Game (beta) launch: Mistwalker

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As has been established by the big pink bird over at Prismatic Wasteland, 2025 Is the Year of the Beta. To that end, I have been working hard (ish) in the game mines to finish a first draft of my game Mistwalker. It now sits somewhere in the vicinity of a beta, ashcan, playtest version, or similar. It's out now on Itch, and I'd love for people to read it and tell me what they think.

I was asked by Elmcat of  Among Cats and Books to come up with a tagline, so of course I came up with two, depending on whether you want the setting and vibes, or the mechanical stuff:

  • An RPG about venturing out into the mist between cities in a fractured world, inspired by polar expeditions, Nordic folklore and the worldbuilding of Disco Elysium.
  • A classless system with trait-based character building, 5e style skills, abstracted wealth, and high-consequence combat.

 If either of these sound cool, maybe take a look?

The game started out as a hack of Songbirds 3e, which I have been playing a lot in the last year. I have taken out the Gifts/Curses, because I wanted to create something more modular and trait-based (and I just can't write those as well as Snow anyway). A guiding principle is that I did not want players to have to choose between combat and non-combat proficiency, so I have done what I could to separate these, while still relying on the same underlying systems. I also implemented a freeform magic system based on power words, and a less lethal but still consequential system for combat defeats.

Since music is generally very influential in terms of putting me in the headspace to write, I have created a playlist to act as a sort of musical Appendix N for the game, if anyone wants to put themselves in the same headspace as I was when writing this. Maybe not the one to break out if you want a big dance party.

What does the current version of Mistwalker contain? 

  • Basic systems, including character creation, magic, skill checks, combat, and death
  • A selection of example traits
  • A selection of example items 
  • A limited bestiary

Which should in principle be enough to start playing.

What is coming in future updates?

  • A starter adventure
  • Expanded lists of traits, items, and bestiary
  • World generation tools, and travel systems
  • Setting guide and example locations 

So please, check out my latest game, and let me know what you think!

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