Tonight, we crossed the threshold of $10,000, so we are officially in “funded” territory!  I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their very generous support, for helping to spread the word, and for taking a leap of faith with me on this project!

We still have 8 days of funding left before the actual deadline, so there is still time for new people to join up and/or for existing patrons to revise their pledges.  We’ve hit the minimum needed to go forward, but every bit of extra money we raise now goes toward increasing the budget for freelancers (writers, editors, artists, etc.) and to buy a larger print run of the hardcover book when we have it finished.  So, every little bit we raise before the deadline helps!

Also, I opened up some additional $100 and $200 patron slots, so if you had wanted to get into a higher category but were unable to, go to the e20 System project’s page on Kickstarter and click the “Manage Your Pledge” button over on the right-hand side.

One final point: I also added a VIP (Very Important Patron) level for anyone who might be interested.  In short, it’s a $1,500 pledge that gets you a flight to Gen Con this August, sharing our hotel room (you get your own bed, of course!) in the Marriott right across from the exhibit hall, and we buy you a 4-day badge.  Basically, you get to party like a game designer for 5 days and see what it’s like in our (crowded) world.  So, if you were already thinking about Gen Con this year but you haven’t made any specific plans yet, we’d love to have you join us!

Having a Hutt-like physique myself, I know what a pain it is to find clothes in the right size: 3X-Large is the smallest I’d normally wear, and I prefer 4X- or 5X-Large if I want a looser, more comfortable fit.

One of my regrets at GenCon was when someone would come by and ask if we had anything larger than 3X-Large and I had to tell them that we didn’t. Still, I promised that we’d check with our manufacturer about larger sizes, and the good news is that our reprint of Redshirts Local #1701 includes 4X- and 5X-Large shirts.

When we do reprints of Table 6-9: Galactic Innuendo and Spider Queen, we’ll make sure we add some of these larger sizes there as well.

At GenCon, I released a new product that has cross-system appeal: Dry-Erase Map Tiles. These 1-inch tiles come in packs of 12 (three each of red, yellow, green, and blue), and their glass surface makes them perfect for dry-erase markers.

I had only a limited stock of these available at GenCon, and they sold out in less than 2 hours!  Since so many out there didn’t get a chance to pick up a pack, I’ve made a point of getting them back in stock right away. Best of all, at $2.99 per pack you can afford to get extras if you need to run a particularly large battle!

Here’s the complete item description:

Dry-Erase Map Tiles - $2.99 These dry-erase map tiles come in 1-inch squares, perfect for any game that uses miniatures and battle maps. These smooth-edged tiles are made of glass and come in an assortment of colors. Their weight helps them to stay put on the battle map, and the possible applications are limited only by your imagination: In a large group of similar miniatures, number the tiles to keep track of which is which. Use tiles of different colors to represent different conditions (blinded, fatigued, bloodied, etc.) on individual figures. The tiles can stack on top of one another, so a single miniature could have multiple conditions. Alternatively, you can mark multiple conditions on a single tile, adding or erasing them as needed. Use tiles to mark individual squares on a battle grid to represent miscellaneous items — such as containers, treasure chests, or traps — once the players discover them. (After they learn the contents, you can add a note to each tile to identify it.) Use tiles to identify the target of an effect, such as a fighter’s mark in D&D 4th edition or the target of a mind trick in Star Wars Saga Edition. Use tiles to represent the altitude of characters and items that are flying, levitating, or hovering. Add tiles to an existing battle map to identify items and features that have changed, such as a broken-down door, a smashed wall, or a collapsed floor. One pack will easily handle most battles, and even the biggest and most epic conflicts will rarely need more than two or three. Add one to your game master’s toolkit today!

Did you buy our dry-erase map tiles at GenCon? Have any other ideas on ways to use them during your game? Add your thoughts in the comments section!