Next November, Monte Cook Games will release its new Invisible Sun role-playing game.

Announced at Gen Con (see “Monte Cook Reveals New RPG”), Invisible Sun features numerous innovative mechanics intended to make the game more immersive for the players.  Unlike traditional RPGs, Invisible Sun players are actively encouraged to engage with the game during the down time between sessions, including solitaire and group activities.

The game is set in the “Actuality”, a hidden world of esoteric and surreal “truths” hidden from the day-to-day world of the “Shadow.”  Central to the game system is a complex and non-mechanical system of magic and unlimited character customization and development.

The game itself is packaged in a striking black cube, which contains everything needed to play the game:  four books describing the rules and setting, a 60-card “Sooth Deck,” a “Path of Suns” board, a resin “Testament of Suns” sculpture designed to hold Sooth cards, 600 game cards, 100 tokens, 4 10-sided dice, a cloth map of the City of Satyrine, a poster map of the Actuality, a GM notebook, player handouts, 24 4-page character tomes, 30-page Grimoire Pad, 4 bookmarks, 5 pre-generated characters, 1 of 8 Sun Medallions, and a code for a digital download of the rules and setting materials.  In addition, each copy of the game comes with a sealed “Secrets Envelope” containing some secret material about the game.  The amount of material in the box helps justify the hefty price tag, expected to be around $200.

Monte Cook is funding the production through a Kickstarter campaign which exceeded its $210,653 funding goal one day in.  The campaign includes a retailer-only level, which Monte Cook’s Chief Operating Officer Charles Ryan says “has more retail backers than any of our previous campaigns.”  Monte Cook plans backer fulfillment for November, 2017, with a limited release into the trade to follow.