John Wick brings 7th Sea back in a 300-page, full-color, hardbound book. Revised rules, revised Nations, updated for the 21st Century.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
A MILLION DOLLARS!
over 8 years ago
– Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 04:44:40 AM
So, there’s this old joke among professionals in the game industry.
“How do you get out of the game industry with a million dollars? … Start with two million.”
Today, you made that joke irrelevant.
The next time you hear someone say, “Roleplaying games are dead,” you can look them in the eye and proudly say, “Yeah? We proved otherwise.”
Not “they” proved it. No. We proved it.
People keep asking me what the secret is. “John, what’s the secret to your success?” I keep telling them the same thing: “The fans.”
You all did more than just raise $1,000,000 for a roleplaying game. Much more than that. You changed how the game industry works. And that’s important. It’s really important.
Cynics can say what they want. Here’s the truth. Nearly 10,000 people raised over $1,000,000 for a roleplaying game.
I want to give you all a huge “Thank you,” but I’ll save it. I’ll save it for the books we’ll be producing for the next two years. I’ll make each and every one of them a “Thank you.”
We've got 36 hours and a few surprises left to go. I can't wait for you to see them. Stay tuned for an update later today with our next stretch goal, community achievements, and more.
And speaking of surprises...
The War of the Cross
over 8 years ago
– Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 04:44:07 AM
So… we had a goal of $30,000. We thought we might do better, so we planned for a few stretch goals. Numbers like $250,000 started being thrown around and we all told ourselves to be reasonable. BE REASONABLE.
Then we raised $400,000 in the first 48 hours. And $1 million before we even hit the last 48 hour mark. REASONABLE INDEED.
And as we’ve said before, we’re at the point now where we can’t promise any more sourcebooks. In fact, anything we try to do now isn’t about the present of 7th Sea: Second Edition.
It’s about the future.
The War of the Cross Mockup
New Stretch Goal ($1.1 Million): The War of the Cross
If we reach $1.1 Million, we’ll add Diplomacy-style board game to the JWP release calendar: The War of the Cross. This strategy board game will center on the thirty year conflict that raged across Théah prior to 7th Sea: Second Edition, setting the stage for all that will come in your adventures. Backers of the 7th Sea Kickstarter will get to see the project develop, including unique opportunities to playtest the game throughout development and give feedback about the art and style, and we’ll Kickstart physical copies of the game by the end of 2016!
(To be clear: we’re not offering the game as an add-on or reward. Instead, we’re committing to making the board game happen; anyone who wants to grab a copy will get an opportunity to do so when we launch The War of the Cross Kickstarter late this year.)
If you love this box mockup like we do, tip your hat to Alex Inoccenti and Giorgio Baroni. They’ve done some beautiful work here, and we didn’t want to announce a damn thing until all of it was good and ready. Even when you all raised $100k in the last 72 hours!
Why a Board Game?
I have two Favorite Board Games of All Times! and they are Diplomacy and Dune. (Younger gamers should check out Fantasy Flight Games's Rex for an example of the old Dune board game.) As most folks know, the Dice Gods have cursed me and I can't roll dice to save my life. So, I loved these games because winning the games depended almost entirely on strategy rather than lucky rolls.
No dice. None at all.
But both games have tremendous amounts of uncertainty. You have no idea what's going to happen next. You may have plans, but you can't rely on them. The other players have plans too. And when their plans and your plans are set against each other… that’s when your strategy makes all the difference.
And I've always wanted to do a board game that captured those elements. No dice, all strategy, politics and uncertainty. And so here we are, with a map of Théah. And a game that could be the illegitimate child of Diplomacy and Dune, a contest in which each royal family looks to their lineage for salvation and a single sorcerer could make all the difference...
That's my goal. Can we get there? I think we can.
Community Achievement Update
Okay, it’s been a little while since we’ve had one of these. Everything’s been moving so fast!
First, huge thanks to those who have been posting selfies and LEGO ships and actual play posts. Thanks to your efforts, we’ve unlocked 23 of our community achievements. You all are a amazing!
And there’s one group of you that’s so amazing that you created your very own 7th Sea Fan Film for us:
I’m blown away. So blown away that we’re going to count that for our 24th achievement to unlock the Redbubble store. Thanks to Plays With Swords, LLC for putting together such an awesome film.
