June 2025 Update: Collector's Cover Reveal + Shipping Charges
10 months ago
– Wed, Jun 11, 2025 at 08:09:16 AM
UPDATE - We have finished processing more specific shipping zones for countries where we have actual backers which should reflect some additional shipping savings. EU, UK, and international shipping is definitely not what it used to be two years ago, but we've done our best to find savings where we could.
Hey everyone!
We hope you’ve been enjoying the digital PDF release of ZWEIHÄNDER Reforged! It’s been awesome to see folks chatting in Discord about character builds, campaign ideas, and all the ways you're already diving into the book. If you haven’t already, jump into our Discord to ask us any questions about rules and gameplay suggestions, we’d love to hear from you: https://discord.gg/Zweihander
➤PDF Release Celebration
Huge thanks to everyone who has taken the time to point out proofreading errors. Your feedback over the past week or two has been incredibly helpful. We’ll be releasing Version 1.3 of the PDF early next week, just before we send the final files off to the printer. If you don’t have the PDF yet, please message us here so we can get you straightened out.
(also, if you didn’t notice, we are introducing our new logo design on the PDFs and the print edition)
➤DriveThruRPG Ratings
If you’ve had a chance to download and read the PDF, we’d really appreciate it if you took a moment to leave an honest star rating on DriveThruRPG. There is no need to purchase it there, as you already had a unique download code assigned to you. It only takes a few seconds, but it makes a big impact. Huge thanks to everyone who’s already rated or reviewed!
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/501175/zweihander-rpg-reforged-edition-core-rulebook?src=hottest
➤Collector’s Edition Cover Reveal
We’re beyond excited to finally show off the Collector’s Edition cover, and trust us, it’s something special. Designed by the wickedly talented Spider00X Eric Alsandor, this cover is a show-stopper. It’ll be printed on Skivertex, a luxe leather-like material, with foil and UV touches that bring every detail to life. We’re talking gold foil-edged pages, ribbon bookmarks, and a finish that feels as good as it looks. This is one for the shelf, folks.
➤Shipping Charges, Happening Soon
Quick heads-up: shipping charges will be applied to your card in the next 48 hours. Please take a moment to review your shipping charges in BackerKit before Friday, June 13th. If you’d like to make any adjustments to your order, now’s the time.
Rates & Fulfillment: These books are heavy (the Reforged book alone weighs around 4 lbs.!), but our fulfillment partner has secured very economical rates with our shipping partners. For comparison, the rates we have been quoted are less expensive than those we received for our last Kickstarter for the ZWEIHANDER Starter Kit, despite the worldwide change in shipping rates.
U.S. Backers: We’re using USPS, based on the actual weight of your order, plus standard pick-and-pack fees. We’ve worked to keep things as affordable and transparent as possible.
International Backers: We weren’t able to arrange drop shipping due to the smaller number of overseas orders. That means we’re shipping everything from the U.S., utilizing the best available rates from USPS, FedEx, DHL, and other carriers, depending on your destination, package size, and weight.
Questions About Shipping: Please send inquiries to [email protected]
➤We Appreciate You
We don’t make money on shipping, and believe us, we get how frustrating this part can be. But we also believe the final product is worth it. We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve made, and we cannot wait for you to hold it in your hands.
Thanks again for riding along with us on this journey. We appreciate your support more than we can say.
Team ZWEIHANDER
May 2025 Update: Core Rulebook PDF Now Available!
11 months ago
– Wed, May 14, 2025 at 08:21:54 AM
Hey gang,
Zweihander Reforged Edition PDF is ready for download! You should receive an email shortly from Backerkit with a unique customer link to download the PDF from DriveThruRPG.
PDF Details
This is an optimized PDF for Version 1.0. If you encounter any issues or see glaring errors, please let us know in our Discord at https://discord.gg/Zweihander
Our Next Milestone
This is the first milestone of our journey, and there's more to come as we move towards factory production, the GM screen, cards, adventures, dice, and much more in the coming months. If you didn't pre-purchase it, you can now at https://sllswrd.games
Shipping Rates
We are getting all of our shipping dialed in. Please be aware that it's all weight-based. What you are seeing right now on Backerkit is likely inaccurate and will be updated later this week. Note that we don't earn any money on shipping, and that cost includes pick/pack with our fulfillment company. We will update you here to inform everyone here once shipping is ready to be charged to cards via Backerkit.
Happy gaming!
Daniel & Team ZWEIHANDER
Trump Tariffs and the impact on ZWEIHANDER RPG Reforged Edition
12 months ago
– Thu, Apr 10, 2025 at 08:58:24 AM
I wanted to share some updates with you all regarding the tariff situation. I posted this across our socials, but in case you missed it, here are the details.
The Tariff and Its Impact
Many of you have probably heard by now that the new Trump tariffs have slammed nearly every tabletop RPG publisher out there, and yeah, that includes us. The tariffs change day by day. A few days ago, it was 54%. Then, 125%. It is currently at 145% tariff and will have a real effect on future ZWEIHÄNDER projects.
If you are unaware of what's happening, American companies bear the tariffs once products arrive in port. Yes, that means we pay a 145% tariff to the United States government for non-book products we've planned and made overseas. Books are still assessed the standard tariff, however.
You can read the statement from Stonemaier, Steve Jackson Games, and GAMA to better understand how it's impacting other parts of the board game and TTRPG sector.
I met with Rob at Forbes and other tabletop RPG publishers to discuss the impact, which you can read here.
