Nekromanti Crowdfunding för Best of Fenix på engelska

Fenix

Warrior
Joined
7 Nov 2003
Messages
277
Location
Stockholm


















Nu samlar vi det bästa materialet ur speltidningen Fenix i tre samlingsvolymer, som vi släpper på engelska. Det är ett galet roligt projekt, men inte helt gratis… Så vi bestämde oss för att köra en crowdfunding på Indiegogo för samlingen. Du kan stödja Best of Fenix här:

Best of Fenix crowdfunding på Indiegogo

Vi har varit sugna på att ge ut en samlingsvolym sedan Fenix fyllde historiska 50 nummer. Under de två år som gått sedan dess har vi pratat med diverse skribenter och illustratörer om de skulle vilja vara med. Många har hjälpt oss komma ett steg närmare projektet genom att göra sina egna grovöversättningar, vilket vi uppskattat väldigt mycket. När vi nu fullbordat ett decennium som speltidning kändes det som om det var dags. Det är vårt sätt att fira en livskraftig svensk spelhobby, och inte minst att visa upp våra skribenter och illustratörer för en internationell publik.

Samtidigt var valet att gå internationellt inte helt lätt. Dels har vi lagt mycket tid på att tänka igenom vad som skall vara med, och vad som blir för internt. Det är till exempel med sorg i hjärtat som vi insett att spelmaterial som är gjort direkt för spel som bara finns på svenska nog inte är en helt klok strategi i sammanhanget. Det materialet har därför ställts åt sidan. Inte för att det inte är bra nog, utan för att det riskerar att få hela projektet att kännas för internt.

Vi har dessutom plockat bort intervjuer, recensioner och förhandstittar. En del av detta material har varit väldigt bra, uppskattat och ibland omdebatterat. Samtidigt känns det som en typ av material som känns mer aktuellt ju färskare det är.

Kvar blir spelmaterial, rena spel, kampanjer och kampanjmiljöer av olika slag. Samt inte minst Birger Barbaren. För har man turen att ha en rolig husserie så skall den givetvis översättas!

De tre volymerna får lite olika övergripande känsla, men det bakomliggande tänket går igen genom alla produkter. Något större material (t. ex. Krak de Drak och Leviatan), något fristående sällsskapsspel (som Moralens Axelmakter), några sidor seriestrippar samt en massa artiklar däremellan. Blir intresset stort nog har vi dessutom laddat upp med en massa nya delmål, där nya artiklar kan läggas till allt eftersom.

Det går inte att visa alla artiklar som ingår ens en bråkdel av vad de är värda, men varje dag kommer vi att uppmärksamma någon artikel lite extra.

Vi har också tagit hjälp med språkkollen av två gamers med engelska som modersmål: Pete Nash och Jessica Augustsson. Pete är rollspelskonstruktör och en av personerna bakom RuneQuest 6. Jessica arbetar som professionell översättare. Crowdfundingen pågår nu, men för att få texterna så bra som möjligt räknar vi inte med att böckerna kommer ut förrän i slutet på året. Vi räknar inte med att ha med något unikt material i samlingsutgåvorna som inte funnits tidigare, utan själva poängen är att visa upp materialet ur tidningen men på engelska istället så att fler kan ta del av det. Alla artiklar kommer däremot att formges på nytt i Fenix nya grafiska profil för att ge ett enhetligt intryck.

Hoppas att ni precis som vi tycker att Best of Fenix är ett roligt projekt värt att stödja. Med er hjälp kan det bli verklighet. Och vi sade väl att frakt inom Sverige är inkluderat i våra stödnivåer?

/Anders & Tove
 

Fenix

Warrior
Joined
7 Nov 2003
Messages
277
Location
Stockholm













Werewolves of Dacia – Kenneth Hite’s campaign setting is a riff on Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, warped through a classical sensibility with a hefty helping of werewolves.

In the latest episode (no 74) of the brilliant podcast Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff they discuss campaign setting creation through the lens of this particular article. You find the podcast at:

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff

/Anders & Tove
 

Fenix

Warrior
Joined
7 Nov 2003
Messages
277
Location
Stockholm
Moral Dilemma - A Complete Humoristic Cardgame














Game Developer Christoffer Krämer, probably best known on the international scene for his games Big Badaboom, Badaboom and Kablamo, has developed this card game for Fenix readers. Moral Dilemma will be included in the pdf and the books. In the Deluxe edition you will find a separate insert with the game props printed on thicker paper as well.

