2023 Updates for Zweihander
almost 2 years ago – Tue, Jan 03, 2023 at 07:01:18 PM

Hey gang,

This is Daniel Fox, creator of Zweihander RPG. I wanted to share with you an important update regarding this Kickstarter and the Zweihander game line.

Missing Parcels

Although I have responded to some of you via private message, some folks have reported that they haven't received a Blackbirds book or have a missing parcel. I am so sorry to hear that this is the case! Please email the publisher Andrews McMeel via Daniela Bone ([email protected]) with your postal address and a screenshot of this conversation so they can mail one out to you. I will continue to monitor DMs and comments throughout, regardless.

Personal Changes

I have been positively overwhelmed and humbled by your support of the Zweihander game line. The success of this Kickstarter, along with reports of the Starter Kit out in the wild among gamers, has been so delightful.

As some of you may know, my final days as the executive creative director of games at Andrews McMeel Publishing ended in December. Despite no longer being an associate of the company, they will continue to publish Zweihander.

Advanced Previews

While Blackbirds and Flames of Freedom utilize the Powered by Zweihander game engine, the core game line of Zweihander has a lot of unreleased content that I want to bring to you all. That means more content at a regular pace.

Some of this I have already begun to show some to Zweihander Server Subscribers on Discord. Insiders get an early, exclusive look. Please consider joining; it's only $4.99 and gives you a ton of new monsters, magic items, and materials we are working on.

Here's a preview of the revised Wilderness Travel rules to whet appetites.
 

New Beginnings

The Zweihander Starter Kit, in many ways, is a cathartic new beginning, both for me and for the core game line. Some of you are following our home game on YouTube through The Damned. I am working earnestly to bring this and our previous campaign, Queen of Embers, to Kickstarter.

Next Steps

But what I want you all to know is that I appreciate everyone's support in my strange 4-year side quest in traditional publishing. I'm now in my advanced tier and ready to apply those new skill ranks to make the Zweihander we've collectively wanted to see. And I know there is a bright future for Zweihander and our community. The Starter Kit marks a new beginning, and I am so thankful to have your support.

Thank you, and feel free to reach out in our Zweihander Community Discord should you have any questions.

Cheers,
~d.fx

November Update: Add-on books & Dog Might Screens
about 2 years ago – Sat, Nov 05, 2022 at 09:30:00 AM

Hey gang,

Many of you have received your Starter Kits already, and we’re so excited to hear about them landing at your doorstep! Thank you again for your support, and please be sure to tag us on social media @AMUttrpg so that we may feature you on our feed.

Add-on Books

Some backers also added copies of the Revised Core Rulebook, the Player’s Handbook, and Main Gauche. Those will be sent out in our next wave of shipments next week and will begin to arrive in mid-November. As all is in motion for the fulfillment, we cannot change your mailing addresses at this time.

Dog Might Custom Screens

Dog Might has informed us that they are now working on the screens. When they begin shipping in early December, you should receive an email with shipping information from Dog Might directly. Remember, all Dog Might products have a lifetime guarantee, so if you encounter any issues with the shipment's arrival or future issues, they will ensure a hassle-free solution.

Finally, if you have any additional questions about your shipment, have any missing or damaged components, or want to just chat with the designers, please join our community Discord channel at https://discord.gg/Zweihander

Happy gaming,

~d.fx

October Update: PDFs going out Oct 24th, package fulfillment begins Oct 27th!
about 2 years ago – Fri, Oct 21, 2022 at 03:41:55 PM

Hey gang,

Great news this week - package fulfillment on Zweihander Fantasy Horror RPG: Starter Kit begins October 27th! All items are in, and we are excited to get them into your hands to get your games started before formal publication in late November.

Shipping details

We will be using a mix of FedEx and UPS for shipments. Once all our packages are prepared and with the fulfillment center, you will receive an email from Backerkit with your tracking information.

Hassle-free international shipments

For international backers, we are covering your tax and VAT costs. So receipt of your parcels is hassle-free! However, in the rare situation where you’re assessed other surcharges, please save your receipt and DM us here on Kickstarter so we can reimburse your cost through Stripe on Backerkit.

Packaging

We pride ourselves on packaging for our backers. To that end, we have taken multiple precautions to ensure that your packages arrive undamaged. That includes shrink-wrapping all Starter Kit boxes and heavily packaged regular books.

Damaged Packages

Should your package arrive damaged, please email us with pictures of the damage to [email protected], and we will determine the next steps to issue a full replacement or partial refund.

