Solemn Vale™

BackerKit Survey and Shipping Update
almost 2 years ago – Wed, Feb 01, 2023 at 06:13:05 PM

Hi Folks,

The BackerKit surveys will be going out in the next few days so I’d like to touch on a few points prior to sending them out. 

Shipping General Comment: I initially planned on using our German Fulfillment partner for all the UK, EU and RoW (non-US) orders since they did a great job on our previous Deco Dice project. Upon reviewing the backer data, the vast majority of the non-US Backers were UK based so the decision was made to have our non-US orders handled in the UK via Spiral Galaxy.

Shipping UK: VAT will be charged on all UK orders. Books and the map will have zero VAT.

Shipping EU: VAT will be charged on all EU orders based on country specific rates. Most have a reduced rate for books.

Shipping Rest of World: Duties and Fees will have to be paid upon receipt of your package. I believe most folks who have ordered from the US or UK will already be aware of this.  Please note that No ‘Friendly’ or ‘Duty Paid’ shipping option is currently offered and as such any shipment made for these regions will be dispatched DDU with the backer being responsible for all tax and duty due on import.

Shipping US: We’re using standard rates for all US orders + picking and packing. Shipping will be around $15 to $20.

California Sales Tax: As a company based in California, I am required to charge Sales Tax on any sales within California. Once we have everyone’s delivery address in the system, backers in California will have their orders manually adjusted to capture sales tax. This is a limitation on the BackerKit backend that requires manual intervention due to how they handle Sales Tax and VAT options.

Limited Edition: We didn’t get enough orders on the Limited Edition to justify the print run so the Limited Edition is being made available to Pre-Order to help boost MOQs. It is still a Limited edition that won’t be printed again but we need to ensure a better minimum order quantity for a valid print run. 

Add-Ons UK, EU and RoW: After the BackerKit closes, we won’t be restocking any Add-Ons for sale outside the US. I’ll see how things play out but the likelihood is that only books will be made available outside the USA. It’s not ideal but it really is very difficult for a small indie publisher to hit all these product silos. So if you like any Add-Ons be aware that they will be very limited supply outside of the US once the print buy has been made.

Charging Cards: Cards will be charged for additional Add-Ons, VAT and Shipping at the end of March-2023.

Physical Shipments: As mentioned in previous updates, I don't have exact shipping dates but once the print buy gets placed in early April-2023 I'll have more concrete dates to share.

I've been stressing quite a bit on shipping and taxes as you see various companies glossing over them and absorbing the costs directly either through choice or lack of knowledge, to their own detriment in many cases. If I was to try and absorb the various taxes it would equate to thousands of dollars and that's not really conducive to running a successful indie press.

I’ll keep everyone updated on how things are proceeding and if there are any changes to the above information, I’ll be sure to let you know.

Thanks and regards,

Mark

The Solemn Vale PDF has left the building...
almost 2 years ago – Fri, Jan 27, 2023 at 06:28:10 PM

Hi Folks,

The PDF for the core Solemn Vale book has just been sent out to all backer emails. The link you will receive is for DriveThruPRG and has been sent to ALL backers. For those who prefer to use Itch, the PDF will be sent out shortly.

Couple of points...

STL Miniatures: Had to rework a couple of things on them but they will be sent out ASAP.

BackerKit Survey: Almost ready to roll this out. Updating shipping tables and confirming things are good to go. The plan is to have that go live sometime next week.

Errata Period: We'll have a two month errata period so if you find any typos, errors or general weirdness, please let me know directly at > [email protected] or use the below form.

https://forms.gle/SgP1uf9nmeJg8TPN7

Sending to the printer: The plan is to send files to the printer after the 2 month errata window, so that'll be early April-2023.

Shipping & Production: It's looking like 8 weeks print time and a further 6 to 8 weeks transit so the current estimate for physical to the fulfilment centers is in July-2023 but once I know exact dates, you'll be the first to know. I'm thinking August-2023 to September-2023 is more likely.

General Release: I want backers to be the first get physical copies of the book but I'll be opening up the PDF for sale to the general public next week. Print on demand is not something I'll likely offer, but if I do, it will be after backers physical copies are shipped.

