Just want to take this opportunity to express my admiration for your work and the projects you've supervised Mr. Heard. Minrothad Guilds was especially useful to me.

Thank you for the kind words.  It is my goal to continue with the same goal.  The quest goes on.

Quote from: Bruce Heard;862617Thank you for the kind words.  It is my goal to continue with the same goal.  The quest goes on.

So Bruce: one of the things I loved about Princess Ark was some of the more gonzo stuff; all the weird little micro-cultures that were found along the Coast. Is Calidar going to have any of that?

Any chance it'll have a wild-west area with six-shooters?

Quote from: RPGPundit;863333So Bruce: one of the things I loved about Princess Ark was some of the more gonzo stuff; all the weird little micro-cultures that were found along the Coast. Is Calidar going to have any of that?

Any chance it'll have a wild-west area with six-shooters?

Yes, I had developed precisely this kind of a setting for Mystara's Savage Coast, as an episode for Dragon Magazine's Voyage of the Princess Ark.  It would be easy to assume or expect I'd eventually pull something of this nature in Calidar as well.  If I did, it wouldn't be on Calidar itself, but in the Fringe (where pretty much anything goes).  

After all, I do already have laser-toting Space Vikings plying the somber outskirts of the Soltan ephemeris for fame and booty.  The Vortex is designed to enable precisely this sort of transposition, hijacking people from Earth's history or from works of fiction, and selling them to gods who'd want to establish them as their mortal followers in Calidar's universe.  With this in mind, it could be perfectly justifiable to have a Wild West setting with people who learned about magic, meddling gods, and fantastic monsters -- if referees so desired.

Somewhat related are the dwarves of Calidar who could be described as steampunk Klingons with canons, arquebuses, and space-faring dreadnoughts.  On the far edge of this spectrum, a game master could introduce a celluloid race of talking ducks straight out of classical toons (not that I would -- but, yeah, you could.)  The merchant Republic of Osriel is also being set up as a mosaic of cultures inspired from western Europe.  CC1 "Beyond the Skies" explains why and how competing gods seized abducted folks stranded in the Vortex, to create cultures in Osriel as a scheme to colonize/proselytize the region in their names.  Pretty wonky I'd say, but very much in line with what I'd written for GAZ3 Principalities of Glantri thirty years ago (except now, there is a rationale for this).

So, will I introduce micro-cultures "a-la-Princess-Ark?"  Certainly I will.  These are most likely to be featured in adventures rather than full fledged Gazetteers, or to appear in stories written for the Star Phoenix.

Quote from: Bruce Heard;863394Yes, I had developed precisely this kind of a setting for Mystara's Savage Coast, as an episode for Dragon Magazine's Voyage of the Princess Ark.  It would be easy to assume or expect I'd eventually pull something of this nature in Calidar as well.  If I did, it wouldn't be on Calidar itself, but in the Fringe (where pretty much anything goes).  

After all, I do already have laser-toting Space Vikings plying the somber outskirts of the Soltan ephemeris for fame and booty.  The Vortex is designed to enable precisely this sort of transposition, hijacking people from Earth's history or from works of fiction, and selling them to gods who'd want to establish them as their mortal followers in Calidar's universe.  With this in mind, it could be perfectly justifiable to have a Wild West setting with people who learned about magic, meddling gods, and fantastic monsters -- if referees so desired.

Somewhat related are the dwarves of Calidar who could be described as steampunk Klingons with canons, arquebuses, and space-faring dreadnoughts.  On the far edge of this spectrum, a game master could introduce a celluloid race of talking ducks straight out of classical toons (not that I would -- but, yeah, you could.)  The merchant Republic of Osriel is also being set up as a mosaic of cultures inspired from western Europe.  CC1 "Beyond the Skies" explains why and how competing gods seized abducted folks stranded in the Vortex, to create cultures in Osriel as a scheme to colonize/proselytize the region in their names.  Pretty wonky I'd say, but very much in line with what I'd written for GAZ3 Principalities of Glantri thirty years ago (except now, there is a rationale for this).

