Pledge manager opening soon
almost 3 years ago – Wed, May 24, 2023 at 02:38:58 PM

Hello Dragonbonded!

We know, you are eager to know what is going to happen in Angdáin? Will Zuma be able to assemble his army?  Who is this guy from the Dream, Aellas? Will Reganna conquer Valerna? Well, all your questions will be answered next week, when we fulfill all issues via DrivethruRPG!

What's on this update?

• Digital fulfillment
• Pledge Manager
• Timeline
• Gen Con 2023
• Battles of Valerna - Printable wargame

Digital Fulfillment 

As mentioned above, next week we will fulfill the full comic along with the coloring book, wallpapers and STL pack (Via MyMiniFactory).

Mark Latham is currently working on the Weeping Mother adventure to tweak some details and immerse you in the fantastic realm of Nahuac. Digital fulfillment of this RPG adventure will come at a later date along with the character sheets and handouts.

Keep a dragon eye on your email to check out all the story of Itza!

Pledge manager 

We haven't stop working in the physical rewards and now it is time for you to complete your surveys! We have sent our pledge manager to Backerkit for their approval and if everything goes according to plan, we should be sending the smoke during the weekend and the rest of the surveys next week. Remember that here is your chance to add any extras you would like and set your shipping address to receive your rewards. 

We know must of you are already familiar with Backerkit, if you are, please skip this section,  if you are new, here's a step by step in what you need to do:

1. You'll receive an email asking you to fill your survey, the email will take you to this first tab that will ask for your general shipping details - country and state/region.

2. Once the country and state/region is confirmed, you will be asked a few questions regarding Drakha Press and the project.

3. One more question before moving to the favorite part of our backers, addons! 

4. You will be able to pick any extra item you missed from the campaign. IMPORTANT NOTE - shipping will be adjusted in the next step once you add the proper shipping address.

In this section you will be able to help us unlock the resin miniature of Reganna, if we reach 100+ purchases, it will become a reality! 

5. Once your order is confirmed, you will be asked to add your shipping address (here is where your shipping fee will be modified at the payment). If you are picking up your pledge directly in Mexico City or Guadalajara, please add the preferred city and in Country choose "Local Pick Up".

6. Once your shipping address is confirmed, your balance will be updated and you will need to add your payment method. Once you add the info, click on "Place my order", your card will not be charged immediately, but once we lock orders. 

7. Once you click on "Place my order" you will just need to sit and wait for your rewards to arrive at your door! 

Timeline 

We are in consultation with our manufacturer to progress to production, at the moment we are sending all files for digital verification before moving to mass production. Our date is still October 2023, having freight shipping as the only thing that can change our plans.  

Gen Con 2023 (August 3rd - 6th)

We are so happy that this year Draco Studios will be present at Gen Con not only in one booth but in a double corner booth! Come by and say hi at booth 1449 if you are there! 

Battles of Valerna - 3D printable wargame 

The Dragonbond world is rising and we can't be more excited! As you know by now, Valerna is a tumultuous place where not only the threat of dragons is there, but war between realms. 

Next week, we’re excited to be launching the next Battles of Valerna campaign here on Kickstarter. It’s a complete 3D printable wargame, with five full armies and three add-on packs—all together that’s over 250 minis! You might recognize some familiar characters there! 

The rules have been developed by Alessio Cavatore—a legend within the wargames industry with a background that includes, Bolt Action, Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000, and The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game, and they include unique mechanics to appeal to both new and seasoned wargamers.

AI-driven monsters can be added to your games to add an extra layer of interest and strategy to any battle. And with a little guile and cunning, some of these wandering monsters can be bribed or otherwise convinced to aid you in the fight. Unless, of course, your opponent offers more…

You can also add mercenaries to your army, and choose Vaala and Artifact cards to add special abilities and effects to your units. These bring a whole new layer of strategy to any game.

We have tiers for 1 army, 2 armies, 4 armies, or everything!

Click here or in the image below to get notified on the launch. 

That's it for today, until next update! 

