The Order of Reason spreads its wings, and the world burns.

We tell ourselves this is for Enlightenment. We tell ourselves this is for the greater good. We tell ourselves this is for humanity.

We lie to ourselves.

The great engines of the Empire are all-consuming beasts, heedless of anything but their own hunger — for riches, for lives, for land. Everything falls before their advance. Nations are ground to dust. Histories torn apart and set aflame. Treasures seized and their secrets plundered.

We will chain the world and all its magickal wonders.

Who will stop us?

Victorian Mage provides advice and material for running your Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition chronicles amid the tumult of the Victorian era, as the Order of Reason rises to power and the Traditions falter.

Within this book you will also find a details of the state of the great magickal powers in this era: the Order of Reason, preparing for their metamorphosis into the Technocratic Union and riding upon the great beast of Empire; the Council of Nine, now merely eight, caught in infighting and looking for a new peer; and the Crafts, the manifold practices of magick across the world, who fight to save their peoples from conquest and exploitation.

In addition, Victorian Mage includes an examination of life as a magus in the stratified society of Imperial Britain and the wider empire; rules reflecting the difference in how magick works during this age, when the Consensus of the Technocracy has yet to enfold the globe; and a gazetteer of the Victorian world, touching on cultures and conflicts across the globe as empires struggle for dominance and the masses struggle simply to survive.

This Victorian Mage Indiegogo campaign is designed to enable us to create a deluxe hardcover edition of this supplement, designed to match the look and feel of our other 20th Anniversary Editions, and specifically the Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition.

We want to create a deluxe edition with a leatherette-style cover featuring the title of the book on the spine, 200+ full color interior pages, and a silk ribbon bookmark. The cover will featured an embossed image of the Victorian Mage logo. Exceptional funding will allow us to further develop the setting and provide additional materials for play.

-Not Final Design-

The Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary rulebook is required to make full use of the rules and options presented in Victorian Mage.

The manuscript is written, awesome artists are being contracted, and layout templates are being built. An amazing digital PDF product will be created with this material. With your help we will be able to take it a step further and produce a deluxe hardcover version of Victorian Mage for Mage 20 fans and collectors. The main goal and primary focus of this Indiegogo campaign is the creation of this limited-edition book.

After that primary goal, we hope to gain additional funding to explore more of this Victorian world, possibly expanding into Storyteller and player tools and accessories, as well as a possible rules companion. The greater our funding for this project, the more resources we can use to explore these scenarios and challenges.

Beyond those campaign-specific goals, we hope to do what our games have always done — build a community invested in each other’s stories and shared imaginations. Every person who participates is joining with the goal of bringing this game into the world, and that common goal is a magickal binding element that we can’t help but want to share. When you back this project, you join us on this journey and become part of our own secret cabal.

All participants who would like to make this project happen can pledge their support and add to the overall campaign total. Once the campaign meets the funding target, then we will have funded the project and it will become a reality. Your contribution will only be kept if we achieve our funding target.

In thanks for your support, we offer perks based on your level of funding pledged. The Perk descriptions outline the various rewards reflecting various levels of support pledged. Please note that perks including the deluxe hardcover may automatically add additional charges to cover shipping expenses.

This Indiegogo campaign builds upon three core Perks:

1. Supporter – Choose this Perk if you want to support the campaign, but aren’t interested in either the PDF or deluxe hardcover version of Victorian Mage at this time. You can select Add On perks with this reward, and you’ll have full access to the post-campaign Pledge Manager, should you wish to update your options in the future.
2. Victorian Mage PDF – Choose this Perk if you’re staying digital – either saving trees or saving shelf space. This Perk is built around the Victorian Mage PDF, and you can select any Add On perks and have full access to the post-campaign Pledge Manager.
3. Victorian Mage Deluxe Hardcover – Choose this Perk if you’re interested in the limited edition Deluxe Hardcover version of this book. This Perk also includes the PDF version, and you can select any additional Add On perks and will have full access to the post-campaign Pledge Manager.

Also, we love retailers, but modern publishing methods don’t always make it easy for them to get books into their stores. With this Victorian Mage campaign, we have created a special Reward Tier just for you. Qualified Retailers can contact theonyxpath@gmail.com to confirm your retailer status and gain access to this special Retailer Perk to get 5 copies of the Deluxe Hardcover book and Storyteller Reference Screen at a retail-specific discount to sell in-store.

VICTORIAN MAGE PDF VERSION – The digital version of Victorian Mage, fulfilled by our partners at DriveThruRPG.com. Indiegogo contributors will receive a redemption link for an early version, 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 be automatically added to your DriveThruRPG library and available for download at your convenience.

