M is for M-M-Monday
almost 9 years ago – Wed, Apr 20, 2016 at 03:59:39 PM

Beloved cabal,

At the time of this writing the Kickstarter's pledge count as risen to over $200,000, which is just amazing. Thank you all so much for your continued support both here and across all of the occult underground that is social media. We've got five books, including a deluxe set, as well as a soundtrack suite and the first in a series of Campaign Starter Kits, all because of your generosity.

Here's the latest in what is to come (tl;dr, it's new stretch goals and new backer level goals, as well as a Facebook bones outreach goal).

New Stretch Goals

Today I revealed a list of new previously hidden stretch goals, beginning with a second suite of musick for Unknown Armies by master composer James Semple. Like the first one, this goes out automatically once it's completed to those backers who support at a tier that provides bonus digital content.

We're also seeking to expand Book Five two more times, once with WJ MacGuffin (to 96 pages) and again with Jason L Blair, whose work on other creepy and unnerving RPG books places him firmly in the realm of UA3 potential.

Near the end of the list is an all-new reference and resource product, the so-called PDF Reference Companion, which I'm planning as an all-purpose digital reference product that collects information across all five books and makes it easy to use on your tablet or computer, including form-fillable and printable forms, cheat sheets, and more. Everyone who backs the project at a tier that grants bonus digital content also gets this.

New Backer-Level Goals

As well as offering more Campaign Starter Kits, if we reach specific numbers of backers we'll also make available one or more video tutorials that show you how the rules work in a more visual medium. The first of those is unlocked at 2333 backers; the second at 2666 backers!

These backer-level goals are important to us as we hope to expand the eventual audience for Unknown Armies and provide for that audience with better and more useful tools for play in a variety of ways: online, in stores, at conventions, anywhere that folks can hang out. With your support and sharing the Kickstarter project link, we believe we can get there!

Facebook Bones Outreach Goal

Many of you are also on Facebook and may know that Atlas Games has its own page there. Right now we've got the Kickstarter video included in a post that's been pinned to the top of the page.

If we get 333 Likes (or Reactions - we like the Wow one) we'll make the UA3 Dice Set include three colors of ten-sided dice: 2 each of three colors, rather than 3 each of two colors. Why is this better? Variety, checkers!

If we get 33 Reshares, we'll add the custom UA3 ten-sided dice icons and a few other fun things to the Dropbox folder for use as icons, avatars, or wallpaper.

That's all for now. Until next time, don't play it safe - that's for squares! Play it forward, and remember, you did it.

--Cam and the Unknown Armies production team

W is for W3dn3sday
almost 9 years ago – Sat, Apr 16, 2016 at 04:35:56 AM

Beloved cabal,

It has been five days since our last confessional. In the interim, we have inched closer to the $190,000 mark and our first expanded stretch goal for Book Five: Mine. We've announced a new set of backer-count-based goals set to launch at 2000 backers. And we've had a flurry of social media & interviews.

Today I want to focus on three things.

Icons, Avatars, and Wallpapers

Everyone who has backed the project now has access to a series of icons & avatars for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Facebook, as well as wallpapers for your mobile devices and your desktop/laptop. They're in the Dropbox folder that's linked in Update #1.

Wondering where Update #1 is? Go to the KS project page, click on the Updates tab, and voila - there's all the updates we've posted. Update #1 is a backer-only update, though, so if you want to grab these new goodies (or take part on the UA3 Gamma) you'll need to pledge.

These freebies feature the talents of our art director Aaron Acevedo and graphic designer Thomas Denagh, so do thank them if you like them!

New Backer Tiers

Today at 3:33pm Eastern time, I'm planning on revealing two new backer tiers for those who want to pledge beyond the books. The first is a new Charged Merchant tier that's slightly less than the (sold out) Ascended Merchant. It includes 2 of the Deluxe Set, 2 of Book One: Play, and 2 sets of dice, but it doesn't include the "your store picture in the book" benefit. We are setting that at $170.

The second is the Medium, Well Done tier, which includes everything that comes with the Patron Charger level, PLUS an additional five sets of dice and five copies of Book One: Play, as well as an incredibly limited, hand-made, Unknown Armies Ouija board (er, "predictive accessory") lovingly and disturbingly crafted by Greg Stolze himself. These are hefty wooden boards, there's only two of them, and the tier is $999. Shipping is included, anywhere in the world.

Campaign Starter Kits

When we reach 2000 backers, I'm excited to unlock these new products. Each is a standalone digital-only Unknown Armies campaign starter with five pregenerated characters, a shared cabal objective, a scenario, and lots of GM notes and resources. Each one of them we unlock (and we'll unlock one at each new backer-count-based level) is included in your backer rewards if you've selected a backer level that provides bonus digital content or ebooks.

We've got a mix of new and old Unknown Armies writers from a wide range of backgrounds scheduled to write these, and you're sure to find one you like out of the collection. They're perfect for one-shots or for running at cons, and also ideal if you don't want to spend a session creating your campaign together but would prefer to just jump in.

Until next time, keep sharing the Kickstarter link, follow us on @atlasgames and use the hashtag #UA3RPG to get folks talking!

