ZDPhoenix's page

This amounts to giving a charitable donation with no guarantee or mechanism to get your return.

I'll now just be blunt about it, Aux. Please stop perpetuating misinformation. You are incorrect about the lack of ramifications in not fulfilling an agreement, where parties have pledged financial support.

Crowd-funding is not a charitable contribution. I cannot claim the pledge on taxes, like I do with the actual charities my business and I both contribute to. It is not an investment in the way a stock broker would know it. In part, I feel as this is why people seem to misunderstand. You are pledging your financial support in return for fulfillment of a reward. Your pledge doesn't lose monetary value, nor does it gain monetary value.

I'll ask you to spend a bit of time researching what has happened to other LLC's who have been sued over their "giving up" on a business arrangement, through Kickstarter or other means of "for material gain" fund raising. In Joshua's home state, a few have already been to court; and at least one are still in the process.

Please take this for what it is, a request and not as an insult. I accept your lack of understanding on the topic, but please... stop spreading incorrect information. It doesn't help.

Thank you.

I think there's confusion on what an investment is. Investment would involve ownership or a stake in the proceeds. And would trigger certain types of oversight. This is fundraising. Patronage is the closest model, except with promise of product.

Kickstarter isn't an investment, it's patronage with a promised payoff.

Because of that, it'd be great if gamers, who are not lawyers, would stop trying to be lawyers.

Considering how many companies have now been taken to court over doing what Josh has pulled (including former owners of LLCs)... expect it to happen.

Josh finally admitted to screwing us over, saying the project was dead, in the crassest way possible.

There's some folks pushing for legal action and it looks like the Attorney General's office has been called. $42,000 is missing and there's no way Josh is going to get off the hook on it. I have no idea what he's thinking... but it's not logical.

He has not acted that way.

There has been continuing work on the project including beta release of the rules though beta.

Joshua, has never said or behaved as though he had no obligation to finish. What is clear, is that the game grew to big, and I think it is fair to say he did not manage that growth well, but he has still worked towards completion in good faith. That, while large chunks of his personal life have been falling to pieces.

What you are effectively suggesting, is using the law to kick a man when he is down, for trying to do something good. You are I supposed entitled to do it, but I think I'll retain my right NOT to be THAT guy.

Heh... I still remember this.

I can't even begin to show disappointment at the few of Josh's fans that helped enable his smokescreen and justified his early abandonment of the project, shaming concerned backers as "kicking him while he was down", trying to defend his choice to ignore the people who worked hard to help him in forums, which helped the growing concern in 2013 turn into a resounding "meh".

I hope that people who felt this way will show more critical thinking when it comes to crowdfunding projects in the future.

Wonderful news, thanks for the reply!

World of Darkness, using the sourcebook called "Mirrors" ruleset for Cyberpunk is my avenue of choice.

It's great for Post-Cyberpunk/Dark Shadowrun hybrid games.

You can combine Doctor Who and Supernatural using Savage Worlds, World of Darkness (!!!), or RIFTS.

However, start with the Doctor Who system. It's easy for players... slightly less so for GMs.

I really enjoyed Parsec.

Oh man! I have Helios Rising on my bookshelf! It was an amazing inspiration to me, for unconventional d20 ideas!

I wish I knew about this project in September. :(

I would have loved to have gotten in on this!

Will the book be available to non-backers when it's done on sites like Paizo or Amazon?

Numenera, Westward, RIFTs (if you like complex rule systems), World of Darkness (and the PDF options that let you turn it into any kind of RPG)!!!

He has not acted that way.

There has been continuing work on the project including beta release of the rules though beta.

Joshua, has never said or behaved as though he had no obligation to finish. What is clear, is that the game grew to big, and I think it is fair to say he did not manage that growth well, but he has still worked towards completion in good faith. That, while large chunks of his personal life have been falling to pieces.

What you are effectively suggesting, is using the law to kick a man when he is down, for trying to do something good. You are I supposed entitled to do it, but I think I'll retain my right NOT to be THAT guy.

My reply got long. I apologize in advance.

I had to re-read this a few times to understand why you feel this way.
Considering that you apparently know stuff about his personal life that we don't, I will assume you're a friend of his. It's a noble effort to defend a friend, but please don't do the rest of us a disservice by acting like the beta that was released over a year ago is being updated. It isn't. The entire website/beta has been in carbonite for over a year.

We pledged for a book. Some pledged for much more. We've been given a free PDF of a Beta.

I'd agree with you whole-heartedly about giving Joshua some slack, if he would remotely try to stay in touch with backers. A few honest (not misleading release talk) words about what's going on would have made the difference to me and I'm sure to other backers as well.

