Fantasy RPGs. Man, people just love these things don't they?
The majority of people in our hobby have fallen under their spell but it seems I have some sort of innate magic resistance. The [D&D-esque] Fantasy genre often falls flat for me and RPGs that facilitate play in that genre are games I generally find unappealing. That doesn't mean I never enjoy playing Fantasy games. It's simply rare and often the result of an excellent GM and/or a game that provides a very different experience from the more classic and typical approaches.
As I read JB's 'Dear JB' series over at B/X Blackrazor for example, I am ever so thankful to the Great Nonexisto that I don't play D&D in any of its forms. The angst! The drama! The complete waste of time that could be filled with people trying to entertain each other and run something, anything, a lot more fun and a lot less stressful.
On the flip side, acting as my own devil's advocate, I am absolutely and honestly in love with some of the Fantasy Anime we've gotten from Japan of late. Delicious in Dungeon/Dungeon Meshi, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, and Goblin Slayer are some of my favorite Anime/Manga/Light Novels of all time. Yes, Of All Time!
But...but...aren't they just D&D?
They are...and they very much are not. At least they aren't D&D or its ilk as I've usually experienced them.
Now then...
In the past month or so I have had the chance to sample two very different Fantasy TRPGs, Daggerheart and Mythic Bastionland. I am in a short campaign of the former, having played the third or fourth session this past weekend, while I played in a one-shot of the latter last week. I want to discuss these games but let me be clear, this isn't a review per se. I am not going to go into great detail regarding the rule mechanics of these games but rather I've going to give you an overview of my feelings/opinions on each. There will be a little discussion of system but not much. There are a lot of other blogs and Youtube videos that can explain the rules much better than I can and I highly recommend taking a lot if you're interested.
I'm going to start with Mythic Bastionland as my feelings on it are less complicated. It's a very interesting game, clearly inspired by Pendragon far more than anything with a traditional dungeon or dragon. That doesn't mean there aren't dragons, quite the opposite. Our GM ran it as a hexcrawl, with the PCs learning something in each hex that lead us towards a confrontation with a 'Myth', a terrible chimerical beast terrorizing the countryside. The approach created a narrative [or the impression of a narrative actually] which made the monster feel like more than mere combat encounter.
The PCs are Knights with low level high fantasy magical power and a fantastical theme. I was the Halo Knight, able to cause a light I am carrying (such as a torch or a lantern) to flare so brightly that it illuminates the entire hex and causes damage to 'those that live in darkness'. The heavily thematic name and ability gives the character a distinctive feel and immerses one in the 'setting' fairly quickly.
It's one drawback is its Combat System. It's interesting, it works, but wow it takes some getting used to. My group found it to be a tad counter-intuitive.
You don't roll to hit as you are assumed to hit automatically. You roll damage, actually everyone attacking the same target rolls damage against said target but if someone is attacking a different opponent then they roll damage against that enemy. The highest damage rolled becomes the true damage while the other rolls allow the attackers to use Gambits. These are effects such as Impairing a weapon, Dismounting a rider, or even adding +1 to the overall damage done.
Ah, yeah its a little strange. Not too hard to get used to it after a while but definitely takes some time for it to stop feeling peculiar.
I liked our session but I'm not sure I would want to run or play in a campaign of it. Maybe if a deeper setting feel and expanded world-building were applied I'd feel differently. I would definitely try it again.
Now on to Daggerheart...
This is going to be filled with contradictions so please bare with me. I like Daggerheart. I find it a better D&D. It moves faster, is a bit less complex, has a lot of cool things PCs can do right from the start, and is generally pretty intuitive. Generally.
At the same time, the game can seem kind of bland at times, combat feels same-y after a while, and some mechanics rarely come into play. This maybe because of the particular campaign we're in but my Slyborn Goblin Wizard is basically a Wizard. Being a Goblin and Slyborn (born among the criminal underbelly of a city) doesn't really come up much.
Also, the narrative approach taken here (as in a number of other modern games) gets a little tiresome. Whether you succeed or fail you are asked, 'what did that look like' or 'tell me how you hit/missed the target'. If I go into a game of this on the sleepy side I'm fighting to stay awake by the end of a session [and I have insomnia!]. Oddly, the game has a binary pass/fail situation unlike many of current generation RPGs.
The thing that makes the game stand out is the Hope and Fear mechanic. You roll 2D12 and look at the two dice as distinct entities; one is your Hope Die and one your Fear die. Whichever rolled the higher number determines whether you rolled with Fear or with Hope. Hope is an in-game currency you can use to improve your roll, activate certain abilities, and the like. Fear goes to the GM, enabling them to steal the spotlight for the villains and activate special villain powers or whathaveyou.
It's a neat system and it works well but again, not sure how a long term campaign would play. Do I like it? Yes. Does it WOW me? Not really. It's a mighty fine Mulligan Stew but IMHO it isn't some Michelin Star winning dish. It's a very, very well done version of a thing I usually don't care for.
While we're on the subject of Fantasy RPGs...
After three decades and two and half editions, the Japanese Tabletop RPG Sword World is coming to the US translated into English. No, really! I'm serious. It seems legit this time. A company called Mugen Gaming is bringing it over. This was only announced recently so I don't have much more info than the fact that its in the works. I have heard from sources on the Japanese side that the English version will be Sword World 2.5 Deluxe, the most recently updated edition Group SNE has released. Stay tuned.
Free League Publishing, who won 'Fan Favorite Publisher' at the 2025 Ennie Awards at Gen Con this past week, is translating and putting out an Italian TRPG called Twilight Sword, strongly influenced and inspired by video games such as Legend of Zelda and Ni no Kuni. I'm curious, I do like Free League quite a lot but I am not holding my breath that it'll be all that different from other Fantasy RPG options.
Oh woe is me! If only there were one Fantasy RPG that I truly loved! A game with simple, flexible, fun mechanics, a humorous and magical setting that nonetheless handles action well, and inspires in me one adventure idea after another.
Oh if only...wait...
Just got smurfed the digital copy of the complete rulebook.
*Happy Sigh*
AD
Barking Alien
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