Happy New Year from the Steinhardt's Team!
11 months ago – Thu, Jan 11, 2024 at 08:25:49 AM

Hello good hunter,

As we step into 2024, I hope the holiday season was good to you.

Now, let's dive into the latest update for Steinhardt’s Guide to the Eldritch Hunt

Book and GM Screen Enhancements

During the holidays, we received the final samples of our products, and I'm happy to say that they are perfect. 

The new version of the book looks fantastic, with the corrected colours truly bringing it to life, the darker colours now look incredible. 

This improvement is particularly noticeable on the GM screen, which was previously too dark, and now looks perfect.

The Cloth Map

However, we encountered a challenge with the cloth map. 

Despite numerous attempts, the sepia version consistently resembled burnt paper—and not in a cool way. 

To address this, we've requested a revision, opting for the regular map design without the cloud and fog effects. I’m waiting for that particular sample to arrive.

Digital Content Update

In case you missed it, all our digital content is now live and accessible since the beginning of the December. 

Your feedback on the VTTs is invaluable, and we’ve actively worked on resolving the minor issues identified for each platform.

Also, we encountered some hiccups with the Digital Bundle, but I'm happy to report that these have been resolved.

Logistics and Shipping Preparation

Our shipping logistics are lined up and ready to roll. We're currently awaiting the arrival of the revised map sample. 

Additionally, we're ensuring that the packaging boxes meet our  expectations. This is the final step before we can start mass production and subsequent shipping.

TL;DR:

We're about to begin mass production and, following that, the shipping process. It's an exciting time, and we're almost at the finish line. 

Your support and patience have been incredible throughout this journey, and we're eager to get the final product into your hands.

Thank you for being a part of this adventure, and stay tuned for more updates as we progress!

Take Care!
Evan | MonkeyDM

Steinhardt's Guide - The Samples are Here!
about 1 year ago – Mon, Nov 06, 2023 at 10:05:01 AM

Hello good hunter,

Let me update you on the progress of Steinhardt's Guide to the Eldritch Hunt!

Physical rewards.

On Friday I received initial samples of the book, deluxe book, art book, and the new dice sets. The results are epic!

Dice wise, the galaxy dice in particular went from a murky brown to a rich, vibrant galactic gold.

The books feel extremely sturdy and durable, which is essential for a nearly 500 page tome, and the binding holds up just fine.

The deluxe cover looks incredible in its black and gold motif too.

I've done some "stress testing" by tossing the books around, and they hold up great. (Don’t judge me, they are samples, meant to be tested haha)

The artbook is also awesome:

Despite looking fantastic overall, a few printing flaws did pop up on the main book:

The purples are overly saturated, causing some imagery to differ from the digital versions. And the dark aesthetic combined with the print process lost some background textures. I also noticed the red bookmark ribbon frays too easily, and some blends and positioning were off.

Not to worry! Over the weekend I made tweaks to the digital files to compensate for the printing quirks, and informed the manufacturer.

Now I'm test printing revised pages to dial in the look. 

Once we nail it, mass production and shipping can begin!

The rest of the deluxe rewards are on their way. I'll circle back once they arrive and I can confirm their quality.

Thanks for your patience—we're committed to delivering only the highest caliber final product!

Rest of the Content:

- GM Cheatbook: Completed, only waiting for the proofreading, in the meantime a test print has started.

- Digital Asset Bundle: Once the GM cheatbook is formatted properly, I'll complete the bundle and upload it.

- Trick Weapon Worshop: Unfortunately, I haven't gotten around to writing it up, as I have been caught up in the rest of the production.

- More Steinhardt's Adventures: The First Two Adventures are written, and ready to roar, I do need to format and distribute them, I'll let you know how with the next update.

- Tamer Subclass: The tamer subclass is done, I just need to format it.

News on the virtual tabletop front:

- Roll20: It will launch at its deadline on schedule for 11/22, or perhaps a bit earlier, with some luck. This is the timing written on the contract, and I didn't manage to rush them more than that.

- Foundry VTT: The team has been hard at work updating the module, so be sure you have the latest version installed for the best experience.

- Fantasy Grounds: the approval process is nearly complete and we are waiting on the approval of Smiteworks to release it (about 2 weeks or less).

Take Care!

Evan | MonkeyDM

Steinhardt's Guide to the Eldritch Hunt
about 1 year ago – Thu, Sep 28, 2023 at 09:52:12 AM

Hello good hunter,

We've been busy, and I'm excited to share some updates about where we are with Steinhardt's Guide to the Eldritch Hunt.

FoundryVTT Module:

The FoundryVTT module for Steinhardt has finally seen the light of day! I've dispatched all the keys on Sunday.

