Since our love of tabletop gaming began, we here at Braincrack Games have been passionate RPG players. So, it will come as no surprise to those who know us well that today we are formally announcing our first outing into the world of roleplaying games: Out Here.

WHAT?

Out Here is a setting of our own creation, designed to be played with a new narrative roleplaying ruleset we call the D-Tale System.

The Setting

In the game, you play as denizens of the Kavir, a recently-discovered desert that harbours the remains of a lost civilization, a race of amnesiac golems, and a discovery that has turned the world on its head: when you come to the Kavir, no matter who you are, you gain the ability to use magic.

Of course, those in charge back in the Old World aren’t so happy about this – so almost as soon as it is founded, the Kavir is plunged into a struggle for its independence.

Whether you want tales of political intrigue, to explore the vast mysteries of a magical desert, or make a name for you and your crew among the towering spires of Hok City, Out Here is a hotbed (both literally and figuratively) of adventures to be had. And with the D-Tale System, we’ve made it easier than ever to reach out and grab your destiny.

The System

At its score, the D-Tale system lets players engage directly with what’s going in the story – free of stat blocks, guides and complex rules – by describing what they want to do, and why it’s going to succeed. 

Each detail you can add to your description – from character traits to elements of the scene – lets you re-roll a die. Once you’ve rolled, pick as many dice as you have points in the relevant skill, and see how successful you are – adding new elements to the scene for every success you gain.

This simple system is used for everything from combat to crafting – ensuring everyone can focus on the fun, rather than keeping them occupied with books and rules explanations!

The interplay of health and conditions is simplified in this system with ‘Luck’ and ‘Destiny’ – two resources that determine how far from tragedy your character is (Luck) and, in the long-term, how much misfortune your character can take before they are ‘retired’ for good…

Perhaps what we’re proudest about is our inclusion of ‘Adventures in Brief’ – a series of 1-2 page adventures, included in the core book, that give gamemasters a fast way to get a session going and help players engage with the world. Everything you need to know is there on the page – giving you confidence to improvise without double-checking the book first.

Why?

As players and GMs, we love roleplaying games, but we know there are more than a few downsides, both for new and experienced players. 

Relying on extensive reference materials or an understanding of complex systems to make the game how you like it can be time-consuming, not to mention expensive! And ‘open’ narrative systems without a fixed setting often mean you need to spend more time making the world yourself, and getting players on the same page. 

For Out Here, our ethos has been ‘make a game for roleplayers to spend less time reading and more time playing.’ It’s a proposition we find attractive ourselves, and we don’t think we’re alone.

How? Who?

What started as a passion project grew over two years, as talented artists, writers, designers and developers joined our motley crew to help make this RPG a reality. They include:

Bill Bass, co-creator of the setting alongside Braincrack founder Lewis Shaw.

Christopher Dean, indie RPG veteran, founder of Psychic Cactus Games and co-designer of Out Here. His relentless pursuit of improvement has made this game what it is today.

Alexis Dykema, former Fantasy Flight RPG editor who has brought invaluable structure, finesse, and her eye for detail to Out Here.

Pablo Ilyich, the renegade artist who has brought the desert-dwellers of the Kavir to life!

Marc Kenobi and Dann May, who with creative flair have helped write and expand the world in ways nobody saw coming!

AND all of our amazing playtesters, from friends and regulars to the unwitting guinea pigs at Dungeons & Flagons in Manchester who said "ok?" when we asked them if they wanted to sit down for 2-3 hours and play an RPG. You have all made an impact, big or small.