In the world of Gaia, magic is everywhere and in everything, but a danger from the Void outside the world has upended the balance. On the continent of Everend, seven nations vie for resources and influence in an uneasy peace after centuries of struggle. A year ago, in an explosive demonstration of power, one nation called forth daemons from the Void. Now all nations fear for their safety and rush to gain daemonic magic for themselves. As the nations struggle, common folk continue their daily lives amid uncertainty of an incomprehensible power and the brutality of war. All the while, magic collides with the Void tainted landscape to create dangerous beasts who threaten everyone’s safety.
Everend needs heroes to stop the march of destruction and help people understand their new place in the world.
Will you heed the call?
At the Gates is a high fantasy tabletop roleplaying game about burgeoning heroes struggling to survive, fighting for what’s right, exploring dangerous places, and saving the world.
Magic fuels all parts of Gaia, from fields of wheat to the people who sew them. Magic is rooted in the living nature of the world: the elements, the mind, the body, and the soul. The Void stands outside the world, and represents all the esoteric concepts such as order, entropy, and energy. Where the Void meets the world, Outlands grow. These places are warped by the intermingling of two opposite magics, and everything that lives there is tainted and dangerous. Hidden inside these Outlands are gates into the Void, standing as literal tears in reality.Â
You play as heroes who have chosen to buck the status quo and try to change the course of things. Your characters may attempt to change the course of the war, delve into the secrets of daemons and the Void, fight against tyranny to protect what they love in the world, fight to restore balance to Gaia, or all the above.
You stand at the gates, holding back the tide, changing the course of history.
At its core, At the Gates is a game about over the top stories, world ending consequences, and life saving actions. While you can portray someone from any nation, and from any background, the stories you tell will be about overcoming the odds to save the day. There isn’t any one correct way to play At the Gates, but there are specific themes the game touches on that it’s important to understand when deciding if you want to play this game.
Incomprehensible Power
Regardless of who your character is and what they do, daemons are in the world and there’s no putting them back where they came from. Daemons are powerful entities, and they wield devastating magic. The power they represent is so immense that it changes the world. While the summoners play at using daemons for their own purposes, they have no idea what they are sacrificing to the daemons to get what they want.
The Race to Keep Up
One nation has started summoning daemons in a bid for power. They don’t just want daemonic magic, they want to use that magic to take over their neighbors, and eventually all Everend.Â
Political Intrigue
Everend’s nations were at relative peace before the first daemon attack. Each nation looks inward for ways to secure their borders, while warily eying their neighbors in hopes they don’t take up arms against them. War has already come to the continent, and it can only get worse before it gets better.
Exploring the Void
While the people of Everend may know its borders and nooks and crannies, the daemon incursion has changed the landscape in ways that no one could predict. What were once pastoral fields are now monstrous hellscapes mutated by daemon magic. Daemons themselves are mostly unknown quantities, and learning about them and their culture could lead to clues to helping the nations. Exploring the world, charting its changes, and delving into daemon rifts are all worthwhile endeavors.
At the Gates is the core rulebook for a high fantasy game inspired by Japanese RPG video games.
Inside you will find:
Details on the setting of Everend and the political struggles of the nations that inhabit it.
Five professions that define your character’s role within your play group.
Rules for creating characters, running the game, and playing using Storypath Ultra.
Information on exciting monsters found throughout the world, and the daemons that inhabit the Void.
This book contains the following chapters, providing you everything you need to explore your corner of Everend, your characters within it, and your tales of heroic deeds and political intrigue:
Chapter One: The World of Gaia gives a high overview of the world and its history along with the state of things as they are today.
Chapter Two: The Nations of Everend details each of the seven nations and the issues they are facing.
Chapter Three:Professions gives an overview of the playable major Paths for your characters.
Chapter Four: Character Creation explains how to make a character for At the Gates.
Chapter Five: Playing the Game explains all the rules of how to play a game of At the Gates.
Chapter Six:Arts and Magic gives details on all the special abilities your character has access to and the mechanics for how those work.
Chapter Seven: The Storyguide gives you everything you need to know if you plan to run a game of At the Gates for your friends.
Chapter Eight: Antagonists breaks down how antagonists work in the game, how to run them, and several examples of antagonists from mundane people to monster to daemons.
At the Gates uses the Storypath Ultra system, which enables characters to be competent at what they do, while also presenting challenges with real consequences for both failure and success. The only reason to pick up the dice and roll is when the result of their actions carries uncertainty, and failure might push the story in a new or different direction. If that’s the case, the process is simple:
When you make a character for At the Gates, you choose three Paths that define her strengths and abilities. First you choose her Heritage, which is where she grew up and how that impacted her life. Then you choose her Upbringing, which defines the kind of life she lived, the trade skills she knows, and her social and economic standing. Finally, you choose her Profession, which is what she does now and her role in the group. Each of these Paths grants your character Attributes and Skills derived from what’s she learned and how she’s developed along the way. The character’s Heritage and Upbringing gives her special Perks, which are upgrades and special bonuses that come from her specialized training or education. Her Profession defines her Arts, which are her specialized professional training, and the kind of magic that she employs.
