WE NEED YOU! A few months back, we took the first steps toward organizing a group to playtest new material for Aetaltis. The group is up and running now, and I want to invite you to join us.
The space is limited, but if you sign up soon you shouldn't have a problem. You'll get first access to new Pathfinder compatible game material, sneak peeks of Aetaltis art, early reader access to new fiction, and info on upcoming products.
We want your feedback, ideas, and input! What works? What doesn't? What do you want more of? How can we get even better?
And if you're looking for info about the fiction we'll be having you pre-read (including stories by Michael Stackpole, Larry Correia, Dave Gross, Elaine Cunningham, Bill Willingham, and more) check out the anthology Kickstarter going on now!
We have REALLY big plans for Aetaltis and a lot of amazing people working with us including Mike Schley, Amanda Hamon Kunz, Steve Long, Eric Lofgren, and more! We hope you'll join us at the beginning of this new world!
In this phase of the plan to bring Aetaltis to life, we're putting together an anthology of short stories set in the world we introduced in the Pathfinder compatible sourcebook, The Heroes of Thornwall
Here is the official press release...
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Heroic Fantasy Anthology Assembles Dream Team of Authors The finest authors in science fiction and fantasy band together to bring a rich new fantasy world to life. May 18, 2015—Ann Arbor, Michigan—Seventeen of the greatest science fiction and fantasy authors working today have come together to bring a new fantasy world to life in CHAMPIONS OF AETALTIS, an original heroic fantasy anthology from Mechanical Muse LLC.
Fans will be in for a treat when the completed anthology is released at the end of 2015, since the contributing authors are a veritable who’s who of the fiction, comics, and game industries. The confirmed list is a who’s who of New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors, along with Eisner Award and Bram Stoker Award winners, and includes Michael A. Stackpole, Elaine Cunningham, Larry Correia, Cat Rambo, Bill Willingham, Jean Rabe, Lucy A. Snyder, David Farland and many more. These authors, with more than a hundred published novels and several hundred published short stories among them, will ensure that readers find a treasure trove of top quality, pulse-pounding fantasy stories inside.
“It’s amazing to have so many fan-favorite authors in one book,” said Marc Tassin, creator of Aetaltis. “It’s going to make for an incredible collection of stories.”
The Kickstarter for the project takes flight on May 18th, although many of the stories have already been written, and work on the book is well underway. The anthology is a first for Mechanical Muse, but they’ve recruited a team of seasoned professionals to help put the book together. With one successful Kickstarter already under their belts (for the Pathfinder RPG-compatible sourcebook The Heroes of Thornwall, also set in the world of Aetaltis), the successful completion of this ambitious campaign will also be a huge win for both Mechanical Muse and fans of fantasy adventure.
Among the industry pros on board is award-winning editor John Helfers. During his sixteen-year tenure at Tekno Books, the largest commercial book packager in the nation, Helfers worked with many, bestselling authors and co-editors, including Charlaine Harris, Tom Clancy, Mercedes Lackey, and Kevin J. Anderson. He’s edited more than one hundred anthologies for major publishers such as DAW Books, Tor, Baen, and many others.
“I’m thrilled to be part of this project,” said Helfers. “Aetaltis is an amazing fantasy setting, and the authors that are bringing it to life are some of the best around. It also helps that Marc and his fantastic team are putting out some of the best-looking published work I’ve ever seen.”
The Kickstarter campaign for CHAMPIONS OF AETALTIS launches on May 18th and runs through June 23rd. For more information about the campaign and the world of Aetaltis, visit www.aetaltis.com/fiction .
For media inquiries, please contact: Melanie Meadors, Publicist, melaniermeadors@gmail.com .
About Mechanical Muse LLC
Mechanical Muse was founded by Marc Tassin to bring joy, hope, excitement, adventure, enlightenment, and inspiration to everyone who daydreams of fantastic worlds beyond our own. Its created fantasy world, Aetaltis, is the first world in an interconnected universe of immersive new settings that people can interact with and explore. For more information, visit www.aetaltis.com
Want to win a hardcover copy of the Heroes of Thornwall plus a tavern battlemap from Mike Schley? Now is your chance!
This is a special version of this contest that I'm only running here. This is the only place where I'm offering the 22"x28" battlemap, something I'm not offering anywhere else.
Here is how you can enter!
1: Download a copy of the Heroes of Thornwall PDF from DTRPG. (It's Pay What You Want so the price is right!)
2: Post a comment on this thread telling me something specific you liked, didn't like, or want to see in the next book.
3: On Friday (5/8) @ 10 PM EST I'll randomly choose one name from everyone that posted a comment here about the book, and I'll send that person a PRINT HARDCOVER copy of the book plus the POSTER MAP.
Get extra chances to win!
