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(Yes, it is April 1st, no this is not an April Fools gag)

Last month I posted a proof-of-concept for the “Dyson Deck of Delves”.

Dyson's Deck of Delves - Proof of Concept

I figured I should let everyone in on what’s going on with said deck.

  • I have priced out several competitive quotes for getting these printed.
  • These quotes include fulfillment so I won’t have to double-ship and double-handle the product (they will be shipped directly from the company doing the printing for me)
  • The only remaining variables are based on the number I order and the shipping costs. I’ll have to get some shipping prices figured out (since I don’t live in the US, fulfillment will be out of the US from the printer to the backers).

I currently have a backlog of about 10 maps to finish off for various commissions I’ve taken on in the last few months. In addition I am almost EXACTLY one month ahead on maps for the blog, which is the minimum I can maintain if I’m going to keep the backstage pass program running.

Thus I need to keep drawing at least two maps a week for the blog, plus I can assume I’ll get 1.5 maps a week finished for the various outstanding commissions. That’s 6-7 weeks before my plate is clear. For this reason I am NOT accepting new commissions for the next while.

Once I’ve cleared my commissions I will start drawing the first suit of cards for the deck, while still drawing 2 maps a week for the blog. This will help me figure out exactly how long it will take for each card / suit and thus how long it will take to finish off the whole project (except for the card backs… that’s a whole other issue).

Once that initial suit is done being drawn I’ll launch the Kickstarter for the decks. If everything remains as it is now, I’m looking at $15 a deck roughly and one of the stretch goals will be a set of rules by Zzarchov Kowolski on how to use the suits and numbers to stock your random dungeon in addition to the actual maps. (Zzarchov writes some of my all-time favourite adventures, so I’m really excited by this).

The goal of the Kickstarter will be to sell 1,000 decks. Less than that and I might as well run it through Print on Demand and not invest the extra time and money on fulfillment.

So, that’s a very long way of saying that you can probably expect the Kickstarter to launch at the beginning of June or maybe as late as July. But almost certainly this summer.

Then I’ve got to knuckle down and get the Dyson Mega Delve into publishable condition…