Powered by the 5th Edition ruleset with the addition of many original
options, Fateforge features Eana, an entirely new campaign setting for
your adventures. Following the sword & sorcery tradition, the
adventurers will travel through grandiose landscapes and interact with
exotic, colorful civilizations, from the sprawling metropolis of the
Free City to equatorial Acoatl.
Their journey will be fraught
with peril and they will face many strange, fearsome opponents, be they
the loathsome spawns of Canker, the demon princes from the moon
Melancholia, or the formidable barbarian lords of the Kaani hordes.
By
dint of skill, bravery, or cunning, they will overcome increasingly
challenging ordeals, and perhaps find their way to the mythical
Fateforge and ascend to godhood!
In the lair of the Dragon God, by Gawain
The Fate-Chosen
The
player characters are adventurers, which means that they are more than
ordinary travelers and risk-takers: they are Fate-chosen, beings of
exception blessed by the Fateforge, a mythical entity that steers
destiny toward world-changing outcomes. The more ordeals they face, the
stronger they grow, until they become capable of altering the course of
regions or even entire kingdoms, if not worlds.
The basic
rules will be familiar to any 5th Edition player, though with the
addition of a plethora of exclusive content intended to enhance the
dramatic experience and to let players customize the game to their
heart’s content. To that effect, many optional rules are included via a
modular system that makes them easy to identify and implement depending
on the intended game style and favored genre.
Priestress of Death, by Chane
The Modular System
Fateforge’s
modular system is based on one of the most popular aspect of the
Shadows of Esteren system. It was designed so that content can be
conveniently categorized in accordance to the genre it is most suited
to, so that players can make informed choices when deciding what rules
to implement, what aspects of the game to put to the forefront, and what
dynamics to follow. Do you want your game to be representative of the
canons of heroic fantasy? Use the rules labeled “Action” to make the
characters all the more powerful and successful. Do you want to play a
dark-fantasy, survival-oriented game? “Dark” and “Gritty” options have
been designed for you… but do take note that they will give characters a
hard time and make them all the more vulnerable!
Whether
they are budding heroes in the making powerful veterans, the players
will have their work cut out for themselves, Fateforge having room for
both everyday human drama and far-reaching stakes. This can range from
struggling to keep peace between two petty lords all the way to battling
cosmic horrors.
Likewise, the game’s many options will let game
leaders customize their campaign so that it fits the kind of experience
they and their players are looking for.
The modular
system is comprised of five categories: Action, Dark, Gritty, Intrigue,
and Mystery. Here is a quick description for each of them:
◾
Action: Straight from heroic fantasy, this indicates all the rules that
offer epic options and put the character’s feats and achievements at the
forefront.
◾ Dark: These optional rules are all related to horror, madness, or corruption, making for a dark fantasy atmosphere.
◾
Gritty: Use these options if you want harsher and generally more
realistic gameplay, resulting in a tough playstyle where nothing will be
made easy for the PCs—quite the opposite!
◾ Intrigue: These optional
rules focus on the interactions between the characters, on the schemes
and plots between the factions, and on anything that accentuates the
roles of the characters and encourages their interpretation.
◾ Mystery: Designates rules dealing with mysteries, supernatural elements, and anything related to secrets and arcana.
Prince of the Rachamangekr, By Gawain
A Comprehensive Introduction to the Series
The
core of the Fateforge series is made of two books:
◾ Adventurers is the core book, including
thorough rules on character creation, the basic system, an overview of
the world, and equipment, all with plenty of exclusive content: feats,
rules on background creation, class archetypes, and even a new class
called the Scholar.
◾ Grimoire details spellcasting and magic in
general, as well as corruption and madness. It goes over geomagic, a
notion particular to Fateforge that refers to localized magical
phenomena. This book also provides insight into the Awakening, a
phenomenon particular to Eana though which an individual becomes able to
use magic. It also comprises a compendium of more than 360 spells,
including many new ones and original options and variants.
We are planning the release of two additional books, only for game leaders:
◾ Bestiary
gathers information on a multitude of creatures, ranging from revisited
classics like the ankheg or ghoul to unique creations like the ulkani
or nixe. All come with dedicated in-depth profiles, complete with stat
blocks and descriptions of their habits and customs. Naturally, this
book is richly illustrated with breathtaking artworks by the Shadows of
Esteren team (winner of the 2013 ENnie for Best Art), prominently
featuring the art of Gawain, whose work you can see in the present
article.
◾ Arcana covers the history and secrets of the world, at
both a mundane and supernatural scale: deities and other extraordinary
entities (Cankerous princes, demonic princes, archfey, and many more
awe-inspiring beings!), worldwide and extraplanar geography, and of
course artifacts, wonders, and assorted magic items.
Frost Giant, by Gawain
The
creative team is also working on Eana, an atlas that gets to the meat
of the game’s lore and worldbuilding, thoroughly detailing each of its
eighteen civilizations and providing plot hooks, giving an abundance of
material to imagine adventures in the universe of Fateforge.
The
Fateforge series will also come with its own modules, the first of
which has been written by the legendary Ed Greenwood, creator of the
Forgotten Realms, and will have adventurers venture to the foreboding
Fort Ardraco on the trail of a string of kidnappings.
A Manticore, by Gawain
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More...
Fateforge
is the newest creation of Studio Agate. It associates the experience of
the artistic team of Shadows of Esteren, the most awarded French
role-playing game, with that of the best specialists of the most iconic
role-playing game, including translators of the 3rd and 4th Editions.
Adventurers,
the core book of the series, as well as Grimoire, which covers magic
and spellcasting, are both scheduled to be released for GenCon 2019.
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