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| Helvéczia: cover art by Peter Mullen |
“Venture
into a rugged land of stamp-sized, steadfastly independent petty states,
populated with robber bands, pious clergymen, wig-wearing philistines,
adventurous countesses, and wily cheats: the cantons of Helvéczia, a territory
of forbidding mountain ranges and endless forests betwixt rival empires. (…) A
re-imagination of old-school fantasy role-playing in a late 17th century
Switzerland that never was, Helvéczia is a fast-paced and colourful game of
guns, dames, deviltry and steel, based on swashbuckling tales, penny dreadfuls,
local legends, and the strange stories of the Brothers Grimm.”
I
am happy to – finally! – announce the forthcoming release of Helvéczia (pronounced
“Helvetia”), my pseudo-historical fantasy RPG set in a strange alternate-world
Switzerland. This is going to be a self-contained game system published as a 204-page
hardcover ($40, so fully packed that I could not even fit a product list into
it), and what’s more, a very sturdy and handsome boxed set ($60, so fully
packed that together with the packaging, it is just barely below the
postal shipping limit), with a cover painting by Peter Mullen, and player map
by Sean Stone. We are now in the production phase where things are being
printed, bound, and assembled: not yet there, but there-ish, and perhaps ready
for a May release. And now, for the details – for that’s where the Devil tends
to lurk!
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* *
Concept
Helvéczia is
built on a simple premise: what if old-school gaming was built ground-up on a
different list of inspirations? What if their creators had watched the Three Musketeers
and countless swashbuckling films about robbers, stagecoaches, and
swordfighting scoundrels? What if, instead of the great American pulps, they
read historical adventure, picaresque stories, and penny dreadfuls? What if the
games’ mythical and folkloric inspiration came not from the Anglo-Saxon and
Northern European tradition (with a bit of Greek myth via Harryhausen), but the
Brothers Grimm, and the broader legendarium of Central Europe? What if
Gary Gygax had set his campaigns in a fantastic Switzerland, the homeland of
his ancestors, A.D. 1698? The game is an exploration of these questions.
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| To the death! |
Like
D&D is slightly different than a sum of its parts, Helvéczia brings
the same transformative quality to its source materials: it does not
strive for historical or mythical accuracy or a representation of any specific
book, movie or legend that went into it; rather, it treats them as ingredients
for a fantastic adventure game which freely mixes historical fact with
historical fiction – and both of them with the modern imagination. You
do not have to be a student of history or 17th century pulp
literature to play and enjoy Helvéczia (although neither does it hurt if you
happen to be one – as it happens, picaresque stories are often the precursors
to modern adventure pulps, and immensely enjoyable). It is game first and
foremost, and the Devil take the rest! Speaking of the Devil: you will
certainly meet him at Helvéczia’s crossroads and seedy taverns, and the
game shall teach you how to play cards with him – or how to thwart his plans
with the Holy Bible.
The
tone of Helvéczia is above all meant to be light-hearted and adventurous:
from history, it mainly draws that which is action-packed, strange, and
colourful, and does not dwell on its miseries. While life is certainly cheap in
Helvéczia (just ask the young Giona Baruch, devoured by a pack of striga
in his first adventure; or my own poor Brother Rodrigo Cordial, who perished in
a failed first aid attempt – many such cases!), this is not a “grim and gritty”
game, nor one about horror and atrocity. In the game setting, the Thirty Years
War is a distant, dark memory, and the choice of the era is deliberate: it is a
time of healing and reconstruction, although also a time which still has much
of the past’s “gothic darkness” as well as its rustic, human charm. Helvéczia
has room for darker tales and gothic horror (a sub-chapter discusses
running doomed romances and similar fare), but its interest lie more in
fast-paced adventure, tests of wit, social satire, and quick reversals of
fortune.
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| Players' map by Sean Stone |
Scope
Many
old-school systems offer relatively simple hacks of the original games they are
based on: their changes are mainly aesthetic, and do not go very far – they are
broadly compatible with the (usually) B/X-based systems popular among
old-schoolers. Helvéczia took a different path, more comparable to the
likes of Stars Without Number or Wolves of God. This is a
complete and in-depth reworking of the old-school game experience to serve its
set of influences, while leaving intact the underlying structures of play.
That is: everything is changed, but everything is in a familiar place.
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The company prepares
for an adventure... |
Classes,
levels, hit points, spell memorisation, random encounter tables, dungeons and
hex-crawling procedures are all present in the game, but all of them are
altered to fit. Your character might be a Spanish Sharpshooter or a Polish
Student, their weaponry might be a fine sabre and a brace of pistols, the Student
in the group might know spells such as Dr. Mabuse’s Mesmeric Mirage or The
Devil’s Astrology, and the Cleric might employ Judicious Lesson on a
group of robbers or an advancing crowned serpent, but the end result should still
fit like a comfortable set of clothes – although perhaps a different cut than you
are used to.
Secondly,
Helvéczia is a complete game. In the book, you shall find more
than a collection of alternate rules: the game comes with a bunch of
procedures, playing advice, context, and examples of play, 120 spells (most of
them new), as well as a loosely described setting (the titular Helvéczia –
although, as our more recent campaign in fantastic Catalonia proves, the
basic concept translates well to other corners of late 17th century
Europe). And that’s only the player’s half of the book: the Gamemaster’s
Almanac contains plentiful gamemastering advice (both general and specific), adventure
design methods, a bestiary’s worth of strange new monsters (foregoing the usual
dwarves and giants we know all too much, it dips into the weird end of
European folklore and the author’s imagination), comprehensive encounter
tables, setting-appropriate magic items (many of them stemming from actual 16th
and 17th century magical superstitions), and an appendix of random
inspiration tables. That is: he core rules themselves are simple, while much of
the book’s 204 pages is supporting material – designed to be helpful and fun,
not overwhelming.
