Are you satisfied with the Patreon?

A little late with my response, but I’ve been really enjoying the Patron. I’ve heard many times that game development and writing are difficult jobs to make a decent living wage. Discounts on the books aside I like to support creators when I can.

FWIW I’m happy with the Patreon! I don’t usually have the time to try out all the fun stuff you share because I keep my focus narrow to enjoy what I already own, rather than hoard more (which seems the norm for the hobby), but I like your weekly updates and that you do offer material freely. This might be too time intensive, but it would be cool to see more articles that explore your design philosophy and choices. Sorry to hear many people dropped off. Makes sense you’d be stressed given your recent move.

Your Patreon is one of only 3 I keep. You put more time and effort into your updates than larger creators, you give tons of free games and updates, and you can see how much love goes into crafting every update, post, and game. I love this Patreon.

I support you on Patreon first of all in order to help you to invest your time on your production and to thank you to give me hours and hours of fun with your games. Secondly, It's my way to pay you a beer because I can't do it IRL. Thirdly I m glad to have your games "free" and some other gift. I don't wait for this of that game. I support you as I can. I don't wait anything else.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION BELOW. Buenas noches, Álex. Vamos por partes, como dijo un tal Jack… Respecto al tema económico: estoy suscrito al nivel Grand Master, y el precio anual, teniendo en cuenta los beneficios recibidos, me parece más que correcto. Nos guste o no, ABSOLUTAMENTE TODO ha sufrido un encarecimiento (impuestos, precios, alquileres, coste de servicios...) mientras que los sueldos o se mantienen igual o incluso han bajado. Aquí no hay nada que puedas hacer; simplemente, la economía lleva años que no pasa por su mejor momento. En consecuencia, la gente debe priorizar gastos. Y los juegos de rol en solitario son un nicho minoritario y muy específico. Sobre el contenido que creas / publicas: eres un autor prolífico y suele gustarme casi toda obra que creas. Como crítica constructiva te diré que a veces me da la impresión que eres un poco caótico y anárquico a la hora de lanzar publicaciones. Por ejemplo, tú mismmo has reconocido que AHDV está sufriendo más retrasos de lo previsto. Quizás te ayudaría planificar una “hoja de ruta” anual, estilo “en el primer cuatrimestre de 2027 voy a sacar a y b; en el segundo cuatrimestre c; y en el tercero abro una encuesta para que mis mecenas decidan si quieren d, e o f”. Naturalmente, esta hoja de ruta bien visible en el Discord y en Patreon para que la gente pueda opinar y bombardearte a preguntas estilo “¿y cuándo tienes pensado sacar más material de tal juego?”; así podrías priorizar lanzamientos que, en teoría, son más esperados por la gente. Más ventas, en resumen. Finalmente, me gustaría destacar lo que considero que es uno de tus puntos fuertes. ESCUCHAS A LA GENTE. No solo eres accesible, hasta el punto en el que jamás he tenido que esperar ni un día a que contestes mis dudas, correos o mensajes; es que además tienes en consideración la opinión de mecenas y clientes, opinión que veo reflejada en los trabajos que vas publicando. Ojalá según qué desarrolladores de videojuegos siguieran tu ejemplo. En fin, no quiero hacerme pesado. Suerte con esta coyuntura económica. Saludos. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good evening, Álex. Let’s take it one step at a time… On the financial side: I’m a Grand Master subscriber, and given the benefits I receive, I think the annual fee is more than fair. Whether we like it or not, ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING has become more expensive (taxes, prices, rents, utility bills, etc.), whilst wages have either stayed the same or even fallen. There’s nothing you can do about it; quite simply, the economy hasn’t been in the best of shape for years. And solo role-playing games are a very specific, niche market. Regarding the content you create/publish: you’re a prolific author and I usually enjoy almost everything you produce. As a bit of constructive criticism, I’d say that sometimes I get the impression you’re a bit chaotic and disorganised when it comes to releasing your work. For example, you yourself have admitted that AHDV is experiencing more delays than anticipated. It might help you to draw up an annual ‘roadmap’, along the lines of: ‘In the first four-month period of 2027, I’ll release a and b; in the second four-month period, c; and in the third, I’ll launch a poll so that my patrons can decide whether they want d, e or f’. Naturally, this roadmap should be clearly visible on Discord and Patreon so that people can have their say and bombard you with questions like ‘So when are you planning to release more content for such-and-such a game?’; that way, you could prioritise releases that, in theory, people are most looking forward to. More sales, in short. Finally, I’d like to highlight what I consider to be one of your strengths. YOU LISTEN TO PEOPLE. Not only are you approachable – to the extent that I’ve never had to wait even a single day for you to reply to my queries, emails or messages – but you also take the views of patrons and clients into account, views that I see reflected in the work you publish. I wish certain video game developers would follow your example. Anyway, I don’t want to go on too long. Good luck with the current economic climate. Best regards.

