The Biggest RPG Story of the Year?

Green Ronin's Chris Pramas has offered some cryptic clues as to a product slated for Gen Con this year. "Our goal is to release Fantasy AGE in May. Then at the end of July we will release the game’s first setting book. This is our big GenCon release and part of something super exciting … that I can’t talk about yet. This will be the focus of our GenCon presence this year and perhaps the biggest RPG story of the year. Watch for an announcement in a few months." What could it be?

I mentioned Green Ronin's plans for 2015 a few days ago, including their whole product range. Fantasy AGE is the core rulebook of the system that drives Green Ronin's current Dragon Age roleplaying game. "This will be strictly a rule book with no attached setting. The core of the game will be well-familiar to Dragon Age fans but there are some differences, the biggest of which is the magic system. That of Dragon Age was meant to emulate how magic works in Thedas, so I am modifying it heavily for Fantasy AGE."

Is Steve Kenson writing it? Pramas says "Nothing we can talk about right now unfortunately, but stay tuned for some exciting announcements over the coming months. What has Steve Kenson been working on the last five months? Find out in April!" Steve Kenson is, of course, best known for superhero RPGs including Mutants & Masterminds and his own ICONS system.

So, a setting book for a fantasy RPG by Steve Kenson which might be the biggest RPG story of the year? I'm curious! What do you think it might be?

 

[jasynjonz]

Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicles would be big. Also, I agree that an Assassins Creed game might go well and be big news.

 

[Morrus]

My guess is it's not a license, but that instead the setting will be what Wil Wheaton and friends play in the Table Top RPG Spin off.

Except isn't TableTop going to be playing Dread? And this is a Fantasy AGE setting. Doesn't quite add up for me.

 

[Dahak]

Tamriel would be a big, big deal. But I have doubts for a different reason - perception of brand value. The setting is supposed to be a supplement for a generic Fantasy AGE book. Dragon Age (a competitor to Elder Scrolls in the digital arena) has its own core rulebook, but Elder Scrolls is merely a supplement to an existing game? Seems unlikely that Bethesda would go for that.

 

[lyle.spade]

Computer/video games...I'd not thought of that. Not being a player of those at all I'm not in a position to posit...how about the rest of you?

Actually, that could be big - a big, popular online or console property translated to a PnP tabletop system. That actually sounds interesting.

 

[Dahak]

To be fair, Dragon Age -is- a big, popular (again) console property.

 

[Barantor]

Shannara is a really good guess, Morrus. It wouldn't be my idea for Story of the Year, but it would be for a lot of people.

Shannara does have a show coming on MTV that is just starting shooting. It could very well be that and they are trying to get ahead of the curve.

 

[Samurai]

I'm going to guess a Guild Wars RPG, because I'd certainly buy that!

 

[lyle.spade]

Dahak: SEE! I told you that I don't know diddly about computer/console games!

 

[exile]

I'm going with Greyhawk.

 

[Superchunk77]

Maybe another setting based off some novels. Conan is one I could see being redone as it wasn't the best choice for a d20 setting. That being said, Mongoose's Conan RPG books were not all that bad.

Black Company might be too old. The d20 setting book was so/so but it's not for everyone.

I would also like to add the Malazan book of the Fallen to the list. The books were based off of a D&D campaign Erikson ran that eventually changed to GURPS. I would buy that in a heartbeat.