4/5 Stars. Because I don't really understand how to apply approaches in FAE. I feel really comfortable with Fate Core skills. FAE almost seems "handwavium" at times in its approach to approaches (oh yeah I went there). I know folks have made all sorts of comments about "This should have been called FAE." "Or it really doesn't matter Fate Core and FAE are the same thing." I don't know about that. Personally I cannot get the hang of FAE. Approaches seem to be open to entirely too much abuse especially by players with the gift of gab.

Be that as it may, truthfully this is a delightful setting. First and foremost, this is a Fate Worlds of Adventure setting that means it is spare in detail. Typically Worlds of Adventure Settings are only about 50 to 60 pages. You can cram a lot into that many pages and Evil Hat and its contributors typically do so. But that still means there is only 50 to 60 pages and only so much setting material is going to make it in there. Especially if there are new rules or new ways to use old rules. Another thing typical of World's of Adventure Settings are they are professionally done. Production values are through the roof. Great art. Great editing. Each Book follows an almost identical format. Each is crisp, clean, and with enough detail to get you started.

Which brings up point number two; this is to get you started and your creative juices flowing. This is not that stack of Warcheese 20K books, or B&B 10th Ed, that require a stack of books as tall as I am. (I am about as tall as a half-welf from B&B). Worlds are yours to do with as you please.

In this setting you are presented with a Firefly meets Spelljammer type setting. You have a ship that is magic enough to fly through space and reach its destination barring any GM spawned distractions. Problem is that magic is expensive to maintain and you are on the fringes of the core worlds, maybe because your Ship's captain and a large percentage of the crew were on the losing side of a war with the Royal Hegemony or your mage has a problem with the Spell Casters Union. You gotta do what it takes to keep the ship flying (sailing?).

There are rules for spell casting. Not like B&B. More like "My Goblin Mage has the aspect, 'Fire, Fire, Fire' and the stunt 'Focused Flame Evoker' so I think I will set the pirates on fire." Then you roll your appropriate action/approach combination as per the FAE rules. There are rules for dabblers, focused users, raw magic users, or prepared spell users. I will not waste a bunch of time explaining all this.

There are rules for making a ship! This ship's aspects will be based on the aspects of the crew (meaning player characters). Very cool. Very straight forward. Your ship is pretty much like another PC.

If you want an FAE version of Firefly meets Spelljammer this is for you. If you are going to play beyond the first adventure you are going to have to flesh it out some more.

If you want a Fate Core version PWYW for "Sails full of Stars" another great Worlds of Adventure setting and combine the two. They don't match exactly but making changes and creating a new storyline can be a blast.

There is a vibrant Fate community on Google+. There are tons of good ideas percolating there for this setting. It's a great setting and it isn't going to cost you much. Having said that I am a Patreon supporter and I would really encourage you to pay something. The folks that make these settings are top notch and the monetary support they receive will go a long way toward encouraging them to make more.

While the book is decent for a setting of Fantasy among the Stars, it has one huge flaw: It is sold as a FATE Core suppliment setting. It is actually FATE Accelerated, which is not the flavor I care to use. I'm not sure why this flaw has been allowed to stand for as long as it has.

Great setting, reminds me of Star Wars meets Treasure Planet or something. My kids & I liked the (free) PDF so much that I actually went & purchased the physical book. I love the art & the concepts introduced here. My only criticism (hence not 5 stars) is a lack of detail. It would be great to have more example Aspects or Stunts for players to use, or more detail on the common technology available to characters or information on the various other cultures (like the Necrocracy mentioned in the adventure, sounds so cool!).

This is a common criticism from me towards most Fate supplements, so it is not unique to the Aether Sea. It's like saying, if you're familiar with the setting, you're fine & can come up with relevant Aspects & Stunts, otherwise, you need to make something up. Which is fine for some people, but for others, it means they're not going to be playing.

Still, a fine supplement!

This was the first pre-constructed Fate adventure I ran for my group.

Aether Sea honestly runs more like "out of the book" Fate Accelerated than "out of the book" Fate Core. It uses aspects rather than skills, but this was actually a plus for the group I ran it for. Character Creation (even with the addition of Fantasy Races) was a simple 20 minute process as we started playing.

