Louis Agresta's page

Bumping this thread because there's a new event in Grimmerspace, starting tomorrow at 10 AM EST in the Grimmerspace Facebook group!

Monster March Madness!

In a nutshell, esteemed illustrator Mathias Kollros will display a new monster from the setting EVERY DAY until the end of March!

And if that weren't enough, there's prizes to be had! I can't claim to know any specifics as to the Grand Prize (reportedly worth a cool one grand), but every day, someone will win a poster of Mathias' "Onslaught" picture that captured the imaginations of so many!

Just FYI the grand prize was an original Larry Elmore pen and ink!

How about this instead, then? We expect to send out the Backerkit pledge manager surveys this week, but until we do we can slip you in under the wire.

Email us at info@irongmgames.com with the pledge level you'd like, along with your paypal email (you can still see everything here). We'll send you a paypal invoice and add you manually, just like you'd backed before the close.

Our ability to do this ends in a couple of days, but you're just in time.

Thanks so much for your interest, Grimmer!

Over 2,600 Backers have unlocked amazing Grimmerspace values and made us the single most backed Starfinder KS (by # of backers) ever!

And there's less than 7 hours left to get in on it!

For example, the Grimmerspace ALL-IN pledge contains:

• * Our core book, Grimmerspace Setting & Adventures book (Print), now 256 pages thanks to stretch goals! In this book, every setting location comes with a unique, short adventure. These adventures range in length from 1 to approximately 3+ sessions.

• * The Xeno Files (Print), our bestiary now including 40 monsters. Thank you, backers!

• * The Grimmerspace Adventures Vol. 1 adventure compendium. Adventures Vol. 1 contains all the module-length Grimmerspace adventures, including Abattoir 8, Scavenger's Voice (together comprising the adventure arc Casket of the Cull by Richard Pett) and now, because you brought us past $150k, Greg Vaughan's Somnium Meld adventure.

• * The Xeno Deck. Laminated, tarot-sized cards with art prints of all 40 monsters from the Xeno Files (thanks, stretch goals!) on one side and stat blocks on the other. Puts the monsters in the palm of your hand, no more hunting for stats and pictures during a fight!

• * The Denizen Deck. Not everything is a monster. Laminated, tarot-sized cards with art prints on one stat blocks on the other. Contains 40 NPCs (thank you, stretch goals!) drawn from Grimmerspace adventures of all lengths. No more hunting for stats and pictures while roleplaying!

• * The Grimmerspace Player's Guide (Print), a softcover with enough detail to ground your players in the Grimmerspace setting that also duplicates player options from our core book for their convenience. Includes 3 bonus copies, our gift to you.

• * 24x36 art poster (Print), "Delicious Slab of Thunk"

• * 24x36 map poster (Print), "The Muckraker"

• * 24x36 map poster (Print), Navigation Map. Use its unique coordinate system at your table to calculate travel times, air, provisions, and fuel requirements when traveling between any two points in the Gliding Rim Galaxy.

• * 24x36 art poster (Print), "You Keep Them Working"

• * The Sci-Fi Immersive Battle Maps book from Yarro Studios. This Grimmerspace Kickstarter exclusive contains a 4-page foldout of the Muckraker plus a special edition cover designed by Tanner Yarro that incorporates Grimmerspace polity logos and iconography. Backers also receive digital copies of the Yarro battle maps.

• * Abattoir 8 Quickstart version, containing the first Quickstart for Starfinder by a third party and a step-by-step walkthrough of how to GM the first section of this adventure. Helpful for anyone, especially great for those new to Starfinder or new to GMing.

• * Abattoir 8 for Roll20. Includes one unlock key for the Abattoir 8 adventure content on the Roll20 platform. As seen on the Roll20 Indie Showcase actual play.

• * Three 35mm metal miniatures of the Hodrak, shock troops of the Sundermage invasion. From modeller Chad Hoverter and Effin' Cool Minis.

• A Premium slipcase that holds all three hardcover Grimmerspace books: Settings & Adventures, Xeno Files, and Adventures Vol. 1

• * PDF copies of all Grimmerspace books

• * All Digital Rewards, which includes VTT support, as well as PDFs of the "Delicious Slab of Thunk" art poster and the Muckraker ship poster, but not PDFs of the Navigation Map or the "You Keep them Working" art poster.

Not to mention pledge levels that include the Starfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook or the Starfinder Beginner box.

I'm not sayin' I'm just sayin' maybe check it out before its over?

Why do the higher reward tiers include multiple copies of the player guide? What's actually in the player guide?

Hi Ascalaphus!

Starglim has it about right: the player guide duplicates all the player option material for PCs, along with the spoiler-free setting material needed to ground a player in the world.

There are multiple copies because they are intended for the players at your table so you're not passing the Settings and Adventure book around during your game, for example.

It is not a "Player's Handbook" because it duplicates material in the main book, even though we're contemplating adding some guide only material depending on the stretch goals we reach. However, it serves much the same function.

I hope that answers your question!

Ever wonder what it was like, day to day, in Grimmerspace. Wonder no longer!

Sean Astin, Rone Barton and I show you what the nightly news looks like in Grimmerspace...

BREAKING NEWS: First Contact Established with Intergalactic Beings

Some of you knew the secret, and I've been absolutely chomping at the bit to share these. Sean spent 5 hours in the studio donating his time, and it was sheer fun to make these with him and Rone.