VICTORIAN MAGE DELUXE HARDCOVER VERSION – The main goal of this campaign is to fund the creation, production, and print run of a beautiful deluxe edition of the game. Note that all Perks that include the Hardcover version also include the PDF version as a bonus. Additional shipping charges are automatically added to your pledge by Indiegogo, based on your delivery location.

MANUSCRIPT PREVIEW E-MAILS – Every Wednesday during the course of the campaign, we will be e-mailing all contributors a link to download a preview of the current draft manuscript. We’ll be sending these out in sections, but by the end of the project, contributors will be able to read the ENTIRE current manuscript for Victorian Mage.

DISCOUNTED PRINT-ON-DEMAND OPTION –  For Victorian Mage, you will have the option of using DriveThruRPG.com’s Print-On-Demand service to purchase a physical, printed copy directly from their PoD partners at a discounted rate (this cost is not included in your pledge, and you do not need to increase the cost of your contribution to use this option). When the PoD versions are available to order (which will be some time after the book has gone to print), you will receive links to purchase these versions of the book from DriveThruRPG.com. You DO NOT need to take advantage of this PoD offer as it does not affect in any way your Perk rewards.

When selecting your Perk, you are able to add on these additional options. Each can be added to your DriveThruRPG.com digital library via a special redemption link that will be sent out as part of our perk fulfillment plan.

MAGE: THE ASCENSION 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION PDF (+$20) – Available from our partners at DriveThruRPG.com, The M20 rulebook is required to make full use of the rules and options presented in Victorian Mage.

M20 THE BOOK OF SECRETS PDF (+$10) – For mages who think they have everything, this trove of treasures expands upon the wealth of material presented throughout Mage: The Ascension’s 20th Anniversary Edition. New Traits, new rules, essays, answers, information… the Secrets are revealed within.

M20 HOW DO YOU DO THAT? PDF (+$10) – Unlike any previous Mage sourcebook, How Do You DO That? strips away the series’ trademark ambiguities and deals straight-up with the raw rule systems behind Mage’s magick rules, Dividing a multitude of uncanny feats into 10 general categories.

M20 GODS & MONSTERS PDF (+$10) – This compendium of companions, divinities and beasts presents dozens of characters and creatures for your M20 saga.

“MAGES THROUGH THE AGES” PDF BUNDLE  (+$15) – A collection of two historical sourcebooks from previous editions of Mage: The Ascension. This bundle includes the Mage: Sorcerer’s Crusade PDF and Dark Ages: Mage PDF.

“VICTORIAN VAMPIRES” PDF BUNDLE (+$20) – A trio of Vampire sourcebooks set during the Victorian Age. This bundle includes the Victorian Age Vampire PDF, the Victorian Age Vampire: London by Night PDF, and the Sunset Empires PDF.

VICTORIAN MAGE STORYTELLER REFERENCE SCREEN (+$10) – A sturdy, three-panel screen featuring a collage of Victorian Mage art on the outer side, and a selection of charts and other reference info on the inside to make running a Victorian-focused M20 game session a little bit easier. This Perk can only be added to contributions that include the deluxe hardcover (and thus include shipping).

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 or expand upon a supplemental project. We will continue to build on this list when we achieve these targets during the campaign. Whenever we achieve a stretch goal, the image will be updated to reflect the achievement.

At $42,000 in Funding – Backer T-Shirt! – A Victorian Mage-themed Kickstarter Backer shirt will be hosted on Onyx Path’s Redbubble store for a limited time. Backers will be notified when the shirt becomes available for purchase.

At $50,000 in Funding – Ready-Made Characters – A trio of Ready-to-Play characters will be released as a PDF supplement, providing examples and allowing players to jump right into the wonders of the Victorian Age! Instant Mages will be added to the rewards list of all backers receiving the Victorian Mage PDF.

At $55,000 in funding – Additional Mages – A second trio of Ready-to-Play characters will be added to the Instant Mages PDF supplement, providing further options and opportunities!

At $60,000 in Funding – PENNY DREADFUL – Originally released as a serial novel in 2004, Penny Dreadful by Kevin Andrew Murphy has been updated and reformatted for into a digital edition. This Mage: The Ascension novel will be added to the rewards list of all funding contributors to this project.

When you pledge to a reward tier that includes the Victorian Mage deluxe hardcover edition, Indiegogo will automatically calculate additional shipping costs based on your location.

Unfortunately, international shipping has become increasing 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 be aware that you are responsible for additional import duties, taxes, and brokerage fees, and that we must comply with international law and cannot mark your reward as a gift or as a zero-value item.

