I'm Excited for Fatherfog
This thing came out of nowhere for me.
I know other people knew this was in the works, but I hadnāt heard anything about Tuesday Knight Gamesā newest game made with the Panic Engine until the 0e release was imminent. Even at that point, I was lukewarm on it. What do I need another fantasy/folklore RPG for? I have Cairn. I could get any of the other fantasy Panic Engine games kicking around out there. I have systems Iām working on.
But once I got my eyes on it (PDF is free on the TKG site), I found something I wasnāt expecting: excitement.
Once upon a time, the land was full of hope and the people told tales of happily ever after. Then the Fog spilled forth, wrapping its nebulo
It is hard to describe what about the game excites me without just listing off a bunch of mechanics and thematic elements I like. Foghouses! The Stranger class! The Bit system! Legacy Artifacts! Bargaining with Death! The Despair system! 2 round/10 minute combat! The Guide advice! The whole thing feels like the Panic Engine honed to something really satisfying wrapped in a rad, fairytale dark apocalypse.
So thatās all exciting, but I donāt think itās just the game itself that has me jazzed. I didnāt really come to Mothership until late last year, when it was an extremely well-established piece of the indie ttrpg scene. I wasnāt there for the 0e days. With Fatherfog, I get to be.
People are very actively talking about the game, about things they love (all those things I mentioned above, for instance) and things that they donāt love (looking at you, Will/Spirit actually being dexterity and reflex stats)! And, because itās brand new, its identity in the community is under development. No modules have been published. People are still negotiating with the rules and establishing norms for how it should play, look, and feel. Itās exciting to see it in its primordial stage just emerging into shape.
It all feels really cool. Anyway, hereās a stat block from something Iām working on (and I think one of the earliest pieces of community content out in the wild):