A GMless, two-player tabletop roleplaying game inspired by the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, Powered by the Apocalypse
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Latest Updates from Our Project:
A Big Thank You & Project Timeline
over 2 years ago
– Fri, Nov 05, 2021 at 07:01:26 AM
First of all, thank you so much for backing Follow Me Down! I honestly didn't expect this level of support, and I'm so glad that all of you are as excited about this game as I am. We ended the campaign with $27,778 and 667 backers, which is just mind-blowing to me. We also unlocked several stretch goals, including: two new playsets by Josh Heath and Chris Tang, a set of new Playbooks, fillable PDF character sheets, and a pack of printed character sheets for physical backers. Now that the campaign has come to an end, I wanted to give you a tentative timeline so you know what to expect and when.
Project Timeline
I think I mentioned this during the campaign, but the core rulebook for Follow Me Down is already written, and will get one more polish this month before I hand it over to Misha to edit. Drowning Moon Studios takes December off each year, so the work of making this book a reality will largely happen in 2022. I'll be commissioning more art from Syd and Iroiise toward the beginning of the year, as well as hiring additional artists to help bring the book to life. In early spring I'll turn our stretch goal writers loose to begin work on their playsets, and will start work on Tomes of the Dead and the new playbooks around the same time.
It's my goal to have both the print and PDF versions of the core book, Tomes of the Dead, and all stretch goals complete by October of 2022. And, of course, I'll continue to keep you updated on our progress. Physical rewards are already starting to trickle in, as our shipment of custom dice is on its way to us. Expect those and the canvas prints for deluxe backers to be delivered around the same time the print book is released, just so we don't have to charge you for multiple shipments.
And, speaking of shipments, I'll be sending out a survey via Backerkit in the next few days. We won't be locking addresses until we're much closer to fulfillment, so you still have plenty of time to change things. You won't be charged for shipping until surveys are locked, and I'll give you at least 48 hours warning before that happens. I will also be opening a pre-order store for those who didn't back while the Kickstarter was live, and you should be able to select add-ons to your pledge if you didn't manage to snag them during the campaign.
A Heartfelt Thank You
CW: Pet death; please skip this section if this subject is uncomfortable or triggering for you
If you follow me on social media (I tend to keep my Facebook private, but my Twitter is public), you probably saw that I lost my dog of 12 years, Cricket, to cancer midway through the campaign. The past few weeks have been very difficult for me as I mourn her absence. She rarely left my side during all the years I had her, and learning to move forward without her has been a lesson in heartbreak. The irony that I should be grieving a beloved companion while Kickstarting a game about love and grief isn't lost on me. When I first began writing Follow Me Down in 2019, I was also experiencing the end of an 11-year relationship, though I wasn't aware that was happening at the time.
I truly believe that the things that leave the greatest impressions upon our lives will always find their way into our work, even if it's not intentional, and that art is not created in a vacuum. The past two years have been extremely difficult for me, as they have for many other people, and there are a lot of us who are mourning right now. I just wanted to say thank you for giving me the space to explore the intimacy of that grief, and that I hope this game helps you as much as it has helped me.
Cricket in October of 2021
Joie Martin
Owner, Drowning Moon Studios
New Playbooks Unlocked!
over 2 years ago
– Fri, Oct 29, 2021 at 06:00:27 AM
Hi everyone! Over the weekend the campaign reached over $20,000. This means we'll be creating a pair of completely new Playbooks based on familial and ancestral relationships for Follow Me Down and have added two brand new stretch goals:
$35,000 - a set of Playbooks inspired by the comradery between soldiers on the battlefield
$40,000 - a new playset by Jacqueline Bryk, which is drawn from the mythological Celtic afterlife and tales of loved ones being stolen away by fairies
With only nine days to go, I'll continue to update you with more stretch goals, additional team member spotlights, a production timeline, and what to expect once the Kickstarter ends, so keep an eye on your mailbox. And, as always, thank you for the support and generosity you've shown. I can't wait to show you what we've created together!
Next Stretch Goal and Second Team Member Spotlight
over 2 years ago
– Fri, Oct 29, 2021 at 05:59:46 AM
Hi everyone! With 14 days to go, we're currently a little over $1500 away from our next stretch goal, Kith & Kin Playbooks. As mentioned in last week's update, these playbooks are designed for characters with ancestral and familial relationships; think Coco, for example, or What Dreams May Come.
