The Pathfinder-compatible Sovereign Stone Campaign Setting Core Rulebook is now available in PDF at the Paizo Store! As well, the Bestiary of Loerem and Codex Mysterium. You can also get all three in the Starter Bundle at a great price.
Since game has gone through a few incarnations, from an original game system through d20 3.0 to 3.5, and the last iteration is almost 10 years ago, please indulge me as I stroll down memory lane and elaborate a bit :)
Sovereign Stone is an epic tale of the struggle over a god-granted artifact meant to bring peace but incited a war among brothers instead. The world, Loerem, is created by renowned master fantasy artist, Larry Elmore, and the story has been told in a novel trilogy from HarperCollins by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman. We, Timeout Diversions, decided to resurrect it last year for a Pathfinder adaptation in a kickstarter. It got funded in under 8 hours.
For the Pathfinder edition, it received several new twists. All core classes are now available to characters, with Noble as a new class; Archer, Mounted Warrior, and Sailor as archetypes; Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, and Ranger getting new interpretations for their magic.
The races are rather unconventional as well. Elves are patterned after the Feudal Japanese. Dwarves are akin to the Mongols of the past who marauded much of Asia. Orks are superstitious sailors but also has a gift for technological inventions.
All old editions featured a fan-favorite magic system, one that is decidedly non-"Vancian". Instead of asking new players to learn a new system, however, we decided to keep the conventional Pathfinder spellcasting but also installed a conversion of that Casting Threshold system as an alternative. So if you want your spellcasting flexible and unpredictable, your mages powerful yet still covet grunt protection, this is it!
We plan to release supplements too. "Taan: Scions of the Void" is the first, tentatively in July, followed by "Dwarves: Marauders of the Wolf", "Old Vinnengael: City of Sorrow", "Dunkargans & Karnuans: Kingdoms of the Sword and Stars", "Elves: Winds of Intrigue", and "New Vinnengael: Empire of Might". Future sourcebooks are on the drawing board as well, including "Orks: Tides of Fate" and "Dominion Lords & Vrykyl: Champions of Light and Darkness".
That's a long-enough rambling... Hope I've given a sufficient overview to pique your curiosity and interest. The floor's now open to your comments and questions, so please fire away!-)
Tony Lee
Timeout Diversions
I have a few questions. Numbered for ease of reference.
1) With the Loerem magic system were there any pushes to have It's balance conform to the the balance of the rest of pathfinder or is it balanced assuming just Loerem options?
2) How are Dominion Lords/Vrykyl going to work? Will they be archetypes (Paladin/Antipaladin) base classes, Prestige classes or something else?
3) Are Taan in the Core Campaign Setting book or do we have to wait for that?
4) Are there races other than Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Taan, and Half-Taan?
5) Anybody working on a Death Gate Cycle Pathfinder book? Seriously.
6) Are elements still relevant and will they be racially subjective?
7) How transplantable are the mechanical rules? (can I easily use the magic system and classes into a homebrew setting.)
8) Will you release adventure books? If so would they play out the events in the novels or take place after?
9) Do deities work any differently?
10) Are there new options for existing Pathfinder core and base classes such as domains, bloodlines, and discoveries?
Hi Malwing,
1) I would say it's about equal parts regarding balance toward either Loerem and Pathfinder. You can still use nearly all Pathfinder spells as they are, while some, like "Magic Missile", get an "elemental effect" overlay (i.e., Air, Earth, Fire, Water, or Void) corresponding to your Elemental Sorcerer/Wizard class. Others, like "Beast Shape", have restrictions (you don't have access to it if you're a Fire Sorcerer/Wizard, for instance, since there are no "fire" animals). The magic system is based on Pathfinder, but with a distinct Loerem/Sovereign Stone slant. (A good case in point is the removal of "Raise Dead" and "Resurrection" spells, since only the gods can do that in Loerem.)
