Hey everyone, it's D, and I'm so hype that you're going to be on this crazy ride with me this month. Feel free to drop questions here, or tell me what you're most excited about for this campaign.
I'll be going live today at 5:00pm EDT on the Onyx Path Twitch to play Chrono Trigger and chat with folks about the campaign. Feel free to join me and celebrate launch day!
At day 2 we are at 550% of our funding goal! Thank you so much for your excitement around this project!
We created a poll to see what our community thinks about the deck artwork for The Oracle Monster Generator. Weigh in on your favorite deck artwork at the bottom of this update.
The poll closes just before our next livestream so check it out before Tuesday morning!
Shout Outs
Here are some projects from our friends that we think you'll be interested in:
My name is James, and I’ll be your Onyx Path Crowdfunding Concierge for this new tabletop roleplaying game project - At The Gates. I’ll be updating the campaign as we go, hopefully adding Stretch Goals, answering questions, and providing support wherever needed as best I can.
I’ll note that I’m not part of the creative team on this project – so I won’t be able to immediately answer some of the more intricate rules or design inquiries – but having me manage this Crowdfunding campaign allows Danielle and the whole team of developers and writers to keep their focus on the awesome projects that they’ve got in the works.
That said, feel free to make me your point person for any questions or issues you may have. I'll make sure to dig up answers as quickly as possible and clear up any issues that arise. Mostly, I'm just looking forward to an exciting ride along with all of you on this (and future) projects.
This comment section is for all members of this community – united by our shared desire to see this project fund and develop – to cheerlead the project and figure out how best to spread the word about what we’re building here. If you’ve started a thread on whatever social media platform exists today or a Discord conversation about the game or this campaign – let me know about it so we can share that info. If you’ve discussed the game on a blog or podcast, let’s hear about it! If you’ve got funny ideas for social media hashtags, well we can do those too!
I will also be the person who gets to share the updates and previews with you! As noted on the main page and in the pledge descriptions, I also get to share an exciting treat –The At The Gates Draft Manuscript previews, so you can start reading the book immediately! Scroll down to the bottom of this post on the website to see the first BACKERS-ONLY update for a download link.
So, welcome to Crowdfunding by BackerKit! Welcome to the world of Gaia, the continent of Everend, and At The Gates! And now let’s see what waits for us on the other side of the gates …
International Shipping – Collected in the Pledge Manager
One quick note about Shipping before we get into the manuscript previews.Â
First up, it's amazingly expensive to ship, especially from Onyx Path's home base in the US. We get that, but there's not much we can do at this time. Onyx Path is in a difficult space where the company is big enough that they're not saving money by fulfilling out of Rich's garage, but small enough that they can't really set up international partners to handle portions of the fulfillment. So we are where we are - for now.Â
The best we can do at this point is to plan carefully, advise everyone up front that international shipping will likely be expensive (see our projections on the main page) and only charge what it costs us when the time comes. We’ll be charging for shipping in the Pledge Manager once the books are being printed and we can deal with the actual shipping charges rather than using our best-guesses this far out. If you live outside the US and aren't sure you want the hardcover or other physical items, you can pledge to the PDF tier now and upgrade your pledge in the Pledge Manager once we know the final shipping costs.
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT PREVIEWS - BACKERS ONLY
Remember, thanks to BackerKit magic, these download links are visible to Backers only - you must be logged in and reading this on the website to have access to the manuscript preview links. So, if you're reading this via e-mail, click that "Read The Update" link on the bottom and I'll see you below the title treatment.
WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK
I'm going to be sharing the manuscript in sections over the next 30 days, Part of the reason for that is to keep focus on one section at a time so that Danielle and the team can gather feedback to help guide the manuscript through the next steps of editing and development. To that end, they've created a special Feedback Form for you to submit your comments after reading each section!
Backers have access to the first two chapters from the draft manuscript for At The Gates, and we'll get the next two chapters on Tuesday May 14. But who wants to wait until then to see some of the fun stuff that we'll get to play with?
It' sounds like it's time for a Sneak Peek!
But first! Let's celebrate our first Stretch Goal achievement!
ACHIEVED! -At $32,000 in Funding - AT THE GATES Storyguide Screen - A three-panel Storyguide Reference Screen with charts and information for running a game set in the lands of Everend will be created and offered as an Add On to any hardcover reward tiers for +$25.
