The Breachworld logo.
Set to reach completion on April 6, Jason Richards Publishing’s Breachworld RPG has soared to nearly 10000 in funding so far. The proud and ecstatic backers have unlocked many digital stretch goals, which are available for most pledge levels. These digital goods are supplemental folios which entail more than just stats and a brief description to help players, DMs, and the role playing experience altogether (see the Q&A section below for more information.) The creator, Jason, has also made these folios a “pay what you want” feature, making them quite affordable for any backer (and free for any Superior Supporter pledge levels!) Unlocked so far are:
▪ Complete Player Race Folio
▪ Complete Creature Folio
▪ Hollow Mage Playable Race Folio
▪ Minotaur Playable Race Folio
▪ Dinosaur Creature Folio
▪ Destination: Smokey Folio
▪ NPC Folio
More information about Hardhats and other creatures/races is only available in the folios!
At 10000, we will have unlocked a full, point by point plot adventure supplement, making it even easier to jump in to this brand new RPG. Being contemplated for the 10500 goal are a Mythical Creatures Folio, another Destination Folio, and possibly releasing the Martial Artist for early playtesting. Jason also hints at a nice upgrade for the physical books; a wrap around cover with Kickstarter exclusive art! This is just theorized, of course, though he is pouring all of the funds from this project into the product itself, whether it be the artwork or the professional editing of the folios, so an upgraded book doesn’t seem too farfetched.
On March 27, a two hour Q&A for Breachworld was held with Jason, inviting backers and curious role players alike to get in on and settle any second thoughts or niggling queries. Here are some highlights and answers from the chat (for a full transcript, please see the link at the end of the section):
Intro: Jason: “I’m Jason Richards, of the conveniently named Jason Richards Publishing, author of the now-Kickstarting Breachworld RPG. You may know my work from Palladium Books, where I have worked as a freelancer of some stripe for 17ish years. Focusing on Breachworld for a moment, it’s a game on the Mini Six system, part of the Open D6 family. You probably remember that system from the old WEG Star Wars RPG. The game is an open world, kitchen sink, post-apocalyptic setting. It’s not too wild-ass, and I try to keep it grounded, but if you want to ride a dinosaur or be a wizard or shoot laser guns…this may be for you.”
Question: Dan: “Let’s start with the big picture: What’s the story behind the Breachworld setting?”
Answer: Jason: “Breachworld is Earth, for starters. In 2012, a new instant-transport device, known as a Gate, came to be. Two Gates formed an infinitely short tunnel anywhere in the world. You can walk from Jubail, Saudi Arabia to Dallas, Texas by taking two steps. After a Golden Age triggered by this new tech, the Gates fail and open one-way portals into our world from 100,000 other worlds. These uncontrolled tears in space-time are called Breaches. Fast forward some unknown centuries later, and you have a world that has somewhat stabilized, but is still a vast and untamed wilderness. About half of the world’s population is alien. Most of the world is very primitive, with tech alive in isolated spots. And, people have learned to perform miraculous Feats through force of will by controlling Aether, which is the basic building block of all energy and matter.”
A breach, from a ruin on some alien world to a lush, Earthen beach!
Question: Andy89: “How is the tech scale between a Rifts RPG Golden age and a Breachworld golden age?”
Answer: Jason: “The Rifts Golden Age is about technological achievement. The Golden Age in Breachworld is more about the world becoming one giant community, unrestricted by borders or cultures. I would say that tech in the pre-Rifts Golden Age is much higher. The Earth of Breachworld never saw anything like Mega-Damage, micro fusion reactors, or the vast distribution of powerful energy weapons and the like. Breachworld is much more grounded, both for reasons of style as well as mechanical/game design reasons.”
Question: DLuce: ” What are your plans for expanding the setting, world book type splats, etc?”