Hello. Rather new on the BO patreon here so don't really have any particular insight as to why some are dropping out except for the same reasons everyone has listed already. Money is more scarce today. All prices have increased. Some a lot. At the same time jobs are down. It is a tougher financially for (almost) everyone than it was a year or two ago. As to how I feel about the patreon I will start by saying that I don't really go in to patreons with a lot of expectations. It is primarily a way to support. Perks are always nice though and I have already gotten some at-cost-codes for books so personally I am happy with what has been offered and the updates. Also looking forward to some of the things you are working on. So yeah.. no real tips here besides keep doing what you do and don't fret to much about what we expect. I am a patreon to help you do your stuff. I you just do "our stuff" then it would be like an employment situation and that would probably kill your inspiration and creativity :-)

Hmm, I’m not sure exactly how to respond. I guess I wasn’t sure when I initially signed up on the Patreon at the second tier what I was getting into as this was my first time using Patreon as well. I just thought it might be a good way to explore more of your content after KN brought me here. Essentially, I wanted to keep supporting a smaller designer with great ideas. I backed the kickstarter to MG so receiving MG via Patreon was maybe redundant for me, but that’s ok. It’s the setting of my favorite solo ttrpg right now. Also when you were open about some challenges you were facing personally, I’m not one to turn a blind eye, so I was happy to upgrade my Patreon level to help you out so you could get through the rough patch and continue to work on your art. I guess I don’t have much expectation of what being a Patreon member should do for me, but I’m happy with everything I already have and that I’ll get to see more of your work. With solo TTRPG (but not solo gaming) being a relatively new hobby for me, it has been a fascinating few weeks (maybe months) of discoveries and learning about systems and how modular it can all be so you’re a part of my journey and I have enjoyed connecting with you and others on this hobby. It has also been real fun tapping back into something from 40 years ago when I was heavily playing TTRPGs in my youth so I get sparks from remembering my time back then and they’re really wonderful memories. I want you to succeed on a higher level and I think you need to consult with someone specializing in marketing games and running small businesses to get you to that next tier. You already have an audience and you’ve grown organically, but time to think big! I do think as a newcomer, your books would benefit from having a chapter called , Putting It All Together, that shows in detail an example of rolling a character, setting up a game, running some procedural loops especially for exploration and for combat and other important “end-of-turn,” procedures to get players into the game faster. The chapters are more like references and all the systems can be intimidating for newcomers.

I'm happy with the Patreon as it is. I joined to be a patron, to support your work as I like what you do. That hasn't changed and I don't see it changing any time soon. Keep up the good work! Coincidentally on the same day I got this message, I also got dispatch notices for my 3 new Machine Gods Mork Borg Editions. Having recently got in to Pirate Borg, I am very excited for even better setting such as this.

The ammount of content you release is staggering and you are very transparent with what you're planning/working on. I don't know what you could easily do to make the patreon better as it's already fantastic imo. I just want to help support you so you can make more stuff, you are one of the best game designers around.

Having just joined I guess I don't have much context to add too much, but I've been considering it for awhile and just recently was able to. So far I get more value here than any other patreon I've backed. As you should know from my YT, I really love your games. First one I got was KN, and played it a ton. I picked up RHBF and fell in love with it. But I think this was only because I had been solo gaming for about a year by the time I picked that up and I had enough experience to handle the open sandboxy feel that game has. Glad to be able to contribute to your enterprise in another way.

