Cover of the main Amber DRPG rulebook (art by )Publisher(s)Publication date1991Genre(s)System(s)Custom (direct comparison of statistics without dice)The Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game is a created and written by, set in the created by author for his. The game is unusual in that no are used in resolving conflicts or player actions; instead a simple system of comparative ability, and narrative description of the action by the players and, is used to determine how situations are resolved.Amber DRPG was created in the 1980s, and is much more focused on relationships and roleplaying than most of the roleplaying games of that era. Most Amber characters are members of the two ruling classes in the Amber, and are much more advanced in matters of strength, endurance, psyche, warfare and sorcery than ordinary beings. This often means that the only individuals who are capable of opposing a character are from his or her family, a fact that leads to much suspicion and intrigue.
Contents.History The original 256-page game book was published in 1991 by, covering material from the first five novels (the ') and some details – sorcery and the – from the remaining five novels (the '), in order to allow players to roleplay characters from the Courts of Chaos. Some details were changed slightly to allow more player choice – for example, players can be full Trump Artists without having walked the Pattern or the Logrus, which says is impossible; and players' abilities are far greater than those shown in the books. Cover of Shadow KnightA 256-page companion volume, Shadow Knight, was published in 1993. This supplemental includes the remaining elements from the Merlin novels, such as Broken Patterns, and allows players to create Constructs such as Merlin's. The book presents the second series of novels not as additions to the series' but as an example of a with Merlin, Luke, Julia, Jurt and Coral as the PCs. The remainder of the book is a collection of essays on the game, statistics for the new characters and an update of the older ones in light of their appearance in the second series, and (perhaps most usefully for GMs) plot summaries of each of the ten books.
The book includes some material from the short story and some unpublished material cut fromnotably Coral's pregnancy by Merlin.Both books were translated into French and published by in 1994 and 1995.A third book, Rebma, was promised. Cover art was commissioned and pre-orders were taken, but it never arrived. Wujcik also expressed a desire to create a book giving greater detail to the Courts of Chaos. The publishing rights to the Amber DRPG games were acquired in 2004 by, who took over sales of the game and announced their intention to release a new edition of the game. However, no new edition was released before Guardians of Order went out of business in 2006. The two existing books are now, but they have been made available as downloads.In June 2007 a new publishing company, headed by Edwin Voskamp and Eric Todd, was formed with the express purpose of bringing Amber DRPG back into print.
The new company is named Diceless by Design.In May 2010, Rite Publishing secured a license from Diceless by Design to use the rules system with a new setting in the creation of a new product to be written by industry and system veteran Jason Durall. The project Lords of Gossamer & Shadow (Diceless) was funded via in May 2013. In Sept 2013 the project was completed, and on in Nov 2013 Lords of Gossamer and Shadow (Diceless) was released publicly in full-color Print and PDF, along with additional supplements and continued support.Setting.
Main article:The game is set in the described in Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber. The first book assumes that gamemasters will set their campaigns after the Patternfall war; that is, after the end of the fifth book in the series, but uses material from the following books to describe those parts of Zelazny's cosmology that were featured there in more detail. The Amber multiverse consists of Amber, a city at one pole of the universe wherein is found, the symbol of; The Courts of Chaos, an assembly of worlds at the other pole where can be found, the manifestation of, and the Abyss, the source or end of all reality; and Shadow, the collection of all possible (shadows) between and around them.
Inhabitants of either pole can use one or both of the Pattern and the Logrus to travel through Shadow.It is assumed that players will portray the children of the main characters from the books – the ruling family of Amber, known as the Elder Amberites – or a resident of the Courts. However, since some feel that being the children of the main characters is too limiting, it is fairly common to either start with King Oberon's death before the book begins and roleplay the Elder Amberites as they vie for the throne; or to populate Amber from scratch with a different set of Elder Amberites.
The former option is one presented in the book; the latter is known in the Amber community as an ' game. ^ Blankenship, Loyd (1993-08-01). Retrieved 2008-02-15. (2007). 'Amber Diceless'. Hobby Games: The 100 Best.
P. 8. Erick Wujcik Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game (, 1991).
Apr 2, 2013 - Lords of Gossamer & Shadow is a stand alone game using Erick. In his work with Shadow Knight, The Game of Thrones Rpg, and the Basic. KOTS RPG, Rainbow 6 Siege, Diablo Making tools, games and helping out Twitch communities while having fun being terrible at playing games with some friends.
Retrieved 2006-05-29. at DriveThruRPG. Retrieved 19 August 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2013. Roger Zelazny The Great Book of Amber (, 1999). ^ (June 1992).
