#103: Faction Turn!

the indie RPG newsletter wishes you a happy end of July!

Jul 31, 2022

I. Dear Reader,

A very long time ago (24 issues ago to be exact), I talked about my campaign of Legacy 2e: Life Among The Ruins and how it was a great game. But I also talked about how it was so big and intimidating as a book that I never read it till someone (*cough* Mad Jay Zero *cough*) was kind enough to run it for me.

So I promised to make a loving retroclone of the game that would be easier to pick up and play. And now, less than half a year later (I know, a truly stunning turn-around time), the game is out.

It is 3 pages long, has about 2 (and a half) PbtA-style moves, and is basically my attempt at recreating Legacy 2e from memory. I know that sounds like a joke but it’s a very intentional method on my part. Basically, it’s the parts of that game that stuck in my memory as things that affected how we played at the table.

You get the ability to zoom in to scenes or adventures with your characters, you get to zoom out and do the faction turn where you ally and scheme against other factions (both player and non-player), you get to exchange treaties and resources, you get to draw stuff on a map, all the good stuff!

Of course, the big thing missing is all the beautiful crunchiness that Legacy offers (and you should go out and buy the game to experience it) but that’s the point, this isn’t mean to replace that game but maybe act as an on-ramp. If you play this and enjoy it, you’ll probably pick up Legacy much more easily. But that said, like every 3 page game, it’s assuming a lot of knowledge. But I think it’s stuff that you can figure out based on how you play other games - the general storygame playculture, if you will. Well, regardless, I hope you check it out and like it!

Yours retroclonefully,

Thomas

Also, big announcement, on the admin side of things. This newsletter is now sponsored by the Bundle of Holding. We’re very grateful to last year’s sponsor Fate SRD for their support. These sponsors go a long way to making this newsletter more sustainable. So look forward to the next fifty issues where we’ll be sharing the deals and offers created by the Bundle of Holding in the Small Ads section down below.

II. Listen of the Week

On Schedule to Launch, a wonderful interview with Tanya Floaker that did the impossible of making me excited about a wargame. Lo, Thy Dread Empire is a war game with a very cool twist on an undead rebellion in an unequal world.
Also, the latest Fear of a Black Dragon is on Hydra Co-op’s adventure, Lorn Song of the Bachelor, written by Zedeck Siew with art by Nadhir Nor. And it’s clearly a wonderful adventure.

III. Links of the Week

On the Third Kingdom blog, a lovely interview with Zedeck Siew and Mun Kao, creators of A Thousand Thousand Islands among other delights.
Judd Karlman talks about how to start a game in the classical storygame style with an example of the Iron Lich scenario.
I asked people on reddit, how many new games they tend to play in a year. Of about 277 people, about a 1/3rd (100) said they play about 3-5 new games every year.
A nice piece in Dicebreaker about co-ops and other collectives in the indie RPG world. I actually wish this had more detail but it’s a good intro and maybe that more detailed version will come at some point.
On the mindstorm blog, Ty Pitre looks at the Matrix movies and builds out a procedure for how to emulate that style and structure in a campaign.
Mike Lombardi talks about his WOP model - Web, Offline, Physical - and why he wishes more publishers would consider moving towards thinking about RPGs in this way. It’s super interesting. The executive summary: take advantage of digital to do interactive web pages, get better at support and tutorials, making print-at-home PDFs, and do luxury physical books.

IV. Small Ads

All links in the newsletter are completely based on my own interest. But to help support my work, this section contains sponsored links and advertisements. If you’d like your products to appear here, read the submission form.

We're doing a Kickstarter for a high quality hardcover print run of Wicked Ones and its expansion, Undead Awakening. Sign up to get notified of the August 1st launch!
I Have the High Ground is a two-player collaborative dueling TTRPG of banter, posturing, and capes. Check it out now on itch.io!
Move with caution. Reveal the ship’s schematics. Track your oxygen levels. Survive. One Breath Left is a procedurally generated Sci-fi Horror Solo-RPG coming to Kickstarter for ZineQuest 4. Check it out, while you still have air!

This newsletter is currently sponsored by the Bundle of Holding.

Check out the new Arden Vul Bundle, featuring the "Halls of Arden Vul," the classic, massive megadungeon from Expeditious Retreat Press only on the Bundle of Holding.

Hello, dear readers. This newsletter is written by me, Thomas Manuel. I’m half-man, half-beast, half-journalist, half-game designer.

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