Once again, it's time for this week's team member spotlight, and I'd like to introduce you to our graphic designer Nana Luv. Nana may already be familiar to some of you as the cover illustrator for our previous Kickstarter release, Mage to Order, and they are an experienced character artist and graphic designer. They're also someone I've known and worked with for several years. I've commissioned character portraits from them in the past, and they've always been timely, professional, and a breeze to work with. I knew Nana's streamlined style was perfect for Mage to Order, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they do for Follow Me Down. You can learn more about Nana by visiting their linktree here: https://linktr.ee/nanaluvbug?fbclid=IwAR2cZIEtkQoyUWI-4IF3WiOEDnWLBLbhACGnRCGaqEmcnwYepQoc13HqQ48
I'll make another update when we've reached our next stretch goal (and add a brand new one to the list), and do another team member spotlight next week. See you all then!
Follow Me Down in the News & Another Stretch Goal Unlocked!
over 2 years ago
– Fri, Oct 29, 2021 at 05:58:51 AM
Follow Me Down in the Media
Hi everyone, I normally try to keep updates to once a week during a campaign, but we've had a flurry of media attention about Follow Me Down, so I wanted to link you those articles, interviews and actual plays.
Tabletop Potluck did an amazing actual play podcast of Follow Me Down right before the campaign started. You can listen to Sally and Abby's playthrough here:
While I was sleeping, we passed $15,000 overnight, which means we've met our Character Sheet Upgrade goal, so all backers will now receive fillable PDF character sheets with their PDF, and physical backers will receive a pack of 10 printed character sheets with their book.
Our next stretch goal at $20k is a set of Kith & Kin Playbooks, based on familial and ancestral relationships. As I mention in the Follow Me Down ashcan, there are many types of love, and these Playbooks are designed to explore the familial relationships between siblings, parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, and so on. Just above that at our $25k stretch goal is a brand new playset by Josh Heath inspired by the Nordic legends of Hel and Valhalla!
Our newest released stretch goal at $30k will allow us to make upgrades to both the PDF and physical book. This means more gorgeous art, higher quality paper, and printed end sheets for the physical book. We also have another stretch goal further down the line that will unlock additional book upgrades like foil-stamping and ribbon bookmarks, but we have to smash through our previous stretch goals first!
That's all for me for now. Expect another update next week as we spotlight another member of the Follow Me Down team and keep you updated on the Kickstarter's progress!
Next Stretch Goal & Team Member Spotlight
over 2 years ago
– Fri, Oct 29, 2021 at 05:57:36 AM
Our Next Stretch Goal
Hi everyone! Follow Me Down is less than $500 from our second stretch goal at $15000; Character Sheet Upgrades. When we reach this goal, we'll create fillable PDF character sheets that will be bundled with the game PDF, and will automatically add a pack of ten printed character sheets (5 for each Playbook) for all physical backers. I've found that fillable PDF character sheets are extremely useful for online play, but they do take a bit of time to create, which is why this is listed as a stretch goal.
Beyond stretch goals, today is our first team member spotlight, where I get to tell you more about the people who are making this project a reality!
Team Member Spotlight: Misha Bushyager
For our first spotlight, I'd like to introduce you to Misha Bushyager, our editor for Follow Me Down! Misha is a powerhouse with an impressive list of projects, both as a writer and editor. She was one of the people behind #Feminism, an anthology of 30+ feminist nano-games produced by a collective of feminists from 10 different countries, is a founder of New Agenda Publishing, "a consortium dedicated to promoting diversity in the RPG community through [their] hiring and choices," who produced Orun, a post-apotheosis, Afro-centric, space opera tabletop roleplaying game, and a curator of More Seats at the Table, a biweekly newsletter highlighting analog games by cis women, non-binary and agender folk, and trans folk.
I had the pleasure of meeting Misha a few years ago, when she GMed a demo of Orun for a gaming podcast I used to produce, and was able to meet her in person not much later at a convention we were both attending. I knew I wanted her for this project, partially because her reputation as a skilled writer and editor precedes her, but also because Misha is someone who gets things done. This is the first time I'll be working with her in a professional capacity, and I am very much looking forward to it! If you'd like to know more about Misha and her work, I encourage you to visit her website, Black Girl Gameworks.
