Free Christmas One Shot Available Now!
almost 4 years ago
– Thu, Dec 24, 2020 at 04:52:53 PM
Happy Holidays!
Download Instructions Below Image
I'll keep this short and simple :)
1.Visit my website using the link below and add Assault on Krampusnacht to your cart.
Assault On Krampusnacht | SessionZeroGames
2. Check your cart and click on the button at the bottom left that says "Enter a promo code" which will open up a box.
3. Type "XMAS" into the coupon box and hit the "Apply" button to see your full 100% discount applied to your PDF file!
Please spread the word so that anybody you know can grab a copy for their own games!
More Info About The Adventure
We've built what we think is a zany, funny and FUN adventure that you can sit down and run with 4-6 friends in about 3 hours. You can bring your own characters but keep in mind that this adventure is balanced for Level 6 characters. A smart and careful party of level 5 adventurers can survive with intelligent planning while level 7 characters will still find plenty of challenges if they try to simple rush through and take everything on at face value :)
In this Christmas one-shot the players will be playing an elite hit squad of elves sent on a secret mission from Santa. The mission is clear, infiltrate Krampus’s evil workshop and put an end to his evil doing in time to save Christmas. This is written as a stand-alone adventure, but it could easily be added into your campaign by having Santa request the help of the existing party or introduce the mission by whatever plot hook you decide.
We're using this as a way to judge interest in this quality of drop in adventure for your games so please leave comments here or share reviews on reddit or other social media sites and help us spread some free Christmas cheer! If you like what we've done then you can look forward to us reaching further into this type of output for your games that would be available through multiple sources including Roll20!
Have a happy holidays and may you enjoy many adventures in the new year! We'll see you on the other side when 2021 has arrived!
Onward!
-Levi
Quick Deck Update!
almost 4 years ago
– Mon, Dec 14, 2020 at 09:27:10 PM
Hello Backers!
I just wanted to post an update to let you know the status of the new decks that are about to release, I know we're not delivering 1 a month to everyone but that's because we're working on batches all at the same time instead of doing the staggered release for individuals like we had planned. It's just making more sense to have someone tackle 3 at a time as far as availability of the writers!
We've got the mechanics all hammered out for the Monk and Paladin, just a few tweaks recently got them set in stone and we're on track to have the Ranger deck mechanics all tweaked by the end of this month.
The story writer has been on a hiatus before getting into the Paladin but she can knock out a TON of good story quickly, since we were working on the mechanics which she needs before writing I told her it was a good idea to focus on knocking out another job she had lined up and when we were totally done she could focus all of her efforts on the story blocks to keep our decks consistent and interwoven narratively :)
Where this leaves us is with you all looking at a probable January release of 3 decks at once (or in a very short time frame) from each other basically as fast as my layout guy can put them together.
I hope that helps!
I guess we're all used to binge watching TV shows now so why not hit that hankering with role playing products as well! Multiple character arcs, interwoven stories between them and a GLUT of magical items that you have yet to see or hear about.
A Christmas (Digital) Gift For Everyone!
We've got a ton of awesome things heading your way digitally in the new year but what about now? Well, how about a free Christmas One-Shot for 5e characters level 5-7 that's working it's way towards you sometime in the next 10 days! Does that put a little fire in your spirit? It's going to be high quality, high octane and require 3-4 hours to play properly. It's a little dark so think more Nightmare Before Christmas and less Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer :) I hope you're ready to take on the evil super duo of The Grinch and Krampus because they're ready for you!
So What Else Have You Been Doing?
Other than scrambling around like a chicken minus head I've been busy with a few things... let me list just a few here so you know I'm not resting on my laurels… or anything else for that matter!
-Delivered over 500 packages this month
-Working with artists and creative folks for taking our well-received new Moji character from Status Effect Gremlin to Company Mascot Gremlin (so many cute full bodies, so little screen space!)
-Building my next project – which I'll be showing off soon – which FEATURES said Full Body Moji's (and more!) in a fun and useful way. It’s a simple project that's easy to fulfill and quick to produce, which are necessary to help move everything else along too!
-Working with a new creative team on my next BIG project which will be much more involved and AWESOME! (It won't be as OVERWHELMING as this one is, 12 decks and a Tome! In comparison it will be a baby haha) I can't wait to show it off later, probably in February/March. It should be useful and fun for people into all forms of role playing and story-telling!
Thank you all for your patience, I'm ready to see these out the door as badly as you are. I also think you're going to simply LOVE the final content :)
An update about that one shot coming soon and then early January for the next update about PDF's and Print & Play Decks,
Onward!
