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Arcana of the Ancients, a 5e science-fantasy sourcebook

Created by Monte Cook Games

Bring the wonders of Numenera, with its mysterious technology and weird science-fantasy elements, to your 5e campaign with Arcana of the Ancients.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Where the Machines Wait Brings This Campaign to Completion!
almost 3 years ago – Fri, May 21, 2021 at 04:12:54 PM

Thank you for a fantastic Kickstarter campaign!

Last night we began the fulfillment process for Where the Machines Wait. The PDF has already been downloaded by hundreds of backers, and our warehouse is busy right this minute shipping out Where the Machines Wait in print. If this title is among your rewards, and you haven’t already, check your email for instructions on redeeming your copy.

(Can’t find the email? Simply log into the MCG Shop using the email address you provided to us in BackerKit, navigate to your account, and click on Coupons. Redeem the coupon for Where the Machines Wait, any other rewards you want to redeem, add anything from the shop you’d like to purchase, and click your shopping cart. The coupon makes rewards in your cart free—just check out!)

This Brings the Arcana of the Ancients Campaign to a Close

This is the final reward for the Arcana of the Ancients Kickstarter campaign. Thank you so much for helping make this series of books a reality, and bringing the weirdness and wonder of science-fantasy to 5e games everywhere. We hope you’ve been enjoying Arcana of the Ancients, Beasts of Flesh and Steel, Beneath the Monolith, and now Where the Machines Wait as much as we enjoyed making them.

Beasts of Flesh and Resin

If you love the creatures we brought to 5e in Arcana of the Ancients and Beasts of Flesh and Steel, here’s some cool news: Lair, a division of Draco Studios, launched a campaign today for 3D printable minis of creatures and characters from the Ninth World. Check it out!

Last Call for Ptolus Preorder Deals!

The amazing Ptolus: Monte Cook’s City by the Spire will be out very soon, and preorders close in just a day or two. When preorders end, so do some fantastic preorder deals—forever!

Thanks Again!

We’ve really enjoyed bringing you Arcana of the Ancients and the other titles you funded through this campaign. Thanks again for supporting it and helping make these books a reality!

Where the Machines Wait Is on Press—and Other News
almost 3 years ago – Tue, Mar 30, 2021 at 12:00:27 AM

The final title funded by this campaign, Where the Machines Wait, is now on press. Fulfilling it to you—in print and PDF—will begin in just a matter of weeks!

This mega-adventure book, which takes you deep into the Grave of the Machines with its promises of treasures and dangers unlike any seen before, is the final reward from this campaign. But it need not be the end of your explorations!

Delve into Horror with The Darkest House—a Unique Product that Makes Online RPGs Shine!

That house on the outskirts of the village, sitting empty behind a crumbling wall. The one people whisper about. The one that has gone unlived in for years. Sometimes a few hearty souls creep in, it is said, to see what treasures or secrets they can find. Most find nothing—just an empty old house. Some return shaken. A few don’t return at all.

You’ve seen this house before. If not in this town, then in some other. You’ve heard the rumors—and if you haven’t, well, someday they’ll find you.

What happens to a house when it sits alone for so many long years? What jealousies and hatreds does it quietly nurture? What whispers echo through its empty hallways? What waits, crouched within its dark rooms, hungering for the return of life?

The Darkest House is a horror mega-adventure designed to be woven into your 5e campaign—or any game you play. In fact, it’s made for your existing campaign, because it really shines when you play it with characters and a party that have already established their history, backstories, bonds, and ideals. It tests and challenges those elements, and builds its horror upon what it uncovers. Your PCs and your campaign will be richer, deeper, and more cohesively bonded after experiencing the Darkest House.

The Darkest House is also an entirely new type of product. Think of it like an RPG book reimagined to make the most of the online environment. Every image and map is conveniently shareable and downloadable. Each encounter is formatted to your screen, giving you everything you need in a single view. Text for sharing with the players is easily copied with a single click. A rich network of hyperlinks makes navigation simple and intuitive. The Darkest House is as easy on the GM as the house itself is challenging to the PCs.

