This desktop RPG is one of the smartest ways to teach you the rules I’ve seen, and it was inspired by D&D from more than 40 years ago.
The biggest obstacle to trying to try out new desktop RPGs is learning rules. Reading them is a marathon in itself, but actually digestion and internalization can be a bigger problem. As a GM who loves flying from a game, I’ve been looking for ways to make it easier and easier for me and my players. And I think the designer behind The Mist Legend may have come up with my favorite approach.
I’ve been following the upcoming game for a while now – actually, last year, I talked with the creators of Oak’s son about their vision for it, and they’re still crowdfunding for its creation. Legends in the Mist is a fantasy game similar to Dragons and Dragons, but with a lighter system, it emphasizes the character’s position in the narrative rather than mechanical abilities. It has fun flexibility and is designed to allow roles with different powers to coexist without problems in the same party, for example, a modest hobbit is crucial to the campaign, like the Elf Prince, the experienced Ranger Like the mysterious old wizard, he traveled with it.
The latest Kickstarter update offers supporters a WIP version of the first two chapters of the upcoming core book, where there is a surprising surprise. Before the introduction in Chapter 1, you can choose your own adventure comic that will take you through a solo in the mist play.
As a young hunter named Gerrin, seeking a magic herb to heal your painful mother, you will browse a series of scenes that teach you the rules step by step as they appear. At various stages, you choose how to deal with obstacles – for example, in a confrontation with bandits threatening local vendors, you can rush to rescue, try to shoot with warnings of bows and arrows, or try to scare them to assemble the vendors to you.
Different choices will cause you to go to different pages that let you browse the solution to the action before scrolling and finding out the results. Despite the limited format, this is the proper implementation of the rules – you not only succeed or fail, but you can also achieve multiple successes, get bonuses or get conditions, find items, and more. Like video game tutorials, you can learn by doing it, even depending on whether your task succeeds or fails, and even have two different endings.
It’s a very clever approach and an impressive one. Even though most of the artwork is still scattered, comic quality art does sell the style and atmosphere of the game. It feels like a modern approach to an old question, but ironically it’s actually just running with an idea that’s over 40 years old.
One of the earliest D&D entry boxes (the iconic “Red Box” basic kit) is paired with its own single player tutorial. This is not a comic, but like The Mist Legends your stats. In retrospect, the idea didn’t get people’s attention, which is strange – of course, welcome to see it is more luxurious than ever.
After the comics, the sample enters the game’s introduction (patch together how the game handles fantasy different styles), followed by a wide range of chapters about character creation, covering everything from the ignorant farm to the king of vampires to the talking beaver. Now, this is just a preview of supporters, but if you’re curious about the legend in the mist, it’s worth checking out the free demo kit, and it’s also possible to pre-order the game on Oak Son of Oak’s website. Now, if you can forgive me, I’ll do my second run in the tutorial – I swear to show to those bosses’ bandits…
