The buzz around a recently released fantasy role-playing game called The Realms of Atlantasia that some critics call a “fantasy heartbreaker” ranges from bemusement to disbelief. One thing’s for sure: it’s real.
It all began with an interview in The Vulcan Advocate:
Holding his new book, Vulcan resident John Holland says words cannot describe the feeling.
"This is the culmination of 18 years of work," he said about the self-published 544-page The Game Master's Bible, which delves into the world he created, Atlantasia.
Holland had come up with his medieval fantasy world in anticipation of writing novels set in Atlantasia, but became frustrated after finding the popular RPG Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) was not challenging enough.
Ron Edwards coined a term for this sort of game: Fantasy Heartbreaker,
which are truly impressive in terms of the drive, commitment, and personal joy that's evident in both their existence and in their details - yet they are also teeth-grindingly frustrating, in that, like their counterparts from the late 70s, they represent but a single creative step from their source: old-style D&D.
As Edwards correctly points out, several game companies in the 70s got their start in precisely this fashion. But the role-playing game development community has advanced considerably since then, and fantasy heartbreakers have not. So is Atlantasia a fantasy heartbreaker? Here’s a quote from the game’s web site, which looks like it was designed in the 80s :
When you compare The Realms of Atlantasia to the other R.P.G.s on the market today, you will automatically notice several differences. The first difference you will notice is that this game is based on percentile dice (%) rather than a D20. This gives both players and Game Masters an ease in game playing as you are only using the other dice in a game set for damage (all player rolls are done with the percentile dice). The other difference one will see as soon as you open the books is the different magics (there are 8 Temples of Worship and 8 Schools of Magic, each with their own spells).
Not convinced? Here’s more:
"To tell you the truth, I'm really not in this for the money," he said. "I'm in this to do a David and Goliath. I'm going after the big boys."
Holland wants to give them "a taste of what's to come," and what's to come, he says, is realism.
He's marketing the game as the most realistic fantasy based role-playing game (RPG) on the market.
In his game, called The Realms of Atlantasia, realism means bows are less useful in the rain, armour rusts and horses die if not cared for.
"Your weapons and your armour take damage in battle," he said. "You've got to get them repaired."
"As realistic as I can get in a fantasy-based world, we have added it in this," he said.
Like in real life, players won't find the same stores everywhere they go, and similar stores don't have the same prices and merchandise, he said.
And players have to make sure characters practise their skills or their characters won't develop as quickly as they could, said Holland.
"It's part of the realism," he said.
Holland has introduced exchange rates into his game, something he says no other role-playing game has done before.
None of Holland’s claims are necessarily unique to Atlantasia. Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu (1981) features a percentile system. The second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (1989) had spheres for clerics and schools for mages, each with their own spell lists. ICE’s Arms Law (1980) provided pages of damage to equipment and characters. Palladium Fantasy (1983) featured interactive economies.
What is unique is the unprecedented level of press on behalf of what amounts to a hobbyist release. Is it all bluster? There is some question as to the legitimacy of the cover (top left), which appears to be a Photoshopped version of this original. In addition to the Vulcan Advocate article, the Atlantasia web page appears to have over 187,000 likes on Facebook, but it’s possible this is hacked. I’ve had the page up for hours and the number has not increased, while the Facebook group for the game has just 18 members.
See for yourself: The Realms of Atlantasia can be purchased in electronic and print format at iUniverse.com.
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