BackerKit surveys are coming! Get ready for your Pledge Manager email
about 3 years ago – Fri, Apr 23, 2021 at 09:02:44 AM

The good news is we are now ready to go as Kickstarter has completed their bit and transferred all pledge information into BackerKit, our pledge manager of choice.  This update contains a lot of useful information so please make sure you read it, if you have any questions or need any help please message me, Andy Hobday, as I am only too happy to help.

Kickstarter only had an issue with 5 backers unable to complete their pledge and as we don't want anyone to miss out Andy Hobday will be contacting each person individually to see if we can get something sorted.

Over the next couple of days, everyone else will be receiving an email from us with a personal link to their BackerKit survey. It’s important to respond to your survey as swiftly as you can since we need this information to fulfil your rewards. To be able to send your pledge by the end of September 2021 we need you to have completed your survey by the 31st of May 2021.

You shouldn’t need to create a BackerKit account to fill out your survey. When you receive the email, click the button 'Click Here to Respond' to get started.  By doing so you will be taken to the starter screen for your personal pledge survey.

Select 'Get Started!' to, funnily enough, get started. We have asked you a few questions, to begin with (we hope you don't mind). These questions are to help us decide what we should do next for this range, in a nutshell asking you what you would like to see.  If you don't want to answer any of our questions just 'opt-out' each time, it is more than OK to do this.

Once you have completed the questions, you will be able to select packs up to your pledge amount if you are a 'Baron' or over-pledged at any of the pledge levels, or purchase any add-on items for an additional cost.

When you have finished choosing, click 'NEXT' and you will be taken to the next screen and asked for your shipping information.

This shipping information will generate your postage and packaging costs which you will be asked to pay along with any extras for other add-ons on the next 'confirmation' screen either via credit/debit card or PayPal, unless you have already added extra funds to your pledge amount to cover this.

On the 31st of May 2021 we will be locking completed backer pledges, which will be any that have completed all stages of the survey, with a plan to charge any extra card payments during the following day on the 1st June 2021.  Locking pledges informs us what we need for fulfilment, helping us to deliver on our goal of shipping all completed pledges by the end of September 2021.  If you miss this end of May 2021 deadline it is likely your pledge will be shipped later than the end of September 2021.

Barons Pledge Level

If you backed at the Barons pledge level you will have your pledged amount as credit in your account which you now spend on Add-ons.  Choose the packs you want by adding them to your account.  If you want one of every pack select the 'All the Death and Taxes Figures' product and we will have you covered. You can back for more than you have pledged paying the extra amount as you complete your pledge survey.

The Antagonists Pledge Level

If you backed at The Antagonist pledge level you will already have the first 10 white metal packs added in your pledge manager automatically.  You will be able to add further packs in the add-on section.  If you want one of everything, just click on the 'All the Stretch Goals, in the Add-ons sections and we will have you covered. You can back for more than you have pledged paying the extra amount as you complete your pledge survey.

King John Pledge Level

If you backed at the King John pledge level you will have one of each pack in white metal added in your pledge manager automatically.  Andy Hobday will also be in touch very soon via email to discuss plans for your unique sculpt by Paul Hicks.  You will be able to add further packs in white metal in the add-on section.

Terrain Pledges

The following is what you need to know if you have backed for one of our Terrain pledges, you can add figures in the pledge manager and to add all the figures from the Kickstarter select 'All the Death and Taxes figures' as an add on product and we will do the rest.

Digital Terrain Files (STLs) by June 2021

If you have backed or plan to add the digital files to your pledge we aim to have them available for you to download by the end of June 2021. There will be further updates about this over the coming weeks so more information to follow. You can add figures to a digital pledge but be aware that if you add anything that needs shipping you will be charged postage and packaging costs as you complete your pledge survey.

The Hamlet (physical terrain) by September 2021

If you have backed for a physical Hamlet or chose to add one as an Add-on in the pledge manager it will be delivered to you with everything else you select and will be sent as your main pledge.  You can back for more than you have pledged paying the extra amount as you complete your pledge survey.

