Today is the 26th, which means – as promised – my new tabletop roleplaying game, Black Iron Engine, is now available on Itch.io. Just click that link and take a look!
In the world of BIE, every “natural” process is controlled by a megastructure submerged in 4D space, leading to glitches in reality when it malfunctions: reversed gravity, slowed time, non-Euclidean architecture. Therefore you, as a trained engineer of the secret civil service, must go into the labyrinthine utility corridor techno-dungeon to fix what went wrong this time, and find time to fill out the paperwork after the job’s done. Fortunately, you’re certified to requisition a whole warehouse of retrofuturistic 1989 technology – or could play as someone else’s equipment, given electronic sapience.
The engine of Black Iron Engine runs on choosing custom options instead of rolling dice, putting the power for both drama and problem-solving into your control. Actions are resolved by selecting risks and rewards from a list, every piece of equipment uses a modular slot system, and even long-term character goals are codified into gameplay procedures. It’s a power fantasy of sorts, if your power fantasy is embodying the SF Golden Age ideal of the hero-engineer.
If you’ve read any of my recent posts you’ll know that this game is the culmination of a years-long design project for me, one I completed four years ago and am just now, at last, releasing as a finished product. If you pick up a copy, let me know what you think in the comments, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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