*
* *
Rules
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A diabolical plan is
set into motion... |
Helvéczia
employs
a quick, vastly simplified, old-school variant of the time-tested d20 system.
This bears some explanation, as d20 does not enjoy a stellar reputation in
old-school circles: indeed, games with this foundation are often excluded from the
“OSR” label altogether (whether this makes the author a “shitbrewer” or False
OSR Enthusiast is up for debate). Nevertheless, this is the lineage Helvéczia’s
rules come from – and the results only retain the basic framework of
the system found in 3rd edition D&D. The rules have been drastically
simplified to allow for quick character generation and smooth, fast-paced play,
and where it matters, they have been altered to follow old-school ideas. Some
parts of d20 have been cut altogether (feats, the abundance of oddly specific
classes, or the emphasis on tactical combat), and other elements have been significantly
toned down or revised (the pace of advancement, skills, stacking bonuses, combat
complexity). This is, I believe, a simpler, cleaner system than the original. The
rules have undergone a whole lot of polish over the years; in fact, this is the
second edition of the game, improving and expanding on the Hungarian-only
2013 boxed set in all respects – first and foremost in presentation and ease of
use.
One
feature of special note is found in the game’s closed advancement scale.
Following the “E6” variant (the
smartest take on 3e-era D&D that I know of), Helvéczia is a
six-level system. No more and no less: characters, NPCs and monsters are all
restricted to the sixth level. Not even the King of Spain or the aristocracy of
Hell are above this rule – although they, of course, have a few tricks up their
sleeve to even the odds. From combat abilities to skills and spells, all fit
this scheme. Player characters typically start on the second level, as slightly
seasoned adventurers who are a cut above the rest. Practically, the E6 power
scale establishes an implied setting where none are super-powerful, but a
combination of luck, ambition, and wits can save the day even in the most dire
circumstances.
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Ammertal and the
Oberammsbund |
To
mention one outcome of these rules, adventures designed for Helvéczia do
not have a level designation: any company can attempt them, but a group of
second-level beginners will probably have to employ a more careful approach
than a table’s worth of sixth-level veterans. Second: fortune plays a strong
role in the game (it is fairly “swingy”), and rolling with the punches or
seizing a good opportunity are important elements during play. As a picaresque
game, Helvéczia is filled with sudden reversals and odd detours – once
up, once down; easy come, easy go. Third: where much of modern role-playing is
about “the adventuring day”, resource management in Helvéczia is usually
more of a weekly affair. Characters can expect to do much of their adventuring
while wounded, low on spells, poor (money is relatively scarce, and easily
spent on gunpowder, fast horses, and fine lasses), inconvenienced, or otherwise
depleted: and they shall triumph nevertheless! Fourth: Helvéczia has somewhat
weaker niche protection than B/X or the AD&D lineage tends towards. Combatant
characters can excel at a few scholarly pursuits, and Students can stand their
own in a duel – although they will be no match for a master swordsman like Álvar
Diaz Garcia Vega de Valencia y Vivar (who also carries the sword of his distant
ancestor, El Cid!)
*
* *
Release
plan
Helvéczia
will be released in two formats, followed by a PDF release a few months down
the line. The hardcover ($40) will form the basic edition, with the
following content:
- the
A4-sized hardcover book (204 p.);
- a
double-sided, hand-drawn foldout players’ map, labelled on one side and
unlabelled on the other;
- and
a deck of cards to play with the Devil (this is a 32-card Hungarian card deck
depicting the main characters of the Wilhelm Tell legend – ironically, entirely
unknown in Switzerland proper).
The
first supplement, Ammertal and the Oberammsbund ($14), shall also be available.
This A4-sized, 72-page supplement includes:
- a
hex-level description of the two eponymous mountain cantons, with a wealth of ruins,
strange homesteads, brigands’ nests and adventure opportunities;
- three
adventure modules providing examples of dynamic wilderness scenarios, dungeon
crawls, and both the mundane and odd side of Helvéczia;
- a
handful of mini-adventures, additional materials, NPC adventuring parties and
local legends;
- two
foldout hex map sheets depicting one quarter of the lands of Helvéczia,
one for the GM, and one (with much left blank) for the players.
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Generous treasures
are found in a chest! |
Last
but not least, the boxed set ($60) shall also be available for purchase.
The Helvéczia boxed set – a sturdy thing packed to the brim – contains the
following:
- the
hardcover Helvéczia rulebook;
- Ammertal
and the Oberammsbund;
- nine
map sheets, including the players’ map and four hex maps each for the GM and
the players, respectively;
- a
deck of cards;
- a
folder containing character sheets, an almanac for timekeeping, and reference
charts.
Shipping
for
the hardcover and the box set will be $23 to Europe and $28 Worldwide, while
Ammertal shall ship at the rate of zines, for $6.5 or $8, respectively. Do
note that the boxed set is heavy, and we had to be careful not to exceed
the 2 kg (4.4 pound) shipping limit with the packaging. Accordingly, every box
will ship separately from other ordered items.
*
* *
Preview
The
following 21-page preview provides the introductory chapter of the game with an
example of play, a basic introduction, design principles and an “Appendix N”;
and a handful of pages showcasing the game’s spells, GMing guidelines, and bestiary.
Helvéczia Sample (24 MB PDF)
