Last Week of a Successful Kickstarter + How Do You Do It?

Alliteration Works!

What a great start to 2017! Starting with a Kickstarter that funds in two days, January is almost at a close and so is that Kickstarter. Dungeon Delvers Lost in the Dungeons of Doom! 2!! has basically followed that same template as the first DDLitDoD! and apart from being 19 days long instead of 33 days, the backer trend seems to be similar also. Lots of action initially and then a plateau. "Day after day, day after day, We stuck, nor breath nor motion; As idle as a painted ship. Upon a painted ocean." to quote Samuel Coleridge.

What do you do? How do you get more interest? How do you get beyond this inertia? When backers change their pledges up/down/sideways or worse yet... drop off altogether!

With extraordinary strength of purpose. Or, in one word: Faith. Not just in God (although that certainly helps me!) but also in the creative process and being ready to begin right now. Why wait? You're probably as ready to start something now as you'll ever be. And you keep on communicating. Discuss the project with your backers. Ask what they like. What they would love to see. Keep working on it, and be patient.

I have no doubt the second Kickstarter will fund and I didn't even before it went live. What is the secret of my success? Hard to be sure. Obviously having "Dungeons" in the title has helped. People recognise the genre just from that work. Alliteration may also have contributed. What do I think is more important than all that? I love sculpting these miniatures (a new skill, though I've painted them for decades) and have enjoyed fantasy roleplaying since childhood. I let that love shine through. Be passionate! People get that. I really would love my miniatures in your hands and on your gaming table! Because I believe the world is a better place when people come together. Games are one way to enable that.


I have also made some new friends from around the world. The internet makes collaboration easy and with their encouragement and support, I offer something better than if I did everything myself. It also means word gets out in different places, like France and Germany (and America) for example. Friends closer to home are equally important because the Kickstarter isn't over when it hits the funding date. Without my gaming group, collating addresses and packing boxes would've been a nightmare!

A shout out to a few fine fellows my be in order here:

Lewis, Grant, Greg, Blair, Dennis and Dave for their inspiration at the gaming table (and help packing boxes).
Erik Tenkar, for letting me sculpt his famous dwarf, Tenkar Calishun.
Ken St. Andre (creator of Tunnels & Trolls), for his advice on Trolls and encouragement throughout this project.
Rick Loomis (Flying Buffalo) and Liz Danforth for their blessings and support.
John R. Lehman for his review.
Rom from Cult of Game, for his mad graphic design skills and another cool review.
Will from The Grinning Skull: Grim’s Dungeons of Doom, who is definately a kindred spirit!

My loving wife and our awesome children who don't mind having a crazy sculptor around.

God bless you and have a fantastic week!

Tenkar Calishun + St Andre Troll + Delvers Lost in the Dungeons of Doom! 2!!

Warriors & Wizards. 

Here we are, January 2017 and I realise that my gaming blog has been gathering interweb dust. So, what have I been up to? December featured a trip to Fiji for a youth convention on climate change. I am really surprised how quickly Christmas rushed by! I enjoyed time with my family at the beach - it's a cracking hot summer in New Zealand. Running through the native bush and swimming at the beach is a great way to unwind after a challenging year in my new role as a Youth Ministry Coordinator.

I also began sculpting again. I sculpted my first 'Green', a barbarian called Kroag for my friend Lewis. Green putty is so much easier to use than Tamiya Quick Epoxy Putty! I continued to be amazed as more miniatures took shape. While at the beach I contacted another blogger, the renowned Erik of Tenkar's Tavern. 

I found him on Facebook and sent him a message:

• 31/12/2016 08:50
  

  Darcy Perry
  

  
  

  
  

  Hey Erik, not sure what time it is there but it's quarter to nine, the morning of New Year's Eve here in New Zealand. I am a longtime follower of your blog. I was wondering if you ever had a miniature of Tenkar the Dwarf sculpted? I am new to sculpting but have managed a successful Kickstarter campaign and will be starting another one early 2017. Are you interested? Merry Christmas, Darcy Perry
• 

  31/12/2016 08:51
  

  Erik Tenkar
  

  
  

  
  

  heh - that would actually be kinda awesome :)

We chatted for a while and Erik sent me some artwork. Over the next few days we discussed details about his axe and shared our love for gaming,

Tenkar's Tavern

I started with his face (needs more beard!)

A double-bladed bearded-axe!

Goat insignia on his stein!

Then I thought about my friend Mark, an avid Tunnels & Trolls gamer. Ok, a fanatical Tunnels & Trolls player. He has even written and published Solo T&T Adventures! So, me thinks, how about making him a Troll? I hadn't sculpted a monster before. I may have even told a few folks I would stick to smaller heroes. Never say never.

Wait a minute, he's mates with Ken St. Andre! Ken stayed at his place last time he visited New Zealand. What if I asked Ken for advice about a Troll miniature? That would be really cool. So I went back to Facebook. I soon had an email with two screenshots of a Troll from Snow White and the Huntsman, along with a couple of snapshots of Ken's smiling face! Game on!

