Ascendancy – Rogue Marshal from Broken Tower is a 288-paged RPG with 5 unique races, 200 magical weaves, 40 unique vocations and which uses the FateStorm RPG system.
FateStorm sounds grandiose. Broken Tower use the phrase “virtual reality system” to describe it. It’s taken some 5 years, we’re told, to pull FateStorm together and it’s been inspired by Jung, Joseph Campbell, tarot and astrology. Tim Westhaven’s system uses a wager system to determine reward for risk.
The pitch, for players, is that they’re no longer at the mercy of a dice roll – instead they make the call themselves, based on their avatar’s abilities, what the chance of success is. Then they get to see whether they were right.
Broken Tower say that the game suits experienced roleplayers as well as newbies. Ascendancy is a core rule book and comes with everything the GM needs to run the FateStorm game.
In Ascendancy – Rogue Marshal, players enter a world of political, dangerous serial killers and obsessed fetish games. There are mad inventors and deranged cults calling forth nightmare horrors. This is all set in Ashendrya, the Endless City, where normal citizens are have to act as wardens to try and keep the peace.
You can pick the game up at DriveThru RPG.
Thank you for the shout out, Andrew. Get in touch if you are interested in doing a review. I’m really looking forward to hearing what people think.
Cheers,
Tim
“FateStorm … inspired by Jung, Joseph Campbell, tarot and astrology”
I guess if you’re looking for a way to randomly steer the players down different paths whilst convincing them it’s not so random, tarot and astrology are THE tried and true methods! :-)
Hi Giskar thanks for your comment. The aspects of ancient astrology are built into the characters and the development of plot without being random, rather it acts as guide for the GM through which to develop the story in greater depth. But it’s not a must – it’s just an added tool. The inspiration of the tarot can be found in the FateDeck, http://www.rpgnow.com/product/100555/FateDeck-Pack This however is not a core element of the system mechanics, rather it is a tool used to bring an element of spontaneity into play. The FateDeck is primarily responsible for the influence of the Archetypes… Read more »