Category Archives: General

Lost Fools of Atlantis

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Only me! On Kickstarter again with a fantastic little game called Lost Fools of Atlantis. It’s err like a Fantasy game (honest), in that it has fantastic elements and stars the player characters as survivors of the Fall of Atlantis navigating a world riddled with conspiracies of their own making in the modern day.  If you are familiar with Robert Anton Wilson’s and Robert Shea’s Illuminatus Trilogy, that’s one (of many) inspirations for the game. And that’s officially a Science-Fantasy book. Right?

“But my players only like D&D”. Don’t worry I’ve got you covered. This short article explains how you can get them to enjoy the silky narrative cool of Lost Fools in the cosy familiar environment of Dungeons with Dragons.

Also, the Early Bird period ends at midnight tonight. All backers who have backed in the first five days get a special gift of a supplement called … 5 Days!  So what are you waiting for, run not walk and go back Lost Fools of Atlantis.

 

Beyond Dread Portals, the End (for now)

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From the Beyond Dread Portals Kickstarter

It is with great regret that I’m cancelling the Beyond Dread Portals Kickstarter.

Since launch, its become clear to me that the campaign will not fund.

So I’m gracefully ending this current campaign at this point.

Your support has been overwhelming, as has the commitment of the production crew.

So I will regroup, replan and relaunch in the Autumn or early next year with a lower goal so the campaign funds quickly and attracts the attention that Dr Mitch’s game deserves.

When I relaunch the campaign, you’ll be notified via Kickstarter email, but also keep an eye out via my social media outlets (Facebook/Twitter and Discord channel, the link to which is on d101games.com).

Thank you for backing this campaign.

We shall be back.

Basic Roleplaying Universal Game Engine – First Impressions

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So I was a complete @chaosium_inc fanboy yesterday and downloaded the new version of the Basic Roleplaying Universal Game Engine. This is my impressions from a quick skim read. Bear in mind that I’ve got a long history with the previous version of the book, 2008 Big Gold Book (BGB), so I’ll be comparing it to that.

On the one hand, it is a tidied-up version of the BGB, so as an old hand (who was in the playtest) there’s a lot of familiar content. But there are also new bits that bring it into the modern age. The book’s author Jason Durall gives a breakdown of what’s different over at Basic Roleplaying Central.

The main big thing for me is the presentation, which is now clean full-colour art.  Probably less art overall than the BGB, which was full-on black and white, almost in the style of a 90s book, but more impactful. Certainly, it brings it up on par with the recent full-colour editions of Savage Worlds.

The devil is in the details, and only a full read will see if the new version really makes it a streamlined generic system that you can put together a new game out of. BGB was more like a reference book of BRP’s greatest hits and a bit dry with it for my tastes.

One thing as a publisher that is exciting is that the WHOLE of the book, sans product identity (trademarks etc) is released as open content under the emerging Open Roleplaying game. Even the draft version of the ORC license, this is a much more generous license than the previous BRP-OGL.

Tis was the night before Chaosium’s (New) Basic Roleplaying

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The nerves of this old BRP fan are set afire since tomorrow a new version of Chaosium’s Basic Roleplaying, or Basic Roleplaying Universal Engine as they are billing this version, will be released in pdf form tomorrow, with print to follow later in the year.

So many questions that demand answers?

What will be the differences between this and the previous version, 2008s Big Gold Book (which was on sale for $1 back in January)?

What form and terms will its release under the new ORC license be?

What support will Chaosium give it? Or is it expected to come from Third Party publishers?

I’m going to have difficulty sleeping tonight 🙂

Beyond Dread Portals on Kickstarter until 2nd May

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This is Paul’s take on fantasy D20 Class/Level gaming, streamlined rules with narrative elements, set in the baroque worlds controlled by the Empire of Ys.

If you want more info, there’s a video of Paul and me talking about the game, an interview with the Smart Party Podcast and us, and a 92-page preview pdf (rules up to 5th Level includes an adventure) linked to on the Kickstarter page.

It went live today, and until Tuesday, 4th May, all backers get an early bird backer gift of “The Traveller’s Guide to Polydrones” written by Paul and myself.

New edition of Swords and Wizardry coming to Kickstarter soon

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Swords and Wizardry is still my favourite of the D&D retro-clones, although the recent arrival of the Old School Essentials Basic and Advance box sets gives it a close run for its money.  Matt Finch brought it back under his Mythmere games imprint after it got a wider audience with Frog God games for a while last year, and now soon, he’s kickstarting a new edition.

 

Beyond Dread Portals Kickstarter mark the date!

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Finally, after many false starts, I’ve got a date for the Beyond Dread Portals Kickstarter opening.

Sunday 2nd April

(it would be a day earlier, but you’d think I’d be fooling 😉 )

Check out the preview pdf (but bear in mind the final product will be non-OGL since its author Paul Mitchener has gone through it and purged all D20 SRD content during the OGL fiasco in January).

And here’s me and Mitch having a short chat about it.

And if you want to catch up with the story so far, over the years I’ve made here at the Sorcerer.

The Dandy vs the fiend from Beyond Dread Portals, by Dan Barker