Three Days In (Patreon)

Shallow Graves made copper best seller in roughly 24 hours, and some folks out there have already taken time to write reviews and submit errata. You have all given me so much that I hesitate to beg for more, but if you would like to maximize this project's odds of success, here are some ways you can do that:

Submit Errata: My goal has always been to produce a supplement on par with the ones I've written and developed these last 15 years. I'm seasoned at the craft and I hired the same editor who worked on the Deviant core to try to make that happen, but I'm still just one guy. If there are typos, weird layout things, or mechanics that are confusing or likely to create problems at the table, I want to know about them so that I can fix them.

Write Reviews: Star ratings (especially 5-star ratings) let people know you've found material of value in Shallow Graves, but reviews are your chance to tell them why. I know these are way more work, and I won't be disappointed if you "only" leave a rating, but keep in mind who gets the most value out of reading these: people who are curious about this book (whether because they saw people talking about it on a forum or Discord or because it showed up in their STV search) and want to know whether it's worth paying money for it. Most of you were already sold on the product on release day. You've been reading previews for several weeks or followed me on Discord for the last couple of years and didn't need convincing, but a lot of other people are going to be on the fence. Sincere reviews help people make a buying decision.

Talk It Up: I'm close to omnipresent on the Chronicles of Darkness fancord and not much less all-seeing on the official OPP Discord, and I know how to set up alerts for the handful of forums I frequent. But truth be told, I can only monitor so many online places before it starts cutting into the time I require to write the next book. As well, I'm a known quantity in the spaces I frequent, but my efforts to promote Shallow Graves would be less welcome in online spaces where I wasn't. Please, talk about Shallow Graves to other people when it is an appropriate topic. Consider writing a Where I Read (WIR) thread about it in a forum where you're a known quantity, or share any Deviant Actual Plays you might have, especially if they draw upon material from Shallow Graves. This sort of thing increases visibility and lends it credibility among those who have no idea that this supplement exists or who I am (how many of you routinely read the credits pages of your typical RPG book?).

Consider Patronage: I created this Patreon page primarily to have an easy place to share long excerpts from and news about my Deviant projects with those who were interested. However, the revenue stream it generates does, incidentally, allow me to put out the next project more quickly and to make it longer than it might otherwise be. I didn't cut corners with the production costs of Shallow Graves, and I don't mean to do so on future supplements. This makes for awesome-looking books but it's also expensive, requiring roughly 800 sales to "pay off" Shallow Graves so that I have the capital to fund Black Vans. An Acquainted patron's year of support reduces that by about 7 copies, while a Personal patron reduces it by close to 15. And once I've broken even, an Acquainted patron allows me to add about 2 pages to the next book after a year of support, while a Personal patron adds around 4 pages. None of this is meant to guilt anyone into becoming a patron, especially if you can't afford it - but for those who have a bit of additional disposable income and who really want more Deviant content, here's a potential incentive.

I sincerely appreciate your support for this project and for me, whatever form that support may take. All the options above are truly, genuinely optional, and I hope you'll get countless hours of use out of my projects.