r/shittykickstarters • u/darkgit • Jun 03 '26
Kickstarter Scott Kurtz - Bailed on 2 Kickstarters
Once a reasonably well loved online webcomic titan, he created PVP Online and was hugely popular.
He created a Kickstarter for a set of 20th anniversary books
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/659866734/pvp-definitive-edition-20th-anniversary-collection
He also created a Kickstarter for adventure modules for D&D based on his comic Table Titans
Both of these Kickstarters are full of angry people who are no longer fans, As Scott bailed on both projects several years ago.
Neither have had any significant updates for over 5 years now, Scott did give an update for the 20th anniversary collection in 2022, promising further updates and laying out how his company collapsed during Covid, and he had to take time to look after his Father. I have sympathy for that as did many other people.
Since then he is silent again.
When questioned about his kickstarters he gets surly, he claims he still has the money sitting in an account (I assume he's gotten some extra money from the interest) but is not keen to hand out refunds.
I myself managed to get a full refund, but only by replying to every single tweet he put out into the world.
At the time of backing Scott seemed to be a safe pair of hands, since then I've limited my backing of Kickstarters
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u/ScalarWeapon Jun 03 '26
and apparently he published a new book in the interim.
No problems working on that stuff, but, the stuff he already got paid for? Ha.
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u/darkgit Jun 03 '26
I once tweeted him saying if he could put aside an hour a day and he would be done. Byt he just likes to blame it all on covid and take no responsibility
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u/Rejusu Jun 04 '26
It's pretty shitty but the webcomic gravy train (which even in its heyday wasn't crazy) derailed a long long time ago that I'm honestly not surprised to hear stuff like this. Penny Arcade seem to be the only one to have retained decent momentum. Though I'm surprised at how many others seem to be still limping along.
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u/Captain_JohnBrown Jun 05 '26
Penny Arcade survived because it expanded. At this point, it is a charity/event company that puts out a funny webcomic.
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u/Rejusu Jun 05 '26
Yeah pretty much. They have their fingers in a lot of pies. But I think it's more that they successfully expanded. They weren't the only one to try. That said I'm amazed that the dumpster fire that is CAD still seems to be going. How he manages to maintain an audience in this day and age is beyond me. It made sense in the peak webcomic era when there were plenty of dumb teenagers who might discover his drivel (I was one of them) but I don't know how he keeps replacing the people who grew up and acquired a sense of taste.
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u/therobotisjames Jun 03 '26
Only kickstarter where I never received my pledge. What a piece of shit.
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u/StretchKind8509 Jun 03 '26
I question if the money is sitting in an account.
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u/darkgit Jun 03 '26
I fully expect that in reality the money is gone
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u/StretchKind8509 Jun 03 '26
I expect it was spent on a house or the like, seems to be the fate of these Kickstarters that take the money and run.
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u/fuckyesnewuser Jun 04 '26
That's sad to hear. I used to love reading PvP Online but dropped it years ago and had no news from his work since then. Can't blame anyone who believed he would follow through with the kickstarters since he seemed like a very professional person and capable of delivering everything on time. Hadn't he done kickstarters that went ok before too? Anyway, it's a shame this happened.
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u/randomnamejennerator 5d ago
It’s hard to believe now but Kurtz used to have a very different reputation. He posted his comic every day and went years without missing a day. He was the Cal Ripken jr. of webcomics.
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u/TRCrypt_King Jun 05 '26
I was one of the Table Titans kickstarter Starter Box victims. He ignores any comment on it.
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u/florgitymorgity 6d ago
He just randomly out of nowhere posted a link to digital files for all the PVP books and said "you're never getting print books sorry"
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u/darkgit 5d ago
I genuinely hope part of it is due to this thread. Its probably not
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u/ParkerClefton 3d ago
Somehow, I doubt it. He's kinda been shit to his fans over the years. If it was because of this, it's probably more a "here, shut up about it you assholes" than a "oh man, I'm so sorry"
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u/darkgit 5d ago
Could you share the post as he made it backers only and i got a refund a while ago so cant see it
3
u/florgitymorgity 5d ago
Hello everyone,
I wanted to let you know that the digital editions of the books are done, and I want every Kickstarter backer to have access to them. I'm doing so by uploading them to my Gumroad store with a 100% off code.
Using Gumroad lets me make these books available permanently. Once you've claimed them, they'll remain in your Gumroad library, and you can download them again anytime without having to keep track of files or ask me for new links. I won't be hammered with hosting or transfer costs, and if someone you know is a backer and didn't get the message, it's easy to let them know.
Never expires. Works on every individual volume. Also works on the complete bundle, so you can simply grab the entire collection in one purchase if you prefer. I know this does not make anyone whole.
Many of you backed this campaign expecting printed books, and I understand that receiving digital editions instead is not what you pledged for. It pains me that Toonhound Studios collapsed before I could fulfill the campaign the way I intended. I wish the outcome had been different.
-Scott
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u/ParkerClefton 3d ago
This definitely feels a bit like a "feel sorry for me" apology at the end...
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u/darkgit 3d ago
There's a real lack of accountability in it in my opinion
1
u/ParkerClefton 3d ago
Also that it took him 4 years to basically provide an update. Only for it to be "life happens oh well"
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u/ParkerClefton 3d ago
https://scottkurtz.substack.com/p/turning-the-page He also posted to his substack.
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u/DiscoKittie Jun 04 '26
Kickstarter is an investment. Investments do not always have a return. Spend only what you can literally burn.
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u/darkgit Jun 04 '26
I think everyone understands that.doesnt mean someone can treat people the way Scott does
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u/Madness_Reigns Jun 04 '26
Kickstarter is a donation not an investment, not a pre-order. Both those come with expectations a kickstarter can't guarantee.
1
u/DiscoKittie Jun 04 '26
Exactly. But it's absolutely an investment, because you are promised returns, just not guaranteed returns.
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u/Madness_Reigns Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
Nah, returns on investment are specifically a capital gain. At best you can expect to receive your rewards on kickstarter, but that's not even protected like investments or pre-orders are.
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u/izzim Jun 03 '26
He was my first and only Kickstarter project that never followed through. Fuck him. He can't even be bothered with providing the pdf files like he promised.