Sirens Update Jan 19, 2025
I’ve gone through the book, but I want to share a win before I discuss it!
The Sirens: Battle of the Bards Campaign Soundtrack, composed by Taylor Borgen http://www.taylorborgensound.com/ in 2021 and mastered by my brother AJ Sorbello will be uploaded to Spotify and other major streaming services in 7-12 business days. It’s a song for each chapter and 2 bonus songs. A wonderful mix of Fantasy, Tavern, and Arabic Trap to bring you into the magical city of Salvata. It took me a couple of days to figure out how to upload and convert the songs into the correct format, but I did it. It has been uploaded to Routenote and is now in the approval process. I’ll send a message when it uploads with a link to Spotify or if it wasn’t approved and needs editing. For those who ordered CDs, once I finish the book, I’ll go back through the merch and price out CD printing and shipping.
Now, the book update:
Sirens: Battle of the Bards is a massive endeavor. So much work has been done, and there is still much to do. The main book is broken down into four smaller books:
Player Guide
Salvata Setting
Quest Master Materials
Campaign & Side Quests
There’s also the introduction and Appendix, but for this purpose, I’ll just focus on the four interior main sections.
I’ve decided to start from the top and work my way down, completing one section before moving on to the next. Once the Section/smaller book is done, I will do the layout, turn it into a PDF, and then distribute it to the Kickstarter Backers and anyone else who pays for the PDF.
One issue I’ve encountered is that I only have the marketing artwork. Rick has reached out to the original artist, David Granjo, to help find the higher-quality images. I have not heard from him yet… He made so many amazing images for this book. I hope to be able to share them all with you.
#1 The Players Guide
The chapters in the Player Guide are as follows:
1 - Letter from Calrath
2 - Salvatan Character Backgrounds
3 - Salvatan Bard Class
4 - Everyone’s an Artist
5 - Cooperation while performing
Chapters 1-4 are finished and edited; however, this was done a while ago. I and a couple others are taking another look at the mechanics and proofing to make sure it is ready to be distributed. I decided to rewrite Chapter 5 since it seems a little clunky, and I think there is a better way to communicate these cooperation elements. From there, I’ll have it run by an editor and then proofed in the same way as 1-4.
This should take about two weeks, and then another week for me to do the layout. I’m looking at a delivery time within a week before or after Valentine's Day.
#2 Salvata Setting
The chapters in the Salvata Setting book are as follows:
1 - Marketing Letter
2 - History of Salvata
3 - Salvata Real Estate Price Index
4 - District 1 - 10 (each district is approx 8-10 g doc pages)
5 - The Grand Invocation
6 - Ke’Sava Tonics
7 - Games & Gambling
This book has been finished and edited. I will go through it to edit a few names and details I have wanted to alter since the beginning and then make a last pass with a couple of others for proofing. Once proofed, I will work on the layout and get that out to you all. I’m getting rid of Games and Gambling because I don’t want it in the book.
#3 Quest Master Materials
The chapters in the Quest Master Materials are as follows:
1 - EC Letter
2 - Running this Campaign
3 - Faction Tracker
4 - Primary NPCs (Calrath, Vlahnya, etc)
5 - The Salvata Salvation Rebellion
6 - The Emerald Cabal
7 - Primary Cabal NPCs (The Herald, Fiends, etc)
8 - Backer NPCs (13)
This section is all written except for #3 Faction Tracker. Once the Campaign is finished and all of the faction numbers have been added up and designed to fit the rest of the game's mechanics, I’ll add this page to the final version of the book. I’m not certain if this has been edited yet; however, we will go through these pages just as the other pages with first looks, edits, proofs, layout, and PDF.
The NPCs and factions have beautiful digital paintings by David Granjo. I have removed one of the main characters.
Since posting the first 2025 update, I’ve received several inquiries to add personal characters to the adventure. I am absolutely excited to; however, I will only add a max of 5, so I can focus on finishing this book. The cool part is that I’ll be drawing digital paintings or sketches of the character. Only a couple of spots are left, so if you are seriously interested, please email me, and we can coordinate. I will only be accepting new characters for the next month. These additional characters are to be ready for #3 in April. Maybe sooner, but I don’t want to promise something I can’t deliver on. As listed in the Kickstarter, this will include a write-up, stat block, illustration, and a copy of the book.
For those who weren’t able to place an order and have messaged about ordering a hard copy of Sirens, I’m only selling the PDF right now. I will allow upgrades when the books go into print.
