Since the very early days of tabletop RPGs, gamers have experimented with mixing a bit of science fiction into their fantasy. From Empire of the Petal Throne to Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, early adventurers into the realm of RPGs saw the amazing promise that mysterious and weird science-fantasy elements could add to their campaigns.
Nowadays, who knows science-fantasy better than Monte Cook Games?
Introducing Arcana of the Ancients
Arcana of the Ancients will be your comprehensive guide to bringing science-fantasy into your 5th-edition campaign. This hefty, hardcover book will be filled with creatures, devices, character abilities, technologies, tips, advice, and adventure. All fully compatible with 5E.
Starting with a series of adventures that introduce the idea that there were previously unknown, incredibly ancient civilizations in the game world, the PCs themselves will discover first-hand the relics of a past so old that even the elves and the dragons know nothing of it. These ancient peoples wielded powers beyond comprehension, and the things they left behind harness those strange powers for the PCs to find and use—but they also present dangers and entirely new challenges. Once the secrets of the ancient past have been unlocked, weird new creatures and bizarre beings arise and only the greatest of present day champions will be able to defeat them—and only if they wield the arcana of the ancients.
What else might you do with Arcana of the Ancients? Advance (or create) your character with skills and abilities that take advantage of mysterious ancient technologies. Mystify your PCs with a one-off adventure that explores a crashed alien ship, an ancient high-tech outpost, or a portal to an amazingly advanced world. Convert the compelling Ninth World setting of Numenera to 5E and run adventures in a world replete with mysterious ancient works as powerful, unknowable, and weird as any magic. Build a new campaign world, or region within your setting, that includes ancient high technology as mysterious to your PCs as the magic they wield. Or simply use the many science-fantasy creatures, items, and abilities detailed in this book to give your campaign a new and interesting dimension.
Adventures, ways to integrate ancient civilizations into your campaign, new creatures, new items, new character abilities—Arcana of the Ancients will give you everything you need to integrate mysterious high-technology science fantasy into your game.
The Ancient Worlds of Numenera
Numenera is Monte Cook Game’s flagship tabletop roleplaying game. Set a billion years in Earth’s future, in Numenera the denizens of the Ninth World are surrounded by the ruins of prior civilizations whose technologies were so advanced they are indistinguishable from magic. It’s a game of exploration and discovery in a setting that combines science-fiction elements with a fantasy feel. Launched in 2013, with new revised Numenera Discovery and Numenera Destiny corebooks released in 2018, Numenera has sold over 80,000 corebooks (plus tens of thousands of additional corebooks in nine foreign languages), and spawned dozens of supplements chock full of amazing creatures, items, adventures, and setting elements. It is a top-selling RPG and the definitive modern science-fantasy tabletop roleplaying game.
The wonder and mystery of the Ninth World of Numenera is coming to your 5E game with Arcana of the Ancients.
Now on Kickstarter!
Arcana of the Ancients will release in early 2020, but a Kickstarter campaign is now underway and may add additional exciting upgrades to the project.