Apologies for the late update on this front—launching had us scurrying with a few unanticipated bugs. We quite literally jumped from v1.02 to v1.06 within four days.

And guess what? v1.07 is scheduled for tomorrow, with even more patches.

Turns out 4 people playtesting the module, and thousands of people playtesting the module is a different kind of beast.

Should you stumble upon any bugs, our Foundry conversion team is active on Discord (https://discord.gg/nMxgTBEP)

If you experience any bugs, let them know there.

We're also sneaking in an FAQ section in the module to clear any confusion arising from what are Foundry's limitations, and not the Steinhardt’s module. It will also answer common questions (I assume you guessed that from name 'FAQ' haha).

Roll20:

This is the last message I got from the roll20 team:

So they are making progress, but it is taking time.

At least the Jaeger will be fully functional on Roll20, and that’s great news!

 Fantasy Grounds:
 

Good progress on that front, only Monsters and Adventures left to convert.

The Books:

Steinhardt's Guide to the Eldritch Hunt

Polished, refined, and now final!

You can snag your copy directly from Backerkit.

We corrected the mistakes, and hopefully the book should be squeaky clean now.

If you find any typos, let us know on Discord! (Normally you shouldn’t, but just in case).

EDIT: Forgot to make the page XX into actual page numbers, will fix that in the coming 48 hours.

The Artbook

The final version has been uploaded on Backerkit.

The GM Cheatbook

Let me be honest—it's being a tad stubborn.

I'm striving for that sweet spot where it proves invaluable to both new and seasoned GMs.

I've revised the draft three times already to ensure clarity and utility, so thank you for bearing with me.

I want to make it great, and that takes time.

      If you want a sneak peek of what's inside, you can find the rules for horde combat for free on my Patreon here (https://www.patreon.com/posts/running-horde-in-89878241).

Physical Goods

About that elusive package at the border—it was returned...

A fresh order has been placed, and the moment it reaches my hands, you'll be the first to see the photos.

I was excitingly waiting for this, this was what the update was supposed to be all about, it's disheartening that there was a hiccup.

But, silver lining, I now have a personal customs agent assigned to my shipments, ensuring smoother future deliveries of samples.

The digital goods look great, and I've invested quite a bit of cash in ensuring the physical counterparts are as epic.

Can’t wait to show you!

Digital Content

All your digital content (apart from the GM Cheatbook) awaits you on Backerkit.

We did have a minor glitch where the VTT bundle-only backers missed out on their items—sorry about that.

This has been rectified, although a new quirk has appeared where they seem to have multiple copies.

Bear with me; I'm diving to fix this.

But better too have too many than not enough of them, so progress.

 Bonus: Steinhardt's Setting Adventure 

I mentioned a couple of updates ago the idea of making an adventure in the setting of Steinhardt’s.

I’m happy to say that we finished the first draft for an adventure that will take players from level 1 to 5.

The first part (level 1-2) will soon be ready and offers about 8 hours of gameplay.

As you play, you'll interact with various city factions, choosing to join or oppose them.

I'm waiting for the corrections and the artwork for this segment, once that’s done, I'll let you know how you can access it.

Once again, thank you for your unwavering support and patience.

Take Care!
Evan | MonkeyDM

Steinhardt's Summer Update
about 1 year ago – Sat, Sep 09, 2023 at 06:46:15 AM

Hello good hunter,

I hope you’ve had a great summer!

I wanted to touch base with you and share some important updates about our progress and what you can look forward to in the near future.

Big Update Coming Soon

Firstly, we have a significant update coming your way in two weeks. 

Next up,

VTTs

FoundryVTT 

The module should be done for that next update in 2 weeks.

I already received the beta version, it’s great! Only a few automations remain to be completed.

The team working on it said they expect to be done in a week, but I’d rather say two just in case. I do need to set up the distributions keys after all, and that might take a couple of days.

Fantasy Grounds

The team handling the Fantasy Grounds conversion told me that most of it is completed.

To quote: (in response to asking when they would ship it)

“Tough question, I'm on track to finish the module by October, possibly earlier. However I had Helianas finished in July and we're only getting to release it now, because of how SW runs things. I'm hoping to get through the whole approval process quicker now that I know what they are looking for but I can't pinpoint the day for you, since it's largely out of my hands once I give the stuff to SW.”

So the conversion will take a bit longer than Foundry, but that was to be expected, especially considering SmiteWorks intense guidelines for images, which will require me to reformat the hundreds of pieces of art contained in the book. Yay.

Roll20

To quote the team for roll20:

  “It would be cool to complete and launch in October for spooky season, but right now, it might be too early to tell. There's still the potential for a bunch of unknowns to pop up, so probably November”

I'm having a meeting with them in a few days, and will hopefully come back with more specific info in the next update.

