Monday, May 6, 2013

The Torch Has Been Lit

Last week I posted about Torchbearer, which is the Burning Crew's take on old school dungeon crawl games. Things were so hectic in the unimagined world, I failed to notice the Kickstarter launch for that game. Not only has it already hit its funding goal, but it did so within the first few hours of launch. As of this writing, Torchbearer has just over $37,000 in funding.

If you're not sold on at least shelling out for the PDF, let me try and sway you. The Burning Wheel family of games is about tough decisions. The biggest drivers of play are your BITs (Beliefs, Instincts, and Traits). Those three things paint a target on your character's chest that tell the GM and the players, "This is who I am, this is what I want." Honestly, it can be a little intimidating, especially if you cut your teeth on the world's most popular roleplaying game.

The shallower end of the pool is Mouse Guard, which I jokingly refer to as Burning Training Wheels. This game cuts a lot of what might be perceived as "bloat" from the full BW game. Rather than 50+ pages of skills, there are 22-all encompassing (for the purposes of the game). Characters are made with only one belief and one instinct, as opposed to the three standard. The role of introducing complications is much clearer. And of course, you are a painfully adorable mouse on a mission: ensure that all of the Territories survive another season.

Torchbearer, based on the information available, seems to fall between the two. It retains the simplified skill systems of Mouse Guard, but introduces a resource management mechanic that will be central to your survival in the dark parts of the world. Every torch burns for an exact amount of turns, every item you add to your pack takes up precious space. And, for the first time in the Burning family of games, there is a class system.

Get the full scoop here.

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