You can read sneak peek previews about parts of At the Gates on Onyx Path's website:
The primary purpose behind this crowdfunding campaign is to enable Onyx Path to create a fully-developed PDF and two hardcover versions of At The Gates. With your support we create a standard full-color hardcover book, which will be sent out as a reward to backers and also made available to game and hobby stores through Onyx Path's distribution partners. In addition, we want to create a limited edition deluxe version, with special cover design featured on a leatherette cover and a bound-in bookmark that'll be available only through a special pledge tier.
Exceptional funding may allow the At The Gates team to expand and further explore the Professions and related Arts, introduce new optional Advanced Paths for characters, add in systems for Legendary Weapons, and develop new powerful Daemons! Additional support will provide Onyx Path with inspiration and resources to unlock even more reward options! Â
Beyond those campaign-specific goals, the hope is to do what these games have always done — build a community invested in each other's stories and shared imagination. Every person who participates is joining with the goal of bringing this game into the world, and that common goal is a powerful binding element that we can't help but want to share. When you back this project, you join us on this exciting journey and become part of our own community.
All participants who would like to make this project happen can pledge their support and add to the overall campaign total. If the campaign meets the funding target ($25,000), then we will have funded the project and it will become a reality. Your pledge will only be collected if we achieve our funding target.
In thanks for your support, we offer rewards based on your level of funding pledged. The Pledge Levels linked at the top of the page outline the various rewards reflecting various levels of support pledged. Please note that shipping costs ARE NOT included in the cost of your pledge. You will be charged for shipping after the campaign through the pledge manager.
Digitalvs Physical: do you save some shelf space and go digital-only with the PDF version or go all in with the hardcover version? Are you looking at the standard edition, or the deluxe limited edition? Are you just interested in the new book created by this campaign, or are you looking to delve into other Storypath games? We have digital starter bundles available for those as well! Once again, please note that shipping costs ARE NOT included in the cost of your pledge. You will be charged for shipping after the campaign through the pledge manager.
While the world of Everend is mysterious and full of danger and intrigue, we've tried to keep supporting this project as simple and straightforward as possible. To pledge support to this project, select one of these pledge path tiers:
DIVINER: This is the PDF-only reward tier. So, if you're saving trees or saving shelf space - or avoiding the shipping charges that are absolutely ever-increasing - this is the reward tier option that you should begin with. The PDF will be fulfilled by our partners at DriveThruRPG.com - when it is ready, you will receive a link to add it to your DTRPG library at no cost for you to download at your leisure.
MAGE: This reward tier includes the standard hardcover version of this book. Shipping costs ARE NOT included in the cost of your pledge. You will be charged for shipping after the campaign through the pledge manager. In addition, this option also includes the PDF version, so you will get a digital copy as described above.
If you're really excited to take the journey into At The Gates and want to really impress your gaming friends, we're also offering a special edition Deluxe At The Gates hardcover book.
WARRIOR: This reward tier includes the limited edition deluxe version of At The Gates hardcover book, with a leatherette cover, special cover design, and bound-in silk bookmark. Shipping costs ARE NOT included in the cost of your pledge. You will be charged for shipping after the campaign through the pledge manager. In addition, this option also includes the PDF version, so you will get a digital copy as described above.
In addition to these primary reward pledge paths, we also offer the following options:
EVEREND EXPLORER: Not ready to commit, or just looking to offer general support? This pledge tier is for you. This does not include our primary reward, but allows you to select some digital optional Add Ons, as well as participate in the post-campaign Pledge Manager as a backer. You'll also be able to read the draft manuscript of At The Gates that we post throughout this campaign.
HARRIER / WARLORD / MARR / CHARIS / RAELL / AARAMUS: Some premium Pledge Levels offer special limited rewards in addition to the basics, including an option to supply a name to be used by an NPC included in a supplement, an opportunity to provide inspiration for a new Art, a chance to add a character description to an interior illustration brief, and more! Check each of the Pledge Level descriptions for more details.
Finally, we love retailers, but modern publishing methods don’t always make it easy for them to get books into their stores. With this At The Gates campaign, we have created a special Reward Tier just for you.
MERCHANT: Any retailer who pledges at the Merchant Pledge Level will get 5 copies of the standard At The Gates hardcover books (as well as the PDF versions) at a retail-specific discount so that they can sell in-store. You must have prior approval to back at this level. Otherwise your pledge will be adjusted in our post-campaign Pledge Manager. Please contact [email protected] to confirm your eligibility.
ACCESS TO DRAFTMANUSCRIPT UPDATES – During the course of the campaign, we will be posting the ENTIRE manuscript for At The Gates. These previews will be shared via Backer-Only updates. You must be a backer of this project to receive these updates.
AT THE GATES PDF VERSION - The digital version of At The Gates, fulfilled by our partners at DriveThruRPG.com. Crowdfunding backers will receive redemption links for an early version of this book before it goes on sale to the public. This initial "Backer Version" will be used to get feedback from the fans to make the final version the best that it can be. When it has been updated to the final version, it will automatically be added to your DriveThruRPG library and available for download at your convenience.
