Successful Selling!

The week of selling Masquerade card decks to Champlain College students has already proven to be wildly successful, more so than I thought. As of right now, the last remaining decks are on hold to be purchased. That's over 30 decks sold (or given away to the backers in school.)

If you're a Kickstarter backer, you'll be happy to know that your cards are going to get cut back in New Jersey and that I've sorted out the list of backer's addresses.

If you live in the New Jersey area, I'll probably go drive to you and hand deliver your prizes personally. If you're not local (and even out of country) expect it to be shipped to you. I'll message you or email you when the shipment goes out.

I have everything sorted out and am trying to reach out to several tabletop game producers. Someone suggested I get a one page document going, so here it is. Probably will hand these out at conventions and the like.

Speaking of conventions, anyone have any good suggestions for some over the summer? Cheers!

The Cards Are Here!

So I got them, yep. We're still missing a few due to printing issues, so don't expect to see any decks just yet. But the important thing is I can actually physically touch them.

If you live on the Champlain campus, please find me if you'd like to take a look at them. The cards came out really nice.

The Unpacking

The actual box. These still need a little work on the next print

All the cards save for one, we're missing the 61st card, the Plague Doctor

A close up on the cards. The art Deanna did is outstanding and really sticks out

The card backs

It's been a long, strange trip and there's still a long ways to go. After the missing card problem gets sorted out (I'll have to wait for another shipment from home for that), I can start to hand out these babies to some of the backers nearby.

I probably won't get everyone on Kickstarter their prizes until sometime in May though. Just a heads up. My capstone is the next biggest thing on my plate, that and preparing for graduation.

But please don't worry, the end is in sight. Thank you all for your support!

We're Printing!

I know this blog hasn't been updated in awhile, but things have been moving along on Facebook. We've already printed the books and we're working on printing the cards.

In fact, the cards have all been printed as of today (though there's a slight issue) and all they need to do is get cut out.

Here's what I mean, this is the card box

I'm expecting to see the cards in my hand next Tuesday. That means HOPEFULLY, the game will be ready to ship next weekend. But with the complications at the printers, we'll have to see.

If you're on the Champlain College campus though, expect to see the decks around. I'll be sure to show them.

Other than that, all that's left is the book signing and printing out the certificates some of the backers on Kickstarter have earned. There's also the matter of mentioning a few backers on this blog, which I'll be sure to do once the games have been shipped.

It's going to be an exciting week! Once more, check out the Facebook page if you haven't to see some of the pictures of the printing process.

Final Art Update

This is it guys! On tomorrow (Monday the 25th) we will be sending the final version of the cards to be printed from the printers. It is my hope to have them printed in a week and a half.

First off, I'd like to give a big, big thanks to Deanna Vaida who did all of the card art and Elliott Lutton who designed the Masquerade book and card layout. You can find Deanna's websites here and here. Elliott's main website is here.

And without further ado, here they are:

Blacksmith Roger- Roger is a tough man who spends his whole day smelting and hammering weapons for the guards. His is a booster card and offers a bonus to other card's attack.

Alchemist Leon- Roger's counterpart, Leon is a tricky wizard-like man who secretly experiments on his patients, testing potions and ointments on them. He grants a bonus to defense for all other cards.

Dancer Isabella- This exotic dancer comes from the South and captures the attention of all those around her. She plays the role of a mesmerizer in the game, distracting the opponent and weakening their cards. 

Henry the Bard- Henry is a singer who used to play the flute, but after an incident with a noble no longer carries any wind instruments. He's a cheery fellow who goes around bringing joy to anyone around him.

Nan the Disgruntled- Nan is the embodiment of anger in the commoners towards the nobility. She voices the rage they all feel towards the rich and even appears in the first chapter of Masquerade.

Squire Terry- Despite being so young, Terry is tougher than he looks. He's one of the orphans Newgate trains and is on his way to being a strong guard. In the book, he serves as a messenger for Wymund.

Doctor Pestilence- The special 61st card as requested by supporter Kenneth Deshotel.  According to Kenneth "An eerie man hidden behind a plague doctor mask.  He dons a long dark robe fastened with large buttons and a wide brimmed hat.  Little is known of this mysterious man but many believe him to be a doctor gone crazed.  He has a very ominous aurora about him and is often seen to be followed by ravens.  He always carries a twisted wooden cane and special herbs for his “medical practices”.  He addopted the name "Dr. Pestilence" due to his infatuation with disease and the number of deaths that seem to follow in his wake."

Thank you everyone for your support. More news will follow when the process of printing begins.

Art Update #7

With the book nearing total completion (just need to do a quick edit thanks to Wendy who looked it over for me), we can expect to see them printed soon. Hopefully within a week or two. All that's left is to wait on the card art, as I've stated in the previous post.

So here's the next update for art, lucky number 7.

Dame Sela- Her name is going to change. The Dame is every example of a tough guy who's actually a girl. She's the one who could kick every guy in the Barrack's butt. Except maybe Gunter Newgate.

