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(cover not final)
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My name is Marcelo Paschoalin. I've being playing roleplaying games since 1986 and writing novels since the late '90s. I have more than a dozen published books, including dark fantasy novels and other roleplaying games. In no particular order, I'm an author, translator, father, and husband, and I also live with 7 (yes, seven!) cats.
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Ancient Worlds: Atisi is not only a Bronze Age setting inspired by Egyptian Mythology: it's another milestone in our journey to provide good RPG material to the world! When you back this project, you give us authors and developers tools to create even more and bring excellence to the roleplaying community all over the world.
Now I have two bits of news: the good and the even better.
The good news is the book is almost done! Yes, you read that right: all of the text has been edited and proofread, and I've even got an alpha layout ready for you! Are you with me? This project is ready to receive the green light from the start. The only thing that's missing (and it's a stretch goal) is art. I'm sure we'll be able to raise the needed funds to hire good artists to bring this vision into life.
And the even-better news? Check out the perk/reward levels. We've kept them as simple and inexpensive as possible. You can just donate money if you're feeling generous (or don't have enough for a PDF or book, but still want to see this project succeed), back for a PDF, or back for a physical book.
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Of course! Here you will find some sample pages. Be patient with us since this is just a draft, okay?
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There are a few ways to help bring this project to life:
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With a little help ($1+): When you choose this perk, you are giving us a thumbs up and, in return, you'll have your name listed in the book's credits as thanks for your support.
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Dyslexic-friendly PDF ($5+): After some research, I've found that dyslexics have a hard time reading most traditional RPG books. I'm offering a plain PDF book with a simple font/typeface in dark grey over a light yellow/beige background, double-spaced, with no art. This can be more easily read or even listened to using text-to-speech software. You'll also have your name listed in the book's credits as thanks for your support.
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A kind of magic ($14+): When you choose this perk, you'll receive something that the people of the past would surely consider magic -- a PDF file of Ancient Worlds: Atisi! Who can deny PDFs are magical when they bring worlds like this to life? You'll also have your name listed in the book's credits as thanks for your support.
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Sword and sorcery ($39+): When you choose this perk, you are saying you don't want simply the ethereal version of the book -- you want the physical thing as well! You'll receive a PDF file and a print-on-demand black & white softcover copy of Ancient Worlds: Atisi. Of course, you'll have your name listed in the book's credits as thanks for your support as well.
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Atisi verde e amarelo ($50+): Esta recompensa é apenas para quem está no Brasil: você receberá o livro colorido, com capa dura, ganhará também um PDF, e terá seu nome na página de agradecimentos. -- O frete para esta recompensa (US$ 10) já será incluído ao finalizar o apoio. -- E mais: você também receberá um PDF com os manuais de classe (playbooks) traduzidos para o português!
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A gift to give ($52+): When you choose this perk, you'll receive two PDF files of Ancient Worlds: Atisi (so you can gift one to someone else) and a print-on-demand black & white softcover copy. Of course, you'll have your name listed in the book's credits as thanks for your support as well.
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Banding together ($60+): When you choose this perk, you are responsible for bringing joy and glory to your gaming group, as you'll receive five PDF copies of Ancient Worlds: Atisi! Your name and the names of your gaming group will be listed in the book's credits as thanks for your support.
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Patron of the arts ($100+): When you choose this perk, you are sponsoring a specific art piece that will be in the book, whether we achieve the stretch goals or not. Your money will be invested in hiring an artist to create a special piece and your name will be shown by the artwork (something like "Art by Jane, sponsored by Josh"). You will also receive a PDF file and a print-on-demand black & white softcover copy of Ancient Worlds: Atisi. Of course, you'll have your name listed in the book's credits as thanks for your support as well.
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Hardcover upgrade (+$13): If you are getting a print-on-demand softcover book and want to upgrade your reward in order to receive a hardcover book instead, select this perk in addition to what you have already selected. After you select the first perk/reward and make your payment, you need to do it a second time, selecting this perk.