#4 Campaign: Battle of the Bards
The chapters in the Campaign are as follows
1 - Letter by Vlahnya
2 - Session Zero
3 - Quest 1
4 - Side quest 1
5 - Quest 2
6 - Side quest 2
7 - Quest 3
8 - Side quest 3
9 - Quest 4
10 - Side quest 4
11 - Quest 5
12 - Side quest 5
13 - Quest 6
14 - Side quest 6
15 - Quest 7
16 - Side quest 7
17 - Quest 8
18 - Side quest 8
19 - Quest 9
20 - Side quest 9
21 - Quest 10 - Finale
22- Side quest 10 - Epilogue
Chapters 1 - 22 of #4 have been written, all except #21, the Finale, which I’m happy about because it had the characters I'm removing in it. Because I’m removing this character, I'm rewriting parts of the campaign for cohesive storytelling. There are many little things here and there, but one of the middle chapters will need a rewrite to make up for all of the exposition the previous character inserted into the story.
So, the first step is to comb through the main quest chapters 1-9 to remove the character and establish how that affects each section and the overall story. Then, notes and story-threading will follow. Next will be rewrites of those sections, starting with the smallest parts and gradually working my way to the bigger portions. Another read-through will need to be done, followed by editors and proofers.
Once the proofers are done at this stage, I’ll send it out for playtesting. If you want to be involved in the playtesting, email team@satinephoenix.com, and I will add you to a list of playtesters and email everyone a couple of weeks before it is time. I don’t foresee this being finished and ready for playtesting until about six months from now.
Once the playtest for 1-9 is complete, there will be updates, corrections, and rewrites. At that point, I’ll have the Finale written and ready for playtest, and that will undergo the same updates, corrections, and rewrites while 1 - 9 goes through edits, proofers, and layout. As soon as 1 - 9 have gone through layout, I will put Quest 1 - 9 and Side Quests 1 - 9 into a temporary PDF and send it out to backers to begin playing.
Once Quest 10, the Finale, goes through edits, proofers, and layout, I’ll add them to the Campaign book and send a new PDF of the entire Campaign, including the Epilogue, Side Quest 10.
The Side Quests have been written; they need a quick editing pass and proof before they’re ready to be put into layout. Since they include parts of the main story and elements that have to do with factions, and some have clues about the overarching story, they aren’t considered stand-alone adventures and will give spoilers to the main quests. This is why I am not releasing these adventures before this time.
Once #4 is complete, I’ll return to the Quest Master Materials and finish the Faction Tracker Chapter.
The rest of the book.
Appendix - This includes:
Magic Items
Monster Stats
Maps & Blueprints by September & Diana
Thank you letter & KS Backers
Glossary (?)
I’ve received about 10 requests to have people’s names removed from the Backer list. This is no problem; it's very easy to do. I’m considering creating a Google form for those who want their names removed so I have everything in one place and will have information on exactly what names to remove.
Introduction - this includes
Legal print
Foreward
Table of Contents
Once all of these elements are complete, I’ll put it all together into one large PDF and send the completed PDF to all of the book backers. From there, I’ll begin researching the best places to print the hardcover book and how much it will cost to print and ship. This could cost $10,000, $20,000, $40,000. I have absolutely no idea. However, I will explore the option of printing smaller batches and releasing them as I can pay for them since I’ll be paying for the prints out of my pocket. Once the hardcovers have been printed, I’ll begin exploring the cost of printing the slipcases with a DM screen. I will finish designing the DM screen once the PDF has been completed.
MERCHANDISE
Good news: I have found the merchandise!
Rough news: there’s about $1600 in unpaid storage fees. This is for all of the previous company’s items. So, now we figure out the percentage split and I pay the Satine & Sirens portions of the fees before they will release the items for shipping. It’s about $90 - $120 per month for storage fees, so I’ll be whittling away at the past fees while also keeping up with the current fees. I do no know how long this will take, but I’ll keep you updated.
MINIS
The STL files exist… I don’t know where they are. I plan on reaching out to the sculptor who created them this week. I will send the STL files to all backers who paid for Minis as soon as I find them. The original company that printed the samples did a great job with the printing booth opaque and translucent. Shortly after the Kickstarter was finished, they stopped offering prints. Once the book is finished, I’ll find another company to print it. All of the minis will be available except the blue one is removed from the pack.
With the restraining order, I can’t reach out to him to gather all of the assets as although we legally signed that I have rights to everything, he has not given me everything.
VTTS
If I remember correctly, tokens and other elements have been created… however, I cannot access them again. Over the next few months, I’ll investigate the location and creators of these assets and find out where they are.
Next week, I won’t be doing a video update because I'm traveling back to America, but I will update backers with the progress of this first book and an overall page count of the entire book as it is in Google Doc format, not final layout.
Wow. That update feels great! I almost forgot what working on a creative project in peace feels like. I’m glad that I’m finally in a place to bring this to all of you. One step at a time.
~ Satine
https://youtu.be/qbEkBF0fR58?si=9ZiKDYJokiuHtExh
