The Known World

Welcome to the world of Artesia.

This is the official web site for the role-playing game Artesia: Adventures in the Known World (Artesia AKW), based on the comic book Artesia, written and illustrated by Mark Smylie and published by Archaia Studios Press (ASP). Here you can find information about the setting of the comic and game, rules updates and info on the RPG itself, and downloads and discussion forums for everything Artesia-related.

The Ages of The Known World come,
and the Ages of The Known World go...

The Emperor of Thessid-Gola had been on the verge of recreating the Golden Empire of Dauban Hess when he fell into a Gray Dream from which he has not awakened, even after over four hundred years. And his sleeping body slumped in the highest throne of the Phoenix Courthas been the mark of this Age, the specter hanging over it, an Age in which rather than stepping forward into an Age of Men without gods, or backward into another Age of Legend, the World instead stepped sideways.

And now this dream of an Age is ending, and strange things are afoot in every corner of the World: the Sultan of Thessid-Gola has taken up the Emperor’s cause, and his armies stir to return the Empire to its glory; the heralds of the Isliklidae, dark memories of the Divine King’s time on earth, are moving in the Empire’s halls of power with hidden aims; the Lokhite barbarian hordes have appeared from out of the Unknown World to cast a long and horned shadow over the north; the Usurper has ruled the city-state of Palatia Archaia for almost a century, blending the Old Religion of the goddess Yhera with the state-of-the-art arms, armor, and ships of the Arsenal, and behind him stands the Lord Mott, rumored to be the Philosopher-King in Waiting; and a young woman born with a witch’s gifts has chosen the path of War and rises to power in the Highlands of Daradja. Everywhere the secret Cults of forbidden gods and desires are spreading, and they seem to be whispering in the shadows: the Gray Dream is almost over, and something is coming, something strange and wonderful and never seen before, and the Emperor knows what it is.

Welcome to The Known World.
Welcome to the end of an Age…

		*02.27.08 – Artesia Afire* is Top Graphic Novel of the Year**
		Jeff VanderMeer at BookSlut picked Artesia Afire as #6 in his Top Graphic Novels of the Year. “Exemplifying the best of intelligent heroic fantasy, the Artesia books feature a heroine who is intelligent, fierce, and passionate. This latest collection offers up an exceedingly high standard of storytelling, weaving together battle sequences, court intrigue, and the supernatural. I have to admit when I started reading the Artesia books I didn't know what to expect, but I was quickly drawn in to this topnotch series.”

		02.24.08 ORIGINAL ART SALE
		With work on ARTESIA BESIEGED #3 finally progressing in fits and starts and Spring Cleaning around the corner, Mark is looking to clear some space in his flat files. So from now until the end of March, the remaining original art pages from the first three ARTESIA series are available for the low price of $50 a page. Please contact Mark about the availability of specific pages.

		02.24.08 - New Submissions Guidelines Added
		New Submissions Guidelines have been posted to the Submissions Page; please find the Submissions Page on the Contact dropdown menu or here.

		*01.24.08 Artesia Besieged* returns April 2008!**
		With the growth of Archaia Studios Press as a publishing house, the time for its author to devote to the Besieged series evaporated during much of 2007. But we are happy to announce that work has finally recommenced on the series, with previews of some of the first finished interior pages below. Artesia Besieged #3 is now expected to hit stores in April.

		*12.07.07 – Realms of Fantasy* reviews Artesia Afield and Artesia Afire**
		Jeff VanderMeer reviewed both of these ASP books in the widely read Realms of Fantasy and had nothing but good things to say. “’Epic’ doesn’t even begin to describe the nuances and complexities of the plots and alliances in this fresh take on a highly recommended heroic fantasy.” Read the full review.

		11.03.07 – Cerberus2 reviews Artesia RPG…in another language
		Dirk for Cerberus2 reviewed Artesia: Adventures in the Known World. It’s in another language, though, but it’s cool nonetheless. Go here then click the middle head and go to page 23 – 37. Yes, we said click the middle head—it’ll make sense when you see it…

		09.25.2007 – A couple of HUGE fans of *Artesia: Adventures in the Known World* run a terrific blog focusing on their AKW games.
		Check it out here.

		08.13.2007 – GenCon is here!
		*Mark Smylie and Archaia Studios Press will be at Booth #1727 showing off Artesia: Adventures in the Known World.* Plus, numerous demos will be run over the four-day gaming event: Thursday, 2pm: The Wall, at Regency E/F table 2 Friday, 10am: The Drowned Men, at Regency E/F table 6 Friday, 2pm: The Drowned Men, at Regency E/F table 4 Saturday, 6pm: The Wall, at Regency E/F table 1

		07.21.2007 – Another review on rpg.net
		Christopher Richeson gave his own review of Artesia: Adventures in the Known World over at rpg.net.

		06.01.2007 – New free downloads for Artesia Adventure in the Known World
		Two great downloads perfectly suited for any fan of Artesia or its RPG. Character sheets courtesy of Doyle Tavener. Download the Excel files here. AAKW action sheet, again courtesy of Doyle Tavener. Download the .pdf here. Known World Timeline. An exhaustive look at the history of the world. Download the.pdf here (6.2 mb) and a larger version here (32 mb).

		06.01.2007 – ASP publisher Mark Smylie interviewed
		Frederik Hautain of Broken Frontier did a massive interview with Mark Smylie. The article is appropriately titled “Archaia to the Max.”

		06.01.2007 – Forthcoming RPG supplements for Artesia Adventure in the Known World
		Yes, we know they’re a long time coming, but we have several books in the works to expand your AAKW adventures. First off is a series of books entitled The Universities of the Middle Kingdoms by the acclaimed writer of The Lone and Level Sands, A. David Lewis. Also in the works is an as-yet-unnamed book by Mike Purcell. As we get more info on release dates, we will let you know immediately.