Dice Boxes and More Update!
about 8 years ago – Fri, Mar 04, 2016 at 09:03:47 PM

Hello, our Pugmire pack!

RichT here, with three news items we'd like to tell you about, in no particular order:

We Will Be Using Backerkit For Fulfilling This Pugmire Kickstarter.

I just signed up with Backerkit as the company that we will be using after this Kickstarter is over to enable us to handle getting all of you your Rewards and Add-ons, and everything. They have worked on about a thousand different Kickstarters, including some with our friend Stewart Wieck like for the Scarred Lands Kickstarter, as well as a bunch of other creators I talked to, and they are all thrilled with Backerkit.

So I believe they will make the whole survey and add-on and Reward process a lot easier for you as well as us, if only because they have automated address confirmation reminders they send out before we start shipping. You will also be able to add-on more add-ons using their payment system, so if you are a little short this month, you can still get those add-on dice you want using Backerkit.

I'm Adding a Reward Tier That Includes the Five Carved Wooden Dice Boxes!

Right after I send out this Update, I'm adding a Reward Tier for the Pugmire dice box prototypes. These are one of a kind examples of what the Dog Works dice box makers can do and not a standard "production run" so each box is unique.

Let's Just Say It Now: MEOW!

In an overwhelming show of support for the kitty cats, the poll for the next Stretch Goal has sat at about 85% for the Monarchies of Mau Early Access pdf from pretty much the beginning of the poll. We are 475 votes in and MoM has 394 of them.

So let's not drag it out and let's get to it.

At $200,000 of pledges, we will create a Monarchies of Mau Early Access pdf, and backers who pledged for a Reward Tier containing a PDF of Pugmire will receive the Monarchies of Mau Early Access PDF before we allow access by the general public.

We know there's a lot of interest in Monarchies, but please bear in mind that we won't be delivering anything for it until Pugmire itself is finished (or at least close to finished).

We are heading into the last 48 hours when things really get crazy- so now is the time to tell your friends, family, neighbor's dogs, anybody whom you think would get a kick out of Pugmire!

Awhooooo!

Excerpt: The Code of Man
about 8 years ago – Thu, Mar 03, 2016 at 08:47:29 PM

Hi, Rose here. ^_^ We're in the final four days of this campaign, when we tend to see a lot of new people check the game out. So I'd like to shine a light on one of Pugmire's most distinctive elements -- and one of the first things about the world that won me over.

---

Eddy:

At the core of the Church of Man (and thus, the beliefs of many of the dogs of Pugmire) is the Code of Man. It’s seven simple tenets that can fit on the back of a playing card, but the permutations are much deeper. In this excerpt from Pugmire Early Access, I talk a lot about the Code of Man and what it means.  

The Code of Man  

The kingdom of Pugmire created the Church of Man to help other dogs, to learn more about the Old Ones, and to follow the ideology Man laid down for dogs… according to the dogs themselves. It’s a code which they follow, compiled from what they’ve learned and what they feel is right. The shepherds of the Church know the discovered works of the Old Ones, and are well-versed in the nuances, interpretations, and expansions of the teachings. However, not every Dog has the patience or capability of knowing so much about what came before. As such, the Church has boiled down most of the tenets into a simple code.  

The Code of Man is what all the good dogs of Pugmire are expected to follow. Those dogs that do not follow the Code of Man are bad dogs, at least in the eyes of some. Some bad dogs (and even some good dogs that don’t agree with some interpretations of the tenets) decide to leave Pugmire, or are forced out. These are the strays, dogs that have cast off the leash of civilization and strive to be good dogs outside of anyone else’s code.  

Different nations have different ideologies. The cats of the Monarchies of Mau, for example, also believe in the Old Ones, but look on them as a race of treasured servants that left without telling their masters where everything was. They value them and their teachings, but more as a collection of good suggestions rather than religious laws. They certainly wouldn’t create a code based on that.  

But the dogs have, and it serves many of them well. Not all of the tenets are given the same weight, nor are they all interpreted the same way, but they have lasted the test of time.  

Be a good dog  

The core tenet, and the one most debated philosophically. It’s clear to scholars that this was really important to the Old Ones, but what actually comprises the behavior of a “good dog” is a subject of intense debate. It’s also the tenet that many within the Church of Man go back to — any infraction of the other tenets is an indication that you may not be a good dog.  

Obey the master  

Dogs should obey those that are in charge. This hierarchical structure is what allowed the dogs to build a kingdom, and it has resulted in their quasi-feudal government. Some dogs, however, feel that they are their own best “master,” or that only Man has the right to be called “master.”  

