creative highlights

Admin over - here's a taste of what we've been up to this month!

• Finalising lots of illustrations and briefing even more. Watching these develop from concept to final render never gets old.
• Approving a number of Key Location maps and developing the final few.  This is such a fun, collaborative process, and we're so pleased with what Venatus Maps has created for this title.
• Brainstorming and crafting dozens of stories for you to bring to life at your tabletop. This month, the stories we've been working on include scrolls, satyrs, scientists and more...
•  Testing the one-shot plans by playing them ourselves! In our latest team D&D session, Beth took over the GM's seat and Sam got a chance to test out one of our own pre-generated character booklets. 

Playtesting & Discord

Want to get involved in the playtesting process for One-Shot Wonders? Over the next few months, we'll share a selection of the session plans from the book and ask for your feedback on them. This will help us develop and improve all the ideas in the book. We'll share a short form to help record your feedback, but will also provide space to chat about the adventures on a new Roll & Play Press Discord server – launching soon!

In the meantime, we're encouraging everyone to download and playtest the three one-shots we have shared so far:

•  Making a Scene - A beginner-friendly session, testing a variety of player skills (Levels 1-2)
•  Fishy Business -  An intriguing investigation in a coastal village (Levels 3-4)
•  A Rude Awakening - An exhilarating mission to destroy the beast lurking in a dangerous mine (Levels 7-8)

Each session has been designed with the stated party level in mind, but also features suggestions to adjust the difficulty level. We'd love to hear from you if you adapt the session in this way!

We'll share more information on the playtest process in a separate update very soon. We'll also share a link to our new community space as soon it launches.

Thanks for reading this update, and stay tuned for even more news coming soon!

Have a great week,

Beth

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January Update: OGL News & Character Sneak Peek
about 2 months ago – Tue, Jan 31, 2023 at 09:16:01 AM

Hi everyone,

Welcome to our first monthly update of 2023! I hope you are all well. 

We'll start by addressing the latest developments regarding the Open Gaming License, then get into our regular creative update.

Latest OGL developments

Since our last update, Wizards of the Coast have released a new statement regarding OGL 1.0a and a Creative Commons License, published here. 

We are still considering exactly how we will proceed based on the options available to us.  However, we are glad that it appears One-Shot Wonders is again able to move forward without some of the constraints and challenges we had anticipated. Plus, some of our favourite 5e monsters could now make a special appearance in the book! It's been a turbulent and disruptive time for many creators in the TTRPG community, including us. We've hugely appreciated the support of our backers over the past few weeks.

Creative update

We have been busy briefing illustrations for our pre-generated characters, interior artwork and location maps; everything we have received so far from our illustrators looks incredible. Here are some highlights:

More maps than ever!

While planning out the synopsis, we decided to increase the number of key location maps included in the book from 7 to 10! Here's a sneak peek at one key location map currently in development:

As well as appearing in the book, all 10 key location maps will also be included in the digital and physical map bundles. So, if your pledge already includes these add-ons, you'll automatically receive the new maps at no extra cost! 

Pre-generated characters

All 16 of our pre-generated character booklets now have artwork! May we introduce you to your plucky Level 3 party? From left to right, we have a Druid, Rogue, Barbarian and Warlock. We're looking forward to filling out the stats for each character and testing them out on the tabletop soon.

A new batch of session plans (and their illustrations) are also in progress. No spoilers this time, but prepare for plenty of magic, mystery and monsters. Over the coming weeks and months, we'll be writing, testing and refining even more one-shot session ideas – so stay tuned!

Look out for our next update, where we'll share more news and let you know about upcoming playtest opportunities.

All the best,

Beth

Regarding the Open Gaming Licence (OGL 1.0a)
2 months ago – Thu, Jan 19, 2023 at 11:13:33 AM

Hi all,

Following recent events in the TTRPG industry relating to the Open Gaming Licence (OGL 1.0a), we wanted to update you on what this means for the two Roll & Play Press Kickstarter projects currently in production.

If you are unfamiliar with the OGL 1.0a, or the current news surrounding it, this article provides some context. The latest statement from Wizards of the Coast, explaining that they intend to launch a public consultation phase on the future of the licence, is published here.

Fortunately, we do not expect either of our in-progress projects to be significantly impacted by potential changes. However, as this situation is ongoing, we will continue to discuss our position with legal counsel as required.

More information on the individual projects can be found below.

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Roll & Play: Sci-Fi Toolkits

Our Sci-Fi Toolkits do not use OGL 1.0a or any other licence; therefore, they are unaffected by recent events and remain on track for delivery this March. Pre-orders also remain open.

These books were specifically designed to be system neutral; suitable for all sci-fi settings, including homebrew worlds. They will provide inspiration and content for adventures in any system you choose, whether that be Starfinder, Mothership, Alien or one of the many other amazing sci-fi TTRPGs out there. We're looking forward to sending these books and PDFs to backers in March.

One-Shot Wonders

We do not expect that changes to the OGL will have a significant impact on the content in One-Shot Wonders. Much like our other products, we had always intended for One-Shot Wonders to be useful to players regardless of their preferred systems, and it has been developed with this in mind.

The fantasy one-shots in this book do, on occasion, make brief reference to D&D 5E monster mechanics. Given the ongoing uncertainty regarding OGL 1.0a, we are consulting with legal advisors on how best to include this information. The impact of this is unlikely to result in major changes to the format you have already seen in the sample pages, but may require some extra work from us.

Like many creators, particularly those with small teams, the main consequence of the OGL 1.0a situation has been that time and resources that would have otherwise been used to work on content have been redirected to reviewing our position. But, we have an excellent track record for timely delivery of Kickstarter projects, and are pressing ahead with One-Shot Wonders with the same level of dedication. We will have a better idea of whether there is any impact on our estimated delivery date of October 2023 once we are further along with our discussions with legal counsel and as the situation develops. We will continue to keep you updated in our regular updates.

