It doesn't appear as if this is going to happen.  AND, since I will not be able to edit this page after the project closes I'm posting this here and now.

The Kickstarter and the Roleplaying game communities are both great communities, and the people who have looked at this project are a combination of both.  While I understand that you all could not support this project, what I am asking now is that people help me understand how it was that I hit the tree but not the target.

The pledges I got were mostly for all of the maps.  So, to some degree, I found something people want.  But I also received over 800 views of my video and probably that many again at least who looked at the project without watching the video and for some reason I failed to draw these people in. 

For not just the sake of curiosity, but to help me learn from this please, tell me what it was that you didn't like about this project that kept you from wanting to pledge.

Was it my video? Was it the quality of the art?  Was it the price of the maps?  Was I not offering enough cool swag?  Was it the settings?  Would you have been more interested in Sci-fi settings?  Or fantasy settings?  Did you need to see previews of all the maps before you jumped in?  Would you have purchased if I had offered PDF downloads sooner in the project?

Any information and feedback would be greatly appreciated.  Please email me directly at info@rpgcartographer.com  Even if all you do is send a one word email such as "price" or "art" it might help me determine if I should circle back around on this project, maybe try to find a cheaper way, or develop better art or different settings.  Maybe this will lead me to putting my existing maps up as digital only through drivethrurpg, or maybe it will tell me that I should just walk away from this all together or try to find a different project to invest in.

Thank you for your time.

Modern setting maps for your pen and paper RPGs.  24"x30", laminated, double sided, full color and shipped in tubes, not folded!

Some people don't show up to the dance until the last song is playing.  :-)  That's fine with me!  Let's keep it going, get the word out.  I really want to see this project fund!  There's still time for an 11th hour push!

STOP THE PRESSES!!!!  LITERALLY!!!   I MEAN IT.  STOP THEM!  NOW!!!

Here's the new deal.  Look right.  New reward level.  $6 for a digital PDF of a single side of any map.  That's right $6.00 and you get a PDF, full sized, but the jpg will be at 80% compression, but that is standard compression anyway.  The document will still be 24"x30".  You will have the option to scale it to print to a single sheet of paper (for reference) or tiled at full size.  If you print it tiled, it will print out on several sheets, and then you can cut and tape them together to your heart's content.    You can choose your digital maps in the survey at the end of the project.  You can choose your digital maps with no grid, 1.5" or 1" square grid.  You can choose your digital maps with 1.5" or 1" hex grid.

I'm adding a single $6.00 reward level.  If you want just 1 map, then it will be $6.00.  If you want 2 it will be be $12.  No shipping costs obviously.  The PDF's will be about 8MB each.  You no longer have to pick maps in sets of 2.  If you want the bank and the church, you can buy just those two.  But each $6.00 gets you a single map, not a double sided pair.  Just pledge what you want in multiples of $6.00 and select the Digital Delivery reward option.  So, let's break this out.  1 map - $6, 2 maps - $12.  3 maps - $18.  4 maps - $24, 5 maps - $30, 6 maps - $36, 7 maps - $42, 8 maps - $48, 9 maps - 54, 10 maps - $60, 11 maps - $66, 12 maps - $72, 13 maps - $78, 14 maps - $84, 15 maps - $90, 16 maps - $96, 17 maps - $102, 18 maps - $108, 19 maps - $114, 20 maps - $120.

Digital maps will NOT come with Junkpaks.  They will have everything in the map image. 

Lastly, anyone buying a physical map will automatically receive a Digital copy of the same map for free.

More Preview images!

Above is the warehouse and loading dock together.  Please note these are two different sides of different maps, rotated and set side by side to show how they will 'stitch' together.

The jail includes cells, dining area, kitchen, infirmary, control stations, offices, therapy room, activities area, visitors center and outdoor basketball court as well as a watchtower. 

Above are 2 city streets and 2 parks all set together.  The city street maps will come with plenty of vehicles in their junkpaks and the parks will come with less trees and rocks printed on them, but with trees and rocks on the Junkpaks so you can lay out your park with as few or many obstacles as you like.

Introducing Junkpaks!

