Funded!
almost 7 years ago – Mon, Jun 19, 2017 at 11:16:59 PM

Hi, Rose here. ^_^ Thank you for your amazing support throughout this campaign. Eddy and Rich have a few words to say....

Eddy:

Once again, the Pugmire/Mau community amazes and astonishes me. This is the second time we've done this, and still you find it in record time (less than an hour!) and we end up with a six figure result. Certainly this will allow us to make a great book on par with the quality bar set by Pugmire, and get it into stores so cat fans all over can experience the monarchies. It'll be a few weeks before I can get started with the initial outlining and design work, but I'll make sure to keep everyone up to date!

Rich:

Wow! Thanks so much all you best cats! This Kickstarter as certainly not a cat-astrophe! You've enabled us to give Monarchies of Mau the chance to appear in stores, as well as set up a lot of excellent MoM projects to continue the fun! After all the dust settles and we're all finished with Kickstarter and their payment set-up, we'll be putting out a BackerKit site where you'll be able to answer your Backer Survey and note your address and any Add-ons, plus even upgrade your pledge or add on more stuff. Don't expect the BK site until after Gen Con in August though, as we'll be getting the shipping of Pugmire out during that time too! Thanks again, and Meooooow!

One hour warning: Check your pledges!
almost 7 years ago – Fri, Jun 16, 2017 at 07:03:24 AM

Hi, Rose here. ^_^

Please take a moment between now and the end of this Kickstarter in just under an hour to review your pledge. I know it sounds unnecessary because you're on top of it and/or it's annoying to get warning messages, but both of the issues below have happened to backers during one of our other KSs.   

1) Did you pledge to the Reward Tier that offers you the rewards you want? Go through the description and make sure the rewards are mentioned there. They are not cumulative with the Reward Tiers before them.  

2) Did you make sure that your payment method is valid? Is your credit card maxed out? Kickstarter will mark your pledge non-collectible and you won't get your Rewards. Did you borrow the card and they decided to block the charge because you had a fight? There's a window to resolve payment issues with KS, but there's no guarantee that the resolution will be what you want. Better to make sure your payment method will work now.  

That covers the typical trouble spots, and we'll be answering your questions in the comments, or more directly via the "contact me" link on Rich's profile, for the rest of the KS.

Preview: The Houses and Secrets
almost 7 years ago – Fri, Jun 09, 2017 at 04:04:02 PM

Hi, Rose here. ^_^ In today’s excerpt from Monarchies of Mau Early Access, Nerma and Sabian comment on an official report about the six houses, and the nature of secrecy.

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REPORT: Each of the leaders of the former monarchies became a Dynast of a new noble house, and together they formed the new Ruling Council. These days the six houses work together in harmony to further the needs and goals of the Monarchies of Mau. 

NERMA: This is not only a lie, but a bad one. Even the dogs know the houses work against each other far more than they work together. 

SABIAN: While not incorrect, it’s also not the whole picture. After several decades, many cats have never known a world where the monarchies were separate. Although the Union is relatively new from a historical perspective, the idea that the houses work together is something that more and more kittens believe in. Yes, old animosities die hard, but that doesn’t mean they’re not dying all the same. 

REPORT: However, each of the houses values their secrets. In fact, secrecy is common among cats all throughout the Union, even those who are not part of the six houses. And yet, the idea of secrecy is more important than specific secrets. We as a culture value our privacy and our public face, and preserving those sometimes means maintaining a veneer of secrecy even in the fact of revealed knowledge. 

As an example, each house has their own secret language. Officially, only a member of the house learns the house language and is permitted to speak it, but cats can change allegiances, and thus take such knowledge with them. However, admitting knowledge of another house’s secret language would be a faux pas. If such a cat who had changed allegiance were to blurt out something in her old house’s language, other cats in the area would be required to pretend that nothing had happened, although action might be taken in private. Preservation of face is key. It is necessary to act as if something is a secret, so that secrets can continue to be kept. This is how the alliance is preserved. 

SABIAN: This is an aspect of our society I have never understood. Wouldn’t we be stronger if we pooled all our knowledge instead of pretending we have secrets from each other? 

NERMA: Who would collect all this knowledge? I can’t think of any house that would be happy letting someone outside their influence having that much power.

Dennis Detwiller in the anthology! Plus: Trillani's Trailblazers!
almost 7 years ago – Thu, Jun 08, 2017 at 01:35:48 PM

Hi, folks, Rose here. ^_^

We've hit one of our most exciting stretch goals: fiction by Dennis Detwiller (Delta Green, NECROPOLIS)!

