Update #7: Stretch Goals! Races! Jim Groves!
about 11 years ago – Tue, Jan 20, 2015 at 05:15:56 PM

We’ve just posted some updated stretch goals! We’ve heard what you've been asking for, and we've come up with some great options to make Skybourne the best it can be. And so, without further ado, we'd like to announce Hero Lab files, a Jim Groves adventure, and an entirely new 4th book!

$20,000: Hero Lab

One of the things that is most requested for any Pathfinder supplement these days is Hero Lab files, and we’re happy to say that at $20,000 we will add them to Skybourne!

$25,000: Jim Groves

At $25,000, we'll be adding a 1st-level adventure to Andrus: The City of Men to help introduce adventuring parties to this unique setting. And if that weren't enough, this adventure will be written by none other than Jim Groves!

For those of you who don’t know Jim by name, you probably know the long line of Paizo products he’s worked on: People of the Stars, Occult Mysteries, The Half-Dead City from the Mummy’s Mask adventure path, and Demon’s Heresy from the Wrath of the Righteous adventure path just to name a few. Jim has been producing some of Paizo’s best adventures for years, and we can’t wait to see what he’ll bring to the world of Skybourne!

$30,000: 4th Book!

We are very, very close to hitting the $12,500 stretch goal, which will greatly expand the airship combat rules and ship customization options in the Player's Guide to Skybourne. However, many backers have expressed the opinion that just one expansion isn't enough; they want even more airship options, so much so that it could be its own separate book! After working out the logistics, we've decided this is entirely possible.

At the $30,000 level, we'll be adding a new, 4th book to the Skybourne line produced by this kickstarter. Building off of the Player's Guide, this book will be filled with nothing but airship designs, airship magic items, vehicle customization, optional air combat rules, and more to help you get the absolute most out of your Skybourne adventuring.

We'll have more information for you when we've moved closer to unlocking this goal, but we wanted to let you know a few logistics upfront: Every backer who pledges at the Adventurer level ($35) or higher will get a PDF of this 4th book as part of their reward. We've also created a new $100 "Ultimate Collector" level; any backer of this level or above will also get a physical copy of the 4th book as part of their reward. This book will also be made available as a $25 add-on ($10 PDF) for anyone else interested. The Ultimate Collector level also gets a copy of the Andrus map, so it's perfect for those who want to get a piece of everything.

Race Survey

We’ve gotten the results of the survey, and can announce that the clear winners are the Alraune, the Created, and the Tatulani! This means they will be joining the Leshy, Cecaelia, and Sidhier as the new races for the Player’s Guide. 

Thank you to everyone who voted and helped us see what you were interested in. This sort of feedback helps quite a bit when it comes to making sure each book is as good as it can be.

Thanks,

Adam

Update # 6: $10,000! Maps and Races
about 11 years ago – Sun, Jan 18, 2015 at 04:02:45 AM

Thank you all so much! 

We just broke the $10,000 stretch goal, and Andrus: The City of Men will now come with a gorgeous hand-drawn map. This map is also now available printed on a 27x18 inch high-quality piece of canvas for those who want a durable, portable map for their personal use.

A Note on Add-Ons

In our previous update, we mentioned that physical add-ons could only be taken by those with a reward tier that includes physical books. Upon further reflection we've realized that's not actually the case, and so we wanted to let you know that anyone will be able to take whatever add-ons they want. International backers who do not select a physical reward tier may be asked to pay for the shipping on their add-ons.

We'll have more updates soon with expanded stretch goals and other information, but first we wanted to pass along some more information regarding the new races from our first stretch goal.

New Races

The $7,500 stretch goal added three races to the Player's Guide. As we've discussed things, however, we've found we have more than just three candidates, all of which would make a great addition to the book. As always, we'd love to hear what you think.

We've posted a survey here, where you can let us know which of the following races sounds most interesting to you:

The Alraune: Just as the world was adapted to the forest, the forest has adapted to the world, giving birth to species that are a mixture of both. The alraune are a race of humanoids literally born out the forest; unlike the Leshy that are plants that act humanoid, the Alraune are true humanoids born from plants. Curious and eager, the alraune are as multi-sided as the plants that spawned them, and for every alraune that inherited a tree's strength or a flower's beauty, there is another that inherited a rose's thorns or a fly-traps taste for flesh and blood.

