For anyone who may have missed the campaign, but still wanted to get a copy of the game, we have launched the Pre-Order Store on Backerkit!

Check it out right here!


Note that if you are already a backer, this is not the place to add things to an existing pledge. We'll have the pledge manager up and running soon, and that will be where you can add any dice, books, or the GM Kit to your pledge, as well as enter your shipping info.

Hello backers,

Today we’ve got three sample spreads from the rulebook for you. When we made the Fifth Season Quickstart for the crowdfunding campaign, Hal created a basic page design for it. That was more a beginning than an ending though, so you can see here how the design has continued to evolve. I really like the shattering crystal effect he’s done for the sidebars. If I know Hal (and I’ve been working with him for 24 years, so I think I do!), he will continue to tinker and refine until we send the game off the printer.
Let us know what you think.

Chris Pramas
President
Green Ronin Publishing

Hello backers,

Chris Pramas here. I’m the President of Green Ronin and I’ll be handling updates here moving ahead. In January we promised a more substantial update would be coming, so let’s get to it.

We had an ambitious plan for 2023. Namely, to release three new RPGs in a year: Fifth Season, Cthulhu Awakens, and Fantasy AGE 2nd Edition. Towards the end of 2022, this seemed possible. Fantasy AGE 2E had been in development for many years at that point and was finally coming together. Cthulhu Awakens had been Kickstarted a year before Fifth Season and that was also nearing completion. Basically, as we launched the Fifth Season crowdfunder, both Fantasy AGE and Cthulhu were in layout, and it was something of a race to see which one would be finished first. Our plan was to release one game in the Spring, the next in the summer, and the final one in the Fall. 

Then January 2023, Wizards of the Coast tried to cancel the Open Game License and there were suddenly a lot of people looking for an alternate fantasy game and here we had one nearing completion. Fantasy AGE was also the game longest in development, so we decided to release that first, then Cthulhu Awakens, and finally Fifth Season. To be clear, work was happening on all three games throughout last year, but we had to allocate our resources to get it all done. 

What happened? Well, in short, we failed to get all the games out last year. Fantasy AGE came out in the summer. We had hoped to get Cthulhu Awakens out before Xmas at that point, but it didn’t ship from the printer until January. Fulfilment for the Cthulhu Awakens Kickstarter is complete and now it’s heading into stores. 

The reasons why it took that long to get Fantasy AGE and Cthulhu Awakens out are not unique or special. There are simply a lot of moving parts when making and launching an RPG. Relatively small delays, such as an extra week stuck in customs for one project and art coming in slowly on another, had a cascading effect down the line. Fifth Season suffered for being third in the queue, and it took longer to clear the decks for it than we anticipated. 

So, please let me personally apologize for the delays to this point. This hasn't gone the way we planned, obviously, but finishing Fifth Season is my number one priority. I am pressing to get the game shipped to backers in July and I will be here to keep you apprised as we reach our milestones in the weeks ahead.

The next update will be sample page spreads from the layout. Thanks for your patience.

Chris Pramas

Green Ronin Publishing

Hey all,

Apologies for this one coming in at the last minute, but we have another status update for you all, with some more art to show off. Here's Joseph Carriker:

Happy New Year, one and all!

One of the things we wanted to make sure of with these pieces was that they not only told a cogent story clearly rooted in Fifth Season’s setting of the Stillness, but that they also inspired a desire to tell stories there. They’re examples of the sorts of characters that players will be making themselves when the game is done, so they needed to be full of great, evocative imagery to fire imaginations.

Hey everyone!

2023 is rapidly coming to a close, and while Green Ronin is taking a much needed break this week, we still wanted to make sure this month's update went out. It's a super short one, but we do have some cool new character art to show off!

Here's Joseph Carriker;

"Probably the most exciting stuff we’ve got at the moment is some of the awesome and evocative art of the people of the Stillness coming in right now, so we thought we’d share some of the excitement.

As far as the rest of the project goes, we’re continuing work on the core rulebook in production, with the other projects at about the same spot they were last month (though further along in that process, naturally)."

We will be back in 2024 with more progress updates, but we hope everyone has been having a wonderful holiday so far, and that you'll all have an incredible New Year!

Happy Autumn! Let’s break down where we’re at with all the moving parts of this project, shall we?

Core Rulebook: In Production. The core rulebook (including the bonus scenario) is now in layout, and we are starting to figure out the art for everything. (If you didn’t catch the art samples last month, check out October’s update!)

Game Moderator’s Kit: In development. Once we’ve got the main book laid out, we’ll be pulling the important elements into the GM’s screen and the cards, and getting the scenario Ruin-Under laid out.

Map of the Stillness + Fifth Season Digital Map Pack: In Production. Art notes for all of these are wrapped and in Production’s hands. Once we start getting all of the art and cartography contracted out with our artists, this will be among them.

Comms of the Stillness + People of the Stillness: In drafts. These are nearly written and ready for an editor.

~Joseph D. Carriker, Jr.

Exciting News!

