Tales of Kings & Dragons is a 5e historical fantasy for 5e from Roleplay Elixir that’s crowdfunding, with three weeks to go in Kickstarter.
The game is set in ancient China, the Arthurian Age and the Crusades Era, and I had the chance to talk to the team about magic in those settings. First, though, here’s the video pitch.
There’s a free quickstart demo on Google Drive to check out.
The Kickstarter funds all three ‘eras’, offering new mechanics for disciplines and human ethnicities and introducing new rules suitable for the setting and historical factions.
There’s a collectors edition too.
An interview with Bathuan Tuncdemir
I talked to the writer Batuhan Tuncdemir about using fantasy races in the game and magic. Neither, after all, are historical.
How do you do deal with non-human races in your setting?
Tales of Kings & Dragons presents a world where ancient non-human races existed long before the dragons came to the earth. As the elder dragons quickly began to dominate both the surface and the underworld, they targeted the most powerful of beings that were seen as gods and goddesses by humans. While the old masters of the earth and the dragons waged war on each other, many races were extinguished from the face of the world and others went into hiding. After they conquered most of the known world, the dragons found out that the human tribes were powerless to resist them and some tribes were even eager to look upon them as their new overlords. Much of the races that escaped the destruction brought upon by the dragons found their own ways of hiding themselves within or around human communities, usually preferring to go unnoticed. Hence, they discovered how to become “humanoids” and soon, it came to a point where a careless eye could not tell the difference between them and humans.
Although the dragons became much rarer to see in the ages that followed, some races still hide themselves. Dwarves are not much different looking than short humans and work in construction sites under the guidance of Chinese emperors. Elves can now easily hide their pointy ears behind their cloaks when they walk the countryside near abandoned Roman fortresses in Britain. And, only after careful inspection can someone tell if a brute-looking warrior that walks the streets of the crusader-controlled Jerusalem is an orc or man. Of course, some races and creatures are still very much different than humans but they often prefer to stay in the shadows or in their remote and small communities.
How do you deal with magic in the setting?
When dragons killed many of the other powerful beings and forced others into exile and hiding, the surviving “old” gods and goddesses then taught what magic they could to their followers who still secretly worshipped them. But a secret known to many is not as potent as before, and thus the ancient deities soon lost much of their power. This is how the knowledge of magic was transferred to humans and many other races and creatures. Ages passed and dragons went into the underworld for their own purposes. Then, some powerful magic users presented themselves to others as the “new” deities of the world, claiming they have banished the drakes. Whatever the case, the lore of wizardry, the art of spellcraft, and the powers of sorcery are passed on to mortals and other monsters. Throughout the ages, sometimes kings and emperors favored the practitioners of magic and took them into their courts, other times they hunted them down as witches.
Tales of Kings and Dragons pledges
As usual, and regular readers will know that I’m going to say this, you can support the project by spreading the news. Pop back on to Mastodon and support the indie publisher.
Backers at €15, about £14, will get regular updates and a digital copy of the game. Access to add-ons is also included.
At €20, there are also digital battle maps, art and posters.
The game’s hardcover is also a reward that’s added in at the €42 tier. The battlemap also gets a physical upgrade at €48, not much more money. At €57, there’s also a DM screen.
Then, at €80, some of Roleplay Elixir’s secret weapons come out with the addition of the miniatures set (4 mins). All three sets (Ancient China, Arthur and the Crusades) with dice are at €125, leaving the limited edition Collector’s Box at €250 and its signed copy and the STL of a dragon.
The PDFs are estimated for April, and the physical goodies in August 2024.
Quick Links
- Kickstarter: Tales of Kings & Dragons.
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