DC20 Pre-Orders

DC20 - Oct 24 Update: Class Reworks + Subclasses
over 1 year ago – Wed, Oct 02, 2024 at 10:09:29 AM

DC20 0.9 Updates

Things are looking great AND October is looking to be the MOST productive month yet! Everything is dialing up and October marks the first month that I can truly focus on nothing but creating Subclasses. Before now has been a lot of Kickstarter things, team training, and class reworks (explained below). But now with all that out of the way expect to see a BIG jump forward in progress this month!

Class Changes

These were VERY important to do NOW because Subclasses build on level 1 and 2 features of all Classes, so I felt that now was the best time do do that. If you want to know more you can check out the YouTube video I made with more details linked below, but here is the big picture.

• Fighter: Entire Rework of ALL level 1 and 2 Class Features
• Cleric: Level 1 Feature Rework to grant Clerics a list of Divine Domain Options (similar to how Spellblades Disciplines work)
• Warlock: Rework level 1 and 2 Self Healing mechanics and overall "re-flavored" things away from a BLOOD feel and to more of a pact and contract feel
• Wizard: Flavor Feature Update
• Bard: Level 1 and 2 Feature reorganization (they were the most "OP" class on paper)

Subclasses

I will keep showing the update to this image each month until we have ALL Purples (the final stage). So here is exactly where we are in that process for EACH Class. I use a color coded system to show where each class is:

White: Brainstorm Phase - think of all possible ideas
Blue: Narrow Down Phase - eliminate and condense ideas into 8+ subclasses
Gold: Mechanics Phase - establish the subclass fantasy and core mechanics
Purple: Subclass Creation Phase - each subclass is ready to be created

Here is a picture to show what Phase each class is at. The GOAL is to get ALL Purple, because once each of them are purple that means we are finalizing all the subclasses!

Given all the other things going on and the large amount of time put into Class reworks like the Cleric, Fighter, and others... this is a HUGE amount of progress, and will be even more during this month! 

Update Video

Missing Survey Count: 2,129

Great work, 600 of y'all answered your surveys from last time, and now its almost less than 2,000! If you have not completed your survey (or can not find it) then just click this link here and you can knock it out right now! 

DC20 - Sept 24' Update: Back from Gen Con + Subclasses
over 1 year ago – Wed, Aug 28, 2024 at 11:30:36 AM

First Full Project Update

Things have been wild the last 2 months! We Launched the Kickstarter, got through first round fulfilment of the 2 PDFs (Core Rules 0.8 and Monster Starter Pack 0.1), went to Gen Con, and NOW we are back and able to go ALL IN on DC20! There have been a lot of really cool things I want to share, but if you ONLY want the DC20 0.9 Updates, then here we go!

DC20 0.9 Updates

Starting with what people probably want to know the MOST, what is the status of Beta 0.9? So like I have said before, I will not be saying any dates or estimates of dates, this just puts wild pressure on me and then disappointment on yall if I don't hit the date. So instead I think a better way is to just show things as transparently as possible and you will SEE us get closer and closer to the finish line of each update to the Beta!

0.9 will bring SUBCLASSES to DC20 and open up the Level Cap of the game from only Level 2, up to Level 4! DOUBLE THE LEVELS!!!

Here is a small list of some other changes that have snuck into 0.9 as well!

• Initiative Rework
• Talent Update and Simplification
• Random Balance Tweaks

Subclasses

There are going to be 3 Subclasses for ALL 13 Classes in the Core Rules for DC20. So I have a very elaborate process that EACH class goes through to "find" it's subclasses. I could easily make up a cool concept and crank out a subclass... but I want to future proof DC20 and TRULY take a big step back and see where the overall design space is for EACH class... then we can see the big picture of which subclasses will be those 3 that go in the Core Rules (and more to come in future books). So here is exactly where we are in that process for EACH Class. I use a color coded system to show where each class is:

White: Brainstorm Phase - think of all possible ideas
Blue: Narrow Down Phase - eliminate and condense ideas into 8+ subclasses
Gold: Mechanics Phase - establish the subclass fantasy and core mechanics
Purple: Subclass Creation Phase - each subclass is ready to be created

Here is a picture to show what Phase each class is at. The GOAL is to get ALL Purple, because once each of them are purple that means we are finalizing all the subclasses!

