Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Lets Talk Kickstarter

Some people have been asking about when the Demon Kickstarter will actually happen.  Bottom line up front is that I am looking at starting it between 15 and 22 May.  A couple of reasons:

1.  Perhaps most importantly I want to have some real physical product to show and not just greens.  This means I have to get master molds done and have some miniatures cast from them.  Right now my mold makers are swamped casting up stuff for conventions and the won't be able to get to my stuff until the end of April or early may.

2.  There have been a lot of big projects launched on Kickstarter in the last three months and frankly I am hoping to catch the lull afterwards.

So, what is going to be in the kickstarter?  That is a good question I am looking at the main buy in level to include:

3-6 Manes
1 Type I Demon
4 Type II Demons (all different sculpts)
2 Type III Demons (all different sculpts)
1 Type IV Demon
1 Limited Edition Paladin in Hell miniature (Kickstarter Exclusive)

Stretch Goals will include the following (and hopefully all sculpted by Paul Muller):
Graz'zt (Paul should have him completed in the next week or two)
Orcus (Paul has already agreed in principal to sculpt this)
Baphomet (Paul has already agreed in principal to sculpt this)
Demogorgon (Paul has already agreed in principal to sculpt this)
Pazuzu
Kostchtchie
Yeenoghu
Fraz'urb-luu
Spider Queen
Type V Demon (2 snake options with 1 upper torso and interchangeable hands)
Type VI Demon
Quasit
Rutterkin (x3)
Dretch (x3)
Bar-lgura (x2)
Babau
Chasme
Succubus

And that will pretty much finish off the Demons.  Still a couple out there that need to get done but not many.  I will start posting more concept art as it comes in.  You can expect Demogorgon, Baphomet, Yeenoghu, Fraz'urb-luu, and the Type V Demon over the next couple of weeks.

14 comments:

  1. Wow. Your stretch goals are an all-star lineup, some of which could be quite large (Kostchtchie for one). Would they be cast in resin?

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  2. Sounds great, Brett. Any chance you'd consider doing a goristro mini too? :D

    Allan.

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  3. Everything will most likely be metal. Kostchtchie is only listed as 7' tall in the monster manual so not very big. Bulky but not big.

    I have considered a Type VII demon but not sure what I would want them to look like. The Type VII is basically a giant chaos minotaur which is cool but I need to figure out a way to make them look different from Baphomet. It is a good idea though so yeah I might do that.

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  4. The goristro was in Dragon 91, and created by Gygax:

    ==
    Goristro (Major Demon)
    FREQUENCY: Very rare
    NO. APPEARING: 1
    ARMOR CLASS: -2
    MOVE: 15”
    HIT DICE: 20 (+6/die)
    % IN LAIR: 20%
    TREASURE TYPE: B, C
    NO. OF ATTACKS: 2 & 1
    DAMAGE/ATTACK: 12-30/12-30 & 5-40
    SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
    SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
    MAGIC RESISTANCE: 60%
    INTELLIGENCE: Low
    ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil
    SIZE: L (21’-24’ tall)
    PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
    Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
    LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: X / 16,200 + 35/hp

    These huge demons are collectively known as goristroi. One can be found on nearly any plane of the Abyss, for they are
    adaptable and much desired by the rulers of the place to serve as engines of destruction. Demon lords and princes are able to command the goristroi and have them serving
    as guardians, enforcers, and so on. The hulking goristroi are too stupid and bestial to do more than carry out their orders.

    The attack mode of these monsters consists of two clubbing smashes with their long and very powerful arms. Each is equal to a crushing blow, so material struck must be
    saved for. In addition, a stamping attack can be made against any opponent of 6’ or less height which is within 10’ of these brutes. They hurl boulders as do cloud
    giants (1”-24” range for 2-24 points of damage). Goristroi also have the following spell-like powers which they can employ one at a time, one per round, at will: detect illusion, detect invisibility, fear (as a wand,
    by gaze), gloom 60’ r. (equals one-half darkness condition), levitation, spider climb, and teleport without error (once per day only).

    Even the lowliest of goristroi can be harmed only by +1 or better magic weapons. All of them are immune to cold, fire, poison, and poison gas. They regenerate at the rate of 1 hit point per turn. They have both infravision and ultravision. As noted in the list of statistics given
    above, goristroi receive 6 hit points per hit die in addition to whatever is rolled, giving each hit die a range of from 7-14 instead of the usual 1-8. Goristroi with 140-160 hit points are 21’ tall and can only be hit by
    magic weapons of +1 or better. Those with 161-200 hit points are 22’ tall, and also are hit only by +1 weapons. If hit points fall in the range of 201-240, the beast is 23’ tall and is hit only by +2 weapons or better. The
    largest goristroi have 241-280 hit points, are 24’ tall, and are hit only by +3 weapons or better. Goristroi can do siege damage to constructions and large objects in the same way that giants and golems can. Damage figures given below are per round of attack, with no other activity allowed to the goristro in that round.

