So, there is this coming out next year.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1690[/ATTACH]

It looks like a lot of fun.  A nice, sandbox sort of exploration and conquest game.  By the same people who made Mutant Year Zero (Free League, published in the US by Modipheus) and looking like a fantasy version of that game.

I haven't seen much about Mutant on the forum, but the one thread I've found didn't get pushed to Other Games so I'm guessing it is a "real RPG."

So... how does this look to people?  What can we expect from the company given their publishing history?  What do the bones tell us? *rattlerattle*

They also put out Coriolis and Tales from the Loop. Their games are very much "real RPGs," but I can't say much about MY0. I think it uses a very similar system to Coriolis (which I backed on Kickstarter) but I'm not 100% certain of that. My only complaint regarding Coriolis is that it uses a version of Conan's Doom Pool, which I hate. Other than that the game is pretty good. From what I've seen the production values on Free League's books tend to be pretty good, and there aren't many translation issues.

Reading over the preview, it sounds intriguing. My players love having options like building strongholds. My main concern would be using stickers on the map. That's something I'd probably avoid doing just to keep the option of replaying the game down the line since I'd rather not invest in a bunch of extra maps and stickers.

The legacy function of the map is a concern, but the one that comes with the core set is double sided at least.

Yeah "legacy" is becoming the new pop craze with designers in board games and seems to be creeping into RPGs too now?

What does legacy mean here?

Quote from: RunningLaser;996195What does legacy mean here?

Please, inquiring minds want to know.

For board games, I understand it to mean that results of one session are noted - possibly on the physical components - and then effect later sessions. So, it's board game campaign play.  The usage above is because the stickers amend the map as the world is developed - marking the supplied components of the game.

I've always thought map stickers were a product that should exist.  Makes world building easy while being cheap enough to make new maps affordable.

This looks cool and I will probably check it out.

Quote from: David Johansen;996202I've always thought map stickers were a product that should exist.  Makes world building easy while being cheap enough to make new maps affordable.

That's a really cool thing. I can see pulling out a map years later and building on it again. You don't need stickers and new maps and such, but it's a cool bit.

I have friends who are really into Mutant Year Zero and Tales from the Loop and were talking about this Kickstarter, so I finally checked out MY0.

I've been very impressed. Forbidden Lands will be similar. Here's my impression of MY0 and the components.



It comes in a Core book of 280 pages, with the back half being devoted to solid procedures on building out Ark and Zone content and running the game. The game uses special dice (which was a turn off to me at first, but they are used in clever ways). You can also get a double-side map (a different map on each side), and a card deck that covers rules, artifacts that can be found out in the Zone, and a Threat to the Ark that is drawn at the start of a session to introduce new problems the PCs have to deal with. (If there's enough going on already the Referee doesn't draw a Threat card at the start of the session.)

The book comes with the two maps inside, so if you have the PDF you could print them. So you don't need the separate map.

You also don't need the special dice. They are three sets of colored d6, in which the 6s mean something specific, 1s mean something specific on two of the colors, and you ignore 2-5. So you could use regular d6s of three unique colors. The thing having dice specifically marked for the game will make "reading" the dice much faster.

You also don't need the card deck. But having rules and powers at hand can, again, make things move faster.


The game starts in an Ark, where the PCs and about 200 other mutated survivors live, surrounded by an unexplored landscape called The Zone. The game has two core elements: exploring The Zone and improving the Ark. Exploring the Zone lets the PCs bring back items to improve the Ark, and improving the Ark makes exploring the Zone easier. Essentially the game is a hex crawl with some politics/domain management attached. (Politics because there are factions in the Ark and the PCs need to make choices and pick their fights in the Ark as well.)

The game is not just rules and GM advice, however. There is background content and a kind of "campaign." The campaign can be, of course, ignored. I don't think of the campaign as a "meta-plot" of any kind (though this might be a matter of taste). But many characters and conflicts are in the this section of the text. But it is really important to keep in mind that MY0 is designed as a low prep game, with tools to generate content on the fly. So there is no railroad. And while the PCs may be trying to find fabled "Eden" out there in the Zone somewhere, it isn't any sort of goal the PCs are supposed to be pursuing. It's one of several mysteries they can pursue f they wish. And, again, one can ignore all the setting material in the book if one wants.

I imagine Forbidden Lands will work in much the same way. There will be a starting point, exploration across a gorgeous map, and then, additionally, the PCs will start a stronghold and do their own improvements on it. There will be a campaign of sorts, whether the one that will come with the bundle, or one the Referee creates on his own. Stickers are there to mark the progress and failures of the PCs, creating a growing record of the campaign.

I'll note I'm all down for this idea. I love having artifacts from play of the maps my Players have made, and I love the idea that we'd be doing that with our game. I'm not concerned with ruining the lovely map... since I want to play the thing. And if we end up with a map full of stickers it means we played it.

What I've seen of MY0 is that the game wants to make it as easy as possible to get up and running the game, as easy as possible to referee, and as easy as possible to get the PCs caught up in exploring and caught up in conflicts. The PCs will drive where they go and what matters to them, but the environment they explore will have plenty of mysteries and new conflicts to delve into if they wish.

I've been so impressed I picked up a PDF of the game, the map, the cards, and bought myself 150 blank d6s of three different colors (50 each) to make my own dice for the game. Like I really want to run the game. And for this reason I'll probably be backing Forbidden Lands as well. I've been very impressed with what I've seen so far.


Also, regarding the map of Forbidden Lands specifically: The map comes with the same map on each side, so one could play through campaigns in the same setting twice, one on each side. (Now, I don't know about you all, but as much as I love playing RPGs I only have so much time -- and there a ton of games and campaigns I want to play. If I played through a solid campaign of a couple of years or more in Forbidden Lands I know I'd consider that a win. I don't know if I'd need to go back and do that campaign again, especially since I have other games I want to run as well!)

Quote from: Anselyn;996201For board games, I understand it to mean that results of one session are noted - possibly on the physical components - and then effect later sessions. So, it's board game campaign play.  The usage above is because the stickers amend the map as the world is developed - marking the supplied components of the game.

Yeah, always felt more of a way to force buy the game again once the current campaign was finished.... if the original map board is all jack-ed up from the campaign.

You can now buy an extra map and a set of stickers for USD6.

What are map stickers?  Never heard the term before.

Quote from: Christopher Brady;996678What are map stickers?  Never heard the term before.

They are stickers. That you put on the map.

From the Kickstarter:

QuoteStickers & Legacy Map: Additionally, should we reach the stretchgoal, we will create custom stickers for key events and adventure sites, and even the graves of killed player characters! Placing the stickers on the game map, you transform it to a living, unique document of your campaign. (The map will be double-sided to allow for replay, and extra maps will be available too.)