Look for the Redbubble store to launch in early June, once we’ve selected our favorite art from the book for shirts, mugs, and more. If you order when we launch, you’ll have plenty of time to get your 7th Sea gear by GenCon.
New Community Achievements
In order to celebrate the last few days of the Kickstarter, we’ve added some new community achievements for you all to unlock:
10,104 backers: We’re almost there, folks. Not only would we be the #1 RPG Kickstarter in funding… we’d also have more actual backers than the current record holder (Fate Core).
$1MM Facebook Share: We’re celebrating cracking $1 million on Facebook. Share the link and let your friends know about this historic Kickstarter: http://on.fb.me/1Uk1i5r
$1MM Twitter Share: We’re also getting the word out on Twitter. Retweet our celebratory tweet and let the world know you’re excited: http://bit.ly/1TyRkhH
We’re getting close on Facebook likes and Twitter followers too. Don’t forget to like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter!
Finally, we’re announcing our last two community goals: up to 10 more cards for the Sorte deck, bringing the total of major arcana up to 22 cards!
THANK YOU!!!
You all really have no idea what this means to me. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to bring 7th Sea back to life. We've done something historic today, and I'm blown away by the support and excitement. THANK YOU!
7th Sea Cinematic Trailer
over 8 years ago
– Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 04:43:29 AM
So remember how we were talking about the future?
I’ve been working with producer, Neal Fischer, for a few years adapting my books—such as Shotgun Diaries, Houses of the Blooded and Galaxy XXX—into TV and movie pitches. When JWP acquired the rights to 7th Sea, we immediately started talking about possibilities.
We know that the last few days of any campaign on Kickstarter are usually a wild ride. Since we’ve already hit $1 million… we can start to dream big.
We want to make a 2 minute trailer for a 7th Sea TV or movie project. It’s an old strategy used by directors such as the Coen Brothers: make the trailer for the movie you want to make and show it to distributors. We’ll run the tape and then say... “This is the movie we’re going to make.”
New Stretch Goal ($1.25 million): 7th Sea Cinematic Trailer
If we reach $1.25 Million, we'll commission a two-minute cinematic trailer that we can use to pitch studios and production companies in Hollywood on making a 7th Sea movie or television show. We think 7th Sea is an amazing property, and we'd like to see it up on the big screen (or at least on Netflix)!
And here’s a video announcing this exciting stretch goal:
We’re incredibly excited about working with Neal and his team. He was the main force behind the indie cult hit Sushi Girl and more importantly, he’s a gamer. (Big L5R nerd. I tease him about it all the time.)
Neal Fischer
Neal Fischer is the United States representative of Davis Films and world-renowned Producer Samuel Hadida, whose work includes the Resident Evil & Silent Hill films, Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, Solomon Kane, Brotherhood of the Wolf, Domino, and True Romance. Currently Neal is developing properties from the Davis Films’ library of titles for the big screen, including Castle Wolfenstein, Vampire Hunter D, House of Night and Golgo 13.
Neal also works closely with Davis Films’ distribution office, Metropolitan Filmexport, located in Paris, France.
In addition to his work at Davis Films, Neal recently produced the genre-bending feature Sushi Girl. Neal is set to produce Tony Todd’s directorial debut Catalytic, and is developing a slate of four films with legendary martial arts master Sonny Chiba. Neal is also part of the team producing the phenomenally fan funded films; Prelude to Axanar and Star Trek: Axanar.
If we reach this goal, we’ll put Neal and his crew to work on making this trailer amazing. And we’ll share early photos, video, and more with you all as the trailer comes together!
7th Sea Kickstarter Party - Sunday, March 13th
Now that the end is near, it’s time for us to figure out how we’re going to celebrate the last few hours. And we can’t think of any better way to celebrate than spending time with friends and fans!
Thus… on Sunday, March 13th, we’re throwing a 7th Sea Kickstarter party at Imperial Outpost in Glendale, AZ. Huge thanks to Darren at Imperial Outpost for welcoming us, and keeping the store open late for the party!