Want some extra chances to win? Tell a friend to enter as well and have them mention you in their post. I'll put your name in an extra time for each person that says your told them about this.
Why Am I Doing This?
Obviously getting the word out is important to any small publisher, but more importantly I'm prepping my next project and I'd really like to get feedback on this one. Hearing what you liked and want will help me a lot!
The Heroes of Thornwallis now available on DTRPG! This is my first complete Pathfinder compatible book, and I'm extremely excited about it. Please take a look! I'd love to hear what you think!
Ok - so here's the official blurb!
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Goblins are loose in the hills surrounding the town of Thornwall, and Mayor Thane has learned that no reinforcements are coming from Downbury Castle. You and your intrepid band of heroes are the only hope for this harried hamlet. If you cannot defeat the goblins and seal whatever Deepland hole they crawled from, Thornwall is doomed!
The Heroes of Thornwall campaign starter provides you with everything needed to launch your campaign. Inside you’ll find:
An Introduction to Aetaltis: Discover Aetaltis, a fantastic new campaign setting where stalwart heroes fight to protect the people they care about from the rising forces of darkness.
The Town of Thornwall: A detailed town environment for your fantasy campaign. It includes a full map, detailed building descriptions, equipment lists, and a rich supply of exciting adventure hooks.
The Green Briar Tavern: A classic fantasy tavern where the party can relax after a long day at the dungeon! It features a color map of the tavern, an authentic medieval menu, recipes for making the cook’s specialties at home, and various tavern games.
The People of Thornwall: Stats for 20 non-player characters you can use to populate your town, including constables, farmers, merchants, priests, tavern staff, and woodwards.
The Temple of Modren: A heroic Pathfinder® compatible adventure for 4-8 1st Level Characters. Delve into the Deeplands and face the dark power of the Endrori as you begin your quest to save Thornwall!
Plus five pre-generated characters, new rules for goodwill character rewards, and much more. It’s everything you need to start your campaign off right and support it for many adventures to come.
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Finally...I really need to tip my hat to a few people. Special thanks to Mike Schley for his incredible maps, Amanda Hamon Kunz for her work on polishing up the Pathfinder rules for the adventure, Steven S. Long and John Helfers for their work on editing, Shawn King for covers, Mitchell Malloy for art, and Michal Cross for his incredible layout! This book is what it is because they're all awesome!
Meanwhile, now that this is out the door we're starting work on an anthology of short stories set in Aetaltis called Champions of Aetaltis. It includes stories from Richard Lee Byers, Larry Correia, Elaine Cunningham, Erin M. Evans, David Farland, Ed Greenwood, Dave Gross, John Helfers, Steven S. Long, Mel Odom, Jean Rabe, Cat Rambo, Aaron Rosenberg, Lucy A. Snyder, Elizabeth Vaughan, and Bill Willingham!
But we have lots more planned, and we'd like to get your help to make these products even better. We're looking for everything from quick feedback ("That's great!" "I don't like that!") to actual playtesting of the new material.
Want a peek at the type of material we're putting together?
If you like the looks of what we're putting together and you'd like to help us make it even better, please use the link below to sign up and let us know.
NOTE: I hate spammers. Do you hate spammers too? Good! We have that in common. By signing up at the link, all you'll receive is information about playtesting and nothing else. And it's all through MailChimp so it's easy to unsubscribe.
The first product from the Kickstarter campaign I ran in May is now available!
It's a Pathfinder Compatible adventure called The Temple of Modren, and you can get it now on DriveThruRPG.com!
The PDF is just $4.99 and the PRINT + PDF combo is only $9.99.
If you aren't familiar with the product or the project, here is the executive summary for the adventure!
Goblins are loose in the hills outside of Thornwall, and the town is under attack! With the nearest royal guard post more than three days ride to the south, you and your stalwart companions are the only hope for this harried hamlet! You must defeat the goblins and seal whatever Deepland hole they crawled out of or Thornwall willbe lost.
The Temple of Modren includes a 44-page Pathfinder Compatible adventure that introduces you to the amazing World of Aetaltis. Use one of the ready-to-play Aetaltan heroes or bring your own character as you and your companions descend into the monster infested ruins of the Deeplands!
Some pretty amazing people helped make this possible, including Mike Schley (cartography), Amanda Hamon Kunz (Editing), Steven S. Long (Editing), and Mitchell Malloy (art). In the end, we think it turned out pretty great.
And there are more Aetaltis products to come, so please let me know what you think of the first World of Aetaltis product!
You can also learn more about the World of Aetaltis here.
The Temple of Modren Free Preview went live on DriveThruRPG today! The final version of the stand-alone adventure will be out later this month. Thanks again to everyone here for your support during the Kickstarter! This is just a first step, but it feels great. And special thanks to Amanda Hamon Kunz, Mitchell Malloy, Tiara Lynn Agresta, Steven S. Long, and Mike Schley for their stellar contributions. Thank you!
