Time for Shipping!
over 3 years ago – Thu, Oct 29, 2020 at 04:54:11 PM

There is a time for everything, mis amigos. Todo tiene su tiempo, y todo lo que se quiere debajo del cielo tiene su hora. And now the time for shipping has arrived...

Cartel Shipping Update

¡Tengo buenas noticias! We have received the Cartel corebooks and they are shipping to you all as we speak! Shipping for this large a project takes some time—and we have been slammed with an unexpected snowstorm that’s kept our staff at home—but anyone receiving a standard corebook should expect to see a shipping notification this next week!

Unfortunately, the special edition corebooks have been slightly delayed. We needed some extra time to finish the CIA chapter for inclusion, and we must wait a bit longer to get the books from the printers. Hopefully, we will have those out to you all before Thanksgiving!

In the meantime, the Magpie Games warehouse team is going to be shipping corebooks, maps, dice, candles, and everything else… just as soon as the roads are safe for driving!

Los Gringos Están Aquí

I am incredibly proud to present our first mini-supplement for Cartel: El Águila y La Serpiente. Covering la guerra antidrogas from the US side, this addition to the game contains everything you need to add more Americans to your game, including El Güero, the CIA operative whose misión in Mexico gets him mixed up with los carteles.

I’m gonna be honest, cabrones. My work here was muy triste. The history of American intervention, the role the DEA and CIA have played in perpetuating the drug war, the way that Mexican leaders have caved and thrown their own people under the bus...it was hard to condense it down into something usable at your table. But el trabajo sucio is done, and I think the result is going to bring some really wonderful stories to Cartel.

Right now, we’re giving everyone the full special edition PDF of the book, which includes the additional materials as a new chapter of the book. Eventually, we’ll put the mini-supplement up for sale by itself on DTRPG, and we’ll get everyone a code when it goes live.

Head over to your digital downloads page and grab the special edition PDF:

https://cartel-rpg.backerkit.com/backer/digital_rewards

If you’ve got any feedback, please email me at [email protected]. We’ve still got time to fix pinches errors if y’all find any.

Next Steps: Amigos y Fronteras

Now that the corebook is shipping, I’m starting work on Amigos y Enemigos and Sin Fronteras. In addition to my own writing, I’m working to include many new voices in these books, both writing characters for you all to use with Cartel and helping me to design the next set of LE playbooks, including La Mariachi and El Tahur!

This kind of writing and design work is slow—especially when we bring in other writers—but I’m hoping to have drafts of a few playbooks by the end of the year. I’ll do a monthly update in November and December to keep you all appraised of both shipping and our progress!

Urban Shadows 2E on Kickstarter

And finally...Magpie Games has launched a new Kickstarter for the second edition of Urban Shadows, the game that launched my career as a PbtA designer. ¡Chingón!

Urban Shadows is a political urban fantasy tabletop roleplaying game in which mortals and supernaturals alike vie for power in a modern-day city. Vampires, faeries, hunters, wizards, and more clash in the shadows...or make backroom deals for their piece of the streets and skyscrapers. No one is ever safe, and everything is always at stake.

In many ways, Cartel is the successor to Urban Shadows—a crime fiction game that built on my obsession with community dynamics—but now Cartel is informing a new revision of Urban Shadows by refocusing the game on tighter moves, tighter economies, and a tighter setting, including City Hubs that make sure the players get more time together in the spotlight! I’ve learned a lot this past six years, and I'm excited to bring it to Urban Shadows!

If you’re not familiar with Urban Shadows, it’s a great time to get started. My co-designer (Marissa Kelly) and I have reworked the mechanics from the ground up, and we’re incredibly excited to see what y’all think. You can even grab the free quickstart today on DTPRG to see how it looks.

And… Thank You!

It was an indescribable feeling to open up a box of Cartel corebooks, take one out, and actually hold it in my hand for the first time. By all rights, this book should not exist—the subject matter is difficult, the process too long and too hard, the audience too small—but thanks to all of you...it’s real. Thank you. Your support has meant the world to me.

Accessories y Shipping!
over 3 years ago – Thu, Oct 01, 2020 at 11:14:48 PM

¡Órale, muchachos! It’s time for us to talk about shipping! But first, let’s show off a few more accessories!

Cartel Accessories: Maps, Dice y Meth

We received a few more accessories at the office, including the maps of Durango, the Deck of Locations, and the candy meth from the Bad Candy Lady here in Albuquerque.

I’m muy emocionado about the map. The size of it is perfect for a full table, and Miguel’s layout is amazing. We’ve included numbers on the map corresponding to each location card in the Deck of Locations, so you can get a sense of how each place fits into the overall ciudad. Great stuff!

The Deck of Locations also looks amazing! Miguel continues to knock it out of the park, and the cards are a great way to ground the story in Durango. We are such huge fans of custom moves in PbtA games, but I know folks have trouble implementing them sometimes. I think the Deck shows you how to build those moves in ways that really support the setting!

