Brave Halfling Publishing...what gives? Never buy again.

[DCCfan]

The print modules are now available to buy online and in retail stores. The Kickstarter backers on the other hand still don't have their printed modules. That's a kick in the teeth for those of us who backed the Kickstarter. I'll never buy a thing from Brave Halfling again. All my trust in them has gone.

This is just wrong. If you have seen hard copies in a store and the people who funded this have nothing... I just don't know what to say any more.

[sniderman]

If you have seen hard copies in a store and the people who funded this have nothing... I just don't know what to say any more.

http://paizo.com/products/btpy8twu?Appe ... -Vile-Worm

http://www.frpgames.com/cart.php?m=prod ... khq64akoz4

http://www.gamekastle.com/index.php?m=p ... =2&p=87453

http://www.gtsdistribution.com/pc_produ ... A8AE01DFD6

According to the last link posted, there was a street date of Sept. 23, 2013. So they're now in print, available for purchase by the public.

[LegoRick]

Still not a damn thing except a couple PDFs, which I have no interest in, for this Kickstarter backer. Disgusting. People still stick up for the guy. He keeps coming up with excuse after excuse. What is the excuse this time? Oh, he thought he'd have most of Oct. to get the printed materials to backers before the retail versions were released to stores by the distributors. Are you kidding me? I guarantee you I will still have not one single physical product by Nov. Quote me on that.

I am STILL waiting on my copy of Delving Deeper which I purchased even BEFORE this Kickstarter. Over a month ago he told everyone who hadn't received theirs yet to contact him. I did that, and I also called him out about it on the KS page and still no response.

Some people continue to bring up his wife's miscarriage and those of us who are complaining about not receiving gaming goods are thoughtless human beings. What you don't seem to realize is that, yes, it was a terrible thing to happen, but that was only one in a series of events that he posted about. His iPad charger burned up. He was caught up in moving homes. His peers that he brought in to help him flaked out. His artists didn't come through. Now those of us who backed the project had yet another delay. Why? Because he was busy getting his products sent to a distributor for retail release!!!

I ask again, are you kidding me!?

[NJPDX]

I didn't back this and I can definitely appreciate the frustration but I guess this is why they say you can't treat Kickstarter like a storefront.

Hopefully he makes good on his obligations.

[Skars]

If you have seen hard copies in a store and the people who funded this have nothing... I just don't know what to say any more.

http://paizo.com/products/btpy8twu?Appe ... -Vile-Worm

http://www.frpgames.com/cart.php?m=prod ... khq64akoz4

http://www.gamekastle.com/index.php?m=p ... =2&p=87453

http://www.gtsdistribution.com/pc_produ ... A8AE01DFD6

According to the last link posted, there was a street date of Sept. 23, 2013. So they're now in print, available for purchase by the public.

At least two of those are actually all the same entity, just the online vs. brick n mortar storefronts for Golden and they have been supporters of kickstarter projects all up; I am hoping that maybe I am just lucky that my FLGS supports these types of projects and got this stuff before I did and that most folk won't be in my same shoes wondering why they bothered to advance order. In short, I think these guys got their stuff so quickly because they were also kickstarter supporters.

[funkaoshi]

He updated the Kickstarter to talk about shipping to his distributers.

[Skars]

Can you paraphrase for the subscribers? All I can read is the vitrol from unhappy backers. heh

[Rick]

Can you paraphrase for the subscribers? All I can read is the vitrol from unhappy backers. heh

He thought he could get the exclusive Kickstarter-only editions of the first two Appendix N adventures to the backers before the retail versions would be hitting stores.

The Kickstarter versions will contain extra art, handouts, higher level versions of the adventure, shorter add-on quests, etc.

I'm a backer, but I'm not bitter. Maybe it's perspective; I've backed a real flat-out fustercluck of a project or two and this isn't one of them. BHP will come through eventually.

[LegoRick]

I'm a backer, but I'm not bitter. Maybe it's perspective; I've backed a real flat-out fustercluck of a project or two and this isn't one of them. BHP will come through eventually.

Holy cow, if this project doesn't check every box on the 'complete and total failure' list, what does??

[Rick]

Holy cow, if this project doesn't check every box on the 'complete and total failure' list, what does??

