Shard Rpg

[Christopher Ashe]

If there was an RPG with anthro characters (furries) that was actually cool and had a really good world design - this would be it:

Shard (http://www.shardrpg.com/)

I ran into these guys in Austin at a mini-con in-store and played a demo of this system, back when it was called Dardunah. The system is a dice-pooling variant, but one that actually works fairly well and has some connection to the story.

The game, as I remember it, is a world that feels very Arabic or Hindu and has an amazing number of playable races that are thought out and fairly balanced. Since those concepts I'm sure it's changed, but I thought I'd drop some props to these guys, I enjoyed their demo a lot. I also like to support the indie-RPG designers, specifically those who actually take the time to design full systems as opposed to d20 books.

- Ashe

[ThePainter]

Looks interesting! I've never heard of the system ... but then that's not really too surprising; if it's not in our gaming shops I've rarely heard of it. Unfortunately I don't get to the conventions, and even if I did, the chances of actually hearing of this game in the UK are probably slight.

There's certainly quite a lot to take in, but whatever else it may be, it's definitely different and intriguing. I'm not really a big fan of the furries type game, but the world and culture may well manage to overcome my initial prejudice! It all depends how the game concepts are carried through.

Of course, the game has the standard problem of any intricate/complex/different game, and that's getting the players both interested in it and acting in character! I mean, we all understand how someone acts in the modern day world, or even in the Star Trek universe, but how do you act in so alien a world... but then that's part of the potential attraction, isn't it :)

As for the game system itself, well I haven't had time to look at this yet! But game systems you can live with, the important things are (at least as far as I'm concerned); the background, the realisation of the races, and how well these can be conveyed to players!

As I said, this game/background looks intriguing, but can something this visual be properly portrayed in a pen and paper RPG? The game designers have set themselves a Herculean task.

I'll certainly keep an eye out for the game, always assuming that it makes an appearance in the UK. It will be interesting to see how the game concepts are carried through. Either way, it's certainly one to look out for!

[Elune]

It certainly looks different, just having a proper read now.

Hmm maybe I could play Shadow (Elune's Timber Wolf companion) for a time instead of Elune :P ...

[sykes]

well hmmmm. so its like vampire or shadow run very intriging indeed
i ve been a anthro game before the funny thing was it really wasnt my cup of tea but then again im willin to try to give it another shot as long its not larp

[Elune]

FGU's "Other Suns" had many furry races in it if i recall correctly (one fgu game I couldn't find anywhere).