Doesn't matter if you love or hate our Grimmerspace project, you'll like the ending to that vid... promise.

Did we mention free drinks? Just sayin'

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to let you all know that Iron GM Games is bringing Grimmerspace to Paizocon to celebrate with you! We'll be running games, sponsoring an actual play streamed to the Paizo Twitch channel (thanks RollForCombat!), and hosting a late night party!

Myself, Greg Vaughan, and two amazing members of the Iron GM Games staff will run Abattoir 8 3-4 times per day, every day of the con (after clicking the link and arriving at the event schedule, select Organizer>Iron GM Games to see them all).

Strap on your armor, charge your environment protections, and toss some extra magazines into your backpack. They might do you some good before this all ends. With this adventure, forget heroism… can you race through the pandemonium and escape in one piece?

Can't make it to Paizocon? That sucks and we'll miss you, but you can download Abattoir 8 for free here, see what all the fuss is about, and then follow along during the actual play as we stream it to both RollforCombat and Paizo's Twitch channels.

After the Paizo Banquet, why stop the fun? Join us into the wee hours for drinks and laughs at the Grimmerspace Launch Party in Cascade 13. We'll hand out prizes, spot you drink tickets for free designer cocktails straight from the Votikun Empire, and offer a chance to schmooze with top designers.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Waiting, waiting waiting for the kickstarter.....

You will not need to wait much longer. We will announce the date soon.

MODIPHIUS named as the worldwide distributor of Grimmerspace for Starfinder! Thanks to Big Mo as we pull together an award-winning team to bring Grimmerspace to the widest possible audience! You can check out the full press release here.

You can learn more about Grimmerspace on our website, which has a vid from fellow creative developer Sean Astin hitting the project highlights.

The Jade and I are excited to announce this deal and happy to answer any questions about what this means (and doesn't mean) for backers of the project.

What is Sean Astin's involvement?

Is he just a celebrity attached to a product to generate interest?

I am pretty sure he doesn't play Starfinder as I don't think he made any mention of it in the video so I'd like to know why involve him?

I'm going to back this project either way but having a guy like that who proabably isn't a cheap addition makes me a little bit more iffy on a kickstarter.

Hi Ograx,

But you're right. Sean's time isn't cheap. Even though Rone (The Jade) and I are funding this Kickstarter with what amounts to our life savings, we couldn't afford what it costs to get a guy like Sean to do even that one vid you saw on Grimmerspace.com.

When we asked Sean to work with us on Grimmerspace, we we had this whole complicated pitch worked out, our BIG PLAN to convince him… and he said, “What are you doing? Stop. Of course I’ll help.” He cut right through it and took all our wind away. Just like that. He told us he'd help because story was worthy, because our story was worthy (his words exactly). It was pretty humbling. Sean’s just... like that.

To answer your question more directly, though, Sean is a friend of Rone’s and mine. And the three of us had been working together (and continue to work) on a totally different RPG-related project from before this one. It’s fair to say that Rone and I introduced Sean to gaming. And while, no, Sean doesn’t play Starfinder (yet), he gets gaming; he’s an accomplished director and writer in his own right; and he has an eye and heart for story like no one else. He’s also, like I said, a really incredible guy.

For Grimmerspace, Sean’s agreed to be a Creative Developer. Meaning, he will review the setting material and adventures submitted by designers, suggest adjustments, and recommend improvements; for example, “Make it cooler here and do it this way instead” or “Really? This doesn’t makes sense because of abc” or “What if we added xyz to these aliens?” Or “I don’t like that storyline, what about this one instead?” And “Wouldn’t it be awesome if…”

Sean will also identify aspects of Grimmerspace best suited to further development in other media like film and television. Specifically, he’ll help us keep Grimmerspace cinematic and suited to adaptation.

Creative Development is important. It’s one of the roles that James Jacobs fills on the Pathfinder AP line, for example, and Rone and I will also act as Creative Developers on Grimmerspace (as well as Designers). Essentially, Creative Developers are the source of feedback the designers receive after turning in their first drafts.

Sean has already given us feedback on the initial Grimmerspace material, and we’ve made adjustments based on his suggestions. And, while we have to work with him via Skype and email more often than we can get together, we expect his input will continue to improve the setting and storylines of Grimmerspace.

I hope that clarifies and answers your question?

Hey everyone,

I thought I'd take a moment to make a formal announcement here. Some of you may have heard The Jade and me talking about our upcoming Starfinder scifi-horror project, Grimmerspace, which will also help launch our company Iron GM Games.

You might not have heard we teamed up with Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings, Stranger Things) on it, that we launched a new website, or that some of our writers might be *cough* familiar *cough*.

On the site you can check out a bit of what we've been up to, catch a first look at Grimmerspace art, and watch a short video of Sean explaining the project. The Jade and I pop in briefly at the end of the vid, see if you can spot us!

We really appreciate you taking the time to check out our efforts. The site is over at: www.grimmerspace.com

Thank you,

- Lou

PS If you want to stay in the loop or be first to get the free Richard Pett adventure we'll be giving away, please consider signing up. We'll notify you when it's out. And if you like what you see at grimmerspace.com, please consider sharing the site with gamers who might like it too. Shares mean the world to us.

Lou and Rone:

How big do you think the finished main Grimmerspace book will be? how many additional tomes are planned for the Kickstarter?