Alex, I am still enjoying what you are doing. It is a bummer about the loss of income. I wasnt expecting a pivot to Broken Shores, but also kind of looking forward to it now as well. You know I support you here and on Kickstarter, so do what makes sense for you. I will always be looking forward to picking up print copies off KS. When I first heard you were doing Broken Shores 2E my initial thought was hmmm is that going to the Mork Borg ruleset? But I think you have cleared that up. I dont need second editions of all your games, but just saying Godshard / Broken Shores is a good one to go back to. Are you going to include Egrastea Reborn into the 2E content? I know expansions do not do half as well as original games.

"An art patron is an individual or organization that provides financial or other essential support directly to artists. By backing creators with resources like living stipends, studio space, and material costs, patrons guarantee artists the creative freedom and economic stability needed to produce their work." It is about choices. It may seem a bit cutthroat, but I cancelled a streaming service so that I could upgrade my membership with Blackoath.

I'm very happy! I'd want all your books anyway - your patreon keeps me well informed. Thanks for keeping at it! Your settings and systems are always a blast and you hire quite complementary artists that push it further.

This Patreon is total overkill with what it has to offer. In terms of overkill, it’s a Ratkin juiced up on the venom spewing flames over a well done corpse. I mean… what else is there to offer when you get everything? It’s almost too much. A new game gets written and I have it before I can buy it. Having said that, I think some smaller Patreon-exclusive content snippets would be attractive. Could be easy experimental things to just add some value to some of the existing games where a big expansion doesn’t make financial sense right now. Pre-Gen characters with something unique about their skill set or equipment, fun house rules or variants, ridiculous boss challenges… make it shamelessly fun/ridiculous/cool/fomo worthy, get some content creators to try it out, and you’d do double duty advertising the patreon as well as the game.

I'm a minor Patreon with the base tier because I can't do more...like others said have to focus on stuff that is the most important for me, I tend to be curious of many things but when it comes to make a choice, your creations are still the ones I keep...besides, a basket is ready on drivethru for soon with ....only yours and I Know I really want to purchase others later....As you ask for:Yeah! Still really satisfied with all the content you provide to us, whatever your priorities....In return hope having not bored you too much with my questions, only reflected my high interest,curiosity and will to play it right ....and not at all a bad quality of your creations, really not...It's so good! Respect and Regards

For my part, I'm just here to support whatever you want to do. You have a very generous Patreon, all things considered. We get free stuff all the time. I honestly think the biggest thing holding you back from being massively popular is just marketing, which is obviously expensive and doesn't always work. I wouldn't have heard about Ker Nethalas if it hadn't been for stumbling across someone mentioning it on Reddit and even then I didn't really pay attention to it until it popped up on my YouTube feed.

Patreon is great. Personally I can only support around 10 Patreon memberships this year where I used to be able to support around 15. The economy has really hit hard and I have had to pull back. I usually choose the yearly support options and this year I have only been able to stick with content creators like yourself that really provide value month after month.

I’ve only just recently joined your patron this month after seeing a KN gravebound edition video breakdown which I never knew was out. I originally bought all the books for KN on amazon 1 or 2 years ago and absolutely loved them but couldn’t find much else by you on Amazon so I just moved on. Then I saw a KN gravebound edition video recently which made me realize I wanted to get my hands on it. Which is when I figured I would email you as I was disappointed that I had to rebuy all the books and make the books I had more or less outdated but then you gave me and PoD code and I got all the them much much cheaper which inclined me to also buy CAA, Warlord acent 2e, Riftbeakers 2e aswell as Arenmist forest over the course of two months. So now Im here just seeing what you cook up next and I don’t really care too much on what I get every month. So Im just here to see your cool ideas turn into fleshed out books every couple months.

Because you asked: I’m here for updates on KN content. Bought everything in print just before Gravebound Edition was released, and then I bought Gravebound Edition in print. I’m here to monitor when everything else has been updated to rebuy it in print. I’ll wait to rebuy until it’s all available to save on shipping. P.S. Your work is great. KN is a million times better than 4AD, for example, which is far better known among traditional board game enthusiasts. You might consider promoting your work on BoardGameGeek.

