January Update - More finished art and Orogeny Preview!
7 days ago – Wed, Jan 29, 2025 at 12:35:02 PM

We have some great things to show off during this update! First up, we have some amazing art by Julie Sakai, Christian Huerta, Claudio Pozas, and Danil Luzin! But stick around after the illustrations because we also have a preview of some material for the book!



This piece by Julie Sakai shows how characters grow and mature and how the same person who needs a helping hand one day can become the person providing a helping hand to others as they grow up.



This illustration, also by Julie Sakai, is the fourth one for the Adversaries section of the book, showcasing the terrors that are stone eaters. Not all of them are as amiable as Hoa, so stay on your toes if you see one around. Also, if you spot one, that’s good news! Because if they definitely wanted to fight, you’d already be in combat.



This dynamic painting by Julie Sakai shows off just how deadly Guardians can be, as this one wields both a poniard and a macuahuitl. She’s definitely not messing around, as the poor Orogene below her is quickly learning.



This painting from Christian Huerta shows how, with a little imagination, you can see the Stillness manifest in your mind’s eye. I really love how Christian brought this one to life!



Keeping the theme of manifesting characters and events in the Stillness, we have this painting by Claudio Pozas. It features me as the GM, roleplaying as a Western Coastals woman who’s providing information to Tanya DePass and Joe Carriker’s characters.



Rounding out the gorgeous illustrations by our talented artists is this exciting painting by Danil Luzin. These two characters are on the run, although the Strongback’s knives may cut their pursuit short.

 

And now, we have a preview of the text of the book! The fantastic Malcolm Sheppard put together a glorious expansion to the Orogene abilities, which allows players to play ‘feral’ or Fulcrum orogenes, from ones just learning to control their abilities to ten-ringers, who have the power and control to reshape the Stillness!

 

Here are some quick previews!

Sidebar: More on Role Balance

Characters with different levels of raw power are often thought to violate game balance. If one character can swing a glassknife and the other can level a mountain, doesn’t that make the glassknife wielder irrelevant? But stories aren’t about who’s the strongest, but who provides what the story needs. This is role balance and, as we note under Be Ready, it’s more important than power when it comes to balanced play in an Orogeny Ascendant story.

Game Moderators make role balance work by helping players develop characters whose abilities and personal stories give each of them a unique part to play. An orogene might level buildings or raise them, but they can’t necessarily do it without causing new disasters unless a geneer Innovator shows them how. A destructive orogene might annihilate a dozen armed strongbacks but listen to a lover approaching in peace. The fact that none of us can survive alone is, after all, one of the lessons of stonelore. As GM, make this clear by devising stories where each character has a chance to contribute.

Orogeny Talents

Basic systems for orogeny, sufficient for the occasional feral, can be found in Chapter 7. The following detailed rules are more suitable for stories centered on orogenes and orogeny. In terms of raw power, these rules aren’t balanced against the rules for ordinary talents and specializations, but they provide a window into orogeny’s full power and significance to the Stillness.

Orogeny

Requirements: Game Moderator consent. See this talent’s listing in Chapter 7 and this appendix for discussions of when an orogene is appropriate for play.

You are an orogene, possessed of tremendous power, and also tremendous danger. This talent is really just the most basic potential an orogene possesses. All orogenes must possess at least the Novice degree of this talent or, for non-player characters, an equivalent special quality.

Novice: You can acquire the Perception (Sessing) focus as an advancement. Whether you take the focus or not, you can make Perception (Sessing) tests to detect geological activity affecting your surroundings: impending tremors or movements of the Earth, potential boils or hotspots, and so forth. You can perform instinctive and willful orogeny according to the rules in this appendix.

Expert: You acquire the Willpower (Orogeny) focus without using an advancement. The first 2 SP of such stunts do not impose a degree of the Fatigued Condition. Furthermore, you may add your Orogeny focus bonus (the bonus of the focus itself—usually +2—without the underlying ability) to tests to avoid instinctive orogeny. If you’re a Fulcrum member and possess the Perception (Sessing) focus and a Willpower of 1 or higher, you can pass the tests necessary to gain your first ring.

Master: The first 4 SP of Orogeny Stunts do not impose a degree of the Fatigued Condition. You may add an additional +2 to Willpower (Self-Discipline) tests to avoid instinctive orogeny, on top of your Willpower (Orogeny) focus bonus. If you’re a Fulcrum member with the requirements listed under the Expert degree except that your Willpower is at least 2, you can pass the tests required to gain your second ring. 

Fulcrum Orogene

If a young orogene survives and the Fulcrum detects them through its various means, they send a Guardian to escort the child to the Arctic, Equatorial, or Antarctic Fulcrum. If the child can’t control themselves along the way, the Guardian kills them. If they fail to learn the exacting control demanded by Fulcrum orogeny, they suffer various fates known only to the Guardians and Sanzed elite. Initial Fulcrum training incorporates the Expert and Master degrees of the Orogeny talent. (Children who have developed higher than Novice rank in the Orogeny talent before entering the Fulcrum’s custody are distrusted and might be eliminated.)

