As you may or may not know, last year Green Ronin had a large sum of money stolen by its former sales and fulfillment house, Osseum Entertainment. The short version of the story is that our trusted business partners of over three years embezzled months’ worth of revenue from sales they made on our titles. After launching big, expensive-to-produce products like the Advanced Bestiary, The Black Company Campaign Setting, and the Egyptian Adventures: Hamunaptra boxed set, Green Ronin received no money from the sales of these and other products. Obviously, this came as a financial blow to the company.
The last 18 months have been a trying time but we have survived. The company has stabilized and we’ve been able to resume a relatively normal publishing schedule. This is all to the good. By a slow and steady process, we have been able to pay off many creditors and reduce the amounts owed to others. We have made substantial progress but we would like to do more.
In particular, we want to do everything we can to speed up payment of debts owed to our freelancers. When Osseum stole the revenue from our book sales they not only harmed Green Ronin, they stole money from our freelancers. These are the hard working and talented folks who write, illustrate, and edit many of the Green Ronin products you enjoy. As a whole they have been incredibly patient and understanding and it’s hard to express how much we appreciate that.
While we can (and will) continue to pay down the financial debts we owe our freelancers, their enduring goodwill is a debt of another kind. We’d like to do something more to repay that debt and to show our appreciation for the way they’ve stood by us in the face of last year’s crisis.
Therefore, we’re running a Freelancer Fundraiser from now until GenCon and we’re offering you several ways that you can help us pay back the hard-working people who have contributed so much to our success and your enjoyment. If you’d like to contribute to our Freelancer Fundraiser, please consider one or more of the following options:
1) Bleeding Edge Adventure Pre-Order: For $20 plus shipping you can pre-order a limited edition Bleeding Edge adventure we’ll publish in 2007. This will be the only way to purchase this exclusive adventure. We’ll be polling our message boards to find out what sort of adventure people want the most and what character levels would be the most popular. Format: 32-page book, black and white interior, saddle stitched.
2) Mutants & Masterminds Sourcebook Pre-Order: For $40 plus shipping you can pre-order a limited edition Mutants & Masterminds sourcebook we’ll publish in 2007. This will be the only way to purchase this exclusive sourcebook. We’ll be polling on the Atomic Think Tank forums to find out what kind of sourcebook people want the most. Format: 96-page book, black and white interior, perfect bound.
3) Online Sale: We’ll be featuring a variety of sale products, both print and PDF, in our online store over the next month. The sale starts with the following products: Book of the Righteous ($20), Medieval Player’s Manual ($10), Unholy Warrior’s Handbook ($10), Time of Crisis $8, Hell in Freeport ($8), Death in Freeport Revised PDF ($4), Terror in Freeport Revised PDF ($4), and Madness in Freeport Revised PDF ($4), and Skull & Bones PDF ($10). More titles will be featured in the weeks to come.
4) Donate: When you visit our Green Ronin Online Store, you’ll notice a "donation" button. If you wish to donate a few extra dollars to our Freelancer Fundraiser on top of paying for your purchases, you can choose from several amounts here.
5) Buy GR at Your FLGS: Buy a GR product or two at your Friendly Local Game Store or pre-order one of our upcoming titles from them. (Coming out within the next week are True Sorcery, True20 Bestiary, and Mansion of Shadows.) This is a more "trickle down" way to help, but it is important, as game retailers are key partners to our business.
6) Buy GR at GenCon: Green Ronin will be in full force at GenCon in Indianapolis, IN, August 10th through 13th. Come by our booth and pick up one of our many fine products to show your support.
Thank you all for your continued support. We wouldn’t be here without you.
Sincerely,
Chris Pramas
President
Green Ronin Publishing