'Roleplaying Reviews'. (182): 97–99. Ranne, G.E. (July–August 1992). Casus Belli (70): 22–24. Review (in French)External links.
The Official Amber DRPG and Erick Wujcik Forum.
Welcome to RPG Geek, a worldwide community of folks who love RPGs (Role-Playing Games)! The community here is quite knowledgeable about our hobby and we have combined our brainpower to produce a list of great gift ideas for you this holiday shopping season. The Table of Contents on the right will take you to the different sections of this page (classics, popular, etc.). Prices in the guide are based on RRP and may be found more cheaply by sharp-eyed shoppers.
Feel free to visit the on this site and ask for more specific recommendations. Based on the stories of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft and set around the turn of the 19th century, The Call of Cthulhu pits the 'investigators' against beings of pure evil from outside our dimension and their gibbous minions. This is the top rated horror game on RPGG. Ages: 14+. Availability: Local Games Stores and Online (Amazon among others). It is worth noting that version 7 of this game is available in electronic format now and is expected in physical form in January.
A gift certificate might be a good choice instead. Price: $34.95. Reviews. Everything Has A PriceThere are cracks in the world. They’re slender, dark, and often cold, but they are the only things that keep you hidden.
Keep you alive. They are the shadows of the world, and they are where you live.You are a shadowrunner, thriving in the margins, doing the jobs no one else can. You have no office, no permanent home, no background to check. You are whatever you make yourself.
Will you seek justice? Sow seeds of chaos? Sell out to the highest bidder? It’s up to you, but this much is certain—if you do nothing, the streets will eat you alive.You can survive — even flourish — as long as you do what it takes. Sacrifice part of your soul for bleeding-edge gear.
Push the limits of your will learning new and dangerous magic. Wire yourself into the Matrix, making your mind one with screaming streams of data. It’ll cost you something — everything does — but you can make it worth the price.Shadowrun, Fifth Edition is the newest version of one of the most popular and successful role-playing worlds of all time — a fusion of man, magic and machine in a dystopian near-future.
With rules for character creation, magic, combat, Matrix hacking, rigging, and more, you have everything you need to face the challenges of the Sixth World. Ages: 14+. Availability: Online and in local game stores. Price: $59.99. Reviews. Mouse Guard is an Ennie and Origins Award-winning game in which players take on the roles of heroic young mice defending their medieval citadel from insidious predators and villainous rats.
Based on the comic of the same name, this game is hours of anthropomorphic awesomeness and is designed for all ages to enjoy. There is a boxed set available with deluxe components and some additional rules. This box set is drop dead gorgeous and won the 2011 RPG GoldenGeek for best production values. Ages: 8+. Availability: Local Games Stores and Online (Amazon among others). Price: $20 - $30 or $40-60 for the new boxed set.
Reviews. Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple is is a collaborative storytelling game about helping people and getting into trouble. Each player helps create a story, makes trouble for their character and tries to get a happy ending.
You write the story of pilgrims flying from one world to the next, helping people they meet and getting in plenty of shenanigans along the way. Misunderstandings will happen. Good intentions will lead to unexpected consequences. Depending on your choices, each leg of the journey will end with your characters hailed as heroes or chased away by an angry mob. It’s a silly universe out there and it only gets sillier the farther pilgrims travel.
Ages: 12+. Availability:. Price:. Reviews. The Pathfinder role-playing Game is a spinoff of Dungeons & Dragons that uses the older (but still widely enjoyed) 3.5 edition ruleset.
Since 2011, Pathfinder actually outsells its D&D parent and this beginner's box is the perfect into your first adventure. It comes with everything you need to play - a guide for players, another for the Game Master, cardboard minis (called pogs) for heroes and creatures plus an adventure. Top that off with dice and iconic character sheets pre-filled (along with blank sheets so you can create your own characters), this set might become the spiritual successor to the venerable Red Box of 1983. Ages: 10+. Availability: Local game stores, Barnes & Noble, online (Amazon among others). Price: $35 list. Reviews.
The One Ring: Adventures over the Edge of the Wild is the new role-playing game based on The Lord of the Rings —- the most influential property in fantasy. It's set after the events of The Hobbit; the initial game is set the region of northern Mirkwood and environs, with future releases expanding the scope of the setting to encompass more of Middle-earth as the era moves closer to the looming War of the Ring.Chock full of incredible artwork by leading Tolkien artists, including John Howe, along with rich and detailed background information, The One Ring's game engine focuses on the themes and character types that give Middle-earth its unique place in the annals of fantasy. There has never been a Lord of the Rings game that's more evocative of Tolkien's unique vision. Ages: 13+. Availability: Local Games Stores and Online (Amazon among others). Price: $40 - $50. More Information.