The result? The St. Andre Troll!

The Wire

Low on Green Stuff, I resort to left over Tamiya Quick Epoxy Putty.

Fedora hat for style.

Ken prefers his Trolls without toes or nails/claw.

The great Troll Hammer!

Note the rulebook and dice bag!

Welcome to the Dungeons of Doom!

Ken's archetypal Trollworld Rock Troll.

Ken is an amiable guy. He also knows what he likes in a troll. As you can see, I took some licence as an artist, making the St. Andre Troll a combination of sentient rock and more Ken-like features. I was also inspired by the art of Josh Kirby and Liz Danforth that for me, were the Trolls of my youth. They are burned into my brain. Ken suggested a Tarzan loincloth, which was great because (I love Tarzan, and) it meant a belt. Which meant a belt buckle. So I put a T&T on that!

I also slipped a rulebook in his left hand and a dice bag hangs from the studded belt. You need a lot of six-sided dice to play Tunnels & Trolls! The hammer is a nod to Troll Hammer Press, while the fedora hat is Ken's signature headgear.  

I launched the 2nd Star Hat Miniatures Kickstarter this afternoon. In a couple of hours it was half funded. As I write this, I realise I will be packing a lot of boxes in February!

God bless you all and enjoy your week!

Sculpting Fantasy Miniatures + Amazon + Red Sonja + Bretta

She-Devil with a Sword. 

It's still April and here is number five! Sculpting this Amazon brought back memories of my teenage years, gaming in Te Kuiti. A mix between the classic Red Sonja and Eleanor's character, Bretta the Barbarian. As the wife of Pat, the DM, Bretta certainly had the favour of the Dice Gods!

Perhaps because of this favoritism, other player's added an evergrowing list of alliterative epithets to her character's name. Bretta the Bull-buggering Barbarian from Barcelona, for example. I recall Alex coming up with Bury-me-in-a-Y-shaped-coffin? All in good fun and the best possible taste.

I utilised a button from David's Emporium for her shield. This saved time and helped me decide her final pose. It will probably help with defense also, given the chain mail bikini offers little in the way of protection. Given her prodigious strength, Bretta wields her Bastard Sword one-handed.

Have a beautiful, bountiful and blessed week!

Dungeons and Dragons + NZ Festival of MindSports 2015

Mark Thornton runs a Game of Dragons!

Week two of the NZ Festival of MindSports was a resounding success in Thames this weekend. The North Island Wargaming Convention was held on the previous weekend, making the main hall eerily quiet. Not so our gaming room!

Richard Morita and his new Edo Jidai - Duelling Samurai game for a grand tounament complete with Japanese ritual bells ringing. Mark Thornton ran a new creation called Game of Dragons. Darren from Auckland brought Magic: The Gathering and a boardgame he purchased from a Kickstarter campaign called Cthulhu Wars which included all the expansions (for around 450 NZ$) and looked amazing. Cthulhu Wars is a strategy/horror board game from Lovecraft's classic Cthulhu Mythos.

I ran a game of D&D on the Saturday evening at Mark's place and then another game on Sunday at the Festival. The night game was reminiscent of how I began playing, with no miniatures or terrain, now often termed Theatre of the Mind. As Dungeon Master this is incredibly liberating and allows for a higher level of spontaneous creativity but in my experience works best with a smaller group. The next day I brought out the DWARVEN FORGERY™ terrain, which certainly helps keep focus on the game when running for sixteen players! 

Gorbraxis III

Edo Jidai

Edo Jidai

Cthulhu Wars

The Dragon Warriors!

My first roll of the day!

Cthulhu Wars

Cthulhu Wars

Edo Jidai

Dungeons & Dragons: Day Two

The final roll of the dice.

Wrapping things up.

Winners: Patrick (Gold, red shirt), Mathew (Silver, green shirt), Kamea (Bronze, blue shirt)
and my mum Marlene (Organiser, purple hat).

Magic: The Gathering

Cthulhu Wars

Congratulations to the winners: Patrick (Gold), Mathew (Silver), Kamea (Bronze). Thanks and blessings to all those who helped make it happen again for 2015, especially my mum Marlene.

God bless you and have a great week!

Dungeons And Dragons + The Haunted Keep

The Campaign continues... after an unsuccessful barter for some horses with Post-Apocalyptic Pete, the party leave the Comeback Inn and relative safety of the village to find the root of strange occurrences at the nearby abandoned keep. On route, beneath a full moon, they discover they are not alone. Hundreds of undead are also shambling towards the keep! Outrunning the skeletal menace, the Haunted Keep soon looms above. An impressive monument to dwarven stonework, the keep stands short and squat, like a lego block dropped from the heavens. The party cut a track through the purple sward.

Your host for the day, Lewis! Welcome to the Haunted Keep. Stay a while... stay forever!

Running from the hordes of undead amassing around the keep, our intrepid explorers solve the riddle above the entrance (thanks Fingers!), scoot inside and bolt the double doors (after failing to climb the back wall).

