13th Age News: Through the Scrying Glass: May

The mist is finally clearing in the scrying glass, and I have some and it’s time for a solid update on the 13th Age. In short, 13th Age is at the printers, which means we have a PDF of the final version for you pre-orderers and a reasonably sure estimate for the books to ship out – 15th July. At the beginning of August, 13th Age will be in the stores. A month later, it will be on sale as a PDF.

Rob Heinsoo offers his own update on the process and some sneaky new Rogue powers here.

Pre-orderers should jump to the end of the article for more information.

Printing

First, a progress report on 13th Age printing. After the fire, Chris Huth effectively redid the layout from scratch, improving as he went. We decided to add the adventure to the print book as opposed to making it a free download, and I think that was right decision despite a two-day delay as a result.

The final files, including the limited edition cover, were uploaded to the printer on Friday, and the proofs have shipped. So, if all goes well, the books will be printed by the end of June, ready for shipment to our distributors and mail order reshippers. When I say “if all goes well” I estimate there is about a 20% chance of a notable delay, based on past expereience.

The final print book is a 320-page casebound glossy book with stunning interiors. It’s an outstanding team effort.

Julia Kacala of Taylor Specialty Books, our long term printing partner, emailed me these images of the cover coming of the inkjet proofer.

Pre-Order 13th Age

If you haven’t pre-ordered 13th Age, now is an excellent time. You can get it in the store.  The final game is ready as a print ready PDF and linked version for download now from your order page, and the book is at the printers and will ship to you mid-July.

Pre-Order 13th Age From Your Retailer

If your reluctance is that you’d prefer to order from your local game store, then consider this. If you retailer is a member of the Bits and Mortar program, from tomorrow, if you place a pre-order with your game store you will get the PDF now, too. Your retailer will also get a discount if they pre-order copies, so you are doing them a double favour. With some exceptions, retailers will only preorder if there is demand from you. So, if you want them to stock 13th Age, stamp your feet!

Bestiary

Rob Heinsoo and Jonathan Tweet have been going through the Bestiary pruning, nurturing and adding sly comments. Kenneth Hite has added the Tarrasque (even more terrifying) and Cal Moore is scrubbing, polishing, filing or buffing the creatures as appropriate. Here are a selection of choice quotes. See if you can guess the creature.

“It is easy to know when a *** is nearby—everything is dead.”

“*** walk a fine line, worshiping dragons yet trying to avoid becoming a snack.”

“Cataclysmic tail slam +13 vs. AC (shared equally among all nearby foes)—465 damage”

“Don’t be concerned about going out of your mind. Be concerned about your mind going out of you.”

13 True Ways

While Rob Heinsoo spends time on the Bestiary, the rest of the Fire Opal team are working on 13 True Ways. Rob offers an update on the work here.

The Icon Edition

The 13th Age limited edition will be offered to Escalation Edition pre-orderers soon. It will be gold embossed on faux burgundy leather. We are printing 200, 100 of which will be released now with a limted 13th Age gold dice ring. This gold ring was also given to $300+ backers of the True Ways kickstarter. I’ll announce that emails are going out, then all escalation edition orderers will get an email. then other pre-orderers, then it will be open to anyone.  The other 100 will be reserved for competitions and occasional release.

Other 13th Age News and Articles

• 13th Age of Camelot – an alternative setting for the ARCHAMGE system
• Rob Heinsoo: Five 13th Age Progressions
• Adding the Escalation Die to Roll20
• Murder Pixies

Existing Pre-Orderers

First, than you for pre-ordering, brave pioneers of the 13th Age. Your enthusiasm (and money) has enabled us to create a beautiful book and print a decent number of them.

If you pre-ordered, we’ve been emailing you regular updates, with your order link embedded. Make sure emails from simon@news.pelgranepress.com are getting through to you. The latest update points you at the updated PDF of the final version. It’s fully linked. We are working on a bookmarked PDF, then various other ebook versions.  You can also get your order link via order tracking.

Address Changes

We’ve been receiving address change requests, which we are acting on, but if your address has changed since you emailed, please don’t send them to us. Before we ship the books, we’ll send an email asking you whether the address we have is correct, and you can send us an update then.

Shipping Date

We estimate books will ship out from the printer 28th June. Those going out to the States and Canada will go first to our shipping point in Nevada; those to the UK and rest of the world will ship to London first. So US customers will get their books first, then Canada, UK, the Europe, then the rest of the world.