Lacking Natural Simplicity (Posts about warlock!)https://tkurtbond.github.io/categories/warlock.atom2024-01-23T18:49:42ZT. Kurt BondNikolaAdvanced Fighting Fantasy Renaissance and Troika! and Warlock!https://tkurtbond.github.io/posts/2020/12/01/advanced-fighting-fantasy-renaissance-and-troika-and-warlock/2020-12-01T00:56:37-05:002020-12-01T00:56:37-05:00T. Kurt Bond<p>With the release of <cite>Advanced Fighting Fantasy</cite>, second edition, by
Arion Games (<a class="reference external" href="http://arion-games.com/">website</a>, <a class="reference external" href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/667/Arion-Games">DriveThruRPG</a>) in 2011 it seemed a
renaissance for Advanced Fighting Fantasy had arrived. This has been
born out by Arion Games releasing one or more books for AFF2E <a class="reference external" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Fighting_Fantasy#Advanced_Fighting_Fantasy_titles_published_by_Arion_Games_(2011-present)">every
year since then except 2015</a>, and by their release of bunches more
small products in PDF since then. And most (if not all) of their
larger <a class="reference external" href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/667/Arion-Games/subcategory/1684_25223/Advanced-Fighting-Fantasy">AFF2E products</a> are available in POD at DriveThruRPG now, as
well as in PDF. They also have a science fiction game that uses the
AFF2E rules, <a class="reference external" href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/214183/Stellar-Adventures">Stellar Adventures</a>, which is good and has several
supplements.</p>
<p>I have enjoyed all the the AFF2E products and playing AFF and have
just gotten two more, <a class="reference external" href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/329240/Creatures-of-Mishna">Creatures of Mishna</a> and <a class="reference external" href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/326914/The-Warlock-Returns-Issue-01">The Warlock Returns
Issue #01</a>, both of which look very good to my cursory glance.</p>
<p>And I also just got <a class="reference external" href="https://www.melsonia.com/troika-17-p.asp">Troika! Numinous Edition</a> science fantasy RPG
from the <a class="reference external" href="https://www.melsonia.com/">Melsonian Arts Council</a> and oh does it look pretty, both
from a graphical design standpoint and a rules design standpoint! It
has a website devoted to <a class="reference external" href="https://www.troikarpg.com/">it</a>. It was apparently released in 2019
(though the book says the copyright is 2015–2018), and I really wish I
had gotten it earlier. It uses rules obviously inspired by AFF with
Skill, Stamina, Luck, and Advanced Skills (similar to AFF's Special
Skills), and has a neat and quirky random “backgrounds” system for
character creation that provides you with Skills, Possessions, and
other Special benefits. (One of the backgrounds has a “Small but
vicious dog”, in a neat nod to <a class="reference external" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warhammer_Fantasy_Roleplay">Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay</a>.) I've
read it except for the backgrounds, which I've skimmed, and the
bestiary. It is an excellent rules light RPG. My one criticism so
far is that there doesn't seem to be a table or index of all the
backgrounds, so it is hard to find a specific background if you want
to read a particular one, as once rules example in the book requires
to understand completely. There is a <a class="reference external" href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1haUfSVekt2gNab3V2CrL1Pg_sZ-ZlskphwXmSnGT9aw/edit">free version</a> as well, and it
contains a license allowing you to publish free or commercial material
based on or compatible with with <cite>Troika!</cite>.</p>
<p>I also got <a class="reference external" href="https://www.melsonia.com/fronds-of-benevolence-81-p.asp">Fronds of Benevolence</a>, which looks good too, on a
more cursory glace. I'm probably going to have to look for more <cite>Troika!</cite>
products, too; I've seen that there are more out there.</p>
<p>Getting <cite>Troika!</cite> vaguely reminded me that there was another new RPG
broadly inspired by AFF. Investigating revealed <a class="reference external" href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/312204/Warlock">Warlock!</a> from
<a class="reference external" href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/2503/Fire-Ruby-Designs">Fire Ruby Design</a> (some of whose games I've greatly enjoyed -
<a class="reference external" href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/215176/Exilium-Core-Rules?manufacturers_id=2503">Exilim</a>, <a class="reference external" href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/233731/Summerland-Second-Edition?manufacturers_id=2503">Summerlands 2E</a>, <a class="reference external" href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/246936/Esoterica?manufacturers_id=2503">Esoterica</a>, all of which have
supplements I need to get), and that convinced me so I bought it. It
too is obviously inspired by the AFF rules, though it does away with
the all-in-one Skill of AFF in favor of starting the equivalent of
AFF's Special Skills at higher values. It also drops the 2d6 rolls
for d20s, and damage appears to by a simple dice roll, rather than
AFF's 1d6+mod indexing a different table for each type of weapon,
which could have its advantages… It also has <cite>Warhammer Fantasy
Roleplay</cite> style careers. I haven't read much of it, but I'm
definitely going to. It has several supplements too.</p>
<p>All in all, I think the AFF renaissance is growing!</p>
<p><em>Last edited: 2021-08-09 12:22:23 EDT</em></p>
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