Making RPGs Dark & Dangerous Again…

THE SECRET FIRE™ is a brand new, original game system with mechanics that emphasize exploration, roleplaying, and the constant threat of danger as adventurers set forth on perilous quests, engage in lethal battles, and win precious treasures. The design philosophy focuses strongly on imbuing the game world with a specific tone through elements of flavor, simpler rules, faster play, and unlimited flexibility using innovative “literary” mechanics alongside traditional tropes of the fantasy game genre. The overall “feel” of this combination is what sets THE SECRET FIRE apart from all other games.

As well as both PDF and print editions, The Secret Fire will also shortly be available in ePub and similar formats to enable digital readers to view them. There is also going to be an iPhone App that runs locally without requiring an active internet connection. See where to purchase the game from our Store section.

You can see praise for THE SECRET FIRE RPG here.

What Makes the Game Different?

We’ve received several requests to summarize the major elements of THE SECRET FIRE™ that set it apart from other fantasy roleplaying games. So, ignoring the similarities among all FRPGs (a fantasy world setting, medieval-style setting, and so on), let’s review the significant differences between TSF and the other popular roleplaying games.

1. ROLEPLAYING MECHANICS. Characters in TSF all possess a Good, Neutral, and Evil trait, one of which dominates depending on the PC’s alignment, but the other two exist within the character as well, and come out from time to time. Players gain Energy Points (second Section 2) for roleplaying their characters, whether choosing to follow or go against their alignment (and its associated trait, for example a Good character following his self-sacrificing Good trait, or a Good character instead acting out his greedy Evil trait). Whichever they choose, they tick one space along the spectrum toward Good, Neutral, or Evil, depending on the morality of the action taken. Lawful, Neutral, and Chaotic represent the Stability of the character, i.e., how often they stick to or diverge from their alignment and its associated trait.

In addition, each Ability score comes with an associated Descriptor. For example, Strength ranges from Feeble to Mighty, while Intellect ranges from Moronic to Brilliant. These Descriptors can also be used to gain Energy Points. A Reckless or Foolhardy PC might charge into battle at an inopportune time or pull a lever before the party has decided whether it seems like a beneficial course of action. Just an attempt at roleplaying either a Trait or a Descriptor earns the PC Energy Points — they don’t have to succeed at the action.

2. ENERGY POINTS. Exploration, battle, spellcasting, and other elements of the game can be enhanced by spending Energy Points, a pool of energy for each PC that starts out at maximum at the beginning of a new day (after 8 hours of sleep). Characters can earn extra Energy Points (even above and beyond their starting level for the day) by roleplaying (see #1). Energy Points can be used in any way allowed by the MC (aka, Master Creator, TSF’s version of “GM”) to accomplish Special Effects. A few examples of Special Effects include: pinning an opponent, knocking-out a combatant, re-casting a prayer previously cast, swapping out a spell for one of equal or lower level, moving overland at double-speed, inflicting extra damage on a successful hit, and so on broken into major categories of Exploration, Weapon Attacks, and Spellcasting. The only caveat is that the player MUST explain how his or her character is accomplishing this effect in a realistic way given the current situation. There are limits to how many Special Effects can be used per attack, of course, and when PCs run out of Energy Points, they can always engage in additional roleplaying to earn more (again, see point #1).

3. WOUND LEVELS. THE SECRET FIRE uses a combination of hits (or hit points) and Wound Levels. At each of the five levels — Grazed, Hurt, Wounded, Messed Up, At Death’s Door — the PC suffers some effect, either positive, negative, or both. For example, a +1 to attacks at the Hurt Wound Level, or a critical success on a natural 15-20 or a critical failure on a natural 1-5 at the Messed Up level, bearing in mind, that like all things in TSF, everything stacks. Which segues nicely to:

4. EVERYTHING STACKS! Enough said. No looking up, figuring out, arguing over, etc. Everything stacks.

5. NARRATIVE VS. NUMERICAL STYLE. Players can use codewords that represent numerical values to make the entire game more immersive. All players at the table understand what these phrases/code-words mean and are encouraged to embellish and create entirely new ways of expressing them along with the MC.

6. SANDBOX-STYLE, i.e., NOT NICELY BALANCED FOR YOUR PARTY. The world is the world: parties may encounter easy obstacles they can overcome in seconds or impossible obstacles that will instantly destroy every member of the group. PCs must take care to figure out which is which and to attempt other strategies before engaging everything in battle, including parley and flight. This is a game of exploration and danger.

7. RESISTANCES VS. SAVING THROWS/DEFENSES. All attacks are made against an opponent’s Dodge score. All damage, however, is rolled against the opponent’s Resistance score based on the type of attack. For example, a sword thrust hits a ghoul (i.e., hitting its Dodge) and the damage taken is determined by subtracting the ghoul’s Armor Resistance (which absorbs the blow) from the sword’s damage roll, with a minimum of 1 damage. Other Resistances include Anti-Magic vs. Paralyzation, Dragon Breath, Spells; Endurance vs. Poison, Petrification, Death Magic; and Willpower vs. Charm, Psychic Assault, Prayers.

8. THE ELDER GODS & THE CHARACTER WHEEL. The Character Wheel or Mosaic at the center of THE SECRET FIRE character sheet becomes filled in with different colors based on the types of encounters the PC finds himself or herself facing over his or her adventuring lifetime. Other players can just glance at another PC’s Character Wheel to get a sense of that PC’s life up to this point, just like you can get a vibe about someone just by looking at them or spending time with them. The Elder Gods are five primordial “forces” representing positive and negative aspects of their areas of power. They can be called upon for succor – but players who do so find themselves owing them a favor that may called in at the worst possible time.

9. UNIQUE TALISMANS. Everyone talisman (or magic item) is a unique, complete with special adornments, qualities, name, and history, in addition to any (relatively simple) magical abilities. Tables help MCs develop and design these items, plus pre-generated items can be selected and used immediately.

10. SIMILARITIES & ADDITIONAL CHANGES. TSF has Ability scores, equipment, attack charts, increasing rather than decreasing Dodge score (i.e., higher is better), a unique skill system which requires a PC to roll their Ability score or under to accomplish a task on a number of six-sided dice, with that number of dice based on the difficulty of the task in question (though PCs Trained in a particular skill get to roll one die less when making the roll). Plus, a Montage System allows the MC and players to move through long periods of game-world time very quickly with interesting and randomized results.

To sum up, THE SECRET FIRE is a fast, flexible, and familiar yet unique fantasy roleplaying game that focuses on immersion, substituting words for numbers whenever possible, putting you at the heart of the experience. It has a low price point and will be available in PDF, ePub, and hardcopy formats. In addition, we won’t be overwhelming you with books to buy, having a release schedule of one book every four months, or three per year, designed to expand and enhance your game (The first Supplement for TSF will be released in December 2011). Apps and other technologies will be available ad hoc at low prices and will be meant to speed up play even further or provide additional enhancements to your campaign.

In addition, the game contains elements that appeal to fans of ALL editions of some of the world’s most popular FRPGs so everyone can go back to playing together. Some playtesters have called it a “Universal FRPG”.

The TSF book itself contain its own secrets to be deciphered and solved. Those who do so successfully will find themselves discovering extra, free content, not to mention the sense of accomplishment for solving the puzzle.