"The Limper"- The definition of disgusting, the Limper is a tough soldier who has seen his fair share of things. His focus is defense, yet somehow he has managed to lose his leg and eye. The Limper makes a brief appearance in the book.

Princess Isolda- Another member of the royal family from the Pinelands. The Princess was secretly taken in my the Assassins Guild and raised to murder nobles in the Court with ease. On the outside, she's just a quiet girl with a pretty face.

Sir Oddo- The residential crazy person in the guards. Oddo is said to have a sad past, based on his insane ramblings, but even other guards are afraid to approach him and set him off. 

Sir Olaf- Another extreme in the guard, this time of gluttony. Often, Olaf is seen going into battle with a leg of ham instead of a mace. His hunger is only matched by his greed.

Update for the Month

This isn't an art update this time, but an update for where the project is in terms of printing as of today (February 12th). We've done a lot so far including almost half of the card art and finalizing the card design and book cover, but there's still a lot to go.

The list is as follows and will be done by March:

1. Finalize rulebook art and wording
2. Finalize the card box art
3. Decide on the card back design (See the Facebook group for comparison)
4. Start filming How-To-Play video and put it together
5. Get Kickstarter shipping addresses
6. Decide on a printer
7. Have someone read the Masquerade book to approve it thus far

It's not a whole lot to do, but there's some work that needs doing this month. Expect the How-To-Play video up next week, that's my goal for that. I'll do the Kickstarter shipping addresses for all my backers late in the month when we decide on the printer.

More art will appear next time as well as the final card design, hopefully.

Art Update #4

It's been awhile but then again, this has been a busy week in terms of organizing things. The work with the printers has been hectic, but thanks to my family things have been going pretty well. We may even be able to stay under our budget and get more decks printed than I originally hoped!

Anyway, onto the art, as I know that's what many of you come here for. As always, thanks Deanna for your hard-work:

Count Ida: Once a beauty, the Countess has taken to eating to distract herself from her long dead lover. She is also known as the "whale woman" to more of the crueler nobles.

Bishop Shepard: The Church in Avo has fallen on hard times as of late. But for some reason, the Bishop can still afford many accessories well beyond a clergyman's salary.

Prince Drago: The Prince of the Pinelands has something of an ego. His glimmering armor and smiling face hides the twisted envy and careless pride underneath the surface.

Gossip Lady Avelyn: Lady Avelyn is the worst gossip in the kingdom. She talks badly about others because she is far too ugly and has terrible personality.

Still waiting on the new card design images. Hopefully we'll have something to show you guys soon!

Card Art Update

Here's the newest selection of card art added recently by Deanna. She's really done some amazing work with the characters and I can't wait to see where she takes things next.

The Avatar of Festivals is a whimsical spirit that goes to parties disguised as a noble. It adores parties and the chaos that can happen during them.

The Barbarian Lord Jaroc hails from the cold north, where fighting and food are all that matter. He was invited to the masquerade merely to avoid conflicts with his tribes.

Beatrice Serell is a disgusting and hated noble lady in Avalot's Court. She's been through several husbands already. Many player don't like this card in the game.

Snivellous Feck is, like most Fecks, a massive coward. Though he is the head of his royal family, he hates making decisions and would sell his own mother to avoid being hurt.

The wizard Whitemane is a relic from the past, where magic and mystery ruled the land. Today, he uses what little power he had to manipulate the courts.

There are several other characters completed, but I don't want to reveal everything just yet. Expect more updates in the future, we're almost at 20 characters completed, a third of the way done!

The book cover graphic designer, Elliott, will also be working on a new design for the cards to match the lovely art being added. This month will be deciding on what print shop we'll be uses to get the cards out there. We'll be wrapping up all final designs, testing, and characters.

Hope you all look forward to seeing more.

More Art!

Here we go with another update from our wonderful card artist Deanna, this time with 4 more and 2 on the way for the week!

Rollin Hodgkin: A wolf-masked assassin under the employment of Count Wymund. In the book, he's the most dangerous assassin in the city and sides with Newgate and Mary for most of the story. In the game, he's a one hit wonder that can do 12 damage, killing any card in the game.

Gunter Newgate: The second protagonist in the book and the most famous character in Masquerade, Newgate is a veteran soldier haunted by his past demons. He hides this fear by being strict and training himself to exhaustion. In the game, he's another powerhouse, being the card with the best overall stats (8 attack and 8 defense).

Jop Carnell: The best information broker in Avalot, Carnell is a small wizardy man who likes to boast that he knows everything. Underneath his arrogant attitude is a sleazy politician who will switch sides in an instant. He has high defense in the game.

Lance Wymund: A young count who has inherited his father's riches. Wymund is a resourceful, handsome, and charismatic young nobleman who believes in supporting the lower class rather than abusing them, like most nobles do. In the game, he is a weak card until the King or Queen is in play.

More card art will be updated as it is given to me, as always. Stay tuned next time when I start posting the new cover art from our graphic designer, Elliott!