Greetings community!

It's that time of year again: deliveries for Encyclopedia 2 have been finalized, and it's time for a major update on Fateforge!

Here's the menu for this news:

🔮 Next steps: Grimoire 2, video game, Solo RPG, and board game

🚧 The rest of the range: second Tetralogy and beyond 

⛵ Fateforge: a discovery of multiple universes: borrow a portal and discover Draconis, the peaceful way to play 5E!

📢 Poll: help shape the future!

With that, we're off!

The Fateforge community has grown a lot, and we’re taking advantage of this milestone to take a quick look in the rearview mirror.

Here we are in 2024, and as we look back, what an adventure! We would never have thought that this project initiated in the summer of 2015 would grow to the scale of the range you know today, almost 10 years later. There's so much to say, so much to tell! We’ll do our best to retrace the broad outlines, which will inevitably be reductive, but will have the merit of giving newcomers a glimpse of the Fateforge adventure.

At the time, in France, there were no translations for Dungeons & Dragons, and the SRD for the 5th edition - the reference document backed by the OGL license, allowing third-party publishers to produce content - was still a long way off. Yet things were changing behind the scenes, and by summer 2015 we were gearing up for an official announcement. When the new OGL was finally released, we announced a French-language fundraising campaign for the project that would eventually become Fateforge.

During this first period of the project, we surrounded ourselves with a historic team that previously worked on the French version of 3rd and 4th editions of D&D. They were responsible for translating the SRD, but also for enhancing it with numerous options, archetypes, and even a new class: the scholar. While I, (Nel), was in charge of editorial, and artistic direction, Doudou became the range coordinator, and remained so until Grimoire. For the illustrations, I called upon the artistic team of The Shadows of Esteren.

At the same time, I was drawing up the outline of this new world, which I'm calling Eana - for the record, this word is borrowed from the Sami language and means “the earth”. To sum up, the idea was to propose a sword-and-sorcery world incorporating elements of Stargate (yes, the series ^^ ) and emphasize the interstellar aspect, with moons and other planets.

For me, this new project was an opportunity to deal with a number of classic heroic fantasy themes and to revisit and question them, notably by giving the orc, goblin, and other peoples a different role in the story. The main principle here was to reject the notion that these peoples are inherently evil. They have their own civilization: Kaan. The notion of race is done away with and replaced by that of species. On another note, I adapted one of the major mechanics of The Shadows of Esteren to Fateforge: the modular system. In particular, my idea was to be able to modulate the level of magic, notably via the concept of Awakening, and the addition of locks, isolating certain spells. The foundations have been laid, but there's still a long way to go!

Alongside Doudou's team, focused on the translation, and all the technical aspects of the game, I entrusted Iris, who I had previously tasked to write for The Shadows of Esteren range, with several writing missions, in particular to develop this new world.

Her remarkable work extended over several years, and we owe it all to the community who have made each book a new success, enabling us to continue this long-term work. I invited many other editors and writers to take part - including Ed Greenwood, the creator of the Forgotten Realms! - and, until the delivery of the Tetralogy in 2021, this whole team was involved in giving Fateforge an extraordinary scope.

Gradually, other personalities took on greater importance in the Fateforge story: Destiny, Laufey, and GinL, who are also part of the studio's in-house team. From 2023 onwards, I entrusted the former with the editorial direction of the range. Destiny became Fateforge's conductor and did an impressive amount of background work on each of the texts, harmonizing, rewriting, and correcting them. It was with her in particular that I imagined the second Tetralogy and the continuation of the range.

She has been assisted in this task by Laufey, Fateforge’s coordinator and editor. Finally, I entrusted artistic direction to GinL, who until now has been the range's layout and graphic designer. With GinL, we thought up the form and themes, and she currently oversees a large number of talented illustrators.

But let's take a step back in time. In 2019, Fateforge was offered to the English-speaking public for the first time. An initial kickstarter was launched, and convinced over 1,700 backers to support the adventure. The first two books, Adventurers and Grimoire, were released a few months later, at GenCon, to enthusiastic acclaim.

