Vortex Verlag (Geek Native’s UK Games Expo sponsor) are (not surprisingly) at the event and has Serenissima Obscura to promote. The occult fantasy set in Venice has been funded on BackerKit, with pledges still open. It features stats for 5e and Ars Magica and is designed to be effectively system-agnostic.
However, the publisher’s next game, Shanarel, feels very different. Those who can visit Vortex Verlag at 3A-758 during the convention can even see some of the art from the book.
Vortex Verlag’s Ben Strack-Zimmermann is designing Shanarel and will use 5e rules. It’s a campaign setting with whimsy and mystery, and while it’s not without danger, Geek Native has been told it’s described as a fantasy world you might like to live in.
The setting will offer 45 distinct playable cultures and 21 species, each with its own unique rules and background. Shanarel is a vast continent, and the book has descriptions of the 118 countries found on it.
Magic, history, economics, sex, language, art, architecture, craft, flora and fauna are all included in the book. There is crunch in the gamebook as well, with new rules and notes on character generation, new subclasses and a starting adventure.
Serenissima Obscura works well with Ars Magica but Geek Native has been assured that Shanarel is strictly 5e. The campaign setting is colourful, high fantasy and entirely suitable for the D&D ruleset.
A crowdfunding campaign for Shanarel is expected in 2026.
A special thanks to Vortex Verlag for sponsoring Geek Native’s coverage of UK Games Expo. You can meet them at stand 3A-758 and find out about the exciting new Serenissima Obscura crowdfunding campaign.