Thank you + quick note on the resin Reganna model
almost 3 years ago – Thu, Apr 06, 2023 at 11:46:40 AM

THANK YOU, everyone!

You've just brought to life the first-ever Dragonbond graphic novel! Which also happens to be the first-ever publication from Drakha Press!

We're so happy that you all got behind the campaign and backed the project.

Thank you for your support in this new venture for the Dragonbond universe. We're all very excited by what the future holds for Draco Studios and Drakha Press, and we're delighted you've joined us for the ride. 

Quick note on the resin Reganna update

As there’s no automation on Backerkit to merge orders, to avoid paying shipping twice it’s better to add the order to your survey once they are sent out. So order your model via the pledge manager rather than through the pre-order store.

Apologies for any confusion.

And before we sign off for now, we have to give you some important information from the current campaign.

Next steps

Now that the campaign finished, here's what will happen in the upcoming weeks:

• Kickstarter will process payments in 2 weeks. Backers with errored pledges (see below) must fix their payment within the next 7 days.
• This month we will set up Backerkit and aim to send out the surveys quickly. There, you will be able to add extra items or allocate extra funds and pay for shipping fees, and let us know your mailing address (if you selected physical rewards).

Note - the preorder Backerkit store will open earlier for those who missed the campaign and want to join.

Errored pledges

Sometimes when Kickstarter tries to take a payment there is an error. This could be due to the following reasons below:

• Your account has insufficient funds.
• Another Kickstarter project ended on the same day: Your bank blocked the card for security by thinking it was a duplicate charge.
• Your card is incompatible with the Kickstarter US charge hub.

If this happens you will receive an email from Kickstarter and you have 7 days to fix the issue in order to secure your pledge (and benefit from the discounts). Use the steps below:

1. On a web browser (not in the app) go to https://www.kickstarter.com/ and log into your account.

2. You will see a red band at the top of the website saying you have an errored pledge. Click on "Fix Payment"

3. Try again with a payment source that is compatible with Kickstarter and has sufficient funds.

4. Check this worked by refreshing the page - the red band at the top will disappear. Alternatively, try looking in your mail for confirmation.

Backers with errored pledges have 7 days to fix them. If you are not able to fix it within that time your pledge will be automatically marked as canceled. Don't worry, you will still have 2 opportunities to fix it:

• The first will be when we send the surveys. Backerkit may be able to charge your card properly.
• The next will be two months after Backerkit surveys arrive when we will be able to enable PayPal payments.

It's best to fix the issue in Kickstarter so you can receive the updates. But rest assured that your pledge info is still on record and you will have some opportunities to fix payment in the future. We will be here to provide support.

We'll keep you updated as much as we can, if you have any other questions, head over to our Discord reach out to us!

Stretch goal hit + who wants a resin Reganna?!
almost 3 years ago – Thu, Apr 06, 2023 at 09:18:14 AM

Greetings, Dragonbonded!

With just a few hours left of The Rise of Itza campaign, we're delighted that we've hit the next stretch goal and unlocked an extra FREE month Tribes subscription for Digital+ tiers! 

That's even more STLs and subscriber-only content to bring you joy!

And speaking of joy, we thought you'd all love to know that we'll be adding a resin Reganna Fulgen model to our Backerkit store! So you can own and paint Itza's nemesis from the first issue of the comic! 

The model will be unlocked once we reach 100 orders.

Isn't she gorgeous?! This model is 50mm size, (although her wingspan is more like 90mm!) so she feels a bit larger than a D&D large dragon.

Fulgen dragons believe themselves superior to other dragons, and their beauty might back up their claim. They are stunning to look at, their metallic scales glinting in the sky, and facing one of them usually means certain death, even for other dragons!

Mercenary in nature and strong among her peers, Reganna is an opportunistic creature. And like any glimmering dragon of the Fulgen brood, she understands the value of a good deal. 

Ruthless in battle, Reganna has felled her fair share of dragons in the past, and she'll stop at nothing to claim  lands of her own… 

If you want to snap her up, then once the campaign ends you'll be able to follow the link from the Kickstarter page through to our Backerkit store and order yours. 

