A science fiction and fantasy tabletop RPG set in a near-future where the Americas were never colonized, created by a team of Natives.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Coyote & Crow Update #27
about 2 years ago
– Wed, Mar 02, 2022 at 09:01:16 PM
Shipping News!
Hey folks,
Our fulfillment team is currently prepping our first waves of books to go out. I want to emphasize again, that they're estimating that this main wave will not finish leaving their warehouse until around March 11th. With that said, here's some more specifics.
Seeker Backers: All of your books and prints shipped late last week and I'm seeing that many of you have already received them. Enjoy!
Warrior Backers and other folks expecting a standardcopy of the book: Your books are in the main wave and many of you will start receiving notices late this week or early next week that includes tracking numbers. If you're in the US, it's likely coming from USPS. If you're in Canada, it's likely coming from UPS. But this isn't guaranteed and I don't know how your individual book is shipping. If you locked down your survey on time (by February 18th) then please don't reach out until after March 11th.
Roll20 Backers: Currently, we don't have a hard date for launch but we're hoping for June. We'll keep you posted as we learn more from the Roll20 team.
FLGS Backers: Your cases are expected to go out somewhere between 3/9 and 3/11, but that's only an estimate. They'll head out to you as soon as we've finished the first wave of consumer backers.
Donations: As I mentioned in the previous post, this is going to be a massive undertaking that we'll hopefully have more news on once we've finished fulfillment and we've finished bringing on someone for our Event and Outreach Coordinator role.
The Rest Of You
If you haven't completed your survey, didn't lock your address in time or otherwise were not ready to go on 2/18, we'll send another wave out some time after all of the above folks have gotten their books. Please get me your information as soon as you can.
That's it for now! We're going to have some really fun announcements about other C&C things soon, including:
Our first tabletop game!
Our next crowdfunding campaign!
Custom dice!
Story Guide screen!
Our first novel set in the C&C universe!
Our Foundry VTT launch!
Convention appearances!
Portuguese and Italian translations of the core RPG book!
New merch!
Take care, be safe, mask up, vaccinate
Thanks/Wado,
Connor
Coyote & Crow Update #26 - Shipping!
about 2 years ago
– Tue, Feb 22, 2022 at 11:20:16 PM
I have the best news: We’re starting fulfillment!
Our warehouse team has received the first shipment of books and we’ll be rolling them out to you soon! While we had a wide potential time frame, we’ve beaten the odds and are proceeding ahead of our estimated schedule.
Please keep in mind that there are more than 10,000 of you receiving books. It’s going to take some time between the first book shipping and the last book received. Our team is a great group of folks, dedicated to making sure you get your gorgeous reward. Please, be patient.
For most of you, all you need to do is wait a bit, you’ll receive an email notice that your book has shipped including a tracking number. Nothing to do but enjoy! Our fulfillment team estimates that the last books should be done leaving the facility by mid-March.
However, for the rest of this email, I need to speak to a minority of folks out there.
Group 1) Folks who need to change their address: That ship has sailed peeps. I understand that with 10,000 of you, a few folks are bound to have things come up. I’ve been there. But a) I don’t know when your specific book will ship and b) while I’m willing to change addresses, what I’m not willing to do is create more work or potential confusion for our fulfillment team by having them track down and edit information that’s already been delivered. If you asked to have an address change on or before today 2/22(as of this update), it’s been addressed. For some of you, your new address has been updated and locked once again. For some of you, your info has been unlocked and blanked, waiting for information from you. This will move you into Group 3 below. From this update on however, no address changes will be made. Thank you for understanding.
Group 2) Folks who finished their BackerKit surveys since we Locked addresses: Your books will ship eventually. However, you’ll have to wait until folks who had their addresses ready to go have all been fulfilled. Thanks for being patient!
Group 3) Folks who have not filled out your surveys(more than 400 of you): Please do so and you’ll be added to Group 2. While we are not going to put a firm cutoff date to fill out your surveys yet, we will eventually decide on one and assume you do not want your rewards sent to you. However, I suspect that many of you who would fall under this category, will not be seeing this update. *sad trombone*
A few final notes:
Folks who backed at the Seeker Level: I’ll be signing and shipping out your books and prints from my office this week.
Donated Copies: We’ll be tackling these after fulfillment and it will be a long, ongoing process. We’ll have specific news about these as it becomes available and we’ll eventually have a page on our website dedicated to the project.
