Playtest Doc 1.0 sent! And other news
about 3 years ago – Wed, Feb 01, 2023 at 09:33:27 AM

Playtest Document Distributed Through BackerKit

Good morning!

We've begun distributing our playtest pdf through BackerKit. We're looking into how to distribute these neatly to those who preordered through BackerKit, but every Kickstarter backer who confirmed their order/locked down their payment will receive a copy. That is 1198 backers with about 116 that haven't answered, so overall, we're in a good place.

The playtest document includes setting info, a primer to Korean culture, cosmology and gods, races/ancestries, subclasses/archetypes, and our Tactician homebrew class. We also have backgrounds, weapons/magic items, and statblocks for monsters. The list isn't comprehensive and will be expanded on by the final draft, but we feel this is sufficient for playtest data so far.

If you have any comments regarding playtest material, some data for how your group did with the content, please hit us up at [email protected]. Your comments will very much help shape any final decisions on mechanics and verbiage. You can also join our Discord server here:

We're still working on the Pathfinder 2e playtest document. They will be sent out by the end of this month with our next update.

Shipping Update

In other news, we're gathering more shipping estimates from our partners:

We've partnered with DiceLatte, a Seoul-based Korean comics and game store to handle distribution. It seems like they've offered in-store pick up, so we will also put that on offer for folks in Korea to save on shipping costs. North American rates are still subject to change as we're still in discussion with a fulfillment company on our end, but we'll have those ready hopefully by the next update.

Media Update

URGE TV uploaded a video showcasing our Roguish Naraka Prosecutor archetype!!

Really grateful for their review on the subclass. Lots of good ideas on how to edit this class, but overall it seems like it's got potential. We're looking to maybe balance the 13th level benefits a little more and buff up the Frightened somehow (since a lot of creatures do end up getting immunity against that).

You can also check out Stellaluna's 3-part series based on an adventure from our book, Paradise in Bloom, here! It was great fun and you get to see a preview of one of my really favorite scenarios.

OGL Matters

With WotC's pledge to leave OGL 1.0 in place, we at Nine Heavens Press are extremely relieved we will be able to go ahead with Undying Corruption as it is. Beyond its impact to the 3PP community at large, we were extremely concerned with the change in dynamics between us and the company whose game's rulesets we're borrowing from. While this is thankfully in the past and we were always committed to fulfilling our promise to release this game in 5e, we're now looking forward to diversify the content we put out by expanding into other games where possible. Already, we've been delving into Pathfinder 2e as part of our stretch goal, but the experience has been overall enjoyable and you can expect to see more from us there.

In particular, when I'm not working on the book, I've been at work on expansions to PF2e classes that we couldn't convert our material into and some new races/ancestries for both editions. They will be released separately from this project. Still, for how things are now, we couldn't be happier with how the OGL matter was settled.

Happy New Year! Progress Report
about 3 years ago – Thu, Jan 05, 2023 at 12:29:22 AM

Hey everyone, happy new year! We hope you've all had a wonderful holidays to start off 2023 well and rested.

I've been keeping busy with two big tasks by the next update: 1) making sure the playtest document is ready to go and 2) getting everyone an estimate for shipping. On the first count, the contents of the document have been set up. The additional time enabled us to convert 5e material into Pathfinder 2e, so you will be privy to playtesting content for both systems. We should be able to complete the document before or around the end of the month as mentioned.

Speaking of, we've been posting on Twitter weekly some samples of our converted stat blocks! These are for 5e stat blocks that have already been publicly revealed, so it's only fair we make sure we can catch up with Pathfinder content. Again, we've partnered with James Beck of Eldritch Osiris Games to ensure we get the mechanics just right.

All that's left is making sure everything is together in a neat, visually-appealing layout.

On the second matter, we've been working hard through November and December to contact fulfillment companies to compare and contrast rates. Our priority here is to guarantee our fulfillment partner can deliver excellent service and the best rates for those services. So far, we're looking to sign on with DiceLatte in Korea and GamesQuest for the Europe, the EU, and Australia. The latter is a VAT-licensed company. We're still in communication with North American fulfillment companies, but we do have estimates from GamesQuest on their shipping costs:

I should also note that if the package contains over three items, there will be a 40 cent fee for any additional item. These are initial rates subject to change based on current conversion rates (made from pound to dollars) and the inclusion of any separate rates, but we wanted to show you the data we're looking at so far. Regarding Korea, Dice Latte is a cafe that sells American comics, roleplaying games, and more and they've handled similar fulfillment in the past. We will share their estimates in the following update.

We appreciate your patience through all the deliberation as we, again, make sure we can forge arrangements with lasting partners that can provide both the best service and the ideal rates for those services.