Hi Jason, in part it depends on how big our backers want them to be. The more stretch goals we hit, the bigger everyone's books will become. If we fund fully Grimmerspace's core offering will include a 256pp full color hardcover setting and adventures book (50% setting and 50% short, modular portable adventures). We're currently planning 14 different adventures, one for every location in the book. It will include also include a 96pp+ full color hardcover Grimmerspace bestiary, a 32pp softcover, full-color player's guide, and up to two, full-length 48-page softcover adventures, one from Richard Pett and another from Greg Vaughan. Plus add-ons and other expansions.

Again, the more stretch goals we hit, the bigger everyone's Grimmerspace will become.

If you want to hear Sean Astin tell you more about what were' planning, see some of the art, and what we've been developing you can check it out at the new Grimmerspace website..

Hot stuff! Color me interested!

Themetricsystem wrote:

I'm not Lou but I may be able to field that question from a relative outsider perspective.

Magic is almost CERTAINLY not real in our universe but even today there are cultures that value live sacrifice in hopes to achieve personal/communal gain or wealth. Superstition and belief systems do not need to be grounded in the factual/historical reality of the setting mechanically in order for their adherents to believe that sacrifice adds value to their culture.

True, but I've having a hard time reconciling that with an advanced society that is one of the five cultural pillars of the 'no-magic' setting and squaring your approach with the whole "battle of science fiction vs. science fantasy". A culture with the mindset you're describing seems more likely to run screaming to embrace magic (with the purpose of controlling it for themselves, of course, since this is Grimmerspace).

The thing is -- and damn your unforeseen but inevitable perspicacity -- when all the crypt moons of the Emanant Spectrality align and eclipse their homeworld, the people of that Crux polity experience certain... effects... which they ascribe to the ghosts of the Elder Builders. What is actually going on? That is a setting secret to be uncovered in play, within certain adventures. And some of it we expect the sharp, wicked mind of Shanna Germain to expand upon. Is it technology? Is it magic? Are there actual ghosts? Wait and see.

Grimmerspace plans to explore 14 kinds of horror and the Emanant Spectrality lends itself to what we categorize as gothic horror. The fact that whatever has been going on there with this vanished alien race bears such a close resemblance to "magic" and feeds into their cultural fear of death and mortality, as well as their superstitious nature, makes the Emanant Spectrality of all the five Crux polities especially vulnerable to manipulation when real magic makes the scene.

Now, do we know what has really been going on with the Elder Builders? Yes. Am I going to tell you in this post. Nope. Gonna have to get the book for that. Sorry, not sorry. ;)

Louis Agresta wrote:

The Apostasy
Five aristocratic houses rule a wicked civilization of wealthy human sadists and their bio-engineered sycophants spread across the thirteen moons of a single crypt-world. The royal families of each house chase immortality in their own unique way and are always at each other’s throats. But two things unite them: faith in their inherent superiority and the annual festival of Tarthaziel, wherein they spill blood to appease the ghosts of the ancient aliens who once inhabited their home system.

Lou, all of the Grimmerspace teases sound fantastic and I'm anxiously awaiting the Kickstarter! I do have nagging questions though. If Grimmers are science-fiction and magic is new, why is one of the main Crux factions appeasing alien ghosts in a blood ritual? Wouldn't that be a culture built around knowledge of magic? That sounds straight-up science fantasy to me.

Also, are the factions described the largest Crux factions or the only Crux factions? While the factions described sound incredible, they also sound pretty specific and I'm wondering if/where less exotic(?) cultures exist (if, in fact, they do) and where core rulebook races might fit (if, in fact, they do). Galaxies are pretty big, after all.

These are GREAT questions. The Emanant Spectrality as a culture fears death. Each of their houses specializes in a different, bioscience/research approach to life extension technology. They have, in fact, given rise to an archetype, the Recombinator. A sort of biological mechanic who grows genetic experiments rather than build drones, but that's for another post.

As a whole, the Spectrality is also a superstitious culture. Living on the literal tomb-worlds of an extinct alien civilization amplifies their superstitious nature. Whether or not there was anything to that superstition before the arrival of magic in their universe is an open question; whether those who wield magic will attempt to use their superstitions against the Emanant Spectrality remains to be seen.

The five Crux polities are the major technic civilizations of Grimmerspace, but they are not the only locations from which a PC might originate. The Crux polities have all made forays into colonizing the Edge and splinter groups have also established their own independent footholds in the Edge as well. Additionally, alien races have from time to time fled the Gyre and found their home -- to varying degrees of acceptance -- within the Crux.

In the last two to three decades, an influx of new aliens have arrived, from locations unknown. They call themselves Vesk, Ysoki, and other strange names. They too have taken up residency within the thriving polities and peoples of the Gliding Rim galaxy.

Does that answer your question? If not, hit me again and we'll answer. I can also pull Rone in for more clarification!

Sure!

We expect to announce a specific date relatively soon.

We've added James Sutter and Wolfgang Baur to the team. James is writing adventures and Wolfgang's going to do some monster design for Grimmerspace.

We're giving away the first half of Richard Pett's first ever horror adventure for Starfinder before the Kickstarter and folks on our newsletter will get early access even before that. It's called Abattoir 8 and it's heading into its fifth playtest. From there to a final revision and then layout.

We've created more content than what we've discussed previously in this thread, but if there's anything in particular you want to know, just ask!

IT'S COMING!

Just an update to let folks know that Grimmerspace is swinging along behind the scenes.

