How You Can Prepare for the Campaign’s End
over 2 years ago – Wed, Mar 02, 2022 at 10:11:26 PM

With the Absolute Power Kickstarter campaign ending in less than 24 hours (at Thursday, March 3rd @ 9pm EST), we thought providing you suggestions and reminders about what you can do to prepare for the end would be helpful.

Check Your Credit Card For Space

Kickstarter will charge the credit card you entered when you made the pledge promptly after the Kickstarter ends at 9pm EST. Why not double check NOW to ensure you have enough credit space available so your pledge funding isn’t denied? If you need to use a different card with more credit space, you can easily make that adjustment now as well (see below).

Adjust Your Pledge To Get Everything You Want

If you need to use a different credit card, or you want to add on items to your pledge, or you want to change your pledge tier (perhaps from a lower tier to the $200+ Superhero tier or above to qualify for those awesome free stretch goals!), here are the easy steps to follow:

• Visit the Kickstarter campaign page and log in
• Click the green “Manage Your Pledge” button at the top of the page
• Click the blue “Update Payment Method” button at the top if you need to enter a different credit card
• Click the blue “Change Your Pledge” button at the bottom if you want to select a new tier or add on items
• Select the new pledge tier that you want, or keep the one you have – then press the green “Pledge” button
• Select any new add ons that you want to include with your pledge, then click the green “Continue” button at the bottom
• Read through the summary of changes to ensure everything is correct, then click the green “Confirm Changes” button

The BIG Problem With AppleID Private Relays

If you use an AppleID with the Private Relay feature to login to Kickstarter (for those who log in with their ApplePay account, rather than a normal username and password), you may not receive your BackerKit survey email when we send it in a couple of weeks. We cannot ship your rewards until you complete your survey. It would be ideal if you instead change your Kickstarter login email address NOW to an actual real email address instead. (To do this, click the button in the top right corner, select “Settings”, then change your email address.)

If you prefer to not do this, however, you’ll need to contact us directly after the BackerKit surveys are sent in mid-March with your actual email address so we can manually process your survey email link. It’s not difficult, of course, but it may delay you receiving those awesome Absolute Power digital rewards that are part of your pledge.

Create a DriveThruRPG Account

If you don’t have a DriveThruRPG account, you won’t receive your digital PDF rewards. Why not create an account NOW if you don’t have one (at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/login.php)? It’s best if your DriveThru account email matches your Kickstarter account email – you can easily change your Kickstarter email address at any time – but not required.

At the end of March we will be sending DriveThru PDF download codes to your Kickstarter email address. If your DriveThru email matches your Kickstarter email, these download codes will also appear in your DriveThru inbox even if the email we send it send to your spam folder (which sometimes happens, especially if you have a Hotmail email account). Otherwise, you may not automatically receive your download codes when the other backers do, and we’ll need to work with you to retrieve the download codes that we sent to your Kickstarter email address.

We hope this handy guide helps make finalising your Absolute Power Kickstarter pledge easier. If you have questions, post them in the comments section or email us at [email protected].

Thanks!

Three $100K Stretch Goals Unlocked! More Free Stuff at $110K
over 2 years ago – Wed, Mar 02, 2022 at 12:37:44 PM

YOU DID IT! 🥳

We’re well into the final two-day push of the campaign, and the support of over 730 backers like you have vaulted funding past the $100,000 threshold. This remarkable achievement has unlocked three stretch goals:

• Three satiny bookmark ribbons sewn into the spines of Books One and Two of the Slipcase Edition
• Elegant silver gilding added to the page edges of the two Slipcase Edition books
• Five new custom character weapons sent as a bonus PDF to all backers pledging at the $59+ Explorer tier and above

Thank you for your dedication to Absolute Power’s upcoming release!

We think our dual stretch goal strategy of one higher-tier premium physical reward and one lower-tier digital content reward offers something to nearly all backers, so we’ll continue that with the next goalpost.

$110K Stretch Goals #1: Bonus Absolute Power Custom Dice Set

A set of eight Absolute Power custom dice is included with the $200+ Superhero pledge tier, and two sets come with the $350+ Storyteller – but can you ever really have enough awesome dice?

If the campaign reaches $110K in funding, every backer at the $200+ Superhero tier will receive a extra bonus copy of the Absolute Power Custom Dice Set for free – that’s two sets included with your pledge, instead of just one! This same bonus copy will be added to $350+ Storyteller tier pledges as well, for a total of three dice sets – enough dice for every player at your table! This stretch goal adds an extra $15 of value to your pledge as our thanks to you.