Wimentun Village (physical terrain), initial pledge of 50 by September 2021

If you have backed for a physical Wimentun Village it will be sent in it's own separate package to protect it from being transported with a heavy selection of metal, and because it is big! If you back for both figures and village, in most cases, the postage will reflect this.  However, we are NOT charging you the full amount for postage twice, we have made a decision to share some of this cost of sending two parcels with you.

Wimentun Village (physical terrain) secondary pledge of 25 by November 2021

If you backed for a physical Wimentun Village added as an extra pledge level during the Kickstarter, everything above applies except your village will be sent out by the end of November 2021. Everything else that you chose will be sent to you in a separate package at the same time as the other pledges, by the end of September 2021, it is just the village that will arrive later.

Please note, if you have pledged for a village but not backed at one of the Wimentun Village (physical terrain) pledge levels you must contact Andy Hobday as all 75 villages have been allocated to backers who did.

Freebies

All FREE bonus miniatures, The Early Backer Exclusive Miniature, The Falconer, The Bishop of York and Ambush!; plus a copy of the Death and Taxes book will be added by us to any and all qualifying accounts once pledges are completed and before being locked to give you the maximum opportunity to qualify.  

How you qualify:

• The Early Backer Exclusive Miniature: backed the project in the first 24 hours and purchase at least one pack of miniatures - all backers up to and including backer #629 are eligible.
• The Falconer: back the project for at least £45 (exc. postage)
• The Bishop of York: back the project for at least £80 (exc. postage)
• Ambush!: back the project for at least £134 (exc. postage)
• Printed Death and Taxes book: back the project for at least £45 (exc. postage)
• Digital Death and Taxes book: All backers, this will be sent via email when ready, most likely end of August 2021..

We have included extra shields and extra weapon options in the add-ons section if you want them.  Also included are a selection of packs from previous Barons' War Kickstarters which we believe fit right into the Death and Taxes campaign.

If you need to review your information or pledge status, after you have received your initial email, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://the-barons-war-3.backerkit.com.

If you used your Facebook credentials to log in to your Kickstarter account, the BackerKit survey is sent to the email address you use for your Facebook account. If you have another email address that you prefer to use, please contact support at https://the-barons-war-3.backerkit.com/faq.

Please remember by answering your survey in a timely fashion helps us get your rewards out to you faster. BackerKit helps us save lots of time by streamlining the survey process, automating data organisation, and providing us with pledge management software to make it easy to process your pledge reward shipments.

I hope the above steps make sense, if not please do ask questions as I know there is a lot to digest and there are no stupid ones! Once again, thanks for all your support. With the help of Footsore Miniatures & Games, we can’t wait to send out The Barons’ War: Death and Taxes pledges to you.  Standby, you will receive your email in the next couple of days!

Stay Safe!

~Andy & Paul (Hobday & Hicks)

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE

If everything goes to plan (and so far so good) this is our production schedule for this campaign:

March 2021 - Kickstarter Campaign

April & May 2021 - Pledge Manager

1st June 2021 - Lock Pledge Manager

June 2021 - Deliver STL files to Digital Backers

June, July & August 2021 - Production

End of September 2021 - Despatched for Delivery

End of November 2021 - Second wave of Physical Villages despatched for Delivery

An Update about the BW3 Pledge Manager
about 3 years ago – Tue, Apr 20, 2021 at 10:57:57 PM

I can hear you asking, when will we get access to the pledge manager? Well, it looks like if everything goes to plan it will be this week, I did think it would be yesterday, Monday 19th April 2021, however, it appears things are moving a little slower than usual. I'm sorry about this.

While we wait I am going to take the opportunity to provide an initial rundown of how pledges are managed:

The pledge manager we will be using is called BackerKit, one of the best and the same one we used before. BackerKit helps us save lots of time by streamlining the survey process, automating data organisation, and providing us with pledge management software to make it easy to process your pledge reward shipments.

First, Kickstarter needs to transfer over your funds confirming everyone's payments and pledge details individually into the BackerKit pledge manager, this is what we are currently waiting for and it should be anytime now.  