But not only has he continued to be inactive, but the website being over a year outdated; and the fact that he hasn't logged into Kickstarter in over two months should show you how there's a lack in good will there on his part.

Even projects that turned out HORRIBLY misleading, like The Terah Project from Rossi Publishing came forward and admitted when they goofed. Like say... spending the pledged funds on another book they published here on Paizo; only to have that backfire, because they didn't understand publishing risks.

All it would have taken to avoid all feelings of betrayal and bitterness over Quantum, was to have stayed in regular contact about any developments on the project. Other RPG projects reach went beyond their grasp... and soon outgrew what they could handle alone. Many of those companies got help from their backers or industry hopefuls. I was hoping a growth problem was the only issue and he'd seek help on finishing... but that's apparently not an avenue he wants to go.

I invested a fair amount.

But I am not bummed.

You never put money into a kickstarter, you are not prepared to never see again. It is the first rule of kickstarter.

I'd like to see my copy of the book, but if I never do, I won't cry.

I certainly will not be after a refund.

Sorry, I'm not ok with Joshua Frost taking $42,747 of gamer's money and not producing the project. Not being ok with that isn't "crying", no matter what form of patronage you look at Kickstarter as.

In Update 82, someone posted a link to file a legal complaint in WA. where Infinite X Studio is located. I see myself joining the action.

I don't care about losing a book. I care about someone potentially absconding with $42,747 (minus Kickstarters 10% cut) and acting like they have no obligation to finishing the project.

Consumer Update: I'll never forget that this item was made with misused funds from The Terah Project Kickstarter; or how the backers who wanted information were insulted by one of the authors. I'll never trust Rossi Publishing with an RPG product again, which is so unfortunate. This was such an amazing concept... with what seemed like a rock solid direction and potential to expand into something much larger than just a Campaign Setting of the season.

Worst of all? I paid for it, twice.

Their misuse of funds really turned me off of 3PP Crowdfunding; and the hopes of seeing a well done Steampunk IP for Pathfinder.

It was sort of released on Google Drive, with heavy errors, missing art and grammatical issues galore. :(

This has been such a bummer. I created a Kickstarter after reading about Quantum here on the boards.

Essentially, Josh somehow mismanaged $42,000 and now has dropped off the world. Whether he's replied with crass defense... or silence, Quantum's been added to quite a few Failstarter lists now, like on RPG.Net.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/joshuafrost/quantum-roleplaying-game-an -all-new-science-fantas/posts/613181

The whole "two copies of the book" thing was simply too good to be true.

I'm glad I didn't invest much into it. I feel extremely bad for those who had the scratch to really invest in this amazing idea... turned into pipe dream. :(

Very nice, so far!

There's already a dragon rider 3rd party base class. You can find it on the d20pfsrd.

Yup! It's a gem from Super Genius Games; and definitely worth a look!

I really can't wait for this. How fantastic. I've been running a homebrew Steampunk game for three years now and LOVE to idea of adding more roleplaying arsenal to our world.

SmiloDan wrote:

I'm bored: give me ideas for a new base class I can design!!!

Aberration druid that uses Aberration shape or takes key parts of aberrations to alter him or her self. Also he might have the ability to alter his companion with aberration abilities much like wild shape companion or aberration shape companion.

I REALLY love this idea. That's awesome.

I had a great story idea for a polluted/corrupted wood last year, filled with druids that were changed by the woods themselves; but never had came up with a decent template for one.

Got it. Thanks guys.

We gathered the materials to make a bastard sword and armor plate; the GM said that we'd only have to pay the local smith the cost of normal plate; since we were providing the Adamantine. He said treat it as masterwork +1. I'm assuming he meant just MW and that if we want it enchanted, we're embracing both the cost of the +1 enchant AND Keen.

Because people can't often grasp the concept of "You need to treat your companion as if it's alive and a friend", I try to dissuade people from using them.

Seriously. I know it sounds bad, but what happened to you has happened to me too many times.

Apparently, unless Hero Lab is wrong.... to get Keening; your weapon has to be at least a +1 Bonus.

Meaning... an Adamantine Bastard Sword, with Keening; would have to be both a +1 and a Keening. Not just a Keening enchant on Hero Lab. Which will then cost 11035g, instead of 5035g.

Is that right?

I've NEVER messed around with buying weapons before; only with looting them. :)

I supported it today. I only put a buck in, because projects like this tend to very easily become subjective; instead of objective.

If it becomes a subjective, opinionated troll bashing fest; where femfreq somehow uses the negative youtube comments as media fuel... I won't be sad that I lost a dollar.

If it turns out to be a truly objective study about Tropes vs Women, in games... I'll be quite content that I at least gave a dollar.

