D&D 5E In defense of my post....

[CleverNickName]

Got ya! I actually didn't know that.

Understandable; that Kickstarter isn't very clear about what they are trying to get funded.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Understandable; that Kickstarter isn't very clear about what they are trying to get funded.

This makes me want to start my Kickstarter / GoFundMe hybrid-

GoKickMe

 

[BookTenTiger]

This makes me want to start my Kickstarter / GoFundMe hybrid-

GoKickMe

And its competitor, KickFarter

 

[jasper]

This is the first time I’ve heard of your Kickstarter and trying to shame me into supporting it is having the effect of making me not want to do so.

Just DITTo.

 

[ourmaninboston]

This is the first time I’ve heard of your Kickstarter and trying to shame me into supporting it is having the effect of making me not want to do so.

1. No, your project doesn't just die. An unsuccessful kickstarter doesn't mean your project dies, you can use the efforts you've made so far to release and sell a smaller project. It's not as sexy as a $1 million kickstarter, but it's how the majority of projects are released by TTRPG creators.

2. There are a number of TTRPG kickstarters released right now, competing for people's dollars. No one can reasonably commit to all of them, and there is no reason why your project deserves more community support than others. Especially as this is your first project on KS, there's not as much reason for folks to trust you will release your project even if your funded.

3. Shaming folks here into supporting you is simply uncool. First, it's bad marketing (people do not like being shamed, EVER), and two, it's unjustified. If your KS fails, you pick yourself up and try to release your dream project in a different format. Then, you build up community support by proving you deserve it. Support isn't automatic.

Understood. Thank you for taking the time to express this.

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

FYI, if you want people to read your updated OP, you should post about in the comments

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

PS , I would talk to whomever checked with WotC, because you can not put D&D on the cover of your adventure. Also, the red “slash” on the lower left really looks like their trade dress as well.

 

[teitan]

I must admit to a huge amount of shock at the response to my post.

First, let me apologize.

I'm hearing you all say you're angry and feel I was trying to shame you; so that was a really poor choice of words on my part.

I own that, and it's a hard lesson learned.

I was trying (obviously ineptly) to express my worry. This Kickstarter has been a huge investment of time and money, and I was hoping that members would empathize and be willing to help. I had hoped people would see the value in what we were offering and be willing to help if I was frank about how much we've been struggling.

Expressing frustration at the response we've gotten was a poor way to handle things.

1.) I came here asking for help. The way I did offended you - I hear you.

2.) Criticisms of my approach, layout and content are all valid and sincerely appreciated. Thank you for the constructive criticism. It feels as though a lot of the posts here have also descended to a personal level and seem to be coming from a pretty hostile place.

3.) We have spoken directly with Chaosium, and they have directly wished us well on this venture. We have also been in contact with WOTC and definitely performed due diligence. We are not using WOTC trademarks. Please look at them. We have been making supplemental products for WOTC's game, but have been very careful not to claim they are official products. To the poster who said "someone should reach out to WOTC", we already have, and you are certainly free to do that.

4.) I have not appropriated anything from MandyMod, Dragna Carta, Lunchbox Heroes or anyone else. I have directly given them credit and the free mini-adventure is original material which expanded upon their ideas, as they themselves have done multiple times over the years.

5.) The Lilith sculpt is erotic, but it also celebrates beauty. For centuries, mankind has created art that celebrates the male and female form. That is something I celebrate and do not want to see censored. Had the narrative called for a near-naked man, that would have also been fine. I believe that artistic expression should not be censored or stifled. I believe neither men nor women should be ashamed of the naked body.

6.) My posts about frustration that drow are being watered down are a valid stance. As a DM, I and my players should be at liberty to choose for ourselves the way social conflicts are addressed in the game. Rewriting years of canon - just as with rewriting classical literature - to make it less impactful is a step backward in my opinion. For me at least, being able to address social conflicts is a fundamental part of the process - and one which shouldn't be retroactively controlled.

Do I think an entire group of people should automatically be evil? No. Not at all. I think culture is what makes a group evil. Like the Assyrians, a culture of cruelty made their society evil. There were certainly outliers - poets, doctors, musicians - but the society as a whole was evil.