When it's ready you will receive an invitation email sent to the same address as your Kickstarter email. This email will contain a link to your personal survey and it is important to submit your responses as quickly as you can since we need this information to process your pledge. If you already have a BackerKit account the BW3 Kickstarter will be added to it. 

Second, we have to find out from you what packs you choose for your pledges and where we need to ship them.

If at any time you need to change your survey responses, purchase add-on items, or update your shipping information, you can click the link in your survey email again or request your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page. (Please note, this page will only start working after we send the surveys out). I hope this all makes sense, if not please do ask questions. 

In other news, we do have the pledge manager built and all ready to go once Kickstarter and BackerKit give us the green light; below are screenshots of what to expect.

This is an example of the first screen you will see:

After answering our survey questions you will reach this screen where you can select your packs or add to your pledge:

This is the third screen where you confirm your shipping details:

When the pledge manager opens we will send out a guide explaining how to use it containing a detailed walkthrough, the above images are just examples of what to expect.

Again, thanks for all your support and your patience it really is imminent. We can’t wait to send your Barons’ War pledges to you. 

~Andy & Paul (Hobday & Hicks)

It's the 20th why didn't the pledge manager open yesterday!?
about 3 years ago – Tue, Apr 20, 2021 at 11:35:40 AM

Morning all, we were aiming to have the pledge manager open yesterday, unfortunately, we are still waiting on Kickstarter to transfer all your pledge details.  Hopefully this will happen today as it is all we are waiting for with the rest of the pledge manager ready to go. We received confirmation on Sunday from Kickstarter that they had completed their bit, so it is just a timing issue.

I will send out a longer update later today explaining how the pledge manager works so everyone is ready once it opens.

New Packs in the Pledge Manager

While we wait here is something new which Paul and I have included in the pledge manager.

Adding the Outlaw List to the Death and Taxes book means there is a need for new troop types, Sherwood Slingers and Outlaw Signallers. Having created these new packs after the Kickstarter ended Paul and I couldn't wait to make them available for the campaign book, so we have included them for backers as add-ons in the pledge manager.  If you add these packs to your pledge you will be the first to get your hands on them as they have a release date of 2022.

Physical Villages

If your intention is to add the physical village of Wimentun in the pledge manager, and we haven't discussed it, please get in touch with me via messenger as all 75 of the initial villages have been allocated.  We will do our very best to accommodate you.

There will be a further update later today explaining how the pledge manager works and my intention is to keep you fully informed until we are ready to go.  Won't be long now!

Stay Safe!

Andy & Paul (Hobday & Hicks)

A Quick Update - One Week On
about 3 years ago – Sun, Apr 11, 2021 at 05:42:06 PM

When will we get access to the pledge manager, I hear you all asking? Well, it looks like if everything continues to go to plan we will have the pledge manager open on Monday 19th April 2021. 

While we wait we have an update for you about the Tax Cart, Outlaw List and the Village & Hamlet pledges (this is an important one!). 

The Finished Tax Cart

We have finally settled on the design of the printed resin parts for the tax cart. For the Death and Taxes Kickstarter, the cart comes with three tax chests plus the bars so it can also be used as a prisoner cart. The metal figures, which we aren't sharing here, will be two horses, the driver and the guard.  The complete model will be supplied with the appropriate MDF base.

Outlaw List

The brain has gone into overdrive with what this force looks like. Initial thoughts are no banners, I can't see that happening, but signallers with hunting horns enabling orders to reach further over the battlefield are a possibility. Although the use of slingers declined over the second half of the 13th century they were evident at the Battle of Lewes in 1264 and Edward I raised an elite unit from Sherwood Forest as late as 1303. 

Slingers, Sherwood Forest and an elite unit all makes me want to add them for the Outlaws too. Along with the Outlawed Noble, both of these warrior types will bring something new and to be honest, Paul and I wish we had thought about them sooner so we could have made them before the Kickstarter had ended!!

VIllage & Hamlet (Really Important!)

We have had a few pledges where backers have pledged £334 for, what looks to us, a physical Wimentun Village and all the Death and Taxes figures but NOT backed at the Wimentun Village pledge level. If you have backed with the thought of getting the terrain but not backed one of the terrain pledges, thinking you can select it later, this is NOT guaranteed and you may want to get in touch, pronto. 

