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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Aldarc" data-source="post: 8468699" data-attributes="member: 5142">I apologize for only now seeing this thread.Based on a number of these elements, I have a fairly strong recommendation to make: <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1735046512/stonetop/description" target="_blank">Stonetop</a>.[ATTACH=full]147361[/ATTACH]It is a Dungeon World hack that self-describes itself as "hearth fantasy." This is to say, that the game is about the human inhabitants of the vaguely Celto-Germanic Iron Age village of Stonetop and the adventures to help defend and support the growth of this village and its people. The village of Stonetop has its own playbook. As you play, the village may shrink or grow with time (e.g., seasons, years, generations, etc.) and through the successes/failures/complications of the adventurers. The village can also acquire steading improvements and upgrades (e.g., mill, inn, palisade, well-trained militia, irrigation improvements, etc.). The threats you deal with are the sort that could endanger the lives of the villagers: e.g., drought, floods, cattle-raiders, dangerous creatures (e.g., beasts, fae, spirits, monsters) of the surrounding forest, illness and plague, etc. But at the same time, there are still ancient ruins in the surrounding area to explore.Likewise, there is still magic and magical characters (e.g., the Blessed, Lightbearer, Seeker), but it's much flatter, more subtle, and rarer. There are also a variety of "Arcana," which are strange magical artifacts and locations that the players can acquire or learn about. Interestingly enough, you can also tell by the gods and playbooks that despite this being a Dungeon World game, it clearly came out of 4e D&D: e.g., Aratis (Erathis), Tor (Thor/Kord), Helor (Helios/Pelor), the Marshal (the Warlord), the Blessed (Druid), the Heavy (Fighter), etc.The spoiler contains Stonetop's more setting-appropriate playbooks:[spoiler][ATTACH=full]147362[/ATTACH][/spoiler]Despite it being (at heart) a Dungeon World game, there is also a lot of guidance and support for GMs. For examples, monsters and locations have some possible hooks, and they often have relevant questions that the GM can ask the players or think about themselves. There is useful and interesting lore about these places as well. So it comes with some support and assistance with improvisational side of things.The game has technically not been released yet in a published form, but the author Jeremy Strandberg has released a lot of their game already for free on their blog and the Dungeon World Discord before the Kickstarter. I've seen late comers ask for access to the playtest materials and get it despite not being part of the Kickstarter.If not this, then I would also recommend Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures, but I genuinely think that Stonetop should be a Top 3 contender for your consideration.</blockquote>

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