The foremost reason for not making our folio available as a PDF was that we saw its value as a physical product, with pockets, being the main reason anyone would want it.

That having been said, after seeing the many requests and reasoned arguments for it in electronic form, we've decided not only to make it available that way - after PaizoCon - but we're working on additional content that you can slip into the pockets, if you have one :)

If you're going to be at PaizoCon, you can take a look at our folio there, otherwise, give us a few days to work up a "Sample" sheet, so you can see what everyone's talking about.

Our additional content will include some advanced sheets for attacks and spellcasting.

Thanks for the comments on the Melee Manager - we're likely going to include it with some of our future electronic releases.

And there's much more coming soon.

Thanks,
Gamer Ingenuity

Welp, a year later to the day and I bumped into this.

Sorry for the threadomancy; but I take it that this never saw anything pop up?

Was it canned, since Paizo's making one?

Anything new in the pipeline coming?

If not, I'm still buying the Hardcover, regardless. I've really been wanting to take a crack at this for awhile.

Looks like Hardcovers are in. Awesome!

Any chance of a PDF/HC combo, like Paizo, or Frog God products?

Just wanted to say thanks for the amazing resource. I love your sheets.

The printability is a definite valid concern. I'll brainstorm ways to deal with that. Thanks.

Glen Taylor

Thanks! I really enjoy your classes and have picked up all of them. I especially enjoy The Mage. Regardless of getting a printer friendly one or not, I'll keep picking them up! :)

What constitutes end of the day time wise have to wait until around 4pm central before I'll be able to grab it.

As a CST guy myself, I imagine the end of the day. ;)

LPJ runs these sales often. I know right now at 3 p.m. it's still a buck, along with most his older catalog.

Machinesmith's available for $1 on RPGNow.com until the end of the day.

Also, Machinesmith and Artificer go about different ways of making a "mad scientist" type of character. It's not really a matter of which is superior.

Machinesmith is definitely more organized, but Artificer has a more "crafty" feeling to it.

Sure glad Steampunk Musha did so well. We really need some great new options for Pathfinder like this.

The box sets would of been awesome, but we have that contact and plan to utilize it in the future. Either way, super happy with the Kickstarter and already have the day set up to plan the next steps of production! Thanks to all the pathfinder fans from here that headed over and supported us!

If you do offer that later; Perhaps verified Nikobo ($100) and higher backers can get it at a discount later?

I love the DragonCyclopedia classes. They're great.

I just wish that there was a printer friendly version. I picked this up on RPGNow. As much as I love the "wrinkled parchment" look; it makes it very hard to see printed.

I can't get my gamers to give these classes a shot for my game, because they have to squint over the background. :\

Nice abilities but hate the art for them, the bestiary 3 version is an awesome pic but this just horrible.

Personally, I really like the art for them in this article, and don't care for them in bestiary 3.

However, I won't ever go radically overboard as you did, to say that any official Pathfinder art is "horrible".

Hasn't the book been available from his website for over a year?

That page is currently down, and the website appears to have vanished.

Although I have seen this on RPGNow and Paizo since it was released; I have passed on it every time, because there's no hardcover available for order from RPGNow's POD or Paizo's site.

I understand the distribution thing, I really do. But after being burned by a 3PP in the past, I much rather prefer to get my physical books from a market like Paizo. The website being some search engine-esque placeholder currently, doesn't do much to change my opinion.

For something as large as a campaign setting; I want a physical book, not just a PDF. I waited for Neoexodus and if this hardcover ever comes to Paizo, I'd definitely pick it up.

I'd love to give the world a shot.

It's election year pandering, without a doubt. Four years have went by and while he's done things to help line-up same sex acceptance; he has always fell short and in some ways hampered the support of same-sex marriage.

Now, six months before elections; at the most opportune political time, (Post NC's decision, not prior) he's approaching a demographic that is becoming increasingly divided on him, over his lack of follow through.

Either way, it's a ballsy way to pander. I don't think a President has took a plunge into a volatile political region that briskly, or unexpectedly in years. Kudos for that.

I can't say I agree with that Amazon review. Freeport is designed to drop into any campaign (with generic names for gods) and is an excellent setting. Generic settings seems to be a pet peeve of the reviewer.

As for a new version, I'd be interested. However, I'd have to agree with the other posts in that a reworking would be preferable.

It seems like gamers either really like them, or really don't.

I love using them as drop in/out cities; and potential plot points in longer spanning games (i.e. a few sessions in a city, before moving on).

One of my old players from 3E days seems to dislike anything modular, which often showed in his displeasure of seeing a decent selection of them at my old place.