The Cherufe: The Cherufe are a race of dinosaur men, similar to the catman, kitsune, and the other beast races previously released by Paizo. With strong hides, powerful jaws, and an affinity for magma, the Cherufe emerged along with the forest as a new race (or as some of them claim, an old race rebirthed). The Cherufe have emerged in alarming numbers, carving out territory through brute strength and ferociousness. While they may be new to the world stage, many already fear the Cherufe, which is just they way they like it.

The Created: The created are a race of artificially-crafted humanoids, similar to the warforged of other settings except crafted biologically instead of technologically. The created are a race born of magic and the need for soldiers and subjects in the new world order, yet the numbers in which they have been created has worked against their creators, allowed them to forge their own identity as a people. While many may still live as slaves, others have broken free from bondage, heading off to forge their own paths among the skies. The created come in many forms, but all of them bear the markings of the purposes for which they were crafted, as well as the hands that did the crafting.

The Spawn: Everything has been forced to adapt to the new world, even the dead. The Spawn are a race born of Andrus, where the living and the dead have been forced into unprecedentedly close proximity. Whether born from unlikely coupling or as necromantic experiments to adapt unlife to the new world, the spawn are a half-breed race similar to the half-elf and the half-orc, drawing strength from both the world of the living and the world of the dead without being truly at home in either.

The Tatulani: The Tatulani came to the world through great planar gateways just before the  cataclysm of the forest. Alien and insect-like, the Tatulani came from a world beyond most people's understanding of plane and planet, only to find themselves trapped in the aftermath of the destruction of the old civilizations. The Tatulani in many ways are physically similar to the Thri-Kreen of older editions, and represent a powerful-yet-lost people. While many have simply made their homes in the new fallen world, others take to the adventuring life in hopes of finding a way back to their old home hidden among the ruins on the planet's surface.

Thank you all again for helping us reach this point!

Adam

Update #5 Andrus: The City of Men
about 11 years ago – Fri, Jan 16, 2015 at 03:26:37 PM

At the time of this writing, we are $500 away from unlocking the next stretch goal and adding a hand-drawn map to Andrus with a canvas print add-on. It's time for us to tell you a little bit more about this eclectic city and its denizens.

Andrus

When those with the power to do so lifted towns, cities, and even small nations into the skies, they left enormous craters in the planet's surface, which stretched so deep into the bedrock that even the forest couldn't grow there. In one of these craters, bordering the sea on one side and the forest on the other, sits Andrus.

Andrus is the last holdout of the lost surface world; what began as refugees trading with the merfolk for food became a beacon for the displaced, until finally it became the trade capitol of the new world. Andrus attracts creatures from the sea, the surface, the air, and the underground, and every traveler and adventurer finds their way to Andrus eventually. Every creature type can be found in Andrus, whether they've come to trade goods, look for work, or simply disappear among the hundreds of races and thousands of cultures that make up this sprawling metropolis. 

The following are just a few of the landmarks that make up the city of Andrus:

The Mer-Quarter: Part of Andrus sits in a newly-formed protected bay, perfect for sea-elves, merfolk, and other sea creatures looking to trade with the land-dwellers of the city. Sea trade is the primary source of food in Andrus, and while the transformation of the planet affected the water as well as the land, the nations of the sea-folk are relatively intact which, when combined with their new trade relationships with the land, makes them one of the most powerful political groups in the city.

The University: Magic-users of every tradition have come to Andrus both to preserve their own knowledge, and to delve what knowledge adventurers have brought back from the forest. The University is the largest set of structures in Andrus, housing all the collected learning the denizens of the city have managed to salvage from the old world. The university employs adventurers of all stripes, and both students and staff alike can be found delving the forest to reclaim what they can of the past.

The Undead District: Not all of the city's denizens are counted among the living, and along with the mortal races came a variety of liches, vampires, and other intelligent undead to the city in search of food. While some of these creatures live as hidden gangs feasting on the poor and defenseless, others have taken up open residence in the city, using their mindless undead to construct palaces that rival even those of the old world. Neither the living nor the dead have the power to dominate the other, and even attempting to do so could destroy themselves (or in the case of the undead, their only source of food). Thus, the two groups exist in a state of cold war, with the living forcing the dead into segregated areas of the city, and the dead building their influence and power by buying corpses and blood from the retched poor while selling their knowledge and power to the University.

