The Captain's Logbook: 5E High Seas Adventure & Shipbuilding

Updates From October
over 1 year ago – Fri, Nov 01, 2024 at 11:59:50 AM

As the crisp chill of October sets in and the first whispers of winter begin to swirl, our team is diligently forging ahead with The Captain's Logbook. This time of year brings not only the promise of snow but also a flurry of activity as we approach the final stages of our project. Let's explore the strides we've made this month as we navigate closer to our goal. 

October Progress Update: Where We Stand

Writing and Proofreading: All writing components are now complete, and Dee is diligently proofreading everything (Dee: Diligent is the word - I shouldn’t have put those earlier Bruce Almighty gifs… My keyboard is toast! ><). We are preparing to transition into the layout phase, where we will begin placing text into its final format.

Story: 100% written, 100% proofread.

Archetypes: 100% completed. Playtesting and proofreading are both complete.

Backgrounds and Races: 100% completed. Playtesting is ongoing. 100% proofed.

Island Descriptions: 100% completed. 100% proofed.

Logbook Entries: 100% completed. Playtesting and proofreading are 100% complete.

New Monsters: 100% completed. 100% proofed.

Magic Items: 100% completed, 100% proofed.

Ship Rules: 100% completed, 100% proofed.

DM Screen: Yet to be started.

Artistic Achievements:

Story Illustrations: 90% completed.

Island Maps: Fully completed.

Monster Artwork: Fully completed.

Tokens: 95% completed.

Magic Item Illustrations: Fully completed.

Battle Maps: Fully completed.

DM Screen (The Mysterious Island Theme): Fully completed.

3D STLs: 100% completed.

Printing Test for the World Map: For the first time, we are printing our world map on canvas, moving away from traditional paper or cardboard. The initial results were promising, though the canvas material displayed an unexpected yellowish tint. We are now adjusting the sea colors from green to a lighter blue to achieve the quintessential ocean aesthetic.

Coin Printing Development: We are also collaborating with a workshop to bring our coin designs to life. They are currently transforming our sketches into detailed designs, preparing for the minting process.

As we push forward, we appreciate your patience and enthusiasm. Each step brings us closer to delivering a product that we are proud to share with you. Stay tuned for further updates as we continue refining and perfecting every aspect of The Captain’s Logbook.

September Update
over 1 year ago – Fri, Sep 27, 2024 at 10:13:29 AM

As the leaves begin to turn, so too does the page to another chapter in the development of The Captain's Logbook. We've made substantial progress this past month, and I'm here to share the latest updates and milestones as we prepare for the upcoming stages of finalization.

September Progress Update: Where We Stand
We've continued refining and enhancing each component of our expansive project, with significant advances in proofreading and rebalancing:

• Story: 100% written. Playtesting is ongoing.
• Archetypes: 100% completed. Playtesting and proofreading are both complete.
• Backgrounds and Races: 100% completed. Playtesting is ongoing, with proofreading fully completed.
• Island Descriptions: 100% completed, with 75% of the proofreading done.
• Logbook Entries: 100% completed. Playtesting and proofreading are 75% complete.
• New Monsters: Progressed from 95% to 100% completed.
• Magic Items: 100% completed, with proofreading fully completed.
• Ship Rules: 100% completed. Following playtesting, all rebalancing is now complete.
• DM Screen: Yet to be started.
   

Artistic Achievements:

• Story Illustrations: 80% completed.
• Island Maps: Fully completed.
• Monster Artwork: Fully completed.
• Tokens: Progressed from 80% to 95% completed.
• Magic Item Illustrations: Fully completed.
• Battle Maps: Fully completed.
• DM Screen (The Mysterious Island Theme): Fully completed.
• 3D STLs: Advanced from 50% to 100% completed.

STL completed

We are pleased to announce a significant milestone in the development of The Captain’s Logbook—the completion of the STL files for the ships! These intricately designed models are now ready for all our backers. Here's a sneak peek at two of the files you will receive: a set of majestic sailing ships, each crafted with exquisite detail to bring your seafaring adventures to life on any tabletop.


Game design

As we near the completion of game development for The Captain's Logbook, we've encountered and addressed some significant challenges in balancing ship combat. Initially, some enemy ships and monsters were far too powerful compared to the party's ship, leading to disproportionate challenges. Our task was to recalibrate the enemy scaling to ensure a balanced and engaging combat experience as the party's ship capabilities improve.

An integral part of our design philosophy was to allow for varied combat strategies. Parties can choose to target the enemy ship directly or focus on disabling its crew, offering multiple pathways to victory. The last details to do now are to enrich the upgrades the party ships can get.

August Update
over 1 year ago – Sun, Aug 11, 2024 at 02:03:46 PM

As the summer winds down, our team remains deeply engrossed in the critical stages of proofreading and playtesting the various elements of "The Captain's Logbook." This meticulous process ensures that each component not only meets our high standards but also delivers an engaging and seamless experience for all players. We have a short important announcement before we get into our usual update:
 

Regarding Proofreading - From Dee:

Hi Everyone,
I wanted to reach out with some important news from my side. I recently lost my mother-in-law to cancer and have been focused on grieving and supporting my partner through this time. This has unfortunately pushed us back on the timeline for proofreading Captain’s Logbook so we’ve not seen large jumps in progress. I wanted to apologize for the delay but also thank you all for your understanding during this time.

I’m back in the saddle this week so we are going to see some massive upticks in proofreading progress in comparison!

