What Makes Far Away Land Unique?
Far Away Land (FAL) is a rules-lite fantasy science fiction weird gonzo lighthearted setting that incorporates simple mechanics, colorful artwork, and pop culture into a unique tabletop rpg with an old school feel.
The Setting of the FAL Universe
FAL is quirky, lighthearted, and highly imaginative. The color artwork, although sometimes humorous, hides a dark and malevolent world. While there are some classic fantasy tropes, much of it is unique and specific to FAL. For example, Soracans are giant floating construct heads that shoot lazers and speak dubstep. Angry telepathic nuns riding grizzly bears battle interdimensional Abraham Lincoln clones. A race of symbiotic sideburn sporting, jumpsuit wearing humanoids soar into battle atop giant three-eyed birds. Wizards and necromancers seek power and knowledge. Heroes try not to die. Villains are evil. Far Away Land is a world twisted by an ancient war. The effects of that old war and the portals it opened continue to shape the world.
FAL Game Mechanics
FAL uses a simple d6 mechanic. Players roll a handful of dice and take the high roll. That roll is then compared to target numbers or opposed rolls to resolve conflicts. The core of the game is basic and optional rules allow the core mechanics to be expanded as GMs and players see fit. Character creation takes only a few minutes. Combat is brutal and death is always on the horizon.
The game is easy to learn and play whether you are young or old, experienced or new to tabletop gaming. FAL is a great port of entry for young gamers as the simple mechanics and focus on story make a great introduction to the world of RPGs. Optional rules allow more experienced gamers a degree of crunch and flexibility. For more details, check out our website here or download the FAL Quick Start Rules here. You can read reviews and see what others have said about FAL here.
The Goal of Far Away Land
The tabletop gaming world is saturated with awesome games, artwork, stories, and worlds. I believe that Far Away Land is a unique voice in this sea of gaming and that this voice comes from its old school gaming mechanics, unique setting, artwork, and focus on story and interaction. My goal for FAL has always been to create an imaginative and inviting world that I can relate to as both an adult and my ten year old self. In order to meet this goal, I have tried to create a familiar world wrapped in a new package while retaining an old school gaming feel. Much of what has shaped FAL has come from a lifelong fascination with role-playing/popular culture of the last 30+ years.
What Are You Backing?
We are bringing five Far Away Land books to you. These books are available as pdf, paperback, and hardback. All versions feature full-color artwork. There are over 800+ pages of content spanning the five books. The books have been written, edited, laid out, and extensively play tested. The art is done. The game is ready but we want to take it from digital to print. Our goal is to be able to distribute the five books offered in this Kickstarter as pdf, paperback, and hardback. With the money raised in this Kickstarter we will print and deliver the books to our backers.
Book Format Descriptions
As you look through the reward levels, keep in mind these key descriptors. All versions of the books are full color.
PDF books are delivered as pdf files. These are high resolution digital versions.
Paperback versions have softcovers and are printed in standard color.
Hardback versions have hard covers and are printed in both standard and premium color.
Standard Color uses 50# white paper and inkjet technology.
Premium Color uses 70# white paper and a digital offset printer.
Overview of 5 FAL Books
All of the books we are offering are available as pdf, paperback, or hardback. Each book is 5.5 x 8.5 inches. All covers and interiors are full color. Each book has a comprehensive index for easy navigation (pdf versions have bookmarked indices). These books are packed with art and content. Detailed overviews of each book are provided below with links to even more information.