The built in setting is an interesting Spelljammer-esque D&D takes to the stars concept. The included adventure can be short enough for a single night or stretch on for a couple days depending on your group. Creative GMs will also find enough suggested behind the scenes to stretch the adventure into an ongoing campaign.

This product is definitely worth putting a few dollars toward.

The Aether Sea is a sci-fantasy game that immediately brings back memories of old-school Spelljammer; classic fantasy races fly magical airships through the void. It's swashbuckling fun that doesn't have a lot of depth, but could definitely be built into a fun campaign with a lot of effort from the GM.

Where this product does shine is the airship combat system; the rules could easily be hacked apart and rebuilt into something for hard sci-fi, or a FATE take on Fantasy Flight Game's "Rogue Trader." Worth a look.

http://www.teilzeithelden.de

Wer das gute alte Spelljammer noch kennt, wird dieses Konzept hier ganz sicher wiedererkennen: Magische Schiffe reisen zwischen den Welten umher. Fantasy trifft Star Wars, auf solider FAE-Basis. Wenn gläubige Elfen Planeten besiedeln und die Menschen zwei Drittel des Universums beherrschen, gibt es für Spieler viel zu tun.

Rezension: The Aether Sea für Fate Accelerated Edition– to boldly go …

Ein weiteres kleines Schmankerl von Evil Hat ist uns da ins Haus geflattert. Mit Secrets of Cats, dem Fate-Setting über magische Katzen, hatten sie gerade erst mein Herz gewonnen, da gibt es auch schon eine Fate-Version mit einigen Anleihen aus Spelljammer. Die Spieler sind eingeladen, ihre Geschichten um einen Haufen magischer Astronauten zu erzählen, die zwischen den abstrakten Welten mit oft noch abstrakteren Schiffen umherfahren.

Inhalt Das Setting ist in fünf Kapitel unterteilt und behandelt alle Abschnitte vergleichsweise kurz. Es werden zwei Fraktionen beschrieben, man geht kurz auf die Besonderheiten der Charaktererschaffung ein und man erfährt ein wenig über den Hintergrund des Universums. Wie begann das mit der Raumfahrt, und wohin hat es sich entwickelt? Außerdem widmet sich ein Teil des Heftes der Magie, und wie man sie in diesem Setting definiert hat. Natürlich wird auch der zentrale Punkt von The Aether Sea beleuchtet, und so widmet sich das vorletzte Kapitel der Erschaffung des eigenen Aether-Schiffs. Im letzten Kapitel gibt es dann schließlich ein kurzes Abenteuer der Marke „bring-mir-dies-dann-bekommst-du-das“.

Das Universum ist durchflutet vom Aether, welchen man allerdings niemals genau definieren kann, er ist ebenso unsichtbar wie tödlich und nur die spezielle Magie eines Aether-Schiffes ist in der Lage ihm zu widerstehen. Der Erfinder des ersten Aether-Schiffes ließ sich seine Idee patentieren und nun gibt es in jedem königlichen Hafen eine Goldstatue mit seinem Abbild. Der Schreibstil des Heftes ist durchgehend witzig und teilweise ein wenig überdreht. Auch kommen darin einige englische umgangssprachliche Begriffe vor, was das Lesen durchaus etwas stockend gestalten kann. Aber ich habe mich während der Lektüre nicht gelangweilt und einige Male bin ich sogar gedanklich etwas abgedriftet, wenn mich ein Satz auf eine Abenteueridee, oder eine spannende Situation gebracht hat. Was man definitiv vermisst, sind atmosphärische Einblicke durch kurze Geschichten, wie sie zum Beispiel bei Secrets of Cats geliefert wurden, oder bei Shadworun üblich sind. Das macht die Texte im Allgemeinen wieder etwas zu steril und lässt den Leser mit wenig Immersion zurück.