Taking the Fulcrum Orogene talent marks an orogene as more than a survivor, though survival is still an extraordinary feat. They’ve become accomplished blackjackets who’ve earned a third ring in the ten rings of rank. A structured path of power lies before them, but it is never theirs alone. They are Fulcrum orogenes, supposed non-humans whose gifts serve Sanzed hegemons and other interests they will never be allowed to know. You’re one of them, and you don’t need to believe any of it.

Requirements: Master Orogeny Talent, Willpower 2, Perception (Sessing) focus

You survived the Fulcrum. You earned your first two rings by mastering the Orogeny talent; now your skills demonstrate the advantages of Fulcrum training even as the Fulcrum itself treats you as something to be used for its own purposes.

Novice—Three Rings: The Fulcrum required you to exercise extraordinary sensitivity and self-control. You may reroll failed Perception (Sessing) and Willpower (Self-Discipline) tests.

Expert—Four Rings: Your training deepens, and you cautiously gain new insights into orogeny as you work. You gain one Fulcrum Advanced Stunt, chosen when you gain this degree. Furthermore, if you succeed at a Willful Orogeny test, add 1 SP to the total you gain to spend on Orogeny stunts.

Master—Five Rings: You’re an accomplished blackjacket, held up as a model of how Sanzed culture can tame orogenes. You can even be trusted to be on your own—so long as your Guardian allows it. (Five-ringers and above are no longer required to have a partner or Guardian when traveling outside the Fulcrum, but they still have an assigned Guardian who must vet their activities.) You gain an additional Fulcrum Advanced Stunt. If you succeed at a Willful Orogeny test, add another 1 SP to the total you gain to spend on Orogeny stunts, for a total of +2.

Grandmaster—Six Rings: At six rings you’ve demonstrated extraordinary talent. Guardians watch more closely than ever. The Fulcrum is likely to order you to have children with other powerful orogenes—and they’ll belong to the Fulcrum, of course. You gain an additional Fulcrum Advanced Stunt. If you succeed at a Willful Orogeny test, add another 1 SP to the total you gain to spend on Orogeny stunts, for a total of +3.

Apex—Seven Rings: There may be three more rings to the peak of Fulcrum rank, but at seven you’ve reached the limit of what the Fulcrum itself can teach you, though not what other Fulcrum orogenes can. You can take any one Advanced Orogeny stunt, including those of other Orogeny talents, as long as you meet the prerequisites for the linked talent. If you succeed at a Willful Orogeny test, add another 1 SP to the total you gain to spend on Orogeny stunts, for a total of +4.

 

Core Orogeny Stunts

SP       Stunt

1+        Advanced Sessing: You sense objects and movements upon and under the earth beyond geological phenomena. Finer or further targets require more SP. See the Advanced Sessing Feats table for costs. Sessing lasts for the round. To extend it, you must devote a minor action each round to maintaining it.

1+        Stilling: You stop or still a shake or similar geological hazard with a level equal to twice the number of SP spent. See Hazards in Chapter 8 for hazard levels.

1+        Icing: You rapidly draw away all of the heat in the surrounding area, causing 1d6 penetrating damage per SP spent in a roughly 10-meter radius. Any creature killed by icing is frozen solid, and a layer of ice or frost covers all surfaces in the area. Icing affects every creature in its radius except for the orogene who causes it.

1+        Hazard: You cause a geological hazard with a number of dice equal to twice the number of SP spent (up to 5 SP). This can range from a minor shake that does 2d6 damage to a massive one that does 10d6 damage. The Game Moderator decides the exact nature of the shake, blow, or boil, depending on the SP, the area, and the total damage. 

2+        Move Torus (Icing): Instead of Icing all targets in a 10-meter radius you can move and reshape its area of effect. For every 2 SP you can move the Icing area of effect by 20 meters. Each 2 SP can also narrow it by 4 meters along one facing in exchange for lengthening it by another an equal amount, keeping the total area of effect constant.

2+        Shaping: You lift stone from the earth and shape it as you choose. Larger or more complex shapes require additional SP. See the Shaping Feats table for details.

 

Hiromi here again. That was just a vertical slice through the goodness in this orogeny update, representing about 7% of the total size of the appendix. We’d love to show you more, but there’s no way we’d be able to fit it all in one update! Stay tuned for more!

December Update:
about 2 months ago – Fri, Dec 20, 2024 at 10:25:34 AM

Hello backers,

Before we close for the holidays, I want to give you an update about where the Fifth Season RPG is at and when you can expect it. The game is currently scheduled for a March release in print, with the PDF coming the month before. Art has continued to come in, so it’ll largely be a matter of finishing the book’s layout in January. We plan to send the Game Moderator’s Kit to print at the same time, so they can ship together.

So, that’s the plan. N.K. Jemisin has already read the game and given us feedback, which we have implemented. Once the layout is done, we will send her a PDF for final approval. When we get the thumbs up, you’ll get the PDF and we’ll send it to print.