Thunderhead Games!? I loved reading Bluffside and would thoroughly enjoy an updated version to the original. That is... updated for Pathfinder, with everything left in. Really enjoyed the cat burglar and explorer. The guards were a bit much; but stat blocks and guard descriptors can be easy to shrink. :)

The review on the linked page seemed on the vitriolic side; so I'd recommend people read the book before making assumption.

Map preview is up. Everyone gets it in either digital or print when we hit the 4k milestone reward!

By the looks of it, that may happen tomorrow.

I wish that every pfrpg kickstarter project *got* the whole "information brings interest" like you guy have.

I would send a message to the "Multiculturalism for Steampunk" Facebook page about the Kickstarter. They've linked other cultural rpg projects in the past.

Just wanted to thank all the backers so far. Pleasantly surprised to see so much support at the higher tiers.

Anyways, getting the classes info ready to go up.

Woot!

As a backer, I really think it's great that you guys aren't being stingy with information and art, like a few other projects have been in the past.

I upped my pledge today.

You're definitely going to meet goal with no problem. Even a few friends have taken interest in Rosuto-Shima after sharing some info on Facebook.

And there is still so much more to see. I think people are going to be amazed at the wealth of history, adventure elements, and pure awesomeness pact in the entire setting. And we hope the "steampunk" element doesn't put people off, as the setting is really a budding industrial age, and could even be played without steampunk elements, or full blown steampunk. Fat Goblin is just excited to see this moving forward.

We're going to talk about classes next.

We've got Pure Steam and Steampunk Musha trending to go over their Kickstarter goals and Terah's steampunk addition is coming to Paizocon. Not to mention Pirate's of The Bronze Sky is starting to perk up. I don't think it's turning people off. ;)

I love the clockwork Ronin! The artwork is amazing!

Currently, I use Synthetics from NoTNW and Ironborn from Rite, with a mad scientist trying to force collected spirit essence into machinery, to be "cleaner power" than coal. This race fits perfectly into our campaign.

The more I see about Steampunk Musha, the more I hope to see it released!

I'm glad that Pure Steam's on track. It would have been great to get more funding from the get-go; but at least there's more than enough interest to get things rolling for it!

Looking at this, can you detail the concept of the "retailer-only" rewards?

It seems that, with that reward, retailers are basically only paying the price of print copies, and not actually contributing to the funding of the project.

Just curious, as this is a trend I've been seeing lately...

Trust me when I say that the costs involved with the books will still be less than what's listed for backers of the retailer slot. They might not make as much, but in a few ways, that's long term growth added. "A FLGS has some new Pathfinder setting that no one local has, or has heard of? It's got airships, guns and new archetypes?! Sweet!"

I am a lil jealous of the retailer category though.

Myth & Magic offered up 4 books to the public for $75, as an incentive to be interested in long term with the company. Was kinda hoping for more than one of the Pure Steam books; but at least I know, now that it's funded, that I can buy more books later, instead of being forced to PDF it all, like LPJ Design's stuff.

Actually, you're $200 shy. But I'm sure you'll hit it. :)

I'm going to try to see what I can dig up in the next seven, myself.

Congrats!

Seems $200 disappeared from the backers. Similar happened yesterday.

Thanks, we are happy with the support as well. We should have a video blog post up tonight, we went with some art last night as we were focusing on creaturedaily.com content as well.

And fee free to ask any questions you might have, here or over there. chances are we'll be covering a lot of the topics you might be curious about in the video update, but you never know.

The only question I have right now is:

Is that amazing samurai-esque guy with a gun-arm a playable reality in the setting?

Because that is amazing.

I really enjoy this whole line of PDF's. They're fun to read; and I get so much inspiration for NPCs from them. Not to mention my players are finally willing to read my iPad to learn about them, after seeing this one. :)

Jeremy Smith wrote:

...That being said, I'd love to see a Genius Guide to Psionic Archetypes...

I'm throwing my money at the screen but nothing's happening!

Maybe if we throw it into the disc drive!

Love it!

Definitely a keeper. CLW is probably one of the more popular spells among everyone that's played a divine caster in my games.

I don't know if that's a compliment to their smarts, or their attack on my encounters; but awesome regardless!! :D

Looks Great!

Really glad to see your funding doing so well already.

So close to funding now, but only a few days left.

I really hope this project gets funded.

I'm amazed at the Artificer taking the top spot.

We Mad Scientist types tend to be the silent majority.

Be afraid. Be very afraid. :D

I'm thinking that if and when we end this particular chapter in the story; or if the party decides a total re-roll would be needed, we'd try E6 or E8.

Our games are all events that have happened in the same world, with slight history edits for better blending.

Thanks a bunch, SmiloDan!

I really appreciate it! The party will love it!