[24-Jan-22 10:05 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
Hello there, I’m Simone Raspi and I’m one of the authors of Vulcania and founder of Gear Games, role-playing games publisher born in 2019. For more than twenty years passionate about role-playing games, I played and mastered everything, trying my hand at writing stories campaigns and settings until, in 2015, I ventured into the realization of the Dawn of Heroes, the transposition of the card game Warage for the famous system Savage Worlds.
Vulcania was released in November 2019 at the forty-ninth edition of Lucca Comics and Games, one of Europe’s largest comic conventions.
Vulcania, as you know, was born thanks to a Kickstarter campaign successfully concluded about three years ago and today we are back on this platform to expand the game world by exploring a new continent and enriching the rules and introducing an entire campaign ready to be played.
[24-Jan-22 10:06 AM] Alazel#4429
Hi Dan, I’m Mattia Arnaudo and togheter with Simone I’m one of the authors of Vulcania and founder of Gear Games. My passion for role-playing games is what led me to try my hand at creating my own game engine, which came to light first with the Vulcania crowdfunding campaign and now with the Beyond the Storm one. I am very satisfied with everything we have created in this period and that we have managed to found this campaign as well, hoping to make it grow further and unlock all the content we have planned.
[24-Jan-22 10:06 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
done
[24-Jan-22 10:07 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Thanks, guys! The floor is open to questions!
[24-Jan-22 10:07 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
So first, for our readers who are unfamiliar, can you give us an overview of Vulcania itself?
[24-Jan-22 10:08 AM] Alazel#4429
For all those who don’t know us yet VULCANIA is a tabletop role-playing game defined by cinematic actions, plots, and investigation. Set in the foggy atmospheres of a fantasy world in the thick of a pulp/steampunk-flavored industrial revolution, Vulcania is a dynamic world full of adventures. As such, everything in the system is designed to get you constantly into the action at the gaming table. Mechanics are quick, smooth and deep at the same time, meant to favor the action and dynamism typical of adventure novels.
BEYOND THE STORM, the follow-up of Vulcania – the role-playing game, is designed to bring the wild and uncharted continent of Letvia into your gaming experience. This manual will give the possibility not only to discover new settings but also to take your character to heroic levels through new arts, equipment and airships, pushing your game sessions to full throttle!
[24-Jan-22 10:09 AM] Alazel#4429
done
[24-Jan-22 10:10 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
What’s the story behind Letvia? Why is it so wild and uncharted, for example?
[24-Jan-22 10:12 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
the equator of the world of Vulcania is completely surrounded by an impassable storm barrier
[24-Jan-22 10:12 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Ah! And why is that?
[24-Jan-22 10:13 AM] Alazel#4429
The storm barrier is a feature of the world of Vulcania that is already present in the main setting.
[24-Jan-22 10:14 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Just a naturally-occuring thing?
[24-Jan-22 10:15 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
yes, the Storm Wall is part of the natural environment
[24-Jan-22 10:16 AM] Alazel#4429
This characteristic of the world of Vulcania meant that the two hemispheres developed at two different speeds, leaving the continent of Letvia far from technology.
[24-Jan-22 10:16 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
he setting of Vulcania so far focused on the northern hemisphere of the planet and its six Islenations, the rulers of the known world. The equator is shrouded in an impenetrable wall of raging storms, too strong to venture beyond. However, occasionally a breach allows passage.
[24-Jan-22 10:17 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Can you describe the levels of technology in the two hemispheres?
[24-Jan-22 10:19 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
the northern hemisphere is characterized by a level of technology typical of a world in the middle of the industrial revolution, with more advanced elements than it should “historically” be
[24-Jan-22 10:19 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
this is the typical element of steampunk
[24-Jan-22 10:19 AM] Alazel#4429
Letvia, on the other hand, is characterised by a very low level of technology, based mainly on tribal organisations that still use tools made of stone, iron and wood.
[24-Jan-22 10:20 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Other than land in general, are there any resources in Letvia that can be exploited?
[24-Jan-22 10:20 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
(That aren’t readily available in the north, I mean.)
[24-Jan-22 10:23 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
Letvia is very important because it is rich in raw materials such as timber and metals. The isle-nations that compose the northern hemisphere are quite small and the industrial revolution has caused an excessive exploitation of resources.