Today the project forced me to research alternate uses for ungulate manure (thanks Pett) and to write these words: That said, being strapped to a chair, unconscious in Big Boy’s Murder Closet shouldn’t prove the end of player agency.

Which, frankly, aren't words I ever expected to pen in an RPG.

The Jade and I haven't been plastering the boards with our every advance toward the Kickstarter because, at this point, firm and concrete next steps seem the best thing about which to inform folks.

At the same time we do want you all to know we are full steam ahead.

Thank you all for your patience. We can't wait to pull the wrappers off this beautiful beast! More soon.

...with Owen KC Stephens as developer. Watch for more information to come later.

Wait.

Paizo, Rogue Genius, Green Ronin, Rite... does every RPG company eventually get their own Owen KC Stephens?

Are these Owens like the Clone Club from Orphan Black?

Individual units of an Owen Borg?

A single Owen in quantum superposition?

Or we're all Flatlanders and Owen is a Spacelander?

Owen is the demi-god of helpfulness, as such, he gets around. :)

Hey Rixu,

We are indeed busy at work behind the scenes and hope to announce a Kickstarter date soon.

The Jade and I have been busy turning Richard Pett's first Starfinder horror adventure into the intro to all things Grimmerspace we want it to be; specifically, and as one might expect from Sir Pett, undead revenant that he is, it took on a life of its own and is now the size of a full-on module.

We'll be giving away this adventure (or at least a substantial portion of it -- still noodling that) for free during the Kickstarter so folks can try Grimmerspace on for size and decide by gaming if it's for them. I've always thought that's better than publishers trying to explain what they've created. Like a baker trying to explain a unique cupcake flavor; better to just give you a cupcake!

I'm pretty confident that anyone who likes our general flavor of cupcake will take one bite of Pett's adventure, titled Casket of the Cull, and want more... and... okay that's about as far as I'm comfortable stretching that metaphor. Your takeway?

Richard Pett = Cupcake of Space Horror. All I'm sayin'

And with that said we've also brought in some top notch artists to showcase our vision for the Grimmerspace setting. Being top notch, they have... schedules. How dare they.

Naetheless, Casket will head into layout soon. Once it's in layout and one or two other pieces fall into place, we expect to have a KS launch date for everyone.

Thanks for checking in!

well you do missed mine but my question kinda vague for the time so is there some thing for solarians in the setting.

Ah, my apologies! I did not recognize your first post as a question. My bad. And the answer is yes, of course. There is a place for all the Starfinder classes in the setting. Moreover we've discussed some unique approaches to Solarians in Grimmerspace, but are not yet ready to release details.

Never fear: if you can play it in Starfinder, you can play it in Grimmerspace.

Gah! My apologies I missed this rixu! And apologies for the silence. Totally unintentional.

Yes, there is a lot of news. A. LOT. We've been on celebrity time (where everything takes 3-5x as long), and begun securing initial celebrity input _before_ the Kickstarter (see #7, below), so it won't all be on the critical path after people supported us with their money and are waiting for their rewards. Some of that interaction we expect to film for your viewing pleasure.

In the background we've accomplished a number of things:

1. Cut a deal with a major publisher for European distribution (details to be announced when we launch)

2. Begun developing Grimmerspace for an additional system (details to be announced when we launch)

3. Commissioned (and received) significant quantities of exciting art from amazing artists; some known and Starfinder iconic and others unknown

4. Made the decision to expand (and expanded) Richard Pett's intro/give away adventure for Starfinder into a full, 32+ page module which we will still give away for free, but now the adventure offers a taste of so much more of Grimmerspace. Play it and you'll know BEYOND A DOUBT if Grimmerspace is for you or not. This was very time consuming, but so worth it

5. Designed all the books, start to finish. TOC, lengths, etc.

6. Created our brand look, trade dress, and then our amazing layout designer, Tiara Lynn Agresta, translated that into our book design. It's amazing.

7. Wrote and distributed our Writer's Guide, which is essentially the entire core book "light" -- every corner of the setting (locations, mythology, organizations, NPCs, star nations, monsters, aliens, tech, magic, starships, you name it...) -- everything given a synopsis rich enough to ground writers so solidly that whatever they create will be inherently, inescapably, horrifically, deliciously Grimmerspace from GO. This is a crucial step that takes tremendous up front work, but saves so much time once the delivery clock is ticking

Like Grimmerspace's independent insurgent news agency, I2U, we'll be making more updates soon...

Hey all, sorry for the long absence. We've had some interesting developments in Grimmerspace. Not as interesting as Pathfinder 2.0, but I hope to have news soon!

Hi EltonJ!

Thank you, I feel that too. But, really, it's only because so many amazing people have jumped aboard. When The Jade and I decided it was time to pull trigger on our long-held desire to expand Iron GM into publishing, we expected our friends would help out a little. I mean, my friends helped me move, right, and that sucked. Why not this?

I don't think we understood how many friends -- how many professionals -- would step up to help and how much they'd pitch in! It's pretty humbling when so many people want you to succeed and, on top of it, give their time to help make it so.

Digging into the creative side, it simply caught fire for us, with more to come! I feel like the Artists and Designers on the team are high-powered jet fuel, and I'm very grateful they said yes. They all have plenty of other projects they could be working on, after all. The creative muscle they're putting behind this just astounds me. The Jade and I really can't wait to share Grimmerspace with everyone.

And it's more than Designers, of course. I like to think I've learned a few lessons over the years, but the brain trust helping us, most from the goodness of their hearts, just floors me.

