Shadows of a Dying Sun - Core Rulebook
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Explore a baroque world¸ far past its prime¸ built upon the bones of history long forgotten. Shadows of a Dying Sun (or SoaDS) is a rpg rules toolkit¸ written by Alan Bahr. It's explicitly designed for running dying earth genre fantasy¸ in modern frameworks influenced by narrative games¸ as well as classic adventure games.
SoaDS is written with the following philosophies in mind:
Death. Death is an ever-present threat for the adventurer¸ and as adventurers walk the Heron's Path¸ they draw every closer to their inevitable demise. But approaching death can be freeing¸ and as such¸ you gain access to powerful new abilities and rules. Resource-management. As many rules as possible are resources that are in the characters' control. This allows them to be aware of where various situations and conditions are¸ as well as make as fully an informed choice as they can. Guidelines¸ not absolutes. The rules in this book are designed to get you 90% of the way there. The last 10% happens at your table and makes your game truly unique. Expect to have to make rulings¸ not reference rules¸ and use the existing ideas in this book to leverage the new items you create. Weird¸ extravagant¸ dying cultures and civilizations. The cities and nations that still remain in the Shadow of the Dying Sun are the last remnants of baroque and ornate worlds. The world around you should feel alien and different. The toolkit in this game is deliberately incomplete¸ designed to provoke you to define the setting and world of the Dying Sun as you play through it.
This game includes solo play rules¸ a brief bestiary¸ character creation¸ and more.