Retailers: You’ll be getting your cases along with all of the other backers. At the moment, we are considering moving our retail street date up from mid-May to mid-April. Either way, this should give you at least a month’s worth of advanced sales. If you think you may need more copies, please contact Alliance, ACD, or PHD to place pre-orders in the US. If you're outside of the US, you should be able to place orders through any major hobby distributors that work with our partner, PSI.
Lastly, as I’m going to be extremely busy for the next few days, please do not expect replies to this update to be answered any time soon. That’s all for now!
Wado/Thanks, be safe, be kind, get vaxxed, mask up
Connor
Coyote & Crow Update #25 - Locking Shipping Addresses!
about 2 years ago
– Wed, Feb 16, 2022 at 02:48:05 AM
Time to Lock Addresses!
Hey folks,
After some discussions with our printers and our distribution and fulfillment teams, we've decided that we need to lock in all of your shipping addresses sooner rather than later. So we're going to move to that next step based on their advice and timelines.
On Friday, February 18th, we'll be locking addresses. You'll receive an automatedemail notice from BackerKit 48 hours before addresses lock.
For those of you new to crowdfunding, this is the portion of the campaign where we need to make sure we have your correct address so that we can ship you your reward. I cannot state how vital this is, especially in a large campaign from such a small company. Accurate and timely shipping is a precarious and chaotic process even under the best of circumstances. We're working to set ourselves up for the easiest time we can, but we cannot get this done properly without your accurate addresses.
While it's not my intention to sound like a hard ass here, I want to make some things very clear. The address we ship to is 100% on you. Our books are expensive. Shipping is expensive. You've had almost a year to give us your correct shipping address. Once a book is shipped to an address that you've provided, that's it. There will not be a second shipment. We will not entertain requests for corrective or replacement shipments. Once addresses are locked - they're locked. No change of address will be accepted from that point forward. Whatever is in your survey is where the reward is going to.
If you need to update your address, fill out your BackerKit survey for the first time(thereare still 460 of you), or aren't sure if you have or not:
PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT ME THROUGH KICKSTARTER. Giving me your address through Kickstarter puts me in the position of making sure your address is correctly updated in BackerKit and I refuse that responsibility. You need to enter your address in BackerKit yourself.
Instructions! Please follow these easy steps:
If you've filled out your BackerKit survey and your address in that survey is accurate - you're good! Do nothing!
If you've filled out your BackerKit surveybut believethe address may be incorrect - go into your BackerKit survey (either through your emails sent to you or through your account on the site)
If you haven't filled out your survey, please do so immediately. By now, everyone will have received at least one email per month from BackerKit reminding them to do so. If you don't have these emails, please contact BackerKit Support. This is important because we cannot send you any rewards, regardless of whether you put in your address initially in Kickstarter or notif you haven't filled out your survey.
Again, you'll be given a notice from BackerKit 48 hours before addresses are locked. You'll have access to your survey up until that point.
Apologies if this sounds a bit "ranty" but I want to make sure that you all get your books in a timely and efficient manner. If any mistakes are made, I want them to be on our end, so that we can make them up to you. I can't help you if you don't help me.
**We are still looking at an eventual April delivery. I'll update folks as we have more specific timeline information.
Whew.
Okay, with that said - we're almost there! I cannot wait to get this book into your hands and eventually onto hobby store shelves!
Wado! (thanks!)
Be safe, be kind, get vaxxed, mask up
Connor
Coyote & Crow Update #24
about 2 years ago
– Thu, Feb 10, 2022 at 11:30:48 PM
Hello friends!
I've got good news on most fronts so let's dive right in. We're approaching the home stretch!
The Core Rulebook
I was able to visit our printer in Dallas, TX recently and see the first pages coming off the press. It was thrilling to see the entire book publication process and I was so impressed with the scale and scope of printing a 480 page book. The manufacturing is truly impressive.
The printing process is going according to schedule. In fact, I just received a sample of the fully finished cover, including the spot UV, and it is GORGEOUS. You're all going to really love it. Also, 480 pages is a really hefty book. It's a beast.
As mentioned previously, that puts us on track to start shipping to backers some time in April, depending on shipping and receiving, and a May street date for retail. That means we'll likely be locking down shipping addresses in early March.
Virtual Tabletop
We're currently working with both Roll20 and Foundry on VTT implementation and we'll have news on those platforms soon. Our hope is for launch within the next few months.