Can’t wait to get this out to all of you,
Dee
 

Charging Cards 

September 1st is the scheduled date when we will begin charging your cards in BackerKit. Please take a moment to ensure that your payment information is up-to-date to facilitate a smooth transaction process. This step is crucial for moving forward with no delays in finalizing and shipping your rewards. If you have any questions about updating your payment details, please check out this article from BackerKit 

Check out this Month’s ships and enemies Sneak Peek: 
These are just a few sights you and your party may encounter while out on the high seas!

August Progress Update: Where We Stand 
Here's a detailed look at our progress this month across the various components of our expansive project:

Story: 100% written. Playtesting and proofreading are in progress.

Archetypes: 100% completed. Playtesting and proofreading are in progress.

Backgrounds and Races: 100% completed. Playtesting and proofreading are in progress.

Island Descriptions: 100% completed.

Logbook Entries: 100% completed. Playtesting now in progress.

New Monsters: We went from 80% to 95% completed.

Magic Items: 100% completed.

Ship Rules: 100% completed. Playtesting is in progress.

DM Screen: Yet to be started.
 

Artistic Achievements:

Story Illustrations: 80% completed.

Island Maps: 100% completed.

Monster Artwork: 95% completed.

Tokens: We went from 25% to 80% completed.

Magic Item Illustrations: 100% completed.

Battle Maps: 100% completed.

DM Screen (The Mysterious Island Theme): 100% completed.

3D STLs: 50% completed, ships’ STLs in progress
 

Surveys Launched!
over 1 year ago – Sun, Jul 14, 2024 at 09:07:35 AM

Ahoy Backers,

Dee here again with a short and sweet update regarding our Backerkit Surveys.

The tests are good and our surveys have been launched from our docks and straight to your emails. Take a moment to double-check your reward tier, apply any additional add-ons, and confirm your address details.

A Few Quick Backerkit FAQs:

1. Can you change your reward tier? Yes. The option to edit your reward tier will be up at the top of the page. Warning! Once you've changed to a new reward tier, you cannot change back to the old one, so double-check before finalizing your survey!

2. If I'm at a digital tier and want a hard copy, can't I just add a physical copy of the book and logbook if I want one? While yes, you can, it's actually cheaper for digital backers to upgrade your tier to the physical book since it comes with a PDF copy!

3. I can't find my Backerkit survey in my inbox or spam. Help! Never fear—the crew is here! Just click this Backerkit link. Our surveys are connected to the email you use for Kickstarter.
Still don't see it on Backerkit? Drop us a line so we can get you all sorted.

4. I'm moving soon so should I use my current or future address? If your move coincides with our 2025 physical reward delivery window, we'd suggest using your new address or alternatively, a family member's or friend's address.

We'll be sending out a number of notices prior to surveys and addresses being locked to give you ample head's up, but when in doubt use an address that will be steady during our delivery window.

Thanks again, everyone, and looking forward to seeing your survey responses!

 

T-minus 48 hours: Pledge Manager on BackerKit!
over 1 year ago – Wed, Jul 10, 2024 at 06:00:48 PM

Greetings Adventurers! 

We are excited to announce that the pledge manager on BackerKit will open within the next 48 hours. The team has submitted everything to BackerKit and we are waiting for final verification to ensure all details are correct.

Once open, you will have the opportunity to confirm your address, modify your pledge, and choose from a selection of add-ons to enhance your experience. It's essential to ensure you receive exactly what you want from the campaign and to help us streamline the delivery process.

Keep an eye on your inbox for the next notification that the pledge manager is live. (We'll also send an update email!)
 

Exploring New Horizons for the Regional Map 
The team here has started exploring... Exploring various material options for our regional map that is! 

As most crew, we are aiming for something more elegant (and more durable!) than paper or cardboard. To that end, we have started investigating different types of cloth materials to improve the quality and overall aesthetic of the regional map coming with your reward tiers.

July Progress Update: Where We Stand 
As we move into the second week of July, here's the progress we've made so far across the various components of our project. As more proofreading is completed we'll also include percentages in future updates.  

Story: 100% written. Playtesting and proofreading are in progress.
Archetypes: 100% completed. Playtesting is in progress.
Backgrounds and Races: 100% completed. Playtesting and proofreading are in progress.
Island Descriptions: 100% completed.
Logbook Entries: We went from 99 to 100% complete. Playtesting is now in progress.
New Monsters: We went from 15% to 80% completed.
Magic Items: We went from 85% to 100% completed.
Ship Rules: 100% completed. Playtesting is in progress.
DM Screen: Yet to be started.

Artistic Achievements:

Story Illustrations: 80% completed
Island Maps: 100% completed
Monster Artwork: 95% completed
Tokens: 25% completed
Magic Item Illustrations: 100% completed
Battle Maps: 100% completed
DM Screen (The Mysterious Island Theme): 100% completed
3D STLs: 50% completed
 

Project We Like: Bria's Mythical Menagerie

As a professional pirate, I always have my favorite parrot on my shoulder, and so should you!
With over 350 pages of new content in Bria's Mythical Menagerie, this project is a fantastic source for collecting familiars and companions. The tome introduces 45+ new familiars, each with detailed lore, artwork, and stats, alongside 50+ spells, including new "Find Familiar" options, 45+ magical items, 6+ subclasses, and the comprehensive new Summoner class. 

On the mystical Isle of Aiselyne, Bria's Mythical Menagerie enriches your games with a revolutionary creature-collecting flair. Whether trading with NPCs, undertaking quests, or battling new magical allies, this book brings a fresh dynamic to your D&D adventures. Plus, it includes a unique collection of 21 plushies, integrating collectible creatures both in-game and as real-world plush toys!