Frequently-Asked Questions about Living ArcanisTM
Q: What the heck is Living Arcanis?
A: Living Arcanis is a shared-world organized-play campaign run by Paradigm Concepts, Inc. Living Arcanis is set in Paradigm's award-winning d20 campaign setting -- Arcanis, the World of Shattered Empires. We have players all over the world -- the United States and Canada, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia all have active groups of players. The campaign was launched with a preview "classic" adventure at Gen Con Indy 2001 and had its first full year of adventures in 2002. As a "Living" campaign, players from around the world create characters (using the d20 System Reference Document or the Dungeons & DragonsTM Player's Handbook v3.5 along with some modifications that are specific to our campaign world) and then play those characters at conventions, game days, and home games. Each adventure you play garners your character more experience and treasure, which carries over to subsequent adventures. Over time your character can become quite powerful and gain the opportunity to influence the direction of the entire campaign! One of the things that makes Living campaigns unique and interesting is that the actions of the player characters around the world have a significant impact on the direction the story takes. In Living Arcanis we take that concept very seriously. We use "Critical Event Summaries" which are available for the first few months after a new adventure is released to gather data about what happened during the various runs of the adventure. Generally speaking, the outcome that is achieved by a majority of tables becomes the "official" outcome for the campaign and is used as the basis for future adventures. We also have certain special events, including live-action roleplaying events and battle interactives, which usually occur at major conventions such as Origins and Gen Con. These are one-time-only epic events at which the players who participate can take a very direct hand in shaping the future of the campaign world. But even those players who never attend a convention can have an impact on the storyline, simply by sending in their Critical Event Summaries. Q: How often can I play? How many adventures a year do you release? You can play Living Arcanis at any convention that programs our events, or you can order and play them in the comfort of your own home, if you want! There are no membership dues or fees to pay -- you can download everything you need from this very website. You should start by checking out the character creation guidelines. Then, read the Living Arcanis Rules Compilation (LARC), and finally, browse the current list of adventures. We generally release about 20 new (free) adventures per calendar year, and Paradigm Concepts has released some print products that also include adventures that are playable as part of the Living Arcanis campaign. In addition to the "core" adventures that are developed as part of the campaign's primary story arcs, we also release adventures through our Invisible Kings program, in which a dozen player-organized groups around the world write adventure series that take place in specific locations of the campaign world. Although most of our adventures can be played in any order, one aspect of Living Arcanis that is very important is the "core" storyline. We have a small number of adventures (about 5 each calendar year) called Hard Points. These adventures are meant to be played in order because each builds on the ones that came before it. These scenarios draw the player characters into an epic story that spans the fate of nations and perhaps the entire world. We are currently about halfway through the fourth "campaign year" of a planned six-year story arc, which will conclude in early 2009 with a grand finale. However, that won't be the end of the campaign... a new Hard Point story arc will start in 2009 and will continue for the forseeable future. Q: Who runs the campaign? What books do I need to buy in order to play? A: Living Arcanis is a product of Paradigm Concepts, Inc. (PCI) -- makers of the Arcanis campaign setting, which is also known as the World of Shattered Empires. PCI has released over a dozen sourcebooks that detail the world of Arcanis and its inhabitants. Most of thse sourcebooks contain "Living Arcanis Approved" material that you can use to augment your Living Arcanis character -- new races, base classes, prestige classes, skills, feats, spells, weapons and armor, magic items, and more! However, you don't actually need to buy anything in order to play. You can use the d20 System Reference document to get an understanding of the basics of the game system, and you can download the Living Arcanis Rules Compilation (LARC) and the Living Arcanis Character Creation Guidelines (CCG) from this website. (Click on the "Rules" tab at the top of this page for the LARC and on the "Characters" tab for the CCG. You'll also need to install the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these documents.) Q: So Living Arcanis uses D&D, but it's got some changes? How extensive are the changes? A: Well, the core of the D&D system isn't changed, of course. All of the Arcanis sourcebooks are released under the terms of the Open Gaming License and are branded as being compatible with the d20 SystemTM, so if you're familiar with the core rules of D&D, you already know most of what you need to play Arcanis. (If you aren't familiar with D&D, that's OK too -- we have Introductory modules that are specifically intended to introduce new players to the campaign, and these adventures include pre-generated characters so that you can jump right in and start playing!) Naturally, all of those PCI sourcebooks include new rules and other material that is intended to extend the base of the d20 System and add flavor and depth to the campaign world. But those are all optional materials, so you don't need them to play and enjoy the campaign. Probably the biggest difference between Arcanis and the core rules is in the area of character races. We have made pretty extensive changes to the default races of the d20 System. For example, there are no "elves" as described in the PH. The closest analogue in Arcanis are the Elorii, an ancient race who were created as slaves, the servitors of a world-spanning empire of serpent-men. The Elorii ultimately overthrew that empire and founded their own, only to see themselves dethroned by the arrival of the humans and their divinely-touched brethren, the Val. (Yes, you can play one of the Val. You can also play a human, a half-orc, or a half-hobgoblin, as well as several other human subraces.) The aforementioned serpent empire didn't disappear completely, though; in fact, you can play a Ss'ressen, one of the lizard-men descendents of that long-ago reptilian hegemony. We do have dwarves, but they are all laboring under the weight of a terrible curse that prevents their souls from ascending to the afterlife. And you don't want to know what the Gnomes are like in Arcanis. Suffice it to say that they are not happy-go-lucky illusionists and bards. Halflings don't exist at all; they were wiped out by the ancient serpent empire. We even have "half-fiendish" characters called Dark-Kin who are the result of a Time of Terror when a plague of demons and devils swept across the Known Lands. And these are just a few of the options that are available to you in Arcanis. Check out the Character Creation Guidelines for more! Q: Wow, Living Arcanis sounds great! Where can I go for more information? Probably the best overall source of information is Onara Online, which is our online repository of information about the world of Arcanis and the campaign. (This website primarily serves as a vehicle for hosting adventures and other downloadable files; Onara Online has the story details as well as an extensive collection of pre-generated characters.) From this website you will want to download the Living Arcanis Rules Compilation and the Living Arcanis Character Creation Guidelines. With those documents (and a copy of the D&D Player's Handbook) you'll be ready to create your first character and take your first steps on the path to glory. Perhaps you too will Leave Your Mark Upon The Shattered Empires! Q: How can I become a part of the Living Arcanis community? Glad you asked! The easiest way is to join the LA-Talk newsgroup where over 1300 of your fellow players are already hanging out. You can chat with players from around the world and ask any questions you might have about the campaign, creating a character, playing games (including finding other players in your area), and more! You can also visit Onara Online or the Paradigm Concepts home page to learn more about the world of Arcanis and its wide variety of print and PDF products. We look forward to meeting you in the Shattered Empires! Note: RPGA, D&D, Dungeons & Dragons, d20 System, and other trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. are used with permission. Arcanis, Living Arcanis, The World of Shattered Empires, and other trademarks of Paradigm Concepts, Inc. are used with permission. Other trademarks are the property of their respective companies and no challenge to such marks is intended. |