Ninja'd by Shadow Demon.
Hi Guys,
It's been pretty well said above, but just to reiterate. The lack of a 5e option this KS has nothing to do with not wanting a 5e option and everything to do with not knowing if there is enough 5e support specifically for OUR campaign setting. We know that there's a ton of 5e love out there, but WotC is producing campaign setting material so we don't know what the demand is for it from a 3PP. We do know the general demand from our PF and S&W fans, so we can handle the budgeting and financials of that. And for a book of this size and this expensive to produce, a mishandling of those can pretty much end Frog God Games. Combine that with the fact that this book and its KS have been in production for a couple years, long before our Borderland Provinces test was even conceived, and we had to proceed with what we knew. It is a substantial additional cost to print a third version, so we have to make sure we can reasonably anticipate it to fund and sell decently if we ever want to be able to make Bard's Gate Complete or any other book for that matter. And the timing of this KS has no relation with the survey results of Borderland Provinces because the planning was done months ago. And like Borderland Provinces, The Blight is a campaign setting heavy book, so it falls into that gray area of an untested market for us.
So blah, blah, yadda, yadda, business talk. I get it. I only said all that to make sure no one really thinks we're turning our nose up at the 5e audience. I assure you if you want us, we want you! (Okay, that sounded a little weird, but you get the idea).
So now to the point of my post:
FGG isn't a big company. We're a half-dozen guys with day jobs scattered around the country who do this in our spare time and either enjoy the rewards or personally eat the costs of how well the books we make do. So we seriously can't afford to go out on major limbs or put up large amounts of capital routinely (not to mention our wives killing us if we lose our shirts). However, your voice has been loud and clear on Borderland Provinces and in this KS as well. So we have marshaled the resources and
committed to making a 5e version of The Blight. We're doing it as a
pdf initially because the funding goal we have established for this KS doesn't cover the cost of a third printing. We've got to get the book funded overall before we can add on the stretch goal of printing the 5e version. However, the 5e pdf will happen regardless as long as we make the initial funding goal.
However, we're not just trying to milk the 5e audience. We do not want to try and fund the initial funding on your backs. That wouldn't be fair to you when we've got to hit a stretch goal anyway to be able to print the 5e version as well. So here's what you can do. Continue to post your support and spread the word. If you want a copy of The Blight regardless of whether it's in pdf or hardcover format, go ahead and pledge at the Squire level to get your pdf for sure. However, hold off on pledging at a physical copy level. The initial funding needs to be done primarily by the Pathfinder and Swords & Wizardry supporters. I feel pretty good about us making our funding goal for those, but it should not be done off of your pledges.
When we reach the initial funding goal we'll finish calculating exactly how much it will take to print the 5e edition and post it as a stretch goal update. That's where we'll need you to come in. If you pledged for the pdf but want the physical copy, then just increase the dollar amount up to the Veteran level where you'll receive the actual book but still get the pdf for free with it. If you were holding off altogether until the 5e physical book was on the table, then that's when we'll need you to come in and pledge and let us know. Even more so than the Borderland Provinces survey, if the 5e supporters hold off and then pledge towards the 5e stretch goal rather than just towards the initial goal then it'll really be your chance to shine and show us what kind of audience is out there wanting FGG books in 5e rules. If for some reason it looks like the 5e physical copy stretch goal isn't going to make, then on the last day you can reduce your pledge back to the pdf level amount (if you want it) or can drop it altogether so you're not stuck buying an expensive book in a rule system you don't want (I'm looking at you, Ari). ;-)
We don't question the number of 5e fans who are out there. We only question the number of 5e FGG fans there are since this is a new arena for us and we can't afford to make a costly error. In short, we think you guys are out there; we just have to pay the printer bills based on what we know is there. So set us straight.
For everyone who has pledged a dollar to show their support or just chimed in to voice an opinion or words of encouragement, we really appreciate it. I promise that if you show us that FGG has a viable 5e customer base we won't be able to start getting 5e FGG books into your hands fast enough.
Greg