    Points of Damage Against
    Wood--Earth--Soft Stone-Hard Rock-Bronze
    4-----1------3----------2---------1

    As can be seen from the foregoing, the goristroi are major amongst their ilk because of their ability to absorb damage and to mete it out. They are stupid and otherwise limited in power, being unable even to gate in other demons. The vast majority (90%) of goristroi encountered will be in
    the service of some Abyssal ruler, blindly carrying out the duties assigned to them with complete fanaticism. There is never a question of retreat or morale when dealing with these brutes. They will always continue to follow their given commands until completion or death occurs. Some symbol of servitude will be worn by goristroi ruled by a lord or prince, whether it be a collar, arm or wrist band, implanted symbol, or whatever. Such devices typically have the power to convey telepathic commands to the wearer as well as serve as tracking devices should the masters wish to
    know the whereabouts of their servants. Without direct command or supervision, goristroi tend to wander off on destructive rampages of their own direction and desire.

    Goristroi are vaguely reminiscent of giant bears, although their shoulders are broader, their visages appearing to be a nightmarish cross between bison and human, and their
    hands and feet disproportionately large, splayed, and humanlike.
    ==

    Allan.

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  5. I have read the entry from dragon and they sound pretty cool so I guess for the sake of completeness I will try and get one sculpted though be aware that this is going to be an EXPENSIVE miniature!

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  6. That's some list! Glad they'll be in metal. Glad Mr. Muller is on point as far as the sculpting is concerned.

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  7. Any update on this KS. I’m currently in the CSM TOH and need to leave enough funds for your Demons minis. The greens look absolutely phenomenal!

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  8. Looking at the overlap with the CSM Demons and Devils KS, it might make sense to allow swaps. Or alternatively, provide credits to be used with any figure types included in the KS. Because of the quality of the the greens and the items in your current line-up, I'd like to see this be a huge success, but I'd be concerned with the 400+ Backers already receiving multiple items on your list. Does this make sense? Also, from this perspective, the Bar-Igura, Goristo, Chasme, Babau, Fraz'urb-Iuu, Kostchtchie, Pazuzu and the Spider Queen (old school style) are not in the previous CSM KS and don't have any good (or any in most cases) metal minis from other companies - so might be given high priority for Stretch Goals.

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  9. @MortalArrow
    Giving high priority to minis not included in the CSM one makes sense. The problem with giving credits for unmade stuff is that it would delay shipping until the wanted item was produced. I will think about it because it would make things more flexible but might be hard to peg the prices of unmade miniatures correctly which could be an issue.

    Also I should have the price estimate for production this week and once that is done I will be pretty ready for the kickstarter. So should be good by the end of the month at the latest. I have some more concept sketches by that time too which should help!

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  10. I was just thinking I hadn't kickstarted any minis lately.
    I am mostly looking forward to the groups of smaller minis. I have never used anything stronger than a type III, although type Vs make good statue/traps.

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  11. I agree with Evilhalfling that the lower CR demons may create the most demand. Of these Quasit, Rutterkin (x3), Dretch (x3), Bar-lgura (x2), Babau, Chasme and Goristo (I think more recently referred to as Ghour) are not commonly available in metal. Regarding the Stretch Rewards, have you thought about expanding to include Abyssal type creatures of lower CR ratings that may see more use and have more popularity? The types of things I can’t seem to find in metal minis include: Yochols, Bodak, Retriever, Howler, Abyssal Giant Ants, Abyssal Basilisks, Abyssal Giant Centipedes, Abyssal Greater Ghouls, Abyssal Giant Spiders.

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  12. Yochols and the Bodak could be done and should be. I am not sure about the others though to be honest. They are possibilities but would be way down on the priority list. I will have to think about them and mull it over a bit.

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  13. I think I get where you coming from as most of the others on that list are not true old school. Well, except for the Retriever - which if sculpted well could be a really popular option (I'm not sure if any other manufacturer has something even closely resembling this servant of Demogorgon). Also, just realized you might also wish to consider a Larva, which , other than the original Grenadier version, I'm not aware of any other available. I can say for sure that they are quite popular on eBay.

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  14. Really looking forward to this!
    I see the focus of this is more on the demons but I'd be really interested in seeing Slaadi. Not sure how others feel about that though. Hoping to see this set up as a kickstarter some time soon. I've got some cash set aside just for it :)

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