[24-Jan-22 10:24 AM] Alazel#4429
Yes, there are materials that can only be found on Letvia, such as Tefrit, a special type of rock that is extremely hard and used by tribes to create weapons, and others that have the ability to levitate. In addition, there are also extremely volatile natural gases, which in recent times have been used to make airships fly.
[24-Jan-22 10:24 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Given the presence of the storm, how easy is it to ship materials back north?
[24-Jan-22 10:26 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
It’s nothing easy. The only way to cross the Barrier in relative safety is by using an airship equipped with the Fold, a device capable of protecting smaller airships from the violence of the elements
[24-Jan-22 10:27 AM] Alazel#4429
Moving materials from one continent to another is extremely difficult due to heavy storms. The only way to do this is to use airships equipped with a device called a bubble. However, this device is still very rare, so very few airships are able to make this journey.
[24-Jan-22 10:28 AM] Alazel#4429
the device is called the Fold 😛 we are still thinking to the exact name in english
[24-Jan-22 10:29 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
The Fold works. 🙂
[24-Jan-22 10:30 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
How might the PCs have obtained a Fold-capable airship? Or is it assumed that they’d be passengers on one owned by someone else?
[24-Jan-22 10:30 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
In Beyond the Storm, vessels play a crucial role, becoming almost indispensable for the game.
[24-Jan-22 10:31 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
Beyond the Storm is meant for groups of Characters with a few adventures under their belt and a fold-equipped airship of their own.
[24-Jan-22 10:32 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Ah! And how would they get such an airship? Are they simply available for purchase with enough money?
[24-Jan-22 10:34 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
The characters could have acquired it in different ways. In the handbook there are hints and tables that the players could use to choose randomly or to be inspired for their own story
[24-Jan-22 10:35 AM] Alazel#4429
The new handbook focuses on characters of hero rank. The crew might be created for the occasion or have already played several adventures. In one of them they might have obtained a ship equipped with Fold. In this sense Beyond the Storm can be considered in all respects the sequel to Vulcania.
[24-Jan-22 10:36 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Would the PCs most likely be freelance merchants? Explorers? Something else?
[24-Jan-22 10:39 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
Yes, the crew can identify themselves as they see fit and the opportunities for missions are endless. However, depending on how they perform, they may take on a particular status. For example, they may become pirates, or they may become the servants of a colonizing nation.
[24-Jan-22 10:40 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
The ships equipped with Fold are not many and this will make the characters very important players in the political chessboard of the New World. Sooner or later they will inevitably have to take sides
[24-Jan-22 10:41 AM] Alazel#4429
Basically, when we thought of Vulcania, we didn’t want to give a clear identity to the group, but we wanted to leave this interpretation to the players and the narrators
[24-Jan-22 10:42 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Are most Fold ships owned by nations?
[24-Jan-22 10:44 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
Nope. Fold technology is the preserve of the Monopolies, the corporations that control the technology. They have purposely decided to entrust this technology exclusively to private citizens in order to further increase their power.
[24-Jan-22 10:46 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
This is another reason why the characters will be subject to a lot of pressure and easily get caught up in power plays and international intrigues
[24-Jan-22 10:48 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Ah, I see. Are the Monopolies as powerful as, say, the megacorps of cyberpunk fiction?
[24-Jan-22 10:48 AM] Alazel#4429
Yes, something like that 🙂
[24-Jan-22 10:50 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Gotcha.
[24-Jan-22 10:50 AM] Randak#0007
Link to Kickstarter?
[24-Jan-22 10:50 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
http://kck.st/3rxRHhT
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[24-Jan-22 10:50 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
What can you tell us about the natives of the south? How are they dealing with incursions from the north, and how much can they do about them?
[24-Jan-22 10:53 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
It is necessary to make a small summary of the history of Vulcania to talk about this topic
[24-Jan-22 10:53 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Certainly!
[24-Jan-22 10:54 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
The setting of Vulcania so far focused on the northern hemisphere of the planet and its six Islenations, the rulers of the known world. As said, the equator is shrouded in an impenetrable wall of raging storms, too strong to venture beyond. However, occasionally a breach allows passage.
[24-Jan-22 10:54 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
Renowned scientists have tried to predict these breaches for years, eventually, a working theory was refined and the race to colonize the new lands beyond the barrier began, causing tensions and skirmishes among the Islenations that soon escalated into a conflict of unprecedented proportions. This war changed forever the balance of power, annihilating empires and growing the influence of the Monopolies, the corporations guarding the secrets of technology, to never before seen heights.
