Against the Darkmaster: Revised Pre-Orders Open

https://www.vsdarkmaster.com/product/against-the-darkmaster-core-rules-book/

Looks like Against the Darkmaster is getting ready to release a revised core rulebook in Q3 2022 and they are taking pre-orders now. This one was impossible to get a physical book for the longest time and it is good seeing them finally back in print and preparing a new version of the game. This one was on my unicorn games list and it is nice to have a pre-order put in and a book coming.

NOTE: The PDF they give you on the book pre-order is version 1.3, while the one on Drive-Thru RPG is up to version 1.5.

This game is sort of a "Middle Earth Role Playing" clone, so it has its roots in a sort of Rolemaster style of experience. What I love about this is it takes the entire "Tolkien-like" genre of "the quest to defeat a big bad guy" and it randomizes the entire experience. You generate a random "Darkmaster" who is the big bad of the current story and then create characters from a standard pool of archetypes and ancestries, and you set out on your quest to defeat them.

In a sense, almost any fantasy book that follows the Tolkien model, such as Wheel of Time, Dragonlance, Wizard's First Rule, Shannara, Riftwar, Dragonlance, Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, or any other "zero to hero" sort of "rise up against darkness" story can be told. The world is a sandbox, your epic journey is the story, and you just set out and do heroic deeded until the final confrontation happens at the highest levels of the game.

I love this game makes the quest, villain, world, and what you need to do random and generic. It is almost like a sandbox game that can be started and replayed infinite times with a different story and characters but the same classic model of heroism and struggle holding the narrative together. Instead of a licensed IP, it focuses more on the genre and theme of the story being told and simulates that.

And the art and inspiration sources in the game are an amazing collection of resources and images. This is truly a top-notch product with a lot of effort and love put into it, and to see a revised edition coming is exciting.

The rules follow that simplified open-ended d100 roll standard and are not as complex as the games they took inspiration from. So if you liked MERP, Rolemaster, or HARP - you will feel at home here. This is one of those games that would replace my Rolemaster games and give me the same experience, along with following a more open and free model of game - so this one is a definite win for me.

This one I was waiting for for at least 2 years, and it is nice to see it coming this year hopefully in time for the holidays. If you were waiting because you could not get a book, now is the time to dive in.