$110K Stretch Goal #2: Five New Metahuman Artefacts

Although the Absolute Power core books provide descriptions and stats for dozens of weapons, protective devices, items of power, vehicles, and adventuring gear, there’s always a need for more gear during your game sessions.

Upon reaching $110K, we will create five new metahuman artefacts across the superpowered spectrum, with stat blocks and brief descriptions. These artefacts will be available as a free bonus PDF download for all backers pledging at the $59+ Explorer tier and above.

In addition to your generous pledge, the best way to help the campaign unlock even more stretch goals during the final hours is to share the link with your gamer friends and social network: http://kck.st/3B6MYrG

Thank you all for your tremendous support! We’ll be in touch again soon.

PS. We just received proof photos of the snap-together neoprene dice trays! The first two featuring the Guard and the White Rooks are included with the Absolute Power Dice Tower and Trays pack, which is available as an add-on and included with the $350+ Storyteller tier. The third dice tray on the right showcasing the Five Shields is the exclusive free bonus tray (a $10 value) that you collectively unlocked at $90K that’s included with $200+ Superhero and $350+ Storyteller pledge tiers.

Proofs Arriving Plus Integrating Fictional Superheroes
over 2 years ago – Tue, Mar 01, 2022 at 02:15:18 PM

Happy March, backers!

We can fulfil the Absolute Power digital rewards so quickly after this Kickstarter ends because we didn’t start the campaign until after the writing, artwork, and layout is complete. Of course, we ensure that production has progressed well to minimise delivery times, yet is still flexible enough to upgrade the physical product through stretch goals (such as the triple bookmark ribbons and silver gilded pages that will unlock if the campaign reaches $100K in funding!).

We recently received pre-press proof photos for several expansions from the factory, and thought you’d like to see their progress. The photos include the Game Screen and Adventure, Weapons Sheet (an unlocked stretch goal), Dice Box, Dice Tower, and Cardboard Minis. We expect to be receiving the proofs for Book One, Book Two, Slipcase, Character Folio, Introductory Primer, and Tri-Stat Core in the coming weeks as well.

Though print production of these and other Absolute Power products will still take a several of months to complete and then ship to our fulfilment warehouses – press time in the busy factories needs to be scheduled well in advance – we are on track to send PDF download codes to all backers by the end of March.

Designer’s Note: Integrating Fictional Superheroes Within Real Wold Events

When the design team first worked on 2002’s Silver Age Sentinels, our goal was to create a fictional superhero campaign world that integrated with real-world events – a game setting rarely attempted in role-playing games. The presence of metahuman powers needed to be rationally addressed to integrate with Earth’s history while simultaneously not ignoring or downplaying the role of humanity within those historical events. World War II still happened, despite the American Sentinel’s and Kreuzritter’s emergence into Earth’s timeline. Similarly, Oswald still assassinated President Kennedy, Mount St. Helens still exploded, and Putin still ascended to (acting) President of the Russian Federation in 1999.

When we advanced the SAS campaign setting by 20 years to January 1, 2021 for Absolute Power, we decided to maintain this philosophy – though the task became much more difficult given the enormity of recent events! We had to account for the aftermath of the World Trade Centre terrorist attacks in a world with global superheroes and paranormal assassins. We also had to integrate an ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic with the presence of mystical healers and supervillain geneticists. We established a core principal with Absolute Power that significant events of Earth’s real-world past unfolded nearly unmodified by the presence of metahumans in our fictional Sentinel-Earth setting – yet, superheroes and supervillains would be peripherally involved with those key moments. For example, Sentinel and Slipstream would assist with the search and rescue in the aftermath of 9/11, but they didn’t stop it from happening. Kreuzritter and Matthews GenTech would address potential action during the pandemic, but their direct involvement would be limited. Sensitive topics needed to be addressed thoughtfully, always rising up the profound importance of human action rather than focussing on a fictional solution.

Of course, new Sentinel-Earth specific events could also occur in the setting, but they would require resolutions that allowed our superpowered fictional world to keep pace with the real-world timeline. The reptilian Haud invaded Earth in 2005, for example, but their assault was pushed back through the combined might of the worlds metahumans. Furthermore, the Dark Queen’s incursion from Fairshadow into Sentinel-Earth at the end of 2020 has significant impacts in the fictional world, but 2021 still dawned on January 1st. Humanity endures, and faith manages.

We know that our decision to approach Absolute Power’s campaign setting under these conditions establishes constraints not seen with most superhero role-playing games. Dyskami’s Creative Director, Robin Flanagan, has certainly risen to the challenge, though, and has established a forceful, compelling, and dramatic narrative backdrop for your superpowered adventures. Creativity and opportunity abounds in Absolute Power, which you can use wholly as written or selectively, in pieces, to integrate into your own unique campaign setting. Either way, Absolute Power offers a unique and compelling approach to the superheroic RPG milieu.

