Mages all over Aden developed a secret that would allow them to blend both sorcery and science. They called in mechamagic, and it signaled the end of one era and the beginning of another. Later generations would call this the Age of Thunder.
It came just in time.
One brilliant winter's day, a great black cloud eclipsed the sun and the very sky itself. THINGS emerged from the shadows - monsters and demons that had only existed in legend and wives' tales. The horrors slaughtered most outlying villages and surrounded the rest. Even the great cities were leveled or forced into tiny pockets of stubborn resistance. Those that survived those first, terrible days named the creatures NOCTURNALS, for they came out only after the sun went dark. Over time, it was discovered that whatever malevolent force had created these monstrosities could also grant power to people with evil in their heart. These came to be called the CORRUPTED. They were the worst nocturnals, for they betray their own fellows for the power offered by the Darkfall.
But the people of Aden are a tough breed. Here and there, isolated pockets of survivors pushed the horrors from their homes and kept them out with walls of wood, of vine, or even cold iron. Eventually the rulers of Aden tried to reclaim their nations. They waited anxiously through the long days to fin out which of their people had survived, and which had vanished beneath the dark hordes. But communication was difficult. The leaders did what they could to reunite their people, but the outlands were filled with all manner of treacherous and cunning nocturnals.
Then, a year after the Darkfall, the nation of Columbey announced that they had found a new leaders, a mysterious newcomer who called himself Lord Urbane. Urbane renamed his country Urbana, after himself, and promised that he would lead all Aden out of the darkness. Within a few months, his mechamages had crated a device that would allow communication, and more importantly, trade, across the terrible outlands. Thus were born the thundertrains - lumbering behemoths of iron powered by steam and secret sorceries known only a select few Urbanan mechamages. After ten hard-fought years, the thunder-trains have provided hope against the unchecked horrors of the Darkfall.
The Age of Thunder has given Aden a chance to fight back against the forces that besiege it. Great warriors ride across the battered lands to confront the nocturnal hordes. Clever rogues and ruthless inquisitors seek out the corrupted traitors within the cities and settlements. Mechamages invent deadly contraptions of steam and magic, or fight the veil with iron sorcery. The combined efforts of these brave heroes are the beacons that will lead Aden through this terrible time of darkness.
FEATURES
Strategic Simulations Incorporated presents World of Aden (TM) - the first game setting created specifically for an entire line of fantasy products. From traditional role-playing to strategy and arcade action, the world of World of Aden presents a detailed and intriguing background for any type of gaming experience.
* Steampunk fantasy! This is not your average "elves and dragons" setting. Mechamagic blends the best - and worst - of steam-age science and powerful sorcery.
* Intriguing mystery! The origin of the Darkfall will be slowly revealed in select World of Aden products, building the suspense to a grand finale well worth the wait!
* A highly developed background! World of Aden software developers are presented with a 144-page manual detailing the people, places and things of Aden.
* Multi-Platform capability! World of Aden offers an infinite number of exciting plots for SSI's award-winning role-playing adventures. Action games can be based on traditional story-lines, or on any one of Aden's notorious Bloodsports. Military buffs can command desperate heroes against hordes of vicious nocturnals, and simulation fans can attempt to build settlements in the hostile outlands.
* Support! Three novels are initially planned to introduce the world of World of Aden to the mass market. These novels will be published by Harper-Collins, a discriminating leader in the world of science fiction and fantasy.