-Levi
Giant Update! New schedules, new projects, PLEASE READ :)
about 4 years ago
– Tue, Oct 06, 2020 at 06:49:47 PM
This is a huge compilation update of a lot of things including where we're at with the project, obstacles and how we're fixing them AND where we're going in a hurry! :)
Writing: Obstacles
As you're all aware, the last deck (the Fighter Deck) took a long time to release. That was due in large part because we were tied up in a legal issue, especially concerning ownership of current and future materials. Thankfully, troubles on that front have been washed away; however, that left us with a litany of other problems that needed to be tackled. The main one, of course, is you all needed more content on a speedier delivery schedule!
Knowing that, I promised during the last update that we'd put out more decks faster going forward and try to deliver digital copies to everyone as soon as possible. Ultimately, we’re pushing towards our ultimate digital goal: providing the finished book compilation before we try to tackle manufacturing. We hired an additional writer to generate content but 2020 has not been a kind mistress when it comes to plans and schedules. That writer ended up leaving the project for personal reasons but that left us more unexpectedly stalled than before.
I know I’ve stressed this before (stress seeming to be the key word here!) but I've been the only person running my company and making major decisions; some of those decisions are having to un-do or work around previous bad decisions made by a former partner, including the financial crater we were left in. To offset that, Session Zero has continued to launch new, smaller projects that were easy to organize, quick to produce on a timeline, and could be 90% hands off for me so that I could focus on the content of these decks!
Well, if you've ever run a business, I think you know that ambitions can be high but the reality of the situation rarely lets the business owner remain hands-off. To shepherd these new Kickstarters, where the revenue is intended to revitalize this project (rather than going to small things like food and rent), I had to oversee everything – especially negotiations with printers and producers that have a hard time delivering the quality they promised in a way and in a timeframe that’s acceptable to you AND me! Naturally, divided attention turned into a road block for me to write the decks (which I was the only writer on at this point.) The other projects are turning out BEAUTIFUL, but that doesn’t help the Hero Decks.
BUT HOLD ON! I have a solution that makes sense! Please keep reading, you’re going to like this. :)
Writing: Solutions
What's the solution then? I had the right idea, so I’m going to bring on more writers! These are professionals who I worked with on The Cursed Collective and did AMAZING work with mechanics and story. As such, I'll be adding these 2 new writers to the team and am in negotiations with a 3rd who is familiar with all of the story lines for each deck’s main curator. Fingers Crossed!
If everything goes to plan… AND THINGS HAVE FINALLY STARTED GOING TO PLAN, THANKFULLY… we'll end up with 2 main writers, a Content Director, plus me as the final approval before anything hits the digital presses to make sure everything lives up to the standards that have always been important to SZG.
Every penny I make beyond what it takes to actually produce these new projects and send them out to my graciously loyal backers goes directly towards my previous projects. Those include the Tome of Magical Mystery which needs the last North American and International deliveries sent out. (As an FYI, the printer changed their specifications since our first print run, requiring we do an overhaul on the book. The result is that the cover is much nicer, and we fixed a few minor issues internally that you likely never noticed. The “new” version had to get it all reapproved by the printer which has been a royal pain… but is FINALLY in the last legs of getting finished.) It also includes THIS class deck project which needs 7 more decks of cards, a completed compilation tome of all decks collected, AND a fair amount of extras that are all sitting in my warehouse right now awaiting decks and books.
Class Decks: Rebranding!
One of the things we've had to reconsider while distancing ourselves from the previous partnership was "where do we take the decks and the entire product line?" We knew we wanted to change the name (“The Decks of Adventurer's Allurement” was always an awkward mouthful) plus update the brand and expand it the way SZG always wanted; in general, bring everything up to an extra level of quality and brand recognition using the skills we've learned through Kickstarter projects and utilizing the marketing assistance of people we've met along the way.
I talked with close friends both inside the industry and outside and took to heart a lot of advice and new ideas, including recognizing what has really struck a chord with our backers in the projects SZG has spear-headed (as well as things that didn’t work as well that resulted from our former partnership.)
One thing was clear, our readers were enjoying our entwined heroes and class curators, creating a cohesive, connected universe that makes it easier and fun to base your own stories around. Hopefully, the backstories and lore strike your fancy and pluck at your adventurous heart strings!
If you're more of a mechanics guy, we still want to focus on fun and fanciful items that add to your tactical toolbox without being outrageously overpowered or difficult to manage!
If you're just into art, I really want to keep offering imagery that makes you want to frame the cards and admire them, not look like something that was done at the last minute on the cheap.
We're doing everything we can to make sure you love what you receive... there's no worse sin that a company can commit against its customers (and in your case, as backers who help bring this all to life, far more than normal customers) than to produce something that just doesn't have all of your heart in it and the full quality that they deserve.
Rebranding: In Progress!
That leads us to the rebranding itself. We still can't tell you exactly what it is just yet.. we’re making a few more tweaks and want everything to be locked in place before we make our grand reveal.
