More info on contests is coming next week, but I wanted to offer a preview of some of the prizes. Over the course of the next few months, each of these Far Away Land statuettes will be up for grabs. These are 3D-Printed, one-piece statues. Clockwise from top left we have an Agnun, Noknil, Blonin, and Orka. They will ship unpainted, but I'd love to see someone add their own color!

 

Good news, everyone! (for best effect, that should be read in Professor Farnsworth’s voice)

Contests are coming! Over the next month or two, there will be prizes and giveaways of some Far Away Land statuettes, material from the First Edition of Far Away Land, and some custom drawings. But more important, these contests are a way to show some love to all of you for your interest and support. 

It still blows my mind that this project has been around for ten years. For ten years people have been playing the game, interacting with the world of FAL and bringing their own creations to life there. A big reason for the release of the 2nd Edition is to update and refine some of the gameplay and greatly expand the universe of FAL. So, the upcoming contests are also, selfishly, a chance for us to hear from you about your experience with the game.

Stay tuned for our first announcement on April 1!

 

In the 2nd Edition Core Rules there are a total of 72 reagents that have been included. Each entry has a physical description, magical properties, and its magical use. This comprehensive reagent list is in addition to a plant creation system that allows for the creation of custom reagents, herbs, plants, poisons, etc. I thought it would be cool to further define the world of Far Away Land down to the very plants and magical components. It feels immersive to me, something lived in and that is what I want FAL to feel like, a lived world. Also, I want players and GMs to have the tools to make cool stuff with very little effort. As such, there are quite a few analog generators for content included in the book. In an upcoming post I will be talking about some digital generators that will be available with the Kickstarter this summer!

 

The Constructonomicon will be part of 2nd Edition Core Rules and features guidelines for crafting constructs (both magical and non magical). Some changes have been made to the 1st edition rules as far as construct actions and what is required to build a construct, especially golems. Specifically, golems are now powered by a magically enchanted object which is called the heart of the golem (and there are random charts for determining the exact object). Random d66 charts have also been provided to make construct building a bit more random if that’s the route players want to go. Augmentations, weapons, and other construct-based systems have all been included as well. It’s a robust system that could easily be its own standalone game (gladiatorial robot fights?) and an important part of FAL as there are all kinds of constructs of varying levels of sentience wandering about.

 

One of my favorite books of all time is the D&D Rules Cyclopedia from 1991. In high school I was mesmerized by the sheer scope of the book. I used to lay in bed studying that book like it was some sacred text. Prior to the Rules Cyclopedia I had separate boxed sets (which I don’t anymore) for D&D Basic and Expert Rules. The Rules Cyclopedia combined the Basic, Expert, Companion, and Master Rules of the Basic Edition of D&D into a single book allowing for characters all the way up to level 36 (we of course never even got close to that). I can see why the Rules Cyclopedia came into existence now that I have a game (Far Away Land) that has grown in scope and content. Separate books have a tendency to make finding and keeping track of content more difficult than it needs to be. So, besides revamping some of the previous rules in Far Away Land, the upcoming 2nd edition serves to take all of the rules from the original books (Tome of Awesome, Creature Volumes, Seas, etc.) and make a single tome (400+ pages right now) that contains everything on the fantasy side of FAL. Anyone else have the Rules Cyclopedia? Thoughts?

 

For the 2nd Edition Core Rules, I have compiled all of the vehicle rules from the previous books of Far Away Land (with the exception of space stuff) into a single section. This means rules for travel by land, sea, and air vehicles are provided along with combat rules (some of which have been simplified from 1st Edition) for each. Also provided are example vehicles of each archetype along with vehicle builders. Several charts for coming up with gonzo vehicle weapons are included as well. The goal is to provide players with the means to range far and wide into new environments in search of adventure.

 

Here’s another movie recommendation for you, Ladyhawke. If you’ve never seen it, that’s too bad because it’s pretty great. It was part of the upsurge in fantasy movies in the 1980s. Conan the Barbarian really kicked it off with a classic sword-and-sorcery tale of revenge. We got pretty much the same with The Beastmaster. And Krull, which deserves its own post, was traditional good vs. evil. But what set Ladyhawke apart for me was the nature of its quest, one driven by love and hope. In this case, Rutger Hauer as a noble knight seeking to undo a curse set by an evil bishop who was jealous of the love between Hauer’s character and Michelle Pfiefer’s. The curse is ingenious, btw. It condemns the lovers to opposite lives. She is a hawk by day and woman by night. He is a man by day and wolf by night. They’ll never be together. It’s got great tension and good plot pacing, and it doesn’t rely too much on fantasy conventions at the cost of involvement in the story. Add in Matthew Broderick as a thief seeking redemption and a rockin’ 80s synthesizer soundtrack. It definitely made an impression on me and is a good reminder that quests are only as interesting as the reason for undertaking them and that character motivations drive the best stories.

 There are a few creatures in Far Away Land that rise to the status of legendary. These are unique, usually enormous monsters whose presence heralds destruction. There’s the Crematoru, whose parents are a demon and an elemental and who awakens every several hundred years to terrorize the world. There’s also Bigzilla, the giant, earth-stomping lizard of Nuzoz. And then there’s Varro, seen here, who came to life in the ancient days of celestials and roams the spaceways looking for worlds to feed on. For me, what makes these creatures interesting additions to the world of FAL is how they can impact an adventure or story indirectly. I mean, no player and no party no matter how high-level or geared-up is ever going to be able to take down one of these legendary beasts. In fact, if they’re smart they’d never even think about trying. These monsters aren’t meant to be opponents. They are primal forces, beings of immense power that shape the world. When the Crematoru awakens, it’s a sign of great upheaval and change. That city your party has been using as a base for the last year? Well, the Crematoru just burned it to the ground, killing thousands. That shadow blocking out the sun? Varro has arrived. These monsters are shapers of events, changers of landscapes, meant to impact the world and serve as reminders of the grand scale of the universe.

 If you follow us on Facebook, you saw how the recent (ish) Splatterblood games gave us the chance to watch Level 0 characters grow and advance to Level 1, but advancing a PC doesn’t stop there. The rules for advancement in FAL have been revised in the 2nd Edition to be more straightforward and streamlined. PCs still gain experience points, or XP, as rewards for heroic deeds, good role-play, achieving a character goal, making the other players laugh through action, and more. XP gained automatically progresses PCs to the next level (this is the update and features a set scale of advancement as opposed to the previous do what you want approach), but there are also ways to spend XP to increase Stats, improve Boons, and other options. 

To be honest, I was never totally satisfied with the explanations and mechanics of this in the 1st Edition. Far Away Land is not the only game to use a dual-XP system (automatic gains and purchased gains), but there are a lot of different ways to do it, and if the explanation isn’t clear, it can be confusing to GMs and players alike. With the 2nd Edition, the language around the FAL system for XP has been revised and, I think, much improved, making it clearer and easier to understand.