Über die knappen Beschreibungen kann man aber nicht meckern, da es ja ein Setting für FAE ist und das „A“ darin steht immerhin für Accelerated, sprich beschleunigt. Es ist durchaus genug Material, um auch mit wenig Vorbereitung ein schönes Spiel zu beginnen. Wie immer gilt auch hier, dass eine kreative Spielergruppe, die sich Mühe gibt, ihre Geschichte zu gestalten, ohnehin die meiste Vorbereitung überflüssig macht. Aether Sea enthält allerdings auch durchaus einige schöne Neuerungen, die eventuell für einen Fate-Spieler auch in anderen Settings brauchbar wären. Beispielsweise teilen sich Spielercharakter und Schiff einen Aspekt, den sogenannten Schiffsaspekt. Er spiegelt eine Eigenschaft des Charakters wider, der sich auch in dem Aether-Schiff manifestiert. Ein Crewmitglied, das niemals aufgibt und immer wieder aufsteht, wird diese Eigenschaft auch in seinem Schiff wiederfinden. Ob sich ein Charakter nun ein Schiff sucht, dass ihm in dieser Art gleichkommt, oder ob das Schiff seine Persönlichkeit anpasst, sei dahingestellt. In jedem Fall wird das Schiff hier wie ein Charakter behandelt und, wie üblich in Fate (Everthing is a character), regeltechnisch gleich aufgebaut.

Die Magie des Settings hat mir beim Durchlesen recht gut gefallen, es ist allerdings fraglich, ob das Konzept gut funktioniert. Generell kann jeder Charakter, unabhängig von Konzept und Aspekten, Zauberei als Stunt erwerben. Man ist dann eingeschränkt dazu in der Lage, eine der drei existierenden Schulen zu verwenden. Der Zeitaufwand dafür wäre dann mehrere Minuten und es ist damit nur möglich Aspekte zu kreieren und Hindernisse zu überwinden. Im Kampf taugt diese Art der Magie allerdings nicht viel. Fokussiert man sich auf ein Gebiet, so bekommt man zwar alles recht schnell gezaubert, aber das gilt nur für ein eingeschränktes Gebiet. Wenn man ganz sicher gehen möchte, kann man einen auswendiggelernten Spruch nutzen, dieser kostet allerdings zwei Stunts und wird immer in einer festen Art und Weise beschworen. Dafür gelingt er automatisch immer mit +3 (Gut). Zunächst hielt ich das für zu mächtig, selbst für die hohen Kosten, allerdings ist so ein Zauberspruch tatsächlich extrem eingeschränkt (Zielanzahl, festgelegte Zone, festgelegter Erfolgsgrad). Es kommt wahrscheinlich auf einige Spieltests an, ob es funktionieren kann, oder die Spieler mit einem Arsenal immer funktionierender Sprüche umherlaufen, ohne Schwierigkeiten zu haben. Im schlimmsten Fall kann man ja als Meister intervenieren und Beschränkungen auferlegen bzw. das Powerlevel einfach anpassen. Auch interessant ist hier, dass es keine klerikalen Kräfte gibt und von Göttern nur die Rede ist, wenn es um die Elfen geht, die zum Teil Planeten als Götter verehren.

Das letzte Kapitel enthält ein schönes kleines Einführungsabenteuer, das allerdings keine großen Überraschungen parat hat und auch nicht sonderlich komplex gestaltet wurde. Die Spieler werden zu Aether-Kurieren gemacht und müssen Dinge von A nach B transportieren. Natürlich sind die Ware und die Konditionen der Abgabe nicht wie vereinbart, und es gibt entsprechende Komplikationen. Alles in allem ist es aber als Einstieg für das Setting ganz in Ordnung.

Preis-/Leistungsverhältnis Es handelt sich bei dem 48 Seiten starken Heft um ein Exemplar des „Zahl-was-du-willst“-Modells und es ist daher vom Leser selbst zu bewerten, wie viel er dafür zu zahlen bereit ist. Ich wäre durchaus bereit, die vorgeschlagenen vier USD zu bezahlen.

