The Chronicles of Future Earth - The Swallower of Souls Quickstart & Introductory Adventure

Is this a standalone system or using the Chaosium Basic Roleplaying ruleset?

Got the BRP version when it came out.

Great work, Sarah. Crunchy stuff indeed.

Will the future supplements be compatible with BRP (ok, kind of a silly question when we’re talking about an atlas... but other supplements are... intriguing...

As a [as yet, very small] publisher, I am not allowed to post a review…but I can leave comments that are the same as a review in this Discussion area. So…

This free 59 page quickstart is produced by Mindjammer Press, the home of the sci-fi Mindjammer RPG and the English version of the fantasy Capharnaum — The Tales Of The Dragon-marked RPG. It kicks off the rebooting of the Chronicles of Future Earth, a universe that has been bubbling from the innovative mind of Sarah Newton for over twenty years. The introductory first edition came out in 2010, but the creator has been expanding it in her mind and notes, and is ready to roll out a loooonnnnnggg line of future source books, regional gazettes, an atlas, a Chronicles companion, along with two or three major adventure campaigns being presently designed (with one being a follow up to the secrets discovered within the Swallower of Souls), and more, with a novel already out.

The Chronicles are set one hundred thousand years in the future,...See more and yes, Earth is quite different. An ice age is presently exposing more land that once was underwater, but also covering more land, as the arctic and antarctic circle are much closer to the equator. There are sentient species from other worlds and dimensions residing on the planet. There may be magic, or technology so advanced that it passes for magic. But, for the differences, good and evil still exists, as does the constant battle between them.

Many have heard of this world, and thought, "Oh, another Numenéra". Kinda, and no. Though superficially similar to that great RPGame, this is it own creation, born for Sarah Newton's own gaming table in the late nineties, and mindjamming for nearly ten years before that. The first official version was released years before Numenéra. But, it does have some of the 'vibe' of Numenéra…and Stormbringer, and Hawkmoon, and Tekumel. Science fiction that plays as fantasy.

This quickstart is equipped with pre-generated characters, each with their individual motives for reaching success in this adventure; a map, which itself is merely a small part of the overall map from the core book; just enough history to get started; 'introductions' to the some of the various races, with nary an elf nor dwarf among them; technology and small wonders from previous ages that are unexplainable by the scientists of the present, which foreshadow the great wonders in the core book. Hsun Spider Folk create artificial limbs and organs, some which provide special abilities (and, at least one artificial leg mutters in an unknown language).

Further more, there are tables for city encounters and city rumors, a list of engaging NPC townspeople who you *want* to include in any playing of this adventure (giving *great* opportunities for a Chronicler/GM to play colorful characters), as they each add spice to the cooperative built story. These characters could also become the start of side treks, with a little bit of GM creativity. This is before one's party arrives at the main adventure sites of the Upper and the Middle Deeps, to encounter their dark denizens, such as Lord Vile, The Eternal Hunger, and Keleshtra the Void Priestess, the Witch of Hespin.

There is so much inventiveness here — a Sarah Newton trait — from unusual weapons and armor to a few bizarre beasts…and, at Zangazi’s, a bar drink list (may I suggest the Keshite Frostwine?).

If you would like even further displays of this inventive world, the RPG group Material Components has an actual play of the quickstart at —

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxjfSmy6YKo

If you would like to hear more about the world itself, then, here is a link to a great interview with the author herself —

http://www.gmsmagazine.com/podcasts/chronicles-of-future-earth-with-sarah-newton

This game is powered by a modified Fate system that uses a Doom die, that incorporates the destiny aspect of your character, and a Hero Die. All is comfortably explained in the beginning of this free product.

Free.

Download it to discover all of this for yourself.

SOOOO happy to see this at last reborn, though sad it ended up going to FATE (not a huge fan) rather than Mythras. Any chance on some conversion notes for those of us who go back to the BRP edition?

I bought Chronicles of Future Earth for Basic Roleplaying from Chaosium years ago. It's pretty great. Sad, intriguing, well-written. Very interested to read this.