So, will I introduce micro-cultures "a-la-Princess-Ark?"  Certainly I will.  These are most likely to be featured in adventures rather than full fledged Gazetteers, or to appear in stories written for the Star Phoenix.

That's great to hear!

Greetings all!

I'm very excited to be able to share with you the link to Beyond the Skies' preview page. This presentation is very close to its final version, which should go live during the first week of December 2015.

This page says a lot about the new book in the Calidar series as well as the people behind it. As this still is work in progress to some degree, the link is made public mainly for the opportunity to return feedback about its contents. Have a look at the project's general description, pledge levels, add-ons, and stretch goals. Tell us what you think. You can do so here, or directly via the preview page (use the feedback box near the top of the kickstarter page).

This kickstarter makes it possible for new backers to acquire the original book at a discounted price, and other titles strictly restricted to kickstarter supporters. As always, the success of any crowd funding depends directly upon its backers. So please, do share this post as much as possible with friends you know may be interested in Calidar.

Thank you so much for making this book a reality!

Click here for the preview page

Ever wanted to have your campaign game's skyship drafted neatly but never had the time or the tools to do so yourself? If yes, this is may be for you! Ideal for Mystara, Spelljammer, and of course, Calidar.

Click here for details.

Black Friday & Cyber Monday.

Missed the previous Kickstarter but still want to test the waters (or the skies)? Here's your opportunity just in time before Christmas!  Good until Nov 30th.

Quote from: Bruce Heard;865926Ever wanted to have your campaign game's skyship drafted neatly but never had the time or the tools to do so yourself? If yes, this is may be for you! Ideal for Mystara, Spelljammer, and of course, Calidar.

Click here for details.

That's lovely, but for a moment I thought, from the sound of your little intro blurb, that you were releasing some kind of program to make random Skyship designs.

THAT would be FUCKING AMAZING.

Edit to add: If anyone actually tries to go with this idea, I expect to be mentioned in the credits!

I have the pleasure of announcing that the kickstarter page for Calidar's CC1 "Beyond the Skies" HAS GONE LIVE! We're open for business. Thanks for your patience and your support.

The link is here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ambreville/calidar-beyond-the-skies

If you're new with Calidar, now's the time to look for yourself and get started at the best possible value.

In case you wondered, this book does offer *quite a lot of game mechanics* -- what some of you refer as crunch. A massive chapter details *a myriad powers* granted to mortal followers based on their not only on their cult but also their piety, from the casual follower to the firebrand zealot or dedicated priest of the cults. Additional powers can be granted over time based on behavior, along with short term *Divine Favors* for those who distinguish themselves. On the other hand, *Divine Wounds* await those who chose their paths most unwisely. Aside from stories and the description of gods, a host of denizens are also described which are likely to interact with your favorite party of adventurers, from a panoply of *hallowed servants* of the gods to the worst of *demon princes.* More mechanics describe Calidar's *Dread Lands,* the harvesting of seitha, and a system to run the *spirit lords* defending the world's massive wilderness from intruders. Of course, secret societies and a collection of *floor plans* for their lairs also offer as *many opportunities for adventuring* and tangling with the hidden affairs of the gods.

Posted exclusively on EnWorld's front page is a fun story that gives a good indication of this project's nature. Right here

These elaborate setting design elements are very neat Bruce.  Definitely like all of the Calidar ideas.

Quote from: Kuroth;866813These elaborate setting design elements are very neat Bruce.  Definitely like all of the Calidar ideas.

Thanks Kuroth.  Part of me wanted to approximate the old Deities & Demigods that harked back to my early years of gaming.  On the hand, I wanted to integrate in Calidar all this material about the gods in a much more constructive and useful way than Deities & Demigods ever did.  By the time the smoke cleared, I had nearly 200K words, a bunch of floor plans and diagrams, and chapters that expanded into areas that needed development.  In total, this will impact all subsequent gazetteers.  It fills a void when players create their characters, both mechanically and from a role-playing aspect.  It is immensely useful to me as a writer, because it sets up the background of the Great Caldera's realms.