Erscheinungsbild Das Setting kommt in einem recht schönen Gewand daher und macht optisch einen guten Eindruck. Die Zeichnungen sind recht hübsch, aber auch nichts Besonderes. Die Bilder bei den Rassenbeschreibungen sind teilweise gewöhnungsbedürftig, da Trolle, Orks und Goblins um einiges von der üblichen Darstellung abweichen. Was nicht zwangsläufig schlecht ist. Der Schriftsatz ist gut lesbar und besondere Informationen sowie Anmerkungen sind in gesonderte, dunkle Textboxen verfasst, um sie hervorzuheben.

Bonus/Downloadcontent Nicht verfügbar.

Fazit The Aether Sea greift ein beliebtes Thema auf und präsentiert eine recht solide Basis für Fate Accelerated Edition, um mit einer draufgängerischen Schiffscrew ins Unbekannte zu starten. Die recht witzige Hintergrundgeschichte und das übertriebene Bürokratiegehabe der Menschen lassen das Setting zeitweise leicht ironisch erscheinen. Da es aber so knapp gehalten ist, kann man seinen eigenen Spielstil sicher problemlos einbringen und entscheiden, ob man alles nun ernst nehmen möchte oder ein wenig Paranoia mit einfließen lässt. Fehlende Kurzgeschichten wie beim vergleichbaren Secrets of Cats mindern die Immersion in das Geschehen leider ein wenig, aber einige abstrakte Ideen, wie beispielsweise einen riesigen hohlen Baum als Raumstation zu verwenden, machen das teilweise wieder wett. Alles in allem ist das Setting wenig innovativ, aber gut genug aufgebaut, um Spaß zu machen. Letzten Endes kann der Spieler aber selbst entscheiden, was es ihm wert ist, und so kann man es als unentschlossener Kunde erst einmal kostenlos testen, bevor man den Autor belohnt. Ein paar Regelvorschläge und Ideen liefert es allemal und ist definitiv einen Blick wert.

A great setting with elements of Spelljammer, but with its own special twist for fantasy races and magic.

A really good campaign setting for Fate. Reminiscent of Spelljammer, it would also be easy to use ideas from Firefly, Babylon 5 or many of the Trek series to fuel a campaign.

With a few additions I would have given this five stars. A page or two more of NPC aether ship write ups, a bit more advice on the implicit technology of the setting (do adventurers carry swords and axes? Rapiers and wheel-locks? Blaster pistols?), some brief paragraphs on mysteries/adventure sites/dangers of the setting. Nothing major, nothing O can't create, but just a few more pages would have taken this to the next level for me.

I really love The Aether Sea. I've been a Patreon backer since the start of the campaign and this setting is well worth the price of admission (the others are great, too, but this is by far my favorite). John Alvarez Vita's art is basically perfectly themed to the setting, which is a theme of the Patreon worlds, and the setting is deep enough to open up quite a broad scope of stories. Personally, I'd lean back onto the Fate Core version of skills rather than Fate Accelerated's approaches, because I tend towards building characters who focus a little differently than the standard approaches and the Core version feels more flexible to me (but probably is probably truly equally flexible when compared to FAE's version). For the average game, either system would probably work just as well as the other.

As always, purchasing through DrviveThruRPG is great. The book looks great and the system is easy. I would really recommend joining the Patreon campaign, though! It's a great way to ensure that books like this keep coming (and they are at almost one a month!). The lower tier of sponsorship isn't super expensive, and this book--and the others!--is totally worth it.

If you're looking for "Fantasy Fate... In Space!", then this is the book for you. I've been disapointed by Evil Hat's limited offering of fantasy Fate settings thus far, but this book makes up for all the waiting. There's even skyships, and a lot of 'em! I look forward to figuring out how to combine this with the Aerial Adventure Guide [0].

There's enough structure to be useful and informative, but not constraining, while the magic rules are a bit complex, but mostly apply duirng character creation, so that's all right. It even (as expected) comes with an interesting base plot that will take your players through their first session and out into the larger universe.

Overall, a great use of a few dollars, and something I'm really looking forward to running with my players.

0: Aerial Adventure Guide: Sky Captain's Handbook : http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/2984/

I like the setting a lot. Reminds me of the old AD&D setting Spelljammer. My first (minor) complaint is the use of FATE Accelerated Edition rather than FATE Core for the rules. I'd have loved a appendix talking about how one would use Core to represent the setting. Doing the conversion myself shouldn't be that difficult, but I'd like to not have to do that so I don't have to explain it to my players who aren't as familiar with FATE as I am.