We’re two-and-a-half days away from the campaign’s end. Is there anyone in your gaming circle or online community who might have missed pledging? Why not send them the link so they don’t miss out! http://kck.st/3B6MYrG

TWO Stretch Goals Unlocked at $90K and THREE up Next at $100K
over 2 years ago – Mon, Feb 28, 2022 at 11:39:19 AM

We hope you all had a wonderful weekend. February is certainly going out with a bang because you have collectively pushed the campaign through the $90K funding threshold and unlocked TWO stretch goals!

Now, backers at the $200+ Superhero and $350+ Storyteller tiers will receive an exclusive bonus Five Shields neoprene dice tray (a $10 value)! PLUS as a second free gift, every backer of physical rewards will receive a set of two free Absolute Power sticker sets.

Two stretch goals at $90K means we have to up our game for the big $100K milestone with THREE stretch goals!

Stretch Goal #1: Tri-Ribbons in Slipcase Edition Hardcovers

At $35K, you unlocked a convenient satiny bookmark ribbon that’ll be sewn into the spine of each core book to keep your important pages handy. At $100K, we will now print the two volumes in the Slipcase Edition with not just one bookmark ribbon, but with three bookmarks each instead. That way, you can mark several important places in the book at the same time for quick reference during character creation or game sessions. Book One and Book Two of the Slipcase Edition are part of the $150+ Collector, $200+ Superhero, and $350+ Storyteller tiers.

Stretch Goal #2: Silver Gilding on Slipcase Edition Hardcovers

The Slipcase Editions were always intended as a premium version of the two core rule books – but if you unlock the $100K stretch goal, we’ll give the hardcovers a real deluxe treatment by adding silver gilding on the page edges, too. Check out the features Books One and Two will have if the $100K threshold is reached:

• Protective cardboard slipcase
• Spot UV coating on slipcase
• Padded leatherette covers
• Foil stamped covers
• Wrap-around dust jackets
• Spot UV coating on dust jackets
• Three spine-sewn bookmark ribbons
• Silver gilding on all edges

If you’ve been thinking about upgrading your pledge to the $150+ Collector, $200+ Superhero, and $350+ Storyteller tiers so you’ll receive this gorgeous Absolute Power edition, now is the perfect time!

The image below shows similar treatments we gave to the deluxe editions of BESM Fourth Edition and Anime 5E.

Stretch Goal #3: Five Custom Character Weapons

We love setting premium physical stretch goal rewards, but that doesn’t mean we’re forgetting our lower-tier backers who may only need digital editions.

Custom weapons are a core element of many superpowered stories, and you’ll find a selection of them in Absolute Power Books One and Two. But you can never have too many, right?!? If campaign funding reaches $100K, we will design five new custom character weapons across the superpowered spectrum, with stat blocks and brief descriptions. These sweet weapons will be available as a free bonus PDF download for all backers pledging at the $59+ Explorer tier and above.

Can the campaign reach this $100K milestone? With your support and signal boosting of the campaign link, we’re confident it’ll happen! 👍

So…Here’s a Funny Story…
over 2 years ago – Fri, Feb 25, 2022 at 09:10:50 PM

Good morning, backers. Mark MacKinnon here – system designer for Absolute Power. I’m taking over today’s update in first person to tell you a short story that I think is pretty damned funny.

Nearly two years ago, one of the primary illustrators on Silver Age Sentinels, Ed Northcott, reached out to me over Facebook to say hi. We hadn’t talked in over 15 years, so we caught up briefly.

He tells me about an Asian company he stumbled that makes Zentai suits – a skin-tight, shiny garment that covers the entire body. On their site, they had many suits that blatantly rip-off Marvel and DC characters like the Flash, Captain America, Aquaman, and more.

And in an amazing example of how an internet search to commit IP theft went wrong for the company, he tells me that they make custom Sentinel suits as well. As in, the leader of the Guard.

Of course, me being me, I had to have this suit! So I ordered one for around $60 dollars, knowing that I’d only be buying it for one purpose: to post during the Absolute Power Kickstarter.

So, here I am as Sentinel from 2002’s Silver Age Sentinels. I can barely tell the two images apart!

It’s the internet wonderful? Sadly, they no longer off the suit for sale. Sentinel has a new costume now anyway. 😁

Thank you all for giving me an excuse to have a little fun. Enjoy your weekend!