Early Release on DriveThruRPG

As a special reward for backing, we will be releasing the PDFs of the Zweihander Fantasy Horror RPG: Starter Kit early, via DriveThruRPG. These will be sent to the email address you have registered on Backerkit on October 24th at 11 am CST. Please visit our Discord for more information.

Happy gaming,

-d.fx

P.S., Come chat with us in our design community on Discord! We can’t wait to hear about the characters you create and the grim stories you tell: https://discord.gg/Zweihander

JULY UPDATE
over 2 years ago – Fri, Jul 08, 2022 at 05:02:36 PM

Hey gang,

We wanted to reach out with a shipping and payment update. Just a heads-up that credit cards will be charged on Monday, July 11th, for the balance due in BackerKit. If you need to make changes to your payment information, please do so before then!

Shipping Update

In regards to shipping: we had previously hoped to find a way to lower shipping costs for you all. We explored partnerships with other fulfillment companies and considered other measures, but shipping continues to be extremely difficult, unpredictable, and expensive. We were not able to secure lower rates or identify cost-cutting opportunities without sacrificing customer service or increasing the risk of damage and loss. We want your items in your hands as quickly and safely as possible, and we appreciate your understanding.

PDF Distribution

In PDF-related news, we will be sending out early release PDFs to backers shortly after Gen Con in August! The files will be sent out via DriveThruRPG to your Libraries.

Want to get an early look at what is to come? You can download Zweihander RPG: Session Zero right now at this link or over on DriveThruRPG.

Early Advances Unboxing Soon

More to come soon, as we are anticipating early advances of the Starter Kit in-office here in July!

Thanks for being a part of this with us.

Happy gaming,

-d.fx

Take a look inside the Zweihander RPG Starter Kit
over 2 years ago – Sat, May 21, 2022 at 12:51:16 AM

Hey gang,

It’s been almost two months since we last spoke. Things are progressing, and we are still trending towards fulfillment on time!

Let’s Talk Proofing

Today, we wanted to give you a look at how we review proofs from our printing partners and insights into our design intention:

Wet Proofs are 1:1 reproductions of the final product you’d find on a store shelf. We use wet proofs sparingly, as they are costly. However, with a medium such as a boxed kit, wet proofing is necessary to ensure that unusual designs (such as wrapping images around a box) meet specifications. They’re also used to check perforations on cards (such as the spell cards) and for MDF or chipboard (like with the Fortune Tokens).

Epson Proofs (sometimes called press proofs) are inkjet proofs that are color corrected for the image, but not the paper. While this can give insight into how the image is intended to look, it does not fully communicate how the image will look on the paper type or cardboard type. We use Epson proofs to validate text placement and identify proofing errors and check for proper fold lines on posters.

Standard Edition Clamshell

Wet Proof: Here’s a look at the outside of the box. Illustrated by Samuel Araya, it was designed to resemble a movie poster. This gave us plenty of affordance towards the bottom of the image to place copy. Many boxed kits tend to place their logos at the top, but we wanted eyes to be drawn to the artwork first.

One error we identified here was on the ZWEIHANDER logo. You can see that the silver foil doesn't have the flame treatment. It has been added to the final production version. We also have done some additional color correction.

Standard Edition Interior

Wet Proof: We added beveled edges to the top of the box (which you can see between the gold borders), and carried forward Dejan’s skeletal folio illustrations on the inside of the box. The folio edges are a nice throwback to the Zweihander Revised Core Rulebook.

Standard Edition Backside

Wet Proof: Nice, simple, and to the point. The “exploded” contents (what’s found inside the box) were designed by Rob Sather. It visually communicates what can be found inside. A bulleted list follows thereafter.

Notice that little yellow Post-It? You’re going to see those throughout, as they are visual notes we’ve taken down for changes. For here, I’ve marked up that we need to add our three-letter ZWE product code to the ISBN (the white box on the right).

BLACK BOX Clamshell

Wet Proof: As with the Standard Edition, we got a wet proof for the BLACK BOX. With a beautiful flat matte black treatment (feels sort of rubbery, like our other RPG books we produce), It feels very solid!

BLACK BOX Clamshell

Wet Proof: You can also see the spot UV treatments on our six-sided unicursal image, and on the ZWEIHANDER logo. Although it’s not pictured here, we are going to carry the logo in spot UV to the sides of the box as well.