It is with great pleasure that I present to you, the winner of the first ever Stand Along Industry Giants Create a PC Contest (you have to do your own drumroll here). Presenting...
Scott Janke!
Scott, aka Curaigh here on the Paizo Boards, sent in a fantastic character! Scott told the tale of a young dwarf woman who dreamed of being an adventurer. Her parents, talented tailors from Callios, decided that there was only one way to get those silly dreams out of her head: they banished her from their home to live a year as an adventurer!
Scott's full write-up, the character's stats, and more will be revealed in the near future, and you'll love what he put together as much as we did.
And thank you to all of our entrants. As I may have mentioned, the hardest part of the contest was choosing just one winner!
Now, that other thing... TWO DAYS! That's all we have left to finish unlocking 13 Aetaltis stories by some of the finest fantasy fiction authors alive! Michael A. Stackpole, David Farland, Mel Odom, Ed Greenwood, Larry Correia, and MORE!
Not to mention the full color 136 pg Temple of Modren Campaign Book that we already funded, the Adventurer's Guide to Aetaltis online reference that we just announced for backers at ADVENTURER and higher, and the soon to be announced poster map add-ons (oops...the JUST NOW announced add-ons I guess! Watch for them on the site tomorrow!)
Hey, everyone! I'm Marc Tassin, game writer and coordinator of the Gen Con Writer's Symposium, and I need your help with my ongoing Kickstarter project, World of Aetaltis: The Temple of Modren.
This project offers a complete, 20,000-word Pathfinder-compatible module, the Temple of Modren, to any backer who pledges $1 or more (seriously, the text is available on the Kickstarter site NOW!). More importantly, though, Temple of Modren serves to launch Aetaltis, the fully realized campaign setting that has been my personal project for the past 15 years.
We're aiming high with this public launch of Aetaltis -- meeting the Kickstarter's stretch goals will secure short stories from industry giants such as Ed Greenwood, James Sutter, Dave Gross, Michael A. Stackpole, and many more amazing folks, plus art from THE Larry Elmore. And we want YOU to become involved in this project, too!
Create an Aetaltan Hero Contest!
Although we have 99 percent of the work done on The Temple of Modren, we need to add one more pregen PC into the mix. Through May 23, I'm accepting submissions of concepts for a 1st-level PC who hails from Aetaltis. This PC would be a playable character in the Temple of Modren. PM your submissions or send them to me at contact@aetaltis.com.
On May 23, I will choose the winning submission, and on May 26 I will announce the winner!
The Prizes
In addition to working with our project staff to develop your character, the winner will receive these GRAND PRIZES:
Your character appears as one of the ready-to-play Aetaltan heroes in The Temple of Modren.
You get the original art used to create the character's portrait.
You are named as a character designer in the book's credits.
You receive tickets to the Aetaltis Kaffeklatche and the Aetaltis Breakfast at Gen Con 2014 in Indianapolis.
You receive a personalized copy of the Aetaltis Writer's Guide -- a nearly 200-page reference document that brings the world of Aetaltis to stunning life!
PLUS a 4-Day Pass to Gen Con 2014
All you need to do is submit your character concept to me by midnight EST on May 23.
To help get your concept started, here are a few details about the fantastic world of Aetaltis.
Aetaltis details:
Playable Races
The primary playable races in are a mix of traditional fantasy and unique Aetaltan races.
Atlan (human): Strangers from another world, their ancestors were trapped on Aetaltis when the arcane gates to their homeland were destroyed in a mystic cataclysm.
Cheebat: Small and wiry, the cheebat are clever negotiators, devious planners, and vicious adversaries. They arrived as stowaways with the first atlan colonists.
Drothmal: The savage drothmals are a physically powerful race of noble barbarians. They hail from the Icebound Plain, and they live and die by the sword.
Dwarf: The dwarves were driven from their homes in the Deeplands when the gods locked Endroren and his Dark Hordes beneath the surface of the world. To this day the dwarves blame the gods for their heartache and dream of retaking their Deepland homes.
Elf: The elves are the eldest of the fey races. They ruled Aetaltis during the Age of Magic, but today they maintain an isolated existence far from civilized lands.
Fairy: These tiny fey are less than two feet tall and possess delicate, insect-like wings. They are intensely curious, filled with energy, and insufferably cheerful.
Halfling: Halflings value the simple pleasures of home and they dislike change, but every so often a halfling is born with a bit of the "old blood" in him and gets the urge to go adventuring.
Newardin: The enigmatic intellectuals known as the newardin are the strange beings who operated the arcane gates that brought the Atlan Enclave to Aetaltis.
Orog: The monstrous brutes known as orogs were brought to Aetaltis by the Atlan Enclave to serve as the fist of the Enclave military machine.