The kit is supplied unassembled and unpainted.

The Rise of Itza painting competition winner revealed!
about 3 years ago – Wed, Apr 05, 2023 at 11:01:10 AM

With 24 hours left, we're SO close to hitting the next stretch goal! And depending on how the last day goes, we might even bag another one after that!  

We know a lot of you downloaded the free Itza STL that we gave away over on MyMiniFactory, and we hope you all enjoyed painting her. (Or perhaps adding the printed model to your unpainted Pile of Shame™…)

But, there could only be one winner! And so I'll hand over to Draco's Community Manager, Ulises, to reveal all…

The winner, and why we loved it so much…

Ulises: We are thrilled to announce the winner of the #ItzaPainted contest, as voted for by the Draco team! 

@arqartur0 has created a magnificent piece of art, featuring Itza painted in the style of ancient Mayan clothing. In Mayan culture, textiles and clothing held great significance, as they were often used to depict sacred symbols and stories.

@arqartur0's attention to detail is evident in the vibrant colors used in the painting, which in Mayan times, were achieved through the use of natural dyes. 

The Mayans extracted red dye from brazil wood, annatto (Achiote), and cochineal insects, while yellow came from the blackberry plant and blue from clay and the indigo plant.

@arqartur0's choice of a darker skin tone for Itza is a nod to the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, which shows the artist's dedication in creating a historically accurate depiction.

We congratulate @arqartur0 for their impressive work, and for imbuing their Itza with such heart and historical significance. We'll be in touch to organize your prize – the special edition hardback graphic novel!

We'd like to thank all of the other entrants in the contest for their craft and enthusiasm. It was great to see the variety of color schemes used, and I especially enjoyed the fact that for at least one entrant, Itza was the first miniature they'd ever painted. I'm sure it won't be the last.

As we enter the last few hours of the campaign, please share our Kickstarter with your comic-loving friends and help us to spread the magic of Dragonbond!

And speaking of sharing…

Our friend JC Carter loved The Rise of Itza campaign so much he shared it with the backers of The Shaolin Nun™ campaign he was running.  

Described as Enter the Dragon meets Thelma and Louise, this series seems like a whole heap of fun (and looks super-cool, too!). See for yourself:

This campaign has now closed, but there is another one coming later in the year where you'll be able to join in with all of the fun. Keep up with the news via the Substack, Sifu's Notes.

Madranna – character deep-dive
about 3 years ago – Tue, Apr 04, 2023 at 07:52:11 AM

Following on from yesterday's closer look at Prince Aellas, today we reveal a little more about Madranna of Tyveria…

Madranna is the niece of Adrael and the heir apparent to his throne.

She is a skilled warrior and seeks to break the long-held traditions and received wisdom of the great Tyverian Houses in favor of more modern, socially progressive ways of ruling. 

As such, she is something of a pariah amongst many of the Tyverian elite and is seen as a troublemaker even by those who would agree, privately, with her views.   

Not that she cares. She seeks a peaceful revolution, the ushering in of a new era. 

Madranna treats everyone as equals, which is sometimes deemed as a lack of respect…

She is nevertheless Tyverian still, and as such, she knows what it is to live a life steeped in blood.

We get to see a lot more of Madranna, and many of the other characters, as the tale unfolds beyond the first comic. 

Which character are you looking forward to learning more about as the story continues? Tell us in the comments!

The Rise of Itza painting competition update…

We'll be revealing the result of the Itza painting competition tomorrow, the winner of which will have earned themselves a copy of the Special Edition hardback graphic novel! Nice! 

So be sure to keep an eye out for that one. 

And while you're here…

Another great campaign to check out...

Our friends at Loot Tavern have launched a campaign - L’Arsene’s Ledger of Treasure and Trinkets.

It's absolutely bursting with art, subclasses, familiars, spells, crafting recipes, and the dark, jocular whimsy for which the Loot Tavern is infamous. You’re gonna love it! Plus there is a tankard with teeth - I mean, who doesn't want to sip their [insert beverage of choice] from something that looks that cool.

Check it out here