Frank Mentzer has spoken a little more about his upcoming Worlds of Empyrea Kickstarter, due to launch on October 2nd for 5E and Red Box. For previous news, see here and here.
Greetings!
Let's start from scratch.
My name is Frank. A long time ago I worked for TSR and Gary Gygax, and I wrote some things.
Now it's 35 years later, and most tabletop hobby gamers don't know me. Many have never heard of me. There are a lot of great games out there, and it's hard to pick one.
Thank you for your time and interest.
When I was Gary's Creative Aide, we talked about my Campaign. We decided to publish it, but Gary wanted it very distant, with no active connections to his continent. That's what he wanted so that's what I did. Earlier plans didn't materialize, so the time is now, sadly 9 years after my friend left us.
Empyrea is based on three premises: magic instead of Technology, a sentient but indifferent Planet who knows how everything can be in balance, and royals who place quality of life (for all) above unbalancing mass whims (like war and wealth).
These premises have far-reaching consequences, and I have spent decades extrapolating the results and applying them to an entire continental society. (I have over a thousand chatroom game logs, i.e. my laboratory.)
Our story is about Empyrea at its height. It is geographically constrained on all four sides, and Evil wants to spoil the party. But at the moment it's a comfortable Realm, the sort of world in which your current player characters have thrived. They'll find a second home in Empyrea.
We plan to release the core set by next Summer (Kickstarter in October). If it is well-received, we'll offer a whole line of supporting products. We're trying to make Empyrea available for various Fantasy RPG systems, and a science fiction interface for the offplanet setting. These are plans, but only the future will reveal the results.
SPOILERS: Additional sub-plots involve orcs trying to be civilized, dragons deciding not to be adventurer-fodder any longer, an undersea race of giant squid who actually rule the planetary ocean, a Lost World right next door, giants who may have an offplanet heritage, and Immortal beings who might just erase everything and start over.
But that's all in the background, and won't affect you... much.
Why will this take 9 months to produce? Because Loxley is assembling fantastic talents from all fields, but few are doing it full-time. You'll soon see 30 names. These tremendously talented people work with many companies. We just have to deal with the logistics.
Thanks again for your interest. More to come soon.
Frank
Greetings!
Let's start from scratch.
My name is Frank. A long time ago I worked for TSR and Gary Gygax, and I wrote some things.
Now it's 35 years later, and most tabletop hobby gamers don't know me. Many have never heard of me. There are a lot of great games out there, and it's hard to pick one.
Thank you for your time and interest.
When I was Gary's Creative Aide, we talked about my Campaign. We decided to publish it, but Gary wanted it very distant, with no active connections to his continent. That's what he wanted so that's what I did. Earlier plans didn't materialize, so the time is now, sadly 9 years after my friend left us.
Empyrea is based on three premises: magic instead of Technology, a sentient but indifferent Planet who knows how everything can be in balance, and royals who place quality of life (for all) above unbalancing mass whims (like war and wealth).
These premises have far-reaching consequences, and I have spent decades extrapolating the results and applying them to an entire continental society. (I have over a thousand chatroom game logs, i.e. my laboratory.)
Our story is about Empyrea at its height. It is geographically constrained on all four sides, and Evil wants to spoil the party. But at the moment it's a comfortable Realm, the sort of world in which your current player characters have thrived. They'll find a second home in Empyrea.
We plan to release the core set by next Summer (Kickstarter in October). If it is well-received, we'll offer a whole line of supporting products. We're trying to make Empyrea available for various Fantasy RPG systems, and a science fiction interface for the offplanet setting. These are plans, but only the future will reveal the results.
SPOILERS: Additional sub-plots involve orcs trying to be civilized, dragons deciding not to be adventurer-fodder any longer, an undersea race of giant squid who actually rule the planetary ocean, a Lost World right next door, giants who may have an offplanet heritage, and Immortal beings who might just erase everything and start over.
But that's all in the background, and won't affect you... much.
Why will this take 9 months to produce? Because Loxley is assembling fantastic talents from all fields, but few are doing it full-time. You'll soon see 30 names. These tremendously talented people work with many companies. We just have to deal with the logistics.
Thanks again for your interest. More to come soon.
Frank
