Frog God Does Right by Those Screwed by Center Stage Miniatures

+Matt Finch posted this on his blog Wednesday evening. I saw it yesterday afternoon right before heading to work, so this is my first opportunity to share it. 

As a quick summary, Frog God Games is stepping up to help right the wrong created when Center Stage Miniatures went bankrupt. Yes, this was one of the more stellar Kickstarter fails and it's nice to see an attempt to make things right - or at least not as screwed up - for those that got caught up in this mess. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Frog God is a stand up company.

I'm just adding to the bandwidth and giving credit where credit is due:

Frog God Games re: Center Stage Miniatures

Okay, this is long, but it's the Frog God Games Apology-Giveaway for the fiasco with the Center Stage Minatures Kickstarters that we licensed our monster images to. Bottom line, free pdfs dollar for dollar on your loss to the CSM Kickstarters.

Frog God Games is well aware of the disappointment, frustration, and monetary loss suffered by backers of the two Centre Stage Miniatures Kickstarters, Tome of Horrors Complete and Tome of Horrors Complete II, for which we had licensed monster images to CSM. Lots of our most loyal fans bought miniatures because they have our monster books and wanted miniatures for monsters from those books. When those Kickstarters did not deliver their products we watched in dismay as backers were left with nothing to show for their support of the Kickstarter campaigns. While Frog God Games did not run the Kickstarters, have control of the manufacture or delivery of its products, nor have any affiliation with Centre Stage Miniatures beyond the licensing of our art properties for the purposes of the Kickstarters, they did involve our licensed materials, and we did publicly support the Kickstarter campaigns. Since that time we have been looking for a way to lessen the blow suffered by the backers of the campaigns in a show of good will to our fans and those who might have supported the campaigns because they saw our name associated with it.

In recent dialogue on public forums with some of the backers of these Kickstarters, it was suggested to us that maybe we could offer free pdfs from our own product catalogue to backers of those Kickstarters so they could at least have something to show for their support. This was something we had considered doing at the time when the Kickstarters first seemed to have failed in their promised delivery of miniatures. At the time we thought an offer like that might be seen as adding insult to injury for trying to somehow diminish the severity of the loss suffered by the backers or otherwise wholly inadequate and inappropriate for the occasion. However, from our recent discussions with backers, we have learned that some would be receptive to such an offer as a way to at least ease their frustration.

We’ve spent the last few days talking about the logistics of how to do this because we’re a company of part-time gamers, not very automated, and lots of backers are involved here. Unquestionably there are going to be a lot of glitches and delays as we get a handle on the process. There’s also got to be an absolute time limit on this program to not only limit the consumption of our already-limited technical resources but also to protect us from a potentially years-long process of receiving, processing, verifying, and tracking these orders—a task of no small measure for our technical limitations.

As a result of this process, for the next 6 months Frog God Games is opening the pdf catalogue of our online store at froggodgames.com and will give store credit for pdf purchases to match dollar-for-dollar the amount that a backer paid to the Tome of Horrors Complete and/or Tome of Horrors Complete II Kickstarters from Centre Stage Miniatures. Obviously there are some difficult logistics involved in this both to verify backers for the issuance of the credit and to handle the resulting online transactions. To try and create a smooth process and save the sanity of our web master and keep him from being overrun with countless details to keep track of, we will initiate the following processes:

1. If you were a backer of either the Tome of Horrors Complete or Tome of Horrors Complete II Kickstarters from Centre Stage Miniatures, please send an email to Chris at froggodgamesfreepdf@gmail.com. In the subject line of your email include the name under which you pledged to either or both Kickstarters, indicate whether it was one or both Kickstarters, and include the total amount you pledged to both of them combined (Example subject line: Joe Backer, TOH and TOH2, $375). Include in the body of the email any screenshots, emails, or other documentation you have to show your support as a backer and the amount of the Kickstarter pledges that you made. (We’re not looking for some kind of legal standard of evidence here; we just need to be able to see that you were in fact a supporter of the Kickstarters and for what amount to help us sift out any unscrupulous opportunists who were otherwise unassociated with these Kickstarters and just see this as an opportunity to take advantage of our offer for free products.)

