FINISHED AT 257,000 WORDS
over 1 year ago
– Fri, Aug 04, 2023 at 11:12:16 AM
Arkonnia is not a singular continent.
It’s a collection of enclosed unique ecosystems that actively resist definition by those living outside these lands. The entire world likes to take pride in their certainties. Even in chaos, they observe patterns that make sense, even in their counterintuitive unpredictability. Arkonnia is proof that even these assumptions can be wrong. Lauropa is a giant pot of mixed nations and ideologies, while Arkonnia is a dish of segmented portions refusing to interact. The Drift is the obvious one—a singular mass of sand that refuses to follow anyone’s rules. Ishara Miti, Kigani, Mirage, and the Veld occupy another-- great open expanses with little to no rule.
That leaves the South, the strangest of them all. The Vilithi Wilds, Tanet’Jere, and Zabalaza boast oddities that would confuse even the most approachable onlookers—technological and biomechanical constructs that should be impossible anywhere else are practically commonplace. They’ve been domesticated, understood, even mythologized. With every kingdom, every miracle and monster, the stories speak of what they are and how they began, but that rarely ever extends beyond the foundations. No one looks underneath, at those roots, the underpinning. A man founds a nation. A monster attacks a fortress. But who is that man, and what birthed that monster? Perhaps the secret to understanding is to stop asking why. Maybe this part of the world is just like this because it is.
No one can accept that answer.
FINISHED
Admittedly, I am behind schedule. Revelations was intended to be completed by the end of June. The issues stemmed from the Arkonnia (Africa) chapter being 40,000 words. That’s right, one chapter, 40,000 words.
There was just so much to go into. Expanding the sandseas of the Drift to a dozen different locations and creating new regions like the “normal” forest of Ishara Miti and the fae-populated savannas of the Veld. Several bastions like Polis and Assembly were rewritten, with new bastions like Harmony and Rongo being added, the latter being a massive brutalist dungeon populated with robots.
In fact, much of this continent is defined by reduced disruption, giving rise to more blends of magic and technology, the like of which are unseen elsewhere. In many ways, Amethyst is not one campaign setting; it’s like thirty scattered across the planet. Arkonnia, on its own, has four almost totally isolated regions players can spend months exploring.
I finally finished the monster chapter—about sixty creatures, primarily technological. Now that the editing phase has begun, we may add a few more. There are also a bunch that are, well…impossible. Like, I don’t expect anyone to fight a Challenge Rating 30 sand dragon or a flying biomechanical manta ray the size of a city block, but they are here. I also made a point, unlike the previous games, to include monster examples of nearly every powered armor and race offered, so all those Huge exo-armors you can operate you can also fight, creating an interesting rule where these creatures activated twice during initiative order rather than the traditional Legendary Actions idea.
NEXT UP
Nick is working through the illustrations, and I’ll have more for you with the next update. I am in the editing phase, which will take me the rest of the month. After that is layout and then publication. Thanks to everyone who has supported me through this fantastic journey.
CHRIS
Ultramodern5 Pledge Manager & Pre-Order Page Open
over 1 year ago
– Wed, Jul 26, 2023 at 01:10:37 PM
HEY EVERYONE!
There are a bunch of people who missed the campaign and would like to jump into it as a late pledge.
Late pledges are treated the same as regular pledges, so don't feel that you missed anything.
https://ultramodern5-campaigns-adventures.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
Thanks, everyone!
220,000 WORDS
over 1 year ago
– Thu, Jun 29, 2023 at 07:19:01 PM
HEY EVERYONE!
Worldbuilding should never be taken lightly.
It’s a difficult process involving attempts at originality and the pressure to keep things interesting. After the conclusion of the tech chapter, I had to go back to it a few days ago to add the technorganic weaponry and armor associated with the bastion of Assembly, formally Aviv. More on that later.
The original Amethyst D20 from 2008 only covered North and South America, so when carrying content to Renaissance and Factions, I needed to adapt and update. For those with REALLY good memories, Amethyst originated with a homebrew setting back in 2003. That one covered the entire planet.
However, upon reaching Europe and Africa, I discovered that about 80% of those land masses were empty. Basically, I only wrote locations I knew my players would visit. As such, I had nothing in Eastern Europe, the UK, or Italy. I also discovered what I had written…well…kind of sucks. I mean, they were the scribblings of someone 20+ years ago.
I wasn’t expecting to have to create so much, but I also found the blank canvas rather exhilarating. As it stands now, the Europe chapter (called Lauropa in Amethyst) is 39,000 words.
One Chapter.
In context, Apex 5E, one of our most successful books, is 60,000 words.
I’m into the chapter focusing on Africa (or Arkonnia, now), and I am finding that same blank canvas. Even more so than in Europe, I threw out much of what I wrote half a lifetime ago. The bastion of Samba is now Polis, Aviv is now Assembly, and I’ve added two entirely new bastions, Harmony and Rongo.
But with the biomechanical dystopia of Assembly, the idea of biological armors, known as mutualists, came about—living creatures that can offer you additional benefits like tails, extra arms, and weapons when they attach to you.
After Arkonnia, I have monsters to tackle and then layout to attack. So technically, we’re still on schedule, especially considering artwork is always one to two chapters behind.
LAST FEW DAYS
The new crowdfunding campaign for Ultramodern5 is reaching its final days. As you know, everything in UM5 is in Amethyst, so it’s not mandatory. However, there are many new ideas in Ultramodern5 if you haven’t checked it out yet.
https://www.backerkit.com/c/dias-ex-machina/ultramodern5-campaigns-adventures
Anyways, like always, I leave you with art.
CHRIS
Ultramodern5, A 5E Universal Sci-Fi Sourcebook + Campaigns & Adventures IS LIVE
over 1 year ago
– Tue, Jun 13, 2023 at 10:16:06 AM
Hey everyone!
Our latest crowdfunding campaign, Ultramodern5, A 5E Universal Sci-Fi Sourcebook + Campaigns & Adventures, is now live on Backerkit. It offers six adventures/campaign settings for our famous system.
STOP MOVING AROUND! (Ultramodern5 Launching June 13th)
over 1 year ago
– Wed, Jun 07, 2023 at 11:59:35 AM
Yes, yes, sorry about this.
It’s come to our knowledge that a certain… well-known—I mean, I guess—board game is launching on June 20th, the same day as ours. And while we would expect some carryover promotion, the potential to get lost in the miasma of hype has convinced us to advance the clock a bit.
Also, Backerkit’s new website launches next week.
Soooo, we have decided to push UP the launch of our next Ultramodern5 crowdfunding campaign to NEXT TUESDAY, JUNE 13th!
Nothing else will change.
No, I mean it this time. This is it. I mean it.
Hopefully.
(Looks around the room)
Anyway, don’t forget to sign up to be informed of the launch. Signing up is not a commitment, just a pledge of curiosity. Thanks to everyone so far that have committed to know more.
https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/f05f8765-dd9a-4403-9978-add7e1806577/landing
CHRIS
