Heads up: starting on September 22nd at 9am CET, we’ll stop offering free shipping in our shop (that is currently offered on orders above 99 EUR/USD. Orders and pre-orders until then won't be impacted.)

This is a first step to make the move from crowdfunding to store orders clearer and fairer for everyone.

Eventually... I dream of no non-sense crowdfunding campaigns with:

• $20 flat shipping (to US/EU/UK at least)
• 4-6 months to delivery
• VAT and taxes included

We are working hard to be able to run this kind of campaigns next year. I'm not sure we'll be able to pull it off but that's a story for another time!

The story of today is all about Olan Taa, the worldbook that's coming soon to Kickstarter.

This is the first of a series of articles that will walk you through the Olan Taa RPG worldbook (for D&D 5E).

These articles are by Fanky (new entry at Skytear Games, long-time Skytear player) and yours truly. We are non-native English speakers, so you might spot quirky phrases. No worries—the RPG book is crafted by pro native writers.

Grab your favorite drink and enjoy the 5-10 minute read below!

-See you next week
Giacomo

A walk in Olan Taa...

To give you an idea of what’s in the Olan taa worldbook we will go through its five chapters:

• Chapter 1 - Welcome to Olan Taa
• Chapter 2 - The Gazetteer
• Chapter 3 - The Rules
• Chapter 4 - Be the next Hero
• Chapter 5 - Monsters and Encounters

Today, let’s jump directly to Chapter 2 to better understand the map of Olan Taa.

As you can see, there are four different floating continents under the control (more or less) of Four Realms: Grialth, Kaeno, Xotlan and Utesh. There are also the Free islands, untamed and scattered all around, but we will talk about those further on.
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We thought that it was important to make it easy for the DM and the players to navigate through the book when looking for specific pieces of information (to make a decision about the character creation or prepping a new campaign).

At the end of the day the idea is to have a book to actually play games with, so keeping this in mind, each part of the book dedicated to each Realm runs over 30 pages and it always follows the samerecurring structure:

• (1) General Introduction
• (2) The Land
• (3) The History
• (4) The People
• (5) The Threats
• (6) Important Locations + Adventure Hooks

But what are these sections about?

(1) General Introduction

A quick overview that tries to capture the very essence of the Realm.
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For example the section about the Realm of Kaeno opens with these words:

“Enclosed in a land of lava and basalt, w+here the finest of the civilizations has risen and flourished like a rare blossom, Kaeno is apparently a Realm of endless contradictions. Immortal traditions and beliefs coexist side by side to a tireless research of new technologies, supported by arcane spells in a continuous and delicate balance…”
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​Kaeno is indeed characterized by strong contrasts, both in its landscapes and its people. It’s the kind of place where you can meet a mage with mechanical arms or a fearless ninja-gunslinger. You can jump from a perfect, flourished meditation garden to a dystopic industrial complex surrounded by a lake of lava. This also means that Kaeno characters can be quite different from each other, in appearance, ideals and goals.

(2) The Land

A visual description of the Realm’ landscapes and its most notable regions.
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For example, The Landof Utsesh is divided into four parts, while the other three Realms, with their more diverse environments, are divided into five. Utsesh, the big “eye” on the map, is at the centre of Olan Taa and its land got profoundly reshaped by the Nuptian mages. Let’s have a sneak peak at:

The Wall - The area around Hesp’Aut, the mighty Capital City of Utsesh, is almost completely trapped by an expanding Ring of Domes created from Temrup's will. Who is Temrup you say? It’s the ultimate god like BBEG on Olan Taa and we will talk about it during an article on Chapter 1. These Domes are huge containment fields where the laws of physics are flickering and really crazy monsters wander around. You know, some real TPK material so tread carefully if you pick up one of the two Adventure Hooks in the Wall.

The Thousand Withered - This region is named after the twisted, colossal monuments carved in the past by Xotlanian captives when Olan Taa was still a “proper” planet. This reminds us of the unfortunate Nuptian tendency to use slaves for labor and in some cases even extract precious skytear magic from them. What a bunch, eh?