Answer: Jason: “[…] My plans for expansion are incremental. No big sourcebooks. I view it as almost the micro-transaction approach. Supplements are all small, only a few pages that outline a new Player Race, a few monsters, a new type of character Special Perk, a new town for your players to inevitably destroy, etc. You take what you want and leave the rest. Other parts of the region will be explored, but I don’t foresee a game as expansive as Torg or Rifts or things like that. There’s a lot of gaming to be had, and a lot of things to describe in a more regional point of view. I don’t want to be writing for this game 10 years from now and not have covered things that were on the doorstep of the original RPG material. All supplements are planned to be “pay what you want,” by the way. We’ll see how that goes, but I think it’s about the most fair thing in gaming, and setting prices on small supplements is pretty tough to please all parties.”
Question: MysticMoon: “How far along are you on the writing/dev?”
Answer: Jason: “[…] The ruleset is developed. I’m 90% done with the text that I originally planned to write, but if I’m being honest, I’ll probably get carried away and add some extra stuff. For example, I’m going to write a new small section on some weapons that I was going to save for a supplement, but the artist’s work is so cool that I’m going to HAVE to include it in the core RPG. A few other extras will likely be tossed in.”
Question: PeterPorcaroJr: “What are/have been the thematic inspirations for Breachworld?”
Answer: Jason: “My inspirations include a lot of vastly different things. Obviously, being a Palladium author for so many years, especially for Rifts and now Chaos Earth, all of Palladium’s games are a big influence. It’s hard not to mention Fallout, and the Star Wars RPG by WEG. Some of the less obvious ones, though include Dune. Dune is a love note to precision world-building of incredible depth. It goes into religion, politics, evolutionary biology, astrophysics… you name it. Herbert has always been a hero to me, and I think about Dune a lot when I world-build, though I’m not CLOSE to him. Another huge influence is Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption (an open world western game, for those that might not know). Its world is so vivid and complete. I loved just roaming around, checking things out. It had a HUGE history. Old battlegrounds that never were really talked about. Burnt out cabins in the middle of nowhere. Just awesome. I’m going for that sort of feel in Breachworld.”
Question: Knitter: “Are there going to be any Glitter Boys style “legendary” weapons in the game? some sort of tech that most people would be familiar with and which would be very powerful but also very rare?”
Answer: Jason: “I don’t think anything can top the Glitter Boy in terms of legendary status. I think that we’ll get that sort of thing eventually, but initially the focus on salvage and recovery is on more basic items. I just commissioned some art of a suit of “recovered” pre-Fall armor, but the character is packing a centuries-old sawed-off shotgun that has been cobbled together. I want tech, especially initially, to feel special and rare. Some supplements will add some more iconic type items, especially the canon plot-point adventure supplements.”
A battle between an Epic and some armed foes!
Question: SteveDubya: “Do you see immediate future supplements focusing more on the setting, the inhabitants, adventures, or something else?”
Answer: Jason: “[…] Most of the folios that are coming up are smallish, like Player Races, monsters, and other things that add immediate impact to the game. I want to give players and GMs a lot more choices than I can pack into the core RPG. After that (like after the first three or four folios are out), I’ll start to expand on some places and plot-point adventures. I think adventures in Breachworld could really be something special. Almost a Borderlands type of quest format that can 1) give material rewards to characters, and 2) expand on the world and make the players more immersed in it. I’m excited about that. If I can mention something about supplements, I’m going to go for a release of SOMETHING every-other month. So, six per year. That’s the promise. The true intent is to do something EVERY month, but I don’t want to over-promise. You never know what might happen. This assumes that you all keep buying supplements, of course. Art is expensive! […] The rough plan is for the add-ons/folios to be compiled and sold once per year.”
To see more of the Q&A and the chatter in between, visit GMShoe’s WordPress, and do check it out because it is so great and informational, and as Jason puts it so eloquently:
I’m full of curry and Diet Coke and am unstoppable.
This has truly been a pleasure to take part in, I’ve rarely been so involved and invested as a backer, and it’s plain to see the other fans feel the same way!
Only 70 hours to go,
TheDungeonRat
(P.S. What are you still doing here? Go back it!)
Any image or information provided pertaining to Breachworld is the sole property of Jason Richards Publishing and any artists therein. I claim no ownership of content.
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