And while we don’t have room for all 9,000+ backers at the event, we’d love to see some of you join us for a night of fun, food, and festivities as we watch the clock tick down to the end of the Kickstarter. And right after the Kickstarter is over… we’ll have a 7th Sea costume contest with special prizes!
Obviously, most of our backers won’t be able to make it. We’ll try to set up a live cam or something for you all, but we do want to invite folks out who live close enough that they can make the party. Because tickets are limited, we’re going to be doing a lottery. If you’d like to come, please fill out this form:
Anyone can fill out the form to get a ticket to the party, but we’re holding a number of spots just for Kickstarter backers. Thank you all for what you’ve made possible!
Achievement Update - Wallpaper Unlocked!
And we're sailing through a bunch of our new achievements. We've got 300 shares on our new Facebook link (http://on.fb.me/1Uk1i5r) and 150 retweets on our new Twitter link (http://bit.ly/1TyRkhH). And we're getting closer and closer to the most backers for a tabletop RPG ever!
And since we've hit 28 of our total achievements, we've unlocked the 7th Sea digital wallpapers! Look for those in May, once we've gotten in some more amazing art from our artists for the corebook. Well done!
And if you're looking for ways to unlock a few more achievements...
We've got three days left, folks! Let's make these happen!
The Last Day!
over 8 years ago
– Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 04:42:57 AM
Amazing. You all have not only cracked $1,000,000… you’ve beaten one of our $1M+ stretch goals (!!!) and you’re well on your way to beating the second! I never dreamed we’d make it this far.
$1.1M+ means that we’re going to put The War of the Cross on our production calendar, expanding the 7th Sea brand into new spaces (and making our community a whole lot bigger). I’m so excited for the opportunity to put a game like this together, and I can’t wait to give you all updates about our progress on it. Thank you!
$1.25M isn’t too far away… but before we get there, we have a few announcements and (near) final thoughts. Let's jump in!
The Last Day...
Well, there’s a lot I could say, but I feel like I’ve already said it all. I’d just be repeating myself. And trying to find something new to say here on the last day isn’t easy. But here’s something I haven’t said which I hope gives you an understanding of just how grateful I am for the last thirty days.
I’ve been living in Phoenix since 2007. I moved here from Los Angeles to start my life over (the symbol of the firebird seemed appropriate). I had a good job, great friends and my little publishing company was giving me extra cash to save up and buy myself a house. And then, the economy crashed and it seemed every IT job in Phoenix got sent overseas. I was without a job and so were all my friends. It was the beginning of a very dark time.
Since 2009, I’ve been struggling to keep my head above water, publishing little games like mad. And, with Mark’s help, I was able to make a little headway. But it was a struggle, all the way.
And then, this.
I’m not only looking forward to spending the next two years in 7th Sea, but I’m able to hire people to help me. I had dinner with my dad last night and told him, “I’m a job creator!” That was a pretty good moment.
You’ve done more than fund a couple years worth of 7th Sea projects, you’ve helped stabilize my life. And for that, the word “grateful” isn’t big enough. In fact, I don’t know if any word is big enough.
You’ve surprised us at every turn, right from the first moment this project went live. You’ve transformed JWP from a one man LLC into something much bigger. A company that can have a real voice in the game industry. And introduce new voices, too.
We’ve still got a lot to show you, and thanks to your support, we’ll be doing some amazing things in the next few years.
I can’t wait to show them to you.
Pirate’s Booty Clarification
We’ve gotten some questions about the Pirate’s Booty, specifically around the Lands of Gold and Fire book in print. Unfortunately, we had a typo on our stretch goal image: the print copy of the Ifri sourcebook is NOT included with Pirate’s Booty. Our apologies. We'll get that corrected right away!
That said, here’s everything that IS included in Pirate's Booty:
Sorte Deck (73-card tarot deck) [78 cards if we hit our achievements!]
Ten (10) 7th Sea Dice
Twelve (12) 7th Sea Hero Points
Map of Théah (24" x 36")
Map of The Crescent Empire (24" x 36")
Map of Ifri (24" x 36")
Map of The New World (24" x 36")
Map of Acadia/Wabanahkik (24" x 36")
Map of Terra (24" x 36")
GM Screen
Deck of Théan Villains
Deck of Théan Heroes
All of that still makes the retail price of the $200 PIRATE Tier… much more than $300. If you’re interested in picking up the Pirate’s Booty as part of your pledge, select any reward tier that explicitly lists “Pirate’s Booty” including any of the Pirate-themed tiers or tiers like Ultimate Adventure. Thanks!