In 2020, we offered the first follow-up to our range, Creatures. This toolbox, featuring over 200 monsters, achieved incredible funding, the biggest for our studio. It was beaten the following year by Encyclopedia, which, with over 8300 backers, shed unprecedented light on Fateforge. Creatures 2, Encyclopedia 2, and the VTT adaptation followed, confirming your commitment to our project!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you once again. Without you, this adventure would not be possible!

I feel very fortunate to have been able to work with such talented people, who were able to develop my initial creation into a work of such depth and scope. In many respects, the quality of the final result exceeds anything I could have hoped or imagined, be it the texts, illustrations, or layout.

This teamwork brought together dozens of people, including Nicola Bernardelli who, since Creatures 2, has been the flagship illustrator of the range, following in the footsteps of Gawain and Chane. It would be difficult to name everyone, but I must mention the studio's historic translator, Clovis, and the team of English-speaking proofreaders, notably Tyson Pink and Hunter Prigg. As well as being an excellent translator, Clovis also produced texts for the range. Hats off also to Arthur Camboly, who has been doing great work on the range for several years.

It was to the translation and proofreading team that I dedicated the ENNIE Award for Best Writing we received at Gencon 2022, consecrating the English version of the Tetralogy. The following year, the range won another ENNIE Award, this time in the Best Adversary category, in recognition of the work of an entire team on the second volume of Creatures, dedicated to the Netherworld. On this occasion, Destiny and GinL took to the ENNIES stage, making them the first French women designers to achieve this feat!

With that, we arrive in 2024, and a new chapter begins for the Fateforge range. This range has already had a unique journey and, a fact rare enough to be highlighted in role-playing circles, is now run by three women. Fateforge will continue to grow, thanks to the community!

Throughout 2024, we've been hard at work, with the team working on several projects. Here is what's in store for you in the near future, probably early 2025. I can already hear the most enthusiastic of you being impatient. I don't blame you! However, we really want to arrive at the fund-raising portions of the campaigns with the most complete projects possible. In this way, the community helps us by financing the manufacturing process, and any surplus money finances future projects.

So without further ado...

This seventh opus follows up from Encyclopedia 2 and will offer you over 150 new spells, new archetypes, new geomagic rules, and several key elements on the arcana of Eana magic. ... Grimoire 2 promises to be a major book in the range! If you don't want to miss the Kickstarter launch, go to this address. The launch is scheduled for early 2025, when we'll have made good progress on the final stages of development. In the meantime, here are a few key points from the book: 

- Learn to cast over 150 new spells, focusing on the special magic of the deep, and the corrupting power of the Canker!
- Choose a new archetype for your spellcaster, such as a druid from the circle of Eana's roots or a spellcaster from the Abyss!
- Explore three mage lairs full of treasure and traps!
- Will you be able to resist the temptation of the assets offered by the Sublime, or will you give in to sublimation?
- Discover the mysteries of Eana's divine magic!
- Equip your adventurers with 50 new magical items!
- Learn to enchant objects and concoct potions!

And here's an extract from the cover by Antonio De Luca:

This exploration of the depths of the Free City, will be offered in the form of a Solo RPG and a visual novel. The two stories will be independent but connected, offering solo immersion in the underground of Eana's largest city. Both projects will benefit from a Kickstarter campaign offering both French and English versions. The visual novel also has its own Steam page, so get your wishlists ready!

Here's some more information about the Solo RPG. We presented it at last year's GenCon, and the audience was very enthusiastic!

- Experience a complete 5e solo campaign in the underground of Free City!

- Recruit allies to help you complete perilous missions! Upgrade your equipment as you succeed!
- Expand your influence on the city by enhancing your reputation!

The narrative board game produced by the talented Mighty Boards team has just received an excellent review from one of the most influential sites! 