Paradise in Bloom

All that aside, Nine Heavens Press is sponsoring Stellaluna's Twitch channel who will be playing through a level 8 three episode mini-series these coming Fridays! Paradise in Bloom is an adventure from the book which we will see played through by an all Korean cast! Be sure to join us in the coming days as they fix the fallout of a dragon god's demise!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact [email protected], comment or message me on Kickstarter, or reach us at our Discord server:

Orders Locking 12/1 and more
over 3 years ago – Wed, Nov 30, 2022 at 09:24:02 AM

Hello, everyone! We've got some reminders of some upcoming dates and progress reports.

Locking Orders

Just a reminder that orders will be locking December 1st (you will have 48 hours after to finalize any add-ons and until next year before orders are sent out to edit your address). Also, for those who bought anything additional through BackerKit, all cards will be charged December 8th. If any issues arise, please definitely let me know so we can see what went wrong.

So far, 72% of backers have completed their surveys. If you need your survey resent, you can request it here at: https://undyingcorruption.backerkit.com/

If you don't complete your survey in this period, have no fear. Preorders will still be up and I'll be periodically locking orders and surveys as they come in, so you're totally fine.

Softcover Player's Guide edition UNLOCKED!

With 60 sales, we've unlocked the softcover Player's Guide for purchase through BackerKit! I must stress, everyone will receive the PDF copy for free with any purchase of the book (whether physical or digital). This is just for folks who want a physical book to refer to at their convenience. While we set 100 as our initial goal, I think we should be able to make it before books are sent for print. 100 was the minimum ask largely since it'll allow us to qualify for discounts by volume.

Regardless, your support will enable us to spruce up the Player's Guide to make an even more spectacular product!

Playtest Progress

Material is being compiled for the playtest. Much of the 5e side is completed, which saved a decent bit of hassle. I just had to go through the mechanics and text to do another round of proofreading before being transferred into InDesign. The most time-consuming aspect of our work right now is by far the PF2e side. We're working hard trying to make sure we have all ancestries, classes, and monsters ready to be sent out alongside the 5e material. That's partially why we requested for this additional time.

We're on track to release the playtest material through BackerKit sometime mid to late January. We're putting in a big team effort to make sure we can get this going. For Korean language backers, we will also have a Korean language version of the playtest material ready too. I can't guarantee we'll have it ready at the same time, but make no mistake that it is in production.

Shout-Out

As an aside, I really wanted to take the opportunity to share the Kickstarter for "The Dark Side of Seoul" comic on Kickstarter. Shawn Morrissey, the writer, is a heritage guide who lives in Korea and leads the different cultural tours around Seoul. He's also a regular at DCC Cafe, a comics and TRPG store in Korea and hosts a podcast and YouTube channel (also called Dark Side of Seoul) that delves into ghost stories, folktales, history, and true crime. Park Ji yun, the artist, works professionally in Korea.

The first book is already available on their website and I highly recommend you check it out! They're very well-versed in the material and the books will give you a bit of a taste into the country's mythology.

You can join our Discord server here! Also if you have any further questions, you can either message me through Kickstarter or contact us at [email protected].

Softcover edition Player's Guide available as new stretch goal on BackerKit; Also, Happy Thanksgiving!
over 3 years ago – Tue, Nov 22, 2022 at 08:11:31 PM

Good afternoon, everyone! I hope everyone has plans for an eventful (or restful at the very least) week. I'm planning on meeting the family tomorrow for an early celebration. So yeah, a couple things! First, we showcased a new illustration on social media: it's the rich people eater itself, the Yeongno.

The Yeongno appears in regional Korean masked theater. A banished Celestial, it seeks to reopen its way back into the heavens by eating 100 rich people who have abused their positions and power, a role that resonates to this day, establishing its somewhat international cult presence. Delighted to announce that you can find its statblock in our book!

New Stretch Goal

This went up a little after surveys were officially sent out on BackerKit, but by popular demand, we have an additional stretch goal! We're offering to print softcover copies of our Player's Guide (contains all playable options and lore) for anyone that wants it. For people who would prefer not to refer to both their physical books and a laptop/phone to refer to materials while GMing or playing, having this physical book on hand will spare you a lot of trouble.

Just to reiterate, everyone who already purchased the book will get a digital copy of the Player's Guide no problem with all the information intact. We'll also use the funds from the initial volume to spruce up the Player's Guide even more! If you've already filled out the survey and would like to pledge for a softcover book, you can go back and edit your survey!

Anyway, besides that, things are still chugging along. I just finished statting up the final boss of the new arc, so get ready, I was feeling particularly devious at the time! Hope you all enjoy the holidays!

Issue Resolved Re: Digital Reward Tier Surveys on BackerKit
over 3 years ago – Sat, Nov 19, 2022 at 03:29:48 AM

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