Thank you for your patience. Have a great holiday season!
Chris Pramas

And now, some more art previews with commentary from Hiromi!



This is Moasi, everyone’s favorite Strongback! (or at least Hiromi’s favorite) She’s coming back from a successful hunt that took care of a wolf threat to the comm. As a bonus, it’ll provide a warm fur pelt, a fair bit of meat, and assorted other bits that the comm can make use of. Art by Danil Luzin.

This is Kaneya Fivering, formerly of the Somidlats, now quite obviously based out of Fulcrum. He’s out on a mission, fixing up a comm wall that was damaged in an earth shake. Art by Danil Luzin.

This is a Season-changed kirkhusa. They’re ordinarily quite cute and cuddly, but this one will take your face off if you’re not careful. Art by Claudio Pozas.

Moasi’s back! (I told you she was Hiromi’s favorite Strongback) Here she is giving a commless raider a quick lesson. Art by Claudio Pozas.

November Update: New Art!
2 months ago – Wed, Nov 27, 2024 at 10:45:50 AM

Hey folks,

This month we have another art preview for you. Finalizing the art for a book and waiting for it to be completed is nearly always the most time-consuming part of a project. It can a little frustrating when the book is so close to being finished, but you're still waiting on just one or two more pieces.

We've had a LOT of new art come in this month, and every piece brings us that much closer to the book's release!  Here's a few highlights with commentary from Hiromi.



This is a look at the Miroq Festival, which is both the name of the adventure in the core book and the name of the festival that the players’ characters will visit during the scenario. As some Broken Earth fans might already know, miroq is the name of a grain that was the staple crop of the Nomidlats and Somidlats (and by extension, the Equatorials). The Fungus Season in 602 Imperial wiped the crop out. While the crop has been extinct for around 2,200 years, the festival in honor of a successful harvest season has remained off and on in certain parts of the Midlats. Art by Danil Luzin.

These are the three Leaders of the comms participating in the Miroq Festival: (from left to right) Zeah Leadership Tozon (the PCs’ leader), Niyomi Leadership Estra, and Aleke Leadership Rowene. Zeah is a tough woman who needs the festival to go well as the comm hasn’t been doing well lately. Niyomi is the festival’s charming host. And Aleke has been the headman of Rowene for an unusually long time, given that he’s only in his early 30s. He hates Zeah and blames her for his husband’s old injury. Art by Danil Luzin.

This is part of the PCs’ convoy, departing Tozon and heading for Estra, the site of the Miroq Festival. Art by Danil Luzin.

And finally we have a new preview of the map in color! Although it still has some minor revisions needed, so this isn't quite the final version yet.

October Update: New Layout Previews
3 months ago – Wed, Oct 30, 2024 at 11:43:34 AM

September Update: Poster Map Preview!
4 months ago – Mon, Sep 30, 2024 at 12:28:41 PM

Greetings, Fifth Season fans!

Hiromi Cota here with a guest update. For folks who don’t know me, I’m one of the co-developers for the Fifth Season Roleplaying Game core book and the developer for a few of the stretch goals.

Speaking of stretch goals, we’ve received the rough draft of the poster map! And it is gorgeous!



I didn’t make it easy for the cartographer; my brief for them was 14 pages long! I laid out huge amounts of vital information, as well as additional information that they could add if they had room to do so. They delivered in a big way! I love how the map looks ready to use in a game and how the features feel geologically-sensible and book-accurate. For example, Palela and Brevard, the first two towns we saw in Damaya’s tale, are about 40 miles apart or “a hard [day’s] ride” apart, which is reflected in the map.

A little behind the scenes for a portion of my process:
I scoured through the books, looking for any mentions of what roads connected which cities and how far apart the cities were. For many connections, miles weren’t given, so I had to take my best guess, based on how many days it took to complete the trek and whether the characters were on horse, wagon, or foot, and what kind of terrain they were traveling over. Not all city-to-city travel sequences mentioned days, so I had to read through and take my best guess, based on temporal clues in the prose (e.g. sunrise, meals, nightfall).

Why would I go through that much effort?

Well, 4 reasons:

1. I care.
2. I have AuDHD.
3. I know there are superfans who will be looking for precise, accurate details, and I didn’t want to let them down (or risk their wrath).
4. Green Ronin doesn’t own the copyright to the map that appeared in the novels, which means we couldn’t use it, and we couldn’t base the new map off of it. Since we had to start from scratch, I wanted to make sure that the cartographer had all the data they needed to make the absolute best map that we could deliver to you.

• The geometric elements of the inset map are of Corepoint, while the organic shape ‘infecting’ the center is Warrant. It’s both metaphorical and a possible depiction of how the corridors of Warrant were “beaten and clawed out of the shield volcano over a period of days or weeks—hurriedly…” (The Stone Sky, p. 186).
• I didn’t actually specify what kind of geometric shape, but the cartographer selected one of the most appropriate ones, as Corepoint has a rectangular motif!
• If you look to the Western Coastals, you’ll see Deejna is just west of supervolcano. That’s “Madness,” the one that caused the Madness Season.