Ok, so what is a Junkpak? Think back to your childhood (if you’re old enough) to Colorforms. Electrostatic vinyl stickers that you could put onto a shiny printed background and since they were electrostatic, they would stick, but they could be peeled up and moved because they didn’t have adhesive on them.

That’s what Junkpaks are. They’re junk for your maps, printed in full color on electrostatic vinyl. You can put them down on your maps, and they will not slide (like paper cutouts would) and when you are done, you can peel them up and use them over and over again. Each Junkpak is a single 8.5”x11” sheet of electrostatic vinyl. The shapes will have heavy black borders on them to make them a little more forgiving when you cut them out (they are not die cut, you will have to cut them out with a scissors or x-acto knife).

Each map will now have a Junkpak for each side of the map. It will include items that you can put down on your map to help enhance gameplay. These will include obstacles, objective items, random furniture, vehicles, and explosives for example. That is two Junkpaks per map. These will be included free with the purchase of each map.

But wait, there’s more! Each Junkpak will have a preview image so you can see exactly what you are getting. And if you don’t want the items in the Junkpak that is slated by default to your map, you can swap them out with other Junkpaks on a 1 to 1 basis for free. So, if you don’t like the Junkpak for the Bank, you can swap it out with police vehicles or something else. If you don’t like the Junkpak for the shops, you can swap that out too. You still get 2 Junkpaks per map, free! So if you’ve purchased all 10 maps, you will get 20 Junkpaks. Holy smokes that’s a lot of junk!

But what if I want more Junkpaks? Junkpaks are $3.00 per sheet. If you’ve already pledged to purchase maps, they will ship for free, rolled up in your map tube. Just increase your pledge amount by $3.00 for each Junkpak you want. Once the project closes, you will be able to pick your Junkpaks in the survey I will be sending out.

Ok great, so let’s see the Junkpaks! Images of Junkpaks will begin being posted as of this weekend. Up front I can tell you the plan is this: 1 themed Junkpak per map side with items that work specifically with your map. Additional items (like bombs, crates, police vehicles) may be thrown in where a map does not lend itself to a full sheet of Junk. Additionally, there will be Junkpaks that aren’t themed to a specific map. For instance, expect to see a Junkpak of emergency responder vehicles. Police car, police van, SWAT van, Ambulance and Fire Truck if I can fit that all on a single sheet. Also, there will be a Junkpak of just explosive devices. TNT bundles, 50 gallon drums with time bombs on top, even some big nuclear or doomsday style devices. Lastly, I’m looking to do sheets of effects. For instance a sheet of fire effects that will include fire in small sections, lines, area of effects and rings to simulate hazards or super power effects. I also plan to do water, ice, fog, acid, electricity and different color energy effects. Images of all the Junkpaks will be posted as quickly as I can get them made.

UPDATE:  1" hexes are also available for your maps.

Stretch Goals:  The project has been running over a week now, let's talk about stretch goals a little. 

UPDATE: Police Station Preview (note - not final image, and resolution is reduced for this preview.

You spend dozens of dollars on dice, hundreds of dollars on miniatures, and even thousands on roleplaying game rule books, sourcebooks and supplements and even adventure modules.  And what is lacking in all of this?  Maps.  Not just maps, but good maps. 

Most people don’t have the time, software, printers, or initiative to create really nice maps for their games.  Scenario layouts have to be imagined, or are quickly scrawled on poster or butcher paper, and in some cases in dry erase marker on a mat that has been pre-printed with a hex or square grid.  How many times have you set a soda can on the table, put a mini on top of it and called it a tower?

Because of the way most GMs are forced to handle maps, most locations become throwaway settings.  I’m looking to change this.

RPG Cartographer will be producing 10 maps, 24”x30”.  They will not be folded, they will be shipped in tubes.  The maps are modern setting locations ideal for spy, zombie, superhero, and any other pre, post or in progress apocalyptic games.  Each map will be laminated and dry-erase marker safe.  Each map will be full color.  UPDATE!!!:  You will have the choice of 1.5” hex grid or 1.5” square grid. (Perfect for HeroClix as well as any other rpg).   Because it was requested, 1" hexes are also available as the overlay for your maps.  And here’s where it gets exciting.  The maps are double sided with a different setting on each side.  For each map you purchase you will get two locations to use in your game!

