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Powered by polymorph and compatible with 9th Level Games’ award-winning MAZES Fantasy Roleplaying, the Return to Dark Tower RPG brings dark, pulp-inspired storytelling and fast action to the table with modern roleplaying rules built on very deep roots.
Enter an epic fantasy world, take on perilous quests, raise an army of warriors and wizards, and defend your Kingdom from the malevolent forces of The Tower! If your heroes cannot defeat the Adversary in just one year, the nefarious plots and machinations of the evil mastermind will come to fruition.
Over the course of a series of procedurally generated adventures, your party will assemble soldiers and allies, and acquire powerful magic and lore, to attack the Dark Tower and defeat the Evil within. The game will be focused on a short campaign experience and will blend epic action with classic dungeon delving.
Return to Dark Tower RPG will be built on 9th Level Games’ polymorph roleplaying system and will be part of the Mazes Fantasy Roleplaying family. Return to Dark Tower will be a stand-alone game but its contents will be easily compatible with existing MAZES products.
The Return to Dark Tower RPG is designed to be played over a series of 3 to 5 game sessions collectively called a “campaign”. During each campaign, the players create an ADVERSARY together (or choose one of the existing great evils – like the Bane of Omens or the Ash Strider). One player will take on the role of the ADVERSARY and will act as the Maze Controller, or MC – the campaign's game master. They will run the game sessions, and plot against the players using the resources laid out in the game manual to crush their puny heroes! The other players will each create a HERO and a COMPANION from one of the Four Kingdoms. Together, they will quest to assemble allies, armies, and artifacts of great power to aid their cause. They will take on quests and delve in dungeons to either build up their own power, or remove their enemies' advantages.
TIME IS AGAINST YOU
If the heroes cannot defeat the Adversary in one year – the nefarious plots and machinations of the evil mastermind will come to fruition.
To emulate the race against the clock, actions within the campaign cost “weeks” of time. Traveling across the Four Kingdoms has a cost in time, as does going down into dungeons, taking on companion quests, cleansing regions of evil, and spoiling the machinations of the Adversary.
As the MC, you will have a set of fiendish plots. Each plot is a “resource clock” that fills up over time. If the heroes can’t diffuse the plot – through a quest, negotiation, defeating a monster, etc. – the clock fills and is readied for the FINAL BATTLE, giving you greater options, more powerful monsters, and darker abilities.
Over time, RPG sessions become “harder” and “deadlier” – both through the inclusion of harder foes and monsters, and from “darkness effects” which give the heroes disadvantages when it comes to specific actions in the game.
HEROES & COMPANIONS
You are a GREAT HERO of the FOUR KINGDOMS. You aren’t just some adventurer – you are a hero of legend leading your forces to save the world!
Each player creates a HERO and a COMPANION. Each has their own character sheet, and depending on the Quest and session you may play your Hero or your Companion.
* THE HERO – The Hero is the leader of a force of allies – soldiers, outlaws, thieves, wizards, or perhaps something stranger. These forces provide narrative options for character during RP and are your major resource for the final battle – utilizing polymorph’s exceptional ability to change scale and scope without altering core rules.
* THE COMPANION – A fully fleshed out RPG character that bolsters ANOTHER character’s HERO.
* THE FORCES – The foot soldiers, troops, animal companions, and the like that make up the army of the Heroes.
COMPANION and HERO characters are compatible with MAZES Fantasy Roleplaying and can be used in Mazes games – and your Mazes characters can be used as COMPANIONS in the Return to Dark Tower RPG.
CAMPAIGN PLAY
Each session features 3 distinct phases – Quest, Tally, and March.
* QUEST is the core, traditional RPG session – going down into a dungeon to battle a monster and loot treasure, a roleplaying session of politics or intrigue, etc. The QUEST’s aim is to either give the HEROES a resource for the FINAL BATTLE (negotiating with Bone Hills mercenaries to join your army, acquiring a magic staff from a tomb in the Lost Lands, etc.) or for foiling an ADVERSARY PLOT (stopping the emergence of the Soul Lich in the Irontops, saving the village from a plague in Three Rivers, etc.).
* TALLY is a phase dedicated to an inventory of your resources. It replaces the traditional fantasy treasure hording and shopping step. What do our forces look like? What are our advantages? Are we ready to attack the Tower, or do we need more support?
* Finally, we MARCH. The final wrap-up of each session where we decide what we are going to do in the next session – take on a new quest or proceed to the final battle? Decide which heroes and companions are going to play, and where they want to go. This will cost time (and possibly resources).
THE ADVERSARY
The ADVERSARY acting as the MC works with the party to determine what they want to do next, where they want to go, and how they want to spend their precious time. While certain HEROES and COMPANIONS are playing, others can be assigned to activities that spend time and produce resources or effects. The Adversary then advances their PLOTS based on the outcome of the game session and new time spent, and goes away to prepare for the next game session.
Deluxe gold-stamped hardcover includes 208 full color pages of content—everything you need to make characters and run games, plus details on how you can use components from Return to Dark Tower board game to enhance your roleplaying experience!
