HeXXen 1733
| HeXXen 1733 | |
|---|---|
| publication | |
| Author (s) | Mirko Bader |
| Original publisher | Ulisses games |
| Original publication | 2018 |
| original language | German |
| World and system | |
| genre | horror |
| Game world | alternative 18th century |
| Ascent | Referee decision |
| cube | W6 |
HeXXen 1733 is a German pen & paper role-playing game from Ulisses Spiele .
Game world
The game takes place in an alternative world of the historical baroque .
In this alternative reality of the 18th century , a gate to hell was accidentally opened in the Black Forest in 1640 , through which creatures such as witches , werewolves and vampires invaded our world. 93 years later states collapsed, the Thirty Years' War was never formally ended, and parts of Europe (especially the Netherlands ) sank in the floods that resulted from an evocation of the biblical Leviathan in 1695 .
"The greatest threat to the surrounding states arose in the center of Europe. The area of the Black Forest and later also large parts of the Swabian Alb came under the wing of His abomination, King Asmodaeus, the devourer in 1640. This area is known today as Hell's Marrow or Markovia.
The eastern part of France has disintegrated into small states that merged in 1661 to form the United Kingdom of Burgundy , which is, however, a less homogeneous state structure than the name suggests.
The rest of France is held together by the Sun King Louis XIV , who for mysterious reasons is still alive and looking like he was at a young age.
The north of the Netherlands sank in the North Sea in 1695. In the meantime the sea has withdrawn, but the undead and other dark beings now dwell there. The south of the Netherlands (today's Belgium ) was spared from the disaster and has become an important trading post and attraction for adventurers.
Since the Leviathan was summoned 38 years ago, it has been unclear what became of the British Isles . Nobody has since been able to cross the treacherous North Sea and the mist between the mainland and the islands and come back alive.
Portugal and Denmark were hit in a similar way to the Netherlands, while Spain was largely spared the upheavals since 1640.
"A sad fate befell all of Scandinavia. Beginning with the year 1644, four years after the opening of the gates of hell, the long hard winter begins, which continues to this day. From the north, more and more ice masses move south, the sky is becoming increasingly cloudy . ".
A special feature of HeXXen 1733 is the soul light. It is a form of energy that is created by capturing so-called storm spirits and using their magic in soul traps. This technique is called Sorbonnik after the Sorbonne University in Paris. This energy means that industrialization in the HeXXen world starts much earlier than in reality. In the game world it often serves as a light source in the cities and basically represents a substitute for steam power and electricity and is borrowed from the steampunk genre.
Game atmosphere
The game is based on films such as Hansel and Gretel: Hexenjäger , Sleepy Hollow or Solomon Kane and is essentially what the publisher calls a "cinematic popcorn role-playing game in a dark world".
In addition, HeXXen also places value on a somewhat historical background, which is particularly evident in aspects such as weapons, clothing, music and the presence of historical personalities.
The game deviates from this, however, in terms of magical and demonic effects in order to create an overall atmosphere that, in addition to the films mentioned, is mainly based on the fairy tale world of the Brothers Grimm , but not on the modern Disney versions of these stories, but the classic dark narrative style.
"There the unicorn is not a shining figure of hope, but a wild, cruel creature (as you can read in The Brave Little Tailor )".
Game mechanism
The publisher says: "A cinematic role-playing game features fun and an exciting story about realism and attention to detail. Many rules are therefore kept abstract, while we focus on spectacular effects in combat."
The set of rules is therefore relatively combative or action-oriented, social conflicts are mainly fought out narrative.
history
Up to the end of the crowdfunding for an expansion volume for Das Schwarze Auge, the game was the most successful crowdfunding for a pen & paper role-playing game in the German-speaking region and significantly exceeded the expectations of the developer Mirko Bader and the publisher. With over 100,000 euros in revenue and 700 supporters, it quickly became very well known in the German-speaking scene.
The second crowdfunding, which ended on November 7, 2018, also ended very successfully, although not quite like the first. With 449 backers and over 73,000 euros, almost all bonus targets were achieved. Before the crowdfunding, the publisher had set goals of up to 80,000 euros, but corrected them down a little towards the end.
The publisher intends to produce further works within the framework of crowdfunding and to divide them into phases.
HeXXen 1733 is based on the non-commercial game HeXXen 1730 by the author Mirko Bader, which is still available for free download on the blog even after the professional version has been published.
Products published so far (extract)
- Book of rules
In addition to the basic rules, expansion rules and rules for creating player characters, the hardcover book contains a very brief part of the background world, information about clothing at that time and some non-player characters and monsters.
- Tools of the HeXXenmeister
The box "Tools of the HeXXenmeister" contains game material that is primarily aimed at the game master. This includes markers, 18 HeXXen cubes in a bag, a map of Europe, a table mat, as well as a booklet for the HeXXenmeister with various game aids. The box also contains an A5 game master's umbrella (identical in appearance and content to the HeXXenmeister umbrella sold separately, but smaller and made of less stable material) and an adventure booklet with short beginners' adventures. The box also includes the atmospheric soundtrack “Journey through the Magic Forest” by Ralf Kurtsiefer .
