Secret Societies is Out!
over 3 years ago – Sun, Aug 23, 2020 at 03:55:36 PM

Downloading the PDF

Any moment now, you will get an email notification that you can download the Secret Societies PDF. This will go to the email you used for the Kickstarter. Here's how you download the PDF.

 You will only get this email if you ordered Secret Societies as part of your original Kickstarter Rewards!

If you have an email address such as hotmail.com or aol.com, check your spam folder.

Log in to Backerkit. The email will give you a link to Backerkit and you'll be able to log in to your account. Once you do, you should see a big button that says "GET MY DIGITAL DOWNLOADS."

Click on that button. At the bottom of the list is "SECRET SOCIETIES PDF." Click on that and you'll start downloading the PDF.

Okay, let's talk about issues.

"I've forgotten my Backerkit Password." Click on "Forgot Password. They'll send you a new one. I just did this process myself this morning. It's quick.

"I don't use that email anymore." You can change your email in Backerkit after you log in. If you can still log in, go to user settings, change your email, then hit "Get My Digital Downloads" and Backerkit will send you the files to your new email.

"I don't use that email anymore and I can't reset my password." If none of that works, email "[email protected]" and let us know. We can get into your Backerkit, change the email, etc. If worse comes to worst, we can find another way to get the PDF to you.

If you have any problems or questions, again, email [email protected]. We're ready to help you out. Don't post problems here. Use the customer service email. 

About the PDF 

A couple notes about the PDF.

First, I hope you enjoy the book. I spent a whole year getting this ready for publication. It's been a long haul and I'm very proud of it. I hope you enjoy it.

Second, we know we're going to find mistakes. This is just the nature of publishing. While I, myself, am not a superstitious person, I fully believe in Printer Gnomes. They sneak into your text and change things when you aren't looking.

If you find issues, gather them all up and post them here IN ONE POST. Do not send single issues in single posts. That just takes up space. Wait until you're all the way through the book, take notes, and post all the typos or mistakes you find. Then, make a single post. That will make it easier for us to find them, puts them all in one spot, and you can see if someone else already found the issue you're looking for.

That's about it. Be ready for your download. And also be ready for some High Weirdness.

Take care and stay safe,

John W.

Secret Societies Update 2
over 3 years ago – Sun, Aug 23, 2020 at 11:08:28 AM

All right everybody,

Everyone who should be receiving an email from Backerkit for Secret Societies, check your email now. If you don't receive anything by the end of the business day, send an email to [email protected].

Thanks for your patience!

John W.

Tomorrow: Secret Societies
over 3 years ago – Thu, Aug 20, 2020 at 09:47:48 PM

Hey folks!

I'm happy to announce that tomorrow, we are releasing the PDF for Secret Societies via Backerkit. You'll be able to download the PDF and enjoy the content. We're one book closer to finishing up the project!

A couple of notes on the book.

First, it is loaded with text. There are a handful of NPCs for each Society, each with rich backgrounds and adventure hooks. However, when you read each NPC, you'll notice that with a little nudge, each one could be either a Hero or a Villain. This is intentional. We didn't include stats for the NPCs, keeping them a mystery for the players. Yes, you can read about them, but you'll never know if the person you're talking to is a Hero or a Villain. Enjoy the ambiguity!

Second, there is also a ton of encoded text. Each Secret Society uses its own unique cypher or code to communicate to their members. You're going to have a lot of fun figuring out those codes. (They start on the front cover!)

Third, after going over the sales figures and budgets for the books, Chaosium came to the conclusion that the art budget was for previous books was unrealistic. Because of that, this will be the first 7th Sea book to contain both color and grey scale art. On the other hand, because we're using grey scale, it means we can put in more art than before. I thought you should know before you see the book.

Lastly, Chaosium will be shipping all the remaining books together. That means you'll get Secret Societies, Cities of Faith and Wonder, and The Colonies all in one package. (Yes, that also includes maps.) This gives us time to look for errors, typos and other problems in the books before we ship. If you're wondering about the timeline for the last two books, I've got text in for both and art direction has already started for Cities. We're on a roll, and I expect you should see PDFs for both books by the end of next year.

If you have any questions, please let me know. I'll do my best to answer them.

Take care, stay safe, and I hope to see you again sometime in the future,

John W.

Secret Societies and Cities of Faith and Wonder Update
almost 4 years ago – Sat, Jul 18, 2020 at 02:24:16 AM

Hey folks!

Secret Societies is in layout! That means as each chapter is finished, I'll be uploading the PDF here. You'll get a chance to look at the Societies one-by-one. In the meantime, check out the crests for each Society below.

Also, I've assigned writers to the various Cities of Faith and Wonder. First drafts are due at the end of August. When I feel confident in the drafts, I'll also upload those for you folks to look at.

Ravenloft + 7th Sea: Exploring an Idea with Jess Heinig
almost 4 years ago – Sat, Jul 18, 2020 at 01:45:11 AM

Hey folks!

While Secret Societies is in layout (yay!), I got inspired by an idea. Someone mentioned running the D&D Ravenloft campaign using 7th Sea rules. That got me thinking about doing a campaign with the Vampire Countess in Eisen. To do this, I knew my first step was talking to the indefatigable Jess Heinig. Jess has done design work on a ton of things including Vampire, Mage and 7th Sea. He's currently a lead on Star Trek Online.

In this video, we talk about how to build a 7th Sea campaign, the options you get to use, how to draw inspiration from other sources, player agency, and all kinds of other things. This is a video private to you, the Kickstarter backers, that will go public next week. You get a sneak peak. Also, a big 7th Sea update is forthcoming. In the meantime, enjoy! 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0DbphO-jbg&feature=youtu.be