Matrix Sorcica
Hero
'Tis great!
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Arcanis the Roleplaying Game Available for Preorder
- Thread starter PCIHenry
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Matrix Sorcica
Hero
Which is....?
Good afternoon,
The Arcanis: World of the Shattered Empires RPG is divided into four sections.
The Codex Arcanis - Which gives a brief over view of the nations/regions of the Known Lands (updated through the current year of the Story Arc 1071 I.C.)
The Codex of Heroes - which details character creation, the basic rule set, character options and advancement, etc.
The Codex of Conflict- details the rules for combat and
The Codex of Magic - which covers the different Traditions of Sorcery, etc.
So the plan is to spin off each of the Codex into its own book.
The Codex of Heroes is akin to a Player's Guide, in the sense that it will have new Talents, Paths, basically new options for the players.
However, after the main book, we'll be hard at work on the Chronicler's Guide which is looking like a 192 page product that is part GM's tool kit and part Monster Manual/Bestiary.
I'll keep you posted on that!
Best,
The Arcanis: World of the Shattered Empires RPG is divided into four sections.
The Codex Arcanis - Which gives a brief over view of the nations/regions of the Known Lands (updated through the current year of the Story Arc 1071 I.C.)
The Codex of Heroes - which details character creation, the basic rule set, character options and advancement, etc.
The Codex of Conflict- details the rules for combat and
The Codex of Magic - which covers the different Traditions of Sorcery, etc.
So the plan is to spin off each of the Codex into its own book.
The Codex of Heroes is akin to a Player's Guide, in the sense that it will have new Talents, Paths, basically new options for the players.
However, after the main book, we'll be hard at work on the Chronicler's Guide which is looking like a 192 page product that is part GM's tool kit and part Monster Manual/Bestiary.
I'll keep you posted on that!
Best,
Last edited:
Vyvyan Basterd
Adventurer
Henry,
When will the Shattered Empires adventures be available online again? A friend of a friend (no, really) is of the opinion that the adventures released for this living campaign are not up to the standard of the former Living Arcanis adventures. That they focus too much on combat and do not have the rolepaying focus that LA adventures did. I won't take third-hand opinions as-is, but his opinion seems plausible since the system was being playtested. The Shattered Empires campaign will be the main selling point for our group, so I'm eager to see what's in store.
When will the Shattered Empires adventures be available online again? A friend of a friend (no, really) is of the opinion that the adventures released for this living campaign are not up to the standard of the former Living Arcanis adventures. That they focus too much on combat and do not have the rolepaying focus that LA adventures did. I won't take third-hand opinions as-is, but his opinion seems plausible since the system was being playtested. The Shattered Empires campaign will be the main selling point for our group, so I'm eager to see what's in store.
Good morning Vyvyan,
Wow.
The one thing that we at PCI pride ourselves on is the caliber of our stories - whether they be the free adventures of CSE or printed adventures.
Obviously, everyone has the right to their own opinion, but I would vehemently disagree with your friend's friend. The main reason for that is because I wrote the vast majority of the Living Arcanis Hard Points over its 6 years and I'm also writing all the Hard Points for CSE.
Given that,I know I wrote in a heck of a moral dilemma that had people grinding their teeth in angst for quite a while.
Now, it may be that your friend's friend ASSUMED that there would be more combat because of the story arc we're running - called CRUSADE! it deals with the Infernal incursion into the Known Lands and the heroes play Crusaders. Now just from that description, you'd assume that it was all combat, all the time.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Remember also that we write these adventures to fit in a four hour time slot for Conventions. So we have a rule of thumb to follow - usually no more than 2 fights per adventure, or 3 if one is a quick and dirty one (i.e. with Minions). However, I have also instructed our writers (those that write the Soft Points) that we don't need to have throw-away fights in the hopes of whittling down the Hero's resources. Our game doesn't have the mentality of limited resources, for the most part.
As to when they will be available for home play - we're redesigning the website just for that purpose. For now, people running Conventions or Game Days at stores can request the adventures and they will be sent to them.
SO, that was my very long-winded way of saying that, "No - the adventures have plenty of roleplaying capabilities."
Best,
Wow.
The one thing that we at PCI pride ourselves on is the caliber of our stories - whether they be the free adventures of CSE or printed adventures.
Obviously, everyone has the right to their own opinion, but I would vehemently disagree with your friend's friend. The main reason for that is because I wrote the vast majority of the Living Arcanis Hard Points over its 6 years and I'm also writing all the Hard Points for CSE.
Given that,I know I wrote in a heck of a moral dilemma that had people grinding their teeth in angst for quite a while.
Now, it may be that your friend's friend ASSUMED that there would be more combat because of the story arc we're running - called CRUSADE! it deals with the Infernal incursion into the Known Lands and the heroes play Crusaders. Now just from that description, you'd assume that it was all combat, all the time.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Remember also that we write these adventures to fit in a four hour time slot for Conventions. So we have a rule of thumb to follow - usually no more than 2 fights per adventure, or 3 if one is a quick and dirty one (i.e. with Minions). However, I have also instructed our writers (those that write the Soft Points) that we don't need to have throw-away fights in the hopes of whittling down the Hero's resources. Our game doesn't have the mentality of limited resources, for the most part.
As to when they will be available for home play - we're redesigning the website just for that purpose. For now, people running Conventions or Game Days at stores can request the adventures and they will be sent to them.
SO, that was my very long-winded way of saying that, "No - the adventures have plenty of roleplaying capabilities."
Best,
Vyvyan Basterd
Adventurer
I don't know the friend's friend and even the friend is quite a Negative Nellie, so I would in no way take their word on the quailty of adventures.