Finally, the candy meth turned out great. The Candy Lady has been an Albuquerque institution for decades, so I’m thrilled to be able to share a little New Mexican culture with you all for this project. Very tasty!

Shipping: October 2020

Now that we have the dice, decks, tattoos, candles, candy meth, and maps… we’re only waiting for the books. Our printer says the books will ship in roughly the next two weeks, so we should be ready to ship to backers by mid-October. Yay!

As a reminder, no one has paid any shipping yet for this campaign. Now that we’re ready to ship, we’re going to be charging shipping through Backerkit. Here’s what will happen next:

• If you did not add a credit card for add-ons or extras to Backerkit, you’ll get a message from them asking you to fill out your survey again. Add a credit card and you’re set! We’ll run the card on October 7th.
   
• If you did add a credit card already, we’ll run the card on file on October 7th. If it’s declined, we’ll email you. If you need to change the card you have on file, you can log into Backerkit any time before the 7th and change it out.

Since all of you have been so wonderful and patient, Magpie Games is subsidizing shipping down to the lowest rate we quoted during the campaign for domestic/reshipper packages: just $5 for domestic packages and $10 for EU/CA/AU, regardless of weight (plus $3/$8 per candle, respectively). We’re going to reach out to everyone not in those regions (rest of world) directly to make sure you all have options for shipping!

We cannot ship you books if you do not fill out your Backerkit and pay for shipping. If you have not done so already, please add your credit card information before October 7th so we can ensure you receive your rewards as soon as possible!

We’re still working with our printers on the special edition books, so there may be a slight delay on shipping those out. I want to make sure the cover and additional pages are perfect! Thanks again for your paciencia eterna!

Next Steps: Shipping the Books

I’ll update you all in October as the books come in, but we’re so, so close, amigos. Please let me know if you have any questions!!

Sept 2020 Production Update
over 3 years ago – Thu, Sep 17, 2020 at 12:57:05 AM

¡Hola, cabrones!

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of final proofs and production samples, but we’re almost ready to ship everything out. Read on for our production update—including a ship date from our printer!—and information about getting your final corebook PDF (and other downloads) on DriveThruRPG!

Production Update: September 2020

We sent out the complete core book PDF in July, but the final version—complete with updates that fix typos, etc.—is now finished. Huge thanks to our proofer, Katherine Fackrell, for catching all those little errors, as well as to our production manager, Brendan Conway, for working on the physical proofs.

As for the physical books, we have word that the normal core books will ship to us the first week of October, followed by the limited edition books 1-2 weeks later. We expect to ship those books out to you as soon as we receive them, which means all packages should be in the mail by late October. ¡Órale!

On that note, I also wanted to share with you a mockup of the final special edition cover, featuring new calavera art from Doomkitten. I think the new piece is an amazing fit for the game, and I’m so excited to share it with you all! (For those of you getting the regular edition of the book, this art will be featured in the upcoming desktop/phone background images we promised along with Roll20!)

The accessories are coming along as well, amigos. We already had the dice and tattoos in our warehouse; we’ve now put in our final order for the Deck of Locations, candy meth, and cloth maps. And the stickers for the santos candles arrived two weeks ago! Check below for info on getting PDF copies of the deck and map along with your core book PDF.

All in all, it looks like we will have everything ready to ship in October. Once we get all the main rewards out to you all, we’ll start working on the remaining items for delivery in 2021. Thank you for your patience!

Final Cartel Corebook & Deck of Locations PDFs!

The final versions of both the corebook and the Deck of Locations are finished! Thank you all again for all the notes you all provided; the book is much stronger because of your feedback!

You can get the DTRPG code for the final PDF of Cartel, along with the play materials and the map of Durango, via Backerkit. Head over to your digital downloads page and grab it ahora mismo:

https://cartel-rpg.backerkit.com/backer/digital_rewards

In addition to the DTRPG code, you can also pick up the final PDF for the Deck of Locations as well. The cards look wonderful—thank you, Miguel!—and I’m excited to see you all use the moves when running the game. Let us know how they work out!

If you have friends (or enemies) who would enjoy Cartel, please let them know that the PDF and pre-order goes live tomorrow on DTRPG and our webstore. Huge thanks to you all for making this project possible, and I’m so excited to see what people think when they see the whole book in one place.

Next Step: Shipping!

I’ll be back at the end of the month with a shipping update, including instructions on paying your shipping fee and updating your final address. Thank you so much for all the support and care during this campaign. We’re almost there, muchachos!

July 2020 Production Update
almost 4 years ago – Fri, Jul 03, 2020 at 02:03:33 AM

¡Hola, amigos!

Thank you all for your patience this last few months. I’ve been working hard to finalize the Cartel core book, and… it’s finally done. Read on for how to get the full PDF and for an update on our shipping timeline!