Community Achievement Update
You all have been busy! Thanks to the tweeting and liking and posting… we’ve hit 34 goals, unlocking five more cards for the Sorte deck! (We'll get the community achievement image updated soon.) I’m especially proud that we hit our “Most Backed” goal, surpassing Fate Core to become the most backed tabletop RPG in the history of Kickstarter. You all are amazing!
In order to take us across the finish line today, we’ve got two new achievements:
Thank you all so much for all your pictures, tweets, and actual play posts. It’s been a joy to watch you all contribute to the community, and I hope you keep it up once the campaign is over. Our whole team loves seeing how involved you all are with the setting, and we’re excited to give you all new things to talk about online!
In fact… we have one last stretch goal up our sleeves...
New Stretch Goal ($1.35 Million) - The Explorer's Society
If we reach $1.35MM, we'll work with DriveThruRPG to build a hub for official fan-created 7th Sea adventures called The Explorer's Society. Fans will be able to use art, images, and templates provided by JWP to craft official adventures set across Terra, offering them for sale or for free download through this innovative model!
A few months ago, DTRPG launched a similar program called The Dungeon Master’s Guild (http://www.dmsguild.com/) for Dungeons & Dragons. It’s been an enormous success; people are making their own PDF adventures and supplements for D&D without having to commission their own art or get special permissions or licenses. We’re really excited about what will happen when you all get the chance to add new and exciting stuff to the world of 7th Sea.
We’re still talking with DTRPG about what the Explorer’s Society will look like, but we’re excited to upload a huge (100+) library of art, templates for adventures, new secret societies, and Cities of Adventure, and resources to help you design new systems and subsystems. I know that fan-created material has always been at the heart of 7th Sea and I love the idea of folks actually publishing that material (and getting paid)!
We’re Not Done Yet…
We’ve got roughly 9 hours to go… so stay tuned for more updates! We’ll definitely post tonight with some pictures from the 7th Sea Kickstarter party, and we’ll do our best to answer comments and questions!
But don’t panic if you miss something or forget to add on a book or deck of cards. We’ll be making all of the add-ons available after the Kickstarter, and you’ll have a chance to upgrade your pledge if you decide in a few weeks that you want to be a PIRATE! Mark will be posting more details on our schedule after the Kickstarter ends, so stay tuned for more information on Monday and Tuesday!
And again… THANK YOU. You’ve made so much possible.
Sorte Deck Unlocked, Release Schedule, and Final Hours
over 8 years ago
– Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 04:42:42 AM
Hey folks!
We're at Imperial Outpost--gearing up for the official 7th Sea party--but we have a few quick announcements to make in these final hours!
First, $1.25M means that we're unlocked the 7th Sea Cinematic Trailer! Neal is so thrilled to get started working on the trailer, and we can't wait to see what he comes up with to sell 7th Sea to a wider audience. As a few folks have noted in the comments, there's a ton of potential stories to be told in Théah... not to mention the rest of Terra!
Community Achievements
Everything is unlocked! You rocked the reshares, the retweets, the most backers of all time. ALL OF IT. Thank you!
Completing these last few community goals unlocks all 78 cards for the Sorte deck! We can't wait to show you the 22 new Théan Major Arcana!
Sourcebook Release Schedule
As we wind down the last few hours of the campaign, it's time for us to release our full release schedule for the 7th Sea sourcebooks:
These are estimates, but we're looking at a pretty solid monthly schedule, starting in November and running through late 2017. It's possible that we get a few of these out early, but we'll keep you all posted as we go through the process of putting each book together.
Final Hours
We've got just a few hours left... and one more stretch goal ahead of us. $1.35M is within reach, but we'll need one final push to get the word out. Let folks know, and we'll see how far we get! And stay tuned to the JWP Twitter and Facebook pages... we'll try to post some photos of the party when everyone shows up!