Gamers are the best!

Hey all, my apologies that I’ve been away for a bit. We’ve had some exciting developments in Grimmerspace world that absorbed my attention, and we hope to announce them soon!

That said, I owe quindraco a little more about alien sophonts. For your delectation, then, an excerpt from the strange and oft times frightening… Flod.

Physical Characteristics
Averaging seven to nine feet in height Flod, at first glance, most closely resemble the fusion of the ursine Yalkhym and a head louse. However, their external sensory organs set them apart from any Crux world species. Across the Flod’s body, external sphincter-stalked eye buds pair with internally-set, retractable radio-lenses to parse minute variations in electromagnetic frequency. Six chitinous legs sprouting feathery “whiskers” suspend the Flod’s ovoid body above the ground, which permits it to shuffle with surprising speed in any direction and to change course abruptly.

Contact Guidance
Flod “culture” remains incomprehensible, as the responses and behaviors of individual Flod vary from the merely curious to the explosively hostile. On the whole, they seem to enjoy gift-giving; however, some scholars argue this behavior simply indicates a failure to understand trade. For example, Flod have been known to openly ask for valuable gifts at bizarre times, to attempt to trade for wildly inappropriate objects — such as miscarried fetuses or missing body parts — and to offer one person the possessions of another.

In the eyes of some the Flod are a conniving species of obsessive-compulsives liars, while to others they are merely unpredictable violence engines. A pet theory of Netocracy xeno-anthropologists suggests inexplicable Flod behaviors reflect their failed attempts to mirror a Crux civilization they barely understand. Or in other words, their behavior is an attempt to mimic us.

However, when dealing with the Flod everyone — from Netocracy academics to Votigan Marines — accepts one fact: humanoids must never wink at them. For unknown reasons, the Flod view winking as a heinous offense. Accidental winks have sent more than one Flod into mandible-clashing, blood-thirsty murder frenzies. Blinking is fine.

Finally, Flod often adorn their shimmering black and silver-veined exoskeletons with decorations: metal piercings, lengths of coiled cloth, rolls of duct tape, whorls of pastel-hued paint, trinkets, and literal garbage hang and swing from hooks fixed directly into their carapaces. While what induces a Flod to weld or bolt a particular piece of debris to itself remains a debated xeno-biological mystery, all Flod operating in Crux space sprout a common piece of equipment: the Flod Smile-Screen.

Communication
Because they "speak" a language comprised of subtly-fluctuating high-wavelength electromagnetics and complex limb positioning — all riddled with metaphorical allusions to a non-Crux mythological history — Flod have great difficulty communicating with humans. To better interact with their fellow sentients, the Flod augment themselves with cyberware Smile-Screens. These are flat-screen monitors, bolted above and behind their heads, that identify Flod emotional states via icons and issue simple voice translations through built-in speakers.

Flod Speak
Flod are deeply proud of their ability to communicate with other sentients, but their translation technology functions like a “Common Crux Phrases for Dummies” book — plagued by programming errors. For example:

•Flod always loudly enunciate "Greeting!" when entering or leaving a room— even when inappropriate, such as during violent military actions.

•Flod do not understand social niceties and cannot differentiate between males and females; thus, they often default to broad racial terms. For example ”Human” as in "Captain Human,” "Broken Human,” or "Old Human."

•Once a Flod learns the name of a particular being, they will use it at every opportunity; for example, once they have met “Jim,” all Humans who look like Jim are called "Jim-like,” "Small Jim,” or "Jim Family.”

•Flod struggle to conjugate verbs, especially when posing queries; for instance, they will ask "May I having?” or "Will you leaving?" or "Are this breaking?"

•The Smile-Screen renders all Flod emotions transparent. A happy Flod, including at the prospect of killing you, will wear a bright and chipper digital smile.


Common Flod expressions include:
•“This Flod has found great liking in your (object)! Is may having?" (a polite suggestion to hand over the object)

•"Cannot understanding, what is?" (admission of confusion, a request for you to reiterate or rephrase your statement or query)

•"Now is violence-action?" (a hostile suggestion that violence is imminent)

The Netocracy seems like a pretty good place for heroes to come from too. I mean the only thing they demand is your dreams! You're not doing anything else in your sleep anyway right?

So another question. This does seem to be a very tech vs magic setting. So what space is there for people who want to use magic? Is it even possible? Are they heavily distrusted special agents like psykers in 40K? Or something else?

You're right. The Netocracy and the Thriftic are, as quindraco put it, both pretty egalitarian and both places for heroes to come from. I think of the Thriftic as a sort of CG/Han Solo-ish/Firefly/except-not-like-that-at-all place. All hustle and bustle.

The dreaming gods of the Netocracy demand slightly more than your dreams. They demand experiences from your conscious life that they then harvest from your dreams. I think that's more interesting because it leads to gameplay where the Netocrat in the party says, "We have to visit the Brax museum." And the party says, "We have to visit what? Why?" "If we want answers, we have to visit the museum, or at least I need to." I feel the RAW for characters from the Netocracy supports players who want to develop unique concepts with fun-to-play eccentricities.

Side note: a Brax is a cyber enhanced piranha-lizard used like a junkyard dog, primarily on Gylorr. The lizard thing perched on the severed hand at our registration page is a Brax. If you look closely you'll note the exocortex protrusions around the head and neck.

