D&D General I am so done with kickstarter

[Mezuka]

Only one project I backed failed to deliver. It was the e20 rpg core book by GM Sarli, which was supposed to be the evolution of 3.5. Sarli was involved in the writing of Star Wars Saga. That was before 5e was announced. Mental health was the problem (bipolar).

Another was a spaceship dogfight wargame. It delivered 4 months late but with really badly written rules. After that one I didn't back a KS for about 2 years.

The other five all delivered because they were either establishes small presses or large companies. I no longer pledge on start ups.

 

[bert1001 fka bert1000]

Have expectations for Kickstarter changed these days?

I thought the whole point of Kickstarter, at least at the begining, was to allow small operaters to do projects without having to have the capital upfront to hire staff, rent the injection molding machines, or whatever. The operators got the capital and presales and the buyers (most of the time) got something made that wouldn't have otherwise been made by larger companies that do have the capital to do things the traditional way. This always entailed some risk.

Nowadays there does seem to be more people using it as "pre-order" system which muddies the waters. I'm pretty sure for instance Free League could have done TOR2e the traditional way if it wanted to. I don't think the kickstarter made that project to happen.

And it seems like most of the Kickstarter material (at least books/rpgs/video games) ends up available at retail later anyway so if you are risk adverse you can always wait.

 

[Morrus]

I think you may have misunderstood 16 I back but didn't fund so I didn't pay... the succesful ones so out of 35 that funded 5 lost me money...

but 16 of things I wanted just didnt' (including 2 attempts at a relatively inexpensive tarrasque figure)

Oh! Yes, I did misunderstand. I thought you meant you had paid but they hadn’t fulfilled.

 

[LordEntrails]

You can't start small with some ideas. Most anything physical needs to be made in large amounts to make money.

You are absolutely right. And if you have an idea that requires a $1million in capital to make it feasible you better find someone to partner with that has a $1mil of credibility. Do you really expect that most people will put significant amounts of money towards someone else's idea if that person can't put forth a reliable proposal that shows that the creator knows what they are doing?

Besides, here we are talking RPGs, and there are plenty of RPG products that can come to life with only a few thousand dollars of investment.

 

[Zaukrie]

Jumped from a few thousand to a million? There's some space in there

 

[MichaelSomething]

When you buy into Kickstarter, you're not just buying into an idea, you're also investing into a project. Those require management skills; which not everyone has.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Oh! Yes, I did misunderstand. I thought you meant you had paid but they hadn’t fulfilled.

no that was the 5... I backed and paid for 5 that didn't deliver (1 is my own dumb fault I was waiting on the PHB for a game that was 'any day now' and backed the DMG...and both failed to deliver)

 

[eyeheartawk]

no that was the 5... I backed and paid for 5 that didn't deliver (1 is my own dumb fault I was waiting on the PHB for a game that was 'any day now' and backed the DMG...and both failed to deliver)

Myth & Magic?

 

[MatthewJHanson]

Backing on Kickstarter is not for everybody. If you don't like the wait and chance of failure, it might not be for you.

As others have said I think it's a good idea to be thoughtful about what you back, whether that be going with established companies or doing a little research on new creators.

Have expectations for Kickstarter changed these days?

There are still plenty of small companies that use it to fund projects they couldn't produce otherwise (that's how I normally use it), but there are also more and more larger companies, because to be honest Kickstarter makes a ton of money. As a small publish, even just funding some small PDFs, I get way more backers on Kickstarter than I get on the actual release of the product.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Myth & Magic?

yup I linked to it up thread. It broke me. I have some of the playtest material.

we played a (slightly modified) version of it twice (we tweeked some of the feat things and the 2nd time we used 13th age's esscalation die... including me making enemies and items for players that triggered on 3 and 5 of the die)

2e meets 3e. As much as 4e is my favorite and 5e is my current game... 2e will ALWAYS hold a spot in my heart

edit here it is Myth & Magic Game Master's Guide and Collector's Complete

and I don't have hard feeling for the creator... I understand some personal stuff blew up in his life (and I can relate) I just wish it had gotten going.