But that's not the extent of Eddy's voice we've got for you during this campaign! Hot off the digital presses - or mixing board? I've got to get my phrases worked out before I start typing!! - we've got a special interview with Eddy conducted by The Story Told podcast team.
Arrgh! Eddy Webb of Pugsteady sets sail with us to help us navigate the uncharted waters of the Acid Sea in Pirates of Pugmire!
We've set sail, but it's a big ship and a far destination, and we'll need more crew if we want to arrive in shipshape fashion. Don't forget to share this project in your social circle and on your social media! Let your game friends know all about the Pirates of Pugmire - and you can also leave hints and rumors for your gaming enemies! Spread the word to your dog parents, cat roommates, bird friends, and lizard feeders! In the pet store, in the game store, in the pirate store!
Maybe not in the pirate store.
But let's keep this campaign going and growing!
#PiratesOfPugmire
#YoHoHo
#SeaDogs
The Tale of “Stumpy” Sabu Part 1: Pirate Business
almost 5 years ago
– Wed, May 22, 2019 at 08:51:38 AM
The Tale of “Stumpy” Sabu
“She did it! I swear! She stuck this bloomin’ lightning rod right on her main mast!” The cries and howls of laughter throughout the Lark’s Head welcomed Arkady Lux von Mau’s tale as he held aloft a rod with a metallic point. “You know what they say: the sea takes the brave and gives back the fools!” The bar patrons hammered their tables and downed their bowls of mixed ale and spirit, singing a salute to the crow captain whose ship went down in flames a few months prior. It was only the seventh time they’d heard this tale from Arkady the Shipwright. He climbed down to a loud applause and a few murmurs of “I hope someone has a new story to tell us soon…”
That’s how it goes in the Lark’s Head and countless other taverns in the Haze of Waterdog Port, and how I’d tell you most tales are told. There are many cheers for daring exploits, a few cries of protest when a pirate is unfairly besmirched, a great deal of mirth, and finally much drinking. I can’t say I found anyone judging the quality of these tales, and Man knows nobody was asking for a critic like me to give them a review, but there I was listening to story after story. As a writer of popular literature in this part of the world, it behooves me to embed myself into the thriving maritime culture, but that night I heard nothing truly exceptional. That is, until I listened in on a bird named Polly and a lizard named Sabu quietly discussing some of their exploits at a bar named Harv’s Hideaway.
It’s the quiet stories you ought to listen to. Take it from a dog who knows.
There I was, sat at the bar with a flagon of some weasel-brewed concoction in my paw. I was prepared to turn in for the night when a parrot in a dashing hat and with stunning red feathers walked in, accompanying a sad-looking gecko with a shorn tail. I discovered their actual names long after their departure, but at the point they sat down, the parrot said “Stumpy will have the hotpot” and the gecko replied in turn “Pally will have porridge. And grog for us both! We have business.” The barkeep dashed off and I was intrigued. Genuine pirates with genuine pirate business? I shifted to a closer stool and listened.
Pirate Business
It transpired Sabu — the gecko at the table — had discovered the location of the ne’er-do-well responsible for stealing something of value from them. He’d been doing some digging around Waterdog Port and located one of their more disreputable, but informed associates. I should clarify: Sabu and Polly own a ship you see, named the Pig’s Tale. From what I could glean, they until recently kept the Tale in Bernese Marina, among the pleasure cruisers and luxury vessels. They’d recently come into some plastic following a profitable adventure, and decided to entrust their vessel to the upper crust guards at the marina over the less-than-reputable militia down in the Underport or the broader quayside. Anyway, this associate — a mouse named Brutus, with some reputation among the rodents of Waterdog Port — took their coin and guaranteed the safety of their ship and its cargo. They returned to it two nights after arriving in dock, only to find the vessel stripped of its valuables!
As a brief aside, it’s worth mentioning ship’s law, sometimes called “the maritime agreement”, other times called “the pirate’s code”. It differs from crew to crew and different captains enforce it with different levels of severity, but a common code between pirates is that you don’t rob a moored ship. It’s not piracy as much as it’s criminal, if that makes sense. Pirates draw a distinction between the two.
Well, to describe Polly and Sabu as quietly but intensely animated during this discussion would be an understatement. They have no love lost for dear old Brutus, who I understand discovered Sabu is more than just a pleasant alkalist. To be a successful pirate, one must be prepared to throw down and fight, and so “Stumpy” did. He was questioning the whereabouts of their treasures, fixtures, and fittings, when Brutus pointed him in the direction of the Echo House.
Not final art - concept and work-in-progress preview
Hello to our seafaring crew and interested observers!
The Tale of "Stumpy" Sabu is the first chapter in Pirates of Pugmire. We'll be hearing more of Stumpy over the next week, splitting this first chapter into 4 parts (Pieces of Four?) and learning more about the world inhabited by the Pirates of Pugmire as we go.
We've got a long voyage ahead! This is no mere three-hour cruise, but a month's journey to an exciting destination: funding this project and maybe collecting a few bounties along the way! We've had a great first day - we're almost 40% funded and nearing 300 crewmates - but we'll need all hands on deck to ensure we reach our destination in shipshape fashion.