The artwork above illustrates three different moral dilemmas the players will be facing in this game. They are as follows:

Card 1 – Teddy gets thrown in the bin my mistake. The garbage truck is long gone when you discover the accident. Your four-year-old will be devastated. Will you confess, or blame the wicked monster who is summoned by badly brushed teeth?

Card 2 – Your colleague is back after extended medical leave due to a bad episode of an eating disorder. Frustratingly, this colleague seems ahead of you to be promoted. A few well placed comments in the lunch room might possibly trigger that eating disorder again, eliminating the competition. Will you do it?

Card 3 – You forgot to return your loaned scroll from the Library of Alexandria. They are demanding an extortionate penalty fee for being late. But on the other hand, aren’t old parchments incredibly flammable? Wouldn’t it be too bad if someone had an accident with a torch?

Stöd Fenix!

/Anders & Tove
 

Fenix

Warrior
Joined
7 Nov 2003
Messages
277
Location
Stockholm
Leviathan














Leviathan is an rpg by Daniel Krauklis and the name of an interstellar ark starship floating through cosmos without anybody at the helm, populated by a race who no longer remembers its past.

This is a condensed version of a hobby project from 1999, written under the motto: “A grave farce.” Inspiration was drawn from all over: Paranoia, Judge Dredd, Warhammer 40K, Nemesis the Warlock, Orwell’s 1984, the Fallout series of video games, Moebius (the artist, but to some degree also the mathematician), HP Lovecraft, Dune, the Swedish welfare state, the Stalin terror, medieval scholasticism, retrofuturism, the generation ship novel, and other random sources. Leviathan can be pretty Pythonesque in atmosphere, but like humor in general, its many absurdities are probably best delivered with a straight face. And if laughter at times catches in the players’ throats, all the better. That said, it’s your game, play it as you like.

Stöd Fenix!

/Anders & Tove
 

Fenix

Warrior
Joined
7 Nov 2003
Messages
277
Location
Stockholm
Best of Fenix - Myths & Legends














David Bergkvist on how to use myths, legends and fairytales, and basing adventures on specific myths. The article also includes two creatures from Norse mythology: Vittera and Näcken.

Myths and legends make up the bulk framework of most roleplaying game fantasy worlds. They provide hordes of mythological och strongly mythologically inspired creatures who populate these games - such as elves, dragons, trolls, gnomes, dwarves, centaurs, fauns, and so on. When we look at ancient religious mythology, we find even more stuff, borrowed into nearly all our favorite fantasy worlds. J.R.R. Tolkien and many of the other early writers who defined the genre were well versed in germanic, celtic and nordic mythology, and based large parts of their most successful works on this knowledge.

As a game master playing contemporary fantasy roleplaying games, you will do well to pay some attention to these fairy tales, myths and legends from our real world, because if you get to know the origins of your typical fantasy elements, you will be able to dodge rote stereotypes and find new and interesting ways to use the familiar stuff.

This article presents a few of thoughts and tips about how to use myths, fairy tales and legends in your roleplaying games. I’ll talk about basing adventures on specific myths, and will also present two creatures from norse mythology that you may not have heard about.

Stöd Fenix!

/Anders & Tove
 

Fenix

Warrior
Joined
7 Nov 2003
Messages
277
Location
Stockholm
Best of Fenix - The Last Flight of KG 200














The Last Flight of KG 200 – Kenneth Hite’s horror storytelling game presents a desperate crew, flying out of the heart of darkness, into the heart of mystery. It might kill them all, or worse: reveal the truth they fly from. Somewhere in the night sky, Something is waiting. Waiting for the last flight of KG 200.

“I flew here and now belong to a special Kommando. Maybe this will be my last action. What it is about, I cannot tell you, we have been sworn again to secrecy. I can say only this to you; it will be the most dangerous action. My chances that I will return safely are extremely small.”
-- letter of Sergeant H.O. Hildebrandt, pilot in KG 200, written April 3, 1945

Kampfgeschwader 200 was a special unit of the Luftwaffe. Its pilots flew all sorts of aircraft on all sorts of missions, from long-range weather reconnaissance to suicide runs at Vistula River bridges. KG 200 captured and studied enemy aircraft -- and flew them deep into Allied territory. They dropped off saboteurs and spies in the Ukraine and Iraq, and may have flown tungsten and uranium to Japan in a great circle over the North.