SNEAK PEEK!
MAGES
In Gaia, the term mage denotes someone who had dedicated their life to the study of magic. While everyone can utilize Gaia’s magic in their everyday lives, mages don’t just use magic, they seek to understand it and the very fabric of existence. A mage is a scholar first and foremost, open to learning everything they can about the world, how it works, magic, the gods, and the nature of all things. In this, they develop a strong affinity for the magic of the world itself, able to wield the elements or take magic apart at its roots.
Abilities
Anyone who takes a special interest in magic and its nature is bound to learn how to not only wield it, but also control it. Mages learn the Art of Control early in their career, which allows them control over magical elements. This art is both physical and mystical in nature, giving the mage the ability to enhance her magic, and the magic of others. The Art of Control is one of focus and determination, allowing the mage to infuse her magic into everything she does.
Mages learn from one of two schools of magic, either to manipulate the world itself and the elements that make it up, or to manipulate magic itself. Those who concentrate on learning about Gaia, Outlands, and the nature of the magical world tend toward the Pillar of Elementalism, learning to create, destroy, and hold both those things in balance. They harness the generating forces of the world and turn them to their own designs. An elemental mage can conjure the elements to perform a variety of tasks from building fortifications from earth, creating a healing spring, or bringing down lightning. They also learn to manipulate time and fate, which holds all things in balance.
Mages who study the fundamental elements of magic itself instead learn the Pillar of Transformation. With it, they can manipulate magic to change the world around them, often affecting immaterial objects and constructs, giving them life, making, and breaking them, and even changing themselves to fit any situation.
Organizations
While mages clearly delineate themselves into two groups, scholarly and wild mages, there are few formal organizations built up around the profession. Mages are too headstrong to listen to anyone other than an archmage tell them what to do, and so they don’t even try.
That said, many mages have strong ties to the community that taught them. Wild mages aren’t all loners who experiment wildly. The most famous group are from Clan Mistwalk in Caparanite, who have a tight-knit community of generational mages. They are secretive of their magical ways, but those who leave their lands are conversant in magic that can only be found in the Outlands. Rumors state that their affinity for shapeshifting comes not from learning about the nature of magic and the natural world, but instead from the Void itself. Of course, there’s no foundation for these rumors that anyone can see.
Mages who study within an academic setting find that their colleagues are lifelong allies. No matter where they came from, or where they move to, those allegiances tend to ignore national borders. When Vitrumaria summoned daemons to attack Invesse, they refused to share their research with outsiders, marking the first time this tradition had ever been broken. Many mages who trained in Vitrumaria feel betrayed by their once friends, and blame President Hollister for the separation.
Mage Role
Primary Role: Damage Secondary Role: Investigation Physical Might: low Magical Might: high Defensive Ability: low Healing Ability: low Mobility: medium Leadership: low Intrigue: medium Investigation: high
Why Play a Mage?
Play a mage if you want to be a scholar who experiments with magic, be a battle mage who wades into a fight wielding the elements, be a crafter who infuses magic to make legendary items, have control over the very elements of the world, be able to make and unmake magic, or just really like being a know-it-all with a great deal of power to back it up.
WARRIORS
No matter where you come from in Everend, you’re expected to learn how to defend yourself against monsters, beasts, and void tainted creatures. Even the highest nobility has some training with a sword. A warrior isn’t just someone who has trained but has mastered the sword and all other weapons. They are in their element when armed, though are equally as skilled when carrying nothing more than the clothes on their back. A warrior isn’t just someone who fights well. They have trained in a variety of brutal attack styles and can easily switch based on the situation. If a warlord is an army’s commander and tactical mind, the warrior is the army’s right arm, as good as a hundred trained soldiers when in the heat of battle.
Abilities
Warriors are weapon masters trained in a variety of fighting styles and martial arts to ensure they can pick up anything and be a deadly force. All warriors use the Art of Might , which teaches them not just how to fight, but to be a whirlwind of damage in combat. They can set their sights on an opponent and goad them into one-on-one combat, then unleash a barrage of attacks that leave them staggered. They train with ranged weapons to maximize their output, allowing them to shoot further and with more deadly accuracy than any normal archer. As they learn deeper parts of the art, they can even summon their weapon to their side through magical attunement.