[size=150]Happy New Year to all of you![/size]

I made a fortuitous and auspicious encounter a few days back, which resulted in more good news for Calidar's "Beyond the Skies" kickstarter. At this time, we're just a few hundred dollars from blowing past the 2nd stretch goal, which means more illustrations added to the book's contents.

As Calidar's crowdfunding reached new heights, I connected with the folks at BattleBards.com who kindly offered a free reward for Calidar's current and upcoming backers. This includes a custom Calidar Soundboard with 8-10 sound tracks. These tracks will enhance and add nuances to the experience of playing in the World of Calidar. The Soundboard provides easy access to the audio and the ability to organize and play tracks on-the-fly. They can be listened to individually or layered with multiple tracks for added effect.


This is a mockup image for the Calidar Soundboard

There is no access fee associated with this reward, which is offered to Calidar backers at First Mate or higher pledge levels. Battlebards successfully completed their own Kickstarter recently and is poised to launch their new service by the end of January 2016. Registration to qualify for the free rewards will begin by the end of Calidar's crowdfunding campaign, January 7th, and end on March 31st at midnight.

Battlebards.com is the most expansive tabletop sound library ever assembled, along with tools built specifically to use the audio masterfully during games. Tailor-made background music inspired by fantasy races, voiceover scripts written to bring life to everyday character interactions, and a colossal array of bone-crushing, spell-fire-blasting sound effects: this is immersive tabletop gaming at its best. Stay tuned for further updates on this subject.

Don't forget the extra reward at Admiral pledge level, which was another offer that came up during the crowdfunding effort. Joe Garcia, illustrator for "Beyond the Skies," kindly offered to sketch a free character for Admiral backers. This process will also start at the end of the crowdfunding campaign. As with the Battlebards offer today, Joe's generous contribution was announced via my earlier Kickstarter project update (it isn't listed in the reward's description).



If you haven't backed Calidar "Beyond the Skies" as yet, there are just a few days left to do so. This new release goes beyond bringing to life fantasy gods, their personal relations, and politics between pantheons. It also provides a massive list of individual powers available to mortal followers, zealots, and priests (based on their piety levels), as well as divine favors encouraging desirable behavior, and divine wounds reflecting discontent among deities. "Beyond the Skies" unveils new information about world souls, the Dread Lands, native monsters, shamans of the tribes, spirits of nature, and seitha prospecting. Divine servants, demons, incarnates, and household godlings also make an appearance, along with a host of floor plans detailing temples and the lairs of secret brotherhoods, each an invitation to run adventures. Calidar's background dynamics involve a dark peril that threatens to destroy both the divine pantheons, the world souls, and the mortal universe, evoking a pervasive sense of impending doom.

This book is crucial for the understanding of Calidar as an RPG campaign setting because it fleshes out a lot of information about the ten realms of the Great Caldera and the origins of their peoples. In its own way, it qualifies as a macro-gazetteer. It will directly impact all future gazetteers, and thus is a must for fans of this game world. The pantheons are also designed in a such a way that they can be used in other game settings with minimal trouble. If you haven't jumped in yet, click here!

Happy New Year!

[size=150]Last Day for the Kickstarter![/size]

#Calidar "Beyond the Skies" is fast approaching its next stretch goal and reaching the end of its crowdfunding campaign. Thank you everyone for your generous support!

Visitors who haven't yet jumped in: will you put some of yourself into this fabulous book and join the effort to commission more internal art? "Beyond the Skies" has already grown from 220 to 244 pages for everyone's enjoyment... will today add more?

Also...

Here's a fun preview of The World of Calidar's "Beyond the Skies," an EnWorld exclusive unveiling the flying seminary of an eagle-knights' order. This shows how a book about deities brings to life details on the realms of the Great Caldera, just like a gazetteer. That's something you can use as an adventure on Calidar or on any other game world...