Vanilla Lore Expanded announcement (Patreon)

Hello everyone!

We have a big announcement to make.

Some time ago, I have decided that it would be great to have a large, comprehensive document with all available RimWorld lore, so that it's easier for us to come up with new 'Vanilla-friendly' ideas. This slowly evolved into a doc containing not just RimWorld lore, but also Lore written by us for the purpose of other mods - be it mechanoids, insectoids etc.

I sat down and thought: Why don't we expand the lore, flesh it out, make it awesome and interesting to read?

So Linden Wright, our writer, and I started cracking on and dissecting every single bit of RimWorld lore out there - be it Cryptosleep Revival briefing by Tynan, or ingame descriptions and backstories, and we did accidentally write a nearly 100 page long Google document that outlines in detail pretty much everything there is in RimWorld, and more.

Then it occured to me, that this could serve as an absolutely great collectible item - but it doesn't feel right to profit off of it, as technically this is not official lore. It's written by us - mod makers, and it's merely our interpretation of it.

So what we decided is as follows:

Vanilla Lore Expanded will be available for online reading, for free, by everyone.

Vanilla Lore Expanded Physical edition will be available for purchase at PrepareCarefully.com once it's finished. I heard that you'd love it in hard cover so I will look into it.

Why do we want to sell it in physical copies? Because the project itself costs us a few thousand dollars, as we are hiring the best illustrators out there - and not just any illustrators, but those that have created RimWorld inspired art.

Epebe is responsible for all human-depicting art, whilst Senk Kei will most likely be handling all the Animals.

Example of Epebe's art:

Example of Senk Kei's art:

We decided that we will sell a limited amount of physical copies to get at least some of the money back - but remember, it will be completely free to read online!

We have however a huge offer planned, something to help us fund the project even more!

If you become a Silver ($5) tier patreon (or upgrade from Steel to Silver) between now and the end of the month, you will be able to read snippets of our work in a new regular series of posts called Vanilla Lore Expanded.

If you're already a Silver tier patron or higher, you don't need to do anything - you're eligible!

To help you decide, have an example here:

Archotech Spy

Whilst official reports are skeptical about the locations of various Archotech worlds, they are publicly acknowledged to exist, the main reason being not wanting to potentially anger something that is so far beyond humanity’s understanding that it could threaten the continuation of the species. Various government procedures need to be certified - or illegally obtained - before the potential location of a star system of interest is disclosed.

Oftentimes a transcended world is suspected to be a dwarf planet, planetoid, or gas giant, so potential researchers are forced to slowly perform scans on multiple orbiting bodies before more detailed scans can take place. This caution is not unwarranted, however, for some AIs do not like to be observed and will sometimes even do some probing of their own. Whilst offering little that the Archotechs already have, their potential as sources of information - or espionage - is not taken for granted.

Having an AI master is something most would spring for without hesitation, for it is their belief that their loyal service will give them whatever rewards they so desire. But an Archotech is as enigmatic as an Old God and their wants and desires are beyond human’s understanding. Those that attempt to curry favour would do well to imagine their response akin to a common garden ant asking a human for a boon. These overlords view their servants' desire for freedom as betrayal and will punish such an affront with whatever methods they so please.

Furthermore, every single person who has ever donated at least 1 USD to us will have their name printed on the last pages of the lore book. No: Your name doesn't get bigger the more you donated!

I do believe a book like this is a great first step towards making a custom paper RPG in RimWorld setting, which is something I had my eyes on for a while.

Please let me know what you think about this idea, and if you'll be interested in getting your hands on a book. I'm sure some of you would love to have it on your shelf as a physical copy, so please do tell me, because I don't know if I should request for 100 of them to be printed or 1.000.