Our gaming group reward tier is called "Press gang" and refers to the pirate and naval "tradition" of impressment - the taking of crew into ship's service by compulsion, with or without notice. For pirates, this mostly meant rounding up the drunks and getting them on a ship and out to sea before they sobered up.
We're not going to be so cutthroat in our recruitment, of course - Pirates of Pugmire is a lot more family-friendly than the pirates of our reality. But we will need to recruit many more hands to help this voyage and reach our destination! So please, share information about this kickstarter project in your social circles and on your social media. Invite your gaming friends, friendly pet-owners, sailing enthusiasts, and anyone looking for adventure! I'd love to be able to crew a powerful Man o' War or Ship of the Line with 100 cannons and a fearsome reputation!
Eight bells and all's well, and that's enough chat for the day! Let's weigh anchor and set sail!
It's August, the official dog of James, who's working the helm on this Kickstarter voyage!
#PiratesOfPugmire
#ShiverMeTimbers
#YoHo
INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING
almost 5 years ago
– Wed, May 22, 2019 at 02:05:13 AM
Greetings Old Salts and Landlubbers!
The Wet Nose may travel swiftly, taking Captain Pug all around the Acid Sea, but unfortunately these books are a little more difficult to send around the world.
The cost of producing these Pugmire rulebooks has already gone up a bit, but the real impact will be felt by backers like myself – non-US residents that fall under the umbrella of “International Shipping.”
For the past few years, Onyx Path has tried to keep shipping charges as affordable as possible, including subsidizing the shipping charges using the margin from the books that were being created and shipped! But that way is untenable, and will lead to disaster.
So, with the cost of shipping going up, again, Onyx Path has unfortunately had to follow suit and increase the additional shipping costs on the kickstarter rewards sent to International backers.
For some, this may prove a difficult hurdle to overcome. To that end, I just wanted to make sure everyone was aware up front and early in the process, and to provide a list of alternative ideas and considerations.
PDF ONLY – I’m an old-school, physical book fan – my copy of the Pugmire core rulebook has a ton of sticky notes marking often-referenced sections throughout the rules. I like being able to flip through physical books when building my character.
But, I’m also running out of shelf space. And, though I often own the physical book, I end up using the PDF version as my go-to reference during play, especially when most of my gaming lately has been online and I’ve got two screens already up and running for the game. Going digital not only saves shelf space – and trees! – but also saves shipping charges with instant download delivery. If you’ve been thinking about going digital only, perhaps this project is the tipping point for that direction.
MULTI-BUY – acting as the point person with a partner or for your whole gaming group will allow you to pledge to the Sea Dog or Pressgang reward tiers, and have multiple copies sent in a single shipment. While it’s still expensive to ship, dividing the cost between 2 or 5 books may bring it down to a manageable level.
RETAIL ORDER – If you have a friendly local gaming store, perhaps you can pre-order a copy and get them to back at the Sutler reward tier, which provides retailers with 5 copies to sell to their customers.
ORDER THE HARDCOVER LATER – You could hold off on getting the hardcover version now, hoping that your local store will carry the book. The goal for this campaign is to fund at least one print run and get it into the game & hobby trade so that retailers not participating in the kickstarter will still be able to order it as part of their regular business. You may have to remind the store owners and get them to order it for you, but if you've got a solid store that you regularly visit, this is a solid option.
PRINT-ON-DEMAND - Onyx Path’s partners at DrivethruRPG.com use various PoD companies to create their Print-on-Demand versions, and these companies may have locations closer to your home and charge less for shipping. Right now, the Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau core rulebooks are available as PoD items, as are most of the other Onyx Path lines. Eventually, Pirates of Pugmire will be as well. You could back at the Freebooter reward tier level and wait for the eventual PoD release to order a physical book, which will possibly have lower shipping costs depending on your location.
FREIGHT FORWARDING – Another option is to join up with a freight forwarder or global shopping company. If you join up with a company like ARAMEX, for example, they provide you with a US address for Onyx Path to ship to. Once they receive your package, they provide different options to ship from their facility to you. I believe you can even combine a few shipments from different vendors, so this may be an idea for someone looking to purchase multiple items from the US.
YOU HAVE TIME TO DECIDE – This campaign has just started and will run for 30 days. Backing now allows you to follow along with our updates and manuscript previews, but you don’t have to make your final backing decision now – you can click on any reward tier and change your options up until the campaign ends.
Additionally, we will be running a post-campaign pledge manager with BackerKit after the campaign has ended, which will allow kickstarter backers to shift their pledges to a higher tier (and pay for the adjustment) up until the books are ready to ship, allowing you to contemplate all options before committing any further dollars.
While none of these solutions is ideal – personally, I can’t wait for teleportation technology! – there are more options than a simple binary choice. And there’s time to think it through. And know that I’m right there with you – shipping to Canada is TEN TIMES the cost of shipping within the US, and likely to get more expensive in time.
Good luck, fellow International Backers, and please share any other ideas you may have in the comments.
Backers Only – Manuscript Preview Part 1
almost 5 years ago
– Tue, May 21, 2019 at 11:02:36 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