[24-Jan-22 10:55 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
Fourteen years after the end of the war, the missed appearance of a breach disproved this theory and Letvia, the continent rumored to be in the southern hemisphere, remained hidden. Beyond the Storm is set ten years after these events, riding the thrill of a new breathtaking scientific discovery, the Fold, a device capable of protecting smaller airships from the violence of the elements as they head for the New World. Arrived in the new world, the first ships equipped with the Fold found some colonies remained isolated for over thirty years.
[24-Jan-22 10:56 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
The inhabitants of these settlements are not up to date with the events of the last decades, and not all of them will be willing to give up their independence and accept the rule of the nation to which they belonged when the colonies were founded.
[24-Jan-22 10:57 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
All of this has meant that contact with small colonies and natives has been sporadic and gradual. What will happen now, with the advent of the Fold equipped airships is all to be discovered.
[24-Jan-22 10:57 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
It is important to keep in mind that the Fold is a quite rare technology and therefore there will not be a massive arrival from the old world
[24-Jan-22 10:58 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
So there are lost colonies from the north in Letvia as well as natives of Letvia?
[24-Jan-22 11:00 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
Exactly! We’ve got a great powder keg set up for our heroes!
[24-Jan-22 11:00 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
What are the actual natives like?
[24-Jan-22 11:04 AM] Alazel#4429
There are empires that control vast territories and tribal nomads, as well as civilizations that have developed mental powers
[24-Jan-22 11:05 AM] Alazel#4429
Letvia is an extremely vast continent characterised by different civilisations, all of them human but with strong features that take their cue from historical civilisations such as the Aztecs, Inca, Maya and African tribes. Some of them are endowed with mental powers that allow them to control the Conlio.
[24-Jan-22 11:05 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
The Conlio?
[24-Jan-22 11:06 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
Conlio is an extraordinarily ductile and malleable silver-hued metal, its most famous property being the ability to transmit cerebral waves.
[24-Jan-22 11:06 AM] Alazel#4429
A few years before the great war, it was also discovered that conlio is present in minute quantities in
the blood of all living beings.
By concentrating it in the central nervous system,
scientists discovered that anyone could acquire some
degree of telepathic influence over other people.
[24-Jan-22 11:07 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Ah… So how powerful do these mental powers get on the high end of the scale?
[24-Jan-22 11:09 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
In the northern hemisphere was used by scientists who then created the Markonist monopoly. They can control drones built with this metal or can influence the minds of others by projecting fleeting illusions
[24-Jan-22 11:11 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
Velven instead are a population of Letvia that came in contact with large amounts of conlio due to a natural cataclysm. Many died, but some women developed the ability to control the metal by creating a semi-liquid alloy that they can shape with their minds.
[24-Jan-22 11:14 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
In addition, by watering some animals with conlio-added water, they are able to exert mental control over the animals.
[24-Jan-22 11:14 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
That’s a neat trick.
[24-Jan-22 11:14 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
This allowed them to develop a very extensive network of “public transportation” that laid the foundation for a thriving empire
[24-Jan-22 11:15 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
So I would imagine that these mental powers, combined with sheer numbers, allow the natives to put up a stiff resistance to the northern incursions?
[24-Jan-22 11:16 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
Exactly! In addition, knowledge of their territory and the deadly creatures that inhabit it also helped
[24-Jan-22 11:18 AM] Alazel#4429
In general, the relationship between the natives and the inhabitants of the old continent is not always conflictual. In some cases, friendships or alliances have also been formed.
[24-Jan-22 11:19 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Speaking of creatures, does the book include a bestiary, and if so, how large?
[24-Jan-22 11:21 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
Of course! There will be a section dedicated to the creatures of the new world in which the animals that inhabit the forests and deserts of Letvia will be described. It won’t be a real bestiary because it will also leave room for human adversaries, since most of Vulcania’s adventures are developed within conflicts and conspiracies.
[24-Jan-22 11:23 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
In any case, there will also be room for colossal creatures. If the storms were not enough, the Storm Barrier is also inhabited by colossal flying cetaceans: the Behemoth.
[24-Jan-22 11:24 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Very nice. Aside from the Behemoths, can you give us some bestiary highlights?