The moans of the living dead can be heard outside as the keep is explored. Alyssa finds a lever but decides not to pull it. 

Bones of fallen soldiers are scattered throughout the rooms.

"I've got a bad feeling about this..."

A small regiment of skeletons springs into action, upturning tables and firing finger bones that explode on impact.

Erin, a Paladin of the Order of the Horse, hurls a flask of oil at the table and retreats to the door. Fingers MacGee offers his pyrotechnic skills and soon the room is alight. A fight begins at the doorway. Meanwhile, Alyssa opens a chest and starts pulling out linen and blankets. Ariel Axemaiden loots the skeletal remains of a long dead warrior. The Bard discovers a hidden bottom with coins and a surprise! At the bottom of the chest was a three-headed snake with strange markings. Ariel made short work of it with her axe, cutting the viper in half.

Someone's at the door! The 'Bard' stops her looting to throw a sheet over the skeleton, while Ariel the Elf boots the blanket of bones back into the burning room.

When the fires die down, the explosions cease and the smoke clears...

The party ascends to the next level. Please note the amazing modular design... brought to you by DWARVEN FORGERY™.

The obligatory kitchen and stores level.

Some cleaver action. When the Head Chef is sent back to the land of the dead, his animated utensils fall lifeless also.

An armoury. Now we're talking!

Top right room (food store) is filled with strange scarab beetles. Sacks, boxes and barrels full of the blighters. More on this later.

Onwards and upwards. Another level, another battle with bone warriors.

Erin hacks and slashes, while Fingers and Horsepuncher Jones fire deadly missiles.

The Elf and the Bard fight a hooded spectre with Tourette syndrome. Use is made of the bed, blankets and flaming oil. Alyssa notices afterwards that the green hood is unmarked by the flames. She wears it and starts swearing profanities!

Horsepuncher Jones manages to damage one of his hand crossbows. The fight is finished with a longshot from Fingers MacGee.

Like a d6. Oh look, a hidden door.

Which leads to a hidden treasure room. With fake treasure! It's a trap! When disturbed, the floor tiles give way and send poor unfortunates down to the storage room filled with hungry scarab beetles! The scarabs seem strangely attracted to Horsepuncher Jones, who starts eating them. Yummy. Alyssa throws down some rope and the party regroup and head upstairs once more.

"Go back!" says the statue at the end of the corridor. Then it blasts Alyssa with a bolt of lightning!

Lord Fortesque! Or something like that. His introduction is somewhat similar to chattering teeth. For a death knight that wields an eldritch blade, his etiquette is sorely lacking. After the fierce battle, Blackrazor (the sole-sucking sword) is wrapped carefully in Erin's cape. It talks! "You are what you eat. I suck through the feet."

Pop!

A Wizard's laboratory, owned by the Liche Loboticus. His vague history lesson helps to explain the brown goo, skeletal soldiers and guardians of the keep. They are the last bastion of order keeping the realm of Chaos at bay... and he needs a hammer... 

...to smash this magical mirror. Why? Not really sure. Anyway, the hammer is somewhere beneath the keep. Back to that lever on level one guys! 

Returning to pull the lever on the first floor of the keep, a stairway is revealed and the party descend into the depths of the unknown. Note the awesome stair design. Yes, more DWARVEN FORGERY™.

Many of the antics on this lower level can be explained by the above photo.

Idols bearing Jade stones and mysterious tentacles abound!

The source of the tentacles is found. Horsepuncher Jones charges at the purple monstrosity. Note: a classic 1980s Grenadier miniature superbly hand painted by Lewis. No plastic pre-painted miniatures here!

Horsepuncher Jones goes down. Closely followed by the Elf and Paladin. Oh, yes, Fingers MacGee drinks a potion. He disappears from sight but a thump is heard soon after, as he too falls over, paralysed. The quick thinking Bard throws the urn from the Death Knight's chambers at the monster. It shatters and explodes in a magical cloud of sparkle-dust, giving all who breath it an unhealthy dose of the mind-altering powder.

Too graphic for your mortal eyes. Suffice to say, drugs are bad. Mmm, k?

All in the corridor succumb to the powerful hallucinogenic effects of the narcotic. Alyssa the Bard, wrapped in her Hood of Tourette, is immune. Feck! Almost tripping over the paralysed and invisible body of Fingers MacGee, she borrows an axe from Ariel to finish the creature. Hack. Hack. Hack. 

The party discovers the final idol and retrieve another piece of Jade.

But wait, there's more.

"Wow, I love what you've done with the place!" A new dilemma for the group. How to best these Champions of Chaos and unlock the portal?

"Who do you serve?" In order to save her comrades, Erin wields the powerful Blackrazor, sacrificing her own humanity.

Given her new perspective, Erin dons some Chaos armour while the party proceeds to insert the Jade 'keys' into place and disappear through the weird portal.

"We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto!" The party gaze in wild-eyed wonder at their new armour and equipment.

Mega City One!

Waiting for the hammer to fall.

Lock and key.

Hatchet Higgins celebrates in the new Temple of the Axe, built with a generous donation from the party!