One that delivered nothing, with the project creator AWOL. No product, no updates, no replies, no news (good or bad), no communication at all. For my $25 I have bupkus to show for.

There's another I sadly got suckered into involving another AWOL project creator that's very visible on Twitter. He just ignores any & all attempts to contact him about his delinquent Kickstarter. I'm out $100 on that one.

I dunno how deep you've pledged towards this one; I'm in for $20. So far I've received pdfs of two adventures plus assorted extras , and he stays in touch. Far from ideal but not my definition of complete & total failure, either.

[Ravenheart87]

Holy cow, if this project doesn't check every box on the 'complete and total failure' list, what does??

Dwimmermount?

[LegoRick]

Holy cow, if this project doesn't check every box on the 'complete and total failure' list, what does??

One that delivered nothing, with the project creator AWOL. No product, no updates, no replies, no news (good or bad), no communication at all. For my $25 I have bupkus to show for.

There's another I sadly got suckered into involving another AWOL project creator that's very visible on Twitter. He just ignores any & all attempts to contact him about his delinquent Kickstarter. I'm out $100 on that one.

I dunno how deep you've pledged towards this one; I'm in for $20. So far I've received pdfs of two adventures plus assorted extras , and he stays in touch. Far from ideal but not my definition of complete & total failure, either.

My problem with BHP is two-fold. I also pre-ordered a copy of Delving Deeper. Between that and John's KS project, I'm in for around $100. It isn't the end of the world, but for a college student who also works full time, I can't drop $100 left and right. I've waited over a year for my copy of DD. John pretty much has gone AWOL on me regarding that product. No updates, no replies to my communications (emails and messages through FB, his blog, and KS).

As for his KS project, do you have any idea when you'll finally be tired of the constant delays? He can post all of the updates in the world, but after 4 months late...6 months late...over a year late...soon we'll be talking about his latest delays a year from now. He keeps changing what we're getting, and very little of it is for the good. Have you kept track of what you're getting? I've been keeping a list of materials, and it keeps shrinking. He is "preparing" to ship out the first couple modules. That's less than 1/5th of the promised product (at least at my level). I'm scared to death to think about how long it will take to actually have everything in hand. He says by the end of the year. Remember when he said that last year?

I wish I could laugh about it, but this was honestly a product I was very much looking forward to. Add in my other frustrations with Delving Deeper, and it has been an all around truly disappointing experience. I can't, from my perspective, see this whole thing as anything but a total failure.

If John reads this, please contact me. At the very least I'd love to say that after all of this, you still came through for me. I just don't have much hope.

[Rick]

My problem with BHP is two-fold. I also pre-ordered a copy of Delving Deeper. Between that and John's KS project, I'm in for around $100. It isn't the end of the world, but for a college student who also works full time, I can't drop $100 left and right. I've waited over a year for my copy of DD. John pretty much has gone AWOL on me regarding that product. No updates, no replies to my communications (emails and messages through FB, his blog, and KS).

I hear you about the $100. My college years are well behind me but I can't just write that off, either.

I sincerely hope that BHP comes through for you, eventually.

[funkaoshi]

John is a little bit better about commenting over at the ODD74 forum. There is a thread there about Delving Deeper. Some people have been waiting 30 months for their copy of that! Crazy. I feel your pain: i'm waiting for that as well. And X-Plorers and a gaming box. I have no idea now why I thought doubling down on all his stuff was a good idea.

[Vlark]

Here's one of the latest comments on the Kickstarter main page:

A collection of lies that span the year. Really. A whole year of lies. Here, see for yourself. These are all quotes from updates:

Sep 28, 2012: "The good news is that the first Appendix N Adventure is ready! #1, "The Ruins of Ramat" has been printed up and is ready to ship." NOTE: Yes, a YEAR ago!

Nov 4, 2012: "The first rewards shipment will go out to everyone at the end of the November."

Dec 9, 2012: "Yes, I have missed the end of November shipping date, but that shipment will go out asap."

Feb 4, 2013: "A total of four or five of the modules are soon to be completed and will be ready to ship by the first week in March."

March 2, 2013: "We are still on track to ship all six Appendix N Adventure modules this month!"

April 16, 2013: "The first shipment has not shipped yet but will be going out next week."

