Thank you one last time for supporting our project. ❤️
I hope you have all received your packages and are already playing Serenissima Obscura at your tables. Although I have (for now) no immediate successor planned in the Magical Renaissance, my heart remains with all the characters and stories we have created, waiting patiently for someone to open this Pandora’s box.
After many months of waiting, we are now closing the pledge manager for good. However, a few people have yet to complete the forms and therefore have not received their rewards. If you are among these 13 backers, please feel free to contact us at any time: [email protected]
We also invite you to join our Discord to stay connected and discuss your experiences with Serenissima Obscura: https://discord.gg/4fdtRGe3g
Vortex Verlag is also approaching its next crowdfunding – the biggest project ever!
Shanarel
... is a vast, vibrant, and charming high fantasy world for 5E and other tabletop RPGs. With 21 peoples, 45 cultures, and 118 countries, it is bursting with imagination – a whole continent of wonders and stories waiting to be explored.
we are super proud that our mega-project Serenissima Obscura has come to a close:
All books and supplements have been printed and most backers have received their packages. Our immediate contacts on the Ars Magica Discord server seem to like it a lot. We are sooo thankful to everyone ho backed and supported our project. Without you, my dark version of Renaissance Venice would never have come alive!
You might know that some of our Serenissima Obscura supplements are only available as digital versions. The print versions of the maps and the two extra books for 5e and Ars Magica were exclusive for the backers of the campaign. That's so sad!
However, we have some print copies leftover from the crowdfunding and will bring them to conventions until they run out. 🏃🏽♂️
We are looking forward to handing them over to you at the following German conventions:
Nordcon, Hamburg
Krönchen Con, Siegen
Spielwiesn, Augsburg
Dreieichcon, Hessen
Saarcon, Saarbrücken
Coming in March 2027: Shanarel
Shanarel is a whimsical fantasy campaign setting for tabletop RPGs, set on a vast and vibrant continent where the strange is ordinary and the impossible feels just within reach. Designed as a 5E campaign setting and easily adaptable to other systems, it offers a rich and inviting fantasy setting guide for GMs and players alike.
It’s a joyful ride for GMs and players who delight in colourful, curious, and delightfully odd adventures – the kind of tabletop roleplaying experience that embraces wonder, playfulness, and discovery. Shanarel is a world you might actually want to live in: gentler than our own, yet still brimming with mystery, magic, and just enough danger to keep things exciting.
Expect talking oddities, peculiar cultures, and moments of quiet beauty woven between bursts of adventure. This is escapism with a smile – a fantasy worldbook where imagination takes the lead and exploration is always rewarded.
Fully compatible with D&D 5E, Shanarel is also flexible by design – a system-agnostic campaign setting you can easily adapt to suit your game and make entirely your own.
Shipping for Serenissima Oscura has started. The first German backers should already have their copies and the rest will go out in the next days. I still don't have my batch, so local pickup is not yet possible. But I'll inform you as soon as my copies have arrived here.
Shop Updated
I have updated our shop and all digital products from Serenissima Obscura are now online. The main book will follow soon. But for a physical copy of the Player's Guide or the Ars Magica Conversion Guide or the Maps – you will have to meet us at a convention. 😉
Next project in Line: Shanarel
Shanarel is a whimsical fantasy campaign setting for tabletop RPGs, set on a vast and vibrant continent where the strange is ordinary and the impossible feels just within reach. Designed as a 5E campaign setting and easily adaptable to other systems, it offers a rich and inviting fantasy setting guide for GMs and players alike. Shanarel will go live in March next year and this is where you can find the teaser page to subscribe.
All the digital content for Serenissima Obscura has been delivered. So: those who have not ordered any physical books, are already set. We'd love to hear what you think of it. 😊
All the physical books and maps are now printed and will be transported from Lithuania to our shipping provider until April 28th. He has informed us that he will complete shipping within one week. So, you can expect your books from May 1 on – depending on where you live and when exactly your oder will be processed. Parcels to destinations outside of the EU will of course travel a bit longer. But: soon, you will old our books and maps in your hands. I too, cannot wait to see them! 🥰
But there is more news, because Serenissima is not our only project:
The Straight Way Lost
It's been almost 3 years since The Straight Way Lost has come out, but we just got another very favourable review. It also contains a quite extensive description of the content, so, if you don't know what our first work was about – click here to read the review.
Shop Updated
I have updated our shop and all digital products from Serenissima Obscura are now online. The main book will follow soon. But for a physical copy of the Player's Guide or the Ars Magica Conversion Guide or the Maps – you will have to meet us at a convention. 😉
Next project in Line: Shanarel
Shanarel is a whimsical fantasy campaign setting for tabletop RPGs, set on a vast and vibrant continent where the strange is ordinary and the impossible feels just within reach. Designed as a 5E campaign setting and easily adaptable to other systems, it offers a rich and inviting fantasy setting guide for GMs and players alike. Shanarel will go live in March next year and this is where you can find the teaser page to subscribe.
First of all: Happy Easter to those who celebrate it!
This is a short update to inform you that everything is proceeding as planned. Yay!
The digital rewards:
We have started distributing the digital rewards. All maps, TSWL material and the artbook are already in your pledge manager.
The digital versions of all three Serenissima books will follow in the next days, when our designer is finished creating the PDFs with bookmarks.
The extra adventure for Early Backers is basically finished, but it still needs a statsblock or two. (Or course for 5e and Ars Magica!) Then it will be laid out and distributed right away. I am estimating sometime next week.
The physical rewards: All three books and the maps are now at the printer's in Lithuania and will be delivered to our logistics provider by approximately April, 24. He will then start shipping immediately. This means that European backers should receive their rewards by the beginning of May. Oversees shipping might of course take longer. All parcels will be sent by DHL with tracking.
However: I am still waiting for a few backers to fill out their surveys or resolve credit card issues. Don't you want your rewards?
So, now off to create the statsblock for Ulrico Pampanin, a flawed alchemist from the Dolomites. No rest (or holidays) for the wicked!