Dragon Alley: Andrus houses creatures of all forms, and more than a few dragons have been forced to the city looking for food and a new home. Some of these dragons have even found themselves forced to descend to the level of selling what magical services and trinkets they could salvage from their old hoards in exchange for their own livelihoods. In Dragon alley, adventurers can find magic of all sorts for sale as some of the world's most powerful creatures do business in a world grown too small for them.

The Druid Border: Even those creatures who've made peace with the forest have found themselves in need of the services of Andrus, and druids, barbarians, plant creatures, and others often come from the forest to do business in the city. Anyone who enters Andrus from the surface world must cross the druid border, where what began as a scathing hatred has become an unusual partnership, with druids working to keep the forest out while bringing foods, furs, and other forest goods into the city.

Hand-Drawn Map

If we meet the $10,000 stretch goal, we’ll be adding a hand-drawn color map to the book. The artist in question is rather skilled, and the following is an example of a map she's done to show you what you can expect from the Andrus map:

As for the Andrus map, it will be colored and made available printed on canvas as an add-on, so I must say I'm rather excited about this addition to the project!

Thank you all so much for helping us get this far. We’re a little over a week down, and already smashing stretch goals!

We're working on a few more stretch goals to bring you, including Hero Lab files. We've also heard a few people discussing whether or not they'd like a 5th-ed. conversion of the books, with opinions falling on both sides. If a 5th-ed. conversion is something you'd like to see, please let us know in the comments on this update, or if there's something else you'd like to see from us as a stretch goal. 

Thanks,  

Adam

First Stretch Goal Down!
about 11 years ago – Tue, Jan 13, 2015 at 10:29:58 PM

Today we passed our first stretch goal! The player's guide will now be featuring 4 new races, and much more Spheres of Power integration!

Thank you all to everyone who's helped us reach this point, it means a lot to us to have this much support. Next time we'll bring you more information on Andrus: The City of Men.

Update #3: We're Funded, and Stretch Goals!
about 11 years ago – Mon, Jan 12, 2015 at 12:54:39 AM

We’ve crossed the $5,000 mark! We even crossed the $6,000 mark! Thank you all so, so much for helping us reach this point, it means so much to us to have your support.

And now, it’s time to talk about stretch goals!

Stretch Goals

Far and away, the most requested stretch goal has been expanded support for Spheres of Power. And so, for our $7,500 stretch goal, we’ll be significantly increasing the book’s Spheres of Power support: more archetypes, more casting traditions, and other integration with the Spheres of Power system. And, for those who won't be using the book with Spheres of Power, we'll also add three additional races to the mix for your gaming pleasure. 

We’ve also been talking to a very talented artist/cartographer to create a gorgeous custom map for Andrus at $10,000, which will also be made available printed on high-quality canvas as an add-on! We’ll have more information on that at a future date, but it’s something I’m rather excited about doing for the project.

For $12,500 we’ll be further increasing the Player’s Guide, this time including parts for ship customization and expanded combat rules, and last but not least, at $15,000 we’ll be doing a full-color upgrade for all three books!

Add-Ons

Some of you found out about this kickstarter through our previous product, Spheres of Power. For those of you who didn’t, Spheres of Power support has been so far the most-requested stretch goal, as we mentioned above. As such, we’ve decided to make Spheres of Power available as an add-on for those who weren’t there for our previous kickstarter, but would like a copy of Spheres of Power for their gaming tables! (Note: this option is only available for backers gaining physical books, and is not available for digital-only reward tiers.) 

We are also making Wizard’s Academy, our upcoming second publication for Spheres of Power, available for interested backers. Wizard’s Academy is a hardcover book that includes both an adaptable adventure module and a bestiary, both designed for use with Spheres of Power.

Final Note

As a final note, there was one thing that was recently brought to our attention. The Journeyman level was added after the beginning of the kickstarter, and I just realized that it’s placement in the reward lineup makes it seem as if the next level, Adventurer, gains 1 physical book. I just wanted to let people know that the Adventurer tier is a purely digital tier, and does not involve shipping of any kind.