Our Story

Hello! Thank you so much for making it this far. If you are wondering how Versus came to be, please enjoy this little spiel.

I’m Ray, founder and sole employee at Desk Questers! Right now, I am trying to make high quality tabletop equipment available to everyday players. Starting off with dice, I’ve moved on to making GM Screens!

I’ve played Dungeons and Dragons for a few years now, and have always frowned upon the usage of DM screens.  In my mind they always drew a cardboard-thick line between form and function; on one side immersive artwork and on the other, a set of rules. Most of the time though, we just use it to hide dice rolls. So, it got me thinking; how can we introduce more “Game Master” to these “Game Master Screens?”

My main priority in designing Versus was customizability. There are just too many ttrpgs; genres ranging from medieval fantasy to The Space Age, campaigns catering to two person parties, or two pilot mechs. Both sides of the DM screen should have the capacity to be personalized to any Game Master.  The size of each panel, the front facing design, the way you place your rules and notes, you can change it all.

Next was durability and quality. I wanted your designs to look beautiful, from the day you receive them to the day you change hobbies – so, a very long time! (hopefully). Admittedly it was very hard to decide on materials, having to balance costs, toughness, environmental impact and aesthetics. For more information, just check out the Environmental Commitments section below!

Finally, it was a tough decision, but in light of recent worldwide events, I have limited the shipping options to New Zealand and Australia. I will cover this more in the risks and challenges section, but I assure you, I would love to cater to a larger audience. Please support and follow us on our journey and – hopefully – I can get to more of you soon.

Again, thank you so much for reaching this far down on our campaign! Please ask anything you want in the comments and I’ll try to get back to you soon. I hope to see you again! Ray.

Costs

Of the 140,000 NZD:

29,000 NZD – Fees and Labor Costs: Used to pay for Kickstarter fees, equipment and upkeep of equipment

39,000 NZD – Raw Material: Wood costs

15,000 NZD – Raw material: Acrylic costs

10,500 NZD – Leather / steel hinges, nuts, bolts and washers

16,000 NZD – Metal Costs, raw material and outsourced manufacturing

30,500 NZD – Shipping Costs, including packaging

Cost Comments!

For each individual, I really wanted to cut the costs as much as possible. This meant reducing the amount of outsourced labor and profit gained from each sale. By getting the equipment needed to manufacture Versus myself, I eliminate as many middle men between you and your GM Screen. This again is an effort to make Versus more available to the average Game Master, and is also the reason why the pledge goal is so high. Thanks so much for reading through the page! Help us out any way you can by supporting and sharing, Ray.