Download a free preview of The Darkest House from the Kickstarter to see what we mean. It really is something new, and we think you’ll be amazed.

The Darkest House is on Kickstarter now. Check it out—and hurry! The Kickstarter ends this week. There’s exclusive content available only through the Kickstarter, so back it now!

Ptolus Is Coming—Preorders Are Still Open

Where the Machines Wait isn’t our only title at the printer right now. Ptolus: Monte Cook’s City by the Spire is also on press. We’ve updated Monte’s legendary campaign for 5e. It’ll be out in a matter of weeks, but preorders are open now. It’s your last chance to get in on some great Ptolus deals, and get your copy ahead of street date!

Explore a sprawling fantasy city, presented in amazing detail and steeped in lore and atmosphere. Delve into the extensive dungeons beneath its streets. And maybe, when you're ready, ascend the Spire that looms overhead, the heart of an ancient and restless evil.

An Incredible Setting

Welcome to Ptolus. A city of mysteries, secrets, and dark histories. Ptolus lies forever in the shadow of a towering stone spire reaching impossibly high into the sky, an enigma and a reminder of evil long past. And it sits atop a seemingly endless network of ancient dungeons that draw adventurers from all corners of the Empire.

An Immersive World

Ptolus isn’t just big—it’s alive. It’s a place you can inhabit—a place with atmosphere you feel. It’s fantastic, with page after page of amazing sights and ideas. It’s dynamic. Throughout Ptolus, wheels are in motion and new discoveries are being unearthed. But the story is yet to be told, and Ptolus is set up to make it your story.

An Amazing Product

Ptolus isn’t just 672 pages. It includes a packet with a poster map and dozens of handouts, plus another 300 pages of downloadable content. The layout is uniquely accessible and easy on the GM, with multiple indices, heavy cross-referencing, and quick-access tables and summaries. And premium features include multiple satin bookmarks, top-notch art, and abundant cartography.

Preorder Ptolus: Monte Cook’s City by the Spire from the MCG Shop now for a preorder exclusive deal!

Where Do the Machines Wait?
over 3 years ago – Wed, Dec 09, 2020 at 01:00:40 AM

The final reward for this campaign, Where the Machines Wait, will be out in the spring. Bruce and the design team recently turned it over to editing, and from there it goes to layout, proofing, and then, finally, to press! Bruce had this to share about what to expect in the book:

This 96-page adventure is, in essence, a massive dungeon in the form of an ancient megastructure called, in-game, the Grave of the Machines. It consists of what amount to six levels, each of which with its own threats, dangers, and subplot opportunities.

One of the levels is inside a ruined lost city under a dome. Another is essentially one vast mechanism inter-penetrated by maintenance tubes and inhabited by sapient machines. Another is a vertical, slowly rotating wheel-like structure. Another is half-drowned, filled with breathable superfluid. And in the deepest level—the Creche—something dangerous is kept. If PCs can get in, they’ll  find  . . .  well, maybe that’s saying too much.

PCs can dip in for straight-up exploration and ruin-crawling, returning to the surface periodically to sell their salvage for gold. In so doing (or, if you prefer, as the main driver of the adventure) they may also accept specific acquisition requests—which may then lead the PCs into a deeper, overarching plotline. Perhaps the patron knows about something specific down there. What is it, and why does he want it? Can he be trusted, and is it safe to bring his target, buried for so many aeons, to the surface?

Where the Machines Wait also has about a dozen new items and a similar number of new creatures—including one that’s a new PC-playable species.

This is a 5e title, but for Cypher System fans there’s an appendix making it easy to use the adventure for the Cypher System.

Playtesting?

If playtesting and early access is among your rewards, expect playtest documents for Where the Machines Wait in the weeks to come!

Autographs and Superheroes!

We’re currently Kickstarting superheroes!

Claim the Sky is the superhero genre book for the Cypher System, covering the genre both widely and deeply with tons of rules, character options, items, advice, and even a complete campaign setting.