--Cam and the Unknown Armies production team

Friday Friday Friday.... Monster Trucks
almost 9 years ago – Tue, Apr 12, 2016 at 03:22:42 PM

Beloved cabal,

Today we announce new stretch goals and a new backer tier!

New Stretch Goals

After we reach $180,000, which should not be too long from now, we'll move right on to three new goals set at $190K, $200K, and $210K. Each is a new author added to Book Five: Mine, and each lets us expand the book by 16 pages. Filamena, Ryan, and Chad are all contributors to the Unknown Armies Third Edition books already but they're ready to push our fifth (all-digital) book to its limits.

The best thing about Book Five: Mine is that we're also offering a handful of worthies the power to tell us what goes in it...

New Backer Tier

The Patron Charger gets everything a Stacked Charger with Stones gets, as well as their image (or an image of a favorite item or place) in the game. But this elite group also gets the rights to tell our Book Five: Mine scribes to add in an adept school, archetype, or GMC that they want to see either updated for UA3 or entirely new and sourced from their feverish brains.

This tier is set at $350 and is limited to ten backers! 

What's Next?

We've been teasing that something awesome's going to happen at 2000 backers, so if you're already a backer and you want to unlock some new content that's NOT part of the five Books of UA3 but is, instead, designed to compliment those books, please spread the word, retweet @AtlasGames, tell folks about your thoughts on the Gamma playtest, and let's see how far we can bruise reality this weekend!

All the best,
Cam Banks and the Unknown Armies production staff

Gamma Wednesday
almost 9 years ago – Sat, Apr 09, 2016 at 12:19:51 PM

To our beloved cabal,

More Gamma Materials

The Dropbox folder containing the three Gamma playtest PDFs for Unknown Armies has been updated! It now includes character sheets (one PDF, three sheets) for you to use in creating characters, as well as the rules & instructions for the Gamma playtest. Remember, the link to the Dropbox folder is in Update #1. If you've deleted that update or joined the Kickstarter campaign after we posted it, which most of you have done, you can always find the updates on the Kickstarter project page under the Updates tab.

Full Faith and Credit

Please remember that the PDFs we share with you as backers are a special benefit of supporting our campaign, and we trust you not to share that link with folks who aren't yet backers. That said, we have no problem at all with you discussing the rules, sharing your thoughts, posting your campaign concepts, or otherwise sharing the good news online or in your favorite tabletop RPG discussion forums. If you do, we'd love to see that so we can point others to it! Or share the links to your own discussions on Twitter or Google+ with the hashtag #UA3RPG.

New Goals!

Following a discussion yesterday with the UA production team, we have some really cool new stretch goals to share with you that are connected to the number of backers rather than the pledge amount raised. These goals are in direct response to comments posted here or shared with us on social media about a desire to have one-shot or campaign-ready tools for those of us who don't have a lot of spare time on our hands. More on this later in the week, or when we reach 2000 backers, whichever comes first.

Patrons!

Finally, we wanted to tease another awesome way for you to support the Kickstarter! Once we reach a pledged amount of $180K and unlock Book Five: Mine, we will also open up a NEW set of backer tiers that involve backers becoming patrons of that book. Patrons will have a say in what new archetypes, adept schools, or optional rules are included in Book Five. Again, more details on this once we get to that point!

Until then, keep sharing your thoughts, go grab those Gamma documents to play a game or six with your friends, and watch for more revealed knowledge. We absolutely could not do all of this without you!

Three for Monday
almost 9 years ago – Sat, Apr 09, 2016 at 11:49:47 AM

Welcome to a new week, cabal! I'll get right to business.

Book Four: Expose Fully Funded!

With the campaign reaching $160,000 earlier today, the digital-only Book Four: Expose written by Greg Stolze has reached its full 96 page count. This means Greg is going to be a busy guy this summer writing up pages and pages of rumors, essays, think pieces, and musings about Unknown Armies, the occult underground, and making each game a unique experience for you and your players. Or it could be a secret diary coded with disturbing graphic images. Or both!

Book Five: Mine

With Book Four in the bag, it's time to look ahead to Book Five: Mine, which promises to expand all the material in the "core three" without fattening up the calf of the game, so to speak. We've got writers Tim Dedopulos and Chris Lites lined up already, with more authors waiting in the wings (and stretch goals).

Just like Book Four, Book Five is a digital-only product that all backers who have pledged at tiers providing "all bonus ebook content" get for no additional cost. We've been asked if these books might one day get print versions or possibly print on demand; we're considering those, but we aren't making any promises at this stage.

Where's the Backer PDFs?

One of the questions I added to the FAQ over the weekend was how to get hold of these Gamma playtest drafts you've been promised as backers. The answer is that they're in a Dropbox folder, the link to which is in the backer-only Update #1. So scroll down to check that out. There are three files in there to start, with more potentially added later to help folks who want to try the game out and provide their feedback.

Since I mentioned the FAQ, it's worth taking a look there before you message us. We might already have answered you!

That's all for this update. Keep your eyes peeled this week for:

• More stretch goals revealed
• More previews and guest blog posts
• More news and information about Unknown Armies
• Snow in Minnesota?

All the best,
Cam & the Unknown Armies production team