Hello RPPR Listeners!
Ross suggested I post here in conjunction with his release of an actual play session of our new indie-style rpg, “Upwind.” My name is Jeff Barber and I am the owner of Biohazard Games (
http://www.biohazardgamespublishing.com/). Upwind is nearing completion and we are looking for some motivated gaming groups for a final round of playtesting. If you are interested, please contact me at (biohazardgamesemail@gmail.com) and we can exchange the necessary information and files.
Thank you for your consideration and help.
Upwind - A Wind-powered Fable of Lost Science and Elemental Magic"Upwind" presents a strange setting where the laws of nature are unorthodox and the remains of a long-destroyed world drift through a boundless ether. The skies are divided into the Dark and the Light and the Wind constantly blows up from the former towards the latter. The Kin, the people of the Kingdoms in the Light, live on the vast islands that float through the Realms, and the Children of the Dark dwell far below where the Light never reaches. The Wind is both a physical and magical element that powers the ships and electrical grids of the Kin and is the source of the magical Potential they can all manipulate. Advanced technology is the economic engine of the setting and is scavenged from the leftover science of the the Master's of the Wind - the lost civilization destroyed by the long ago Cataclysm. The young civilization of the Kin has been reborn and struggles with itself and against the Children of the Dark as it strives to recover.
The game focuses on the adventures of the Explorer Knight's Guild - a storied, naval brotherhood of explorers, scholars, engineers, elementalists and peace-keepers who search the Twilight Frontier for the lost technology of the Masters and protect the Kingdoms from both the Children and each other. The player characters are Explorer Knights - unique individuals with exceptional elemental powers, highly trained skills and duty-bound motivation for adventuring across the skies. The setting has a distinct maritime flavor as Wind-powered skyships and their Guild crews serve as the lifeblood of trade and the heart of defense. There are intentional themes of mystery, exploration and the recovery of, and looming threat to, a young civilization. The Age of the Grand Amplifier is said to be drawing to a close, the Children of the Dark threaten from below and the Kin misunderstand the truth about both.
Upwind uses an original game system called Q. Like most game mechanics, it provides a framework of objectivity and unpredictability that guides the game’s story. Unlike most systems, however, Q does not shape that story by resolving individual character actions one round at a time – instead it drives the story forward by determining singular outcomes for entire encounters. Q resolves these encounters through a sort of quantum mechanic, determining which of a pair of potential outcomes for a given situation will be used to continue the adventure narrative. These potential outcomes are determined by cooperative negotiation between the game moderator and the players and are proposed as stakes for which the participants bid using hands of playing cards. The participants then tailor the narrative to the winning outcome, and the story progresses in a quantum rather than incremental way. As a result, Upwind plays as fast as you can tell your story.
For more details go to:
http://www.biohazardgamespublishing.com/upwind/
