Free to Download: The Calling - a 280-page starter set

The Starter Set for Ohad Reiter’s The Calling is free and weighs an impressive 280 pages.

There is a print version, ideal if you like the Starter Set enough, which costs $19.95 and up, including a full PDF edition of some 440 pages. It’s a chunky game,

In The Calling, armageddon has come and gone with only the Wild East left standing. The characters are Katana Cowboys, Kung-Fu Nuns, Laser Prophets and Beast-Riding Witches, and the Starter Set is enough for character ranks 1 through 4.

As you’d expect, the full print edition has more ranks, abilities, creatures, miracles and world lore.

Also, in The Calling, the GM plays a Star God.

Experience character progression as a game master. Create a star god and choose their role. Choose new star god aspects as you rank up. Aspects grant you reactive abilities that are triggered by player actions. The star god is the party’s silent member, their secret weapon.

This game feature creates a unique way for an audience to get involved. Audiences for RPGs are possible when you’re streaming the game. Ohad notes;

Are you streaming your game to an audience? Consider choosing the Clan of Mischief star god role. Listen to your audience’s input when you decide if your star god answers a prayer or uses an aspect. Your audience has no say in your decision. Their role is to peer pressure you to do their will, like the crowd of the ancient Colosseum. And like a Roman Emperor it’s up to you to decide: Thumbs up, or thumbs down?

The RPG is inspired, to agree, by old Westerns, Samurai films and Wuxia movies. The Starter Set contains;

280 pages containing everything you need to play characters ranks 1 through 4 of The Calling.
8 Dojos (fighting styles) and 10 Callings (character archetypes) to choose from as you create your character.
5 star god forms and 3 star god domains for the game master to choose from.
Rules for running dramatic scenes – Conflicts don’t always have to end in a fight.
70 creatures to fight or haggle with.
35 miracles to call upon.
16 gorgeous b&w illustrations by Aleix Valldeperas.
A Sci-Fi Western setting inspired by movies such as For a Fistful of Dollars, Yojimbo and Sukiyaki Western Django.