Rest of the content

The rest of the content is done.

The art prints/Cards/Field Notes/Map/Gm Cheatbook and corrected PDF of the main book.

I’ll be uploading the digital versions to your Backerkit account within those 2 weeks.

The GM Cheatbook

This bad boy took longer to write than I anticipated.  

I didn’t want it to be just a simple summary of how to run a Steinhardt’s Campaign. 

I wanted it to be a true assistant for GMs.

So I included in it just about everything I thought might be able to help you.

This means that in it I added:

Combat mechanics:

• How to run Horde Encounters: For those nights of the Blood Moon when your players will have to face hundreds of enemies (yes, you read that right).
• Guidelines to make the game truly difficult, without it being unfair (variants on rest, exhaustion, etc…)
• Currency system, to help with worldbuilding and creating shops.
• Tools I use to make combat less slow and more exciting.

Storytelling Tools:

• Guidelines to Help you run Gothic Horror in 5e
• Guidelines to Help you run Cosmic Horror in 5e
• How to transition in between the two styles and merge them.
• Sample descriptions that you can use to set the tone for either.
• How to run great villains + sample villains
• How to prepare for sessions quickly + sample campaign hooks
• Sample NPCs.
• Elevating games through collaborative story telling and more

and more!

Same as the rest, you should see it in your Backerkit within 2 weeks, max 3 if the proof-reading takes a bit longer than anticipated.

Physical Content

As you know we were awaiting the arrival of our physical samples. The previous one were redone because they were not with the quality of paper nor binding that we wanted.

Since it's a massive book we asked for more solid options (so you can deal some real bludgeoning damage with it.)

Currently, the new ones that were sent are held up at the border, and we've faced challenges in expediting their release due to the summer break affecting staffing levels at the border agency.

Rest assured, we're doing everything we can to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.

TL;DR: Less people are working at the border in summer, which makes it near impossible to get a hold of someone on the phone to actually get the new packages through.

Team Update

On our end, our team also took some well-deserved time off for the summer break. Which is why there was no updates for a couple of weeks.

We're pleased to report that everyone is back in the office, refreshed and fully committed to driving this project to its next milestones.

Thank you for your patience and commitment. As we said earlier (and it's worth repeating), please stay tuned for a substantial update coming in two weeks.

Take Care!

Evan | MonkeyDM

P.S: The GM Screen is done and looks great!

Exciting Content Update & Your Chance to Shape The GM Screen!
over 1 year ago – Thu, Jul 27, 2023 at 05:39:05 AM

Hello good hunter,

I come to you with some good news!

New Content

I’ve made some updates to Steinhardt’s Guide to the Eldritch Hunt, and I'm excited to share them with you. Head over to Backerkit and you’ll find:

• The latest version of the PDF of the book (As far as I’m concerned it is the final update for content and balance.)
• The latest version of the bonus Player Options PDF
• 50+ Top Down Tokens of monsters (everyone gets those as part of the campaign reward goal, I’m super happy with how they turned out!)
• Eldritch Moons Cards Deck (Updated)
• Trick Weapons Cards Deck

The main content changes that may interest you, regarding the main book, are: 

Rebalance to Jaeger’s Finishers (now more reliable for focus points)

Addition of the Holy Tonic as an item, not only for the Remedy Adventure (it is very unique, so I invite you to read carefully, as it changes according to your interpretation of the lore).

I Need Your Input

Here's where you come in—I’m working on crafting the best GM screen possible and I need your help. I’m unsure about the elements that should be included behind it.

Could you fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/GLRGXsHf3VhLzvMq9 and let me know what you’d like to see? Your feedback will be a big help.

Seeking Sharp Eyes

Now, I'm not perfect and may have missed a few typos. If you notice any in the book, please head to our discord server: https://discord.gg/monkeydm, locate the Steinhardt-typos channel, and let me know which page you found them on. I appreciate your keen eye!

Looking Ahead

I'm also putting the final touches on the Artbook and the GM cheat book, both of which will be ready within 2 weeks in PDF format. 

 The VTT content is also progressing smoothly, so keep your eyes peeled!

Physical Content Update

After some rounds with Romanian Customs, I’ve managed to secure some of the physical content. The quality is fantastic, and I can't wait for you to see it!

Another shipment, which includes the book, is due next week. I'll keep you updated on this and other developments. But for now, we seem to be on track with the timelines I mentioned in the pinned Kickstarter update.

I can't wait to hear your feedback and see how we can shape Steinhardt's together!

Take Care,

Evan | MonkeyDM

P.S: I'm also trying set up a team of industry experts to write an adventure using the guide. Something from level 1 through 5, or perhaps more depending on how well it does. Only digital. 

Would that be something that you'd like to have?