An RPG in which the characters are powerful from the start? Where on our way are mighty cities, tropical jungles, forgotten ruins, and even … outer space? Where the only limit is the imagination of the players? Welcome to Sun World !
A group of daredevils sets off on the trail
Sun World is a world of great adventures. A world of magic, gods and demons, good and evil, law and chaos. The heroes of this land are both knights clad in steel, mounted on flying griffins, and mages of an unknown race. These heroes are well known. They have already achieved a lot, and their names echo in tavern tales. They are not ordinary soldiers on the trail. So much for the introduction. The rest is up to the players. How will they steer their heroes? Will they be able to change the fate of the whole land? Will they drive away a murderer of innocents? Or will they fall from grace among the people?
We go to the surface from the dungeons
Already in the introduction to the Sun World handbook, I was captivated by the message of the author of the game, Simon Piech. He says that the gameplay is a kind of tribute to the Dungeon World title , in which he and his friends played hundreds of campaigns. With his own production, he decided to make the heroes come out of dark, full of danger dungeons to the surface, to sunlight. Hence the title of the game! The textbook in my hands is marked with the entry Complete Edition . So it’s the culmination of the work on Sun World , with all the supplements and fan-created content. It is worth noting that the gameplay is also compatible with titles from the Dungeon World series .
Quick start
How to prepare for the game? I have not come across such a simple system for a long time. There are only a few steps:
- Print out the list of moves and the hero cards for the rest.
- Create heroes.
- Create a world together.
- Ask questions if you are unsure about something.
- After the first session, create threads together for the next ones.
As they say in Anglo-Saxon countries: As simple as that ! The first part of the manual is an introduction to the idea of RPGs, an explanation of the roles of the players and the moderator, and tips on how to play your first role-playing game. I have to admit that this kind of introduction is usually missing from the system books. What a pity! Thanks to this fragment, even novice players will be able to enjoy the game without major problems. As for the rest of the manual, the largest part of it is descriptions of individual character classes. There are a lot of them in the Sun World , and next to traditional knights and mages, we can find … golems, mechanics, snipers, and even a lyceum (via The Witcher 3to this day I have chills at the sound of that word)! The reading is fascinating, and it is complemented by interesting descriptions of monsters and enemies that the heroes may meet on their way.
Collaboration is the key to having fun
Sun World was created on the basis of the Powered by the Apocalypse system . This means that the gameplay is guided by the philosophy of transferring the greatest possible responsibility for the plot to the players themselves. The story is to be the fruit of the cooperation between the host and the players, and not the result of the creative work of the Game Master himself. Improvisation, imagination and cooperation are the key values here. Even the game world itself depends largely on the creativity of the players. It should be a high magic land by definition, however, there are no rigid determinants. Advanced technology can push us into steampunk embraces, and with some characters we can even brush against science fiction. However, remember to keep logic during the game and not to exceed the limits of the absurd, which could adversely affect the fun. Apart from that, everything is allowed!
Crazy Stories while you wait
The greatest strength of a title created by Simon Piech? Gameplay Madness! Players can do virtually anything here, they are not limited by anything but their imagination, and the whole world they create becomes an arena of action. The RPG is interesting, it supports the creativity of the players, and the session becomes the fruit of the cooperation of the whole group sitting at the table, not just the leader. If you’re ready for some really cool stories, Sun World is waiting for you!