Tefmet’s Trail -This region takes its name from the legendary Tefmet, a Nuptian explorer who wandered Olan Taa in solitude, documenting the cultures and peoples he encountered. Here some precious oasis can be found and also a lot of rebels that broke their chains. It was bound to happen at some point!
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​The Landof Utsesh contains also the custom rules for crossingthe dangerous Dome Ring. An example of one of the system-agnostic mechanics we designed to bring the key themes of Olan Taa to life at the play table.
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The Rules for Extreme Weather Conditions, useful for a DM that wants to set an adventure in the Glass Wastes (or similar places in their own homebrew setting, why not), work with D&D specific mechanics so you can experience Sandstorms or Glass-Quakes. We will dive more into the Dome Ring and agnostic and D&D rules in another dedicated article.

The Glass Wastes - In this region something went really wrong here and now it’s a warped glass desert. It’s the perfect representation of Nuptian's hubris and the danger of dealing with Skytear. In such an extreme environment lies the (almost) unreachable Crystal City of Thamu’an. Glass Wastes: lots of dangerous secrets and not a drop of water.

(3) The History

The key events of the past that shaped the Realm and defined its present. As the other Realms, Xotlan history is told through a general introduction + 5 milestones:​
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​Lost Grandeur - Before the great Disaster, Xotlan was the home of a thriving civilization of Nuptians and Humans who revered the god Taulot and shaped their lives around his teachings. Today, all records about this ancient Realm have vanished and only the ruins of cities and temples, choked by the jungle, remain as silent witnesses of the past. A new Realm has arisen on the remains of the old one and below it.

Forged by Flame and Death - We can say that Xotlan’s history as a Realm really starts after the Kaeno invasion led by the Venerable Shogun. The fractured and unarmed tribes of Xotlan had to quickly adapt and, looking for a safe place to hide from the Kaenite armies, they began exploring the caves and tunnels of the Underworld. Here, the tribes came together, for the very first time, thanks to the leadership of Chieftain Nantaca. The brave Chieftain became a Queen and led her people to the counterattack. It’s said she met the Venerable Shogun himself in single combat and though she fell, the war was won. That’s not the last time we will hear about Nanataca though, oh no, not at all!

Collective Consciousness - In the deep vastness of the Underworld, the scouts of the tribesman discovered something that was going to change forever the people of Xotlan: The Heart of Taulot. A hidden source of immense Skytear power. Its awakening changed the Xotlan people forever. For many of them it meant the beginning of a life no longer as humans but as Deepwellers. The Xotlanians were divided once again.

Betrayals and Alliances - After two years from the start of the Skytear War, the armies of the Realms descended the border of Xotlan, seeking to seize the Heart’s power. When the surface got overrun by the invaders, King Cotlic of the Underworld and Chieftain Achla of the Borderfolks sealed the Pact of the Two Worlds. United once more, the Xotlanians unleashed their full might, and the invaders soon learned the cost of their ambition. FOOR THE GLOOOORY OF TAULOT! (editors note: Fanky, the author of this overview, is a fan of the Taulot faction since 2020 so take what he wrote about it with a grain of salt :))

Secrets of the Underworld - Here is where things really get nasty:In the final days of the Skytear War, deep beneath the Ashen Fortress of Ahasa,the Nuptian mages conduct a powerful ritual (yeah… them again can you believe it? You'd think that blowing up the planet would be enough to calm them down, but they just can’t help themselves) to summon Temrup back to Olan Taa. Temrup’s presence tore open the roots of the world, unleashing unspeakable horrors and a wave of corruption into the Skytear. Soon Xotlanians had to face two new threats from below: the blind fury of the awoken Predators (how “frienzed possessed dinosaurs”sounds to you?)and the insurrection of part of the Deepwellers that were twisted by Temrup’ irresistible will. In these difficult circumstances, however, a new ally emerged, the ancient lizardfolk species of the Burrowers.

Characters like Nantaca, Cotlic and Achla are all explored in Chapter 4 as powerful Mentors. While the malicious Predators, like the Talons or the Carnivores, are present in Chapter 5 with their stats, traits and special attacks. The Burrowers are one of the 8 playable species and they are the perfect choice if you like to play a dexterity character and want to be the guy yelling ‘i have Darkvision!’ every time the DM starts to describe a scene.

This article is getting way too long... :)

So we believe it's best to end it here for now. The next article will be all about what's left to see in Chapter 2: The Gazeeteer of Olan Taa. Namely: the People, the Threats, and the Free Islands (aka the blank spaces for you to fill!).

If you have read this far, we thank you. We hope we have sparked your interest!

Let us know in our Discord if you have specific questions you would like answered and what you would most like to read about in future articles.