We've worked out a solution to the issues involved with shipping to Germany, and we can now successfully send print books to that country! The downside is that international shipping to the EU is still pretty high, and we're unable to cover the VAT fees associated with your order, but we can at last remove this limitation on German backers.

If you are one of our backers currently residing in Germany, and would like to modify your order to include any physical books or add-ons, you can request a new link to survey details using the address below.

https://the-fifth-season-roleplaying-game.backerkit.com/

If you run into any issues with making changes to your pledge in Backerkit, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected].

Hey folks!

Quick update here to address a problem that many of you just pointed out to us!

So it looks like the early-backer offer for a free print copy of the Quickstart was causing the digital-only pledges (which didn't require a shipping address), to default to the maximum amount for shipping in your region by mistake. 

We've just now turned on "enter shipping info" for those $2, PDF only, and VTT only pledge tiers, just in case you qualified for the printed Quickstart, so that you can see the actual shipping amount, and not that very high, and very surprising number.

If you'd rather not receive the print copy of the Quickstart after all, send us an email to custserv AT greenronin DOT com, and we'll remove it for you. 

So sorry for the confusion!

Hey Backers,
 
The smoke test was successful, and today we are sending out the remaining surveys to all backers! It may take a little bit of time for all surveys to reach inboxes, but if you still do not have the email after 24 hours, you can use the link at the end of this update.
 
Important Note! One thing that we did notice, is that a few backers who had increased their pledge by $25, which just happens to be the price of the Game Moderator's Kit, ended up not adding that item to their cart in the Add-ons section. Unfortunately, the GM Kit was not able to be added to existing pledges during the campaign, so a number of people increased the total of their pledge to make sure the funds would be available later, and to help unlock stretch goals! We suspect a few folks may have forgotten what the extra $25 was for.
 
So just a reminder to please look over your cart carefully before submitting your completed survey. Particularly if you notice you still have a positive total remaining!
 
If you were one of the smoke-test backers who already completed their survey and want to double check to make sure everything looks right, you can request a new link to your survey at the address below.
 
https://the-fifth-season-roleplaying-game.backerkit.com/
 
If you have questions or any concerns, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].

Hello Backers!

Before we turn things over to Joseph Carriker for the latest progress update (we'll post that separately, because it's a pretty big one), we have some news about the Pledge Manger at last!

It's taken much longer than expected, but we're ready to start sending out surveys for your pledges! Some of you may have noticed that global shipping costs have dramatically increased over the last several months, but we've managed to finally arrange with our fulfillment partners for rates that accurately reflect our estimate during the campaign. 

For those of you who are new to crowdfunding campaigns, here's what happens next: Along with this update, we'll be initially sending out surveys for what is called a "smoke test". This is a small percentage of backers across every pledge tier, so we can test out the pledge manager and make sure everything runs smoothly. We'll keep an eye on how things go over the weekend, and so long as we don't encounter any significant issues, we'll send out the remaining surveys on Monday (the 24th).

For anyone who wanted to add to their pledge to pick up a set of dice, or the Game Moderator's Kit, this will be the perfect opportunity to do so, since Backerkit's system wouldn't let folks add those items during the live campaign. 

When the PDF is completed, we'll send that out to backers next, and once things have gone to press, we'll lock in your shipping addresses, and charge for any shipping fees once print production is underway! We'll also be sure to give everyone plenty of early warning before that's about to happen.

If you have any questions or concerns, you can always reach us at custserv AT greenronin, and we'll get things sorted out for you.

Apologies for the time it took us to put this together, but it turns out we’ve got a lot of these plates spinning! 

This month, we’re bringing you some of the worldbuilding detail of the Stillness, as distilled from Jemisin’s novels by one of our developers, Hiromi Cota. This is from a set of art notes for maps of comms that are one of our stretch goals, but we thought it might make a fun look at not just what we’re doing, but how we’re doing it behind the scenes.

Enjoy!

~Joseph D. Carriker

Each settlement is enclosed by at least a partial wall, with the exception of the Islands Village. Walls generally have ladders or stairs on the city’s side for defenders and lookouts to observe the land around them. In addition to the walls, they also have a large gate, often with mechanical assists to opening, like levers, counter-balances, or pulley systems. The books don’t mention hydraulics, but wealthy cities and towns have the appropriate technology for it.

This world did not develop complex metallurgy, thus doesn’t have internal combustion engines or computers. So, there are no cars or trains here. Instead, transportation is largely by horse, some other beast of burden, or by foot. However, they have a highly sophisticated understanding of chemistry and geology, nearly on par with our own. So, some settlements  — particularly wealthy cities — pave their streets with asphalt or some other polymer-based mixture.

Similarly, stoneworking and masonry in this world are on par or beyond ours, even though we have computer aided design. Part of this is because there’s a type of magic that allows its wielders to raise perfectly supported structures straight out of the bedrock. This magic is too expensive for most places, but several settlements have buildings with utterly no tool marks and daring architecture that could be basically anything you can dream up. As an example, the emperor of this world and his family live in a massive, amber geodesic dome-palace that sits on top of an obsidian star pyramid that serves as the capital building. 