Locations will be of the type that will be useful for your modern setting rpgs, particularly, but not exclusively, the superhero genre.  Banks, shops, police stations, jails, museums, warehouses, loading docks, etc.  Maps are designed not only for combat but to be used as backdrops for NPC locations.  If your players have to consult the old mystic that owns the Chinese restaurant then whip out the map with the Chinese restaurant on it.  Even if the players don’t find themselves in combat, you’ve enhanced the table top experience by putting them in a location they will remember.

To that end, each map will include a pdf that lists items and features on the map as well as information about the owners and employees of the location as it applies.

The initial catalog of maps will be 10 full color double sided maps.  That is 20 locations!  20!  Certain map locations will be complimentary to a location on another map, allowing two maps to be laid side by side to create larger settings.  These complimentary locations will be printed on different maps.  For instance, you won’t get a map with a park on both sides as that would be impractical.  But there will be two maps that each have a park on one side and a city street on the other.  You will be able to push the park sides together to make a large park, the city streets together to make a large city. 

The initial catalog of 10 maps will be as follows:

• Map 1, Side A - Bank, Side B - Strip mall of three shops
• Map 2, Side A - Police Station, Side B - Loading Dock
• Map 3, Side A - Warehouse, Side B - Jail
• Map 4, Side A - Park I , Side B - City Street
• Map 5, Side A - Park II, Side B - City Street II
• Map 6, Side A - Mall I, Side B - Office I
• Map 7, Side A - Firestation, Side B - Health Club
• Map 8, Side A - Science Lab I, Side B - Church
• Map 9, Side A - Graveyard, Side B - Science Lab II
• Map 10, Side A - Medical Clinic, Side B - Seedy Bar/Nightclub
• Map 11 ($15,000 Stretch Goal), Side A - Hero Base, Side B - Villain Lair

A little about me:  I’m a 30 year gamer.  I did a little freelance RPG writing years ago but that game company went out of business a long time ago and in a galaxy far far away.  I’ve played many table top RPG’s and a few MMOs.  I still get together with my friends and we marathon game for a weekend each year.  I’ve played SWRPG, D&D, Champions, Pathfinder, and Torg to name just a few.

I worked in the sign industry on and off for about 8 years total so I have experience laying out and producing posters.  I’m also an IT guy with a day job.  But I saw this opportunity come up after a recent gaming event where our GM went to admirable lengths to give us maps and I was reminded that I have the software and skills to really do a job on something like a color map, but I didn’t have the equipment to properly output the maps.  I looked into getting print runs done and found it to be prohibitively expensive, even with getting the money through something like Kickstarter.  So I did my research, found the right wide format printer for the job and I’m bringing it all here.  That means that these posters will be 100% me.  I’m not farming out the artwork, and I’m not farming out the production of the posters.  I’ve calculated all the costs and can tell you that this will not make me rich but will bring a good product to the market.  And because I will control production, I will be able to produce small runs and control costs.  After this project ends you will still be able to buy maps and I will not have to wait for the printer to get the maps to me, or wait for enough orders to justify another print run.  I will also be able to expand the catalog of map choices without having to incur large additional costs.

I’ve planned in stretch goals for when we fund before the project end.  These will include expanding the catalog of locations by up to 5 more maps (10 more locations total, maybe even more) as well as free maps for certain pledge levels once we pass certain funding goals.  Details will be revealed as this project progresses and I will be open to suggestions.

So, pledge early, pledge often, spread the word and check out www.rpgcartographer.com  for information, but you can count on me posting updates here as well as to the website.  Feel free to contact me through Kickstarter, through my direct email (stewart at Werley dot us) or at info@rpgcartographer.com

P.S.  Please go to the website above.  I will have not only a set of sample images there, as well as preview images from maps as they are completed, but there is a full color pdf that YOU can print out and ask your local comic/book/gaming store to post to help us generate support.  The higher we hit, the more free stuff you’ll get.