Job and Partnership Opportunities
We're still looking to partner and work with a number of folks. Most important at the moment is our Event and Outreach coordinator. We really need someone to help us with events and they don't have to be Indigenous. For more on all of the opportunities, please check our page on our website:
We're rapidly approaching an important decision point in our crowdfunding plans for the future. We can officially say we're stepping away from Kickstarter for our next campaign and moving over to GameFound. The details are still being finalized but we should have solid information for you soon. What is relevant is when this campaign launches. We're currently running a poll on Twitter about this here: https://twitter.com/CoyoteNCrowRPG/status/1491094265426223104
Here's the short of it. Traditionally, crowdfunding campaigns don't launch until a previous one has completed. It gives backers a sense of security and helps ensure a sense of trust and partnership with the publisher. With our core rulebooks on schedule to deliver in May, that would mean launching our next campaign in June, which in theory, we can do just fine.
But here's the catch: This new campaign includes digital rewards only and our hope was to be able to get backers the rewards for this new effort at around the same time the core book is being delivered. This would allow fans to have the physical book and their new rewards at the same time.
However, it's vital that this new campaign does well. Partially because we're already in danger of losing some percentage of supporters by switching to this new, somewhat untested platform. Partially because we really need our second campaign to show that C&C isn't a flash in the pan, but instead is here to stay.
As I write this, more than a third of people in the Twitter poll have voted for either "unsure" or "less likely" that they would support a new crowdfunding effort before the core book has arrived. I'm going to let the poll play out. But if those percentages stay roughly the same, it will mean that we won't be launching the campaign as soon as we thought. We'll hold off until the physical core books have been delivered to backers before we move forward.
Other Items:
Qworkshop Custom Dice sets are on track to release to retail at the same time as the book.
We're getting closer to having our Story Guide Screen locked down. More info soon.
Our first Coyote & Crow novel is getting very close to having its first draft completed
We're moving forward with two different foreign publishers who will be doing localizations of Coyote & Crow in Italian and in Portuguese
We're making huge progress on three standalone tabletop board games, one of which might even release later this year. Another will hopefully make it to a crowdfunding platform this year.
Currently, I'm scheduled to appear at GAMA Trade Expo, NorWesCon, and we're working on Gen Con and Origins Game Fair. Covid allowing, we'll be able to announce more convention appearances soon.
We're working on more/better merch. Announcement soon.
We just put up a new YouTube video, featuring an interview with Will McKay, who wrote for Coyote & Crow and developed our in-game language, Chahi. He covers some great stuff, including common pronunciations. https://youtu.be/bJxUnq-MhXE
We're in consideration for a Nebula award! Currently the voting members are considering what to nominate and they have access to C&C. Can you imagine? Our little game getting a Nebula award?
Okay, that's all for now folks. Hope you're all hanging in there.
Stay safe, be kind, mask/vax/boost up!
Connor
Update #23
over 2 years ago
– Fri, Jan 14, 2022 at 07:37:30 PM
Osiyo/Hello!
I hope you’re all safe, feeling well, and off to a good start on your new year. I usually like to drop these at the start of the month, but I wanted to wait until I had a few more data points for you all. This post is full of good news, so let’s get right to it.
Our Kickstarter Obligations
Backers!
This is important! If you haven’t filled out your survey yet, get on it! We’ll be locking addresses soon. Everyone will get a notice before that happens, so you can make changes to your shipping addresses as needed. But we still have 495 of you who have not filled out your surveys. Likely, many of you in this situation are using “AppleID”. You’ll need to fix this problem and fill out your survey before we can complete your pledges. If you haven’t gotten your survey, please do not contact me before you’ve gone through BackerKit support first. This is for your benefit and ours (they’ll be able to fix this faster than I can. I’m just one person and I’m not tech support). If you haven’t gotten your survey and you used AppleID, this should be your first stop: https://help.backerkit.com/article/494-494, otherwise, please read this post and get your surveys completed soon, please: https://coyoteandcrow.net/2021/12/05/missing-your-pdf-read-me/
Printing
Our printer has confirmed that we’re on track with their estimate of a late March ship date. To be clear, this means the books will leave the printing facility some time around late March. They then have to go to our warehouse in Atlanta, be received, then shipped out to all of you. I’m hoping that means that backers will start receiving their books sometime around the end of April. Maybe sooner, but with the way the world is, I’ll be happy with the end of April.