The only reason Cleric is white is because... Cleric subclasses are based off their domains... and I have to create a full blown domain / pantheon of gods that both works for DC20's lore and campaign setting AND is applicable to OTHER campaign settings as well. Which is QUITE the challenge, but an exciting prospect if I can do it right!

So check back next month for where these colors are and you'll see how far each class as come (and if we have any purples!!!)

Subclasses for 0.9 3->2

So I have good news and bad news here... 
Bad News: For the Beta 0.9 I will be reducing the number of subclasses released for each class from 3 down to 2. 
Good News: Beta 0.9 will be coming out sooner than it would have before... since now we only have to make 26 Subclasses... instead of 39!

BUT this just means that you will get the 3rd Subclass for each in a future Beta Release (probably 0.11). 

DC20 Playtest at GenCon w/ Brennan Lee Mulligan and Aabria Iyengar

THIS was the wildest game of my entire life, I tell the whole story in THIS VIDEO, but it was a great moment for DC20 to have such amazing people in this industry play it! No there is not a video of the GAME, I wanted it to be a private and fun game that they could just "shut off", sit back, and relax for. But it could not have gone better!

Less YouTube = More DC20

So I recently made an annoncement on YouTube that I will be making LESS videos and focusing more of my time on the development of DC20... which is nothing but a HUGE WIN for the community. It takes about 1 full day per week to do all it takes to make 1 video each week... so if I dont do that... I have 20% MORE TIME to make DC20! 

Now don't get me wrong, I will still be making videos! But instead of making vidoes because I "have to" (or the algorithm will kill me), I NOW will make videos because I WANT TO and I have something cool to share with everyone! I have a full video explaining it HERE, but overall I think this is a win for everyone, because I get to do what I love the most (making DC20) and yall get to get DC20 content more and faster because I can focus on that first (instead of videos).

New Executive Assistant = More DC20

This is HUGE, and I am sharing this becuase of what it means for DC20! Because of the Kickstarter's WILD success I have been able to hire a full time assistant / editor / director / etc! His name is Sky (you've seen him around for YEARS on discord) and yall have now also help make his dream come true as well!

But this is HUGE yall... the amount of things Sky can now take off my plate... which lets me spend MORE time creating DC20... is MASSIVE! This is just the start of what things will be possible from the amount of love and support this community has given us! Thank you all again!

Missing Survey Count: 2,766

If you have not completed your survey (or can not find it) then just click this link here and you can knock it out right now! Yall have overall done a GREAT job here and over 18,000 people finished already, so well done!! 

See yall in the October Update!

DC20 - Backerkit Surveys are LIVE!
over 1 year ago – Mon, Jul 29, 2024 at 11:42:04 AM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

DC20 - Beta 0.8 + Monster Starter Pack Beta Release + dScryb Code
over 1 year ago – Sat, Jul 06, 2024 at 12:49:54 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

DC20 - We did it! + Thank You + Fulfillment Outline
over 1 year ago – Tue, Jul 02, 2024 at 08:11:57 AM

We Did It!

I am sitting here staring at a text box... looking for words to express the overwhelming gratitude I feel... I've cried publicly (and privately) multiple times, and that is tears of joy, relief, appreciation, and excitement for what is to come! I genuinely hope yall see and feel the appreciation, both with my words and actions of how much value this project packed into each tier! This community is truly amazing and unstoppable! We did it!!

Thank you for bringing this game to life in a way that I had NEVER thought possible... what started off with me typing out rules alone on a borrowed school laptop... has now turned into a Multi-Million Dollar TTRPG... Thank you!!