I can however share a new project that we've almost closed our funding on… and which may directly relate to things we've been mentioning. It’s a good hint but it’s not a final version yet; changes are still underway, like a work-in-progress that is affected by the likes and ideas of our backers! Click the image below to visit and PLEASE make a pledge if you like the project. Remember, every single penny above the necessary funding goal is going towards all of my existing projects including this one. You're helping a lot of folks and also getting some awesome things which are guaranteed to be delivered in a timely manner.
Digital Delivery Timeline
Our new timeline is going to be a fairly tight. We know that we'll be paying for professional writers who we can trust to produce good content AND we'll be able to set deadlines that we're sure we'll be able to hit. We're shooting to release at least one deck a month until all 7 are done. I won't have any personal reasons or excuses that get in my way. Plus, the Tome compilation is being put together as the remaining decks are being created so there won’t be a huge delay between the final Wizard Deck and the digital release of the compilation book. The printed version… well, we still have the hurdle of getting it produced properly at the printer.
You'll get the digital content, FOR SURE, and we'll do our best to deliver a couple of decks digitally before the end of the year. The writer’s timeline is in a good place right now, almost too good to believe. However, I've seen them do it before... let's just say I'm sharing the relaxed schedule with you just to be safe.
Physical Delivery: Obstacles
Here is where the big decisions are being made right now. We were devastated by two factors that nearly ended up almost sinking our entire ship after the end of the devastating partnership.
1. This one was a whopper – previous goals had their funding goal set too low. I was in a weird state with my family and life when this project went live and the other partner made financial decisions that proved destructive to the project, especially since I was the one responsible for delivering it. I wasn't running “the show” at that point and the Kickstarter was posted before a real break-down of costs was made; but the flat-out truth is when I ran the numbers later (and when I do them now) we were woefully short on actual production funds. On average we're finding that every deck of cards project we put out - by the time all is said and done, art and layout and editing and printing is done and folks have product in their hands – costs around $8000+ per deck to produce. Everybody can do that math. 12 decks x $8000 = NOT the $45,000 this project earned through the Kickstarter.
Top that off with the final resolution barely 2 months ago with that same company that was legally able to walk away with zero accountability to backers and a significant portion of funds that I will never see returned to me... to say the least it's been a weight that's hard to bear. No worries though, I've been doing it with the help of my family and friends as well as the knowledge and drive that comes with moving positively towards solutions. It would have been easier to just give up, but as I’ve said many times, I am dedicated to making sure you folks get the product you backed. It’s my company’s name on the line, so I’m doing whatever I can, whatever it takes, to make sure this project gets finished and every backer gets what they pledged for. That’s how important you all are to ME.
Physical Delivery: Solutions!
How do we fix this issue? How do we print, package, and deliver products to backers when the initial goal was so low in the first place? Well, we put our thinking caps on and came up with the following solution... Split Shipments!
Hold on, hold on. I know, it sounds crazy but hear me out.
We would have an extremely hard time putting together the funds to order 12,000+ decks of cards and 1000 books all at once, especially of the quality that you all not only want but deserve. But putting together funds to order 3 decks at a time? 6 decks even? That’s a high bar BUT it's something we can set our sights on and begin delivering what you have so patiently been waiting for.
I know the shipping will be wildly increased because we'll be sending out 2 or 3 times as many packages but answer me this: would you rather get a bunch of packages from me, with each and every one including a little extra thrown in for good measure? Or would you rather wait for me to hit the lottery and be able to shift aside the pile of money it will take to get this all done at once?
We're still working out the details of exactly how many and how often we could do this, but it can be done. I'm looking into the option of printing some of the decks we've already completed in batches and every time we send out packages both North American and International, we include as many Class Decks packages as we can. Every project, after we catch up the existing ones and deliver the digital versions of class decks to you, will have its extra money put directly into sending out as many decks as we can to as many people as we can. That means if you ordered something big with extras you might get all of that first and then class decks later. That means you might end up with 4 packages over the course of another year! As long as you get everything you've paid for and you’re happy with the product then I'm happy to keep working and I won't lose sleep over this anymore. Because believe me, I have.
If we keep moving forward and making things we love and re-earn the trust of people like you who know we’re putting our blood, sweat, and tears into every project we produce, then we'll make it all happen together. We'll be a sort of family who not only survived 2020 together but things before and after that. At SZG, we promise to stick to our new business model and keep working our fingers to the bone bringing amazing and awesome content that will be delivered in a timely manner; no more over-reaching products with outside involvement muddling up the process. We never let up on any previous projects until they are all fulfilled at the quality you deserve.
My boat might have had a big leak, but we’ve plugged that hole now and with your help, we'll bail out the water one cup at a time and bring this thing into port.
I know I'm leaning heavily on the boat metaphors, but I think you get the picture. Hang in there with me. We've got this.
Conclusion
Well, that was a LONG read and I hope you were able to take it all in!
I hope the answers I've provided help you understand that we are still doing everything we can to make sure you get what you've paid for! More updates will come as we get things caught up and more digital files go out!
Onward!
Session Zero Games