Tome of Awesome (Revised)
The core rules of the game. This book contains all the rules you need in order to play and run Far Away Land. (300+ pages, 5.5x8.5 inches)
Four years ago we released the Far Away Land Tome of Awesome (ToA), a 300+ page compilation of the FAL Core Rules, Creatures Vol. 1, Companion Rules, and Tales of Awesome. Since then we have revised the ToA by clarifying rules based on feedback from players and GMs, added some additional rules, polished the text, and revisited a good deal of the art in the book. Major additions to this revised version include creature loot drops, creature size comparison silhouettes, the abstraction of distance and area effects, and rules for generating and playing non-human PCs. Core Rules (70 pages) includes all the rules for character creation, running combat, leveling up, magic, abilities, etc. Creatures Vol. 1 (80 pages) includes 70 creature entries, rules for playing non-human PCs, loot, treasure, etc. Companion Rules (60 pages) includes Gods of FAL, Architect of FAL, and Historians of FAL, training montage rules, plus tons of additional content for world building and adventure generation. Tales of Awesome (90 pages) is all about the lore, history, peoples, and conflicts of Far Away Land. Check out more details here...
Seas of Far Away Land
An expansion book for running sea adventures in the world of Far Away Land. (150+ pages, 5.5x8.5 inches)
Seas of Far Away Land is an expansion book that gives players and GMs the tools they need to run sea adventures in the world of Far Away Land. Seas of FAL contains rules for running naval combat, crew creation and simplification rules, ships and ship building rules, new NPCs, new magic items and spells, gear and equipment, 50 creature entries with loot drops and size comparison silhouettes, and tons more content for building sea adventures. Check out more details here...
Creatures Vol. 2
A bestiary of 100 new creatures and additional FAL elements. (120+ pages, 5.5x8.5 inches)
Creatures Vol. 2 is an expansion book for FAL that brings 100 new creatures to your gaming table. Each creature is fully stated, described, and features loot drops and size comparison silhouettes. Creatures Vol. 2 also contains chapters on animals, plants, random generators for customizing characters, rules for creating 10 new non-human PCs, custom treasure generators, and more. Check out more details here...
Creatures Vol. 3
A bestiary of 100 new creatures and additional FAL elements. (120+ pages, 5.5x8.5 inches)
Creatures Vol. 3 is an expansion book for FAL that brings 100 new creatures to your gaming table. Each creature is fully stated, described, and features loot drops and size comparison silhouettes. Creatures Vol. 3 also contains chapters for creating constructs, custom plant generators, generators for creating random dungeon, rules for creating 14 new non-human PCs, and more. Check out more details here...
Adventure Awesome
A collection of 14 Far Away Land adventures. (130+ pages, 5.5x8.5 inches)
Adventure Awesome contains all of the 12 original Far Away Land adventures that were released for free via pdf. Two additional (publicly unreleased) adventures have been added as well. The adventures have been cleaned up and new artwork/additional artwork has been added in some cases as have additional stats and descriptions which serve to clarify and describe adventure elements. The adventures come complete with their original covers and are organized according to their release order. Most adventures contain maps, new NPCs, adventure ideas, items, magic, and more. Check out more details here...
Backer Rewards
The reward tiers for this project have been structured for those who are already FAL fans and those who are new to the game. Be sure to read the reward level descriptions to make sure you get what you want. Pack reward levels are for those who already own the Tome of Awesome and just want the new books while Bundle levels offer the Revised Tome of Awesome in addition to the other books.
Stretch Goals
Initially there were no stretch goal for this project. However, we wanted our backers to be heroes in real life so we are offering additional pdfs to backers that they can give to their friends. Check out the list below!
Example Pages and Videos
Here are a couple videos looking at a few of the printed proofs of the books.
Revised Tome of Awesome
Creatures Vol. 2
Below are some images of various pages from various books.
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Risks and challenges
This is our fifth Kickstarter project. Our previous projects have all delivered on time or earlier. These books are in a completed state and waiting for a finalized set of print proofs that will take place after the Kickstarter. We are streamlined and efficient and dedicated to fulfilling our Kickstarter projects before embarking on any other projects. We are honored to have people support our work and we take our responsibility to fulfill rewards very seriously. We are building a community of fans, trust, and honesty. None of our products are ever released publicly until all Kickstarter backers have received their rewards. We do not foresee any delays or inabilities to complete this project. This being said, should the unforeseen arise, we will communicate with backers to make sure they are made aware.
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Funding period
- (30 days)