Other rumors are even stranger: that KG 200 flew foo fighters or flying saucers. That they sought Asgard or the Hollow Earth. That they flew the Spear of Destiny to Argentina, or Greys to the Moon.

The truth vanished with the Third Reich. The legends can still be seen, if you take the controls and look to the skies.

Stöd Fenix!

/Anders & Tove
 

Fenix

Warrior
Joined
7 Nov 2003
Messages
277
Location
Stockholm













Sodom & Gomorrah – Mastermind meets Battleship in this puzzling board game by Christoffer Krämer, where the player’s goal is to find the ten righteous in order to save the cities. Sodom & Gomorrah will be included in the pdf and the books. In the Deluxe edition you will find a separate insert with the game props printed on thicker paper as well.

And the Lord said, “Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which has come unto Me; and if not, I will know.” And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom; but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. And Abraham drew near and said, “Wilt Thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Perhaps there be fifty righteous within the city; wilt Thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from Thee to do in this manner — to slay the righteous with the wicked; and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from Thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” And the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.” And Abraham answered and said, “Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, I, who am but dust and ashes. Perhaps there shall lack five of the fifty righteous; wilt Thou destroy all the city for lack of five?” And He said, “If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.” And he spoke unto Him yet again and said, “Perhaps there shall be forty found there?” And He said, “I will not do it for forty’s sake.” And he said unto Him, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Perhaps there shall thirty be found there.” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” And he said, “Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Perhaps there shall be twenty found there.” And He said, “I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake.” And he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Perhaps ten shall be found there.” And He said, “I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.” And the Lord went His way, as soon as He had finished communing with Abraham; and Abraham returned unto his place.

Genesis 18:20-33

Stöd Fenix!

/Anders & Tove
 

Fenix

Warrior
Joined
7 Nov 2003
Messages
277
Location
Stockholm
Best of Fenix - Spellsingers














Spell Singers to RuneQuest 6 – Pete Nash introduces a mercenary group of sword wielding, sorcery singers, which can be utilised as foes in established campaigns, or perhaps an organization that Player Characters can aspire to join.

In this article we present a mercenary group of sword wielding, sorcery singers, which can be utilised as foes in established campaigns, or perhaps an organisation that Player Characters can aspire to join. These spell singers have nothing to do with the series written by Alan Dean Foster, but since he is a great author anyway, I highly recommend almost all of his books. For those further interested in song-based magic I cautiously suggest the Spellsong Cycle by L. E. Modesitt Jr.

Stöd Fenix!

/Anders & Tove
 

Fenix

Warrior
Joined
7 Nov 2003
Messages
277
Location
Stockholm
Best of Fenix - Just Add Rum














Just Add Rum – Kenneth Hite provide you with everything you need in order to create pirates for your own campaign that makes sense, adding flavor and excitement to the rest of your world in the process.

What is a game setting without pirates? A sad and empty thing. But almost as bad is a game setting with pirates that make no sense. Pirates in Neverland can survive merely by chasing Lost Boys and pestering Indians, but in most settings pirates need more than just a parrot and a cutlass. For a given historical setting, you can usually find pirates somewhere if you look hard enough. (Hint: Try the South China Sea.) For an alternate history or a future history, you should pay attention to some pirate fundamentals, especially if you plan to change your pirates up or center the game on them. Whether they pilot pursuit fighters (as in Crimson Skies), navigate heavily mortgaged Type S scout ships (as in Traveller), or ensorcel magical skullships (as in Spelljammer), your pirates should still fit the setting. From the antediluvian Black Coast to ancient Crete to modern Somalia to the far future of the Saturnian system, there are certain conditions – certain ingredients – you need in order for pirates to sprout, in our world or yours. Fortunately, building pirates that make sense will also help you add flavor and excitement to the rest of your world. Makes sense – they’re pirates, after all.

Stöd Fenix!

