This Statement Is False

I already blabbed this in a bunch of emails to people, but just in case... Scott Dunphy of New Style interviewed me about Death of the Vele, here . This was the first time I've been interviewed for anything; I was surprised I sounded coherent -- I thought it might come out a lot less cohesive than it did when I listened to it.

I have changed TPS many times in the past year and a half, but the core idea is still to be a collaborative story telling RPG that feels like a traditional RPG. The latest version of it is called Death of the Vele and the (lame) website is here It has a link to the latest rules. Wow, taking a look at the old rules, I see that I have streamlined the mechanics a LOT since last year. They are simpler, lighter weight, and more intuitive. There are also tools to promote more integrated and structured stories (spotlights, hitting aspects, etc.). Death of the Vele also adds a back story (which you can remove if you don't like, of course). I'm hoping to publish Death of the Vele within the next 12 months. In the mean time, the rules are out there for free, so anyone who wants to can use them. Here is the feature list from the latest copy of the rules: Collaborative, but feels like a traditional RPG Your characters are yours Supports campaign-length stories Game play ...

I've been searching for the "Philosopher's Stone" of role playing for years -- a role playing system that combines traditional role playing with the collaborative story telling of Universalis. I think the Blood Red Sands system might allow this. By replacing the coins of Universalis with dice, BRS introduces relative differences between traits, an element of risk into contesting for narrative control, and a competitive framework for play. I think this difference can allow it to support traditional role playing better than Universalis. That's how the document for the new game I'm working on starts. I found Ralph Mazza's Blood Red Sands about 5 weeks ago, when I checked out the Ramshead Publishing site, to see if there was anything new going on. Wow, was there ever! Blood Red Sands is a highly stylized, competitive role playing/story telling game about heroes and their ordeals as they strive to confront the evil, despotic Witch King in a blasted land c...