Tom is obviously a lawyer, because lying comes so easy to him.
What do I mean? Tom has his own variation of "the check is in the mail."
Here, lets look at some of Tom's recent updates on the Myth & Magic Player's Guide Kickstarter (his first claims to shipping were back in 2013, but those are so obviously full of shit I'm not even going to go there.)
Well, as you can see, Tom claimed shipping was happening back in 2013.
Now, way back in April of 2014, Tom came semi-clean. He never admitted to lying about shipping, but did admit there were... issues:
Things are still moving, but...
This is going out to the backers of both Kickstarters.
I wanted to drop a much-needed update to tell you that I'm still here and still working to complete the GMG and PG shipments. You have asked multiple times for the true reason for the Kickstarter fiasco. I tried, as politically as possible, to dodge the question and to keep you all positive (well, i lied so you kind folks, the ones that gave me money, wouldn't know the kind of shit I actually was. Didn't work, did it?) Well, my attempting to keep you (and me) positive turned into untruthfulness (fucking lawyer speak for LYING) and I can't run away from the issues any longer (perhaps you backers aren't as stupid as most juries.)
The site is no longer active. In fact, NHG is no longer active. For the last few months, I have been trying to form a plan to complete the projects as quickly as possible. Part of that plan includes not funding anything outside the projects.
The first cause of all the problems is that I underestimated the cost of the Player's Guide KS, artwork for the GMG, and international PG shipments. Not having the proper business foresight, I didn't control the early spending and went overboard with quality. So, I've been self-funding the final leg of the PG shipments and everything since the first draft of the GMG; and by extension, everything to be completed moving forward is to be funded with my money. The second cause has been a lack of time outside of my work and family. I wrote this game and began marketing it before I was working. I always naively thought that I would be able to manage it all. Well, I was wrong.
The cold hard truthful reason why things have crawled to a temporary stop is that I don't have enough money stored up to quickly fuel the projects.
Now, having said all of that, I'm NOT GIVING UP. It's hard enough to think that NHG is no more, but even harder to think that I have let down the players that made the game possible. And for that reason, I vow to get this done. I have begun to look into various loan programs and for a few private reasons, I should be able to secure the necessary funds by the end of Summer. Mid-September to be exact.
A few things must happen. It doesn't cost any money to release the full art-free GMG, so I can realistically get that to the GMG backers on or before the first week of May. I will also continue to send out small quantities of books with my private money until I get the loan (I've scoured G+ for any M&M sightings - except for the Lulu versions - none). These shipments will also include the Players Guides ordered by GMG backers. As I said, any loan will most likely come through in mid-September. At that point, whatever orders are not received or needing to be re-shipped will be immediately shipped out. I would love to get all international orders shipped before the loan, but some of them are $80 to $100 a whack! I will still try though. My goal, in terms of the GMG, is to have it printed and shipped before the end of the year.
Trust me, I understand your frustration. You have every right to be frustrated and even angry. We all had an amazing time collaborating and creating this game. The only thing I ask for is more patience and more time. Please. Nothing happened as a result of bad faith or any intentional scheme to defraud you. It was all a matter of my mismanaging the PG Kickstarter. It's a beautiful book, but dammit, it was my undoing!
Another factor of my undoing was not communicating enough. I was embarrassed. Add in the hate mail and hate comments, and running away from the updates and comments was the only way I could avoid having a nervous breakdown (therefore, I will wait 10 months before updating again). You may or may not know this, but I have two small children. I can't let them see me fall apart over this.
My next update will include the GMG pdf and an update on how many additional shipments I was able to send out (obviously, there were 10 months without additional shipments). I will also set up a new dedicated email address to start fresh with everyone. The other email addresses are filled with vileness. I hope we can just start over, with a new email, and have some better dialogue. I probably will not read the comments here so that I can try to focus on what's ahead, but I will update you more frequently (or not.)
Well, that's it - the entire ugly truth. I'm still here and still dedicated. I have the right mindset now to get this done and I will get this done!!
Wow! Excuses and than some. But don't worry, last month, Tom gave us an amazing update:
Update on PG and GMG (February 4th, 2015)
Hi All,
I just wanted to post an update, albeit terribly overdue, to let you know things are back on track as of January 19th, the day I was able to secure some loan money and earmark personal funds to complete the GMG project and to ensure that all orders are fulfilled. It was senseless to update you during the process of securing the funds (so those 10 months of silence? you got that for free. Silence has no cost), since it was a total roller coaster and I had no idea what to expect.
Player's Guide Domestic Shipping: I shipped all domestic orders via priority mail and although only a few came back to me, most show a confirmed delivery and some do not. I want to make sure that everyone receives their books (NO ONE posted about receiving their USPS shipping notices and tracking numbers until this week - what a load of fucking shit)
If you did not receive your PG order, something happened (apparently I never sent it! ha ha! go fuck yourselves.) Either I did not have your correct address or something else got screwed up. I just set up a new email address to ensure I have your most up-to-date information. If you did not get your book(s), please send me your name, backer level and updated address. Use the following email: nhgaddressupdate@gmail.com.
Please limit the email to the information I need so that I can stay organized.
Once I receive an email from you, I'll check the USPS tracking. If the tracking does not confirm delivery for whatever reason, I'll reship and then respond to your email with a tracking number (ah, see, these mystery shipments weren't given tracking numbers, only if you failed to receive your books - which was everyone still waiting to receive their books.) Don't worry if you don't receive a response email from me right away. To stay organized, I will respond only once with the tracking information. (Much, much easier to keep track of the emails that way.)
International Backers: The limited funds I had only allowed me to send out a fraction of the international orders. I have earmarked a bit of the shoestring budget to get some more out. Those of you that are also GMG backers will be happy to know that the book is almost done and it is my intention to combine the books into one shipping. That will lessen the sting and get the books out to you as fast as humanly possible.
Please follow the instructions above in the domestic shipping paragraph and email the address with your name, backer level and current address so I have that information.
All Backers: Here is an art-free PDF of the Game Master's Guide for all of you, even if you are not a GMG backer. The GMG backers will get their own update, attaching a PDF with the monster art included, as well as a schedule. The additional art is 75% done as of this morning. It's shaping up to be an awesome book. I want you to have this so you can see that, although silent, we're working to get this done.
Sorry again for the constant blackout periods, but we're now tackling the obstacles and will complete the campaigns.
-T
You literally can't make this shit up.
Only a lawyer, and a piss poor one at that, would even attempt this type of shit. Obviously, shipping didn't happen until this week (well, might have happened this week - time will tell), as now is when folks are getting emailed their shipping info.
Damn shame, as the ruleset is a good one...
