The Shadowlands Kickstarter project added Ed Greenwood to their staff, as noted here:
"We are extremely excited to announce that legendary Ed Greenwood, the creator of The Forgotten Realms will join our Shadowlands kickstarter project! We told you that we wanted to bring back that old school Forgotten Realms campaign setting feel and there is no one better to do just that than the very person who wrote the book..."
This is an interesting setting, where magic has a science fiction foundation and things like languages and cultures are trying to be more realistic in terms of how they affect the world.
Some setting related info:
1) Achieved $25,000 stretch goal adds some planar type stuff by Planescape Designer Colin McComb:
"Barzakh is a combination of alternate universes, different quantum states, dream realms and simulated realities. Barzakh takes its inspiration from films like Inception,The Thirteenth Floor, and Dark City; it will excite and delight fans familiar with (or fond of) the Planescape setting. Which is why we are so excited to have Colin on board!"
2) Thinking Differently about RPG Morality
"The Shadowlands Campaign Setting contains quite a lot of room for the telling of morally ambiguous stories, and every once in awhile, it pays to have a straight-up malefactor working in common cause with you...playing evil isn’t necessarily the same thing as playing a jerk.
For instance..."
3) Info on the Science Fiction aspect:
"I’d like to open this update with the (oft-cited) counterpoint to Arthur C. Clarke’s third law: Any magical phenomenon, sufficiently explained and understood, becomes a matter of scientific learning.
The problem, of course, as a writer of the Shadowlands Campaign Setting, is that I am not a member of the type III-IV civilization which terraformed Sæmyyr..."
4) City of Gnyr Shalorn
"A land forged by the cast-offs and undesirables of both Sylvænyr and Tar Sequinus, Gnyr Shalorn has long since severed the leash of empire, and now each of its prosperous and powerful city-states enjoys self-rule. Collectively, the cities of Gnyr Shalorn are in the midst of a time of great social, scientific, artistic, and philosophical advancement and upheaval. Painters, sculptors, authors, and architects express themselves freely in both sacred and secular works, while a strong, independent mercantile class tears down age-old assumptions about the fundamental nature of nations and governments..."
5) Language of Shadowlands Campaign World
"...In the first days of BlackStar Studios, Chris and I had many discussions about the kinds of conflict that can arise specifically from not knowing a language. In the same way that interesting and fun plot points can develop from having weaknesses like low Ability Scores, we feel the very same kind of story developments can arise from the languages that no one in the party knows...."
6) Mētēr the Earth Goddess (note gods were originally advanced AIs at some point)
"...We've included various sects, holy texts, centers of worship, even titles of the faithful. Another change we have done is to look at gods from a more universal perspective and try and think about how a deity can be interpreted in one way in one region, and then differently in another region. We think what you will find is a more complex and interesting look out how religious life on Saemyyr works!"
7) Designer's Diary – Magic & AIs
"...Some of the inspiration for this came from Dan Simmon’s great novels “Illium” and “Olympos” and the idea that there are rings of AIs floating around the planet and which have a large amount of almost invisible interaction with the populace...."
"We are extremely excited to announce that legendary Ed Greenwood, the creator of The Forgotten Realms will join our Shadowlands kickstarter project! We told you that we wanted to bring back that old school Forgotten Realms campaign setting feel and there is no one better to do just that than the very person who wrote the book..."
This is an interesting setting, where magic has a science fiction foundation and things like languages and cultures are trying to be more realistic in terms of how they affect the world.
Some setting related info:
1) Achieved $25,000 stretch goal adds some planar type stuff by Planescape Designer Colin McComb:
"Barzakh is a combination of alternate universes, different quantum states, dream realms and simulated realities. Barzakh takes its inspiration from films like Inception,The Thirteenth Floor, and Dark City; it will excite and delight fans familiar with (or fond of) the Planescape setting. Which is why we are so excited to have Colin on board!"
2) Thinking Differently about RPG Morality
"The Shadowlands Campaign Setting contains quite a lot of room for the telling of morally ambiguous stories, and every once in awhile, it pays to have a straight-up malefactor working in common cause with you...playing evil isn’t necessarily the same thing as playing a jerk.
For instance..."
3) Info on the Science Fiction aspect:
"I’d like to open this update with the (oft-cited) counterpoint to Arthur C. Clarke’s third law: Any magical phenomenon, sufficiently explained and understood, becomes a matter of scientific learning.
The problem, of course, as a writer of the Shadowlands Campaign Setting, is that I am not a member of the type III-IV civilization which terraformed Sæmyyr..."
4) City of Gnyr Shalorn
"A land forged by the cast-offs and undesirables of both Sylvænyr and Tar Sequinus, Gnyr Shalorn has long since severed the leash of empire, and now each of its prosperous and powerful city-states enjoys self-rule. Collectively, the cities of Gnyr Shalorn are in the midst of a time of great social, scientific, artistic, and philosophical advancement and upheaval. Painters, sculptors, authors, and architects express themselves freely in both sacred and secular works, while a strong, independent mercantile class tears down age-old assumptions about the fundamental nature of nations and governments..."
5) Language of Shadowlands Campaign World
"...In the first days of BlackStar Studios, Chris and I had many discussions about the kinds of conflict that can arise specifically from not knowing a language. In the same way that interesting and fun plot points can develop from having weaknesses like low Ability Scores, we feel the very same kind of story developments can arise from the languages that no one in the party knows...."
6) Mētēr the Earth Goddess (note gods were originally advanced AIs at some point)
"...We've included various sects, holy texts, centers of worship, even titles of the faithful. Another change we have done is to look at gods from a more universal perspective and try and think about how a deity can be interpreted in one way in one region, and then differently in another region. We think what you will find is a more complex and interesting look out how religious life on Saemyyr works!"
7) Designer's Diary – Magic & AIs
"...Some of the inspiration for this came from Dan Simmon’s great novels “Illium” and “Olympos” and the idea that there are rings of AIs floating around the planet and which have a large amount of almost invisible interaction with the populace...."
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