HYPERBOREA » Gods of the Forbidden North

francisca · 3/31/2022 7:56 am

Caveman wrote:
rhialto wrote:
The author just posted a fulsome explanation for "why more $ upfront?", and I appreciate his openness even more now. My x:12 chances of supporting just shifted dramatically.
lol, yeah it not easy to know how much we can trust a total stranger, but he seems sincere.

As did Mike Nystul, Ernie and Benoist, etc... and I actually knew the latter two (which is why I didn't pledge, actually.....)

And after reading his lecture about what kickstarter is....I can get a condescending lecture on about any topic on the internet for free. Creators on KS can trot the "Kickstarter is not a store..." line out all they want, but the fact of the matter is: people who cough up money for something, expect something for their money. Clearly those who take the money and run, without meeting their production goals, are unlikely to get funded for their artistic endeavors in the future. However, to a large portion of those who pledge, KS is a pre-order network, despite the pie-in-the-sky ideal of supporting art, that the platform espouses. Creators may not like it, but that is the defacto point of view.

And don't get me wrong, I have almost pulled the trigger on this thing more than once. It sounds and looks awesome. But personally, I don't really need a megadungeon. I need to toss money down the drain even less. But having said that, I'll probably pay for retail for it, if/when it is available, because I do in fact, want to support independant publishers of OSR/old-school D&D-esque material. You'd be stunned at the extent of my dtrpg library, of which only a comparatively small portion is comprised of companies like WotC.

Are you familiar with G. Hawkins, who did the Gunderholfen mega-dungeon without any crowdfunding? Writing, editing, art, layout, everything done by him, without any financial support. I'll never run it, but that is a passionate guy who did it for the art, and somebody I was more than happy to support.

Last edited by francisca (3/31/2022 8:18 am)

rhialto · 3/31/2022 8:28 am

Caveman wrote:
rhialto wrote:
The author just posted a fulsome explanation for "why more $ upfront?", and I appreciate his openness even more now. My x:12 chances of supporting just shifted dramatically.
lol, yeah it not easy to know how much we can trust a total stranger, but he seems sincere.

At least worth giving a chance: there's always a first time for everyone.

rhialto · 3/31/2022 8:36 am

francisca wrote:
And after reading his lecture about what kickstarter is....I can get a condescending lecture on about any topic on the internet for free. Creators on KS can trot the "Kickstarter is not a store..." line out all they want, but the fact of the matter is: people who cough up money for something, expect something for their money. Clearly those who take the money and run, without meeting their production goals, are unlikely to get funded for their artistic endeavors in the future. However, to a large portion of those who pledge, KS is a pre-order network, despite the pie-in-the-sky ideal of supporting art, that the platform espouses. Creators may not like it, but that is the defacto point of view.

I didn't take it as condescending, just fully explanatory, since this is his first time running something on KS. I think KS has been around long enough that caveat emptor is well-known, but maybe not. Having never been burned on KS yet there's always a first time for that, too...

francisca wrote:
And don't get me wrong, I have almost pulled the trigger on this thing more than once. It sounds and looks awesome. But personally, I don't really need a megadungeon. I need to toss money down the drain even less. But having said that, I'll probably pay for retail for it, if/when it is available, because I do in fact, want to support independant publishers of OSR/old-school D&D-esque material. You'd be stunned at the extent of my dtrpg library, of which only a comparatively small portion is comprised of companies like WotC.

I think we're in the same boat here, maybe even pulling at the same oar.

francisca wrote:
Are you familiar with G. Hawkins, who did the Gunderholfen mega-dungeon without any crowdfunding? Writing, editing, art, layout, everything done by him, without any financial support. I'll never run it, but that is a passionate guy who did it for the art, and somebody I was more than happy to support.

Not until now, so off to take a look: thanks!

francisca · 3/31/2022 9:02 am

rhialto wrote:
I think we're in the same boat here, maybe even pulling at the same oar.

Pull, Brother! Pull!

rhialto · 3/31/2022 9:39 am

francisca wrote:
rhialto wrote:
I think we're in the same boat here, maybe even pulling at the same oar.