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Color upgrade (+$32): If you are getting a print-on-demand book and want to upgrade your reward to receive a color book, select this perk in addition to what you have already selected. After you select the first perk/reward and make your payment, you need to do it a second time, selecting this perk.
By the way, as soon as you back this project at any perk/reward level except With a little help, you'll have access to the complete alpha book (the working version of the PDF) in order to read everything from day 1 -- it may take up to 24 hours for me to send you the link, as this is a manual process, but you won't need to wait for the end of the campaign.
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If your perk/reward includes a print-on-demand book (softcover or hardcover, black & white or color, depending on your choices), we'll assess shipping and charge you after the campaign ends.
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Surely I do!
- Editing/proofreading (already complete!)
- Alpha layout (it's ready!)
- Consult artists about the illustrations (done!)
- Crowdfunding (we are here!) <<<
- Hire artists to create everything needed (if the stretch goal is met)
- Beta layout (this includes listing all backers' names in the credits and laying out art, if we meet the stretch goal)
- Final proofread (finding loose ends)
- Buy soft/hardcover to check for problems (I want you all to receive the best quality book I can provide)
- Final layout and send the rewards to backers (yay!)
- Communication and feedback from backers (I want to earn XP to improve and offer you even better things in the future)
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To make Ancient Worlds: Atisi real is a simple and quick process. Basically, this works like a pre-order: you back the project and, at the end of the campaign, you'll receive what you asked for. However, the paramount difference between crowdfunding and preordering it that if we don't reach the goal, you'll have your money back and the book won't happen. You are guaranteed to receive what you pay for. This ensures transparency during the whole process.
Backing this project is as easy as 1-2-3:
- Choose your perk/reward
- Back the project
- Share the campaign with your friends
Choosing the perk/reward is the first step. Check the available perks and see which one calls to you. When in doubt, Sword & sorcery is the most popular reward with the best value, as it includes the PDF file and a print-on-demand softcover book.
Backing the project is the second step. That's why we have that lateral fields to the right: just choose your perk, click on it, confirm the dollar amount and you'll be directed to the checkout screen.
Sharing the campaign is the final step. After all, the more people who know about Ancient Worlds: Atisi, the greater chance we have of reaching the goal. And if you liked the project and invested your money, you want this to be funded -- if you bring two more people to the game, we triple our efforts!
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If we reach our main goal and the book becomes a reality, why not take this a step further and dream big? This is what I call a rational dream, as I have my feet firmly on the ground when thinking about what I can offer. If this campaign exceeds the initial plan, we'll have more goodies:
- At $2,000 we'll have art! I'll be able to commission art for the book so it won't be simply a well crafted wall of text with stock art. This, of course, will impact the schedule, but I'll keep everyone posted at least twice a month telling you how close we are to having all the art done.
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Sample image by Brazilian artist Paloma Diniz
- At $5,500 all backers, regardless of perk/reward level, will get a PDF file and at-cost code for purchasing a print-on-demand copy of special decks of cards from DriveThruRPG. Each Playbook Deck will include all of the basic and advanced plus all basic, advanced, and specific moves for that Playbook. The GM Deck will have GM moves and a few play aids. I anticipate each deck to cost around $6.20 plus shipping.
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- At $10,000 all backers, regardless of perk/reward level, will get a new playbook designed by David Guyll and Melissa Fisher in PDF.
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Maybe we'll have more stretch goals, but I don't want to bite more than I can chew. I want this to be a success, and in order to do that I need to be realistic about what I can offer to you.