Gamemaster’s Secrets & Player's Guide Booklets

Epson Proofs: These were massive when they arrived! They include color designations on the bottom-most part of the pages, so we can check the Pantone and variances of color. Ribbon-bound, these proofs were made purely to check for proofing errors. As before, we have some proofing errors I marked up with Post-It notes and a few minor copy changes I wanted to make before we go to press.

That red seems awfully bright on the Player’s Guide, eh? We’re toning it down a hair, but keeping the rich, cherry red as a call-back to the interior end sheets of the Zweihander Revised Core Rulebook, and to the original Red Box edition of D&D.

Gamemaster’s Secrets & Player’s Guide Interiors

Epson Proofs: Our layouts have evolved over the years. What was once a rather busy page has been vastly changed. Moving our page numbers to the top left and right-hand corners of the page for usability purposes, we’ve also increased our font sizes.

On the Gamemaster’s Secrets spread, you can see how the creature listings have changed. Primary Attributes are listed alphabetically now, with their associated Skill Ranks nested below them in the table.

On the Player’s Guide spread, we’ve vastly condensed down our ancestries to a two–page spread. It lets you get to the information you need quickly without having to thumb through several pages to find your ancestral trait.

Gamemaster’s Screen

Epson Proofs: The front of the screen is illustrated by Dejan Mandic. It’s a composite image of nearly 55 Professions across Zweihander, arranged horizontally. On the inside of the screen, we’ve pulled together a completely new layout for GM information. These decisions were driven by polls we sent to select playtesters and from feedback on our Discord.

Folding Poster

Epson Proofs: At nearly 3’x2’, we used Sam’s cover art, removed most of the copy (save for the Zweihander logo), and created a tri-folding poster for your game room. We’ve some minor color corrections to make here, but it’s a stunning piece we wanted to include inside the box.

Poster Map

Epson Proofs: The Swanzi map was hand-drawn by Kyle Latino (along with a host of other maps inside the kit). At nearly 3’x2’, the map is two-sided; one with labels, and one without. It’s up to the GM to use whichever they prefer. It is meant to be lain on the table and used almost like a board game, as your characters explore the small-town murder mystery (ala Twin Peaks) in Swanzi.

Injury & Spell Cards

Epson Proofs: These perforated cards turned out wonderfully! The cardboard is thick and chunky, untextured so you can read the text clearly. The perforations pull apart seamlessly, without tugging the paper off adjacent cards.  We also used graduated color, where we will go from a lighter to a darker sepia to distinguish the moderate, serious, and grievous injury cards. I’ve marked up the color mistake with a Post-It.

Cardboard Maps

Epson Proofs: As with Kyle’s maps before, these are two-sided. One side has labels, the other side does not. A GM can use whichever side they prefer for their gaming group.

Profession Folios & Trackers

Epson Proofs: These turned out beautifully. Staged like a four-page booklet, a player will choose the profession they’re playing, snap out the Damage & Condition Trackers, and pencil in any additional details about their character as they play. These are being printed on thick, uncoated paper, so pencils will easily mark on the page.

Fortune & Misfortune Points

Wet Proof: These coins came in on MDF chipboard, like the punch-outs you’ve seen in board games. We’ve included the Flames of Freedom Coin (39mm) here to show the difference in size and thickness. The Fortune tokens are in a whopping 45mm! They’re nice and chunky and feel really nice in hand.

Dice

Wet Proof: The dice came in nice! They feel weighty in hand, with every D6 marked with the unicursal. We’re going to add a bit more red to the yellow coloration so that they resemble the gold borders of the Standard box.

Total Weight

A mix of Epson & Wet Proofs: Using an earlier white stock version of the Starter Kit, we threw this onto a scale to get a sense of the weight. Not including the additional Player’s Guide, we’re giving to all physical backers, the Starter Kit comes in at a whopping 4.15 lbs! With the “pizza box” enclosure we’ll be shipping it in, we anticipate the package for just the Standard edition to come in around 6-7 lbs.

We’re incredibly proud of what we could pack into the Zweihander RPG Starter Kit, and hope you enjoy it as much as we’ve had making it.

Samples At Gen Con 2022

And that’s it! We will keep you apprised as we move towards fulfillment. And, if you are going to be at Gen Con, you can take a look at the advances we’re anticipating having for the BLACK BOX edition. Head on over to Book 2920, or sign up for one of the demos for the Zweihander Starter Kit.

Happy gaming,

-d.fx

Postscript Bonus Content

Included in every Standard and BLACK BOX kit is a code for a free Roll20 version of the Starter Kit! We sealed this deal at GAMA, and are so incredibly proud to be working with Roll20 on this option for Zweihander fans.