Ralif Redhammer
Legend
Yeah, as much as I love Fifth Edition Foes, without that I have a hard time pulling the trigger on backing it.
D&D 5E [5E] Frog God Games KS of Tome of Horroes
J.R. Baker
First Post
Here is what Patrick posted a couple of hours ago.
Okay, here is a preliminary response. Keep in mind that we'll refine these responses as we go through the Kickstarter, but this is a pretty good starting point for the answers to the questions so far.
1. What's in the box? What's in the box?!? Er, I mean what's in the book?
Plenty of ways to torment your players! Okay, seriously, the contents is going to be largely what is in the Tome of Horrors Complete that was released for Pathfinder and Swords & Wizardry. Keep in mind that a lot of the creatures from that are featured in Rappan Athuk 5e. Those that are in RA5 will not have the vast amount of color artwork that Tome of Horrors will, BUT, there will be some color artwork of the foes in RA 5. For RA 5, the artistic focus that Skeeter has taken has been to focus on the atmosphere and locations within the Dungeon of Graves. We have teased some of these evocative pieces so far and will continue to do so leading up to the RA 5e KS that is planned for Q1 2018.
We are focused on not recycling creatures that have appeared in previous 5e Frog God Games books, such as those in the Tome of Blighted Horrors and Fifth Edition Foes. We want to bring new creatures to the table rather than those that are already available. We are also bringing in some brand new creatures that appeared in Monstrosities for Swords & Wizardry as well as some that have been gestating in the archives, waiting to break free. In short, brand new creatures, some new creatures from Monstrosities, very little recycling from 5EF, and none that I can think of from ToBH.
2. Page Count?
It won't be a bookshelf breaker like some previous Frog God books. We're targeting 350-400 full color pages. We wanted to make this as affordable as possible so it cannot have all 700+ creatures from the Tome of Horrors Complete without being extremely cost and price prohibitive. Because of that we will be focusing on a subset of creatures that represent the creature types from 5E. There will be additional Tome of Horrors supplements released later and a faster clip after the initial book is released that will contain additional creatures from the Tome of Horrors Complete as well as brand new creatures that haven't seen the light of day yet, mainly because the Creature Keeper hasn't let them out - they need to be the right shade of mean before release. NOTE: the additional supplements are not part of this Kickstarter.
3. What about Fifth Edition Foes?
See #1.
4. Euro-friendly shipping?
Unfortunately not at this time.
5. Print on Demand options?
TBD, but not as part of the Kickstarter.
Okay, here is a preliminary response. Keep in mind that we'll refine these responses as we go through the Kickstarter, but this is a pretty good starting point for the answers to the questions so far.
1. What's in the box? What's in the box?!? Er, I mean what's in the book?
Plenty of ways to torment your players! Okay, seriously, the contents is going to be largely what is in the Tome of Horrors Complete that was released for Pathfinder and Swords & Wizardry. Keep in mind that a lot of the creatures from that are featured in Rappan Athuk 5e. Those that are in RA5 will not have the vast amount of color artwork that Tome of Horrors will, BUT, there will be some color artwork of the foes in RA 5. For RA 5, the artistic focus that Skeeter has taken has been to focus on the atmosphere and locations within the Dungeon of Graves. We have teased some of these evocative pieces so far and will continue to do so leading up to the RA 5e KS that is planned for Q1 2018.
We are focused on not recycling creatures that have appeared in previous 5e Frog God Games books, such as those in the Tome of Blighted Horrors and Fifth Edition Foes. We want to bring new creatures to the table rather than those that are already available. We are also bringing in some brand new creatures that appeared in Monstrosities for Swords & Wizardry as well as some that have been gestating in the archives, waiting to break free. In short, brand new creatures, some new creatures from Monstrosities, very little recycling from 5EF, and none that I can think of from ToBH.
2. Page Count?
It won't be a bookshelf breaker like some previous Frog God books. We're targeting 350-400 full color pages. We wanted to make this as affordable as possible so it cannot have all 700+ creatures from the Tome of Horrors Complete without being extremely cost and price prohibitive. Because of that we will be focusing on a subset of creatures that represent the creature types from 5E. There will be additional Tome of Horrors supplements released later and a faster clip after the initial book is released that will contain additional creatures from the Tome of Horrors Complete as well as brand new creatures that haven't seen the light of day yet, mainly because the Creature Keeper hasn't let them out - they need to be the right shade of mean before release. NOTE: the additional supplements are not part of this Kickstarter.
3. What about Fifth Edition Foes?
See #1.
4. Euro-friendly shipping?
Unfortunately not at this time.
5. Print on Demand options?
TBD, but not as part of the Kickstarter.
CatholicFan
First Post
They added that they will ship internationally, but there isn't currently a "cheap" option. I'm assuming EU backers know the nuances better than me, but I believe that means it ships from here in the USA, is subject to various VAT and customs charges wherever it lands, in addition to whatever USPS costs.