AT THE GATES HARDCOVER BOOKS - The main goal of this campaign is to fund the creation, production, and print run of a standard and limited edition deluxe hardcover editions of this book. Note that all Pledge Levels that include the physical hardcover version also include the digital PDF version as a bonus. Shipping costs ARE NOT included in the cost of your pledge. You will be charged for shipping after the campaign through the pledge manager.
OPTIONAL DISCOUNTED PoD VERSION – For this At The Gates campaign, you will have the option of using DriveThruRPG.com’s Print-On-Demand service to purchase a physical, printed copy of the PDF directly from their PoD partners at discounted cost (this cost is not included in your pledge, and you do not need to increase the cost of your pledge to use this option). When the PoD versions are available to order (which maybe some time after the books have gone to print), you will receive links to purchase these versions of the books from DriveThruRPG.com. You DO NOT need to take advantage of this PoD offer as it does not affect in any way your pledge rewards.
In addition to the rewards listed in each Pledge Level, backers can add extra options via the Add On menu associated with your reward format. Digital Rewards can be added to any pledge, while physical rewards can only be added to rewards lists that include a version of At The Gates hardcover book, and will therefore have a shippable order when information is downloaded in the fulfillment system.
As we increase the overall funding and support for the project, we’re able to add additional resources to the project, expand the rewards listed, and add in new offers and opportunities. Each Stretch Goal will have a target that, once reached, will add a project to the reward list for backers of the relevant Stretch Goal path. Whenever we achieve a stretch goal, the image will be updated to reflect the achievement.
At $32,000 in Funding - AT THE GATES Storyguide Screen - A three-panel Storyguide Reference Screen with charts and information for running a game set in the lands of Everend will be created and offered as an Add On to any hardcover reward tiers for +$25. Â At $36,000 in Funding - AT THE GATES Bookmark Set - Need something cool to mark your place? We'll have a set of six At The Gates cardstock bookmarks offered as an Add On to any hardcover reward tier for +$15.
International shipping has become increasingly expensive and is often prohibitive to non-US backers. Several contemporary publishers have decided to discontinue international shipping completely. For this project, Onyx Path wants to keep all options open to our customers, though shipping costs will reflect the expense.
PLEASE NOTE: Shipping costs ARE NOT included in the cost of your pledge. You will be charged for shipping—and have an opportunity to adjust your pledge—after the campaign through the pledge manager.
The following are estimates for shipping a copy of the hardcover book with full package tracking, projected on current trends. Please note that these are estimates only and are subject to change by the time of fulfillment (currently projected by April 2026)
DOMESTIC MEDIA MAIL (USA): $0 USD + $2-$10 USD per additional book/itemÂ
CANADA: $45 USD + $5-$15 USD per additional book/item
UNITED KINGDOM: $55 USD +$5-$20 USD per additional book/item
EUROPEAN UNION: $60 USD +$5-$20 USD per additional book/item
AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND: $75 USD +$10-25. USD per additional book/item
BRAZIL*: $80.00 USD +$25 USD per additional book (only books available to ship to Brazil)
THE REST OF THE WORLD: $55 USD +$5-$20 USD per additional book/item
Again, we will be charging the actual costs via our BackerKit pledge manager once the books are preparing to ship. These are estimated costs only, and the final costs charged will reflect the actual rates at the time of shipping.
*Orders to Brazil will be shipped with tracking numbers once only. Should the order become lost in customs processing or during last-mile delivery within Brazil, we'll need full payment of a second order before any re-ships can take place. At this time, we can only ship books to Brazil (we cannot ship the Add On World Below dice).
ALTERNATE OPTIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL BACKERS:
If you live outside of the US, here are your options for obtaining a physical copy:
Pledge to the campaign at the $25 Diviner pledge level to get the PDF version plus a redemption code to purchase the print-on-demand version of the book at a discounted cost (plus shipping) from DriveThruRPG.com once it's available (see Reward Descriptions, above, for more details).
Pledge to the campaign at the $5 Everend Explorer reward tier to get access to the preview manuscript. Later, you can buy the PDF and/or Print-on-Demand when eventually released.
Contact your local game store and make sure you're put on a preorder list so they know there's demand for the game that they're being asked to fill, and then encourage them to back at the Retailer Tier for this campaign!
Look into a freight forwarding service that can give you a US-based shipping address and get packages delivered to it and forwarded to you.
After the campaign is over we'll launch our BackerKit Pledge Manager and invite the backers to set up their rewards via survey. This allows you to confirm your pledge and add on anything that you might have missed, as well as possibly increasing your pledged reward tier, should you choose to expand your reward selection. This option will give international backers additional time to investigate shipping options, should they choose, knowing they can confirm a physical reward at a later date. We will also use BackerKit's Pledge Manager to charge actual shipping costs for international orders when we're approaching order fulfillment. Funding collected by BackerKit after the crowdfunding campaign does not count toward any campaign Stretch Goals, however.
Onyx Path Publishing has managed more than 60 crowdfunded projects, and that experience allows us to maintain manageable projects and achievable goals. To read more about the knowledge that has been applied to this project, you can read the FAQ linked here: http://theonyxpath.com/about/faq/crowdfunding/
