Free to Download: Macuahuitl Quickstart Rules

RPG publisher The Basic Expert has a Kickstarter lined-up for an OSR-style game called Macuahuitl.

Jon, a freelance illustrator, has made a 40-page quickstart available to download for free.

We’re told;

Macuahuitl: Whitebox Roleplaying in the Aztec Empire is an old-school game that uses the familiar whitebox rules in a new and interesting setting the hobby has not seen before. Players take on the roles of warriors in the Aztec empire before the Spanish invasion. Players can become Jaguar Warriors, Eagle Warriors, Pochteca (merchants), and shapeshifting Nahualli sorcerers.

The quickstart has six pre-genned characters from Macuahuitl class list, level 1 spells and rules up to level 3. There’s also a simple adventure with content for some virtual tabletops.

Before posting, I tried to research, all the way from Scotland, whether a tabletop RPG inspired by Aztec myths would be purely a historical and fantasy blend or one touching on contemporary culture and requiring enough careful footing to benefit from a sensitivity reader. I did not get a clear answer. I am now fascinated but note there’s no mention of any such concerns from The Basic Expert.

Previously, The Basic Expert has done Aztec content before and with the well recieved Aztec Classes for OSR and this also includes Jaguar Warriors, shape-shifting Nahualli and the steathy Eagle Warrior.

At the time, Jon noted;

Originally I was working on an Aztec game using OSR rules. However I’m no longer using the OSR for it. I will be using a different system. But that doesn’t mean these classes cannot be used for your own games. Especially if you are doing a jungle campaign.

The Basic Expert also has a silver best seller with a history/culture RPG set a bit further north and with Cowpunchers Reloaded. Reloaded is an attempt at enhancing the original rules-light Western-themed Cowpunchers RPG. It was released under a Creative Commons license.