GARPA #24 – Dan Pinkham & Lloyd Sabin

Let’s face it, a long work week can get to all of us. And in the summer long weeks can feel even longer.

I focused on this point just a minute ago when my co-worker came in said good morning to me, found something on his desk and then said, “What fresh Hell is this?”

We’ve all been there. And that’s where GARPA comes in. You work yourself to the bone to get some money, and hopefully once the family is taken care of and the bills are paid, you have a bit leftover for yourself. We are here to help unload you of that burden as well as forget about any “fresh Hells” you had to endure to get it by providing updates on the best looking crowd-sourced games coming down the pike. Let’s get to it!

Board/Role-Playing Games

DemonWars – Reformation by R.A. Salvatore
$14,057 pledged of $50,000 goal, funding ends August 30

Speaking of fresh Hells, DemonWars – Reformation is looking to set your world on fire quickly and efficiently. Set in R.A. Salvatore’s world of Corona (not the one in Queens, NY) DemonWars-Reformation  will have a game system akin to older tabletop board and role-playing games from the 1970s. The setting of Corona includes creatures that any self-respecting demon-slayer should expect to find: goblins, evil monks, and of course demons, along with intricate maps, in-game lore books, and a detailed gemstone magic system.

Want more detail? OK: DemonWars-Reformation puts the player in the role of a monk in the Abellican Church.  The player is thrown against a rebellious church faction under the command of Marcalo De’Unnero. Confused yet? Me too.  No worries though. The plot of DemonWars-Reformation is set after the events taking place in Salvatore’s novel Immortalis.

Clearly, fans of Salvatore’s work will be delighted to pick up DemonWars-Reformation. They will also be ecstatic to know that the game is in a working prototype mode right now, and play testing has been going on since the beginning of this year. Originally intended to include every faction in the DemonWars universe, Salvatore and his team have honed this down to the Abellican Church for the initial launch to flesh the faction out. With success, other factions from the books will be covered in future game modules.

It is refreshing to see a new game in production set in an untapped world. I know for me personally reading through the Kickstarter info got me interested in the DemonWars backstory and it looks to be progressing well enough with 30 days to go.
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It‘s that time again, whether you like it or not.  GARPA is back for another Friday of gaming projects funded by you, the fans.

Come watch Lloyd and Dan explore new projects or at least watch them talk to themselves about what, in their minds, constitutes a cool project. Cool is the operative word here since it is presently hotter than a snake’s arse in Arizona in the summertime over most of the known world right now. Remember…cool.

Like what you see or think we missed something, make sure and leave some feedback on the forums, if for nothing else than to boost our egos.

Stay cool!

I AM ZOMBIE: Field Manual & RPG by Make-Believe Games

$23,343 pledged of a $30,000 goal funding ending July 31st

I AM ZOMBIE is a very unique take on the zombie genre.  As you can tell from the title you are a zombie, well sort of.  It is better if I let the game designers explain it.

“You are a Toxic, a victim of an age-old disease, the Scourge. The cycles of your life revolve around picking up and getting rid of Odium, a by-product of that which ravages your body. Odium build-up threatens to transform you into a mindless zombie – a Skag – whilst granting physical prowess. You might (sic) half-dead, but if you control your Odium, you can retain your humanity, at least some of time.

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Authors: Dan Pinkham and Jim Zabek

The boys here at GARPA took some time this week to celebrate 4^th of July here in the US. Even with all the remembrances, parades, cookouts, and fireworks we are able to bring you an abbreviated version of GARPA (though LongBlade has managed to sneak in a couple of contributions of his own). Join us in two weeks when we are back with the full column.

Boardgames

Battle Merchants by Minion Games

$5,250 of a $30,000 goal funding ending August 5^th

We all love a good game set in a fantasy world, the good races of dwarves, elves etc. fighting the orcs, goblins, and other evil creatures.  While this theme has been presented in many different ways it is usually entertaining and we can’t seem to get enough of it.  However, when a game comes along that takes these fantasy themes and incorporates them in a unique way we tend to take notice.  Enter Battle Merchants, set in a fantasy world that is embroiled in the good vs. evil conflict.  Instead of controlling one of the sides you are in charge making and selling weapons to the warring factions.  A kind of fantasy arms dealer or “merchant of death” if you will.

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