Arcana of The Ancients: 5E Sci-Fantasy From Monte Cook Games Launches On KS

Monte Cook Games' 5E "Science Fantasy Sourcebook", Arcana of the Ancients, has launched on Kickstarter.
Monte Cook Games' 5E "Science Fantasy Sourcebook", Arcana of the Ancients, has launched on Kickstarter.



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"Arcana of the Ancients is a sourcebook for 5th edition players and GMs to bring the wonders of mysterious technology and weird science-fantasy elements to their traditional fantasy campaigns. Designed by Monte Cook, Bruce R. Cordell, and Sean K. Reynolds, all of whom have years of professional design experience working on the world's most popular roleplaying game, this gorgeously illustrated hardcover sourcebook gives you everything you need to add a whole new element to your 5E game."

It's $50 for the hardcover, or $20 for the PDF. If you want to play Numenera with the 5E rules, this looks like the way you'd do that.
 
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Morrus

Morrus is the owner of EN World and EN Publishing, creator of the ENnies, creator of the What's OLD is NEW (WOIN), Simply6, and Awfully Cheerful Engine game systems, publisher of Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition, and co-host of the weekly Morrus' Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk podcast. He has been a game publisher and RPG community administrator for over 20 years, and has been reporting on TTRPG and D&D news for over two decades. He is also on the socials.
T

TrickyUK

Explorer
Reynard said:
It looks like a typical Numenera HC is $40, with a few in the $30 range and some in the $50 range. So, the $160 "all in" level would be worth it at 5 books, which i am guessing is going to be $500K of funding.

Now, I have to dig into the new shipping rules. If shipping takes up the cost of each of those books by $15 it changes the calculus pretty significantly.
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Not sure what it is like in US, but when I look at what I would have to pay (incl. shipping) now for a Numenera HC in UK from a UK based online retailer, I find that it’s cheaper than had I backed the N2 KS, but that does take into account that I don’t want decks, novels and all the other bits; so just buying the physical RPG books.

I guess it depends on what you want to get out of the KS, but I try and estimate retail cost in UK less 10% (online discount) and free shipping for just the products I am interested in (which means I have to wait until I know what SGs have been unlocked). If that total is more than the pledge + shipping, then I’m in.
 

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theworstdm

theworstdm

Explorer
TrickyUK said:
Not sure what it is like in US, but when I look at what I would have to pay (incl. shipping) now for a Numenera HC in UK from a UK based online retailer, I find that it’s cheaper than had I backed the N2 KS, but that does take into account that I don’t want decks, novels and all the other bits; so just buying the physical RPG books.

I guess it depends on what you want to get out of the KS, but I try and estimate retail cost in UK less 10% (online discount) and free shipping for just the products I am interested in (which means I have to wait until I know what SGs have been unlocked). If that total is more than the pledge + shipping, then I’m in.
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That's definitely a consideration when backing a Kickstarter like this. If you just want the main book and not all of the additional fiddly bits that get funded along the way, the cost probably isn't worth it for you. I like that you get more bang for your buck from a Kickstarter like this.
 

theworstdm

theworstdm

Explorer
Reynard said:
It looks like a typical Numenera HC is $40, with a few in the $30 range and some in the $50 range. So, the $160 "all in" level would be worth it at 5 books, which i am guessing is going to be $500K of funding.

Now, I have to dig into the new shipping rules. If shipping takes up the cost of each of those books by $15 it changes the calculus pretty significantly.
Click to expand...

They normally do fulfillment directly through the Monte Cook Games store by sending you coupons. So, you could wait until you get the coupons for all of the rewards and combine shipping that way.
 

mach1.9pants

mach1.9pants

Hero
For me in NZ, it is sadly not practical to back US based kickstarters, I wait for NobleKnight (who do back kickstarters) or Amazon, due to shipping being prohibitive - NK have really good rates somehow. I'd much rather give the money directly but when a single hardcover can be upto $100 shipping, not going to happen! Monte Cook games is $50.
 
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seankreynolds

seankreynolds

Adventurer
Nickolaidas said:
If I don't back this on KS, do I lose any chance of getting it? Or will it find itself to stores eventually?
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Hello! I work for MCG. Lemme answer your question.

The items in our Kickstarters, unless they are marked as "Kickstarter exclusives," almost always end up at our online store and at brick & mortar game stores. But the Kickstarter usually gets you some goodies you won't get elsewhere. Frex, the EXPLORER OF THE ANCIENT PAST backer level gets you the AotA book in print and PDF for $50. At retail, the book in print alone is probably going to be $50, and that doesn't include the PDF. So there's an incentive to back the Kickstarter.

mach1.9pants said:
For me in NZ, it is sadly not practical to back US based kickstarters, I wait for NobleKnight (who do back kickstarters) or Amazon, due to shipping being prohibitive - NK have really good rates somehow. I'd much rather give the money directly but when a single hardcover can be upto $100 shipping, not going to happen! Monte Cook games is $50.
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We recently made an agreement with a fulfillment center in Australia, which greatly reduces the shipping costs to there, NZ, and other nearby countries. Search for "New Zealand" on the Kickstarter page for more info about that. :) Also, a lot of international backers choose to wait until they have several print rewards to redeem at once in order to combine shipping and save money.
 

mach1.9pants

mach1.9pants

Hero
I saw that, I take it your normal store shipping doesn't use that as $50 was what a single hardback cost when I put it in the cart? Anyway good luck with the Kickstarter!
 

Aldarc

Aldarc

Legend
If [MENTION=6937537]MonteCookGames[/MENTION] would like to potentially use Arcana of the Ancients as a "gateway drug" to their other products, they should also strongly consider adding Numenera to the add-on options. *hint, hint* ;)

I have most of these products already from the years of high quality Numenera kickstarters. But I imagine that this would also be a good way to increase exposure or gameplay of their other non-5E products.
 

seankreynolds

seankreynolds

Adventurer
The Australian shipping center arrangement is very, very new, and I think we're in the process of updating shipping information for the MCG Shop… but as the two people at MCG who'd be in charge of that are away at the GAMA trade show this week (and were getting ready for the show last week), it hasn't been implemented yet.
 

R

Reynard

Legend
So I am trying to figure out the best math. For sure I want the main book and the monster book in both print and PDF. Assuming I am ambivalent about anything else (which may not be the case but since you can change your pledge later let's assume for the sake of argument) what makes the most sense pledge and add on wise?
 

seankreynolds

seankreynolds

Adventurer
Based on what's unlocked right now, you'd want to back at the $50 EXPLORER level, which gives you the book in print and includes the (~$18) PDF for free, add Beasts in print as an add-on for $45, then pick up the PDF from the MCG Shop (probably $18 based on other current items on the MCG Shop) when the book becomes available in 2020.

However, MCG Kickstarters always chug along and hit a lot of stretch goals, so at some point the $200 TRUE FAN backer level (all books print + PDF) becomes a no-brainer because the price of the unlocked books is more than the $200 price point.

(Of course, more people backing at TRUE FAN now instead of later would hit those stretch goals sooner and push everyone closer to the next stretch goal, but that's not as apparent to people who don't watch all of our Kickstarters. :))
 

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