Steamforged Games Apologizes & Reprints Dark Souls Books

Steamforged Games has come under fire recently for the high level of errors in the hardcovers of the recently released Dark Souls RPG. The errors ranged from major rules inconsistencies to typos and spelling errors--for example, knights were not strong enough to use their own starting equipment. In other places, there are references to D&D classes, such as the paladin, despite that class not being in the Dark Souls game. There is more detail in this post on Reddit.

The hardcover is out in the UK, although it is not due for a US release until next month.

The company has released an apology and promised to replace the books already purchased.

We at Steamforged Games would like to issue a sincere apology regarding the errors that have come to light in the DARK SOULS™: The Roleplaying Game. We want to thank the community for all the feedback we have received through our customer support channels and online. We are listening to your comments and recognise the importance of the issues that have arisen.

We want to make it clear that we take this matter extremely seriously and therefore have decided the best course of action is to order reprints of the book, issuing replacement copies to those customers who have already bought or pre-ordered the Standard Edition and/or Collector’s Edition.

The same applies for the PDF version we previously announced. Every customer who buys a copy of the printed rulebook will get a free PDF copy, with a release date and details on how to get your copy coming soon.

We ask for a little patience as we gather more detailed information regarding these reprints, the timescales involved, and how best to ensure we resolve this for each affected customer. As soon as we have these details, we will release them. In the meantime, if you have any issues or questions, please contact us through our support hub.

 

[MichaelSomething]

Let this be an object lesson on "Measure twice, cut once."

 

[GMMichael]

So steamforged are money grabbing hacks to put it bluntly.

They have a history of getting popular IP's and making terrible board game rules that show they don't understand what they are adapting.

Wondering if your screen name should be Brystal Call instead.

 

[CubicsRube]

Wondering if your screen name should be Brystal Call instead.

Hah! I've just been burned by their Dark Souls kickstarter.

 

[Samurai]

Let this be an object lesson on "Measure twice, cut once."

IMHO it shows why it's best to release a PDF to supporters/backers/customers first, and only when you believe all the problems have been found and corrected, do you then order a print run of the book.

 

[Ranger REG]

Has it been playtested thoroughly?

 

[MGibster]

IMHO it shows why it's best to release a PDF to supporters/backers/customers first, and only when you believe all the problems have been found and corrected, do you then order a print run of the book.

When the folks at PEG ran the Rifts Kickstarter for Savage Worlds, they released a PDF and asked people to go over it and point out any errors. The error I caught was when they referred to a bandit "flaunting" the law when by context they quite clearly meant that the bandit was openly flouting the law. Instead of correcting the error and using flout they just removed the entire sentence. I was so disappointed.

 

[Mezuka]

Steamforge is dead to me since they decided to kill their very popular Guildball miniature wargame. They claimed the game had become too competitive. They said Guildball had been designed to be competitive and tournament-oriented at launch instead of casual play with friends.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Now THAT is customer service!

I would suggest that it’s poor customer service that they’re trying to improve on. Good customer service would be proofreading your rule book for basic errors like this before sending it to the printers.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Has it been playtested thoroughly?

Given the errors, I highly doubt it.

 

[Retreater]