Okies, that was the quick update for today. Hope everyone enjoys the content of the PDF and I'll be in touch soon. Thanks for sticking with me on this one. Very much appreciated.

Keep up to date on future Dirty Vortex releases via our hex... mailing list

https://content.dirtyvortex.net/hexlist

Thanks and regards,

Mark

Solemn Vale - Core Book Complete
almost 2 years ago – Tue, Jan 24, 2023 at 06:39:36 PM

Hi Folks,

Good news. The Solemn Vale core book is now complete and I'm in the process of preparing links to be sent out via DriveThruRPG and Itch. It might take a day or two for the links to hit your inbox as both sites require an approval process before I can email them out.

There will be a period of two months to collect errata on the current file before the PDFs are sent to the printer early April-2023. I don't yet have an estimate on how long the books will take to print right now but I'll keep everyone updated on the timelines as and when I have the information.

Wyrd Tales Volume 1: The PDF of Wyrd Tales Volume 1 is still a work in progress but is the next item on the focus list. I expect to have it complete within the next month and links will be sent accordingly.

STL. Models: The freebie models will be included with the Itch download but I'm still double checking how DriveThruRPG deals with these files types. Either way, the 3d print files will be sent out to backers in the coming days.

Stage Cards: The free print and play cards will also be linked to either you DriveThruRPG or Itch. If, for any reason, you don't have them alongside the PDF, please message me and I'll get it resolved.

BackerKit Surveys: I'll be sending these out within the next week or two. I need to verify some information and once that's confirmed, I'll get the BackerKit links survey links sent out.

Shipping Address: We don't have an shipping date yet but addresses will be confirmed vai the BackerKit survey. If at any time you change address AFTER filling in the BackerKit, please message me directly and I'll make the adjustment. That said, I do believe you can always access your BackerKit survey to make adjustments up until things are locked down so you are also welcome to make those adjustments directly using the survey link.

Errata: https://forms.gle/SgP1uf9nmeJg8TPN7 < The same link will be in the credits page of the PDF. If you spot any errors or weirdness, please let me know as I'd really like to ensure as many errors as possible are picked up prior to print.

Summer of Strange Pre-Order: I'll be opening up a small pre-order for SoS via the Solemn Vale BackerKit. It uses the same system as Solemn Vale but takes the Wyrd to small town America circa 1985. A 150+ page book providing a wealth of content including hooks and story modules for getting your Wyrd on. Inspired by 80s horror and the VHS generation. It's a stand alone game but the content can also be used for Solemn Vale.

Again, a massive thanks for the support and patience as I worked to get this project complete. If I've missed anything in this update... sorry :p been running on fumes the last few days as I worked to get this book complete. 

Thanks and regards,

Mark

Solemn Vale Project Update - 2023 wk2
almost 2 years ago – Sun, Jan 15, 2023 at 05:47:52 PM

Hi folks,

Short one to keep everyone in the loop. No change since last update other than I'm a few days away from having the book done. The next update after this one will be when the PDF is done.

Once the PDF goes out the BackerKit surveys will be sent shortly thereafter.

See you all at the finish line and thanks for the continued patience.

Thanks and regards,

Mark

Solemn Vale Project Update - The finish line...
almost 2 years ago – Sat, Dec 24, 2022 at 04:30:35 AM

Hi Folks,

Just a quick one. I'm pushing to get the book done prior to the end of the year but it's looking more likely it'll be somewhere in the first week of January-2023 before I get the PDF out to backers. I could send the incomplete PDF out now but I decided to wait and ensure the book that goes out is 100% complete.

I'm down to only a handful of pending artwork and some additional graphic design so it'll be very soon.

I'll be in touch shortly with the links via DriveThru and Itch. Once the PDF is out to backers I'll spend the next week after that reviewing the BackerKit to ensure it's all solid then we'll get the surveys rolling etc. Expect that around mid-Jan-2023.

Print timelines will be reviewed at a later date once the errata period is complete and the printer schedules the print run. So for now, physical delivery dates are still unknown.

Well that's that. Hoping everyone has a festive holiday season and I'll see you all in the next update... where the book will be finished. Woohoo!!!

Thanks and regards,

Mark