Four Horsemen Studios Mythic Legions

Clearly action figures are just too nerdy - can't expect the cool kids that make up the TTRPG crowd to go for something like that.

I admit, I am surprised there isn't more crossover appeal.

I do think it would be odd if the 4H folks haven't tried to get some press or reached out to some influencers. Maybe they know it is part vaporware (or at least incomplete) and intend to use some funds from this to tweak the book and gameplay, do the things some of you mentioned like getting a known designer and some experts to go over it. It is possible they didn't want to commit to paying external consultants until they had a sense there was even minimal interest.

But we still don't really know their internal goals are for this - Is it a game just to sell action figures now and in the future? A game for their existing fans? Trying to create that crossover appeal? A way to bolster their IP/Mythology? I am curious what they would consider a success.
 
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fac said:
Clearly action figures are just too nerdy - can't expect the cool kids that make up the TTRPG crowd to go for something like that.

I admit, I am surprised there isn't more crossover appeal.

I do think it would be odd if the 4H folks haven't tried to get some press or reached out to some influencers. Maybe they know it is part vaporware (or at least incomplete) and intend to use some funds from this to tweak the book and gameplay, do the things some of you mentioned like getting a known designer and some experts to go over it. It is possible they didn't want to commit to paying external consultants until they had a sense there was even minimal interest.

But we still don't really know their internal goals for this - Is it a game just to sell action figures now and in the future? A game for their existing fans? Trying to create that crossover appeal? A way to bolster their IP/Mythology? I am curious what they would consider a success.
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I'm often baffled by how few of my action figure collector friends play TTRPGs, and how few of my TTRPG friends collect action figures. I'd expect a HUGE overlap and I'm always like, man, I'm kinda lonely as the super-nerd over here.

I'm morbidly curious what they consider a success. Like, if it's just a vehicle for lore, I get it. If it's an excuse for a new way to sell figures (with the customization packs), I get that too. If the intent was to do a gangbusters launch for a game, there's truly a TON of best practices out there for doing that and they did none of it, so I would wonder if it was just not doing their due diligence or supreme overconfidence or just... not caring? Like just following the industry as long as I have I can see like five or six really straight-forward steps they skipped that big Kickstarters have done. (I know Damien will point out they're arrogant cunts running a scam ;) , but as someone who actually been elbow-deep in the shit that is Meta Business Suite for marketing and stuff that really has had a vast impact on on TTRPG game launches I'd want to see what those conversations were like if they actually even had them. I suspect they didn't and just assumed their fan base would carry them.)
 
docsilence said:
I'm often baffled by how few of my action figure collector friends play TTRPGs, and how few of my TTRPG friends collect action figures. I'd expect a HUGE overlap and I'm always like, man, I'm kinda lonely as the super-nerd over here.
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Reminds me of when Marvel shakes up the comics to match the movies, and after decades no one has learned that the Theater crowd is not going to the Comic shop after the showing.

Or taking a single player game franchise and trying to ride the eternal online service train.

There is a crossover, but not enough to ostracize and trample your dedicated audience. Yet companies do it every time and flame out more than they get any benefit.
 
Dek said:
It's called enshitification, the idea of creating a good in demand product and then slowly making it worse while charging more for the product until eventually you've bled it dried, let the product die and move on to the next one. It's the whole backbone behind the streaming model.
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This is one of the three big reasons I said I had to get out of tech before it killed me.
 
Dek said:
It's called enshitification, the idea of creating a good in demand product and then slowly making it worse while charging more for the product until eventually you've bled it dried, let the product die and move on to the next one. It's the whole backbone behind the streaming model.
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Can't believe they stole my dating strategy.
 
When they first revealed the Exiles from Under the Mountain 2 pack of dwarves, I just wanted the surcoat and skirt from the male dwarf to give to one of my goblins. Then as time went on, I decided I wanted his legs, and his arms, and then I wanted enough of those parts that it would be cheaper to buy the whole 2 pack instead of buying the parts piecemeal, but by that point, they were all sold out at retail price. Now I've just paid a foolish amount to an eBay seller to ensure I got the full 2 pack. Just an observation, but this Rising Sons wave has seen the most retailer sellouts and the fewest number of resellers on eBay selling at anything less than 200% retail price.
 
I wonder if that has something to do with retailers right-sizing their own orders since the last few waves lingered a bit or if it's just because it really is a damned good wave. I will say that Undermountain set is one of the nicest sets they've done in a long time. The male dwarf has become my "messing with this figure off camera during work calls to occupy myself" figure and I can't remember the last time that job fell to a ML figure.
 
