Revolution in 2019: International Edition and Medievalia D100

[RosenMcStern]

It is now time to reveal our programs for 2019. This year Alephtar Games will focus totally on Revolution D100, and the big news is that 2019 is the year when the game becomes multi-language.

We have been listening attentively to user feedback since 2016, when the game was launched, and the two most frequent observations have been “When will it be available in my language?” and “Some parts of the rules required two or more readings before I figured them out”. We reached the conclusion that the best way to address both of these issues was the production of an International Edition of Revolution D100. The IE will include the Italian, French and Spanish translations, and a revised English edition which aims at rephrasing those parts that someone found hard to read and simplifying some of the crunchy bits. However, the core of the game remains unchanged, and a mini-update for those who do not wish to repurchase the core book will be available at a token price for the English edition. We will also update and translate the SRD.

Alephtar Games will be in charge of the English, French and Italian editions, while HT Publishers will produce the Spanish version, as disclosed two years ago. Around May 2019 we intend to launch a crowdfunding campaign which will encompass all four localized versions of the International Edition, with all four of them scheduled for delivery in 2019. The SRD will be available in all four languages before the campaign, at least partially, as we already have several chapters of the translations ready.

The International edition will be a 256-page hardcover book in full colour on glossy paper, with most of the graphic identity of the original edition unchanged. By splitting the financial burden of commissioning new colour plates among four editions, we plan to optimize expenses and to give Revolution D100 the treatment it deserves. A new printing of the combat cards, a utility pack with pull-out charts and other goodies, like a combat tracker, will be part of the crowdfunding and complete the core package of the game.

But we must not forget that people want settings for their games, too.  The second big news of 2019 is the birth of an entire line of fantasy historical products focusing on Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East between the 10^th and the 14^th Century. The name of the game line is Medievalia D100, and its first member is of course our existing supplement, Merrie England: Robyn Hode. A republishing of our previous medieval books such as Stupor Mundi and Wind on the Steppes will follow, possibly followed by Crusaders of the Amber Coast or Merrie England: the Age of Eleanor. But new Medievalia are in the making, too. Authors Mauro Longo and Davide Mana, who contributed to acclaimed products like Ultima Forsan for Savage Worlds and Extraordinary Renditions for Delta Green, are already at work on a creepy dungeon crawl setting called Irem, city of 10,000 pillars which will send shivers down your spine. Please note that the term dungeon crawl does not just mean that your adventurers crawl through dungeons, but also that things crawl out of dungeons in search of your adventurers.

And last but not least, work on the already crowdfunded fantasy steampunk setting based on Rose Loughran’s Red Moon Rising web comics continues, although at a slower rate than anticipated. We have already released some bits and pieces of the book. We hope to have all work on the supplement finished – and hopefully printed – by the end of 2019.

[ThornPlutonius]

Excellent!

[pansophy]

This is awesome news, indeed! I will be on board for the Kickstarter, so expect some content to be shipped to Australia again!

[Diego Barretta]

Amazing (da paura ^^)! Applause from Italy.

A question: what "range" of fantasy will cover Medievalia? A Europe with magicians, dragons and elves (like a medieval Warhammer Fantasy) or a Middle Ages of superstitions and legends inspired by our folklore? 

[soltakss]

45 minutes ago, Diego Barretta said:

A question: what "range" of fantasy will cover Medievalia? A Europe with magicians, dragons and elves (like a medieval Warhammer Fantasy) or a Middle Ages of superstitions and legends inspired by our folklore? 

Mainly the second, at least for Merrie England. It has Magicians, Elves and Dragons, but not as commonplace creatures. I have used legends, Fairy Tales and Folk Ballads as background sources.

 

[Diego Barretta]

Thank you

One more thing: also the Medievalia line of products will be translated like the game manual?

[RosenMcStern]

Yes, one of the products already had an Italian translation. And as you can see, the authors of the new "Irem" books are Italians. It remains to be determined whether all products will be translated into all languages, but many will.

[Diego Barretta]

Very good ^^ thank you!

[Mankcam]

Sounds great!

RD100 has so much potential, although I struggle imersing myself in the book at times.I do get the feeling that this is perhaps the best version of BRP I have seen, I really like the mechanics. However it is a hard read at times, so this is a great idea getting an english revision

I'll definately back this version once it goes live 😎

Also good to see the Medievalia line going ahead!

Edited March 8, 2019 by Mankcam

[Zit]

21 hours ago, Mankcam said:

so this is a great idea getting an english revision

"Perfection is when there is nothing left to remove" (Saint-Exupéry)

[Zit]

On 3/8/2019 at 1:51 PM, RosenMcStern said:

Yes, one of the products already had an Italian translation. And as you can see, the authors of the new "Irem" books are Italians. It remains to be determined whether all products will be translated into all languages, but many will.

I may help for a French version of Wind on the Steppes. 🤪

For the untranslated books, a glossary of the terms used in the rules may be useful. May be a downloadable excel file including English, Italian, Spanish and French ?

Edited March 9, 2019 by Zit

[RosenMcStern]

I take advantage of these comments for a question: Chapters 4, 5 and 6 need a solid rewriting in some parts at least. Chapters 1 and 2 seem understandable enough, judging from the feedback we can find around the internet. Does Chapter 3 need further rephrasing, or is it already in good shape ?

[pansophy]

Good question. I can remember I struggled a bit while reading it at first, but I'm not sure if that is due to wording or just me getting the concept straight.

I remember writing down a few terms, e.g. what is meant by Opposition and what does Roll for Effect mean. Overall a short list of 'technical terms' would help to clear things up in the beginning.

The examples are good and very helpful. 

As a side note, it helped me to just read the book the first time and ignore all side bars. Then, later, I looked up the side bars to see what I missed. That way it was more fluent to read and my thoughts were not distracted by additional information.

