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Threadbare RPG

Created by Stephanie Bryant

"Plushie or plastic, mate?" In Threadbare RPG, you play a jury-rigged toy in a broken, stitched-together world.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

New Proofs - Last Chance for Addresses!
over 6 years ago – Mon, Jul 31, 2017 at 08:49:47 PM

New Proofs!

The new proofs arrived! 

Proofs, round two!
Proofs, round two!

Unfortunately, we still have a trim issue with the hardcover books, but the softcover color ones look great!

Hardcover trim issues (return of the)
Hardcover trim issues (return of the)

Again, this will require another round with DriveThruRPG to fix.

Finalize Your Address!

In a few short minutes, you will get a reminder to finalize your address. Color softcover backers have 2 days to do so, and then (assuming a close look at the proofs doesn't reveal any glaring problems) I'm placing the order at DriveThruRPG to send you your books!

Hardcovers are delayed until I get a fix for this trim issue. And the black and white proof will arrive tomorrow, which hopefully won't have any problems, either. 

I won't be locking down your address until I'm ready to place the order, but please make sure your address is current so when we're ready to go, we're ready!

Podcast Shoutout

We got a nice shoutout on the Eclectic Gamers podcast, episode 40. This is mostly a video game podcast, but they give a shoutout for Threadbare at about 1h19, anticipating the ship date. Thanks for the mention, guys!

Proofs!
over 6 years ago – Mon, Jul 24, 2017 at 04:10:15 PM

Proofs Arrived

The proofs arrived 2 weeks ago, and my initial reaction was super happy and overwhelmed!

Proof copies!
Proof copies!

And here is why we spend time looking at them before ordering 550 copies to send out to backers:

Bleed issues
Bleed issues

There were bleed issues with the color books-- that white line at the top of the page shouldn't be there. The color is supposed to go all the way to the edge.

There were also trim issues in the hardcover books:

Hardcover trim issues
Hardcover trim issues

The border on the edge should be a lot wider-- right now, the trim on the outside edge cuts off a lot of that border, including the page numbers.

There were also a few problems with the black and white books-- the artwork is too dark. On the production side, we made a tiny mistake, in that the PDF didn't have page numbers on it (whoops!) You'll notice that the black and white PDF has also been removed from your Digital Downloads folder; to be replaced with the corrected one this week!

These are all fixable issues, and they're why publishers order hard copy proofs before clicking the big "order" button.

Where Are We Now?

I've updated all the files for DrivethruRPG, and should be ready to order a second round of proofs as soon as the files are ready on their side. As part of that process, I'm also looking at upgrading the paper on the black and white copies so the artwork won't be so muddy. If the paper quality isn't much better, I might stick to the less expensive paper on those budget-friendly copies.

If those are clean, I'll place the order for everyone's books. The orders will all go in at the same time-- backers, pre-orders, and GenCon stock. They probably won't all ship at the same time, so it might be a couple of weeks before you get your book.

Addresses: Last Chance

If your address has changed, this is your last chance to update it!

If you have moved recently or are moving next weekend, update Backerkit with your new address.

Please update your address over on Backerkit. It's just a lot easier if everyone uses the same system. If you hate Backerkit, drop me a line and I'll handle yours separately-- but it might take an extra day or so. 

I will also send out a reminder when I order the next set of proofs! That'll give you 48 hours to change or confirm your mailing address before it's locked down and you can't make any further changes.

Can I get my PDFs in DriveThruRPG or Email?

Yes. Right now, I'm focusing on the print fulfillment. When that's done, I'll send out codes for the PDFs via DriveThruRPG.

Around that time, I will also send an email with a link to download the PDFs from Dropbox, for those who don't use DriveThruRPG. The email will be through MailChimp, which is an email list service, and it subscribes you to any future marketing emails I might send after this Kickstarter is complete. Those would be things like: "Hey, we have new Jury Rigger content over on the blog" or "We're putting out a supplement." It won't be stuff like "buy my $2000 seminar on running a Kickstarter campaign." You are completely free to unsubscribe from the email list at any time; my goal is not to spam you, but to give you a place where you can get information about new releases, without me coming over here and pushing more updates long after this project is over.

What About Other Formats?

After print copies ship, and after you've received your PDFs, I'm looking at converting the files for ePUB format to make Threadbare available in other ebook stores such as Kindle and Nook. They might contain little or no artwork, or may simply be like the "print ready" PDF, where there's black and white art, but no border art. In any case, if I manage to overcome the technical challenges, I'll distribute those in your digital downloads folder as well.