2) There are templates for both Dominion Lords and Vrykyl that give them both core and elective powers (which will be featured in a future sourcebook). On top of that, they are also Mythic characters using rules from "Mythic Adventures," as shown by the sample characters in the "Champions of Light and Darkness" chapter.
3) Taan are mentioned with stats in the "Bestiary" chapter of the Core Rules, and half-taan is a PC race in the "Races" chapter. "Taan: Scions of the Void" is the first sourcebook tentatively scheduled for July release, and will go into great details about both taan (including character creation) and half-taan.
4) Yes. There are the pecwae, a PC race, in Core Rules. Humans have about four or five cultures/ethnicity to choose from. I believe the "Bestiary of Loerem" book has rules for using certain humanoid creatures as player characters.
5) You know, that would be an interesting project. Sadly, not far as I know. (Maybe I'll suggest that to Margaret & Tracy...)
6) Yes, they're still relevant and racially subjective (probably more so in Pathfinder magic than in previous d20 versions!)
7) I believe so. The new archetypes shouldn't be any more difficult than any existing archetype to adapt, and if you don't like how clerics cannot heal (since that's purely the purview of Earth mages) or they now use spell-like abilities, just drop that and use standard Pathfinder clerics. And since there are two options for magic/spellcasting (one based on conventional PF, one adapted from prior d20 iterations), you can easily pick and choose which one's best for you. Even the new options for Hero Points should be a breeze to port over to any campaign.
8) We plan to release "Adventure Anthology", a compilation of as many previously published and new adventures we can get our hands on :) They'll likely all take place during the events of the novel, but we'll strive to include post-novel options as well. We've had discussions about a supplement of different post-novel story arcs, so stay tuned!
9) Not from the prior editions. The novels really go into specific detail about the deities, so currently Codex Mysterium has the most information as to their names, worshippers, etc. It is also possible we expand on the gods and religions in a future sourcebook. (Old Man Larry has a LOT of stories to tell!)
10) Yes on domains (for clerics) and bloodlines (for sorcerers). We opted to stick to just the Pathfinder Core Rulebook for the Campaign Setting book (except in the case of Dominion Lords and Vrykyl, which we felt was unavoidable). So there are admittedly no rules or conversions for classes such as the alchemist and witch right now.
And today, fresh off the press is Taan: Scions of the Void! Don't miss these alien, savage, enigmatic invaders of the Sovereign Stone world. Learn all about their unique stone enchantments and Void-worshipping ways in this 132-page sourcebook here on Paizo!
Taan is the first in a long line of supplements to come for Pathfinder-compatible Sovereign Stone. Dwarves: Marauders of Wolves, detailing the mounted raiders in the Dwarven Territories, is tentatively scheduled for release in July. We intend to support the game with a full line of sourcebooks and supplements, so you can "buy in" with confidence!
A new core class from the Sovereign Stone Campaign Setting Core Rulebook, the Noble, is now a new free web enhancement for Pathfinder! A noble in Sovereign Stone is more than just a courtier, aristocrat, or politician, she can inspire others to greatness in battle and, if necessary, to sacrifice themselves for her...
Noble Class wrote: Most cultures in Loerem institute a clear division between commoners and the noblesse. Wealth, education, power, and privilege are available to those born into noble or royal families. Along with these benefits, though, also come the responsibilities and duties of titles and ranks.
One usually identifies nobles by affluence and its trappings. Early in a noble’s career, he begins acquiring cohorts and followers to do his bidding — more so than other classes. A noble generally dresses in the finest clothes, drinks the finest wines, and surrounds himself with the luxuries only a privileged few can afford. The noble understands the often-dangerous games of intrigue played in the aristocratic and royal courts, and is adept in the subtle arts of information-gathering, blackmail, and character assassination.
Nobles are generally found in cultures ruled by monarchs with a stratified caste system. The noble Houses of the elves of Tromek, the royal courts of the humans of Vinnengael, Nimorea, Nimra, and Dunkarga have all given rise to aristocracy. In contrast, chieftains, shamans, and elders are the closest equivalent to nobles for dwarves, orks, and pecwae.
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