Also, based on paper shortages, the book is going to be slightly larger than originally planned - .25 inches taller to be exact. It won’t affect the layouts or anything else. Might just sit a little higher on the shelf than your other RPGs *wink wink*.
Donations
We haven’t talked about this for awhile because we haven’t really worked on it much. Without having a hard timeline for having the physical books ready to ship, I’ve been hesitant to start trying to make libraries and librarians ‘hurry up and wait’. So we’ll tackle donations once we actually have the books in our warehouse and I can start taking real actions. However, if you are a librarian who works with or for a reservation library or for the AITLA or the ATALM and would like to help, please do reach out to me directly. (Please, please, please, do not email or message me if you are not a librarian who works in these circles. Feel free to recommend them to me if you feel comfortable doing so.)
Digital Versions/PDFs
Two exciting things to talk about here. First, whether you backed originally or pre-ordered later, there’s a new version of the PDF up and available now. You should have either received notices (if you bought through Shopify) or you can go back to your BackerKit pledge and download the new version, called version 1.01. There isn’t a huge change to the book, just a few typos, one small change on the Cahokia map key, and a few other little details. If you aren’t hyper aware of them, you might not even be able to find them. Thank you for all of you who let us know when you spotted them!
In addition, we’re working on an e-reader variation of the PDF. It should be available in our Shopify store in the coming months. More on that as it develops.
Mobile App
The iOS version has already been updated to include a ‘shake and roll’ mechanic to the dice tool. The Android version should be updating shortly (and may already be updated by the time this goes out). In addition, we’ve added a Discord integration to the tool, so that you can share your dice rolls directly to Discord!
Roll20
We’re still moving toward integration and will let you know more as Roll20 updates us.
Rebecca Roanhorse Story
We’re in communication with Rebecca and hoping that we can schedule some time with her soon to work on her story.
We’ve also got a video coming that’s an interview with the creator of the Chahi language, William McKay!
Our next Crowdfunding Project
We’ll be launching this soon with news of when & where, but we’re really excited about it. We think you will be too. We’ll hopefully be going live sometime in February.
Custom Dice
While we don’t have a firm date yet, we’re going to be bringing you custom dice from Qworkshop! These will be a set of twelve d12 dice, nine white with purple numbering and three black with gold numbering. They’re currently being manufactured and will hopefully be leaving Poland this spring. Available sometime this summer.
Custom Dice!
Story Guide Screen
We’re working currently on a Story Guide Screen, which has an incredible piece of art from Sadekaronhes Esquivel. We’ll have more on that soon. I’m hoping we can have that for you this summer.
Foundry VTT
We’ve partnered with Charlotte Hamilton, who brought The Expanse RPG to Foundry. She’s working hard on the Coyote & Crow port to the Foundry platform and we’ll have a full announcement about that soon.
Our Next Big RPG Book
I’m currently in the research and planning stages for our next big book. This will be a Saga book, containing a detailed setting, characters and stories that should provide a wealth of game play that is interconnected and deeply thematic.
Coyote & Crow Novel
We’ll have more on this soon, but it’s being worked on and we’ll likely have a release early this spring!
Other Games
We have two currently in development and I’m hoping we can do a more official announcement soon. Both of them are set in the world of Coyote & Crow and are stand alone tabletop games.
Conventions and Appearances
Currently, we’re being very cautious about planning our conventions experiences. We had to decline an offer to appear at OrcaCon on a panel. I just didn’t feel good about Covid. Currently, I’m scheduled to appear at NorWesCon on some panels(TBD). We haven’t scheduled game play there yet, but if you’re Indigenous and are already planning on attending and would like to run a C&C event, please contact me through our website.
We’ll have a booth at the GAMA Trade Expo in March (that’s for hobby retailers and not open to the public), and I’m currently hoping we can attend both Origins Game Fair, Gen Con, PAX Unplugged and other conventions this year in a more or less official capacity. I’m open to discussions with schedulers on attending any con at any level, but I’d like to manage expectations carefully.
Partnership and Job Opportunities
We’re looking for the following folks to work with:
An Ojibwe game designer – of any experience level. This is for a non-Coyote & Crow tabletop board game design.
Indigenous Musicians! - We’d like to create a soundtrack for Coyote & Crow
A writer indigenous to the Pacific Northwest
An Indigenous merch producer – a company that can make our t-shirts, stickers, pins, etc (supporters, no need to make suggestions, thank you)
For more on these, please see our full descriptions and instructions on how to apply/contact us:
