Category Archives: Achievement Unlocked!

Losing Wagers, Doubling Donations, and Playing a Beautiful Game…

So for today’s blog to make sense, you might want to go back and read the one I wrote a couple days ago.

It’s was my favorite blog I’ve written in a while, with some quite nice faerie-tale flavor in parts. So even if you don’t care much about the charity stuff I’m doing, there’s something for you to enjoy there.

For those of you who can’t be bothered, here’s the gist: A couple days ago, I wagered the community that they couldn’t raise $333,333 on my team page before I beat the Ender Dragon in Minecraft.

And… well… y’all did it. Handily.

More than that, once I posted the blog and shared it, y’all stormed so hard I didn’t even have time to hit send on a tweet I’d typed up using this graphic:

The Details of The Wager

(Made by the fabulous E’lir Lisa.)

Truth is, this is exactly what I was hoping for. That people would hear the news, get excited, then come in and make it a race. Then we’d play together, have some fun, raise scads of money to feed hungry kids, and make the world a better place.

But… it kinda worked *better* than we’d anticipated. Y’all came in and just trampled things to the extent that we burned through *all* our stretch goals within hours, leaving us without more cool stuff we could immediately offer. Let alone graphics to show them off.

Pat's Streaming Schedule for 12/14

(Graphics like this.)

And so while it was cool, it was also a bit of a shame. We were left with nothing else to offer up despite the fact that the fundraiser is still going on and all donations are still being matched.

First off, let’s be clear. Y’all won the wager. So:

  1. I’ll be reading the prologue of Doors of Stone and doing a Q&A on my Twitch Channel.
  2. I’ll be showing off some of the finished pages of the The Boy That Loved The Moon.
  3. I’ll be releasing a chapter of Doors of Stone into the wild. (When? I’ talk about that below.)

But it seems a shame to stop there. For one thing, I still haven’t beaten the Ender Dragon.

And also, we still needed more stretch goal prizes for the team page.

And also also, I really liked those graphics that E’lir Lisa came up with, and we barely got to use them…

So here’s what we’re doing:

(Warning, this graphic on the blog won’t be updated as frequently as over on Twitch Team Page.)

You see the stretch goals on the left? Those are going into the prize draw as soon as folks hit the donation amount.

That said, if y’all manage to hit those goals *before* I beat the Ender Dragon, I’ll donate TWO of each prize.

“But wait!” I hear you cry. “What’s that thing way down at the bottom there?

Here’s the thing, I’ve met a lot of cool folks over the years. Voice actors, comedians, musicians, audio narrators, performers, actors, puppeteers….

I think that sounds like a fun way of releasing the early peek of the book. I’m hoping some of my friends will like the idea too.

So I’m going to cast my net among my friends and see who might like to come help me read the chapter of Doors of Stone for y’all. Then, if we hit $666,666, I’ll  assemble the Geek Glitterati equivalent of the Avengers and we’ll record it for you. It might take a bit to assemble, as cool people tend to be busy, and there’s no way I’m going to ask them to do it during the fundraiser. But I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to get it done early next year. February at the latest.

Okay. We ready? Here we go.

My team page is already over $420,000.

All donations are currently being matched.

The Fundraiser runs until midnight on the 14th.

Race you to the end…

pat

Edit: 1:31 pm – In the last 12 hours, through the dark hours of night when I was mostly asleep, the team page has raised another $60,000 unlocking double sets HeroQuest and the cool, Wooden-box version of Risk from Avalon Hill. AS WELL AS two copies of the limited edition cover of of Vault of Magic from Kobold Press that I wrote a part of, personalized by me, with some of the rare D&D cards.

Y’all are amazing…

Also posted in Acts of Whimsy, Beautiful Games, Book Three, calling on the legions, contests, cool things, Worldbuilders 2021 | By Pat50 Responses

Ain’t no party like a Worldbuilders Party cause a Worldbuilders party don’t…

As I start typing this, It’s around 10:30 on Dec 17th. It’s the final day of the 11th annual Worldbuilders fundraiser.

We are rapidly closing in on three-quarters of a million dollars.

And that’s excellent. I’m over the moon. I want to talk about that. So much.

But here’s the thing: I have news…

And rather than work up to it slowly like I normally do, I’m going to switch it up an little and jump straight to it. Imma gonna spring the news, then go back and tell you the why and the wherefore.

You ready?

(Bam!)

Or, for those of you who prefer more info in your info-graphic:

Simply said, tomorrow, December 18th, I’m going to be streaming for 14 hours straight to celebrate the success of this year’s fundraiser. We’ll have guests stopping for discussions, I’m going to play Minecraft with Oot, we’re going to show off videos for the stretch goals we’ve achieved, tell some old, beloved stories…

…and talk about the amazing things Heifer does, like give away goats…

Here’s the schedule:

(All the times [except the multifarious midnights] are CST.)

And, since we’re doing all that, it only seems to make sense to leave the doors open for people to donate throughout the day.

The reasons we’re doing this are manifold, but here are the main two:

1. Tradition.

Those of you who have been following Worldbuilders for a while know that our end-of-year fundraiser used to look a lot different than it does now. For one thing, it used to be exclusively run off of my blog, and it used to run for an entire month.

Except it didn’t. For years and years, we ended up extending the fundraiser out past our initial ending date. Sometimes it was because we had a last minute sponsor we wanted to showcase. Sometimes it was because some chaos or catastrophe threw us off schedule. Once it was because we got offered some matching money and we couldn’t bring ourselves to say no to that. Once things got so out of hand we extended *past* Christmas and the whole fundraiser spanned over seven weeks…

And some times we did it just for fun, or because we’d gotten into the habit.

This year, we’re deciding to continue the tradition in a different way. We’re taking one final day just to appreciate how lovely this community is. To put a bow on it. To show off some of the lovely things people have done. To relax and have fun and enjoy our success.

And, of course…

2. To give the latecomers one last chance.

What usually happens the day after the fundraiser is that I go into a deep, healing Odinsleep. When I emerge, I peek on social media and I invariably see dozens of people saying, “Oh no! Worldbuilders is over?!? Did I miss it? Can I still donate?”

And I get that. This is a busy time of year. Finals. Holiday planning. Family travel. Or maybe you’re just like me and tend to put things off to the last minute and then kinda forget about them.

But still, it breaks my heart to see those messages.

So. One extra day. If you were meaning to donate. Now’s your chance. If you were going to tell your friend about us, you’ve got a few more hours. If you were going to spread the word on social media, now you can use this amazing gif to do just that.

(Ooontz Ooontz Ooontz Ooontz Ooontz.)

*      *     *

So yeah. C’mon over and take one last chance to win fabulous prizes while making the world a better place…

Every $10 you donate still gets you a chance to win all manner of coolness. And if you donate on my team page, you’ll be eligible to win even more.

Look forward to seeing many of you over on the stream tomorrow.

But for now? I sleep…

pat

 

Later Edit: I meant to ask this last night, but forgot because I was tired.

If any of you have stories about worldbuilders, I’d love it if you shared them in the comments below. Here’s an example from a previous year:

“I started a new job as a barista for an Independent cafe in Philadelphia this year. I saved up all the change that people tipped to me. I was so surprised at how much i had when I counted it up! Thanks for all that you do!”

It warms my heart to hear those stories, and I might share some of them on the stream.

Also posted in Ask the Author, baby ducks, Because I Love, being awesome, Worldbuilders 2019 | By Pat17 Responses

Thriving in Winter (And Looking for a Colorist)

So here we are. February.

In my head, it seems like 2018 has barely ended, but at the same time I know objectively that it’s been months since I updated the blog…

Despite the radio silence, things are actually going pretty well here in rothtown. Those of you who have been reading the blog for a while know that things have been a little emotionally rocky for me the last little… forever. But in this case, the quiet was a signal of things getting better, not getting worse.

Generally speaking, things have gone from this…

To this…

If you don’t live in Wisconsin, this might be hard to interpret. But let me reassure you, it’s a vast improvement.

One of the things I’ve been doing is getting my literal and figurative house in order so that I can go back to getting more creative work done. I know this might come as a surprise to a lot of you, but I have a couple ongoing projects that I’d *really* like to finish before the heat death of the universe.

One of those projects is a graphic novel I’ve been working on with Nate Taylor for years and years. He’s such a delight to work with, and every time we collaborate, the result is something so much better than I initially hoped for.

So we’ve been going back and forth on this project for ages, and now that I’ve got more comic experience under my belt, we’ve decided to finally get it done. And since we want to do a couple kinda crazy things with it, we’ve decided to keep the creative control all to ourselves and do it as a kickstarter project. (At some point later this year.)

But here’s the thing: We need a colorist.

So I’m sending up the signal flare here. If you’re a colorist, or if you know someone who you think would like to throw in with us to make something beautiful… here’s what we’re looking for.

*Ahem.*

Elodin Enterprises is a Stevens Point-based company that works with the intellectual property, licensing, and merchandising for the author Patrick Rothfuss. We are looking for an accomplished colorist for an upcoming graphic novel.

(Does that sound super official or what?)

Our ideal candidate is an experienced individual who is self-motivated and committed to clear and frequent communication with the author and artist. The project is already in development, and applicants should be available to start as soon as mid-March and commit to the project through completion.

Relevant experience and skills include:

  • Online Portfolio
  • One or two examples of finished projects
  • Good communicator
  • Video conference capable
  • Availability for a full-time commitment
  • Work quickly, and produce consistently (like 7-10 pages/week)
  • Able to work independently
  • At least 3 solid work references

This work can be done remotely. Pay will be commensurate with experience. Relevant experience is required, as is computer experience.

To apply for this position, please submit a cover letter and online portfolio to [email protected]. No calls, please. We will be in contact after the Application Deadline of March 18th, 2019.

Elodin Enterprises is an equal opportunity employer.

(End official pitch.)

So… yeah. Drop us a line if you’d like to come and make something beautiful.

For the rest of you, I’m so excited to show you all the various delightful things I plan on finishing soon.

See y’all soon. Be good to each other.

pat

P.S. Be cool in the comments, okay?

Also posted in boding, calling on the legions, cool things, Nathan Taylor, Nathan Taylor Art | By Pat189 Responses

R&D&D (& Morty)

Hey there everybody,

It’s been a hectic time over here at RothCo. Due to various projects combined with some unfortunate scheduling, I’ve been traveling more than any sane human would ever choose to.

How much travel? Well, just for reference, I was only home 16 days over the months of February and March. So much travel that my bones hurt.

So much travel that I haven’t had the chance to officially announce that this is happening:

And by “this,” I mean there’s an official Rick and Morty Dungeons & Dragons crossover comic happening. And I’m writing it.

I get invitations to be involved with a lot of projects these days, and I say no to the majority of them. It’s my job to say no to things these days so I can focus my energies on essential things, and as a result, I’ve passed on some really cool gigs over the last couple years.

But when this got offered to me, I really couldn’t say no.

For those of you who want all the official details, there’s a little article about it over on io9.

For those of you just want the jist of it. I’m working with Jim Zub and Troy Little.

When asked for a quote about the project for the press release, and how I felt about being responsible for bringing together Dungeons & Dragons and Rick and Morty, here’s what I said:

“That’s some serious you-got-chocolate-in-my-peanut butter $#!& right there. I’m in. I’m all the way in. I’m gettin’ that chocolate all up in the peanut butter. Like, deep in. All the way in. It’s going to be sticky and delicious.”

So… yeah. I think the moral of the story is that you shouldn’t ask me to contribute to press releases.

It comes out in August, and while I don’t have a preorder link yet, you could always contact your local comic shop and make sure they know you’re interested…

There’s other news brewing, and a few blogs I managed to start but not finish while I was on the road. So expect to see them over the next couple weeks.

And if you have any questions about the comic, you can ask them in the comments and I’ll take a poke at answering the ones I’m allowed to when I wake up.

But for now? Sleep.

Later Space Cowboys….

pat

Also posted in being awesome, comics, cool news, graphic novels, my rockstar life | By Pat71 Responses

So… I’m going to be on TV tonight.

Huh. That’s not really an elegant title, is it? But I guess it gets the point across…

Here’s the deal. A couple months back, I shot a pilot for a TV show with the Travel Channel.

That show is going to be airing TODAY (October 27th) at 10pm Eastern Time. On… well… the Travel Channel. Like I said.

(Edit: For those of you who don’t have cable: It’s also a part of live linear schedule on Play Station Vue, Hulu Live TV, & Sling.)

Here’s a teaser.

As you’ve probably guessed, the show is called Myths and Monsters. It’s about how myths evolve and grow. It’s about stories, really. How stories come to be.

This particular episode is about the Mothman.

There’s a brief write up of the show with a few more details over here if you’re interested.

I’ll save you a click if you just want to see the funniest part, which is this:

You see, when anyone is taking a picture of me, I can be serious for about 10-15 seconds. And then I start making faces until the person with the camera laughs, cries, or just gives up. (People who have been to my signings can verify this.)

When I saw that picture, I thought to myself, “Where the fuck did they get that photo?” Then I realized that it probably happened when we were off shooting the show. People with cameras would come up to me and say, “We need some production stills” or something like that. And I’d nod and smile, or try and look dignified or somehow… I dunno, authorial or something.

But again, only for about 10-15 seconds. Then I start goofing off.

This one was probably one of the photos they took *after* that initial 15 seconds, when I was fucking around and looking dramatic, or crazy, or… fuck. I don’t even know. Maybe I was just hungry. I don’t know what that expression on my face is supposed to signify.

Personally, I like the rendition that they did on this social media banner more:

(Feel free to plaster my gormless mug on all your medias!)

I think that looks a little more like me. Or at least how I look to myself inside my head.

So… Yeah. That’s all. I’m on TV tonight. If y’all wanted to watch the show, it’s at 9:00 CST. If you’re interested in monsters or mythology or stories or mothmen or me, you might find it entertaining.

I will say, I had a good time shooting it. I met a lot of interesting people, and had a lot of interesting conversations. I just hope that the stuff I remember being cool didn’t end up on the cutting room floor. I haven’t seen the final version yet either.

If you don’t have Travel Channel… I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe find a friend who does and go to their house? Have a Pre-Halloween Rothfuss Mythology party? Maybe develop some sort of drinking game you can play during the show?

(Edit: If you don’t have access to cable. The show is part of the live linear schedule on Play Station Vue. It’s also on Hulu Live TV and Sling.)

Here. I’ll give you the first two rules:

1. Every time I cuss, take a drink.

2. If it’s such a bad cuss that they have to bleep me out, take two drinks.

Edit: Some Good Suggestions from the comments and Twitter.

  • Every time someone says the title of the show during the show, take three drinks.
  • Every time Pat looks up at something in an inquisitive manner, take a drink.
  • When Pat Rothfuss looks at the camera with “teacher eyes,” take a drink.
  • Pat Rothfuss starts explaining something by first pointing at the sky – two drinks.
  • Drink when someone references Pat’s books.
  • Drink Every time you wish you were watching Stranger Things instead.
  • Drink every time Pat uses a word you don’t know.

Advanced/Dangerous options

  • Anytime Pat says, “Actually…”
  • Any Pat is self deprecating, take a drink of your friend’s drink. Then apologize.
  • Reference to book three – Three Drinks.
  • Pat Rothfuss says “story about stories” or gets meta – drink.
  • Drink every time Pat says a fascinated “…huh.”
  • Everyone pick a specific phrase and only drink when your phrase is uttered.
    • “That’s interesting”
    • “Urban Legend”
    • “Moth dong”
  • Put a fake mustache on your TV. When it lines up with someone’s upper lip, you drink.

I’m open to suggestions in the comments below. If you have any clever ideas, put them down there. I might move a few new rules up here if they really tickle me. But otherwise, I suggest that y’all look through them on your own and make a ruleset that works for your peer group, genetic makeup, and available liquor supply.

Have fun everyone,

pat

Also posted in a billion links, cool news, cool things, movie talk, my rockstar life | By Pat18 Responses

Cameos, Poker Chips, and Some Seriously Cool News…

Hey everyone, Amanda here.

Pat’s away on family business, so he’s left it to me to share with you the coolness of the last two days of the Kickstarter. There’s a chance he’ll poke in here to mock me later on, but for the time being I’ll be your tour guide. Please keep your hands and arms inside the blog at all times.

For those of you who perhaps weren’t aware, we here at Elodin Enterprises are running a Kickstarter for The Name of the Wind Art Deck, playing cards that feature the characters from NOTW, beautifully illustrated by Echo Chernik.

(Click to embiggen and check out Devi, Master Lorren, and Mola)

The campaign has been going amazingly, and we hit $500,000 this week, a huge milestone for us considering this is our first-ever in-house Kickstarter. We’ve been blowing so much out of the water and we’ve been thrilled to add more art, more tiers, and more coolness for everyone as it goes on.

We’ve had lots of Echo’s original art go up for grabs, as well as a bunch of cameos in special prints Echo is producing for the campaign, which she’s lovingly entitled The Levity Collection. There are three prints in the series, each featuring different joyful moments in Kvothe’s life: playing Jackass, Jackass for Wil and Sim, playing cards at The Eolian, and a night from his childhood.

The big news is that our final round of cameos are going up Today (September 14th) at 4pm Central Time. And these cameo slots are for members of the Edema Ruh troupe relaxing by the fire after a day on the road.

(This is a super rough draft, but so cool…)

There are going to be a bunch of spots available, including a parent/child combo, and a couple combo. Since this is the print that the McElroy Brothers are going to be in, you could even be one of the people Travis the Strong Man is lifting, or someone listening to Griffin tell stories, or watching Justin to sweet yo-yo tricks.

Oh, and we just found out (and I mean JUST) that our most beloved Lin-Manuel Miranda is going to be in this print as well. He’s gonna have a lute, so hopefully he’s gotten over his initial intimidation from the day they announced he’d be helping develop Pat’s books into movies and tv….

I’m not going to lie to you, these cameo tiers are tempting to me, too. If you’ve ever wanted to be immortalized in the same place as the McElroys AND Lin-Manuel Miranda then don’t miss your chance at 4pm Central Time, because something tells me there will be some serious competition for them. And I don’t just mean me.

That said, there’s still lots of stuff other than these cameos that you can grab in the campaign. We’ve also added multiple options for you to get your hands on the beautiful, handmade wooden poker chips sets from Wyrmwood Gaming.

There’s a total of six different tiers for you to choose from for the poker chips, ranging from 100 chips in a linen bag to a full 500 chip box set complete with space for 6 decks of cards.

The wood is sustainably sourced, and the chips are all made of beautiful woods like Rock Maple, Black Walnut, African Blackwood, Pink Ivory, and Purpleheart, to name a few.

Each of the poker chip tiers come with all four decks (the Selas, Selas Alternate, Chandrian, and Chandrian Alternate), and the DELUXE versions of them come with the beautiful Gilded Sets of Chandrian Decks, which have platinum-gilded edges and their very own box with a blue foil emblem of flame on the top.

Pat and Echo are both going to sign these boxes in UV ink, because Pat is way too excited about the idea of a secret signature.

And if you’re torn between the poker sets and the cameos that are going up, rest assured that we’re going to figure out a way to make the poker sets available in BackerKit after the campaign ends, so you’ll be able to add them onto your cameo tier no problem.

The fact of the matter is, a lot of cool stuff is going on over there. We’ve shown off new art, upgraded the decks, and given away lots of prizes to folks who are spreading the word on social media. We’re getting down to the wire on the campaign, to the point that Kickstarter has started the countdown in terms of hours rather than days.

If you want to join us, the campaign ends on Friday, September 15th at 11:59m Central Time. A lot of things in the campaign are Kickstarter-Exclusive, so if you’re particularly excited about anything (those Gilded Chandrian Decks for example) you should swing in and get it before it’s too late

And if you have any questions, leave them here or in the comments on the campaign. We’ll make sure to help you out.

Amanda & the Elodin Enterprises Team

Also posted in Echo Chernik | By Amanda22 Responses

Babies: Meet Bast, Auri, Elodin, and Kvothe

If you’ve been reading the blog for any amount of time, you probably realize that I love babies.

This wasn’t always the case. But over the last 8-9 years (mostly since I’ve become a dad) a whole world of coolness has opened up in my life. Kids are great, and I will talk parenting at the drop of a hat. If I’m out in public, I’m constantly having to restrain myself from asking people to let me play with their kids. (Because I look like a bear, or a hobo. Or a hobear.)

Another thing that’s happened over the last 8-9 years is that I’ve been constantly startled and amazed by the enthusiasm people have shown for the books. People write fanfiction, create beautiful art, they dress up, they tattoo their bodies with my words…

And where fan enthusiasm and babies intersect, we get babies named after characters in my books.

This has happened more than once. It’s startling and cool while at the same time being oddly terrifying. I got my first email about one all the way back in 2009, and I showed off little Andan in the blog. But I’ll be honest with you, even after all these years I cannot fully comprehend someone liking my book enough to name their kid out of it.

Then, the other day when I was at the park with my boys. A couple with a stroller walked up to me, told me they were big fans of the books, and mentioned that their baby’s name… was Auri.

(She obviously doesn’t really know what to think of me. Which means she’s smart.)

Then a couple weeks later, I met this little sweetheart who is also named Auri….

(I like how she seems to be saying: “Eh, you’re not that big a deal.”)

Meeting these Auris in person reminded me that I’d been compiling a blog full of baby pictures that people have sent in over the last couple years.

Keep in mind that some of these pictures are pretty old. I think the first draft of this blog might have been from back in 2014. So some of these kids are years older than what they look like here…

Anyway, allow me to introduce:

  • Baby Bast!

father's day

Letter from his dad:

“Our son (coming up on his first birthday) was named after your character Bast. We decided on the name Bast initially, but later, upon realizing with our middle name choice that would have left the poor bastard with three one-syllable names, we decided to modify it a bit to “Bastion”.  His Grandmother (on his mother”s side) calls him Bass (like the fish) which naturally drives me insane to no end. Some humans, eh?”

five months

recent

  • Baby Auri!

“Here’s a picture of our Baby Auri. Technically it’s ‘Aurielle,’ but we only call her by her full name when she’s being a dick . . . which occurs fairly frequently around mealtimes.

Just so there’s no ambiguity, I wanted you to know this is one hundred percent your name. I absolutely snagged that shit from you because Auri’s brokenly bad-assed, and that’s how we feel.”

IMG_6759 copyLooks to me like she is in the perfect place….

  • Baby Auri 2!

 

“Here is a picture of my daughter, born in April. I took her middle name from your books Auri. Her full name is Sutton Auri Prinz, I want to thank you for all that you have done and hope that my daughter will love reading as much as I do. I know that my family will have your books apart of the rest of our lives.

baby auri 2

  • Baby Kvothe!

This is Kvothe, who was originally introduced on the blog in 2013. A while back they sent some updated photos of the little guy, and I couldn’t be prouder.

IMAG2513-1

IMAG2539-1-1-1

You’ll notice that little Kvothe has a badass-looking dragon foot. That’s because he was born missing one of his feet. His parents tell me that in cases like this, it’s easier for the kids to use a prosthetic later in life if they get used to it very early on…

And so, being forward-thinking parents, they got him fitted for a prosthetic. But also, because they’re awesome, one of the prosthetics is a badass dragon foot.

As a fellow geek parent, I salute you.

  • Baby Elodin!

I honestly never expected there to be an Elodin. But I was wrong….

14518544_1275545092464679_958752003_n

 

Best smile ever.

  • And One Final Auri…

“Some interesting facts:

1. ‘Auri’ means ‘shines like gold’ (apparently)

2. She was born with Auburn hair

3. The first track on the radio taking her home was ‘Gold on the Ceiling’ by the Black Keys (a band my wife and I saw on the first night of our honeymoon in Chicago)

So despite us having decided on the name before we even knew we were having a girl, it is a perfect fit – ☺”

20131208_115254

20131031_183044

Because I’m as slow about writing blogs as I am with all other types of writing, Auri’s folks have sent some more pictures of her, now that she’s a little older….

20140119_133713

20140208_181224

That smile though…

20140712_114348

There have been more. Many more. I’ve been introduced to Auris, Dennas, and Simmons at cons. And other parents have shared photos with me that they’d prefer to keep private, which I can totally understand.

For those of you who have stuck around to the very end of the blog, I have a special treat for you. A teaser of something that’s going to be happening soon.

In fact, it’s going to be launching on Tuesday (the 15th)…

Stay tuned,

pat

Also posted in babies, naming, Surreal enthusiasm | By Pat39 Responses
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