NaBloPoMo 2015 – Entry 23 – A Wide Field

The other night, I got a freebie sampler of a new setting for Pathfinder called Aethera. It was being Kickstarted until yesterday. I missed the campaign, it closing before I could read the preview.

The Aethera setting is another one like the StarSea: A space opera with a heavy dose of magic. I’m seeing a lot of setting like this coming out recently. Fate has The Aether Sea (a title far too close to my own), Sails Full of Stars, Masters of Umdaar, and The Three Rocketeers (See here). There’s Strange Stars and Baroque Space Opera, which are more Sci-Fi than my setting, but they’re similar. There’s this new Aethera setting and Golm. I’m sure I’ve seen others recently that combine magic with space opera, or have a heavy emphasis on psionic powers or some similar wyrdness.

How will the StarSea standout from the crowd? If I publish this setting, I have to face that fact. It seems that, right now, this idea of magic in space is very popular.

I wonder how much of that is being fueled, however unconsciously, by the upcoming release of Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens?

Well, that’s more than I thought I could write tonight. Later.