Grab your plasma rifles, spell components, and jetpacks! Name your game; is the foundation that can make it happen. Fate Core is a flexible system that can support whatever worlds you dream up. Have you always wanted to play a post-apocalyptic spaghetti western with tentacle monsters? Swords and sorcery in space? Wish there was a game based on your favorite series of books, film, or television, but it never happened?
Fate Core is your answer.Fate Core is a tabletop role-playing game about proactive, capable people who lead dramatic lives. The type of drama they experience is up to you. But wherever they go, you can expect a fun storytelling experience full of twistsof fate., or FAE, is a condensed version of the popular Fate Core role-playing game that brings all the flexibility and power of Fate in a shorter format. Inside, you’ll find a method for making fast, fun characters and simple systems to support whatever story you can dream up on the fly. With FAE, you can be playing in minutes.Both Fate Core and Fate Accelerated are also available as PDF for a price you set yourself (including $0).
Have a free look and if you feel the game is worth some money, come back and pay what you like. Ages: 12+. Availability: Online and at local game stores. Price: $25 (Core), $5 (Accelerated).
Reviews. 13th Age is the new d20-rolling fantasy roleplaying game by Jonathan Tweet (3rd edition D&D, Over The Edge, Everway) and Rob Heinsoo (4th Edition D&D). It's a familiar fantasy game with spell books, Armor Class, dungeons, hit points, portals to other worlds and owlbears ripping people’s arms off. But it’s also a story-focused game where every character is unique, relationships are their most powerful resource and failure is more interesting than success. Ages:. Availability:. Price:.
Reviews. N/A. N/A. Numenera is a science fantasy role-playing game set in the far distant future. Humanity lives amid the remnants of eight great civilizations that have risen and fallen on Earth. These are the people of the Ninth World. This new world is filled with remnants of all the former worlds: bits of nanotechnology, the dataweb threaded among still-orbiting satellites, bio-engineered creatures, and myriad strange and wondrous devices.
These remnants have become known as the numenera.Player characters explore this world of mystery and danger to find these leftover artifacts of the past, not to dwell upon the old ways, but to help forge their new destinies, utilizing the so-called magic of the past to create a promising future. Ages:. Availability: Online and at local retailers. Price: $60 (hardcover core rules), $15 (introductory Player's Guide). Reviews.
Gather your friends and prepare for adventure in the Star Wars galaxy! Whether you’re new to role-playing games or just new to Edge of the Empire™, the Beginner Game is the perfect starting point.The Star Wars®: Edge of the Empire Beginner Game features a complete, learn-as-you-go adventure. Pre-generated character folios keep rules right at the your fingertips, while custom dice and an exciting narrative gameplay system make every roll into a story. Detailed rules provide for hours of entertainment as you create your own adventures and tell your own tales of a galaxy far, far away!The Star Wars®: Edge of the Empire™ Beginner Game is a complete standalone experience for 3-5 novice role-players. Ages: 10+.
Availability: Online and at local games stores. Price: $29.95. Reviews. MORE SCIENCE!Are you ready for some two-fisted science adventure? Then it’s time for the Atomic Robo RPG! Have you ever wanted to face down global conspiracy as an immortal atomic robot or Carl Sagan? The Atomic Robo RPG makes it possible.The Atomic Robo RPG brings you the most explosive Fate Core System experience yet.
This is action science like you’ve never seen it before, coming straight at you from the pages of the popular Atomic Robo comics by Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener. Play as an action scientist or immortal robot, super-spy or pulp adventurer—or something stranger still from the hidden corners of super-science!This is multi-era, pick-up-and-play gaming at its best: get playing in ten minutes, or take your time and make the most of behind-the-scenes rules for added depth. Hop into your Tesladyne jet and travel the globe in one time period, or battle across the decades as a cast of scientifically talented adventurers. Face down demented dinosaurs, rogue government agents, and stolen Tesla-powered technologies!Are you Action Scientist material? Grab your gear and get ready for full-contact, high-octane, explosive hypothesis testing!REMAIN CALM. TRUST IN SCIENCE.THE ATOMIC ROBO RPG IS HERE!. Ages:.
Availability:. Price:. Reviews. N/A. N/A. Torchbearer is a riff on the early model of fantasy role-playing games. In it, you take on the role of an adventurer seeking his or her fortune.