/Anders & Tove
 

Fenix

Warrior
Joined
7 Nov 2003
Messages
277
Location
Stockholm
Best of Fenix - Auberond














Auberond – In this fantasy campaign setting by Christoffer Krämer an elf like race must try to survive as their peaceful harmonic world turns into a hostile apocalyptic death trap.

“Such was the harmony in our paradise that we didn’t even have a word for what befell us”.

Imagine beauty. Imagine perfection. Imagine a world overflowing with honey and nectar. Imagine paradise. Imagine you were a race of poets, of musicians, of artists and of philosophers, living in that paradise: refined to see the sublime beauty of the nature in which you live in perfect harmony with everything. Imagine that one day, without any evident cause, the nature turned against you, step by step changing into an inhospitable and lethal environment. An organic death trap intent on crushing, strangling, poisoning, and devouring you. How would you cope? How would you live? How would you die?

Welcome to Auberond!

In the wake of the apocalyptic transformation everything changed. There aren’t many left of you now, and every day is a struggle for survival. The clans have all but gone and the few ones that are left bare names that make a mockery of their present life: The Azure Singers, The Rainbow weavers, The Day Dreamers. And yet you say, and bare, these name with pride as it is the last link to the past that was, and remembering the beauty you had is the only thing keeping you from becoming as savage as everything around you. In a world where every man, woman and child is needed every hour of every day to defend against the onslaught of nature, the person held in the highest regard is the one who is not permitted to participate and is utterly unable to do so. The singer of the old songs, the teller of the old stories. The living memory of what was and hopefully can be again.

The campaign setting Auberond brings you a world, complete with informations on flora and fauna, customs, archetypes, technology, magic, faith, enemies and a set of suggestions for adventures or campaigns.

Stöd Fenix!

/Anders & Tove
 

Fenix

Warrior
Joined
7 Nov 2003
Messages
277
Location
Stockholm
Best of Fenix - The House That Jack Built














The House That Jack Built – Martin Brodén Rother-Schirren incorporates Jack the Ripper with the Golden Dawn in a campaign setting where the Whitechapel murders are the starting point to an occult/horror campaign where almost anything can be added.

Several years ago I wrote a campaign setting incorporating Jack the Ripper with the Golden Dawn. I've since then had ample opportunities to test my material in various campaigns. When I was asked to translate my original article into English, it felt only natural to do some extensive rework. While there are many good sources on the Whitechapel murders and even more on Golden Dawn and other organizations mentioned, this article is not one of them. Truths are mixed with half-lies, exaggerations and myths in the name of a good roleplaying campaign.

Of course Jack the Ripper is not a fictional character per se. Unlike Dracula or the stories about Sherlock Holmes, the Whitechapel murders actually happened. A series of unsolved murders in Whitechapel in the autumn of 1888, possibly by the same killer, has fueled the minds and fantasies of many since.

Writers of Victorian Roleplaying Games seldom approach the Whitechapel murders. While Dracula and Sherlock Holmes show up all the time, Jack remains a shadow. Many mention the Ripper but are quick to point out that they don't give any solutions to the murder mystery; an understanding between fellow GMs that everyone has their own interpretation of the Ripper.

But what are the more extraordinary Ripper options for a horror/occult genre game master? This was the question that spawned my article the first time. I had my own Ripper candidate (I'll get to that later) that I wanted to promote, yet even more I wanted to lay a foundation where the Ripper murders were the starting point to a campaign after which anything could be added - be it vampires, superheroes, aliens, Nazi wizards, creatures from the deep, demons or whatever crumbled your cookie. This foundation is laid out more clearly this second time around.

Stöd Fenix!

/Anders & Tove
 

Fenix

Warrior
Joined
7 Nov 2003
Messages
277
Location
Stockholm
Best of Fenix - Angels and Ministers of Space














Angels and Ministers of Space – Kenneth Hite on Newtonian angel powered space travel in an alternate 17th century on the seven planets. An inspiring article fat packed with weird.

Isaac Newton spent as much time poring over the details of Scripture as he did studying gravitation, optics, or higher math. He owned more books on theology (including works on the Kabbalah) than on any other subject – almost a third of his library. Since his personal beliefs were Arian (a heresy which denies the Trinity), he never published the dozens of manuscripts he produced on topics including prophecy, sacred geometry, alchemy, Biblical chronology, and gematria (the numerical values and interpretation of Hebrew and Greek words). A fire in his laboratory in 1693 destroyed 20 years of research; more of his works vanished after his death, often suppressed both by horrified orthodox Christians and shocked secular scientists. For his entire lifetime, Newton searched tirelessly for a unified field theory joining the sacred world of the Bible with the material world of telescopes, prisms, and falling apples. But the smartest man in history couldn’t do it.

