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A Unique Roleplaying Game
Guild Chronicles is, at its core, a table-top roleplaying game. Like other roleplaying games, it invites players to imagine themselves as heroic characters in a fantasy world. The game is collaborative; all of the players work together to overcome challenges and navigate a story. The plot of the story, and all of the other characters inhabiting this imagined world are controlled by the facilitator of the game, referred to as the Storyteller. Complex rules allow players to create characters with unique powers and abilities. Imagining themselves as these powerful heroes, the group battles monsters, navigates strange environments, solves puzzles, and interact with the creatures and citizens of the world.
So what makes Guild Chronicles different than other games in the genre? It is designed to be quick to learn, flexible, and reward cooperation.
Character Creation
Character Creation in Guild Chronicles is designed to be incredibly flexible. As your Hero grows and you accomplish goals, they will become more powerful and gain Experience Points. These Points are used to purchase Archetypes, Classes, Powers and Talents.
Some players choose to specialize, purchasing only a single Class and working towards purchasing all of its Powers before branching out. Others choose instead to purchase many Classes, purchasing only a few Powers from each and becoming adaptable generalists.
With such customization possible, there are endless opportunities to create unique Heroes capable of vastly different things.
Classes
Classes are divided into three Archetypes – Warriors, Mages and Channelers. Each of these Archetypes unlocks four core Classes (more classes are available through specialized rules, and can even be created and approved by your Storyteller).
Warriors
Armsmasters
Defenders
Rangers
Rogues
Mages
Elementalists
Oneiromancers
Runeblades
Wizards
Channelers
Seers
Summoners
Umbramancers
Wylders
Core Mechanics
Guild Chronicles has a handful of core mechanics that are designed with flexibility and creativity in mind; the system is built to allow for responsive, quick game play and chances for Players to think outside the box.
Checks
Like many role-playing games, when a Player wishes to have their Hero do something in Guild Chronicles, they will usually have to make a Check.
In Guild Chronicles, Checks are made by combining one Attribute and one Skill. Skills are not “paired” with an Attribute by default, like some games. One could combine the Athletics Skill with Agility to attempt a feat that required balance and speed, or with their Intelligence to come up with a winning strategy for their team in a competitive sport. This flexibility allows Players and Storytellers alike to represent almost any action imaginable.
Also, when rolling two dice, outcomes become less random. It is very rare to see an incredibly high or incredibly low roll. Having a little less variability rewards Players when they spend more time planning and strategizing.
Weapons
The Weapon a Hero selects in Guild Chronicles is also designed to make a big difference in their play styles. Almost any time a Hero attacks, they will combine one of the Powers unlocked by their Classes with one of the Attacks that allowed by their Weapon. This allows a Players to fluidly and quickly adjust how their Hero performs in battle by changing out a Weapon, and can provide countless unique combinations to Players who take the time to contemplate unconventional Weapon selections.
The flexibility of Weapon selection also allows for unique, trope-breaking Heroes like Rogues that use Wands or Healers that wield Bows. The Core Rules include more than 30 unique Weapons as well as 15 Off-Hand Weapons – future expansions will feature more powerful Weapons for higher level Heroes and guidelines for creating your own Weapons.
The Setting
Guild Chronicles is set in the world of Verden, a land filled with ancient magic, dangerous unexplored wilderness, honorable heroes, and wondrous treasures. Much of the world is left to the imagination of the Storytellers and their Players. There are a few features of the world of Verden that are unique and constant across campaigns.
The Spirit Realms
Overlapping the world of Verden are three spirit realms – the Wyld, the Umbra and the Dream. These strange realms are inhabited by otherworldly creatures that can be powerful threats or allies to the mortal Heroes of Verden.
The Wyld is filled with spirits of the land, animals, the elements and locals. A pristine forest glade may host an ancient tree spirit, while a wise, playful and tricky coyote spirit might claim a swath of badlands. These spirits cannot typically manifest physically into the world of Verden, instead shaping the magic and feel of a place. Many Heroes, especially Channelers, can pierce the veil between the worlds, seeing and even interacting with these strange and powerful entities.
The Umbra, like the Wyld, overlaps with Verden but cannot usually physically affect what occurs in the physical world. The Umbra is populated by spirits of emotions; a perpetually angry teenager might attract an anger spirit, or a dark cave that has witnessed atrocities might birth a spirit of horror or suffering. There are spirits of joy, love and trust as well, but these are more fleeting and rarer to find.
The Dream does not typically intersect Verden the same way that the Umbra and Wyld do. Most sapient creatures can subconsciously access the Dream while they sleep, but few paths can lead the waking there. The Dream is a source of inspiration, passion, creativity and wonder, but also terror. The elusive and often misunderstood Fae are native the the Dream and the most likely Dream spirits to be encountered in Verden.
Lyndhurst Academy
Another feature of many Guild Chronicles games is Lyndhurst Academy of Heroes. This elite boarding school for teens and adults has trained many of the world’s most famous and influential heroes. The school is known for its challenging teachers, complex social interactions and competitive student body.
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All of the artwork displayed is original, and created by Xuan Chau