2. Chris has prepared coupons to the froggodgames.com web store in increments of $25, $50, $100, $150, $200, $250, $300, $350, $400, $450, $500, $600, $700, $800, $900, and $1,000. He will respond to your email with one of these web store coupons in the full amount of your documented pledges, rounded up to the nearest coupon increment. For example, if you pledged $200 between the two Kickstarters, you will receive a froggodgames.com coupon in the amount of $200. However, if your pledges total $201 you will receive coupons totaling $250, so Chris will not have to worry about creating hundreds of different coupons unique to individual backers. As a small game company, that sort of thing is frankly beyond the capacity of our personnel and online resources to handle. (Please note that if your pledge total was in excess of $1,000, Chris will issue multiple coupons in increments to get you closest to your pledge rounded up.)

3. In addition to the above offer, we are aware that due to hard drive crashes, loss of email accounts, and various and sundry other reasons all backers may not have documentation of their backing of the Tome of Horrors Kickstarters or may not be able to show the amount by which they backed one or both of the Kickstarters. To reasonably account for this we make this additional offer. If you cannot show us documentation of your support of one or both of the Kickstarters, send us an email at the above address and in the subject line state your name, the name of the Kickstarter(s) you backed, and write “No Documentation” (Example subject line: Joe Computercrash, TOH and TOH2, No Documentation). There is no need to include any information in the body of the email. In these cases we will take your word for it and will issue a coupon to you in the amount of $25. We apologize for being unable to honor higher dollar values in these instances, as we will already be opening ourselves to considerable exposure to illegitimate claimants, however we will honor emails sent to us in this manner, no questions asked. Please be advised, though, we will not issue more than one of these coupons to a single individual.

4. Please be sure that the email account through which you have sent these emails is one that Chris can reply to with the attached coupons and will not be sent to a spam folder or otherwise lost. This process is already going to be putting a great deal of stress on a part-time employee, and we are not going to be able to spend additional resources in tracking down email errors and hiccups, so please help us to get these right on the first try.

Important Note 1: This offer has an absolute time limit of 6 months. After March 1, 2016, Frog God Games will no longer honor any claims for backers seeking to receive coupons. Emails from backers received on or prior to March 1, 2016 will be honored even if we are not able to issue the coupons until after that date due to any backlog in processing. Coupons issued under this offer do not expire on March 1, 2016 and will be good until their normal expiration date of September 1, 2016.

Important Note 2: Please note that the store credit coupons are for pdf purchases only. They will not work for the purchase of physical product or in combination with purchase of such products. If you wish to purchase physical products, you will need to do so as a separate transaction so that our fulfillment process will not get messed up. Thank you for your cooperation in this.

Important Note 3: This doesn’t affect any of the above but is intended as an FYI to anyone that is intending to buy a physical product as well. All purchases of a Frog God Games physical book include the pdf of that book for free as well, so don’t use your coupons to buy the pdf of a book that you were already going to buy the physical copy of anyway.

Disclaimer (because we legally have make sure this stuff is clearly stated): Frog God Games is not affiliated with Centre Stage Miniatures or any of its principles and is not serving in any agency capacity for these entities. This offer of free pdfs is not considered or intended as a release of any claims or rights enjoyed by the backers in relation to the above-mentioned Kickstarters, and the claim or use of these pdf coupons is not intended to be considered as binding to the recipient for any legal purposes. Furthermore, in creating this pdf-coupon redemption offer Frog God Games is not making any statement or claim in regards to the Kickstarters, their outcomes, their hosts, their backers, or any pending claims or legal matters in regards to the Kickstarters or related entities.

Center Stage Miniatures Files for Bankruptcy - No Surprise - The Shoe Falls Upon Deaf Ears

As I've posted in the past, Center Stage Miniatures was having some major cash flow issues. As in no cash and no flow.

Previous posts are HERE and HERE and HERE.

I was informed by someone with knowledge of the whole fiasco that Center Stage recently filed for bankruptcy. I thought they had filed back in November, but apparently the official petition was filed last week.

706 creditors. Ouch.

Kickstarter. Success can be a killer.