No Additional Charges For Backers
We will not impose a surprise tariff charge on your pledge for the Reforged Kickstarter. We will eat those costs because we promised to deliver this Kickstarter.
Once Reforged hits distribution, prices are going to go up. We don’t have a choice.
How To Help
Behind the scenes, we’re building a war chest to weather the storm and keep this engine running. If you want to support what comes next, grab some new PDFs from our website. Every sale helps us cover these completely blindsiding costs and keeps our artists funded for the next grim & perilous installment we’ve got cooking.
Thanks for sticking with us through this madness.
~ Team ZWEIHANDER
March 2025 Update
about 1 year ago
– Mon, Mar 31, 2025 at 10:38:35 AM
Hey gang,
Daniel here, it's time for our monthly ZWEIHANDER Reforged Update!
📖 Standard Edition Book + PDF
The bestiary has been laid out! This is the final chapter for layout. We are reviewing it with folks in our Discord to find any outstanding egregious errors. The file is currently hosted in our #REFORGED room in Discord.
If you’d like to help out, join us on Discord! You can also download the current layout—Chapters 1-11—here.
We anticipate releasing the full PDF to all backers and preorder customers by the end of April. We will provide download links to our store to grab the PDF once it is ready.
Here are some sample pages. Note that these files are still in flight (and have indexing marks on them). We have elected to have each monster on its own page for purposes of usability:
🚚 Shipping Charges
Once the PDF is released, we will charge for shipping (est. April). Please update your postal address and payment info in the next few days to avoid delays when we ship the product to your doorstep in the summer.
📜 Survivor Sheet Pad
All done and ready for the factory to print.
🏰 GM Screen & Injury & Affliction Deck
Both are in the works! Once the book files are sent to the factory, we will move on to the layout for these items. The PDF release is estimated for May.
🛡️ Collector's Edition Cover
We will showcase this within a week of releasing the files to the factory (est. April).
🎲 Dice Set, Fortune/Misfortune Coins, T-Shirts, Patches & More
- Dice are in production, and are estimated to arrive in a warehouse in May/June.
- Coin designs are locked in, and samples arrive at the end. April/May.
- T-shirts and patches are done.
🗿 Miniatures & STL Files
Printed and ready! The miniatures are sitting in our Texas warehouse, waiting to be shipped with the Standard Edition Book. STL files will be sent out at the same time as the Core Rulebook PDF (ETA April).
⚔️ Swords
We will post photos once the swords arrive in our warehouse in Texas (est. May).
🎮 VTT Assets
We haven’t started these projects yet, as physical products are our top priority. More details will be available by the end of May.
🏰 Digital Adventures
Once the Standard Edition PDF is out, we’ll start rolling out digital adventures, releasing them month over month. As mentioned, The Chateau will be included in the Standard Edition Book and PDF.
We are inching closer and closer to the end. Please join us on Discord to get the latest: https://discord.gg/Zwiehander
Happy gaming,
Daniel & Team ZWEIHANDER
Febuary 2025 Update
about 1 year ago
– Fri, Feb 28, 2025 at 09:15:06 AM
Hey gang,
Daniel here, it's time for our monthly ZWEIHANDER Reforged Update!
📖 Standard Edition Book
We’re in the final stretch! The Appendices are being finalized now, and then it’s on to the Bestiary. Once that’s done, layout will be officially complete. Our goal is to send everything to the factory by the last week of March.
Before that happens, we’ll do a round of proofing with volunteers on Discord and at our in-person game table. If you’d like to help out, join us over on Discord! You can also check out the current layout—Chapters 1-11—by downloading them here.
🚚 Shipping Charges
Heads up! Once the files go to the factory, we’ll be charging shipping for all products. Please update your postal address and payment info in the next 2-3 weeks to avoid any delays.
📄 Standard Edition PDF
As soon as the factory sends us digital proofs and we make our final checks, we’ll distribute the PDF to you via Backerkit in April.
📜 Survivor Sheet Pad
Designed by Eric and ready to go! We’ll be submitting these files to the factory in March.
🏰 Collector’s Edition Cover & Injury & Affliction Deck
Both are in the works! Once we finalize the files with the factory, we’ll reveal them—expect to see them about a week after our final submission. Eric Alsandor, our layout artist, is bringing them to life.
🛡️ GM Screen
Thanks to input from our awesome Discord community, we’re taking a fresh approach to the GM screen. We’ll have something to show you in April, and files will head to the factory that same month.
🎲 Dice Set, Fortune/Misfortune Coins, T-Shirts, Patches & More
- Dice are already in production.
- Coin designs are locked in, and samples should arrive in April or May.
- T-shirts and patches are done (check out a previous update for a sneak peek).
🗿 Miniatures & STL Files
Printed and ready! Miniatures are sitting in our Texas warehouse, waiting to be shipped with the Standard Edition Book. STL files will be sent out at the same time as the Core Rulebook PDF in April.
⚔️ Swords
We’re about to place our order! Expect photos next month once they arrive in the warehouse.
🎮 VTT Assets
We haven’t kicked these off yet, as physical products are our top priority right now. More details coming soon!
🏰 Digital Adventures
Once the Standard Edition PDF is out, we’ll start rolling out digital adventures, releasing them month over month. We’re currently editing two, and The Chateau will be included with the Standard Edition Book and PDF.
Thanks again for all your support—we’re almost there!
Happy gaming,
Daniel
