Through the Breach - Wyrd Games?

[Blaarfengar]

Hi, I originally came to Enworld for the D&D news (WOTC site is pretty but a pain in the ass to navigate) but today I thought I'd look around for any discussions about Through The Breach, which my gaming group also plays. There doesn't seem to be any mention of it anywhere except posts about the old kickstarter and I was wondering why that would be. It's a really cool game and even if the core book was a bit lacking in some areas, I would have thought there'd be some discussion since Wyrd Games have grown quite a lot in recent years, mostly because of Malifaux which TTB is based on.

Does anyone on here play it?

 

[Wednesday Boy]

Does anyone on here play it?

I haven't played it but some of my friends are fans of it. The system sounds simple and unique but they were drawn to it because they play Malifaux and enjoy the setting. They air a podcast (that's on hiatus) and have discussed it on occasion, so maybe it's worth checking out. http://guessingzero.com/tag/through-the-breach/

 

[Blaarfengar]

Thanks, I'll check it out!

It's a brilliant game, quite different to D&D, mostly because of lack classes. I was just really surprised that it doesn't appear to have any following here, not even appearing on the bottom of those popularity lists. It has a really solid core book (not perfect but good) and there are campaign books and an expansion book as of Gencon. Maybe Wyrd needs to do a better job of selling it to non Malifaux players.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

Maybe Wyrd needs to do a better job of selling it to non Malifaux players.

Do you think it can be used as a generic system if you're not familiar with the Malifaux setting?

Is the Malifaux setting an easy entry point or do you need to play the minis game?

 

[Blaarfengar]

A generic system? Maybe, but not easily. Would require lots of homebrewing.

Experience with Malifaux definitely helps but the core book has enough lore to get you started and there are adventure/campaign books to help GMs get a feel for things as well. We have a group of 6 including the GM and 3 of those have no background in Malifaux.

The premise of the world is pretty simple: Dystopian Victorian era world, magic fading and a last ditch effort by remaining wizards to find a new source of power resulting in a portal to a strange new world. On the other side is a strange city, seemingly abandoned by it's inhabitants without explanation. Travelers soon encounter monsters of various kinds and the whole place has mysteries piled on its mysteries.

The setting has a lot of it's own history but you needn't necessarily care about that. Wyrd Chronicles (much like Dragon+ but simpler and better IMO) includes short fiction about the major players in the world and a podcast of the fiction is being produced called The Breachside Broadcast. So people that want to keep up with the setting beyond what's included in the GM guide or player book can find it without buying Malifaux books. Again, all seems obvious to me but maybe not so to people who aren't already familar with Wyrd.

 

[Upgraydd]

A group of us are going to start playing this, we were initially going to start a D&D campaign but this was suggested, seeing as though we're all Malifaux fans we though we'd give it a go.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

I get to play in a Malifaux campaign too! My friend is moving and instead of ending his Through the Breach tabletop campaign, he's turning it into a PBEM. Since it'll be remote he's invited me to play too. I can't wait!

 

[Blaarfengar]

Cool, good luck to both of you. My group is just about to start a new campaign using Into the Steam - the new book based on the Arcanists.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

What sort of characters are you going play? I'm leaning towards playing a resser who picks the brains of dead gangsters to learn their secrets so she can further her own extortion and criminal organization.

 

[Blaarfengar]

My latest is a 10T mage/illusionist. Going for a spy angle, trained in the secret facility 10T have up in the mountains. That's what I'm planning anyway, may end up different once we start playing and the story develops. The Mage pursuit grants you lots of manifested powers, which I like. Also there's a permanent familiar that I can make pretty much any form I want. Pretty keen on a Gaki pet for added creepiness.

My last character was a brawler/academic who became infected with black blood and eventually joined the Neverborn. Wanting to try out the magic angle a bit more this time.