Floria: The Verdant Way – Journeying into a mystic wood with this Japanese indie RPG

Silver Vine Publishing has returned to Kickstarter to fund the English localisation of Floria: The Verdant Way, as they said they would. Unfortunately, it took two goes to get Summon Stake funded, but the difference between the publisher’s first Kickstarter, and Floria, is dramatic and this tabletop about magical plants and balance is less of a curveball than summoning demons via ice staking routines.

Floria: The Verdant Way has funded. It had the token target of $9, so the campaign was going to fund anyway, but the campaign attracted nearly $3,000 in its opening days. That suggests Silver Vine Publishing has now proven itself as a publisher worth backing. It’s a short sprint of a campaign, though, with just a few days left on the clock.

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In the mystical forest, there are plants with roots that reach down into the Fount of Magic. These plants, known as Herbs, are eaten by the human dwellers of this world. Floria uses the expression;

Some humans borrow the magical power of the Herbs by taking the plants into their own bodies. These are they that strive to maintain balance and harmony between all who live in the great woods.

… but I’m going with “eat”.

However, it’s a more complicated relationship with the Herbs than I’m going to have with the plant-based steak I’ve lined up for lunch. In Floria: The Verdant Way, the characters are Floria, wizards of the mystic wood empowered by a magical plant that grows symbiotically from their body.

So, I guess there is balance as the Herbs may be eating the Floria too!

Floria does have mechanics that look very different from Western RPGs. For example, gameplay uses a map that tracks the ever-changing path through the mystic woods.

Players will move through hazards and different environments, collecting magical Herbs and attempting to resolve quests using a simple four attribute, 2D6 roll-under resolution system. At the end of the exploration phase a magical battle begins, and Floria’s most unique system has a chance to shine.

A pledge of $9 is enough to get a PDF copy and Backer-only Discord access.

If you want a print-at-cost coupon for the softcover from DriveThruRPG, then upgrade to $13, but remember there’s still shipping to pay. A hardcover coupon is added to Discord and the PDF with a pledge of $23.

There are higher tiers available for people wanting more than one copy. The highest, $83, offers four PDFs and four hardcover vouchers and is being backed.

Delivery on the project, which is to translate a game already out and selling in Japan into English, is August 2021. That’s a very short wait for a hardback.

The games’ creator is also an illustrator who uses the handle Nekotsuki Noko. Nekotsuki’s day job is as an illustrator for larger Japanese tabletop RPGs.