The name of the box pays homage to one of the first expansion boxes for Das Schwarze Auge called "Tools of the Master" from 1984. This homage to the master at DSA also gives the game master the name "HeXXenmeister".
- Kingdom of Thorns
This is a box with a campaign in the Ore Mountains , a regional band and the corresponding tokens to visualize the battles. The booklets in the box are produced without a hardcover.
- Archives of the Guard Association I and II
Various special editions were activated in crowdfunding that were originally supposed to appear individually, but ended up unplanned as hardcover books. This includes, among other things, the five player characters of the crowdfunding participants with the highest budget, various short adventures and short stories, a short art book with illustrations and comments, the “Obsessed” adventure and an additional game aid for the “Kingdom of Thorns” campaign box. Another archive was published as part of the second crowdfunding.
- HeXXenmeister umbrella
- Deluxe hunting bow set
- HeXX sounds ( soundtrack )
- HeXXenjagd - Compendium for the witch hunter
This is a source volume with player knowledge about the HeXXen world. The band was funded as part of the second crowdfunding. Other roles, motivations and professions are also open to players in order to deepen the gaming experience.
- HeXXenzorn - Grimoire for the HeXXenmeister
This is a background volume on the HeXXenwelt for the game master, with new powers, opponents and secrets. The band was funded as part of the second crowdfunding. Among other things, the background of the eponymous witches is explained in more detail.
Shortly after publication, the publisher also put a rule wiki online (similar to the one already published for Das Schwarze Auge).
Special features of the books
In contrast to most other role-playing games, the hardcover editions of the books already appear in the standard version with a cover made of synthetic leather , in other role-playing games such as "Das Schwarze Auge" or Splittermond this corresponds to a (there significantly more expensive) "Deluxe" edition.
Mirko Bader gives the reason for this: "Originally it was actually planned for the deluxe edition." ... "We want to deliver a book that also stylistically fits the Baroque period and reminds of a fairy tale book Everyone liked it, we decided to make the deluxe version the standard. "
All works are designed in color throughout.
The books appear in American letter format . The clear simplification of a later translation for the US market was given as the reason. This is because the American bookshelves are designed for the smaller letter format and DIN A4 would be too large there, while the smaller format does not cause any problems for us in the higher rows of shelves.
The letter format was not used consistently, however, with the previously published Schnellstarter, the HeXXenmeisterschirm and the Deluxe-Jägerbögen the publisher uses DIN A4. This fact caused some resentment in the community.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mirko Bader and a .: Book of rules . Ulisses Spiele, Waldems 2018, ISBN 3-95752-924-7 , p. 15 .
- ↑ Mirko Bader and a .: Book of rules . Ulisses Spiele, Waldems 2018, ISBN 3-95752-924-7 , p. 15th ff .
- ↑ Mirko Bader and a .: Book of rules . Ulisses Spiele, Waldems 2018, ISBN 3-95752-924-7 , p. 18 .
- ↑ Mirko Bader and a .: Book of rules . Ulisses Spiele, Waldems 2018, ISBN 3-95752-924-7 , p. 19 .
- ↑ Mirko Bader and a .: Book of rules . Ulisses Spiele, Waldems 2018, ISBN 3-95752-924-7 , p. 22nd f .
- ↑ a b Mirko Bader u. a .: Book of rules . Ulisses Spiele, Waldems 2018, ISBN 3-95752-924-7 , p. 7 .
- ↑ Frankfurter Neue Presse: "HeXXen 1733" The dice are cast in the game for the end of the earth. Retrieved October 21, 2018 .
- ^ The background of crowdfunding and the city tour through Limburg. Retrieved November 11, 2018 .
- ↑ WITCHES 1733 - WITCH HUNT. In: gameontabletop.com. November 7, 2014, accessed November 7, 2018 .
- ↑ Welcome to Hell! In: wordpress.com. March 4, 2014, accessed October 22, 2018 .
- ↑ HeXXen 1733 at Ulisses games. In: ulisses-spiele.de. May 7, 2015, accessed October 22, 2018 .
- ↑ Review: Book of Rules . In: Part-time heroes . September 15, 2018 ( teilzeithelden.de [accessed October 25, 2018]).
- ↑ Wiki: HeXXen 1733 Regelwiki . In: Wiki . ( hexxen1733-regelwiki.de [accessed on October 23, 2018]).
- ↑ Interview podcast: Mirko Bader - about HeXXen 1733 . In: The fat Prussian . November 1, 2018 ( derdickepreusse.de [accessed November 3, 2018]).
- ↑ Interview: Mirko Bader - about HeXXen 1733 and crowdfunding . In: Part-time heroes . August 31, 2017 ( teilzeithelden.de [accessed October 21, 2018]).