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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dirk Stanley" data-source="post: 6250952" data-attributes="member: 6700407">Hey. I want to talk a bit about the Companion Rules, which I think is one of the more unique aspect of FAL. The FAL Companion Rules is a series of expansion mini-games that are heavy on world-building. The book is currently around 50 pages (but if Kickstarter stretch goals are met, this could be greatly expanded - I'll talk about this at the end of the post) full color. The physical book size is 5.5x8.5 inches (as are all of the books including the hardback). Here is what the Companion Rules contain... Gods of Far Away LandPlayers take on the roles of Gods and undertake the creation of a map and their own FAL world. This is largely narrative based and is designed to be a creative exercise. Players are encouraged to create personas and keep track of their world creation so as to offer a historical record of the creation process as well as their created pantheon. Architects of Far Away LandPlayers take on the roles of Architects throughout history. These architects are responsible for the building of the world, cities, dungeons, statues, labyrinths, etc.. Again, players are encouraged to adopt personas to add to the historical record that is created. Historians of Far Away LandPlayers take on the roles of Historians creating a historical record. The idea here is that the historians are determining what happened historically by creating the story. The record is written down as part of the world the players have created. The End of Far Away LandThe End of Far Away Land sets up rules and guidelines for players who wish to play kingdoms, empires, or other type of macro scale games. There are rules for conflicts, resources, taxes, upkeep, unruly peasants, etc.. Mass CombatThe FAL Mass Combat system is simple and easy to use. It is based on ratios and allows for battles that include hundreds, thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of troops. Like normal combat, mass combat has a core set of rules that can be expanded on with the optional rules which are included. Training MontageRules are offered here on a more micro level as individual PCs wish to increase there skill in an area. The training montage rules allow for the creation of a training montage narration which is performed by the player. It is meant to be a parody of 80s movie montages. The rules encourage the use of inspirational music. Adventure BuilderThe Companion Rules offer up 26 common adventure scenarios covering everything from Bizarre Occurrences to Work. Each scenario contains a couple of example to get the brain juices flowing.Mini-Scenario BuilderThe mini-scenario builder is a short section which uses Action, Things, Places, and Antagonists to create the framework for adventure building. Settlement BuilderThe settlement builder provides rules for creating settlements on the fly. Elements of the builder include attitudes, wealth, population, government, etc.. I want to conclude by talking a bit about the way some of the mini game are setup. Gods, Architects, Historians, and the End of Far Away Land are all meant to be interchangeable. They are meant to provide frameworks which allow players and GMs to construct histories. But these histories aren't meant to be static nor are they meant to be preordained. When couple with the micro level of game play (like playing individual characters), players can interact in the history of the world and play out the stories as they unfolded thus creating historical records along the way. The Mass Combat rules allow players to quickly find outcomes to war and conflicts on a massive scale. But on a more micro level, players can use individual characters as they participate in these mass battles as they create historical hero and villain personas. Okay. Thanks so for taking the time to read. My next post will be about the Tales of Awesome so come back when you get a chance and check it out... Stretch Goals to Expand the Companion RulesI would like to see several things added to the Companion Rules. I am hoping, if we reach our stretch goals, to get extra history added, a pantheon of gods and immortals, cults and religions, timelines, and some other things as well... Okay, so in my next post I will finish up with the book overviews as I talk about the Tales of Awesome and some of the more unique aspects of FAL. Thanks for reading.</blockquote>

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