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A few people have had an early access to the book, so here's what they talking about it:
"Ancient Worlds is a unique, refreshing take on Dungeon World, and as a setting, you won’t find anything like this anywhere else. I’d bring this book to my table, even if I wasn’t running the supplement; the tables, magic items, monsters and story hooks are just that good!" -- Yochai Gal (read the full review here)
"Ancient Worlds: Atisi is a wonderfully original concept. While it draws inspiration from ancient Egyptian and Nubian culture, it is not a cheap copy. You won’t find references to Nefertiti or the Nile within its pages, but rather a world all Paschoalin’s own. Not only is the content original, it doesn’t lean on tired stereotypes of Ancient Egypt either; in other words, it is not Cecil B. DeMille or Elizabeth Taylor’s Egypt, but rather an attempt to really capture the true culture of the region at that time." -- L. Frazier, Valkyries - Black Women RPG Group admin (read the full review here)
"Ancient Worlds: Atisi is an ancient Egyptian style fantasy world and its reimagining by Marcelo appears rock solid. (...) All in all I think this is a very good game setting. What I have seen is an Advance Review Copy and not the finished work but it looks extremely good." -- Peter R., on Stargazer's World (read the full review here)
"Atisi is a game written on a big scale. You won't find moves granting a paltry +1 to Hack & Slash here, and the classes are all tailored to support the low magic, high danger feel. These are big heroes, who will write their destinies large across the world.
There's a very definite traditional vibe, with elegant moves for dual-wielding and spending treasure, weapon degrading tags, and my favorite old tool, the bag of marbles. There's also a hexmap with plenty of keyed locations, most with their own location Move and questions, that evoke the setting very well. The monsters are flavorful and interesting, whether you need something for your PCs to hack through or negotiate with.
Overall, Atisi does a great job of evoking the feel of a dream-like Ancient Egypt, with interesting places to explore and plenty of sword and sorcery threats (cultists! serpent demons!) and exotic artifacts to keep a table engaged for the long haul." -- Tam H.
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As this is not my first crowdfunding project (I've done six successful crowdfunding campaigns in Brazil, each one delivering all rewards at the proposed time or even earlier), I have some know-how in managing campaigns like this -- even if this is my first Indiegogo experience. As the book is almost done, the only delays I foresee are collecting the names of the backers to include in the credits page and acquiring art (if we meet that stretch goal). Even then, the textual content of the book is the basis of everything else and all backers will be able to read it as soon as possible.
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Q: Can you tell me how the money will be spent?
A: The basic goal is to have physical copies made and so on. Any extra money will be invested in art -- even if we don't reach the stretch goal, I intend to purchase at the very least some stock art -- and related assets.
Q: Do you intend to write sourcebooks or additional material?
A: Atisi is just one of the insular kingdoms in the setting. There are others, like Kunla, Mungo, Gotai, etc. and, depending on the success of this crowdfunding and the interest of our readers, we may see other books soon.
Q: I see the estimate delivery date is December/2018. Can you elaborate?
A: Sure. As soon as the crowdfunding campaign ends, I'll send the backers surveys to confirm the names they want on the credits page. Meanwhile, if we have reached the stretch goal that gives us art, I'll have the hired artists working. I intend to send all backers updates on this progress every two weeks. Art done (let's say, by October)? Good. The penultimate layout will be done and I'll order softcover and hardcover PoD books to be sure everything is in order. I expect one extra re-order to fix any issues ( most likely in late November), and then I'll be able to ship everything. If anything happens to affect this schedule, I'll promptly send all backers updates as soon as possible.
Q: I like what I see here, but I don't know about Dungeon World. Can you help me?
A: Dungeon World is an easy tabletop RPG system: roll 2d6 and add a statistic. On a 10+ you get a full success, a 7-9 is a partial success and you'll get what you want but with a catch, and on a 6- the GM will tell you what went wrong. You can read more about Dungeon World here and even find the whole System Reference Document here.
Q: I want to review your book.
A: You do realize this is not a question, right?
Q: But you answered with a question. That's not right.
A: This is not a question either. Moot point.
Q: I'm serious.
A: You also realize I'm old enough to use that sentence as a really bad dad joke, don't you, Serious? In any case, if you want to review my book, send me a message and we'll talk about it.