20 March 2024

Darkmaster plans for 2024

The cunning Darkmasters at Open Ended Games have some nefarious plans for 2024: 
  • Firstly, there's the physical version of Secrets of the Golden Throne, which will come to our backers first, and then in POD on DrivethruRPG. 
  • Later this year (probably this summer) we'll have the Against the Darkmaster GM's Guide, a companion to the Player's Handbook, containing all of the GM-facing material from the Core Rules, revised and updated, and then some! 
  • Through the year we'll also be releasing several new adventures: at least one of them will be a full-length scenario (about the length of the Silence of Dawnfell), while the others will be shorter, ready to run adventures, meant to be played in one or two sessions. 
  • Finally, we’re compiling something you have been asking for a long time, a great Against the Darkmaster Bestiary, packed with new creatures and opponents! No release date for this yet, but we'll talk more about it in the future.
(From the announcement at the VsD Discord site.)

I’ve been reading Secrets of the Golden Throne and am now about halfway through it. It’s excellent. Since I had an “early view” PDF a few months ago (because I backed the kickstarter), I’ve already incorporated some of the new rules and other material in my campaign, namely, the new kins (a pixie NPC and a gnome NPC have appeared in my “Court of Urdor” campaign) and spell lores. 


Additional rules, monsters, and spells aside, the campaign itself looks properly epic. I’ve reserved a place for the “Isle of Awallon” in my “Ukrasia” setting for future use. I’m really looking forward to finally getting the physical book!

I’m delighted that a Game Master’s Guide will be available in the near future. The book with the complete rules is glorious – but unfortunately it cannot be made available via print-on-demand. (I assume that this is because of its massive size.) For reasons not entirely clear to me, it is no longer possible to order physical copies of the core rulebook outside of the US. Since a Player’s Handbook has been available in POD and PDF for a couple of years now (at DTRPG), once the GM’s Guide is available as well, the complete rules will be readily available in physical form to gamers throughout the world. 

The announcement of the Bestiary was a pleasant surprise. I am very excited to see what is ultimately included in it. Eventually, the “classic trio” – (i) a player’s book, (ii) a GM’s book, and (iii) a monster book – will be available for VsD!



4 comments:

  1. This is good news! I was on their site recently hoping to see more plans but must have checked in before this announcement. AtDM is poised right now as a decent alternative to non-D&D fantasy systems for people burnt out on D&D-likes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unfortunately, OEG does not do a great job in updating their website. The most up-to-date news can be found on their Discord site. (Which is a pity, because I personally do not like Discord that much.)

      Delete
  2. Your blog has become a reliable source for staying informed and inspired.

    ReplyDelete

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I'm a Canadian political philosopher who lives primarily in Toronto but teaches in Milwaukee (sometimes in person, sometimes online).