Scythaa: Quick and cunning, the reptilian race known as the scythaa live as nomads, scraping a meager existence from the unforgiving desert of the Scythaan Wastes.
Sprite: The three foot tall race of fey known as sprites have a deep, arcane bond with the natural world. They are adept at handling animals of all types.
Primary Regions
The primary regions characters might hail from are:
Callios: In the bustling city states of Callios, wealthy merchants compete for notoriety in an ongoing parade of pomp, pageantry, and excess.
Halfling Dalelands: Thanks to the presence of an ancient dragon, the Halfling Dalelands is the only region that was not overrun by Endroren’s hordes during the Age of Darkness.
Free Provinces: Founded on the dream of a peaceful land of free kingdoms, today the Provinces are a quagmire of land disputes, hereditary conflicts, and greed fueled ambition.
Malador: Malador is situated on the rocky, windswept coast of the Sea of Storms, and the dwarves who make their home there are as cold and hard as the land they live in.
New Erinor: New Erinor is the shining star of the Sea of Tears basin. Blessed with wise rulers and good fortune, it embodies the hopes and dreams of everyone in the region.
Port Vale: The city-state of Port Vale is ruled by Mayor Blythorn Blackwick. His thinly veiled underworld loyalties support the city’s slave markets and gladiator arenas.
Selenthea: Selenthea is a bustling metropolis on the edge of civilization. It is ruled by wizards, protected by an order of valiant mercenary knights, and troubled by a secretive guild of thieves and assassins.
Finally, a little backstory to help set the stage for you!
Aetaltan Loremaster wrote:
For thousands of years, the Warders of Alantra maintained the divine seals that kept Endroren’s hordes locked in the Deeplands, but when a cataclysmic disaster shattered the Enclave’s world gates, the ancient order was destroyed. Three-hundred years later, the seals are failing, and Endroren’s hordes have returned.
Ask Us Questions! Have more questions about Aetaltis? Need some vital piece of information to get your character concept just right? We want to know! Post any and all questions about your character concept or the world into this thread, and we’ll reply! Thanks for your consideration!
The World of Aetaltis: The Temple of Modren The first Kickstarter for the World of Aetaltis launched today, and I hope you'll check it out! After less than a day we're half-way to our initial funding goals, so it looks like we're already heading for stretch goals! The purpose of the Kickstarter is to launch this new world, and create a brand new realm for game designers, authors, and artists to build fantastic new products!
The Temple of Modren
The core product we're releasing is a Pathfinder Compatible adventure for 4-8 1st Level characters called The Temple of Modren.
The Gamemaster wrote:
Goblins are loose in the hills, and the town of Thornwall is under attack! With the nearest royal guards posted more than three days ride to the south, you and your stalwart companions are the only hope for this harried hamlet! You must defeat the goblins and seal whatever Deepland hole they crawled out of or Thornwall is lost.
The adventure is already written and edited, and anyone who pledges any amount can download the text-only draft of the adventure today. A fantastic group of industry pros contributed to the adventure, including Steven S. Long (of HERO System fame), Amanda Hamon Kunz (freelancer on over a dozen Paizo products and the developer and editor of Deep Magic from Kobold Press), Mike Schley (cartography), Mitchell Malloy (lead artist), and Universe M (logos and additional illustrations).
And since most of the work is done on this, our first Stretch Goal is to release the electronic version of the finished adventure for FreeRPG day on June 21st!
The Green Briar Tavern and the Town of Thornwall
Our next stretch goals bring you two additional Pathfinder Compatible books. These two books provide great new adventure sites you can use in your campaigns. The Green Briar Tavern is the quintessential fantasy watering hole, and it features a host of ready-to-play characters and NPCs. The Town of Thornwall provides you with a full town, complete with maps, townspeople, descriptions of local businesses, and adventure seeds.
Aetaltis Story Packs and Tavern Expansions
Once the Town of Thornwall and Green Briar Tavern are unlocked, we give you a series of fantastic stories set in the World of Aetaltis. To write these stories, we tapped some of the best authors in the industry, including:
Plus, with every new story we add, we'll take a character from the story, stat them out, and add them to the Green Briar Tavern.
Print Anthology and Cover Art by Larry Elmore
Once we unlock all the stories, the next step is to unlock a mass market paperback print run of the anthology. To top it all off, Larry Elmore has agreed to create a new piece for the cover of the book.
We Need You!
To make all this happen, we need your help! Please check out the Kickstarter, and if you like what you see we'd be honored if you'd back our project! And please let other people know! Word of mouth (electronic or real world) is the best way to get the word out on these projects!
And if we pull this Kickstarter off, I promise a steady stream of great new Aetlatis Pathfinder Compatible products, stories, and more!