First Responders is inspired by real-world heroes, and The Origin is a gritty superpowered setting.

Claim the Sky and First Responders: Superheroes and real-world heroes!

You can win copies of all three books, autographed by the entire design team: Monte Cook, Bruce R. Cordell, Sean Reynolds, and Shanna Germain.

Enter here—or check out the Heroes of the Cypher System Kickstarter for more information about these awesome books and all the other cool things we’ve been unlocking as stretch goals.

Hurry: there’s just a few days left to enter the giveaway and back the campaign to access the awesome add-ons!

Jade Colossus Conversion Guide Is Here!
over 3 years ago – Thu, Nov 12, 2020 at 01:56:58 AM

Greetings explorers!

If Jade Colossus Conversion Guide in PDF (this product is a PDF product—it is not a print product) is one of your rewards for backing our Arcana of the Ancients Kickstarter, it is time to redeem it!

To redeem your reward, please go to the MCG Shop and log in to your account. From the account page, click Coupons (in the left hand menu) and you will see all of your available redemption coupons (you won't see coupons for any rewards that are still in production).

Click on a coupon to redeem it, or click on the Add All Product Coupons to Cart to redeem all of your coupons. (Some older coupons will redirect you to your cart when you click them. If this happens and you still have additional items to redeem, return to Coupon page to redeem them before completing your checkout.)

Clicking on a coupon adds the product and discount to your cart. Once you've added all the coupons you wish to redeem, click on the cart symbol to get to the checkout page to complete your redemption.

We guarantee a Kickstarter reward will be available for you to redeem for up to a year beyond its release date.

If you've added any print products to your cart, domestic shipping is a flat rate of $7. International shipping is charged using current shipping rates.

PDFs are available immediately. Physical products are shipped as quickly as possible. Due to precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, our US warehouse is operating with a small staff, so order processing might take slightly longer than normal. Our international warehouses are also operating with smaller staffs and increased processing time due to the global pandemic.

If you have any difficulty with the reward redemption process, or questions about your rewards, please email [email protected] or use the MCG Contact Us page. We respond to messages Monday - Friday from 9 AM - 4 PM ET, except for holidays. We are a small team and your patience when contacting us is greatly appreciated.

Happy gaming!

Beasts of Flesh and Steel is Fulfilling Now!
over 3 years ago – Sat, Oct 10, 2020 at 01:59:26 AM

Greetings backers!

Great news: Beasts of Flesh and Steel (in print and PDF) is fulfilling now!

To redeem your reward, please go to the MCG Shop and log in to your account. From the account page, click Coupons (in the left hand menu) and you will see all of your available redemption coupons (you won't see coupons for any rewards that are still in production).

Click on a coupon to redeem it, or click on the Add All Product Coupons to Cart to redeem all of your coupons. (Some older coupons will redirect you to your cart when you click them. If this happens and you still have additional items to redeem, return to Coupon page to redeem them before completing your checkout.)

Clicking on a coupon adds the product and discount to your cart. Once you've added all the coupons you wish to redeem, click on the cart symbol to get to the checkout page to complete your redemption.

We guarantee a Kickstarter reward will be available for you to redeem for up to a year beyond its release date.

PDFs are available immediately upon checkout. For print products: Domestic shipping is a flat rate of $7. International shipping is charged using current shipping rates. 

Due to precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, our US warehouse is operating with a small staff, so order processing might take slightly longer than normal. Our international warehouses are also operating with smaller staffs and increased processing time due to the global pandemic.

If you have any difficulty with the reward redemption process, or questions about your rewards, please email [email protected] or use the MCG Contact Us page. We respond to messages Monday - Friday from 9 AM - 4 PM ET, except for holidays. We are a small team and your patience when contacting us is greatly appreciated.

Curious what's coming out next from MCG? Check out our Coming Soon page, where you can browse our upcoming products and their anticipated month of release for general sale (Kickstarter backers get their rewards ahead of release date).