Warriors don’t just learn to wield a weapon, they learn to become one with their weapon, treating it as an extension of themselves. They specialize in the Pillar of Transformation, which allows them to perfect both themselves and their weapons, or even just create weapons out of nothing but light. Some warriors prefer the Perfection Block as their Keystone, allowing them to keep their weapon in pristine condition regardless of the stresses they put it under. Others choose Metamorphosis to allow them to dominate the battlefield by weakening opponents and changing to meet any situation. Finally, those warriors who focus on Transmogrify do so to let their weapon loose to fight on its own, or make or destroy weapons on a whim.
Community Role
People have two views of warriors depending on where they come from. Either a warrior is a representative of a nation’s military, and they should be feared for what they are capable of. Otherwise, a warrior is a home-grown hero, who protects their friends and family from outside dangers. These are extremely simplistic views of what a warrior is and can be, but it’s the common trope.
When people first meet a warrior, they might be wary of who she works for. Is she a mercenary for hire? Is she a noble’s personal bodyguard? Is she part of the army? If she proves herself useful, those concerns seem to melt away. Most people are happy to have a trained warrior nearby if a problem arises, no matter who they work for. Then again, cut-throats, thieves, or established mercenary groups might see a new warrior as a threat to business and try to run her out of town or kill her if they think she’s overstaying her welcome.
While most people in political positions tend to be warlords or harriers, warriors easily slot into leadership roles through dent of might. In Caparanite, warriors are valued as leaders over all other professions, regardless of how tactically minded or smooth talking someone might be. Warleader Tristan Beard is a warrior of great renown, and he earned his title through combat prowess. Of course, he would be a fool not to listen to a warlord’s council, and is smart enough to keep council with the other clan leaders and pay them mind.
Warrior Role
Primary Role: Damage Secondary Role: Support Physical Might: high Magical Might: low Defensive Ability: medium Healing Ability: low Mobility: medium Leadership: low Intrigue: low Investigation: medium
Why Play a Warrior?
Play a warrior if you want to be an elite fighter, be able to take on multiple opponents at the same time, focus on having a single cool weapon that changes and grows with you, fly into a furious rage of metal and death, be a knight of the realm, or protect those you care about most.
This is just an excerpt from Chapter 3, which covers the Professions your characters can take in At The Gates. We'll get the whole manuscript for this chapter (along with Chapter 4) on Tuesday.
On Sunday, we'll get another sneak peek looking at Heritage and Upbringing, two other important Paths in building your characters.
Until then, please continue to spread the word to your friends and friendly gamers and let's see if we can't unlock a Stretch Goal or two while we journey across Everend!
 At $36,000 in Funding - AT THE GATES Bookmark Set - Need something cool to mark your place? We'll have a set of six At The Gates cardstock bookmarks offered as an Add On to any hardcover reward tier for +$15.
Welcome to the campaign - the journey will be short but intense! We created this update primarily to welcome you to the campaign and to let you know that we value communication with our backers. We'll keep the number of updates reasonable, but you'll be hearing from us often - feel free to ask us anything.
Since you're here, would you mind telling us what is the MAIN reason you backed the game? You can tell us more in the comments section - this will help us fine-tune what we share with you as the campaign progresses.Â
Well, we're just smashing through Stretch Goals in these early days! We've just knocked through our second target!
ACHIEVED! - At $36,000 in Funding - AT THE GATES Bookmark Set - Need something cool to mark your place? We'll have a set of six At The Gates cardstock bookmarks offered as an Add On to any hardcover reward tier for +$15.
It may take me a little bit to get the new Add On set up and running, but in the meantime, let's look at our next set of Stretch Goals!
As we increase the overall funding and support for the project, we’re able to add additional resources to the project, expand the rewards listed, and add in new offers and opportunities. Each Stretch Goal will have a target that, once reached, will add a project to the reward list for backers of the relevant Stretch Goal path. Whenever we achieve a stretch goal, the image will be updated to reflect the achievement.
At $40,000 in Funding - AT THE GATES Companion - More On Professions and Arts - The At The Gates team will create a small Companion PDF containing more information on each of the Professions and new associated Arts (special Professional techniques). All backers receiving the At The Gates PDF as one of their rewards will have the Companion PDF added to their rewards list as a bonus!