June 7, 2013: "I am busy printing and shipping the first shipment with includes the first two modules."

July 12: 2013: "The first shipment is still going out."

August 4, 2013: "I am continuing to ship the first two modules to everyone."

Sept 28, 2013: "We are almost ready to start shipping this one out to all supporters"

I think this explains the anger that most of the frustrated backers like myself feel. Regardless of the issues from his personal life, he hasn't been honest about the state of affairs with the project.

[LegoRick]

I would just like to say that John has emailed me this afternoon about my Delving Deeper box set. I am very pleased about that, but I am still not jumping up and down until I receive the tracking number he has promised me.

Still happy about getting a response, though. :]

[funkaoshi]

Did he say when it would ship? He told me I was in "the next batch to go out" over on ODD74 a week ago, but I am not sure what that actually means. Or if I am actually in the next batch to go out, based on all his past communications.

[Coleston the Cavalier]

Did he say when it would ship? He told me I was in "the next batch to go out" over on ODD74 a week ago, but I am not sure what that actually means. Or if I am actually in the next batch to go out, based on all his past communications.

It means we are putting about 3 dozen DD Boxed Sets together (printing & binding the booklets - we have plenty of actual boxes. I do not know exactly how long it will take the team to do that (but the booklets for the boxes take about an hour per box to assemble). Once they are put together, we will ship them to everyone who is still waiting for one.

[funkaoshi]

Perfect, thanks.

[goodmangames]

Hello everyone,

I fully support John using the DCC RPG logo. Remember that DCC RPG, from Goodman Games, came out nearly a year late. I had a long track record prior to that so people cut me slack. Please cut John some slack. Judge him by what he delivers in the end. Right now his only sin is being late, which is a sin most of us in the RPG industry have been guilty of. John was one of the very first DCC RPG third party publishers to sign on, he has supported the game from the VERY beginning (like, before it was even published), and I think you will be impressed when the final product is in your hands. I have met him personally at several cons and he was part of very early DCC RPG playtests.

I am willing to put my money behind John. If anyone would like a refund on the Kickstarter, please email me. I will refund your money and sort it out on the back end with John.

Or just be patient with him, as I am.

[Raven_Crowking]

Pure class, Joseph.

[Primus]

Pure class, Joseph.

+1

[IronWolf]

Pure class, Joseph.

+1

[Ravenheart87]

Pure class, Joseph.

+d30

[SavageRobby]

I compiled and posted that summary listed above in my frustration. And it goes deeper than even that. He showed us a VIDEO of the modules, saying he was packing to ship them TO HIS BACKERS months ago. That was a lie. Those modules were shipped and packed to distributors. How do I know? I saw it IN MY STORE, with my own eyes.

He asked for extra shipping a YEAR ago, which I foolishly paid because the word was the John was a "good guy". That extra shipping money? Gone into the pit of this project just like everything else. I suspect he used it for print costs to ship them TO DISTRIBUTORS.

Am I pissed off? Of course! John has lied, and lied and lied and lied and lied some more. This was before, during and after all of his alleged personal incidents. And I say alleged, because after a year of lies, frankly I wouldn't put it past him to lie about his personal travails, too. His Kickstarter supporters haven't read an honest word from him since ... well, I dunno. Maybe ever.

I asked him for a refund via his facebook page, and he told me on Friday that he would supply it on Monday (including the extra shipping). Now, why he wouldn't just do it right then and there instead of waiting, I don't know, and frankly based on the previous history of nothing but lies, I don't believe he's going to do it at all.


Its very classy of Joseph to offer refunds up, and if I don't have my promised refund by tomorrow, I will be sure to accept it.


But that, Joseph, if you're reading this - you should cut the cord with Brave Halfling immediately. He's not who you think he is. Sleazy doesn't begin to describe his business practices. This hasn't been a case of mismanagement or just "sins of being late" and downplaying it as such shows a certain disrespect of the people that supported this project. This has been a case of purposeful and consistent deception and misuse of funds, and I will certainly hesitate in buying the products of anyone that chooses to be associated with a person/company of such low ethical character.



Edit: in the interest of fair reporting (and much to my surprise) I actually received my refund from BHP this afternoon. So happily I won't have to trouble JG, after all.