Anathema! Anathema!

 The Words and Deeds of the Chain of Tlachic , by Joe Young and Vivian Johnson The pitch: a dungeon-delving campaign frame about a clan of immortal dwarves seeking to reclaim their ancestral fortress after the defeat of the sorceress who conquered it and enslaved them. Why I backed: I’m a sucker for a high-concept fantasy campaign, and I like the idea of dangerous rogue-like dungeon crawling with characters that rise again back at their forge after they’re slain.  For an immortal, risking death is a fair gambit, and it opens up new possibilities for dungeon design as well. What I received: A surprisingly long (60 pages), dense-feeling zine with a slippery cover.  The zine has minimal art and layout.  The art is scratchy but some pieces are quite evocative. How it works: This is a systemless megadungeon of significant scale and ambition.  To fit the zine format, there are no room descriptions.  Instead, each zone map is accompanied by a page or two of info...

  Bridge of the Damned , by Thor Olavsrud The Pitch : A Torchbearer adventure about a haunted bridge. Why I backed : I have been collecting the Torchbearer line.   I’ve played a few times and enjoyed it, though my attempt to run the game myself did not go well. What I received:   A nice thick zine with a moody color cover.   How it works: The project expanded and the zine now includes a gazetteer for the region the adventure takes place in.   The first half of the zine is the gazetteer, and the second half is the adventure.   There is a certain amount of repetition between the two since the adventure is meant to be usable independently (and will be reprinted without the gazetteer as part of Torchbearer 2). What I thought:   My initial reaction to the first few pages was dread at the density of the setting and the many footnotes (most of which are citations to the Middarmark sourcebook).   But I was quickly won over.   The mood and aesthetic o...

M.N.S.T.R.: Monster, Ne’er-do-wells, and Silk Trade Routes , by Indigo McDonald The pitch: Light, no-prep Powered by the Apocalypse game about the lives of traders leading caravans through the wasteland between city-states on a fantasy Silk Road. Why I backed: The Silk Road is a cool setting, and I’m always in the market for a game that can convincingly do a no-prep campaign. What I received: A pdf with no illustrations other than the cover. How it works : Despite the opening statement that the game was heavily inspired by Apocalypse World, that’s not the full story. It has a roll 2D6+stat mechanic, as well as partial successes and the concept of GM and player moves, but that’s where the similarities end. The difficulty ranges are adjusted by fictional positioning as in a Forged in the Dark game. But the biggest inspiration by far appears to be Mouse Guard. The game is divided into GM-directed caravan phases and player-directed town phases. In the Caravan phase the PCs test skills agai...

Dragon & Warrior , by Orion Canning The pitch: a JRPG-inspired fantasy adventure game based on Jackson Tegu’s “Silver and White.” Why I backed: I playtested “Silver and White” and loved it. What I received: A slim zine with a color cover. The low-res background image detracts from the sharp title and logo. How it works: A GMful game that splits out responsibilities for the protagonist, antagonist, npcs, and world.  The players can switch roles periodically. What I thought: Although the game is mechanically artful, the design goal seems to be to produce very generic d&d videogame fiction.  I respect the craft involved, but I don’t feel compelled to try it out.  I am also leery of the jrpg-style stylized combat, which is even more regimented than that of Ryuutama.  JRPG combat has very limited options because computers can’t handle freeform creative input the way a pen-and-paper RPG can.  Putting JRPG combat in pen-and-paper RPGs seems like abandoni...