If someone came to me and said "you're no longer allowed to portray the Assyrians as evil", it would bother me just as much.

7.) It's pretty much a safe bet that our Kickstarter is not going to make it. To the posters who suggested we pick up and try again, thank you. I went into this venture with the belief that we had some really fantastic artwork and that people would love it. We did get a lot of enthusiastic commentary but little financial support - even at the dollar level, and that has been incredibly frustrating to see.

8.) I'm a working-class guy who has been struggling to make a success of my home-based business, not some devious, deceptive arch-villain that people need to expose and punish. I welcome your advice, but hammering me when things already suck is not helpful.

CTHULHU RISES

Limited-edition Lovecraftian masterpieces.

www.kickstarter.com

Certainly takes a big man to own up to their mistakes so it is good of you on that. I think a cancellation and relaunch, taking into account this thread, would be better business for you. I’d also suggest asking for a thread lock and reposting this as the final post.

 

[ourmaninboston]

With all due respect I can't work out who this is aimed at. It's far too scattershot. More accurately if I'm looking for adventures I don't want to buy minis at the same time, while if I'm looking for minis I don't want to buy dice at the same time. Offer me an adventure kickstarter and I might back it if the adventure sounds like something I might want. Offer me a minis kickstarter and I might. Offer me a dice one and I might. I've done so in all cases.

Offer me all at once? The only way I'm going to back it is if you've integrated it into a boardgame rather than welded three different things together and are trying to convince me to pay for two things I don't need or want to get one thing I do if I do at all.

You've literally posted eight messages on Enworld. Half of them are you not just advertising but starting new threads to advertise this kickstarter of yours. And of the grand total of three posts you've made that aren't pure advertising the two of them linked by @Nod_Hero are dunking on the idea of protecting our fellow players and the tools we use to do that in the community.

And there's the cheap emotional manipulation that takes away any chance I'd back this kickstarter even if I wanted what it had to offer.

1.) Thank you. I appreciate your thoughts, as much as all of this stings. You've taken the time to post well-articulated advice, and it's much more helpful than the ridiculing or belittling of what we've been making.

2.) That is valid constructive criticism. You're saying a more focused approach would be more appealing. Makes sense. I've been trying to discern why no matter how much we've added for free, we just haven't gotten any traction.

3.) Admittedly I have not posted a lot in Enworld, but I was speaking of the broader community, I've been posting in a number of forums for years, trying to encourage newcomers to the hobby, offering painting and DMing tips, etc.

4.) Obviously I pissed off a lot of people by slamming an idea I thought was restrictive and stifling. My kneejerk reaction to fighting censorship. To me, dealing with sensitive topics through catharsis is more effective that suppressing them. But I do make a very conscious effort to protect the marginalized constantly in real life.

5.) I suppose my wording was emotional manipulation, and poor judgment on my part, in retrospect.

 

[ourmaninboston]

Ah, another acolyte of all press is good press... This post reads like a pick-up artist manifesto from the 2000s. The Shame and Plead.
This Kickstarter is all over the place. You have an EPIC Mini-adventure (a little oxymoronic), a video, music, screensaver battle maps, and a printable miniature .stl at the top of your pitch. These are just ribbons to what you are actually selling, which are physical resin models and a set of dice? You should have started with the product, not the freebies. The intro video is basic Lovecraft and does nothing to sell the art you are offering. You could have had quotes from stories and then showcased a model relevant to the quote. Also, the pledge levels are too flowery. Leave the quoted text to stand with the art. Minor nitpick, a 6" unpainted shoggoth is both $26 and $29. It reads sloppy. I look at your Kickstarter page and I have to work to figure out what is for sale. No one is going to put in the time to work out what is for sale.
The sculpts look good. We could quibble over your pricing, but they are not ridiculous. I think you have a good product that could prove lucrative, but you need to sell it in a clearer fashion. There are a lot of miniatures Kickstarters, and quite a few are cosmic horror. Put your product out in front and then pile on all the free stuff to use with these pieces.

Very much appreciated food for thought.