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http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/davebrown/adventures-in-the-east-mark-the-red-box

I don’t normally plug games, but I wanted to let everyone know about this Kickstarter for a game called Adventures in the East Mark. The Kickstart is for an English translation of the original game from Spain. The rules are based off of the Mentzer Basic D&D set from 1983 (Elmore cover Red Box), but with some added classes, levels capped at 20 (instead of 14), and some other changes. Unlike the plethora of other Retroclones on the market right now, the production values are through the roof. The art is just gorgeous, and rivals most RPGs currently on the market (The One Ring, Pathfinder, 4e).






As I said, this Kickstart is for an English Translation and will be done as a box set with book, GM screen (thin cardstock for now), Dice and a pencil. All this for $30 for the Black and White printing, and $60 for the full color Collector’s Edition. They are going for the Old School vibe with the dice not just the cover of the box. The Dice will be Game Science Precision Opaque’s with a white crayon.



The one thing that stood out for me the most and illustrates the love the people behind the Kickstart project have for the game and the setting. The Kickstart project is not for profit. The $30 and $60 is basically at cost for them to produce and get it on the market. I’ve backed the project at the $60 level as I want to be able to enjoy the art in color. I think a project like this is worth funding and I’ve done my part. I hope this peaks your interest as well.



Here is more of the art from the game. These are the covers of the other 4 box sets released in Spain. The last piece is for an upcoming module. If you notice, they are all connected by the characters.

Link would be appreciated.

 Manchu wrote:
Link would be appreciated.

Sorry! Fixed it! I thought I had the link... Thank you for pointing it out!

Thanks for posting this, as this is the first I've heard of this project. I've always balked at retroclones, fearing that they just wouldn't recapture the feel of those old campaigns, but this one seems a cut above the average.

Is the difference between Collectors and regular editions the full color interior art?

 Stormfather wrote:
Thanks for posting this, as this is the first I've heard of this project. I've always balked at retroclones, fearing that they just wouldn't recapture the feel of those old campaigns, but this one seems a cut above the average.

Is th difference between Collectors and regular editions the full color interior art?

Yes, the Collectors Edition will feature Full Color interior art. Other than that, they are identical.

And you are welcome. I am not affiliated with the project, but I am trying to get the word out about this project as best I can. I feel that strongly about it. I love retroclones, I own quite a few, but none have elicited this kind of excitement like this project.

I have a weakness for box sets.. lol

This is really cool. I probably won't back it because all my early role-playing memories were ripping apart Pentex First Teams and breaking ICE on data heists instead of dungeon crawling; but really cool nonetheless.


Plus the whole being kinda poor right now, also a contributing factor.

They've added a handful of add-ons. I've gone in for the adventure in print.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/davebrown/adventures-in-the-east-mark-the-red-box/posts/640357

New Update

They've added a Blue Box (setting) Beta add-on. This will allow those who buy in to belong to the early beta of the pdf for the Blue Box.

I'm in.

They also announced that Frank Mentzer will be writing the Forward for the Red Box.

Still, $60 for a softcover book ...

 Manchu wrote:
Still, $60 for a softcover book ...

No friend, it's $60 USD for the Collectors Edition Box Set, including a rulebook that is in color, dice, a GM screen and a pencil.

The standard box set (book, dice, GM Screen, pencil), in black and white is only $30 USD.

There are far more expensive games on the market, this one is a pretty good value for what you get. And with the wonderful art, the Collectors Edition is well worth it.

"Collector's Edition" is bogus marketing language. The screen in the video review is of poor quality in an era of much sturdier examples. The GS dice and pencil, I grant, may add $10 to the bottom line assuming they're getting no deal on the purchase (which is unlikely). A full color RPG book with excellent art, however, is not rare on today's market and they are almost always under $60 -- and even then they are almost always hardcover. Finally, this is just another retroclone.

So it seems to me the money's tied up in the box, which is sad because the box is also too large for the books unlike actual TSR products. As someone who has owned and still owns old boxed sets (and new ones!), I get the nostalgia. At the same time, I don't think this project executes on that nostalgia very well and the dollars would have been better spent on making a hardcover.

Ultimately, the question is do you want to spend $60 on a softcover art book? It kind of has to be the $60 level because there's no point buying a B&W art book. I guess you could also say there's setting but no one is giving much of a review on that. So do you want to pay $60 for a campaign setting with full-color art even without knowing if the setting is good? The rules barely factor in. If you just wanted a solid retroclone you can get them for free here, here, here, &etc. I haven't seen anything to indicate the Eastmark houserules are particularly good.

Now, friend, I'm not telling you how to spend your money or what you should find worth your money. But for me, comparing this to the rest of the OSR market and the RPG market generally, the asking price here is a bit too presumptuous.

 YourSwordisMine wrote:

 Manchu wrote:
Still, $60 for a softcover book ...

No friend, it's $60 USD for the Collectors Edition Box Set, including a rulebook that is in color, dice, a GM screen and a pencil.

The standard box set (book, dice, GM Screen, pencil), in black and white is only $30 USD.

There are far more expensive games on the market, this one is a pretty good value for what you get. And with the wonderful art, the Collectors Edition is well worth it.

The question becomes though, are there are far more expensive roleplaying games on the market that provide full color books and gm screens (dice and a pencil don't matter too much when I've got more dice than sense, and a pack of pencils costs me 2 dollars at most)? For 60 bucks, the book and the screen better be in full color and have just as much content as the Pathfinder Core Rules, or the DnD PHB. I'll be okay if you have it at half the size of the Pathfinder Core Rules, as that's a big beast for a core rulebook, but I better be able to play with just that book if I'm spending 60 bucks on it.

I like the idea of Retroclones, but they really got to bring it when it comes to content and being updated while retaining that old school feel.

It's a retroclone; of course you can play with just that book.

As for the screen, you can see it in this vid at the 2:50 mark. It's full color with lots of tables (why printed on the outside of the screen???) but it;s just flimsy card stock. And the art is lousy. I don't know if the KS has made any promises to improve that (couldn't find it on the main page or in the updates).