It's easy for me to say, because I've never been a struggling artist, but objectively and coldly there is no point in being reactive to falling numbers, you chose to be an artist in a niche hobby within a niche subgenre, you'll always be at a disadvantage. You're operating on a limited pool of supporters whose fluctuating motivations and economic situation you cannot account for, unless you hire a consultant to do marketing strategy/research etc. I would expect, from the sheer volume and quality of your work, that you'd be less prone to panic and have more faith in yourself. If I was you, my ego would fill a dozen domains in Ker Nethalas. But, since you've been extremely open with your personal situation and your private life, I think it's also normal to feel less stable for a bit longer. Wish you all the best.

Honestly... I am just here to support you. I don't really expect anything in return. I have so many games to play, so little time... I don't need more. But I love what you do and hope that you succeed. And I can spare a few € a month to support you. So, no worries from my side for what it's worth.

I really enjoy what you do Alex. Funnily enough I'm not usually into games like KN (I much prefer dungeon crawlers as full fledged board games) but Sacrifice, Choir of Flesh and the darker settings is really my jam. On the other hand, once I got the cards for KN, I couldn't put it down. I'm staying put because I like getting a trickle of solo goodness in my inbox monthly. I don't want to dictate to you what you should be doing either. People work differently and have different ways of approaching that work and I'm just here for the ride. I'm sorry for the recent upheaval in your life recently, both privately and professionally. I'm showing my age here but, like the crow says - It can't rain all the time.

I had to turn off some Patreons, as it was getting a little expensive, but I'm still right here, because I do really enjoy your games.

I was laid off a month ago and the job market is stagnant. Everything non-essential is cut, and I'm selling games to gain some runway. It's definitely not you. I'll still find a way to buy anything you make. I have all of it. Wolves of God, the slipcase editions, everything!

Hey, Alex. I've always participated at the base tier. Not because I don't LOVE your work as you know but I tend to purchase what I want when I see it. For me, although I have been and will continue to be a patreon of yours, I do tend to pick up some patreons for a limited time to support creators. Then I support someone else. I try to stay with a "budget" for patreon, ks, etc.. and for patreons I limit myself now to only 2-3 at any one time. So, you are my "anchor" patreon while I rotate others. Maybe others are like me and have an "anchor" but rotate. I know that might not be an answer you love but that's how I look at my monthly budgeting.

First of all, you produce great content, and everything is high quality. And as a Patreon-member I receive everything, which is quite generous. You are someone who deserves the support, but to be honest, I am still here because right now my finances are quite stable and I can afford it. These are hard times and everyone has to focus on the stuff that is most important to them. I stumbled upon you back when Across a Thousand Dead Worlds was announced (I joined Patreon way later). I loved the game (and still do) and kept an eye on your future projects. Unfortunately my time is limited and I can only focus on a few things, so I am sorry to say that I did not even try most of you projects. And honestly, I am not a big fan of most of your themes, the very gritty and dark themes are not my taste. Would it make more sense for me to quit the Patreon and only buy what I am actually going to play? Yes. But as I said, right now I can afford to support you, so I will. But others might think otherwise and only want new content for their favourite game and think of new games and overhauls as distraction. I think what could have helped is finishing Tales from the Green together with Ivan, he has a big name in the community, and your name alongside his name might have drawn some attention to your own projects. I wish you all the best and hope everything turns out well.

Hola, Álex: Me sorprendió y alegró leer que estás trabajando en Broken Shores 2e. Hasta ahora lo tenía en mi wishlist, pero no me había atrevido a probarlo y pensé que ya había caído en el olvido y que no habría más material. Por ese lado, creo que es una buena adición a tu portafolio/catalogo. Al menos en los foros en los que participo, la audiencia parece preferir los juegos «snappy». Y, respecto a las suscripciones de Patreon, ¿podría ser algún fallo del mecanismo de pago? No veo ni entendería por qué a la gente no le gustaría tu proyecto venidero. Si me lo permites, tengo una idea para tener /retener más patreons: ¿por qué no tener siempre algo de material para los juegos más vendidos? Por ejemplo, «mini contenido» para Ker Nethalas cada semana o cada dos semanas, que después podrías recopilar en un libro, podría atraer a más gente o convencerles para que aumenten su tier de suscripción. El mini contenido puede ser «nuevos monstruos», «localizaciones especiales» o «nuevas reglas para un desafío». «Tablas de lore». No tengo ni idea de si el trabajo merecería la pena. Solo son ideas. Y corrigeme si es que ya haces esto y no lo veo por mi tier de membership Saludos y energias positivas!!