At $43,000 in Funding - AT THE GATES Digital Wallpaper - Awesome At The Gates artwork will be used to create a wallpaper for your computer desktop. This digital wallpaper will be added to the rewards list of all backers supporting this project.
A few more Stretch Goals to act as guide posts and milestone markers along our journey! While I enjoy the standard Onyx Path celebratory Stretch Goals like the digital wallpaper, I'm especially intrigued by the Companion PDF which will have more information on Professions and their Arts! New Content!! Love it!
Please continue the great work we've done so far - share this campaign with your friends and friendly gamers! And let's keep it growing and going!
We're live, folks! Thank you for your support, but don't forget to get the word out - share it everywhere and get your gamer friends and contacts on board! Get your gaming group excited about a sci-fi campaign and get them to bid! The faster we fund, the faster we can raffle off those AA books AND start knocking down stretch goals!Â
Also, let's get some conversation going here! What's your favorite genre of sci-fi? What do YOU want to do with 13p at your table? Mix it with Wasted Lands for science fantasy? Go Aliens with it and mix with Night Shift? Or just go pure sci-fi - cyberpunk, post-apocalypse, space opera, hard sci-fi, or something else?Â
It's been 24 hours since we launched, and we have:
Funded the campaign (yay!)
Unlocked the expanded version of Widmar's Destiny, the Quickstart Scenario, which will now be printed in the Book of Eclipse, with more scenes, narrative forks, and more pregen characters to choose from.
Unlocked FREE Alchemy RPG VTT support for all backers, so you'll be able to easily play games online when the module becomes available.
Not a bad start!
We have several other things that we hope to feature, including… has anybody said Solo Mode? Yep, that will unlock at 30 000€!
However, we know for a fact that the best way to tell people about the campaign is for them to hear about it from a trusted friend.Â
Besides, we can't reach every corner of the Internet without your help, so please don't take it for granted that someone else will do all the sharing :) (imagine me pointing like Uncle Sam right now, we need you, pls)
Sharing the link with friends and fellow players on online and offline communities is the easiest way for YOU to get the best game we can make.Â
Introducing the Twilight Spears
One of the things we wanted to do with this campaign was to take a mercenary company through the four seasons of the game with our backers. Whatever the outcome, we'll include it in the Core Book of the game as something you can use at your table.
Here's how it will work: Over the course of 4 different updates, we will tell the story of a Company called Twilight Spears, led by two siblings who are unable to find common ground. After the story bit, you'll be able to vote on what happens next. Whichever option wins will be the basis for the next season. Are you ready? Let's get started.Â
INTRO
The Twilight Spears are a notorious mercenary Company serving the Republic of Dormas, led by two siblings, Jared and Kyra Dyer. Brother and sister are like day and night: Jared is calm and thoughtful, while Kyra is bold and impetuous. The two inherited leadership of the Company from their father, who died a year ago during the bloody battle to retake Widmar.Â
Jared and Kyra compete for the absolute leadership of the Spears, but never escalate to an actual duel. At least until now...
The Twilight Spears - Season of Blood
[Note: The Season of Blood is the part of the campaign where a mercenary Company takes steps toward a greater goal.]
Fifty-seventh year of the Sun, third day of the fifth month: the Twilight Spears are stationed in Widmar, just outside the walls. The situation is not the best; the Iron Giants, the most feared Company of all those serving the Erenwald Empire, has just completed a major encirclement maneuver, locking the Spears in a deadly grip.
As the front line of the Twilight Spears is being torn apart by the Giants' armored infantry, Jared and Kyra find themselves faced with a crucial decision:
Jared's choice:"Let us surrender and bargain with the leader of the Giants. The salvation of the Company in exchange for the secrets we have learned about our employer's defenses. We will be accused of treason by the Republic of Dormas, but with good mediation the Giants will integrate us into the ranks of the Erenwald Empire. They will certainly want to avoid any leaks."Â
Kyra's choice:"Surrender is not an option, the only hope is a desperate charge to smash through the center of the enemy ranks and take out their leader. It will be a massacre for us, but the few survivors will go down in Republic history for their heroism, and with the reward we will rebuild the Company."
Voting will be open for the next 24 hours only!
Reminders & other notable things
Some of our community members are setting up a Valraven game to try out the Quickstart. Jump on our Discord and let us know if you're interested in joining.
