ULTRAMODERN5 PUSHED BACK
over 1 year ago
– Mon, May 22, 2023 at 11:06:29 AM
HEY EVERYONE
In the previous update, we discussed our next campaign, a reprint of Ultramodern5, four new adventures, and two new campaign settings.
https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/f05f8765-dd9a-4403-9978-add7e1806577/landing
To ensure everyone is aware, this is the same book as the 2019 Kickstarter, though we are offering a new leather edition exclusive to this upcoming campaign. Depending on the popularity of the campaign, there is a chance that we may update the PDF so that it’s not as massive as the current edition (which will involve rebuilding the entire book in InDesign).
However, we wanted to inform everyone that we have decided to PUSH BACK THE CAMPAIGN LAUNCH to JUNE 20th. There’s nothing alarming about this; we just looked at our schedule and realized we have so much on the fly over the next month, including three local events William Miller and I are both working on. The campaign will still be 20 days.
Please sign up to be informed of the campaign launch and share it around.
https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/f05f8765-dd9a-4403-9978-add7e1806577/landing
Dias Ex Machina has always relied on grassroots promotion and the loyal following of our amazing supporters. We strive for the highest quality in our products without bending to larger publishers. You all made Ultramodern5 the most successful non-fantasy book for 5E Dungeons & Dragons, and we love you all for it.
CHRIS
PEOPLES, CLASSES, AND PROGRESS
almost 2 years ago
– Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 12:10:55 PM
HEY EVERYONE!
This month, I wanted to offer updates on what we have been doing and what we have in store for the future. For those who know about our other project, Affinity, we’re happy that the project is finally closing up its physical rewards, leaving only its audiobook remaining.
The other spot of news is that Dias Ex Machina has brought on a partner, William Miller, who will coordinate other projects and facilitate certain aspects of the business so I can focus more on writing. As such, we can accelerate our next crowdfunding campaign, as William will be headlining that. Don’t worry, I am still fully hands-on, and nothing gets made without my endorsement. That being said, I have an insane level of trust in William.
As for me, I am still working on Amethyst Revelations. I recently finished Chapter 4…and am concerned about the page budget. We’re already at162 pages into the project before artwork--84,000 words in under two months.
PEOPLES
Within this chapter, we recap our previously introduced species and how they are represented in the three continents explored in Revelations. We also introduce new regional variations like the chaparran dust drifters, damaskan zephyrions, gimfen wind-weavers and tinkertops, laudenian skybreakers, caledonian pagus, serranos tenenbri, and the tilen argintari.
We’re also introducing new races, the mouse-like volaris, the tiny but insanely strong vispids, and the aquatic ruenaro fae. We also have a bunch of new backgrounds.
FANTASY CLASSES
As mentioned previously, we have introduced five new classes.
Charlatan – a mix of bard and rogue that offsets the desire for assassination with unbridled charm and showmanship. This class offers three different paths—the artist, the personality, or the robber and as you select specific abilities, others in other paths become locked off, so choose carefully.
Equestrian – If you wanted someone with the power of a fighter but the pomposity of a paladin without the pesky distractions of magic, then we have the equestrian, a class that offers its own mount and numerous abilities that work with and without your animal of choice. This classic knight is less bound to faith and more to an internally defined code.
Maverick – This is your classic bandit, outlaw, or brigand. You dispatch foes without worrying about honor or integrity. You sneak through city streets or trees, maximizing terrain to enact your will. You can be a guardian or a criminal. The maverick offers four different trees of escalating abilities—cut-throat, dual-wielding, guerrilla, or toxophilite (archer).
Striker – Rage is uncivilized. What you do is focus. This melee fighter is lethal in every situation. Through unique features based on dominant ability scores and combat stances, you can create a truly customized class representing bare-knuckled boxers, kung-fu artists, barbarians, and monks.
Pleromancer – finally, we get to the spellcaster. The pleromancer proved to be the most technically complex spellcasting class I have ever designed. This canonical wizard creates elementals you can customize and implant with spells that conduct actions on your behalf. You can create an army of tiny wisps or a single massive elemental to draw the eyes of the battlefield. I wanted to ensure there were no spell levels or Vancian-modeled ideas. Your mana replenishes constantly. You can create a thousand different combinations of creatures, a unique portfolio based on your imagination. And yes, you must have these creations ready to go—you can’t create them on the fly, stopping the flow of gameplay.
You can imbue spell-like effects called ingrafts into your elementals, turning them into living magic wands from which to cast even more unique effects. You can even combine elements to create weird fusions of lighting and air, thunder and water, or acid and blood.
After this, we include an extensive list of reprinted and new archetypes compatible with these new classes.
Do you want your spells tattooed on your body? You can do that now.
ANGELS
Our last chapter involves a new faction…angels…and they are…well. I can’t really say. They are a massive spoiler; you’ll just have to read the chapter to find out who they are.
WHAT’S NEXT
For the pleromancer to cast spells, they must be able to create their elementals, known as arcanim. This is the magic chapter, which will also list rituals and magic items. It shouldn’t take long; in fact, it’s already almost done. After that, it’s onto new technology, focusing heavily on more vehicles and…well…mecha.
THE FUTURE
Thanks to having an extra set of hands, I can have someone else do preliminary work on our next project, which is honestly going to be a smaller one, a series of campaign guides and adventures that employ Ultramodern5. UM5’s rules are contained in Amethyst, so you can use these books for those as well. We’ll have more information in the coming weeks.
Next update, we'll be sending out playtest packages
THANKS
Chris
MODULES RELEASED
almost 2 years ago
– Mon, Mar 06, 2023 at 04:11:27 PM
Hey everyone!
Not much new on the KS front. Work chugs along. However, I did want to mention two digital modules we released.
If these look familiar, that’s because these are expanded versions of those found in the original 2016 Ultramodern5.
We are currently in the preliminary stages of releasing an updated version of Threshold, which was found in UM5-REDUX. However, inspiration took hold, and it’s getting much larger than initially planned (it’s at like 48,000 words). So, I had to put that on hold to focus on Amethyst, which probably won’t see the light until early Summer.
ALL-IN LIBRARY
One of the more interesting pledge levels is the ALL-IN Library, which we offer with most campaigns. It’s every PDF Dias Ex Machina puts out until that point. However, I decided that I am going to throw these modules into the Library Pledges, so you should find those by the end of the day.
Back to work!
CHRIS
