CA1 Calidar Dreams of Aerie

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Centered on a flying circus¸ this mega-adventure and mini-setting can also be run in any game world¸ with RPG rules of your choice.

Adventure: This tabletop role-playing game adventure also is a self-contained mini-setting. Because the action takes place on a flying circus¸ Dreams of Aerie is easy to adapt to any game world. Drawing on Barnum & Bailey and Cirque du Freak¸ this book's main plot elements involve a murder mystery¸ the rivalries of circus guilds¸ urban adventuring¸ and monster-hunting. Countless hooks allow side trips and alternate storylines¸ as each of the 90+ circus folk hide shadowy pasts and secret motivations. The heroes must contend with secret societies vying for hegemony among circus folk. If left to its own devices¸ a monstrous presence hidden aboard heralds catastrophic world events.

Sourcebook: This book's setting includes the circus itself¸ standing amid side shows and carnie shacks¸ themselves surrounded by a ring of permanent shops and dwellings called aeries¸ perched at the edge of the clouds. Two more decks lie below with all that the Greatest Show on Calidar needs to function¸ as well as its stranger secrets. The flying circus can be used as a permanent home base for player characters¸ with plenty of adventure hooks to fill the cracks between expeditions "away from home." Although written for the World of Calidar¸ this setting is nearly self-contained until the referee starts unfolding the hidden stories of circus folk¸ and connects them with the chosen game's universe.

Contents: Dreams of Aerie is a 132-pg full color book¸ 8" 3/4 x 11" 1/4. The digital file is fully indexed. The hardcover book is printed on premium heavyweight paper stock for best result with the many maps included therein; the softcover book uses standard color paper. Deck plans are included in the book¸ as two-page spreads and as inset maps. Deck plans can otherwise be obtained as separate 12"x18" posters¸ both labeled and unlabeled. This book is system-neutral: guidelines to help adapt the adventure's game statistics to common RPGs are available as a pay-what-you-want title.

PDF¸ Hardcover and Softcover¸ 132 pages¸ Color covers. Color and Black & White interior art.
I am reviewing the PDF and softcover book from the Kickstarter.
Dreams of Aerie is for the Calidar world setting¸ but let me say this upfront¸ you can use this anywhere with any system. The book uses the Calidar game system¸ which is not really a system but a short-hand way of talking about stats. If you have any of the other books you will know what this is and how to convert it.
The book is part source guide and part mystery adventure. The setting is the Amazing Flying Circus a traveling that flies overhead. There is some great in-game/in-universe background to this circus and how it is no longer at its hey-day¸ but it is also attempting to reclaim its former glory.
Now. If this is all this book was¸ then it would still be a fantastic bit of work. But we do get a lot more.
The circus is home to all sorts of entertainers as well as misfits and those rejected by society. In many ways it mirrors a real circus from our¸ or most worlds. It is also a religious monument to one of Calidar's gnomish gods¸ Belgomeer. That gives it a nice twist. I'll discuss this more at the end.
We get a great cast of characters including the Ringmaster¸ Vox Hammerdin¸ aka The Great Mirabilis. That's a hell of a name! Based on his style and personality I think he must be related to my Crazy Omar. There are so many interesting NPCs here I could spend pages talking about them¸ but ins