[24-Jan-22 11:27 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
There are the Wanahas. These huge six-legged hunters are silent and deadly predators. In addition to the typical big cat characteristics, Wahana have a cartilage membrane surrounding their heads, like a mane bristling with spines.
[24-Jan-22 11:28 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
They are also used by the Devas warriors, a civilization of Letvia, as mounts.
[24-Jan-22 11:28 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Cool!
[24-Jan-22 11:29 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Anything resembling dinosaurs? 🙂
[24-Jan-22 11:32 AM] Alazel#4429
yes there are the Habrooks, huge flying reptiles vaguely resembling pterodactyls, which are ridden by the inhabitants of Wenhua, an archipelago of flying islands.
[24-Jan-22 11:32 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
Other interesting creatures are the Ixmal Progeny that has developed countless legends among the natives. They are fungi that are able to invade the nervous system of corpses, replacing dead tissue with plant material
[24-Jan-22 11:33 AM] Alazel#4429
can we post a picture of some of these creatures?
[24-Jan-22 11:33 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Mushroom zombies!
[24-Jan-22 11:33 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Certainly!
[24-Jan-22 11:34 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
Ixmal Progeny
{Attachments}
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/780948065367490590/935226072251912212/zombie.jpg
[24-Jan-22 11:34 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
habrook
{Attachments}
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/780948065367490590/935226143651553320/Tavola_volo-dellabrok.jpg
[24-Jan-22 11:35 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
behemoth
{Attachments}
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/780948065367490590/935226227864784916/caccia-behemoth.jpg
[24-Jan-22 11:35 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Holy crap, that thing’s big. 😲
[24-Jan-22 11:35 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
Hell yes!
[24-Jan-22 11:36 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
🤣
[24-Jan-22 11:36 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
To Hell with Letvia!
[24-Jan-22 11:36 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
😂
[24-Jan-22 11:36 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Nice art, by the way. 🙂
[24-Jan-22 11:36 AM] Alazel#4429
thank you
[24-Jan-22 11:37 AM] Alazel#4429
we always try to take care of our designs as much as possible
[24-Jan-22 11:37 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Very cool.
[24-Jan-22 11:37 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Does this book allow for native and or lost colonist characters?
[24-Jan-22 11:40 AM] SimoneRaspi#3755
You can play a native character as long as they have a background that justifies their membership in a crew. He may have been adopted by members of a colony, or he may be an “ambassador” or interpreter.
[24-Jan-22 11:42 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Ah, so the game is laser-focused on ship’s crews.
[24-Jan-22 11:43 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Any plans for future supplements allowing for “purely” native characters?
[24-Jan-22 11:43 AM] Alazel#4429
not for now
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[24-Jan-22 11:43 AM] Alazel#4429
we will think about that maybe in the future
[24-Jan-22 11:43 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Aside from the new mental powers, does this book introduce any new and interesting abilities?
[24-Jan-22 11:45 AM] Alazel#4429
yes beyond the storm introduces a wide range of heroic arts that can be used to take characters to the highest heights of power
[24-Jan-22 11:48 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Very nice.
[24-Jan-22 11:48 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
In the time remaining, is there anything we haven’t covered that you’d like to bring up?
[24-Jan-22 11:49 AM] Alazel#4429
I would like to spend two words on the system
[24-Jan-22 11:50 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Certainly!
[24-Jan-22 11:52 AM] Alazel#4429
In Vulcania, everything revolves around the d12. Characters interact with the world by making Tests when the result of their action is uncertain so the players must roll a twelve-sided die and add the Score of the Skill that best suits the situation. Tests can generate spectacular maneuvers and cinematic actions and the Gears of Fate will help to hold off the bad luck and unleash the power of every hero!
One of the best thing of the system is that all the dice rolls are delegated to the players, so as a Narrator you are left free to lead them through the story.
[24-Jan-22 11:54 AM] Alazel#4429
In this way the system is designed for maximum fluidity at all times, even during combat. With a single roll of the dice, in fact, it will be immediately clear if a shot hits, for example, and for how much damage.
[24-Jan-22 11:54 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Cool!
[24-Jan-22 11:55 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
Thanks so much for joining us today!
[24-Jan-22 11:55 AM] Alazel#4429
thank you to you
[24-Jan-22 11:55 AM] Dan Davenport#6715
If you’ll give me a couple of minutes, I’ll get the log posted and link you!
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