Let's Open our Books to Chapter 7 - Centerstage Miniatures Files for Bankruptcy (No Surprise There)

Our New "Fucked up Kickstarter Mascot" thanks to Jim Magnusson

So, remember they fiasco otherwise known as CenterStage Miniatures various Kickstarters, in particular Tome of Horrors Complete - 28mm Heroic Scale Miniatures. Well, it appears the final shoe has dropped - Chapter 7 bankruptcy has been filed. Now, like true venture capitalists, backers can expect to get back pennies on their dollars - if they are lucky. Woot!

From the comments on the Tome of Horrors Complete Kickstarter from earlier today (not my comments - I didn't back this train wreck):

After filing a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office last week, I received 2 correspondences from the attorney Matt has retained to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. It was clear in the letter, and his response to my questions, that he (the attorney) is still waiting on Matt to provide a bunch of documents so that they can proceed with the Chapter 7 filing. It looks like we are considered “customer deposit creditors” in this case, (but remember, I Am Not An Attorney).  

It was mentioned that there was a review of the possible sale of his business by Mortal Arrow LLC, but the bottom line was that Matt realized it would not resolve all the problems or guarantee that all creditors would be paid (that could mean us, or other businesses/entities). It was emphasized that Matt was not happy going this route, but it seemed inevitable.

So from here (once all the paperwork is filed, court costs paid, etc. , there will be a Court supervised liquidation sale. The attorney indicated that “For the purposes of distribution in the Bankruptcy context, consumer deposits for undelivered services and products have the highest priority under the Bankruptcy Code.  

He also indicated that a business entity might be willing to purchase the inventory, molds, customer list/goodwill of the business for a significant enough sum from the Bankruptcy Estate to warrant a meaningful distribution to creditors  

When the Bankruptcy case is filed, all creditors will receive notice in the mail of the date set for the “debtor’s examination” and other terminal dates. You may attend the Debtor’s examination or you may review the Petition once filed. It is public record and It will disclose all assets and all creditors. 

So, there you have it. A Shit sandwich for all.

The success of the various Kickstarters killed CenterStage Miniatures as they apparently failed the basic math of funding less fees (Amazon & Kickstarter) less additional cost of generous stretch goals must => cost to fulfill and ship rewards.

Again, thanks to +Jim Magnusson for the generous use of his art ;)

Kickstarter - Center Stage Miniatures - Tome of Horrors Complete - 28mm Heroic Scale Miniatures - Looks Like Backers Are Royally F@cked

I've been lucky (or unlucky enough) to have some inside info from multiple sources about the clusterfuck that is Center Stage Miniatures and their various Kickstarters. Regretfully, I can't reveal sources or actual numbers (such is the price one pays to actually know such guarded info) but I can draw conclusions that are based on such info:

First - backers are fucked. I think that part is obvious, but let me tell you, they are royally fucked (and don't expect a courtesy reach around either.) At least the backers of the various Nystul Kickstarters have an outside chance of getting relevant PDFs at some unknown point in the future. If you're a backer and haven't received product yet, accept your losses and move on. I doubt Matt of Center Stage spent the funds on hookers and blow, but at this point he couldn't do so even if he wanted.

Second - much like Nystul (and the less infamous but totally dead Quantum RPG by Joshua Frost) this appears to be the situation where the monies raised by the first Kickstarter were not enough to fulfill the Kickstarter, so a new Kickstarter was needed to provide funds for the first, and then a newer Kickstarter was needed to fill the funding gaps of that one. It's like a Ponzi scheme of sorts. Actually, no, it probably was run much like a Ponzi scheme.

Third - hiding behind Center Stage LLC is not going to shield Matt "CSM" from the outstanding debt if he is the whole of the LLC.

Fourth - the debt may actually exceed the funds raised by all four Center Stage Miniatures Kickstarters. How the fuck it ever came to that is beyond me. And that's without throwing a Dwarf Con instead of actually putting it towards the project in question. Expecting Frog God to return their advance would be pointless. It wouldn't achieve anything in moving the projects forward, as it would barely be a drop in the bucket. As for licensing the project to yet another party, I expect the creditors would want to get paid first.

Fifth - this could be a case of success being the root of all evil. Center Stage's 1st Kickstarter asked for a grand and made over $66k. Did it over promise and under budget for it's rewards? Stretch goal are a dangerous beast when you are offering additional physical product at no increase in price. I've seen other Kickstarters succeed and still need the creator to dig into their pocket to actually fulfill their promises as stretch goal costs ate into all of the profit.