I noticed last night that 4H had posted on IG that the Rising Sons retailer street date was this Wednesday.

I had skipped Scapular and Neve during 4H's preorder, thinking I'd just grab them at release. Probably should have squared that away on BBTS a long time ago, but I started looking around for a Scapular preorder to jump on last night and there is nothing out there. Everything's sold out. Even sites that require folks to pay up front.

Then I went to eBay ... The prices people are paying for Attlus, Broddr, Neve and Skapular are crazy And then there's the dwarves. Can't believe what those two are selling for.

BBTS is also sold out of the next two waves, Ashes of Agbendor and Reign of the Beasts, as are many or the retailer sites.

It's like we're right back to the early days of the line when if you didn't grab them during the 4H preorder, you were screwed. It's crazy, though, because there's so many more folks selling them now.

I would guess 4H may have tightened production numbers a bit from say, Necronimus, but it can't be by that much. There's a lot of retailer mouths to feed and I'm sure 4H likes money, as all businesses should. Obviously, the figures will sell.

You could make the argument that many of the Necronimus wave figures were so good, as were Sir Andrew, Sir Enoch and Thorasis from the All-Stars wave that came after, that they pulled a lot of new folks into the line.

All I know is that I'm not sure what made me do it at the time, but I couldn't be more thankful that after skipping them initially, I placed a second order for the dwarves set as the 4H preorder window was closing that fateful Sunday night in January of 2024.

For now, I'm refreshing the BBTS Rising Sons product page every once in a while, hoping folks drop their preorders as they receive in stock soon notices ...
 
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The Ashes of... A-something is mostly sold out on BBTS too. I would love to know if there was more hype with Rising Sons/Ashes or if stores just didn't want to get stuck with too much stock and ordered conservatively. I only got the new wizard, the new catfolk dude, and I think the remake of Azza? From that wave after going way too deep on Rising Sons and cutting myself off and I'm not super kicking myself but I wouldn't mind having ordered the gobhollow figures or maybe the blue shield. The shadow centaur is cool but I barely know what to do with my og centaur, he just sort of stands there looking pretty with the horses.
 
The preorders for the Ashes of Agbendor, Reign of the Beasts and Horror of Einsamall waves are all fully sold out on BBTS right now. Last night, I preordered a couple Dawn of Discovery figures I had skipped and wasn't sure I needed, in case I want them later.

I didn't see many open Ashes preorders last night at other retailers, either.

It could be less orders, there's still a lot of Poxxus wave at BBTS that they've marked down to original 4H prices that's not really clearing them out. All-Stars 5, too.

It was nice, though, having the opportunity to wait for in-hand reviews and decide what to pick up at that point, which was the case with Necronimus.
 
So without going into full numbers mode, $1m for the Kickstarter is no longer as much of a sure thing as I would have thought a week ago. The average spend has remained a pretty consistent $350 per new backer per day, with total pledges per back being consistently around $400~,the problem is the daily average backers keeps dropping (and I’m not sure the last day surge will be as impressive as some people are thinking)… and I know this is still by most metrics a very successful Kickstarter, but when they locked figures behind $500k markers and used Kickstarter “to reach a new audience” this is clearly not what the 4H were expecting.

Anyway, long story short on Mondays they usually do something desperate to goose numbers: a pathetic email begging for money to impress the guys at the Squishables booth, unlocking the boring $1.5m stretch goal early… I know today they sent an email with the context pretty much being “oh! You just don’t understand HOW to give us more money…” but I’m wondering what they do tomorrow to plump those numbers. (I’m thinking villainous head pack as add-on early drop, free inclusion still tied to stretch goal, I feel like Evil Paladin and Vampire Loremaster are held back as long as possible in hope they cross $1m somewhat organically)
 
I just noticed that a fucking MAP of the world they're trying to create a sourcebook for was an 850k dollar stretch goal.
Also kind of fucking wild that they're hiding a figure behind a 1 million dollar goal that is almost assuredly 90% reused parts they've been selling for the last 10 years.

These guys really do just OOZE the worst parts of capitalism, don't they.
 
Just saw my first "sponsored post" about the Kickstarter on FB. I swear I've never seen them do sponsored posts before but that might just be me not noticing previously. What I did notice was it's for "the roleplaying game" but it's just the action figures in the photo, and if you know Mythic Legions at all the photo really isn't that impressive because it's 8 figures masquerading in the ad as 14.

Statistically, shockingly, FB ads are actually the most effective dollar per click marketplace for advertising gaming kickstarters so a sponsored post makes sense, but again, it just kind of hits on that whole "not doing their research" thing this campaign seems to labor in.
 
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