Pull, Brother! Pull!

'Til I have no more strength!

Caveman · 4/01/2022 7:38 am

francisca wrote:
As did Mike Nystul, Ernie and Benoist, etc... and I actually knew the latter two (which is why I didn't pledge, actually.....)

Well, I not know who they are, did they betray?

francisca wrote:
And don't get me wrong, I have almost pulled the trigger on this thing more than once. It sounds and looks awesome. But personally, I don't really need a megadungeon. I need to toss money down the drain even less. But having said that, I'll probably pay for retail for it, if/when it is available, because I do in fact, want to support independant publishers of OSR/old-school D&D-esque material. You'd be stunned at the extent of my dtrpg library, of which only a comparatively small portion is comprised of companies like WotC.

Are you familiar with G. Hawkins, who did the Gunderholfen mega-dungeon without any crowdfunding? Writing, editing, art, layout, everything done by him, without any financial support. I'll never run it, but that is a passionate guy who did it for the art, and somebody I was more than happy to support.

Yeah, I not truly need a mega-dungeon, mostly I just do it to support those keeping the cause going and read the adventure.

Gunderholfen mega-dungeon: Will have a look, not know of it, but looking at it now, certainly worth a buy..., well I just bought the PDF...

As you probably know, it just the modern world. People do KS to support their work, it just the 21st Century.

Greyraven · 8/31/2022 3:28 pm

That looks very awesome...
I tend to be overly cautious about such things though

francisca · 1/12/2023 12:33 pm

What ever happened with this? Did it get delivered? They were commited to delviery by the end of the year, whether the kickstarter funded it or not. Is the product available for purchase?

Last edited by francisca (1/12/2023 2:13 pm)

Blackadder23 · 1/12/2023 4:28 pm

Reading the Kickstarter updates, it looks like the OGL @#&! is being used as a... reason for delayed delivery.

lykathea · 1/12/2023 7:16 pm

Don't think it was committed to be end of 2022 -- was originally July 2023, and was subsequently pushed back to August/September of 2023 as the scope grew. Believe this was adjusted before the campaign ended, even.

Caveman · 1/13/2023 6:37 am

Well, yes like any using the OGL content he is experiencing problems, but whether that slows the process of making the mega-dungeon, he has not official stated it as he technically does not know himself?

He states he seen 3 attorneys/lawyers and is awaiting I guess some kind of response.

Gods of the Forbidden North by Pulp Hummock Press » OGL Bonanza — Kickstarter

Truth is, this is a leaked paper and has WotC replied and condemned it and retracted it as an unworthy document or were they going to accept it, but with such a hostile reaction to the paper. They should, I think of retract it before it does any more damage to their business but its a mental struggle because...

This can also profit smaller companies who will start taking WotC business... So, I should watch from an impartial distance and let the forces of nature rip each other to pieces and so long as I not stuck in the middle, getting smeared like a bug on a windscreen? :/

Back to GotN, I happy with this man's efforts, he sends an e-mail each months with a progress report and I am content in my soul of his progress. So, I good? Hope others are also?

Jimm.Iblis · 1/15/2023 5:11 pm

I laid into the dude hard over charging more for a print tier when the backer was responsible for printing cost. But I changed my satisfaction rating from a to a when he posted this:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pulphummock/gods-of-the-forbidden-north/posts/3708262
It's pretty clear at this point Whatsee can't do takebacksies on OGL1a due to Section 9, despite their impotent bluster.

francisca · 1/22/2023 4:53 pm

lykathea wrote:
Don't think it was committed to be end of 2022 -- was originally July 2023, and was subsequently pushed back to August/September of 2023 as the scope grew. Believe this was adjusted before the campaign ended, even.

This is a direct quote from the kickstarter's home page (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pulphummock/gods-of-the-forbidden-north), right below the picture of the two-headed dragon:
"It should be said here and now, that even if this Kickstarter should fail, Pulp Hummock Press intends to move forward with this project’s scheduled release by the end of this year. "

At least they realized the amount of actual work they still had to do, which is why I didn't back it.

Last edited by francisca (1/22/2023 4:54 pm)