Sixth - save your money on potential lawsuits. It would be throwing good money after bad. There is no money to be had. Hell, it's more likely that Myth & Magic will suddenly start shipping.

It's a sad state overall, and one of the reasons I get very leery when a project creator starts a 2nd Kickstarter before the first is fulfilled. It seems like Center Stage has out Nystuled Nystul himself. At this point, I can't foresee any good outcome.

Centerstage Miniatures "Tome of Horrors" Kickstarter Hits High Horror, Complete with 3rd Party Takeover Attempt and PR Threats

I remember the Tome of Horrors Miniatures Kickstarter - the idea of getting a Flumph tempted me, that was all, but I never expected the entertainment value that this imploding Kickstarter would give the gaming public.

Last night, Centerstage Miniatures announced that their funding was gone. That's a big "oops."

But look, here's the savior! Mortal Arrow will save the project! So long as Frog God Games gives Mortal Arrow the licensing fees they were paid by Centerstage Miniatures to use FGGs IP (trademarked names and the use of FGG's artwork to base the mini's off off.) Mortal Arrow will then change names of any minis that are trademarked by FGG and remove any reference to Tome of Horrors and FGG if and when the minis are released. But yeah, still using FGG's art as the basis for the minis.

Did I mention the backers of the Kickstarter would be expect to pay for their minis - at a reduced price, of course.

Or that if Frog God Games didn't agree to all of this, they were threatened with the possibility of "a PR Black Eye" and even a lawsuit? When I negotiate with a third party, veiled threats are always my preference

With the kind permission of +Matt Finch , I'm reposting Matt's post from the Frog God Games blog.

I'm just quoting my comments to the Center Stage Miniatures Tome of Horrors Kickstarter, so people from ToH2 can see it, and so it's linkable. The comment I refer to, from Mortal Arrow, is: "I'm glad to see that Matt Finch has commented. Maybe he should describe his role at Frog God. And more importantly, he should let us know if Frog God has received funds that were raised through this KickStarter. And if so, how much?"

My posts (2), as an answer, are these:

Post 1:

In response to Mortal Arrow's question, I'm part owner of FGG. I'm going to post the operative terms of out contract with Solarz, and also the full text of a letter we got from Mortal Arrow. However, first I want to reproduce the exact paragraph where we all decided there was no way we would ever do business with Mortal Arrow (other than that he has less track reccord in the business than Matt Solarz):

"Third, I originally asked Bill if he was willing to return some or all the licensing fee already received from the ToH1 project. I believe there is still a potential that this will give Frog God a PR “black eye” and open them up to be drawn into a lawsuit, should it occur. This would be the cleanest way to wash your hands of these projects. These funds would also be applied to fulfilling miniatures and be the best way for Frog God to exit with the maximum amount of goodwill."

Mike is now trying to do exactly what he threatened in his letter, to create the "PR black eye." He's proving out exactly our concerns about his character.

In terms of our deal with Matt Solarz, we got paid our licensing fee on the first Kickstarter, which was 15% of gross receipts. Without checking with Bill for the exact amount that must have been about $14K since I think it was net of the Kickstarter fees. We got stiffed on the second Kickstarter like everyone else, although Matt Solarz did call us, and we did agree that if the project depended on it we would wait. Let me see if I can paste the whole of Mortal Arrow's letter (the "Matt" it's addressed to is me, not Matt Solarz):

"Dear Matt and Bill,

Sorry for the confusion, though Skeeter Green’s comment seem to have announced something similar.

As stated below, for me to sign off on any agreement I require that Frog God confirms that Mortal Arrow LLC can ship miniatures to Backers of these projects without interference from Frog God games. This is first and foremost, as it is a deal killer for my talks with Matt and CSM.

Second, Bill mentioned forgiving the $2K+ owed to Frog God by CSM on the ToH2 project. I’d like to know if this offer still stands. These funds would be applied to fulfilling miniatures, and I would promote the generosity of Frog God to the Backers.

