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

Arcana of the Ancients Gets Bigger—How about Another Book?
about 5 years ago – Wed, Apr 10, 2019 at 12:37:00 AM

We had a terrific weekend (again!), and you’ve unlocked yet another expansion to Arcana of the Ancients. We are now adding a third upgrade to the book, increasing its size and making every backer’s rewards bigger and better!

This campaign ends on Friday, so we still have plenty of time for more stretch goals—in fact, the final week is usually the craziest period for our campaigns. So let’s make another book: Monte is calling this one Where the Machines Wait.

The secret is out. Adventurers have uncovered the remnants of a civilization so far in the past that no one before now had even heard of it. The artifacts and devices left behind hold power beyond understanding: magic, modest and powerful, that can be wielded by anyone, not just wizards. Now the rush is on as dungeon delvers from across the lands race to be the first to uncover the next great treasure. But something still dwells amid the ancient ruins. Something not human, not even alive as we understand it. It's been waiting for a very, very long time. And it's angry.

Where the Machines Wait will be a 5E compatible adventure path involving the exploration of an ancient ruin unlike anything the PCs have encountered before, filled with brand new treasures and brand new challenges.

Numenera fans take note: We'll also provide what you need to use this adventure in a standard Numenera game as well. This will be all-new content, and players of both 5E and Numenera will be able to use it.

We’ll unlock Where the Machines Wait if we hit $335,000. It will be added to the EVERY PDF! backer level, in PDF, and to EXPERT OF THE ANCIENT PAST and higher backer levels in both PDF and print. We can’t wait!

Beneath the Monolith is Unlocked!
about 5 years ago – Sat, Apr 06, 2019 at 12:43:57 AM

You’ve done it! After a fast-paced week, you’ve unlocked an awesome stretch goal, and one we’re really looking forward to making and delivering to you: Beneath the Monolith, a new hardcover (and PDF) companion to Arcana of the Ancients that converts the critically acclaimed, award-winning Ninth World science-fantasy setting of the Numenera RPG for use with 5E. You are going to love this book! And if you’re backing at EXPERT OF THE ANCIENT PAST or a higher level, it will be added, in hardcover and PDF, to your rewards via a high technology indistinguishable from magic. (If you’re backing at the EVERY PDF! level, you’ll get it in PDF.)

To recap, you’ll get the following titles in print and PDF if you back at the EXPERT OF THE ANCIENT PAST level or above (you’ll get them in PDF only if you’re backing at the EVERY PDF! level):

•  Arcana of the Ancients standard edition
•  Arcana of the Ancients deluxe edition
• Beasts of Flesh and Steel
• and now Beneath the Monolith 
• and every time we unlock a new book, it’s added automatically to these rewards!

Will there be more books added before the campaign ends? As I write this, we are almost exactly one week away from the end. If our past thirteen Kickstarters are any guide, this will probably be far and away the most exciting week of the campaign, and we could possibly unlock several more stretch goals.

So let’s start with this one: If we make it to $295,000, we’ll add another adventure to Arcana of the Ancients, bringing the total adventure count in that book to at least four. Like the other adventures, this will be designed to easily integrate science-fantasy creatures, items, and abilities into your 5E campaign. This is a stretch goal that makes everyone’s reward bigger and better. Let’s make it happen!

A Challenging New Creature—and a Free Product
about 5 years ago – Thu, Apr 04, 2019 at 08:35:56 AM

We had a very exciting weekend! This is traditionally the slowest period in any Kickstarter campaign, but the numbers of new backers we’ve seen in the past four or five days have been truly fantastic. And the results are fantastic, too: We smashed through a stretch goal on Friday, making Arcana of the Ancients bigger and better for all backers. And we’re now well over halfway to the next stretch goal, unlocking a new book: Beneath the Monolith.

But that’s not the only exciting news. Yesterday we announced, along with the great guys over at WebDM, that they'll be writing the introduction to Arcana of the Ancients. Jim and Pruitt are great voices in the D&D community, and both love the sort of science-fantasy we're bringing to 5E with Arcana of the Ancients. You can find a video of the announcement, made live yesterday, here. (The action starts at the 8:42 mark.)

Finally, here's something new: a free preview of Arcana of the Ancients, filled with items and creatures you can use in your game right now. This preview contains the stuff we've shared with you already through earlier updates, as well as a couple of new creatures. You can download it now from DriveThruRPG.

If you'd like to attract other 5E players to this campaign, helping us hit more stretch goals and unlocking more upgrades and new rewards, there probably isn't any stronger tool than sharing a link to this new title!

New Items Unlocked. Next Up: Beneath the Monolith.
about 5 years ago – Tue, Apr 02, 2019 at 05:27:49 PM

Wow! In what is typically the slowest period of any Kickstarter campaign, you, our wonderful backers, have knocked out a stretch goal in a little over 24 hours! The upgrade to Arcana of the Ancients, adding more weird science-fantasy items (and more page count) to the book, has been unlocked.

As previously announced, our next stretch goal is an entirely new book: Beneath the Monolith. This hardcover (and PDF) campaign guide will translate the critically acclaimed, award-winning Ninth World science-fantasy setting of Numenera to 5E. If we reach $260,000, it will be automagically added, in print and PDF, to the rewards of all backers at the EXPERT OF THE ANCIENT PAST level or higher (and in PDF only to the EVERY PDF! level).

Can we keep up this pace? If so, we could unlock Beneath the Monolith in just three or four days—and still have almost two weeks left to unlock more great stretch goals. Let’s all help spread the word, and keep reaching new 5E gamers out there who would love to bring Arcana of the Ancients to their game tables.

Catch Arcana of the Ancients on Geek & Sundry!
about 5 years ago – Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 11:18:52 AM

MCG’s Darcy Ross was out in Los Angeles recently, and Geek & Sundry was kind enough to invite her to visit their studios. While there she sat down with Eric Campbell and they put together a special edition of Game Master’s Hall—and it aired today! Darcy talks with Eric for ten minutes or so, giving us a peek at what you might expect in Arcana of the Ancients.

Give it a look! And, better yet, why not give it a share? (Here’s the sharing link: https://youtu.be/2mwYlc-4lJs) There are thousands and thousands of 5e players out there who would probably love Arcana of the Ancients—but also probably haven’t even heard about this campaign. What better way to reach them—and keep up this great momentum toward our new stretch goals—than with a quick, fun video that explains what Arcana of the Ancients is all about?