What if I Bought An Extra PDF?

If you bought an extra copy in electronic format, when I send out the DriveThruRPG links, you'll get an additional code that you can give to a friend. You are also welcome to share access to the Dropbox link with your friend; they're considered a part of the Threadbare family now, too!

Help! Things Aren't Right!  

Drop me a message here if there's a problem. If you can't update your Backerkit, or you lost your survey link, or you spotted a problem in the backer PDFs (they're in your Digital Downloads on Backerkit), I can probably help fix it, or will look into finding a solution.

You can also contact Backerkit support if there's a problem. They have answers to common questions and can help sort things out for you.

Backerkit is Locked Down! You have PDFs!
over 6 years ago – Thu, Jun 29, 2017 at 10:13:46 PM

Backerkit is locked down, and cards have been charged for add-ons and pre-orders! If your card had an error, you should have received an email-- if not, let me know and we'll try to sort it out.

If you didn't get yours filled out in time, don't worry-- you can still fill in the survey!

I'll lock down addresses when we're ready to go to press-- in about a week.

The PDFs are available in your Backerkit "Digital Downloads" section. I found a fairly sizeable error (not one that affects the rules-- just the ISBN numbers) on them and will be replacing them tomorrow. But for now, you can get your PDFs there!

I'll also be sending the PDFs out via DriveThruRPG and email when all that is set up.

I'M SO EXCITED!

Locking Down Backerkit!
almost 7 years ago – Tue, Jun 20, 2017 at 02:57:32 PM

OK, we have final art and layout is nearly done! I say nearly because we're in the last stage where we fix page numbers and cross references and stuff like that.

I will lock down Backerkit in one week! Next Tuesday, June 27, 2017, Backerkit will close! If you added anything on (or if you're a pre-order customer looking at this update), your card will be charged.

I'll be reaching out to anyone who backed and didn't provide shipping/survey information yet.

If you filled out the survey on Kickstarter but not Backerkit, I will use the address you provided on Kickstarter to send you your rewards.

So, that's it, folks! One week to finalize your information on Backerkit!

Layout Nearly Complete, Creator Content Program and more
almost 7 years ago – Wed, Jun 07, 2017 at 10:35:05 PM

Layout is Nearly Complete

We're doing a couple of art tweaks before going to press, plus some typos and tightening up the layout. The plan is to send PDFs to backers as soon as they're in a state I'm happy with, and then to DriveThruRPG in about 2 weeks (June 20). There are a couple of unknown factors that could affect that date-- the last minute art changes aren't in yet, and there was some miscommunication here on the backend which we're clearing up. But 2 weeks is a conservative estimate for going to press-- I don't think it'll really be that long.

The ISBN has been set up, and I've generated the barcode that goes on the back of the hardcover and softcover books. I know that seems like a minor thing, but setting those up gets Threadbare into "the database" and makes it more available to vendors.

Although I'm fulfilling through DriveThruRPG, I'm also planning to make the book available on Amazon, Lulu, Nook, and Google Books after that initial shipment. If you have a favorite ebook platform or store, let me know in comments and I'll add it to the list.

Join the Jury-Riggers Team!

Got a great idea for Threadbare? Awesome!

One of the stretch goals we didn't quite reach for Threadbare was some kind of open license option. Although we didn't hit that funding goal, I did want to make it possible for players to create their own content and put it somewhere centralized where everyone can find it.

Enter the Jury-Riggers Team! With the Jury-Riggers, you can create content and post it on the Threadbare RPG website. If I later put together a compilation of content (a "Jury Rig Digest"), you'll get a $20 fee for each one of your articles included in the compilation. You continue to own your content, and after it's been posted for 7 days, you can repost it elsewhere, or even package it up for sale on your own.

Please Fill Out Your Backerkit Survey!

We're down to the wire-- I'll be locking down Backerkit in the next 2 weeks! So, please fill out your Survey today! It looks like there are about 34 of you who haven't responded-- please do so! If you're a "No reward" backer and don't plan to upgrade, you can respond with the "tip jar."

Games on Demand at Conventions

One of the cool recent trends in conventions, especially larger ones, is "Games on Demand," a more "pick up and play" format where you drop in to get into a game without going through a lengthy pre-registration process. There are Games on Demand events at Origins and GenCon, as well as many other game conventions, both large and small.

If you love running games (and especially if you want to run Threadbare!), check out the newsletter signup from Games on Demand, where you'll get all the "call for GM" notices and such.