Cloud Empress: Life & Death

Cloud Empress funded at 129K! & next steps
7 months ago – Thu, Apr 25, 2024 at 06:38:00 PM

Thanks so much for an amazing Kickstarter Campaign!

We did it! Thanks so much for all your support. Although the first Cloud Empress campaign was a big success, I  did not know what to expect when launching the Life & Death expansion campaign. Over 1500 of you proved that Cloud Empress is worth continuing and ensuring the world of the Hereafter will live on for years. Thanks for funding my ability to create art in 2024, paying the project team, and I hope the upcoming Cloud Empress content brings you as much joy as it does when I play this ttrpg!

Next steps and what to expect

I'll take a little time off now that the campaign has funded, but you can join us over in the Cloud Empress Discord to celebrate!

Moving forward you can expect:

• At least monthly KS updates (usually mid-month)
• Monthly Cloud Empress newsletter expansion content 
• The Backerkit pledge manager within about three weeks to manage or change your pledge. We'll be using an external pledge manager to keep track of your order and order fulfillment. More Backerkit instructions to come.
• Questions about your pledge or Cloud Empress, can be answered at worldsbywatt (at) gmail (dot) com

Thanks again for making Cloud Empress a reality, and I look forward to getting these amazing books into your hands!

Less than 24 hours left, Cloud Empress VTT & gold foiling incoming
7 months ago – Wed, Apr 24, 2024 at 06:50:06 PM

Less than 24 hours remain!

This is it! The Cloud Empress Life & Death campaign will end Thursday, 4/24 6 pm CST. After the Kickstarter, pledges will increase to their preorder prices so make sure to back (even a $1) to lock into the lower prices. 

Any social media boosts are very much appreciated! Please share Cloud Empress with your friends and online communities! 

Cloud Empress VTT & gold foiling incoming

At 110k we unlocked some kind of virtual tabletop implementation! I'm not exactly sure what this will mean, but I'll be reaching out to trusted partners to start to scope out what a Cloud Empress VTT module might look like. All backers will receive access, enabling more comprehensive online play. 

Now for our final stretch goal! At 120K, all of the crowdfunding promotional skull storage boxes will receive the gold foil treatment on the box's front grass details. Whereas the Starter Box cicada design will show up in retail (minus Cloud Empress Almanac & Rivals and Routines pamphlet), I really don't foresee reprinting the skull box. The skull promo box started as a way to thank first campaign backers who might not want to repurchase content, but this upgrade will turn the box into a even more deluxe collectible. You can grab the promo skull box in the Life & Death, All-books, and All-in pledges!

Discussion question

Looking ahead, what's one thing we should do after the Kickstarter campaign closes to make sure we keep your trust as a backer and as a Cloud Empress community member?

Expanded CE Creators' Grant, VTT incoming, & the future of Cloud Empress
7 months ago – Mon, Apr 22, 2024 at 07:21:09 AM

Expanded CE Creators' Grant & Incoming VTT 

We're entering the last few days of the Cloud Empress Life & Death campaign! The Kickstarter closes Thursday at 6 PM CST. 

Over the weekend, at 100k we expanded the Cloud Empress Creators' Grant.

I'm excited to share that at 110K funding, I'll work to create a virtual tabletop implementation of Cloud Empress. I have to say I am unfamiliar with VTT's so I will be doing a bunch of research and working with someone more experienced to get this right. Folks over at the Cloud Empress Discord shared some preference for Foundry VTT when I asked a few months ago, but I'll look further into the options when we fund this stretch goal.

Future of Cloud Empress 

With such a successful Kickstarter campaign, I think it's safe to say you'll be seeing new Cloud Empress content for years to come. While my attention is focused on delivering this campaign, I've also got a lot in the Cloud Empress pipeline. Cloud Empress has always been a three part trilogy. With the Lowland Wastes thoroughly explored in this first box set, future setting expansions will expand the cloud cities above the Spread. 

Assuming there are no major snags or unexpected events in the Life & Death campaign delivery, I'm tentatively planning a smaller Cloud Empress crowdfunding campaign for Quarter 3 or 4, 2025 featuring two books that expand and explore at least two PC jobs. I'm also in the early stages of designing a new setting using Mausritter's hacked rules inspired by Castle in the Sky. 

Anyway, here's some new art from the Land of the Living. Thanks again for ensuring Cloud Empress' future! 

Discussion question 

Cloud Empress' creatures are strange combinations of existing animals (you can see a turkeydog in the art above). What's a strange or funny animal combination we should include in the world of Cloud Empress?

More environmentally friendly, expanded Cloud Empress creators fund, and no AI art
7 months ago – Fri, Apr 19, 2024 at 05:36:25 AM

More environmentally friendly + expanded Cloud Empress creators fund

At 95K we unlocked new environmental manufacturing methods previously limited by the project's budget. Now Cloud Empress will be printed with soy ink and on recycled paper. 

At 100k, we'll double the Cloud Empress Creators Grant, powering even more third-party creators! (We'll also double the bonuses the editing team receives)

Cloud Empress has a friendly third-party licensing policy you can read more about here.

worlds by watt does not use A.I. art

I had a recent question about my stance on AI art in the Cloud Empress project. Cloud Empress (and worlds by watt) does not use AI art. Supporting artists is so important we slap a Human Made logo (designed by Hinokodo) on the back of the books.

By now you probably already have strong opinions about artificial intelligence. I'm not here to make proclamations about AI art as a whole or tell you what to think. Like any technology, there seem to be millions of applications both helpful and harmful to planet Earth and the beings who live there. For worlds by watt, we value and actively support small artists. I personally, do not like the look of current AI art and I do not approve of the way AI tools are trained. Most artists live in societies that don't provide for our basic needs and art is vital to healthy societies. Your support of Cloud Empress funds the creativity and expression of human artists.  It also happens to make Cloud Empress project look amazing! Our lead art team Kattapulka, does a majority of their work on pencil/pen and paper. For most pieces, we scan and recolor the artwork in Photoshop, make minor adjustments, but these changes are minimal. Anyway, if you're new to Cloud Empress I thought this message might help!

Discussion question

Are you interested in the Cloud Empress Creators Grant? What Cloud Empress expansion would you make?  (Feel free to plug your current Cloud Empress projects too)

Thicker paper and more environmentally friendly + a new Cloud Empress actual play
7 months ago – Wed, Apr 17, 2024 at 05:17:36 AM

Thicker paper & more environmentally friendly soon

Another stretch goal unlocked at 90k! Now all of the hardcover books will get thicker paper stock. This should make the Rulebook, Land of Cicadas, Land of the Living, and the Land of the Dead feel a bit heftier and longer lasting. 

At 95,000, I'll make the books more environmentally friendly. What options I'm able to choose will depend on the final manufacturer we select, but most likely this will mean printing with soy ink and using recycled paper. 

Adventures in Lollygagging Playthrough

One of the big surprises releasing Cloud Empress has been the number of actual plays and podcasts who play Cloud Empress! Here's the first half of Adventures in Lollygagging playing Last Voyage of the Bean Barge. 

Discussion Question

Another surprise has been connecting both bug lovers and folks terrified of bugs in the Cloud Empress community. Our discussion question today is, do you have Cicadas in your area? Have you ever witnessed a 13 or 17-year-old cicada brood?