Hello Curious Cats!

We're just finishing up our first 24 hours of this thirty-day campaign, and we've just passed the 85% mark towards our funding target! Getting so close, let's keep it up and see if we can get another big backer train going!

Now that the cat's out of the bag and our campaign is live, Eddy has been making the rounds to talk about - and play! - this game! I've got a trio of podcast links to share for your listening pleasure today!

First up, last Friday's episode of the weekly Onyx Pathcast has Eddy, Dixie, and Danielle - all writers on the project - talking about the Curious Cats of Mau (after chatting about their pets first, of course!)

As always, the team does get into diversions and digressions, but lots of great stuff covered in this episode, including:

Next up, the latest episode of GM Talks from A Bunch of Gamers features a chat with Pugmire Poobah Eddy Webb! Listen as they talk about ideas that were refined, how the setting has moved forward, weird fiction that inspired the game and us, and much more!

Finally for today, one of my favorite things to find whenever a new game is on the horizon - hearing or seeing the game in action!

The Red Moon Roleplaying team are really some of the best out there, and Curious Cat developers Eddy Webb and Lauren Roy join the Red Moon team in a Curious Cats adventure. 

This is actually their second time journeying through the Realms of Pugmire. Last year they featured the dog-themed adventure "Tower of the Oliphant" which you can listen to <here> if interested.


OK, cool cats! Let's keep up the good work and see if we can't find that final 15% of our funding target over the next 24 hours!

Please share links or information about this campaign in your social circles and on your social media where possible, and see if we can't herd some more cats to our cause!

I'll be back with an update tomorrow sharing some of the Rules of the Realms.

If you haven't read the first manuscript section yet, you can check out <This Update> to get the download link. We'll have the complete draft manuscript out to backers before the conclusion of the campaign - you'll be able to read the book before any pledges are processed or payments collected.

Carry on, Curious Cats!

Hello Curious Cats and Cool Kittens!

My name is James, and I’ll be your Onyx Path Crowdfunding Concierge for this new Realms of Pugmire system and setting expansion - The Curious Cats of Mau! I’ll be updating the campaign as we go, hopefully adding Stretch Goals, answering questions, and providing support wherever needed as best I can.

I’ll note that I’m not part of the creative team on this project – so I won’t be able to immediately answer some of the more intricate rules or design inquiries – but having me manage this Crowdfunding campaign allows Eddy and Lauren and the whole team of writers to keep their focus on the awesome projects that they’ve got in the works.

That said, feel free to make me your point person for any questions or issues you may have. I'll make sure to dig up answers as quickly as possible and clear up any issues that arise. Mostly, I'm just looking forward to an exciting ride along with all of you on this (and future) projects.

This comment section is for all members of this community – united by our shared desire to see this project fund and develop – to cheerlead the project and figure out how best to spread the word about what we’re building here. If you’ve started a thread on whatever social media platform exists today or a Discord conversation about the game or this campaign – let me know about it so we can share that info. If you’ve discussed the game on a blog or podcast, let’s hear about it! If you’ve got funny ideas for social media hashtags, well we can do those too!

I will also be the person who gets to share the updates and previews with you! As noted on the main page and in the pledge descriptions, I also get to share an exciting treat – The Curious Cats of Mau Draft Manuscript previews, so you can start reading the book immediately! Scroll down to the bottom of this post on the website to see the first BACKERS-ONLY update for a download link.

So, welcome to Crowdfunding by BackerKit! Welcome to Curious Cats of Mau! And now let’s see what lurks beyond the horizon...

One quick note about Shipping before we get into the manuscript previews. 

First up, it's amazingly expensive to ship, especially from Onyx Path's home base in the US. We get that, but there's not much we can do at this time. Onyx Path is in a difficult space where the company is big enough that they're not saving money by fulfilling out of Rich's garage, but small enough that they can't really set up international partners to handle portions of the fulfillment. So we are where we are - for now. 

The best we can do at this point is to plan carefully, advise everyone up front that international shipping will likely be expensive (see our projections on the main page) and only charge what it costs us when the time comes. We’ll be charging for shipping in the Pledge Manager once the books are being printed and we can deal with the actual shipping charges rather than using our best-guesses this far out. If you live outside the US and aren't sure you want the hardcover or other physical items, you can pledge to the PDF tier now and upgrade your pledge in the Pledge Manager once we know the final shipping costs.

Remember, thanks to BackerKit magic, these download links are visible to Backers only - you must be logged in and reading this on the website to have access to the manuscript preview links. So, if you're reading this via e-mail, click that "Reply to/Read The Update" link on the bottom and I'll see you below the title treatment.

I'm going to be sharing the manuscript in sections over the next 30 days, Part of the reason for that is to keep focus on one section at a time so the developers, Eddy and Lauren, can gather feedback to help guide the manuscript through the next steps of editing and development. To that end, they've created a special Feedback Form for you to submit your comments after reading each section!



You can submit your comments here: CURIOUS CATS OF MAU FEEDBACK FORM <link>

 

 

One of the first choices you'll make when backing this campaign is choosing which House to pledge to. But just as important for these Curious Cats is what Calling your character takes. Your Calling is your cat’s chosen profession that allows you to be a heroic adventurer throughout the monarchies and beyond.

CHAMPION -“I’m ready to defend the monarchies and my friends to my last breath if necessary.”  Champions are the trained warriors of the monarchies, charging headfirst into battle with their weapons at paw. They wear shining suits of armor and take hits for their fellows. Like the knights of old, champions usually fight for a cause, whether for their own honor, to uphold the values of the monarchies at large, or everything in between.

FOOTPAD -“You lost your purse? Of course, I’ll help you look for it! Wait, why’s everyone looking at me?”  Footpads have a wide range of motivations for doing what they do, from a rapscallion do-gooder using her gains to assist the poor, to a canny assassin being paid to relieve a noble of his longtime rival.

MANCER -“Do we have to fight now? I’m trying to study.” Mancers, so named for the common suffix of all types of magic users (i.e. pyromancers, hydromancers, and necromancers), dedicate themselves body and mind to their magical studies.

MINISTER -“Why fight with steel and iron when you can use your voice to soothe, inspire, and heal?”  Ministers are the philosophers and bards, healers and sages of the monarchies. Ministers make excellent diplomats and entertainers in addition to providing spiritual guidance and healing.

MYSTIC -“To truly understand the world, you must become one with it.”  Mystics draw their power from without, channeling it through natural ingredients and components, which they keep secreted in pouches on their belts, in their cloaks, and elsewhere.

TORPEDO - “Silence is a virtue, and gunpowder is a blessing.”  Most torpedoes are thought of as the loose cannons of all the adventurous callings. They are unpredictable and either wait for hours to spring a silent, efficient trap or kick in the front door of an enemy’s keep with their gun pointed straight ahead, ready to act.

TRACKER -“Stay sharp. Stay alert. Take this sword and follow me.”  Trackers live their lives by a very specific vow: Murder the Unseen. “Murder” may sound drastic, considering the precept of merely pouncing on the Unseen, but it’s to remind trackers to take it incredibly seriously.
 
WANDERER - “I go wherever my feet take me...”  Wanderers forego the safety of the monarchies for more personal reasons, focusing on their own spirituality and strengthening their connection to the Old Ones.