A Land of Ice and Blades (PBtA)

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A Land of Ice and Blades: beta version 2

A game about intrigue and adventures¸ about the deeds of single characters and the struggles of entire populations¸ about the fate of lonely heroes and the destinies of nations and tribes.

A Land of Ice and Blades was born to try to emulate epic grand stories (ASOIAF?) by using the engine of Apocalypse World (and its S&S/dark hacks such as Dark Age and Fallen Empires and A Storm Eternal).

It starts with some world-building done all together at the table¸ then the game runs with a set of "table moves" that dictate the times of scenes¸ episodes and seasons¸ and with a rotating Game Master.

The game has been playtested and it works¸ but it's far from perfect. It could benefit from significant polishing and improvements¸ but it has been sitting for too long in my hard drive without getting updated¸ until I decided to release it as it is. So¸ here it is: it's a beta and therefore potentially problematic; but it's also free (PWYW).

A note: I haven't worked on this for a while and I don't know if I will again. Don't pay money hoping for the game to be finished or updated.

Do pay if you played and enjoyed the game and/or want to show the author (me) some generic support! :-)

Someone has called this "a land of crunch and blades". It is true: the game contains a lot of material and a lot of moving parts¸ and it is not as straight forward and immediate as other AW hacks.

If it's too messy¸ complex or crunchy for you¸ no problem. The good thing is that you paid nothing for it :-)

If on the other hand you enjoy the multiple variants it offers¸ if you appreciate the countless options for the characters¸ if you fancy its complex structure with rotating GM and drama-style play¸ then the game has enough material to keep you and your group busy for a while.

Note that the game requires all the players to have a look at the rules at least once¸ so that everyone can run as Game Master when their time comes. As an alternative¸ one single player might sit out of the game¸ make NO character and take the GM role only occasionally¸ while facilitating for all the others. In this case¸ this one player must study the rules and guide the others¸ while enjoying the story as it unfolds.