Not in our history, anyway.

Stöd Fenix!

/Anders & Tove
 

Fenix

Warrior
Joined
7 Nov 2003
Messages
277
Location
Stockholm
Best of Fenix - Oz is Drowning














Oz is Drowning – Global Apocalypse in Slow Motion – One of Sweden’s greatest design legends, Anders Blixt, presents this apocalyptic rpg-campaign in retro setting inspired by John Wyndhams The Kraken Wakes.

The campaign is set in Australia during the cold war after the aliens have invaded Earth and started to terraform the planet – with apocalyptic consequences. The humans are at a disadvantage. The campaign will not be about defeating the aliens, but rather to survive the catastrophe and maybe start to rebuild the world afterwards. The situation is dire and terrible events take place all over the globe. This crisis cannot be mastered, it has to be endured. Forget the miracles and the happy endings. Still, capability saves lives. This is a setting for heroes in the spirit of Jules Verne, skilled people taking huge risks to mitigate the impact of the disaster happening before their eyes.

Stöd Fenix!

/Anders & Tove
 

Fenix

Warrior
Joined
7 Nov 2003
Messages
277
Location
Stockholm













Celestial Storm – A Crusade for Fallen Gods – A freeform fantasy game for 3-5 players. Nils Hintze has written this a drama of galloping horses faster than the wind, duels with curved blades, dramatic poetry, cunning djinns and hopelessness.

Celestial Storm is a fantasy game for 3-5 players, using a simple freeform roleplaying system. The entire scenario should take between four to five evenings plus a few hours to do the characters.

The world in which the story unfolds is partly inspired by Persian culture during the Muslim Caliphate's conquest of the Persian Empire. The Jahnashahs are inspired by Persian "medieval" culture while the Fraenks are a Christian medieval culture, resembling that of the historical Templars.

Celestial Storm is a drama of galloping horses faster than the wind, duels with curved blades, dramatic poetry, cunning djinns and hopelessness.

Stöd Fenix!

/Anders & Tove
 

Fenix

Warrior
Joined
7 Nov 2003
Messages
277
Location
Stockholm
Best of Fenix - The Red Planet














The Red Planet – Christoffer Krämer outlines the Native Americans successful conspiracy to conquer and terraform the planet Mars during the upcoming 150 years – and how to put that campaign setting into play.

The Red Planet is a campaign setting briefly covering parts of the next hundred and fifty years' development. At the center you will find an advanced and successful Native American conspiracy to conquer and terraform Mars. The article covers the events leading up to the space colonization, the different groups involved, the settings that make up the battlefield in the conflict that flares up, key people who are driving the development and some campaign ideas.

Stöd Fenix!

/Anders & Tove
 

Fenix

Warrior
Joined
7 Nov 2003
Messages
277
Location
Stockholm
Best of Fenix - Krak de Drak














Krak de Drak – Christoffer Krämer’s campaign combines the crusader kingdom of Outremer with an awakening powerful dragon and the role of religion in any setting inspired by the Middle Ages.

The crusader kingdom in 12th century B.C. is an amazingly dramatic place - ripe with opportunity for anyone that wants to play an exciting role playing game. You could not make up a place more filled with political, economic and religious strife, and inhabited by more colorful characters loving, hating, scheming, fighting and backstabbing each other all day long – even if you tried. There is basically nothing lacking in this campaign setting. It. Is. Perfect. So naturally I did what any world builder and game master would do: I added a dragon!

With an added dragon the crusader kingdom becomes something more. Part historical drama and part fantasy extravaganza. The Christians see the dragon as the great beast- Satan – and its coming is a portent of the end of days. The whole world changes and Europe is swept with religious fervor. The mightiest of mighty – Fredrik Barbarossa and Richard Lion heart - set out to slay the beast and the Muslim world, under its leader Salah ad-Din, watch and try to decide on a course of their own.

Epic adventure awaits!

Stöd Fenix!

/Anders & Tove
 
Top