I know you probably (for smart reasons) don't want to pin down a timeframe, but the site says the redesign is "coming soon" with a Septemer 2010 date. Please don't take this as anger over non-delivery, more as a big fan champing at the bit to see what the campaign looks like.
Hello Vyvyan,
LOL....no, no offense taken.
We started working on the website in September and James Zwiers, one of the principals of the company, has been working diligently restructuring the website and its capabilities.
As you may know, these things take time and, compounded with life's ups and downs, its taken longer than expected.
I spoke with James a couple of nights ago and he's very close to being done with the coding. So we're HOPING (notice the HOPING) that it will be up and operational before Origins (June of this year).
I can sympathize with the 'chomping at the bit' - I am as well. But with any luck it will be up and running "soon". ;-)
Thank you for your patience and understanding!
Best,
LOL....no, no offense taken.
We started working on the website in September and James Zwiers, one of the principals of the company, has been working diligently restructuring the website and its capabilities.
As you may know, these things take time and, compounded with life's ups and downs, its taken longer than expected.
I spoke with James a couple of nights ago and he's very close to being done with the coding. So we're HOPING (notice the HOPING) that it will be up and operational before Origins (June of this year).
I can sympathize with the 'chomping at the bit' - I am as well. But with any luck it will be up and running "soon". ;-)
Thank you for your patience and understanding!
Best,
Hello everyone,
After a bit of discussion, we've decided to make the following offer:
Anyone who pre-orders the Arcanis: World of the Shattered Empires RPG by May 1st will receive, at no additional charge, a PDF copy of the book.
The PDF will be watermarked to identify the purchaser.
Also, anyone who has already pre-ordered will be eligible for this offer.
PDF's will be emailed on or about May 1st (basically as soon as we're able).
Best,
After a bit of discussion, we've decided to make the following offer:
Anyone who pre-orders the Arcanis: World of the Shattered Empires RPG by May 1st will receive, at no additional charge, a PDF copy of the book.
The PDF will be watermarked to identify the purchaser.
Also, anyone who has already pre-ordered will be eligible for this offer.
PDF's will be emailed on or about May 1st (basically as soon as we're able).
Best,
Nikosandros
Golden Procrastinator
I approve of this move and I've just placed a pre-order for the book.
I have a couple of general questions about Arcanis products, since I actually know little about them. Is there somewhere an overview of the various books? Besides the RPG are there other must-have books?
If I understand things correctly, Arcanis went through several revisions, which books are "current"?
Hello Nikosandros,
Thank you very much for your order! Your patronage is greatly appreciated!
The first thing I would suggest is to download the Codex Arcanis from our Webstore. It's free and will give you a good overview of the world in general.
As far as revisions, the only real revisions we've gone through is from the original 3.0 to 3.5 rules and then to this new rule set.
While I think all our products are "must-haves", ;-) the real answer depends on what you like and enjoy. Just remember that all the PDFs available at this time (barring the Quicklaunch which you don't need as you have ordered the Core Book) were written during the D20 phase of gaming.
Hence all the other books have D20 rules. If you like crunch, then you can't go wrong with the Player's Guide to Arcanis (or as we call it, the phone book of Arcanis because it's huge!), Magic of Arcanis or Psionics Unbound.
One thing you should know about PCI books- even in the "crunch" specific books, is that we put a lot of story in our products. So for example - when you see a Holy Champion, you'll not just see a bunch of stats, feats, etc, but also a fully fleshed out background, tenets of the Order, etc.
The other products are Sourcebooks on a variety of topics, such as the Theocracy of Canceri, the Ssethregoran Empire or the Unsealed Lands in Legacy of Damnation. Again a good mix of crunch and story.
We also have a few adventures in there as well.
You know, now that I think about it, we do have one product that is written in the new system - the Knightly Order of the Phoenix. Its a small PDF only product (about a dozen pages) and describes the Order in detail as well as the Game Mechanic elements.
Again, thank you for your order and I hope you and your fellows in Italy are soon embroiled in the epic sagas of Arcanis: the World of Shattered Empires!
Best,
I approve of this move and I've just placed a pre-order for the book.
Thank you very much for your order! Your patronage is greatly appreciated!
The first thing I would suggest is to download the Codex Arcanis from our Webstore. It's free and will give you a good overview of the world in general.
As far as revisions, the only real revisions we've gone through is from the original 3.0 to 3.5 rules and then to this new rule set.
While I think all our products are "must-haves", ;-) the real answer depends on what you like and enjoy. Just remember that all the PDFs available at this time (barring the Quicklaunch which you don't need as you have ordered the Core Book) were written during the D20 phase of gaming.
Hence all the other books have D20 rules. If you like crunch, then you can't go wrong with the Player's Guide to Arcanis (or as we call it, the phone book of Arcanis because it's huge!), Magic of Arcanis or Psionics Unbound.
One thing you should know about PCI books- even in the "crunch" specific books, is that we put a lot of story in our products. So for example - when you see a Holy Champion, you'll not just see a bunch of stats, feats, etc, but also a fully fleshed out background, tenets of the Order, etc.
The other products are Sourcebooks on a variety of topics, such as the Theocracy of Canceri, the Ssethregoran Empire or the Unsealed Lands in Legacy of Damnation. Again a good mix of crunch and story.
We also have a few adventures in there as well.
You know, now that I think about it, we do have one product that is written in the new system - the Knightly Order of the Phoenix. Its a small PDF only product (about a dozen pages) and describes the Order in detail as well as the Game Mechanic elements.
Again, thank you for your order and I hope you and your fellows in Italy are soon embroiled in the epic sagas of Arcanis: the World of Shattered Empires!
Best,
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