Okay, magic. Plenty of space for using it. To begin with, in the EN World article we mentioned the sci-fi universe of Grimmerspace sits on the cusp of an invasion by not-quite-human epic level mages.

I don't want to reveal too much (yet), but these mages and their warship erupt into the Gliding Rim Galaxy through a massive purple tear in the spacetime-continuum just past the Edge. This rip is called the Seethe.

It's the source of magic, so we made it a new Source of Magic for Mystics.

Additionally, magic has been leaking into the galaxy so technomancer's are popping up as well.

The conceit is simply that magic is new, poorly understood, and more than a little frightening if seen in the wrong light. On some worlds magic might be mistaken for a new kind of tech. It might simply be hidden. Among some it's accepted as a "knack" or respected openly as a skill. In other quarters magic might bring on the pitchforks and torches. It varies. It is, however, not usually something discussed on the news or over dinner merely because knowledge of magic is not common knowledge. It's special.

Without going overboard, we'll be providing new spells and spell lists with a decidedly Seethe+Grimmerspace flavor.

Finally our epic mages, in their quest to conquer Grimmerspace, start by building a 5th column amongst the star nations of the Crux. To these Agents of the Seethe they grant special, magical powers. You never know when those folks will pop up or what they'll dish out.

Ok so I gotta ask: you are waving around some really big names, to what extent are they involved? Like are they just kind of putting their stamp of approval on things? Are they just funding it? Are they contributing passages? Did Sean Astin and and Wesley Snipes sit down over mixed drinks after their weekly Pathfinder game and say, "Know what? WE need to write a campaign setting!" and hammered out the manuscript and style guide.

(And that post probably came of far snarkier than it should have- genuinely interested in this)

Snark is good—no worries. And of course! An entirely reasonable question. You had a lot packed in there, so let me hit things one at a time.

To start, neither of them is funding the project (I wish!). Nope, all funding comes from Rone, myself, and our company Iron GM, LLC. We’ve been preparing for years and are very excited to finally launch Iron GM Games.

We’re also humbled that so many people want to help us succeed through Kickstarter. Celebrity involvement, the success of Starfinder, and the willingness of top designers to join the team and pitch in have all combined to help us offer a deeper, richer product line from the get go—another thing for which we're thankful.

I hope to get Sean Astin and Wesley Snipes to game together. That would be amazing! To the best of my knowledge they’ve never met; however, we’re still planning what podcasts and/or video casts we’re going to invite them to join. We’re talking to a lot of people about this, so please stay tuned!

Wesley Snipes is a gamer, I don’t know how regularly he plays but I know he plays. My understanding is Pathfinder among other systems. The amazing BJ Hensley made the introduction for us, and we presented him with aspects of the Grimmerspace setting we thought he’d like.

Sean is a friend of Rone’s and mine, and the three of us have been working together on a different RPG-related project for a few years. It’s fair to say that Rone and I introduced Sean to gaming. Sean’s an accomplished director in his own right, of course, and has an eye and heart for story like no one else. He’s also a really incredible guy.

Both Sean Astin and Wesley Snipes have agreed to act, effectively, as Creative Developers. Meaning, they will review the setting material and adventures submitted by Designers, suggest adjustments, and recommend improvements (for example, “make it cooler here and do it this way instead” or “really? this doesn’t makes sense because of abc” or “what if we added xyz to these aliens? Or that storyline? Wouldn’t that be awesome?”). Being who they are, they’ll also identify which aspects of Grimmerspace might be suited to further development in other media (TV, movies, who knows).

Creative Development is pretty darn important. It’s one of the roles that James Jacobs fills on the Pathfinder AP line, for example, and Rone and I will also act as Creative Developers on Grimmerspace. Essentially Creative Developers are the source of feedback the designers get after turning in their first drafts.

Sean and Wesley, like all the Designers and Contributors, will be invited to the online Grimmerspace message board I’ve set up for the team, and we’ll all work together on the project. Realistically, Sean and Wesley have more demands on their time, so Rone and I will probably wind up feeding them material more directly, depending on scheduling.

That said, while both might choose to expand their involvement (it’s just a question of availability), Wesley Snipes has also agreed to write on the project as a Designer (we’ve assigned him a word count and everything!). Grimmerspace introduces a new class, an off-the-grid alien hunter, that he intends to write, along with an underground organization of suspicious origin that supports these mavericks.

More on the class and the organization soon!

More info on the Crux nations would be great. Who are the 'good guys'... or maybe more accurately which nation would be the focus of the initial introductory adventure you expect new players and GMs to start off with?

Azih, I promised you summaries of the remaining three of five Crux nations. I think you'll see that, while heroes can come from any Crux nation, traditional heroes more likely come from the Thriftic Binary or the Votigan Star Kingdom.

Here they are:

The Apostasy
Five aristocratic houses rule a wicked civilization of wealthy human sadists and their bio-engineered sycophants spread across the thirteen moons of a single crypt-world. The royal families of each house chase immortality in their own unique way and are always at each other’s throats. But two things unite them: faith in their inherent superiority and the annual festival of Tarthaziel, wherein they spill blood to appease the ghosts of the ancient aliens who once inhabited their home system.

