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Beam Saber

Created by Austin Ramsay

Beam Saber is a Forged In The Dark game about the pilots of powerful machines in a war that dominates every facet of life. They are trying to do their part, then get out physically and mentally intact. The organizations that perpetuate The War throughout all of known space are too incomprehensibly huge to take down. There is no “winning” The War, there is only surviving it. Hopefully you can help others get out too. If you want to purchase the PDF alone, go to https://austin-ramsay.itch.io/beamsaber

Latest Updates from Our Project:

A Request For Help Spreading The Word
about 4 years ago – Fri, Mar 06, 2020 at 06:41:38 PM

Hey everyone, 

I would like to ask y'all to please like, retweet and  share EVERYTHING positive you see about Beam Saber on social media. If  you have a comment in mind about the post, even if it's just "Awesome!",  please comment it! I know it can be awkward (this is an awkward request  for me to make), but these actions can make a huge difference in us  reaching those stretch goals!
If you want to proactively help the  campaign, please seek out posts to share such as the ones on the Beam Saber facebook page, make your own, or check #BeamSaber on twitter.

 Thank you once again for your help!

WE'RE FUNDED!
about 4 years ago – Tue, Mar 03, 2020 at 08:52:08 PM

We've managed to hit our funding goal in under 48 hours thanks to all of you wonderful backers!

I'm sure many of you are wondering about Stretch Goals at this point. Since the rules are largely complete, and the funding goal already  includes all the art I want, all stretch goals are going towards paying  people more. This is in no small part because this is my first Kickstarter and I'm a small operation, so I want to REALLY avoid scope creep. Note that as the stretch goals increase, so does the  required number of sales, and also the estimated printing and shipping  costs. This means that the stretch goal costs might be larger than  expected.

  • $49,700: Austin Ramsay gets paid $0.07 per word!
  • $63,200: Contributor's pay increases by 50% of base pay.
  • $71,900: Christine Blight will finally let Austin Ramsay pay her, and his pay increases by 25% of base pay.
  • $84,900: Contributor's pay increases by an additional 50% of base pay (Total +100%).
  • $88,500: Austin Ramsay's pay increases by an additional 25% of base pay (Total +50%).
  • $102,200: Contributor's pay increases by an additional 50% of base pay (Total +150%).

If we surpass a stretch goal but don't hit the following one, the  money will support Austin's day to day work to bring the game to you in  the best state.

Should we manage to pass the final planned Stretch Goal, then we'll start looking at something else. Maybe custom dice? A poster of the cover or setting maps? Another animatic? If you have a suggestion for a dream stretch goal, put it in the comments!

On International Shipping
about 4 years ago – Mon, Mar 02, 2020 at 11:25:09 PM

I've gotten a lot of comments about the costs of shipping, specifically the shipping for outside of North America. So here's all of the information about the shipping costs at this time.

The book is going to be big; 350+ pages at 8.5" x 11" and since I  live in Canada I have to use a fulfillment service or pay border duties twice to ship to anyone not in Canada. Also consider that the values are in CAD, so they'll be about 70% of the listed value in USD.

Part of the cost is also as a cushion against shipping increases.  Shipping prices are GUARANTEED to increase between the end of the KS and  fulfillment so I had 3 options. 1) don't charge for shipping until  fulfillment, 2) charge the bare minimum for shipping and then more at  time of fulfillment. 3) charge a bit extra to cushion against future  increases.
I went with option 3 so that there wouldn't be any surprises for backers.

Lastly, the Kickstarter guides I worked with said to print in the US (because most backers will be there) and then get shipping costs for the US, Canada/Mexico, and Australia (to use for International shipping). Shipping in the US is a reasonable $12 CAD.  Canada/Mexico is $40CAD. Rest of the World, care of Australia, is $100CAD. So I have contacted my fulfillment service to get shipping specifically for the UK, Germany, and Japan to see if they are any different.

It's an unfortunate reality for backers outside of North America (and even just outside of the US, myself included), but I am investigating possible improvements. I hope you'll still back at the PDF level, because if the Kickstarter is successful  the plan is for it to be available as a Print On Demand book through DriveThruRPG which should be cheaper.

Thank you for your support and patience.