R. Talsorian Games announced a 2024 release for the Shadow Scar, a multi-dimensional, anime-inspired RPG previously teased earlier this year as “Project Blue Moon”.
The game by Cody Pondsmith (lead designer on The Witcher RPG and co-designer on Cyberpunk RED) centers on the Shadow Scar Agency, a secret organization of ninja dedicated to protecting the multiple worlds of the Mosaic from interdimensional monsters. The core book will feature four of these dimensions: The 17th-century Japanese folklore-inspired Nakatsukuni, a 1920s pulp noir setting Fifth Street, the steampunk world of Steel Court, and the alternate history 2030s world of Refuge where the Cuban Missile Crisis ended in the nuclear stockpile exploding. The invading monsters come from Nakatsukuni following a century of warfare against an invasion from the underworld of Yomi-no-kuni led by Izanami, the goddess of the dead.
Pondsmith cited several anime series as inspiration for the game, including Naruto, Demon Slayer, Samurai Champloo, and Cowboy Bebop. Fans of Naruto in particular will find the character creation familiar as PCs will gain their abilities from six different shinobi clans with their own unique approach to the art of the ninja, somewhat similar to the different monster-hunting schools of Witcher.
From the interview with Dicebreaker:
When asked if cultural consultants were involved in the creation of the Japanese-inspired mythology, Pondsmith said:
Rather than use the Interlock system from Cyberpunk RED and Witcher, Shadow Scar will use a new d6-based system called Mosaic. The system uses a fixed target number dice pool system where players add together the relevant skill and stat to make up the dice pool. Results of 3 or more count as a success and 6s count as two successes to meet the threshold of successes required for the test. According to Pondsmith, the goal was to create a system “that you can pick up more quickly and play very, very quickly. Not fully rules-light, but a lighter experience.”
Full details are available in the Dicebreaker article that served as the official announcement. Shadow Scar is expected (pending complications) sometime in 2024 with an initial Starter Set release followed by a full launch line with the core rulebook, miniatures, and accessories.
The game by Cody Pondsmith (lead designer on The Witcher RPG and co-designer on Cyberpunk RED) centers on the Shadow Scar Agency, a secret organization of ninja dedicated to protecting the multiple worlds of the Mosaic from interdimensional monsters. The core book will feature four of these dimensions: The 17th-century Japanese folklore-inspired Nakatsukuni, a 1920s pulp noir setting Fifth Street, the steampunk world of Steel Court, and the alternate history 2030s world of Refuge where the Cuban Missile Crisis ended in the nuclear stockpile exploding. The invading monsters come from Nakatsukuni following a century of warfare against an invasion from the underworld of Yomi-no-kuni led by Izanami, the goddess of the dead.
Pondsmith cited several anime series as inspiration for the game, including Naruto, Demon Slayer, Samurai Champloo, and Cowboy Bebop. Fans of Naruto in particular will find the character creation familiar as PCs will gain their abilities from six different shinobi clans with their own unique approach to the art of the ninja, somewhat similar to the different monster-hunting schools of Witcher.
From the interview with Dicebreaker:
When asked if cultural consultants were involved in the creation of the Japanese-inspired mythology, Pondsmith said:
Rather than use the Interlock system from Cyberpunk RED and Witcher, Shadow Scar will use a new d6-based system called Mosaic. The system uses a fixed target number dice pool system where players add together the relevant skill and stat to make up the dice pool. Results of 3 or more count as a success and 6s count as two successes to meet the threshold of successes required for the test. According to Pondsmith, the goal was to create a system “that you can pick up more quickly and play very, very quickly. Not fully rules-light, but a lighter experience.”
Full details are available in the Dicebreaker article that served as the official announcement. Shadow Scar is expected (pending complications) sometime in 2024 with an initial Starter Set release followed by a full launch line with the core rulebook, miniatures, and accessories.