The next complaint, which I think is more of a problem, is that the system for spending resources to get around the Aether Sea doesn't mesh with the suggested reward system. If you have to take 1 resources stress to travel the shortest listed distance, and most jobs for that distance pay just enough to recover that one stress, and lots of opportunities can show up that cost you additional resources, plus you can't bank payment between jobs, how does a ship not go out of business eventually? I think I'd prefer a different approach to ship resources and getting paid for jobs.

FATE is a flexible enough of a system that neither of these are game breaking issues and I still rate the game at 4 stars because it gets the creative juices flowing and shows some interesting approaches to a group shared resource like a spaceship.

The Aether Sea is a great setting for Fate. From the first page I was intrigued in this world were different fantasy races fled their homeworld and started exploring the aether. It’s space, but also with a definite sea faring feel and I like how the different terminology gives it another feel. It’s a setting that really appeals to me and I would love to play a session or campaign in this world once.

Another thing hat surprised me is how effortless it combines fantasy and sci-fi, without it being strange. It’s really neat and each race has a small bonus. It’s not a whole lot, but it’s still a nice bonus and managed to give some flavor to the different races.

One things that bothered me a bit is how they use FEA, I prefer Fate Core and was constantly thinking how it could be adapted to Fate Core. I just find the whole concept of approaches a bit weird and think skills which Fate Core uses is more intuitive.

Beside that this was a great book, the setting really comes alive and there’s enough explanation. There’s a whole section about building your own aethercraft/ ship which was really interesting and fun to read. There’s less about building the actual characters, but most of the basics are in the Fate Core book. They do explain the different races and there are enough organizations and issues strewn throughout the book to use as material for a campaign. There’s also an example campaign which can be used as a standalone session or as the start of the campaign.

There’s also an unique magic system. I did like that it introduces another magic system, although I think that section could’ve been a bit longer, some things were a bit vague now and I had some trouble coming up with specific spells or magic uses beside the standard fireball.

To conclude: The Aether Sea is a great setting for Fate and one I certainly plan to try out eventually. The mix between fantasy and sci-fi was well done and I was really intrigued in this world. I like the feel and everything was explained well. The only thing that bothered me a bit was that they use the FEA approaches. One of my favourite settings so far!

A clear concise and interesting setting to play in. The magic system give a very good illustration on how to adapt FAE to particular settings. While I'm yet to play it I can see this setting working very well.

One minor quibble about the blur on this site, there are no species creation rules. Indeed exploration and discovery of new exotic lifeforms is not a feature of this setting as written.

fantasy goes firefly

sold!

A brilliant idea for a setting that is backed up brilliantly by the mechanics, based on fate accelerated it lends itself to a quick, but involved setup

some key bits of awesome

magic - a little hare to understand on first read, but once you get it, it makes sense (basically, dablber / focused / cantripper / one spell wonder haha) but not just making sense its really imaginative and each bit gives real flavour to your character, rather than "oh we all have magic

ship aspects - this really made me think of firefly, the ship and the players share an aspect each, there is speculation which way round this works (i mean its a world of magic) but if you love the ship, you will become one with it, ie: faster than I look etc..

races: well species (will let you read why, very nice bit of fluff) not only are the classics here, but they each have a little bit of new flavor, and there is a nice little mechanic so each race has a bonus, without it being something too daunting or that makes one race the "must pick"

the art: there are just the right ammount of peiices of artwork in this book, each one invokes the theme and really gets you excited to play

the setting: it is just so rich, the monarchy, the boarder systems, the shadow fleet, the captured orc its incredible, for 40ish pages ive had more of a spark put in me to roleplay than most $35 500 page monsters

finally:

seriously, this is PWYW how can you NOT pick this up, even if you never play it, its such a nice setting with great artwork its worth a FREE download alone, and when you;ve brought it to the table tip the creators for a job well done

p.s. this has now made me jump on over to the fate patron too