Bite only those who endanger you  

“Bite” isn’t necessarily literal here — it means inflicting harm (and sometimes dogs will use it colloquially, such as “don’t bite my tail” to mean “don’t mess with me”). But one of the agreed-upon tenets of being a good dog is that you only bite when you are endangered. Of course, what constitutes “danger” is also debated.  

Protect your home  

Although “home” can be broadly defined, this is probably one of the least controversial tenets — most every dog can agree that guarding and protecting your home, your family, and those around you is a good thing. If you can justify protecting your home, you can probably get away with “biting.”  

Be loyal to those that are true  

Dogs were valued by the Old Ones for their loyalty, and that should extend to other dogs (and indeed, to anyone else). But what is disloyalty? If you betray a friend to save your city or your family, are you still true? Are you really a good dog?  

Protect all from the Unseen  

Long ago, dogs have tried to warn Man about dangerous things (ghosts, demons, spirits, the possessed, people of ill intent, or even just bad things about to happen). They barked fierce cries of warning whenever unseen danger was near, but unfortunately the Old Ones never listened. Over time, some dogs lost their ability to sense such things, but they still feel it is their duty to protect all people from hidden danger.  

Fetch what has been left behind  

Dogs also seek to retrieve the relics still undiscovered in the world, and bring them back. The Church of Man helps to identify, authenticate, and occasionally activate these relics, but any family that can claim ownership of an important or powerful relic can be elevated to nobility. The Church teaches that fetching such items brings dogs closer to the Old Ones, but some strays (and even a few other dog kingdoms) feel that such pursuits are mercenary and smell more of cat logic than of something a dog should be doing.

Ear Play Interactive Pugmire Audio Drama Unlocked!
about 8 years ago – Thu, Mar 03, 2016 at 06:19:27 PM

Hello Good Dogs!

RichT here:

STRETCH GOAL STATUS

We've passed the $170,000 Stretch Goal and thanks to you all, Eddy Webb will be able to work with the gang at Ear Play to create a Pugmire Interactive Audio Drama.

The write up:

At $170,000 of contributions, Eddy will work with Dave Grossman (Secret of Monkey Island, The Wolf Among Us) and their colleagues at Earplay to make several episodes of an interactive Pugmire audio drama that you can play on your mobile device! All backers who pledge for a reward tier that includes a Pugmire PDF will get ad-free access to this volume at release.

For a project like this, a world like this, we really are hoping that the tabletop RPG is the central hub for a variety of ways that people can fall in love with Pugmire, and passing this Stretch Goal means that you have helped us introduce Pugmire to a lot of people who might not be aware of RPGs.

But now they might hear the audio drama and want to know more.

Next Stretch Goal:

At $185,000 of contributions, we will create Pan's Guide for New Explorers, an in-character guide that walks new players through learning how to play Pugmire. The gruff but experienced Pan Dachshund is just the pioneer to get everyone back safely. We'll send a PDF of this to all backers who pledged for a reward tier including a PDF of the Pugmire core book.

In fact, this coming Stretch Goal will also be really great to have ready for the very people I'm talking about who need a bit of a guide to get started playing. Plus any new players you might have who are excited for Pugmire right now!

The next, next Stretch Goal:

We expect to see the pledging accelerate between now and next week's grand finale, so we're putting up another poll to see which Stretch Goal we should do next. The choices are:

• A Translation Guide to play Pugmire using Onyx Path's 10-sided dice pool StoryPath System.
• A Translation Guide to play Pugmire using Evil Hat's FATE system.
• The Monarchies of Mau Early Access PDF that provides the basic rules for playing Cats in the world of Pugmire.

Please go here to vote: http://theonyxpath.com/pugmire-poll/

That Adorable Plush Doll

Thanks to all of you who responded to the Plush Doll Poll from a week or so ago. Based on your responses and talking with the manufacturer, we're going to hold off on making the dolls for right now. They need a minimum of 3,000 dolls of any one design per order from us, and Eddy and I feel that Pugmire has not yet achieved the kind of public awareness where we can expect to sell through that many dolls.

Your help with this now was invaluable and a win for everybody. Sinking money into this now might mean we couldn't use that financing on other Pugmire projects (and might mean huge boxes filled with unsold dolls at Eddy and my houses. "Sorry kids, we have to eat dolls again for dinner because Daddy spent all his money on them").

We will revisit the idea later, because that prototype plush Yosha was just so darn cute!

Pugmire Dice Boxes!