Thriftic Binary
Every subculture of the Thriftic Binary—the master roboticists of Fazhur, the Endless Mall vendors on the merchant moon Diliff, the pawnbroker cities of Sediven, even the many infamous galactic salvage companies roosting on the junkyard world Gylorr—coexists in relative tranquility. They Thriftic Binary is a smoothly running clockwork held together by the unifying philosophy of Thrifticism, which venerates the virtues of recycling, salvage, practicality, and stable commerce above all. The worlds of the Binary are the go-to spots to pawn goods, find robotic devices simply not sold elsewhere, or to purchase ship repairs, upgrades, entire recycled spaceships, and other equipment on the cheap. If you can't afford originals—go Thriftic!

Votigan Star Kingdom
The Votigan Star Kindgom is founded on two peoples who inhabit different planets within the same solar system: the Kundarans, amphibious humanoids from the lighter-gravity water-rich world of Kundara, and the Voti, squat and swarthy heavy-worlders from a mountainous, smoking planet plagued by volcanism. When the alien Benefactor uplifted the Kundarans from the oceans to the stars, it surprised them to find their neighboring planet inhabited by a people that they, in turn, could grant the skies. After generations of cultural integration, the unified Votigan Star Kingdom has expanded deeper toward the Edge than any other civilization, and of all the Crux kingdoms it is their militaries—the Kundaran Royal Navy and the Votigan Marines—who remain the most vigilant against threats coming over the Edge from the Gyre. Their motto: "Until the Torch Goes Cold."

Louis Agresta wrote:

Does that answer your question?

Thanks, that definitely tells me a lot more about what's going on!

I'm curious about the Gyre. While anything escaping from it is going to be very alien, with entire civilizations coming out of it, there must be stories coming out of it, too - the peoples from there must at least sometimes bridge the social gap and communicate with the locals. Can you add anything more about that? Have any Cruxers ever interviewed any Gyrites?

Ah... excellent. And insightful. Most of what comes out if the Gyre -- if its even detected -- is monstrous in nature. It's been a LONG time since an entire starfaring civilization fled the Gyre. Until now. Your PCs will have the opportunity to interview the next Gyrites to emerge and to ask them, so what exactly did you say was chasing you?

They're called the Hodrak, and they're one of the setting mysteries and bad guys that make a brief appearance in Mr. Pett's intro adventure. They originate on a world rich (we'd say poisoned) in heavy metals, which they chelate into their bone to form an alloy. The bone is tended as it grows like a bonsai, creating armor plates. The warrior caste carves theirs like scrimshaw to indicate tribal rank and accomplishment. But that's all I want to reveal about them just yet.

Except, we got excited and made a metal mini of them (all costs on that prepaid, so it can't negatively impact the Kickstarter), we already have the green in hand, and we're thinking about giving a few away. I'm pretty sure we can get The Jade to unlock his paintbox and do one up, too.

Louis Agresta wrote:

Air0r wrote:

Blade in space? Playable space vamps? Wait those aren't really questions... I suppose neither is Space Umbrella, even if i add a question mark to it, lol.

Space Umbrella? We could make a Space Mary Poppins class... I suppose... If you really want that? *scribbles notes* mutter mutter... whatever they want mutter mutter

Will the class let you murder armies by whistling? :3

OH MY G-- ...er... mutter mutter... whatever they want mutter mutter

Perhaps blowing up Drift drives by whistling then making airlock doors pop open? Don't want to be too "Guardians of the Galaxy" derivative!

Blade in space? Playable space vamps? Wait those aren't really questions... I suppose neither is Space Umbrella, even if i add a question mark to it, lol.

Space Umbrella? We could make a Space Mary Poppins class... I suppose... If you really want that? *scribbles notes* mutter mutter... whatever they want mutter mutter

If anyone has more questions, please ask away!

The information on the pages linked to in this thread are relatively sparse on the nature of the Gliding Rim galaxy. Other than the very basic concept of there being a war on between extragalactic magic-loving definitely-not-invading aliens and definitely-not-xenophobic tech loving locals, what can you tell us about the setting, Jade?

A heroic marine defending us all against a magical terrorist.

Hi quindraco, Lou Agresta here. The Jade's partner-in-crime on Grimmerspace. I thought I'd pop in with a few answers as the Jade has low availability today (though he'll be back soon).

To start, I'm not sure if you saw the EN World article? The Jade got into it a little deeper there. EN World on Grimmerspace

But I'm thinking you want more on what you'll encounter in Grimmerspace, right? We're keeping most of those details close to the chest until nearer the Kickstarter so as not to get scooped, but let me drop what I can...

To begin, the Gliding Rim galaxy is shaped like a vortex and divided into three parts: the Crux, the Edge, and the Gyre.

The Crux lies at the top center and is where humanocentric civilization resides. Specifically, we're starting with five new and distinct star nations from which player characters can choose to originate. These include: the Thriftic Binary, the Netocracy, the Attien Combine, the Apostasy, and the Votigan Empire. The Votigans themselves consist of two different peoples: one from a water world, and one from a volcanic, heavy gravity planet. Generally speaking, in the Crux expect caper or political adventures; here’s where you’ll join or run afoul of powerful organizations; hunt or be hunted by bounty hunters; acquire missions; uncover (and thwart) conspiracies; outfit a ship; defeat alien infiltrators; establish a home base...

If you like, you can see (and download) wallpaper art for Ransumerr, capital of the Netocracy here from the amazing Leon Tukker. You can take a look just by visiting the link, but you have to sign up for our mailing list to download the wallpaper. By the way, we’re also going to send everyone on that mailing list Richard Pett’s first ever Starfinder adventure (written exclusively for Grimmerspace) for free, as an introduction. Actually everyone is going to get his adventure for free, but mailing list people get it first.