To earn that fortune, you must explore forlorn ruins, brave terrible monsters and retrieve forgotten treasures. However, this game is not about being a hero. It is not about fighting for what you believe.
This game is about exploration and survival. You may become a hero. You might have to fight for your ideals. But to do either of those things, you must prove yourself in the wilds.
Because there are no jobs, no inheritance, no other opportunities for our deadbeat adventurers. This life is their only hope to prosper in this world.Torchbearer is part of the brand of games Burning Wheel HQ has been producing for over ten years. So like all of our other games, this is a game about making difficult choices while exploring the world and your character through the game rules and systems. And like all of our games, the heart of the experience is about how your character changes when faced with adversity.This is a hard game, not a simple one.
There are many moving parts and it’s not possible to experience the whole game in one or even two sessions. But if you’re ready to sink your teeth into a good game that will reward you for mastering the system over 10 or 20 sessions, this is the game for you. Ages:. Availability:. Price:. Reviews. N/A.
N/A. Star Wars: Age of Rebellion is the second in the trias of Star Wars RPGs that Fantasy Flight Games is publishing (the first is ). The games are compatible, but focus on different struggles or types of stories in the Star Wars setting. While Edge of the Empire aims at the hard and adventerous life on the outskirts of Imperial reach, e.g. A smugglers space port on Tatooine, Age of Rebellion captures the excitement and danger of the rebel Alliance fighting the oppressive Galactiv Empire. Both games have a beginner's box as an easy entry point not just for people new to the game, but also new to role-playing in general.
Ages:. Availability:. Price:. Reviews. N/A. N/A. This world is but one of untold many, a flux of chance caught between shadow and light.
It is a world poised between great powers that shape and define all matter, one of many battlegrounds in an epic struggle between form and cacophony. The lords and knights in this battle move between realms with impunity: they are the creators, shapers, and destroyers of worlds.In Lords of Gossamer & Shadow, the player-characters are agents caught up in this immense, multi-dimensional struggle. Born into it, their birthright is one of unimaginable power.
And with it great danger! They will bear unique and idiosyncratic magical artifacts, command legions drawn from the myriad of otherworlds, and wield incredible powers that alter the very substance of reality. They are players in a Machiavellian conspiracy with the greatest of stakes, and arrayed against them are the deadliest of foes.
Each other!Lords of Gossamer & Shadow (Diceless) is an original sourcebook and roleplaying game using Erick Wujcik's diceless rules system, the same system that powered. Lords of Gossamer and Shadow will be a standalone product, but is fully compatible with the existing rules system and can be readily used in new and existing campaigns. Ages:. Availability:. Price:. Reviews.
N/A. N/A. When asked, almost all gamers answer that would make a perfect gift. Many people just can't get enough of them, and there are many beautiful and intriguing polyhedrons (many-sided dice, that is) as well as some specialized custom dice available.
You might even go the extra mile and have personalized dice crafted for someone you love. Dice bags also come in many varieties. The fascination with dice has also spawned many dice-related products available - browse the thread linked above or simply search the world wide web. Gaming tokens (glass beads, gem stones, counters.) are useful in many RPGs, too. Some gamers (especially game masters) might also be interested in inspirational card decks (tarot etc.) or other 'generic' GM-ing tools that are not tied to a specific system. Also, there are interesting free maps that can be used with almost any system. One page dungeons are similar, too.
Picking a few of them and printing them out (probably on slightly sturdier paper) can lead to a very nice stocking stuffer. Another option would be a periodical subscription.
There are many magazines out there, some dedicated to a single gaming system, others covering many different RPGs and genres. Some are only available as PDF, others come in print. It's hard to recommend a single title because of the wide range of existing play styles, topics etc. Many gamers enjoy.Another low-budget option are print-outs of free RPGs.
There are many good games out there that can be shared freely (sometimes even under a creative commons licence). Often they are short and intended for one-shots or small campaigns, but you also get highly detailed rules - see this list of for a start. If you'd like specific recommendations, check out these excellent games: (steampunk adventure), (fantasy), and (space opera).It's not about spending money - it's about spending some time and thought, showing appreciation for the person and their interests. And that's easier than it may sound.Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones! A tabletop role-playing game is one of the best presents you can give, not just to young people, as it encourages us to step beyond the confines of our daily lives and enter into the world of collective imagination. It is a worthwhile activity that can educate and enlighten, helping people to break out of themselves and be all they could ever - or never - have been. If the person you're buying for has ever dreamed of being someone, something or somewhere else, you can make it happen for them this Christmas!.