We'll be offering our community copies of the collector's edition. Please note that quantities will be very limited! Follow their announcements! Chronicles of Kaan offers a thrilling adventure in the far east of Eana. This first exploration is just the beginning of a great adventure with our friends from Mighty Boards!

The first expansion for Chronicles of Kaan is coming to Kickstarter in a few months! You'll be able to take part, as we'll also be providing a French version for the deluxe edition ^^ Follow the Kickstarter page so you don't miss out on the launch.

Beyond these projects, we're also working on what's next. Here's a glimpse of what's to come after Grimoire 2:

This eighth opus brings the second Tetralogy to a close. With this work, the basic structure of Fateforge will be laid. A new boxed set will be produced for the occasion, following the design of the first, and featuring the four covers of this second Tetralogy. This book invites you to leave the surface of Eana and explore the celestial, diabolical, demonic, and dream realms. It features over 120 creatures (celestials, fiends, Nightmare ravagers, and spirits), a collection of magical items, and dedicated rules for your extra-planar travels. You'll also be able to discover the secrets of Eana's great exiled antagonists, such as the archdevil Anthéros, and of the Forge of Destiny nestled in the heart of her labyrinth! 

In the coming months, we'll be telling you more about this book, but for now here's a visual, Karathaan, the warlord, and evil hospodar illustrated by Nicola Bernardelli :

Since 2022, the Fateforge adventure has also been an opportunity to discover multiple colorful universes. And it's something that's linked to the very essence of this world and the Ateaks, its famous Stargate-inspired portals ^^.

Starting with Draconis: Call of Adventure, which launches its first Kickstarter campaign on October 22: a feel-good world where you'll become the friend of dragons! Based on the magnificent artbooks by artist Chane, a peaceful, luminous universe that speaks to many of you :)

Your adventurers need a little vacation between two epic campaigns to save the world, so now's the time to send them off to discover a benevolent new universe, with plenty of new options for 5E ^^

 

I've already told you about the whole team that has been working together for almost 10 years to bring you Fateforge. But let's not forget one major player in this great adventure: you, the community!

From the outset, I've been passionate about involving the community through surveys. The results are the voice of this community, and they help shape the future of the range. When we have to make an important decision, it's as if we had an extra person at the table, embodied by these results: you, the community.

The future of Fateforge looks exciting. The only problem is that we probably won't be able to do everything. Our studio may have grown, but it's still a small team. Stay tuned, as we'll probably be issuing a call for applications for quite a few roles in the near future. But back to the survey: it would be very useful if every member of the community could give their opinion and help us identify your expectations, why, and your expectations for the future.

If you're a backer, we've opened a survey to find out what you'd like to see in the future. There, you will find a link in the latest Fateforge update. If you didn't receive this news, please send us a message to Support.

See you soon for the next step of the adventure :)

— Nel and the Fateforge team

Chane: I've known Studio Agate for 7 years (initially as one of their illustrators), and when the Studio approached me three years ago to pitch the idea of a role-playing game based on my Draconis books, I thought it was an excellent idea. I love Agate's outlook and the quality of their books, so a joint project? Draconis was a good fit, with its multitude of colorful dragons and its still mostly unexplored setting. The Studio Agate team offered to put in a lot of work to bring together a densely packed universe with a wealth of content.

Also, it's a universe I love so much—why not share it around? Readers can make it their own, and experience their own adventures through it. When one reads a book, there's always a certain distance, but role-playing games break this boundary. Encountering my creatures, being creative about the possibilities offered by their magical abilities, being moved by beautiful stories... It's a legacy I pass on to all persons of goodwill, to those who supported me as well as to those who don't know me yet. I think it's super nice—very symbolic, in a way—and it means a lot to me.

I hope that those who read this book will be touched by a small spark of magic. No matter the destination, the journey is what matters.

To learn more about the game:
* Interview with Chane

* Draconis' website

* Kickstarter page

* Chane's website 

* Studio Agate's website