Small Update & Starkhollow Hall Campaign
about 2 years ago – Wed, Feb 16, 2022 at 01:51:07 PM

A Brief Production Update

Hi everyone! I don't have a lot of news on Follow Me Down at the moment; we're deep in production, making progress on the main book, stretch goal playsets, art direction and graphic design. We'll be commissioning some additional art, and begin work on the new Playbooks, in March, then focus on writing for Tomes of the Dead in April. We're still on schedule to fulfill in September, so I'll keep you updated if anything changes before then.

As previously mentioned, we'll be closing pre-orders and add-ons in March. You'll still be able to change your personal information--including addresses and credit card information--in Backerkit up until we ship, but won't be able to add anything else to your order. This is because we need an accurate count for manufacturing (especially for the wall scrolls). I'll announce when pre-orders and add-ons are closing a few days beforehand, so you can get any last-minute orders in.

Starkhollow Hall Crowdfunding Campaign

I touched on this briefly in the last update, but Drowning Moon Studios is launching a new crowdfunding campaign on February 17th (literally tomorrow) as part of Zine Month 2022. Starkhollow Hall is an investigative, gothic fiction-inspired tabletop roleplaying game set in a remote girls' boarding school, and created using the GUMSHOE SRD, developed by Pelgrane Press. I'm using Indiegogo for this campaign, and you can sign up to be notified when it goes live here. If you love horror games, mysteries, or media like Crimson Peak, Penny Dreadful or The Haunting of Bly Manor, Starkhollow Hall is the perfect game for you. 

There are some rewards with actual handcrafted objects, which I am really excited about making, plus we have a really swanky trailer/video for the game:

(Music licensed through FMA, cover image base through Getty Images, all other art developed from creative commons works.)

That's All for Now!

I'll check back in again in March to give you another progress report. I hope you're all staying safe and I'm looking forward to sharing the finished product with you!

Limitless Heroics
over 2 years ago – Fri, Jan 07, 2022 at 04:30:41 PM

Hi everyone! An quick addendum for the previous update. I wanted to mention that I'll be doing layout on another book called Limitless Heroics, which is a guide to introducing characters with disabilities to D&D 5E. As someone who is disabled myself, I know how important it is to see yourself represented in media, and I'm really excited to help bring this project to life!

If you'd like more information, or are interested in backing Limitless Heroics on Kickstarter, feel free to use the link below:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wyrmworkspublishing/limitless-heroics-better-worlds-via-dice-and-disabilities-5e?ref=5j4qgi

Happy New Year!
over 2 years ago – Mon, Jan 03, 2022 at 05:26:13 PM

Hi everyone! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season. Now that we've made our way into 2022, I figured I'd give you some information on how the next few months are going to proceed. I'm currently dealing with a health issue that requires physical therapy multiple times a week, so I won't really have the chance to get back into a regular work schedule until mid-January. In the meantime, I'll send out the core book manuscript for editing, but won't be doing any new writing until the end of the month. In a week or two, our stretch goal writers will also receive their briefs, and can begin work on the new playsets. Art direction for the book will most likely happen closer to February, and writing on Tomes of the Dead and new playbooks should begin around the same time. 

As of now, 93% of backers have filled out their surveys. We'll be keeping surveys and pre-orders open through March, and will close them around the beginning of April. You'll still be able to make changes to your order if you need to update your address or payment information, but won't be able to add any additional items (we need accurate counts for manufacturing, which should begin in May) after surveys close.

To address the elephant in the room, after last year's Kickstarter announcement to transition to blockchain technology, Drowning Moon Studios has made the decision to not use Kickstarter for crowdfunding projects going forward. I will continue to inform backers on the progress of Follow Me Down via Kickstarter updates, but will not launch new projects on the platform. I have another crowdfunding campaign planned for the end of February, and will likely use an alternate platform like itch.io or Indiegogo. To make sure you don't miss out on any future projects, I strongly recommend that you follow Drowning Moon Studios on Twitter @drowningmoonrpg.

That's it for now. I'll update you again in February, and will let you know when surveys are closing in March. Until then, I hope you have a wonderful 2022, and please stay safe.

Joie Martin

Drowning Moon Studios

Important Shipping Update!
over 2 years ago – Fri, Dec 10, 2021 at 11:03:01 AM

Physical Backers: Please Make Sure You Provide Payment Information for Shipping Charges

(If you are a digital backer, or have already given Backerkit payment information for shipping charges, you can ignore this, as it will not affect you.)

Backerkit has contacted me to let me know that some backers with physical rewards have been bypassing part of the survey that collects payment information, leaving them with no way to charge shipping. Backerkit is patching the bug that allowed this to happen, but I am also asking you directly to please not do this. 

You must provide payment information for shipping if you wish to receive physical rewards. I have been very transparent that we are using a new Backerkit feature that allows us to charge shipping later, shortly before rewards are distributed. To do this successfully, Backerkit needs to have your payment information on file. If you do not provide it before surveys are locked, Backerkit will be unable to charge you for shipping, and you will not receive your rewards.

Backerkit will be contacting all physical backers who have omitted this information directly. If you are a physical backer who has yet to fill out your survey, please make sure to provide this information when prompted, so you will be able to receive your rewards.

December Update for Follow Me Down
over 2 years ago – Wed, Dec 08, 2021 at 11:31:41 PM

Hi everyone! Things are a bit slow over the holiday season, but I figured I'd check in with a December update. As planned, we're taking a bit of a breather until the start of the new year, where things will start ramping up again. In the meantime, 88% of backers have filled out their surveys, I've received the bags for the deluxe dice set (and they are pretty swanky), and made progress on polishing the final draft before Misha gets her hands on it.

Speaking of Misha, she and the rest of New Agenda Publishing have released their post-apotheosis space opera tabletop roleplaying game, Orun, in hardcover. If you haven't had a chance to pick this up, I strongly recommend it! It's one of the most creative, fresh takes on a sci-fi setting I've had the opportunity to play. Get your own copy here: https://tinyurl.com/9tntfhkm

Beyond that, there's not much to report. We'll be closing surveys a few months into the new year as production begins, but until then you have plenty of time to fill it out and make changes. That's all for now and, once again, thank you for supporting Follow Me Down!