We currently have 4 Wimentun Village sets and 30 Hamlet sets remaining, these are leftover from Kickstarter pledges which we will add to the pledge manager on a first-come-first-served basis. 

Please note, you will be able to add the digital STL files in the pledge manager as an add-on.

And Finally...

Kickstarter started collecting pledges when the campaign ended meaning we are week through what is a two-week process.  Currently, Kickstarter has had issues collecting from the following 9 backers, numbered 762, 745, 649, 636, 556, 527, 450, 360 and 212. Please check to see if you are one of them as we would hate for you to miss out.

Right, that's all for now, we are hoping to be back next weekend with our guide to using the pledge manager and a confirmed start date.

Stay Safe!

~Andy & Paul (Hobday & Hicks)

+15 Hours - What Happens Next?
about 3 years ago – Tue, Apr 06, 2021 at 05:53:56 PM

Hello, everyone, we are 15 hours on from our Kickstarter finishing and I thought it would be helpful to send a quick update explaining what happens next.  I know there is a lot here as I have tried to cover as many questions as I can, so please read if you are a backer.

 Kickstarter Collecting your Pledge Amounts

When the Barons' War 3: Death and Taxes project ended yesterday Kickstarter started to collect your pledge amounts which they say can take up to two weeks.  Please check to make sure that your pledge has been collected successfully, you will receive an email from Kickstarter informing you if not. After two weeks Kickstarter transfer all pledge information over enabling us to open the pledge manager, until then we have to sit patiently and wait.

The Pledge Manager

While Kickstarter does their thing, I am in the process of putting together the pledge manager with the aim of having everything ready as early as possible - I think it will take me about two weeks so I'm aiming for the 20th of April.  If you haven't participated in a Kickstarter before, the pledge manager, when it opens, is where you check and manage your pledge, choose any add-ons/packs and spend any extra pledge money. It is like a self-contained Barons' War Kickstarter website for this campaign.

You will be given access via your Kickstarter email and be invited to confirm your pledge type, The Baron, The Antagonists, All the Death and Taxes Figures or King John if it is a miniature based pledge. Digital Terrain FIles, The Hamlet or Wicantun Village if it is a terrain-based pledge. 

In the pledge manager, you will be asked for any further information which we need, such as your postal address.  You will also be able to add extra packs or add anything else that is available, paying for these separately if needed. There will be an opportunity to add the figures to your terrain pledge, choose to add All the Death and Taxes Figures in one go or add all the Stretch Goals if you are an 'Antagonist' backer. 

Once you have made your decisions and finalised your pledge the cost of shipping will be calculated and added.

The pledge manager offers PayPal as a payment option, which Kickstarter doesn't.

Freebies

When it comes to the 'freebies' they will be added to your pledge in the pledge manager right at the end, once you have finalised your pledge and it has been locked. We wait until the pledge manager is completed to make sure we assign the correct freebies to the correct backers.  

It is important to note The Falconer, The Outlawed Noble, the printed campaign book, The Bishop of York and the Ambush miniatures will only be added to physical pledges for postage reasons.  If you qualify for the 24-hour exclusive miniature you will be asked to pay for the postage costs if you do not have a physical pledge.

A digital PDF of the Death and Taxes campaign book will be made available to all backers who complete their pledge once the book is completely finished.

What do I do when it is ready?

When the pledge manager is ready to go I will prepare a "How to..?" guide which I will share as an update explaining how everything works. I will be on hand for anyone who needs my help.  If you want to contact me another way, not through Kickstarter, follow me on Facebook I have a page which can be found at https://www.facebook.com/andywarhost, you can message me directly there.

King John backers, I will be contacting you separately via email after the pledge manager opens to discuss the process for having your miniature sculpted by Paul.

Footsore Miniatures & Games who will be manufacturing everything for us have already started to make the production moulds. The Footsore guys want to be ready to start manufacturing in bulk as soon as you complete your pledges, so we can start shipping orders in a timely fashion which I think is great news indeed.  Our printers are printing the terrain and have been for some time.

That's all for now, while we wait, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

~Andy