CHAOTIC NEUTRAL by Mark Sable and Chris Anderson

Smoke test, Surveys and Fulfillment
almost 3 years ago – Wed, Dec 13, 2023 at 05:30:20 PM

Hey all! 

Chris here. It's been a while. I wanted to pop in and say thank you all for your patience. You have been the best, most supportive group through all of the bumps and lumps and learning curvature that came with this project. Now we know for issue 2 and it will go a LOT QUICKER! Speaking of quick, I'm about to run the BackerKit Smoke Test. What this is is a way to make sure everything is running smoothly with the surveys before they are sent out en masse. about 5% of you from each tier will get your survey now. Fill it out as soon as you can and we'll get the rest sent off tomorrow night if it all goes as planned. We would love to get this out to you before 2023 closes shop. Here are a few points to know and some reminders.

-If you all remember, we didn't charge shipping during the campaign, because we wanted to get the most accurate price for you as possible. Both so we didn't over charge you or undercharge for us to have to go out of pocket. So shipping will be charged now.

-If you plan on seeing us in the near future, you can select Local Pick-Up under the country or region tab at the beginning of the survey. Then you won't be charged for shipping at all. 

-If you got the signature or quick sketch level, you will already be credited the amount of that item. It will ask if you want a signature or sketch added and just click YES. This was the easiest way for us to keep things straight for fulfillment.

- Just FYI, Add-Ons have been curated so you can snag extra copies, sigs, sketches, commissions and copies of some of my past work like Lost Angels and Spectral: A Showcase of Fear that I made with David Accampo, who also did the layout and design for the majority of this book. 

-For those who asked got an original page to choose from, I will send a separate email to you personally with a PDF of the pages available. So look out for that. 

-Digital rewards will be delivered in the very near future.

We couldn't be happier with how this book turned out and we absolutely cannot wait to get it into your hands. I hope you are all having a great December. 

Happiest of the holidays,

Chris Anderson

We've got books!!!
almost 3 years ago – Fri, Dec 01, 2023 at 12:09:17 PM

Hey Everyone,

I just took delivery of the books from the printer, along with the monster cards and the standees.  They look great (pics below, although I don't think they do them justice).

Now Chris and I are going to finish setting up BackerKit, so we can send out surveys and start fulfillment.

This is a huge milestone we're excited to finally get the books in everyone's hands.

As always, thanks for your support and patience.

Mark

Printing!
almost 3 years ago – Tue, Oct 31, 2023 at 10:12:31 AM

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

September 2023 Update
almost 3 years ago – Fri, Sep 22, 2023 at 04:30:15 PM

Hey Everyone,

While I'm still dealing with the fatigue from (long) Covid, Chris, Dave Accampo and I are very much hard at work on CHAOTIC NEUTRAL.

As you know, the comic and module are 100% done.  The comic was written and drawn since before the Kickstarter, and the module has been fully playtested and edited since the summer.  

Dave is now working on putting these pices together together with Ryan Browne's satirical "Chick Tract" along with laying out a credits page, the interior front and back covers, any interstitials etc.  We need to keep to under 80 pages in order to make sure the binding from the printer holds together.

Once Dave has that together, we'll send the files off to the printer to get estimates on weight, delivery timetables etc.

Simultaneously, Chris and I have started setting up Backerkit, which we'll be using to send out surveys and make sure everyone gets the various items they ordered in the right combination.  It's my first time using it and a bit complex but so far we're making progress.

We're also working on putting the finishing touches on those non-comics add-ons and stretch goals.  All three versions of the dice are in my hands quite nice.  Dave and I are working together to layout and stat the monster cards (with the art from our amazing guest artists) respectively, while Chris has commissions to do (as well as making sure the original art that was bought gets to the right backers).  I believe the fold up character standees/paper miniatures he drew are already done.

While this might not be as fun to do as designing a module or drawing a comic, it represents progress towards completion and delivery and I thought worth sharing.

Finally, for those of you in the New York area, I'll be at New York area, I'll be at New York Comic-Con from October 12th through 15th at Artist's Alley table I-26th.  If you're there, please stop by and say hi.

As always, thanks for your support and patience.

Mark

August Update 2023
about 3 years ago – Sat, Aug 19, 2023 at 06:55:48 PM

Hey Everyone,

As I write this, I'm recovering from my third week of COVID and getting ready for a hurricane to hit Los Angeles.  I somehow managed to avoid for 3 1/2 years but I seem to making up for...I'm still suffering from some pretty serious fatigue. 

Still, progress continues to be made on CHAOTIC NEUTRAL.

First off, Jacob Hurst has completed laying out the adventure module, and I've finished giving him my final edits.  That's a major, major step.

The module is now in the hands of Dave Accampo, who will be laying out the whole book - combining the comic, module and Ryan Browne's satiric take on a Chick Tract.  

Aside from a final proof of that when it's ready, the next big steps for Chris and I are to set up Backerkit so we can prep fulfillment and dealing with the printer.   We're planning on getting together to do that as soon as I'm fully recovered.

Beyond that, I wanted to share two things that I thought would be of interest to you.

The first is that I have an RPG adventure module out from Lamentations of the Flame Princess called MEANDERINGS OF THE MIND MIND.  You can but the physical copy and PDF here.  (I believe at some point the PDF only copy will be on DriveThruRPG).

It's an old-school adventure about exploring a mind which (SPOILER) is really the mind of an giant, alien being.  Lest you worry, I took time from working on CHAOTIC NEUTRAL to write this, it was actually written and playtested in 2018 or so, originally intended as an introductory adventure for Lamentation's upcoming Referee Book.  Earlier this year, Lamenations' publisher asked if he could put it out it as a stand-alone adventured.  While I did to some more editing and approval of art and layout, the majority of the work had already been done for years.  That said, I think going through the publishing process helped me make CHAOTIC NEUTRAL's adventure better and vice versa.   

If it sounds up your alley, I hope you'll check it out.

Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't plug my friend Jack Mulqueen's Kickstarter for NIGHTLIFE NOIR.  It's a very cool anthology of comic stories about New York nightlife written by Jack and illustrated by a murderer's row of creators, including Paul Azaceta, my GROUNDED/GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES artist/co-creator.  What makes these stories special is that Jack creates on runs some of New York's most amazing nightclubs, including Outer Heaven, not only named for Metal Gear Solid but featuring comics for sale.  He brings that real-life experience to comics, of which he's a huge fan and supporter.

As always, thanks for your support and patience.  Stay safe out there.

Mark