Imagine a world that was doing alright for itself, the neutral force set up to defend against a common enemy becoming increasingly redundant over the years, only for the darkness to suddenly surge up.
I don’t know if DeAngelo Murillo and the creative team drew on real-world politics for inspiration, but that’s also the dark fantasy setting for Emerald Templars. The game has been funded on Kickstarter, hitting its $10,000 goal on the first day. There’s no pitch video, but you can find out more and pledge from the project page.
Emerald Templars uses a d100 system of DeAngelo’s design and for which randomised tables are triggered when specific rolls. Perhaps this is the chaos the setting hints at and it will certainly make every season unique.
Another twist in Emerald Templars, perhaps another nod to the tension of the rising darkness, is that players have to manage multiple stress tiers for their characters. Not just physical stress but mental health and emotional well-being.
Characters can retire, too, with a system that copes with it, giving players the ability to swap out or bring back characters.
Over the years, peace and prosperity have caused the Emerald Templars to have less of a presence as most nations can defend themselves from threats both domestic and foreign. The Emerald Templars are now considered a symbolic force more than something to take seriously. Many sign up to pay off debts, build renown, or avoid prison time.
In recent times, however, more and more odd occurrences have been plaguing each nation. The dead rising, portals leading to other realms appearing, voices from the cosmos spreading forbidden knowledge, and more. Now, the Emerald Templars are in high demand due to their specialization in such matters.
You can back Emerald Knights and the creative team for as little cash support as you can spare.
If you can pledge $25 or more, you’ll get a PDF copy of the game.
Backers who can stretch to $50 will get a physical copy of the game, including a POD coupon and a PDF copy.
An exclusive d10 “Emerald templar” die is added to the rewards at $75, but this is a limited tier. The full dice set unlocks at $90.
The tiers go up to $1,000, and someone has backed that. There are also many retailer tiers, one of which offers an ambitious 15 copies of the game, and I’m not sure how many FLGS you’d have to run to sell that many!
Fulfilment is estimated for April 2023, a year from now.
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