--

Speaking of updates, we will be sending out our usual project news in the next couple of weeks. We have exciting things to share from both projects!

We want to say a huge thank you to the community for the overwhelming support that has been shown to third-party creators like us during these turbulent few weeks. The Roll & Play Press team is excited to continue making awesome projects that you can use in all your TTRPG games for many years to come!

All the best,

Kay

December Update: Pledge Manager and Art News
3 months ago – Thu, Dec 22, 2022 at 10:37:33 PM

Hi all,

I hope you are well! Welcome to our first monthly round-up of project news. The pledge manager has been our primary focus over the past few weeks, but we've also been commissioning character artwork and maps from our talented contributors! Read on to find out more, including an important note about shipping calculations.

Pledge manager progress

Thank you to everyone who has already filled in their pledge manager. A staggering 3,549 backers have completed theirs, pledging for 15,838 individual items to 39 countries! Amazing!

We were really excited to see that our most popular add-ons were the Terrain Maps, Location Maps and World Map – it shows real enthusiasm to dive straight into games! It's fantastic to think about so many adventuring parties playing in the different locations featured in One-Shot Wonders. We'll be sure to share more updates on these rewards as the campaign progresses.

Adding physical items to a digital pledge

If you add physical add-ons to your current digital pledge, you will be charged for shipping. The shipping will automatically default to the Rest of World shipping charges, as the pledge manager does not yet know your location. However, the cost will be corrected to the shipping charge for your country when you complete the survey and add your delivery address (before checkout is complete).

Alternatively, you have the option to switch to a physical pledge level. You can do this at the beginning of your pledge manager (please refer to Update #13 for more instructions on how to do this).

• If you would like to add physical add-ons but have already completed your pledge manager, you can still do this by logging into your BackerKit account and amending your responses.

• If you can’t access your pledge manager, or have misplaced the email, you can generate a new link here.

• If you have any other questions about this project or the pledge manager, email us using hello@rollandplaypress.com, and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Commissioning artwork

Over the past few weeks, we have been briefing the wonderful artists who are helping us bring this project to life. We have art in development for all the pre-generated characters, as well as our first batch of maps. We knew our illustrators would do a fantastic job, but we have been blown away by the level of detail they've added! Take a look at a preview of the swamp, arctic and urban terrain maps below:

Festive break

The Roll & Play Press team will be taking a break over the Christmas period to rest and relax after a busy year. The team will be away from 24th December and will return on the 3rd January. Kickstarter comments and messages won't be monitored during this time, but we will respond to any queries when we're back.

Until then, we hope you stay safe and well, and have a wonderful holiday season. Wishing you a happy and healthy 2023!

With love from Sam, Kay, Beth and Pasha.

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Pledge Managers Are LIVE
4 months ago – Wed, Nov 30, 2022 at 09:21:23 AM

Hi all,

We are pleased to report the pledge manager for this project is now LIVE! 

Receiving the link

A link to the pledge manager is being sent to ALL backers in batches. This delivery process will continue to run automatically over the next couple of days, so everyone should receive their email by Wednesday 30th November evening (UK time). A company called BackerKit is distributing the pledge manager links, so keep your eyes peeled for their name in your Inbox (and Junk folders, just in case).

Filling in the pledge manager

When you open your pledge manager, please check that your name, location and pledge level are all correct. If everything looks good, go ahead and click the 'Get Started' button. If something doesn't look right, please click on the 'Need Help?' button to contact BackerKit support, and they will be able to advise you or resolve the issue.

In the pledge manager, you will be asked a few important questions about your pledge and gain access to the Add-On Store – it's here you can add extra books, pre-generated parties, maps and more to your existing pledge rewards. At the end of the pledge manager, you will be asked to enter your shipping address (if receiving physical rewards) and payment information for shipping costs and anything you've added to your pledge. It's as simple as that, and should only take around 3-5 minutes to complete!

Upgrading your pledge

If you would like to upgrade your pledge to a higher level, click the 'Switch Your Pledge Level' button after opening your pledge manager (as shown below). This will take you to a page where you can change your pledge level and will make sure that your pledge manager is set up with the relevant questions for that level.

Making payments

If you choose to pay for outstanding balances, shipping costs or add-ons via debit/credit card, your card will be charged in Spring 2023. This is also when you will be charged for shipping. We will notify you closer to the time with an exact date.

If you choose to pay through PayPal, payment will be taken as soon as you complete your pledge manager. In the event that global shipping prices significantly change between the launch of the pledge manager and when cards are charged next year, backers who paid via PayPal will need to pay the outstanding difference before their rewards will be shipped.

Pledge manager deadline

Your pledge managers will be locked in Spring 2023, so if you need to amend it at a later date, you have plenty of time to do so. We will notify you closer to the time with an exact date. It is likely that backers who complete after this time will have later shipping dates than October 2023.

Moving house soon?

If you are planning on moving house soon, or aren't sure where you will be living during this project's physical reward fulfilment in October 2023, we would strongly recommend adding a friend or family member's address instead of your own when prompted to add your shipping address. It is possible to amend your address until the pledge managers are locked in Spring 2023; after this point, we will do our best to accommodate address changes, but cannot guarantee that this will be possible.

Missing pledge manager

If you do not receive a link to your pledge manager by Monday 5th December, then please either click on this reset link, send us a Kickstarter message or drop us an email, and we will be able to send you a new one.

We'll be in touch again in December with a more general update about creative progress on this project. 

Until then, have a great month!

Beth

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