Production Update: July 2020

While the COVID-19 crisis here in the United States has caused no shortage of delays and problems, we have finished the Cartel core book! The full book, including art and all of the front and back matter, is now off to the printers. ¡Órale!

That said, our printer in Dallas is still very much behind on working through their existing print queue. They have estimated they will have print books for us in September 2020, but that may be delayed by further shutdowns in Texas. I will keep you all updated as that timeline evolves!

Regardless, the core book is done. There’s still more work to do on the limited edition version, including the special CIA section, but we’ve got time to wrap that up in July/August while we wait for the main book to get through physical proofing. I should have more pictures and updates on the printing process soon.

Again, thank you for all your patience and support. There were days when I felt we would never reach today… and here we are. ¡Un chingo de gracias!

Claim Your Cartel PDF Corebook Now!

We’ll eventually put up the corebook and updated play materials on DriveThruRPG for final distribution (once print proofing squashes any final typos), but I am so emocionado to have the book done that I can’t wait to share it.

Head over to your digital downloads page and grab it ahora mismo:

https://cartel-rpg.backerkit.com/backer/digital_rewards

If you’ve got any feedback, please email me at [email protected]. We’ve still got time to fix pinches errors if y’all find any.

Next Steps: Deck of Locations, Map of Durango, and More

Now that the core book is done, we’re going to take a bit to rest up. The 4th of July holiday is upon us, and we’ll be out of the office for a few days next week. But when we return, we’re going to finalize all the other materials we’re shipping with the core book: the Deck of Locations, the map of Durango, and all the other pieces of El Narco’s Stash.

Stay tuned for previews of all that material (and the CIA supplement) soon. And after that, we’ll be heavy into production on Amigos y Enemigos and Sin Fronteras. I’ll have more info about that process once the main books have shipped.

Have a good holiday weekend!

April 2020 Production Update
about 4 years ago – Fri, May 01, 2020 at 03:08:14 AM

¡Mis queridos amigos!

It is a time of great uncertainty, and I hope this update finds you as well as you can hope to be. As you might expect, there’s been a number of changes in our schedule and workflow due to the coronavirus, but we’re a bunch of cabrones duros! We’ve finished Chapter 5 (MC Chapter), text/layout on the Deck of Locations, and we’re in the homestretch!

Production Update: April 2020

The COVID-19 outbreak here in New Mexico has been limited, largely because the state government moved early to shut things down. Magpie Games closed our office—with the exception of our shipping department—in March, and we’ve been working from home since then. It’s been muy extraño and sometimes difícil, but I’ve tried to make the most of our stay-at-home orders to finalize the book.

Unfortunately, our printer in Dallas is closed for the foreseeable future. I’ve been in communication with them this year to ensure that Cartel is ready for print, but they are closed until at least May 15th. I’ll keep you all updated as I hear more from them.

That said, the writing and editing in cuarentena has been very productive! Chapters 1-4 are through copy editing and Chapter 5 is written and through dev editing. In addition, the Deck of Locations text has been finalized, and we’ve gotten our first set of proofs for color matching from our card printer (who is not closed!). ¡Órale!

Check out the instructions for downloading the newest version of the corebook, new versions of the play materials, and the Deck of Locations below. I can’t wait for you all to see them.

Corebook Preview: Almost The Whole Book!

With the completion of Chapter 5, the latest preview is almost the entire book! You should have an email in your inbox that gets you access to the newest release, but you can also head over to your digital downloads page and grab them here:

https://cartel-rpg.backerkit.com/backer/digital_rewards

A few notes on this release (and the Deck of Locations preview):

• I am still finalizing The Long Example, which is the last few pages of Chapter 5. The rest of the book is everything you need to know to run the game, but I’m excited to share that final section with you soon.
   
• This corebook draft is also missing the front and back matter, including the table of contents, credits, a glossary, index, etc. All that stuff will come together quickly for the next (and hopefully final) draft of the book.
   
• The updated play materials primarily focus on updating the GM materials to match Chapter 5, but there are a few other changes to the playbooks that arose in copy editing. The moves Escolta and Seguir on La Polizeta's playbook are the most clarified (but not altered in purpose).
   
• If you spot an error, please let me know via email ([email protected]) or the comments below. I super appreciate the careful eyes of thoughtful backers!
   
• The pink blocks throughout the text (and the blank spaces on the cards) are placeholders for the art. We’ve received nearly all of the art as well, and Miguel will be working on placing it in the book soon.

I’m going to send Chapter 5 to editing next week (after I hear from all of you) and finalize the remainder of the corebook ASAP! I’m excited to get you all a final version of the corebook in the next few weeks!

Moving Forward

While we’ve made good progress on finishing the book, the next steps for production may be delayed by various COVID-19 closures. I’ll keep you all updated, but the delays are likely to shift out the timeline for printing. I’ll know more in May!