Romance of the Three Kingdoms totally needed samuraiThe Great Empire is in turmoil. The western provinces rebel and foreign kingdoms make trouble along the borders. General Xin, a renowned tactician, was charged with suppressing a rebellion in Jing Province, the farthest and wildest province of the twelve. Xin was forced to recruit mercenaries, who were common in Jing province, as it was the center of trade between the Empire and many other foreign kingdoms. A horde of the Warriors of the Grey Sky used the rebellion to launch their own invasion of the Great Empire and routed both Xin’s army and the rebellion.

The last rebel officer alive, a man named Sheng, did not want to see the Great Empire fall to the horde so he told a few remaining mercenaries of a secret exit out of the valley, on the condition that they warn the Great Empire. Sheng made each mercenary swear a blood oath to each other to keep each other alive in order to make sure the normally selfish mercenaries would work as a team.  In order to keep the horde from killing them, the mercenaries posed as merchants. A few weeks later, they arrived at the capital and dutifully told the army of the horde.

The nobles and bureaucrats of the Great Empire do not like hearing bad news, especially from mercenaries. Furthermore, the court soothsayers declared Xin and all who served under him as cursed. No army would take the mercenaries now, even General Tzu’s new army, which is tasked with defeating the Grey Sky Horde.  This tale concerns the fate of Xin’s Crows – the cursed remnants of his army.  Their only chance of fulfilling their destinies is to become traveling merchants, selling to Tzu’s army.  So begins the saga of a group of foreign warriors who would change the fate of the Great Empire forever.

Read more about the campaign on the RPPR forums.

Yelp review: Great for all your castle needs but definitely too much mist. And evil. 2/5 stars. At Gencon this year, we got to play a game of Shadows of Esteren, as one of the game’s translators was nice enough to run it for us. While we did not have time to fully complete the scenario, we all had a great time playing the game.

A group of amnesiac travelers find themselves trapped in a strange building, beset by enemies on all sides. Even though they don’t know their own names, they will have to band together if they hope to survive and escape the wretched place. Find out what nightmares lurk in the Shadows of Esteren. Please note this is a con game, so it is noisier than normal.

Thanks to RPPR forums member Review Cultist for the picture!Based on the children’s classic, The Secret of NIMH, this game is based after the events of the movie. A great evil threatens the inhabitants of the Thorn Valley. After the captain of the guard goes missing, along with several artifacts that once belonged to Nicodemus, the mystic, a team of heroic young rats is charged with finding out what happened. As they journey far from home, they stumble upon humans threatening the valley, strange mysteries and monstrous dangers. Can they survive the final confrontation with evil? Find out in this special two session game!

PLAYTESTING IS SOO AWESOMEMessage from Ross: This is the second of the guest playtest games. Enjoy!

From SageNytell: In this session, we rejoin Jerith the Human Cleric (Upon Whose Skin Is Scriven The Name Of God) played by Graz; Meri… er, Amber Smith the High Elf Rogue (Of The Most Secretive And Deadly Order of Blind Assassins) played by Craig; and Kitterina the Wood Elf Ranger (Whose Ancestors Are Always Watching) as they travel towards a strange new destination – the mysterious Boltstrike Tower, leyline node of the great and powerful Archmage!  They are joined by the disconcertingly popular Sven the Human Barbarian (Surprisingly Not Actually The Hero of Legend, Go Figure, played by Chris) in a fantastic adventure called Blood and Lightning featuring dungeons, dragons, 50’s Scifi tropes, and lots and lots of Sven puns! Afterwards, the players and I discuss our feelings on the playtest and the system as a whole.

P.S. Escalation Edition Pre-order Announced

I FUCKING LOVE ADVENTURING Message from Ross: A RPPR forum-goer, SageNytell, is a playtester of the new fantasy RPG 13th Age. He recorded 2 playtest sessions of this unreleased game and offered it to us. Given what I’ve read about this game, I thought you all might enjoy a sneak preview of it. Let me know what you all think!

From SageNytell:  In this session, we meet Jerith the Human Cleric (Upon Whose Skin Is Scriven The Name Of God, played by Graz); Merisiel the High Elf Rogue (Of The Most Secretive And Deadly Order of Blind Assassins, played by Craig); and Kitterina the Wood Elf Ranger (Whose Ancestors Are Always Watching, played by Rachel).  Our players battle a gang of desperadoes in a deserted ghost town and engage in a desperate struggle for their lives in Gobpocalypse!  Afterwards, the players and I discuss our feelings on the system as a whole. (Spoilers: I used incorrect flanking rules from 3.5, this is fixed for the second session!)