Matrix Sorcica
Hero
Yep, and I can't understand why they can't do EU friendly when small first time kickstarters can.
CatholicFan
First Post
Actually, I think I know the answer to that one. I believe most EU-friendly KS's use print-on-demand that's based in Europe, which cuts out the VAT and customs charges, plus lowers that actual shipping costs. Frog God does not currently utilize POD in their Kickstarter runs; all the books are printed in China using traditional sewn binding and then shipped to the USA. I don't know what it would take to set up with a printer and distributor in the EU that does similar quality, but I'd guess that's the current hangup. Most Kickstarters I've seen that are EU friendly have a European partner to handle printing and distributing within the bloc. Frog God mentions the quality of their books a lot, so that's where I'm getting that idea from. It might also be why they haven't utilized EU print-on-demand options, either. I think most POD's are perfect bound glued, which doesn't hold up as well over time than traditional sewn binding.
I've backed Borderlands Provinces (both hardcovers), the Blight (HC and all pdfs), and Quests of Doom 3 (HC). I own hardcovers of Bards Gate 5e, Quests of Doom vols. 1 + 2 (5e), Quests of Doom 2 (5e), The Northlands Saga (PF), Sword of Air (PF), Cults of the Sundered Kingdoms (PF), Stoneheart Valley (PF), The Lost City of Barakus (PF), Slumbering Tsar (PF), and Razor Coast (PF). I can take a picture of them all on my shelf if it helps prove that I'm a fan.
I say this as a fan who has spents hundreds of dollars on their products. I will not purchase another FGG product or back another of their Kickstarters until I am made aware of proper resolution toward Bill Webb's behavior. At the very least, I would like to be made aware that Mr. Webb has attended some form of harassment training from someone not connected to FGG as well as some form of treatment for his drinking. I went into more detail in the thread following ENworld's original reporting on this issue and I sent that message on toward Matt Finch as well.
I want to support FGG. I want to back Tome of Horrors (and Rappan Athuk), but I cannot support a company that allows such behavior without appropriate consequences. I am not asking for Mr. Webb to lose his job or position. I am not asking for FGG to have to close their doors. I am merely asking for FGG to take actionable steps towards preventing the type of harassment that happened from happening again.
I say this as a fan who has spents hundreds of dollars on their products. I will not purchase another FGG product or back another of their Kickstarters until I am made aware of proper resolution toward Bill Webb's behavior. At the very least, I would like to be made aware that Mr. Webb has attended some form of harassment training from someone not connected to FGG as well as some form of treatment for his drinking. I went into more detail in the thread following ENworld's original reporting on this issue and I sent that message on toward Matt Finch as well.
I want to support FGG. I want to back Tome of Horrors (and Rappan Athuk), but I cannot support a company that allows such behavior without appropriate consequences. I am not asking for Mr. Webb to lose his job or position. I am not asking for FGG to have to close their doors. I am merely asking for FGG to take actionable steps towards preventing the type of harassment that happened from happening again.
Matrix Sorcica
Hero
Thanks for answering. I still don't get it.... they have "international print on demand" on their website? Are you saying that these are still sent from the US (then why not just buy the regular?)?, or somehow of inferior quality ( wtf?!)?
Edit: saw that they do POD to Europe.
Last edited:
CatholicFan
First Post
"NOTE: This title is available for printing in Austrailia, New Zealand, Europe and the United Kingdom. The shipping cost is included in the price and is not added at checkout. Shipping times depend on printing schedule. Unfortunately we cannot match our standard first print quality due to the limitations of the process. The samples and feedback has met our basic requirements. The shipping is affordable for everyone in the countries listed above."
http://froggodgames.com/cults-sundered-kingdoms
That's from the Cults of the Sundered Kingdoms listing. Similarly, the Fifth Edition Foes says it's a softcover printing in the EU, not the regular hardcover. They also don't currently offer a lot of their titles through that program (yet?).
Again, I'm only speculating, but I would guess the logistics of dealing with international printing on top of the domestic printing is a bit more than they want to tackle during a Kickstarter. They're a really small company, and it's my understanding only one of their guys (Charles Wright, layout) does this as their full-time job. They're expecting delivery on this and a few other Kickstarters all at the same time, presumably to get it all done in one printing/shipping order from China. I'd expect that's one reason they're able to offer the book at a $50 buy-in for domestic orders because they're combining it with other products being printed to get a better bulk rate.
As an aside, if POD is of satisfactory quality to you, you can likely sign up for the PDF option in the Kickstarter ($25), then just email them for an authorization to print a copy at a local EU POD for yourself. The PDF rewards are being delivered earlier than the print ones, too, so if that works, you can have yourself a nice physical copy prior to the USA customers waiting for theirs.
Similar Threads