Fulfillment Outline

Digital Fulfillment

Here is how the digital fulfillment works:

1. 1) Kickstarter ends, your cards will be charged for the pledge amount
2. 2) The project passes from Kickstarter over into Backerkit. This process takes 3-5 days.
3. 3) Once I can access Backerkit I will be able to send out digital rewards that are ready to be sent out
4. 4) You will receive an email from DriveThruRPG with the PDF inside and able to download.
5. 5) This is how it will work throughout the fulfillment journey for each resource. Once the PDF is ready, you’ll be sent an email. This is also true for UPDATES, any PDF that gets an update in any way will also be sent out to yall automatically!

This link here will be important in the future, (pin it / save it somewhere) but it will take your to the EXACT inbox that your Digital Rewards will be at (once they are there).

This will have NOTHING in there right now: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/account_notification_inbox.php

TLDR: You get your PDFs emailed to you automatically once they are available

Digital Fulfillment Timelines

So each reward will have its own development timeline that can all get started now! Each resource will be ready at different times and sent out as soon as they are ready (see above). Here are general estimates for how this will look for each resource:

• DC20 Core Rules: This is the BIG one of course. The 0.8 Rules will be sent out by July 6th, and then each update to the game will be sent as it develops (see Beta Roadmap below for more).
• DC20 Monster Starter Pack: Beta 0.1 of this PDF will be sent out on July 6th, then more updates over time as more monsters are added
• ALL Other PDFs: The rest of the PDFs are at different stages of development. Something like the starter adventure has already been outlined and the story and plot points completed, but the more specific things still have to be written and art commissioned, etc.. but each of these PDFs will most likely have two times when they are sent out. You might get a beta 0.1 of each of these PDFs as soon as they are ready to be sent out and played with. Or you might just get the final version when it is done (the Digital Art Collection for example). we will be working hard across all of these different PDFs to get them to you guys as soon as possible, and you’ll be updated once a PDF is getting closer to release! The monster collection would be a good example of a PDF that will have a beta 0.1 release That has a few monsters and maybe some art, but at least you’ll be able to get the monsters sooner rather than later, and THEN you’ll get an updated FINAL version of the PDF.
• 5e → DC20 Conversion Guide: I know this one is super important to get out so that y’all can start converting things over! But keep in mind that we do have to develop the actual game itself in order to know what that conversion will look like. So this is another example of a PDF that will have an early version that goes out that has some helpful tips, just like the early version of the monster starter pack, then as the game gets updated, there will be more updates to this guide as well.

Physical Fulfillment Timelines

Everything revolves around the completion of the Core Rules of DC20. I have not said a release date (kickstarter forces me to... but thats it lol). BUT DC20 will be done... "as soon as it is ready", I will only finalize the game once I feel like it is truly complete and "done". I dont want to rush out the CORE RULES of a game system, and at the same time I won't be a perfectionist and have some wild 2 year development. So my GOAL is to finish the Core Rules 1 year from now, send out the "Final" PDF and then let the community play with it for 1-2 months, find any errors / typos / issues / try and break the game / etc, THEN fix those things and THEN print the books. You will be kept up to date along this process monthly (see Updates section).

So with that also come the Physical Fulfillment of ALL Physical rewards. So the dice, action trackers, etc will all be shipped TOGETHER at ONE time, there will not be multiple shipping runs where you get sent things one at a time. You will get ALL physical rewards in ONE box at the same time. So will it be painful to wait for the dice and action trackers? YES, but that also gives me time to dial in the designs, colors, look, materials, etc of each one! This is also true for Alkanders Almanac, yes that book is completed, but I am doing print runs at the same time as the DC20 book, and also will need to be packaged together physically like I said above.

VTT Integration Timelines

These will largely depend on the companies themselves and the developers that are working on the systems. Now that everything is official and all the stretch goals are unlocked, I can begin to have more specific talks with each of these companies and developers to See what the timeline is looking like. I will give my best estimate below for each one, but please keep in mind that this is an estimate, and this one specifically will be probably the least accurate since I have the least amount of information since all this just happened.