Metal construction is generally frowned upon, but some places still have it, especially in places an architect might show off a little. (e.g. decorations, the city’s gate, railings). Because of the advanced geology and chemistry here, glass can be far stronger than in our world; the books mention “bridges woven of glass and audacity,” which implies load-bearing glass is rare but not impossible. Also, glass in this world is often quite colorful or even opaque.

The technology level varies wildly between these settlements, with the cities having geothermal & hydroelectric power and electric lights and the villages making due with candles. Places in between generally use oil lights. Natural gas, coal gas, and coal exist, but are rare because of the inherent dangers and historical reasons.

An up-and-coming town. The residents are in the middle of doubling the acreage by building a temporary wooden wall.

Hello, all. It’s time for your Fifth Season Roleplaying update!

Core Rulebook: In Production, with Miroq Festival adventure In Edits. With the exception of the Miroq Festival scenario (which was a stretch goal from the campaign), this is all ready and in the capable hands of our production department, who handle the layout and art! Here in the coming months, we’ll hopefully be able to show off some of the lovely work they do.

Game Moderator’s Kit: In development. My main task at the moment is planning for the contents of the Game Moderator’s screens, and the cards that come with it. The bonus scenario in this kit, Ruin-Under is back from editing and looking great!

Map of the Stillness + Fifth Season Digital Map Pack: In outlines. Hiromi has been hard at work getting the notes necessary to allow our cartographers to make these happen. Once they’re all wrapped and good to go, we may even share them with y’all! Still hard at work on them currently, though.

Comms of the Stillness: In outlines. Planning phase is nearly done with this, and writing is about to start. Looking forward to creating some fun places for the PCs to call home…or to count as neighbors. 

Other Stretch Goal Projects: The other stretch goal projects are waiting in the wings for their turn on the table, and we’re anxious to get to them. More info soon!

~Joseph D. Carriker

Happy April, fans of The Stillness! Let’s get right into it.

 

Miroq Festival and Ruin-Under Adventures: To edits. Though I held back these adventures from seeing an editor to give me a chance to do a little creative reorganizing (mainly for both consistency between adventures and for ease of running), they’ll be in our editor’s hands by the end of this week! We’ll likely have them back by early May, which will make the core rulebook ready for production!

 

Game Moderator’s Kit: In development. With Ruin-Under headed to editing, this is our next focus: compiling the best and most useful GM’s screen we can.

 

Map of the Stillness: In development. The ever-delightful Hiromi Cota has undertaken the impressive task of putting together book and game references to every place in the Stillness so that we can work with a cartographer to build up our own map of the Broken Earth cycle’s setting.

 

In Outlines/Planning: Comms of the Stillness, Comm Creation Folio, People of the Stillness, and Fifth Season Digital Map Pack are in planning and outlining stages, but they’re next on the To Do List!

 

As always, thanks again for joining us and for your enthusiasm for this project. We can’t wait to show you everything we’ve got for you.

~Joseph D. Carriker

Is it really March already? Joseph Carriker is here with our monthly update to keep you informed of where we are in the process. One important note however is that the pledge manager is not quite ready for launch, as we are still negotiating the cheapest shipping rates possible, particularly for our international backers! But we should have more news there in the coming weeks.

Take it away, Joe!



Happy Spring, all! 

 

Firstly, we’d like to take a moment to thank all of you for your enthusiasm and support in this little campaign of ours. We’re excited about the possibilities of exploring N.K. Jemisin’s setting of The Stillness, especially using our AGE system.

 

(If you’re interested in some of the other new developments in AGE-land, take a look at the second edition of Fantasy AGE, now available for pre-order here: https://greenroninstore.com/collections/fantasy-age/products/fantasy-age-core-rulebook . You can get the PDF immediately with your pre-order for just $5 extra. Pre-order and start reading right away!)

 

Let’s take a look at this project’s status at the moment, shall we?

 

Fifth Season Core Rulebook: With the exception of an adventure added as a stretch goal, this book has been written and edited. We’re incorporating some of N.K. Jemisin’s feedback into the text and gearing up the Great Art Machine to start on some awesome visuals, in the Green Ronin tradition. Once Miroq Festival (see following) is through editing, we can get this bad boy into layout.

 

Miroq Festival Adventure: This excellent adventure by Alice Rendell was a stretch goal for the campaign. At this point, it has been developed and is about to go into edits. Once that is done, all the text for the core rulebook will be finished and ready to go (as mentioned above). 

 

Game Moderator’s Kit: In development. The bonus stretch goal adventure, Nell Raban’s excellent Ruin-Under, is written and developed, and about to go into edits alongside Miroq Festival. 

 

We’ve just started work outlining the other campaign rewards: Comms of the Stillness, Comm Creation Folio, People of the Stillness, and the Fifth Season Digital Map Pack. More details about these as we solidify them! We’ve got a lot of cool stuff to look forward to, and we’re excited to share it with you in the coming weeks.

~Joseph Carriker,