If you live outside of the US, here are your options for obtaining a physical copy:

• Pledge to the campaign at $35+ contribution tier to get have the discounted print-on-demand redemption link included as part of your Perks. (see Reward Descriptions, above, for more details).
• Though the deluxe edition will be printed in limited quantities, any excess stock from the print run will possibly be made available through re-sellers online. You can wait and see if it’s possible to purchase at that time.
• Pledge to the campaign at the $5 Supporter tier to get included in the manuscript preview e-mail list. Later, you can buy the PDF and/or Print-on-Demand when eventually released.
• Contact your local game store and encourage them to back at the the Retailer Tier for this campaign, and then make sure you’re put on a preorder list!
• Look into a freight forwarding service that can give you a US-based shipping address, get packages delivered to it, and then forwarded to you.
• If you don’t mind the high shipping costs, pledge to the appropriate reward tier and pay for shipping now! We’ll send your package at the same time we fulfill domestic rewards.

After the campaign is over we’ll launch BackerKit, our post-campaign pledge manager, and invite the contributors to confirm their perks via survey. This allows you to confirm your perks and add on anything that you might have missed, as well as possibly increasing your pledged reward tier, should you choose to expand your perk 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. Funding collected in BackerKit after the campaign does not count toward any campaign Stretch Goals, however.

Risk: This game isn’t created at all even though the goal is reached.

Solution: We have successfully shipped many crowdfunded projects and more are headed to completion as you read this. All those projects have taught us how the various pieces of the process works, and we have increased our ability to judge the various stages of delivery better with each campaign. The text for Victorian Mage is finished and some initial interior artwork has been contracted, so the development process is well underway.

Risk: Shipping costs soak up pledges that were meant to enable the creation of the book.

Solution: Shipping costs have continued to rise over the past few years, but we are aware of that and were able to find ways to work with shippers to bring down those costs – unfortunately, only to some extent as we have also needed to increase the shipping charges- both methods allowing us to be sure that shipping doesn’t eat up the pledge money supposed to go to printing.

Risk: The game will take a long time to produce and anger the backers.

Solution: We’ve learned many, many lessons with our previous crowdfunding campaigns and we’re becoming much better at estimating the various pitfalls that will delay a project. We were able to deliver the PDFs for our last several projects months before the estimate, and our recent campaigns have delivered rewards on schedule. That being said, backers need to be aware that they are enabling a process, and not a pre-order opportunity, and things do sometimes run slower than we want or anticipate with that process. We’ve found that an open flow of communication between us and the backer community is vital so once the project funds we will deliver Updates on progress once a month (or more, as needed) via Indiegogo as well as in our regular weekly Monday Meeting Notes blog at www.theonyxpath.com

ADDITIONAL TERMS & CONDITIONS

By backing this Indiegogo project, you have agreed to the following additional terms and conditions:

ARTWORK, DESIGN, MATERIAL & CONTENTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Onyx Path shares artwork, design, descriptions and manuscript contents with the understanding that changes may occur in the creation of the final product based on further development, available resources and materials, and the nature of the creative process.

REWARDS REQUIRING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUIRE TIMELY RESPONSE. Some rewards, particularly limited Special Rewards such as art model descriptions, character names, and custom design work, require input from the reward backer. For these rewards, the backer must respond within 6 weeks of the information being requested (most likely by BackerKit pledge manager survey, occasionally by direct e-mail) in order to maintain the project development and manufacturing timeline. Onyx Path will make a strong effort to acquire this information, but should the backer not provide it in a timely fashion, all parties agree that Onyx Path can move forward on the project without the information or using an appropriate substitution and the respective backer will consider the reward obligation fulfilled in full for payment or donations pledged and collected on the part of Onyx Path. The simple fact is that we cannot delay the production of the product due to a unresponsive backer, that’s just not fair to the others who have supported this project.

ADDRESS CONFIRMATION & DELIVERY OBLIGATIONS. If you confirm your pledge prior to final address confirmation and initiation of distribution notification via email, you agree that our responsibility to you is to ship your order as entered into our pledge manager system, that title and risk passes to you upon delivery to a common carrier for such shipment, and you are responsible for import duties or any other duties that may be payable to the relevant tax authorities, providing correct address information and ensuring this address is deliverable by normal methods. Failure to confirm mailing address prior to final request and distribution notification will be taken as agreement that all obligations have been met and no further action or effort is required on the part of Onyx Path. We will attempt to alert you via the methods provided by Indiegogo and/or BackerKit, primarily e-mail, prior to distribution of rewards to avoid any issue, but once we’ve made all reasonable efforts, we must move on with other business and will be unable to make exceptions.

DIGITAL REWARDS. You will be notified by BackerKit when digital rewards become available to you. Typically, these will be links to load PDF titles into your account library on DriveThruRPG.com. The links from BackerKit must be activated within 90 days to ensure the titles are added to your library, after which the links may expire and Onyx Path may not be able to provide replacements. If you do not accept these terms, please do not pledge on this project but instead wait for the general release.