But we do have another fun project that was brought up to us by the great gang at Dog Might Games. They have a Kickstarter running right now for their Dragon Sheath wooden dice boxes and have sent me five prototype boxes with the Pugmire logo and symbol on them:

Right now, I'm waiting for delivery of these beautiful dice cases and once I have them in hand I'll add a Reward Tier that features the Pugmire book, some Pugmire dice, and one of these hard carved boxes limited to five backers.

We haven't yet decided whether Dog Work and Onyx Path/Pugsteady will produce these as official Pugmire products, so these prototypes are not only unique designs that may not be replicated, but they might be the the only ones ever made. You can check out what they can do with other designs, woods, and stains here at their Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dogmight/the-dragon-sheath

OK! Lots of stuff happening! Thanks for being a part of all of this!

Some Fun Extra Pugmire Treats
about 8 years ago – Thu, Mar 03, 2016 at 01:14:51 PM

Hello Pugmire folks!

RichT here:

Rose will be along in a day or so with some links and pics to the Pugmire art and photo contest submissions; we're loving them so far, so keep your doggy creations coming!

We got some badges!

Today, we have a few things that we wanted to let you in on. First, our art director, Mirthful Mike Chaney, has created an array of Pugmire Social Media Assets. These are three of the many we have:

You can take your pick of Twitter badges, Facebook banners, and the classic KS Backer badge by following this link:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/f4uwj1yn9kps0i7/AABslOd3CWwnSCAiGRM2-_34a?dl=0

And this zip file if you just gotta have them all!:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5884bo2199hcwiy/Pugmire%20Social%20Media%20Assets.zip?dl=0

We hope you'll all have fun plastering these across anywhere you're talking about what interests you, and Pugmire in particular!

Here is something else we are working on!

While Eddy and the rest of our Onyx Path crew have been working on the world of Pugmire, the book, and this Kickstarter, we also have a few other Pugmire related projects that we are testing the waters on.

One of those, that has been being worked on far from our home offices simultaneously to this Kickstarter, has been the idea of creating Pugmire plush dolls. Here is the prototype for a Princess Yosha dolI I just got pics of today:

Now this sort of thing is totally new for us, so we're not even sure if our Pugmire community would be into something like this, so we'd like to hear what you think about Pugmire plush dolls. Go ahead and let us know in the comments.

Also, please take the time to go to this poll and let us know if this is something you'd be into ordering when, and if, we went ahead and had Yosha and maybe a couple of our other characters like Sgt. Leo or Pan made into a line of plush dolls.

http://theonyxpath.com/pugmire-poll/

Final, extra fun treat.

Because you have all been super friendly and excited about Pugmire, and especially because you've clearly been spreading the word about this Kickstarter, we all got together at Onyx Path central and have decided to give all of our Pugmire Kickstarter backers a special discount for the physical book version (Print on Demand) of the Pugmire Early Access softcover.

So, as backers, you can get both the free PDF version of Pugmire Early Access via the link in Update #1, as well as you can choose to order the physical copy PoD at a discount now before the general public can order them at full prices on Wednesday.

The links to both a softcover standard full color edition and a softcover premium full color edition (which has thicker paper and everything looks crisper and with better color) are in the next "For Backers Only" Update that I'll send out right after this.

Just a little treat from us to you by way of saying thanks.

So, um, thanks!

Fan Art/Photo Contest Update
about 8 years ago – Thu, Mar 03, 2016 at 09:42:26 AM

Hello our Pugmire Pack!

RichT here, filling in for Rose who re-injured her shoulder and can't type easily but is doing much better now, thanks:

We wanted to show off a few of the pieces we've received of backer art and photos and even a little design work. These aren't all of the entries that have been posted, and if I missed yours or mis-credited anybody please just bear in mind that I'm the fill-in guy and don't know nothin'.

Here's a reclining warrior if ever we saw one, Ema Shihtzu:

And this nicely done illustration of what I believe is a pack of player characters by @owldrood:

 A photo of an armored "Sgt" Sealie cavorting with Fiona Prissybottom Underfoot:

And here are a bunch of designs from little Meredith who says she can't draw dogs but wanted to contribute some t-shirt designs:

The kid does some good stuff. She has offered us these designs for T-shirts on our RedBubble store, so let us know if they seem like the sort of thing you'd want to see us offer.

So if you have art or photos that relate to Pugmire, it's not too late to put them up and let's win this contest!

In fact, and just as a general note for backers not familiar with the Kickstarter pattern, we are now about to enter the second big pledging phase that has occurred with every single one of our KSs. So be ready for more Stretch Goals and other cool announcements.

To that point, I'll be doing another Update tomorrow or the next day about some added Reward Tiers. And then hopefully, Rose will be on the mend and able to get back to talking with you!

Thanks!