Hey Clockwork Flock, just a quick note to let you know that our Tarot-based pen and paper RPG is finally live on Kickstarter!
Here’s a quick summary:
The Hidden Isle is a pen and paper RPG that uses Tarot cards instead of dice, set in the 16th century on the secretive island of Dioscoria. It focuses on roleplaying and collaborative storytelling.
This is a game about swashbuckling adventures across Europe and the Middle East, stealing forbidden texts from oppressive regimes, protecting an island of outcasts using ancient magic,and toppling empires with just the right speech at just the right time.
This game’s dear to my heart for several reasons. Firstly, the way we use Tarot cards is really unique: they’re used for everything from skill checks, to character inspiration, to scenario generation, to thematic visions and buffs during regular play. It’s been so much fun figuring out how to make a functioning game that is also deeply inspired by the spiritual and esoteric side of the Tarot, and I think we’ve accomplished it!
Secondly, it’s set in the sixteenth century, an amazing and terrifying era. This was the age of gunpowder, the first stirrings of colonialism, the peak of the Ottoman Empire, an age of unprecedented religious tensions… It was the century of Elizabeth I and Suleiman the Lawgiver and a bunch of Renaissance artists whose work still graces countless museums and Shakespeare. Diving back into that world was a huge treat.
Thirdly, this game was a labour of love for both me and Danny, and while we’re no longer working together, it remains a huge testament to our friendship, our collaborative style, our values and inspirations as game designers, and to what it meant to work together in the first place. We met because of storygames, and the last project we did together was also a storygame. I guess the Wheel of Fortune really does turn full circle.
So, if you’d like a chance to step into this mysterious, esoteric world with us, go ahead and back the project on Kickstarter. We’re extremely pleased to be working with Causa Creations – who are putting this whole thing together – and Eliot Baum and Viv Tanner, whose gorgeous, elegant art is plastered all over this post. This team really is the best, and I have total confidence that they can pull off this massive crowdfunding effort. After all, they’ve done it before!
I’ll try not to spam you all during the campaign, but I will put out one final blast 48 hours before the campaign closes, in case anyone needs a reminder. Until then: Agents of Dioscoria, remain open-hearted!