Back to your question: these Crux polities have their spheres of influence, their rivalries, their politics (internal and external), and even wars; but together they are the member-states of a civilization forced to peaceful coexistence by threats from the outer void. Threats that at this juncture in history they largely (and mistakenly) consider “under control.”

As you push out from Crux civilization across the top of the vortex, you approach the Edge. The closer to the Edge the darker, more dangerous, more strange things become. It’s away from the Crux and toward the Edge that adventurers can expect to play out movies like Alien, Aliens, Pandorum, Event Horizon, Resident Evil, Pitch Black, etc. etc. Of course, we deliver all new adventures — stranger, darker, and original to Grimmerspace — from writers like Pett, Vaughan, Bulmahn, and the rest of our team! I’m just quoting movie titles as shorthand for the kinds of weird and dangerous things you might find out there.

Its toward the Edge that you’d expect to uncover (or smuggle for) illegal research laboratories; defeat (or carry) DNA-morphing plagues; stumble across the ruins of alien civilizations and revive (or battle) their ancient, mothballed fleets; track down dangerous new technologies; run supplies to ill-fated colonies; perhaps even encounter the strange and powerful new energies that the superstitious call ‘magic’. Of course, along the way you’ll grow phenomenally powerful and wealthy, possibly establish your own star nation—and as a general rule save the galaxy. That sort of thing.

It is fair to say the history of Crux civilization is the history of pushing out from the center, expanding the safe-zone controlled by the Crux nations, and inching toward the Edge. Still, space is vast, and the outer Edge of the Gliding Rim Galaxy remains firmly outside Crux control.

Toward the Edge the unknown—alien and otherwise—lurks, hunts, impersonates your family, stows away on your ship, devours your pets—or just eats and replaces you. Or at least it tries.

Speaking of death by devouring, let's talk about the Gyre. Over the Edge the Gliding Rim Galaxy twists down to form the Gyre. To visualize this, imagine the arms of a standard spiral galaxy pulled down, as if by massive gravity, twisting all the way. These twisted arms form the “below” of our vortex.

Explorers do not return from the Gyre, at least not still sane, but things do come out of the Gyre. Mysterious and incomprehensible powers, mind-dominating monsters, armies. In recorded history, whole alien peoples have fled the Gyre, poured over the Edge, and crashed against the walls of Crux civilization. Some conspiracy theorists believe alien invasions from the Gyre already succeeded, and Crux citizens just don't realize that alien powers live among them — rule them, even. Others go so far as to claim that the Benefactor of Kundara — an alien power considered responsible for uplifting the Kundarans from ocean-dwellers to spacefarers and eventually launching the Votigan Empire — originated in the Gyre. Maybe they're right.

It is a fact, however, that of all three zones in the Gliding Rim Galaxy, the Gyre remains unexplored. You can download a jpeg of the Gliding Rim galaxy here, if you like. It's a fine art piece by our cover artist Jean Brisset that shows the whole shebang at a glance.

And now, of course, a strange anomaly colors the night skies just past the Edge. Crux world astronomers have detected a purplish light among the stars where none previously existed. What is it? Most in the Crux — even the Votigans who live closest to the Edge and keep the most vigilant eye on the Gyre — remain unimpressed. The Grimmers of Grimmerspace have handled everything the Gliding Rim has ever thrown at them, expanding ever outward despite every conceivable alien horror. Surely they’ll handle whatever that faint purplish color represents—if it represents anything at all. The five star nations have sent scientific expeditions to investigate, of course. None have reported back, but that’s okay. They’re not overdue… Yet.

Does that answer your question?

I think my reading from the first Interface Zero novel is right after this, so I might be able to attend!

THAT WAS AWESOME!

Thank you!

For those of you who enjoy podcasts, Pathfinder, and live play: in this here podcast I get interviewed on the awesomeness of Paizo, Golarion, and Razor Coast.

Then I get to run the inestimable Satine Phoenix through the opening to a Razor Coast adventure by Richard Pett titled "Angry Waters." It's one of four in Heart of the Razor, for which we won an Ennie.

Live play starts around min 36:00.

I highly recommend the Pathfinder version of Interface Zero, currently in BETA.

Which means its currently free. :)

(Full disclosure: I'm writing a novel set in this world so I may be a teensy biased.)

Excited to hear your thoughts, Mr. Agresta!

(My level 8 PCs just killed Dalang Jalamar in a brutal ambush below Beacon Island, so I might have time to keep in mind your reflections...)

That's a great opportunity to...

They should absolutely be able to play quirkier characters, especially at higher levels. Do you have Heart of the Razor? Those are some great add-on adventures.

Hmmmm...Kickstart a Year of Reviews. Get 3PPs to donate product he can give away in the kickstarter? Including future products?

Just noodling at the wall to see if anything sticks.

Jason Nelson, if its not too forward of me, I just want to say *leans in, whispers* I like your pirates!

The last straw for my party was the outcome of

** spoiler omitted **

I blame Greg.

:/

Oh, for those of you using Garr Bloodbane's map, I have a suggestion about additional information to release.

That should help. My player's got hung up on locating the land location.

My group was so peeved and jaded by the plethora of Garr Bloodbane Treasure Maps (TM) that when the real one floated their way they remained convinced it was just another scam.

Getting dressed for the Ennies. Butterflies in my stomach. Wish us luck!

I'm super stoked because I'm finishing up my novel set in this world!