Does it need a rewrite? Maybe, but concentrate on the other chapters first.

 

[pansophy]

Actually, I struggle with character creation. The Traits for Powers should be listed in the Skills Section, underneath the skill it is meant to be used. Even if it is just an example, but it would clear things up. Also, the Manipulation stunts should be in there. What about the Weapon Stunts? I would love to see them in there.

Having them all in one place would speed up finding them during game play and creates less clutter in the Powers and Combat sections.

[RosenMcStern]

1 hour ago, pansophy said:

Actually, I struggle with character creation. The Traits for Powers should be listed in the Skills Section, underneath the skill it is meant to be used. Even if it is just an example, but it would clear things up. Also, the Manipulation stunts should be in there. What about the Weapon Stunts? I would love to see them in there.

Having them all in one place would speed up finding them during game play and creates less clutter in the Powers and Combat sections.

Some games have this approach, indeed, listing all skills, feats and powers in the chargen chapter. But I find it a bit cluttering. And it would require a major reorganisation of chapters, which I would rather avoid.

However, some examples of the stunts and powers you could choose would be useful. Noted.

[g33k]

I thought had recalled a "Quickstart" product for RD100, but now I find no sign of such a thing.

Was I simply mistaken, before?  Or have I overlooked / mis-Google'd now?  Or ...?

 

And... if there IS no such thing:  is such a thing planned?  Any details or ETA available?

Edit - So.  Conspiracy Theory.  What evil plans have rendered it un-findable?  Seriously, I tried on Alephar's own website, and neither "quickstart" nor "introductory" led me to Conspiracy Theory!

 

Edited March 12, 2019 by g33k
it was all a conspiracy

[Zit]

The Alephtar web site is indeed missing info. You may start with completing it.

[RosenMcStern]

Scheduled for next week. We will put a link to the SRD and the primer in a more visible place on alephtargames.com and rpgmeeting.org .

However, we will probably have a revised version of the primer available within a few weeks. This is why I did not push so much about diffusing the Conspiracy Theory at this point. An even simpler and more playable version is on the way.

[ThornPlutonius]

20 hours ago, RosenMcStern said:

Some games have this approach, indeed, listing all skills, feats and powers in the chargen chapter. But I find it a bit cluttering. And it would require a major reorganisation of chapters, which I would rather avoid.

However, some examples of the stunts and powers you could choose would be useful. Noted.

Then add an appendix with all of the skills and traits listed together so that one can more easily and efficiently reference them.

[RosenMcStern]

Yes, good idea. The same thing should go in a GM Aid section which we will assemble soon. But putting such a table in the chargen chapter would help new players.

[Jakob]

Okay, this may be ranting, but I'll still take the opportunity to mention the one thing that truly bugs me about RD100. I first have to say that I never quite read the rules through, even though I love a lot of the concepts, and I'd be very happy about a more accessible version 2.0. But there's one actual, very minor rules thing that I can't wrap my head around: Why do so many creatures must have damage bonuses like +5d2? I know that a lot of people don''t mind or even enjoy rolling buckets of dice, but D100 systems are traditionally relatively free of such things. Furthermore, it's just not that glamorous to roll a lot of d2s ... is there any reason why this isn't converted to, say 16d+4, which has the same range?

I know that it is unreasonable of me to complain if I don't even really know the system behind the dice; it's just that every time I leaf through RD100, I see this pesky +5d2 somewhere and thing "eww, now I can't read on." Strange but true.

[pansophy]

To be honest I don't mind rolling 5d2. IMHO it shows how Strength affects weapon damage, up to the point where the weapon itself becomes irrelevant.

Can you exchange the dice from 5d2 to something else? Sure, simply use 1d6+4. Same minimum and maximum value.

I guess the key concept behind rd100 is to get rid of all these +X values. IMHO this makes it easier at the table to SEE the damage done and distribute it along armour, toughness and show the remaining damage at the gaming table. My players are especially bad at remembering these +X bonuses, so they are happy the way rd100 works currently.

 

[soltakss]

On 3/14/2019 at 1:50 PM, Jakob said:

Why do so many creatures must have damage bonuses like +5d2?

It is meant to flatten out the damage bonus. However, there is an option somewhere that converts Nd2 to more traditional D100 dice.

[soltakss]

On 3/1/2019 at 4:30 PM, RosenMcStern said:

The name of the game line is Medievalia D100, and its first member is of course our existing supplement, Merrie England: Robyn Hode. A republishing of our previous medieval books such as Stupor Mundi and Wind on the Steppes will follow, possibly followed by Crusaders of the Amber Coast or Merrie England: the Age of Eleanor. But new Medievalia are in the making, too.

I am currently working on Merrie England: Age of Crusade. Trying to embrace new technology, I am using Google Docs, but it really struggles with large documents, so I have had to break some areas out into a number of documents, which is not ideal.

Progress so far:

• Introduction - Complete
• Adventurers - Complete but might be tweaked
• The Crusades - Complete
• Gazetteer - Complete
• Religion and Magic - Complete but might be tweaked
• Magical Science - Complete
• Major Religions - In Progress
• Medieval Warfare - Complete
• Knights and Chivalry - Complete
• Personalities - Yet to Start
• Angels and Demons - Complete
• Magical Beings - Complete but might be tweaked
• Campaigns - Yet to Start

 

[g33k]

On 3/13/2019 at 3:11 AM, RosenMcStern said:

Scheduled for next week. We will put a link to the SRD and the primer in a more visible place on alephtargames.com and rpgmeeting.org .

TYVM!

On 3/13/2019 at 3:11 AM, RosenMcStern said:

 ...

However, we will probably have a revised version of the primer available within a few weeks... An even simpler and more playable version is on the way.

Excellent!