Up next, at $100,000 of contributions, we will commission 2 more short stories that will be combined with later stretch goals to create the Monarchies of Mau Fiction Anthology PDF/eBook that we will send to all backers who pledge for a reward tier that includes a Monarchies of Mau PDF. Included in these two new stories will be a story written by Joseph D. Carriker, Jr. (Vampire: The Requiem, Sacred Band). As I've mentioned before, Joe's an old White Wolf friend, and seeing what he can do with Eddy's vision is a great opportunity for the project.

After that, at $110,000 of contributions, we will continue the Roll of Good Dogs and Excellent Cats PDF (working title). Ready-Made Characters for Monarchies of Mau and Pugmire, using the backer NPC characters featured in both core books, that we will send to all backers who pledge for a reward tier that includes a Monarchies of Mau PDF. We will now add 6 Good Dogs drawn from both books.

Thanks for your support! Here's a new preview. :)

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Trillani’s Trailblazers  

In today’s excerpt from Monarchies of Mau Early Access, Nerma von Korat and Sabian Sphynx von Angora comment on an official report about the organization known as “Trillani’s Trailblazers.”  

REPORT: After the war, House Rex put forth that exploration must begin again in earnest. The Ruling Council agreed, and each house offered resources to the cause. Further, various factions and unaffiliated cats outside the six houses — a group which became the Shadow Bloc — also gave their support as part of their introduction to the Ruling Council. From this sudden burst of resources, Trillani’s Trailblazers was formed.  

Although only a couple of decades old, the organization grew quickly. Groups of trailblazers are overseen by a representative of the Ruling Council known as a Castellan, an old title dating back to when cats protected a castle within a monarchy. Each Castellan and her trailblazers are allowed a large degree of discretion in how they conduct their business, as long as no cat takes any action against the interests of the Monarchies of Mau, or against the Accepted Precepts.  

NERMA: Let’s be clear: House Korat created the structure of the trailblazers. Say what you will about the sea-dogs of Waterdog Port, but at least they know how to keep a bunch of strong-willed adventurers roughly pointed in the right direction. We took that idea, got rid of the stupid bits, and refined it into an efficient model. You’re welcome.  

SABIAN: This account overlooks the fact that many houses supported the trailblazers not out of devotion to the Monarchies of Mau, but for very personal reasons. Trailblazers are sent on dangerous missions, true, but they also have the chance to find powerful relics and bring them back to a particular house. Some houses use the trailblazers to get rid of their “problem cats,” hoping the danger will overcome them, while others offer their best and brightest to increase the chances of bringing back something of value. Most trailblazers, however, tend to serve their own interests.

Preview: Breeds and Houses
almost 7 years ago – Fri, Jun 02, 2017 at 04:37:25 AM

Hi, Rose here, with a new preview!

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Eddy:

I was surprised how many people asked me this in the last Kickstarter, so let me get it out of the way as early as possible: You can play any cat breed you want in Monarchies of Mau. From an Abyssinian to a York Chocolate Cat and everything in between, there’s no way Mau could possibly address every breed. So instead, I’ve created the concept of cat houses — collections of breed families unified under a single cause. Any breed can be a family, and any family can be a part of any house. Here’s an excerpt from Monarchies of Mau Early Access to help explain.  

Houses  

Now that the six monarchies have unified, the residents and rulers of each monarchy has become one of the six major houses. Most cats pledge their loyalty to one of these six houses, while those who belong to minor (but powerful) families or factions have banded together into a political bloc for mutual support. Cats can and do change allegiances, so the idea of devotion to a biological family isn’t as strong as with, say, dogs.  

Cats declare their allegiance with the word “von” before the house in question, either as part of or as the entirety of their surname. For example, if Lesley Persian had sworn her loyalty to House Rex, her formal name would be “Lesley Persian von Rex,” although many cats would probably just call her “Lesley von Rex.” Nobles sometimes insist on the use of their full name, however.  

Houses all have one tenet that they follow, which acts as a combination of house motto and mission statement for those who have pledged allegiance. They also have a private language, which is a dense lexicon that (generally) only cats of that house use with each other. Further, each house has a “secret” agenda. These are plans and goals that no one in the house openly speaks of, but most cats who are savvy to the ancient animosities between the monarchies have a good sense of what each house desires. However, no cat would be crass enough to accuse another house of holding such a secret agenda. It’s all about face — even when a cat stumbles and accidentally reveals her house plans, everyone immediately pretends like it never happened. Cats from other houses uphold her attempt to save face, because otherwise others might drag their secrets into the light.  

However, these intrigues and secret agendas are mostly the concern of higher-ranking cats. Most of the rank-and-file cats, like the trailblazers, are usually unaffected by such lofty conspiracies. As cat heroes become more powerful, though, they may be increased pressure for them to fulfill their house agendas over supporting their adventuring friends and allies.