Dragon Age Just my two cents News & Reviews Numenera Other Systems Random musings Rifts RPG Savage Worlds

Three Upcoming Games I’m Excited about

Although I already own quite a few roleplaying games (I stopped counting a while ago), I am usually excited about at least one or two upcoming games. At the moment there are three games which should be released this summer which keep me excited.

Cover-Mockup-2015-04-08-Opt2cThe first on the list is a game I’ve been writing about several times. It’s Monte Cook’s Cypher System Rulebook. The Cypher System was created for Numenera and was also put to great use in the more recent The Strange. What I like about the system is that it’s extremely easy to run, it breaks with a couple of roleplaying traditions and while being pretty easy it has enough depth to even convince players who prefer some crunch at the gaming table.

The upcoming Cypher System will hopefully provide us with enough material to use the system in almost every genre. From what I’ve read so far, the book will have almost 500 pages with no fluff. Since the rules themselves are pretty short, I expect countless descriptors and foci, a a whole lot of cyphers for our games. I already have a couple of ideas what I want to run with it, including a Cyberpunk game. Hopefully there will be support for cyberwear in the core book.

By the way, if you  preorder the hardcover book at Monte Cook Games, you get the PDF for free. The PDF version can also be preordered from DriveThruRPG.

Next in line is Fantasy AGE by Green Ronin. Fantasy AGE is basically the Dragon Age RPG without the setting and a new magic system. It’s the RPG for everyone who loves the rules behind the Dragon Age RPG but want to use it for other settings. While I have owned the rules for ages I just recently had the chance to play it. The AGE system is easy to learn, fast, and the stunt system is the cherry on top.

What excites me even more is the setting Green Ronin will release for Fantasy AGE later this year: Titansgrave: The Ashes of Valkana. Titansgrave is a Science Fantasy setting created by Wil Wheaton and Green Ronin. It’s also the game Wil is running for his new RPG show. If you haven’t watched it yet, I highly recommend you do so.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWn6b8vi-PY

Savage_Rifts-234x300Last but not least is the Savage Worlds version of RIFTS. I still don’t think that Savage Worlds is the best fit for RIFTS, but I am cautiously optimistic. I like the RIFTS setting a lot. It’s my favorite kitchen-sink setting but alas it’s combined with a mess of a rules system. The Palladium System is playable but only barely so. From what I’ve heard not even Kevin Siembieda uses the rules-as-written, which says a lot. Savage Worlds is definitely not perfect but it fits the over-the-top style of RIFTS even though I doubt it can handle the scales. I still can’t imagine how a Rogue Scientist and a Glitter Boy pilot can coexist in the same party using SW rules. Let’s hope the guys working on it have figured a way out to make it possible.

These are the three games I am currently pretty excited about. What games are you looking forward to? Please share your thoughts below!

Tag
Stargazer

Michael Wolf is a German games designer and enthusiast best known for his English language role-playing games blog, Stargazer's World, and for creating the free rules-light medieval fantasy adventure game Warrior, Rogue & Mage. He has also worked as an English translator on the German-language Dungeonslayers role-playing game and was part of its editorial team. In addition to his work on Warrior, Rogue & Mage and Dungeonslayers, he has created several self-published games and also performed layout services and published other independent role-playing games such as A Wanderer's Romance, Badass, and the Wyrm System derivative Resolute, Adventurer & Genius, all released through his imprint Stargazer Games. Professionally, he works as a video technician and information technologies specialist. Stargazer's World was started by Michael in August 2008.

view all posts

Related Posts

5 comments

comments user
Logan

“Titansgrave: The Ashes of Valkana” is really interesting.
I’m waiting for the german version of Numenera and for the 3rd edition of Exalted. Hope this will have a german edition, too. Jepp, that’s all at the moment. 😀
Reply
comments user
Mr. Wonderlan

I have to wonder what happened to for Palladium to allow someone else to touch Rifts. I see a link for another post that might answer that question.
Reply
comments user
Athair

Rolemaster Unified … will ICE be able to bring back Rolemaster in an accessible way? Will Unified be able to reunite a fractured fanbase. (This may be even more needed for RM than for D&D.) Will RM be able to reclaim notice as a valuable games system?

Crypts & Things Reloaded … in my opinion C&T is the best take on (pure) sword & sorcery in roleplaying. The 1st edition offered quite a nice set of rules and a inspiring setting sketch. I wonder whether the new version manages to bring a more fleshed out game or if it gains just unnecessary bloat.

Fantasy AGE/Titansgrave: The Ashes of Valkana … just a fresh take on science fantasy roleplaying using a neat set of rules.

… I’ve no interest in Cypher/Numenera. However, as always, artwork and layout in products published by Monte Cook are stunning.
Reply
comments user
Sean Patrick Fannon

Trust me when I say the challenge of making characters like the Wilderness Scout and Rogue Scientist work alongside a Glitter Boy or Ley Line Walker wasn’t easy, and took a great deal of thought and some very deep design effort.

We got there, and I am thrilled with the results, as have been the various folks who’ve gotten to play so far. I believe you will be, too. A lot of assumptions about Savage Worlds and what it can do will be… expanded. 😉
Reply
    comments user
    Stargazer

    I was actually a bit concerned about Savage RIFTS because I haven’t heard anything about in quite a while. Can you give us an update on its progress?
    Reply