• DC20 Digital Character Creator and Compendium: this has been in the works for months already, but we are a matter of weeks (maybe 1-2 months tops) away from releasing the early beta of this to Early Bird Backers. Then, once we polish off some more kinks and continue its development, more will become available to everyone over time.
• dScryb: Although this is technically not a VTT, you use it when you play, so I am putting it here lol! I will have the 90 day FREE Trial code sent out in the FIRST Backer Only Update (next update) in about 5 days (once I can send out the 0.8 PDF)
• Alchemy: they have started work on DC20 right now will only be about 1 to 2 months before we could possibly already start to see some things that we can play with!
• Foundry: as I showcased in the live stream last night, the development for this has already been in the works by a part of my own team, and then with the addition of Bailey Wiki onto this project, expect to see something in the next couple of weeks!
• Demiplane: This requires a LOT of work to get up and running since there is an entire UI and interphase with ART, much less the rules and automations. So this will be a bit longer process, but still something you will DEFINITELY be able to see THIS year!
• Fantasy Grounds: I will continue talks with Fantasy Grounds and they will go through the process of finding a FG developer to work on DC20 and once THAT first task is accomplished, then I can get a better timeline estimate for you!

Receiving VTT Rewards: You will be emailed a code to be able to redeem on your account. You do not need an account RIGHT NOW, but you will be able to either get your 50% off code or the FREE Code depending on how you backed. Remember, ALL Backers get 50% for Alchemy and Foudnry, and $95 Tier Backers and above get them for free.

Backerkit Surveys

This is something that you do not have to worry about yet. Like I described in the last update, you will be able to add PHYSICAL rewards in Backerkit but NOT digital ones or VTTs. Digital products will be available on the dc20.com website once they become available if you want to add on anything that you were not able to get during the Kickstarter. These survey need to be completed, but there is no rush right now, I will send out more information on Surveys at a later time.

Monthly Updates

From this point on, I will be sending out MONTHLY updates to all Kickstarter backers to keep yall informed along the way. Each of these updates will have all the info you need to stay informed on the progress of the campaign. If you want even more updates then make sure to check out the Discord and Patreon communities to get the news as it happens. Either way, backers will always be in the loop with where the game is at and be given heads up on what comes next and exactly where the game is at!

Beta Roadmap

Here is what is planned for each beta release. These are the BIG pieces that will be added at each phase, but for every single phase, there will be a sprinkling of rule changes, tweaks updates, and fixes. In these updates, I will also keep this concept updated as we add things to this list and can better see when each piece will be released.

• Beta 0.8: Spellblade, Weapons Rework, Class Table / Talents Rework
• Beta 0.9: Level 3 Subclass Features for each Class. Each Class will get 3 Subclass options in the Core Rules
• Beta 0.10: Spellcasting Rework (Spell Lists, balance and tweaks to all current Spells, plus 100+ new Spells. Potentially Level 5 Class Features as well.
• Beta 0.11 and Beyond: This will for sure include Level 6 Subclass Features for each Subclass, but I don't want to declare what else would also be involved here until we get other updates out.

DC20 Magazine

The DC20 Magazine is a monthly PDF of DC20 Content that is available for Patrons (along with other rewards they get). These magazines are a GREAT place for me to have a way to give the community content that fills in gaps and gives early access to things we might not see for months or even years (depending on releases of expansions etc). 

FIRST Issue is the Psion Class + Psyborn Ancestry (both shown in the image). This is a perfect example of what you can look forward to with DC20 Magazine because I genuinely don't know when the Psion will be released in a Hardcover book... BUT I can release it to yall NOW to get your hands on it, play it, give feedback, etc! 

This is just one of MANY rewards that Patrons get for making it possible for DC20 to do bigger and better things on a monthly basis!

More DC20 Content, News, Livestreams

There are a few places where you can go to get even more connected to this community than you already are!

Click each Image to learn more!

• Behind the Scenes Livestreams, DC20 Magazines, Early Access DC20 Content, DC20 Campaign Liveplays of my home games, Personal Campaign Binder access, one on one coaching, VTT rewards, and even possibly playing in DC20 one shots with me.

• The central hub for DC20 with links to all the things we have to offer!

• Weekly Videos on all things DC20!

• Place to chat, discuss, learn, and hang out with the DC20 Community

• Get sent news, extra mini videos, coupon codes, and more!