Third, I originally asked Bill if he was willing to return some or all the licensing fee already received from the ToH1 project. I believe there is still a potential that this will give Frog God a PR “black eye” and open them up to be drawn into a lawsuit, should it occur. This would be the cleanest way to wash your hands of these projects. These funds would also be applied to fulfilling miniatures and be the best way for Frog God to exit with the maximum amount of goodwill.

If all three are done, then the plan is to remove all reference to the Tome of Horrors and rename any of the miniatures under its copyright domain (e.g. Tsathar and Inphidian). This will clearly separate Frog God’s business from this debacle.

If there is intent for the Mortal Arrow LLC (the company I’ve created to take on these miniature lines) and Frog God to collaborate in the future, then we can negotiate this separately, once the dust has settled.

Please let me know your thoughts on this proposal. I’d be happy to discuss this an alternate thoughts.

Sincerely,
Mike"

Mortal Arrow seems to think that (a) people believed we weren't charging a license fee and that (b) we'd be ashamed of charging a license fee. Of course we charged a fee, we got paid on the first one, and we didn't get paid on the second. We don't pay hush money on things we're not ashamed of or trying to hide, and we don't do business with people who try to fund their startups with this sort of behavior. We're perfectly willing to license a reputable company with experience. We will not under any circumstances work with Mortal Arrow.

Here is the contract (this is from my MSWord file, but I think it's the signed version):
CENTERSTAGE MINIATURES AND TOME OF HORRORS
Intellectual Property License Agreement
This agreement (the “Agreement”) is made and entered into as of April 30, 2013 between Frog God Games (“FGG”), with offices at 5045 Minder Rd., Poulsbo, WA 98370 and Matthew Solarz (“CSM”), with offices at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
NOW THEREFORE, for and in consideration of the covenants, agreements and representations set forth below, and for other good and valuable consideration, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. Design License: FGG hereby licenses certain intellectual property to CSM for a period of 1 (one) year. The intellectual property licensed hereunder (the “Design Licensed Material”) comprises the right to design miniature figures based upon but not identical to the visual representations and text descriptions of characters and monsters in the Frog God Games publication Tome of Horrors Complete. This period may be extended by mutual agreement of the parties.

2. Trademark License: FGG hereby licenses certain intellectual property to CSM for a period of five (5) year (the “Trademark License Period”). The intellectual property licensed hereunder (the “Trademark License”) comprises the non-exclusive right of CSM to advertise the miniatures designed under Section 1 and any pre-existing miniatures designated by CSM at the execution date of this Agreement as “Official Tome of Horrors” miniatures, for the duration of the Trademark License Period. This period may be extended by mutual agreement of the parties.

3. Payment for Design License: CSM shall pay FGG a license fee of 15% of gross sales of miniatures that are subject to the Trademark License, for the duration of the Trademark License as it may be extended. The fee shall be accounted quarterly, and paid within 45 days of the end of the accounting quarter.

4. FGG Option to Examine: Upon written request, FGG shall have the right to examine or cause to be examined through certified public accountants the books of account of CSM insofar as such books of account shall relate to the receipt of funds by CSM from the sale of miniatures that are subject to this Agreement. If such examination shall reveal errors of accounting (other than those arising from an interpretation of this agreement) amounting to a sum in excess of $250 to FGG's disadvantage, the costs of such examination shall be borne by CSM.

5. Governing Law: This Agreement, including all matters relating to the validity, construction, performance, and enforcement thereof, shall be governed by the laws of the State of Washington.

Post 2:

Okay, the last bit of the contract did get chopped off, but it's the boilerplate. I won't fill up peoples' screens with it.

Suffice to say, you can see from Mortal Arrow's letter why we won't work with him, and you can see from the contract that we don't even have the audit right to see what happened to the money. We can only trace receipts.

Our only role was letting Matt Solarz use the monsters and pay us a percentage of the sales, and we don't have any leverage other than that. Our only ability here is that we don't have to allow assignment of this contract. We have some ability to make sure that if our name is going to be used on an attempt to fix this disaster, that the white knight is actually a white knight. We determined that Mortal Arrow would likely, based on correspondence and lack of track record, not be a good fit. Matt Solarz apparently made the same determination, or something like it, independently. Mortal Arrow has, in his earlier response on this thread, absolutely confirmed our suspicions about what he meant in his "you'll get a PR black eye" paragraph.

Talk about a clusterfuck.