If you love worldbuilding RPGs, you won’t want to miss out on ‘A Land Once Magic’, the post-fantasy worldbuilding game of your dreams.
Two exciting projects kick off today, starting with the crowdfunding launch of A Land Once Magic, a game of worldbuilding set, as you might expect, in a land that was once magic. More on that in a sec. But if you’re unfamiliar with worldbuilding RPGs – these are games whose whole point is to help you create your own world. They are often collaborative and/or GMless. A world-building game is a great way for your group to build a world that they want to play in.
If you’ve ever played a game of The Quiet Year, I’m Sorry, Did You Say Street Magic?, or Microscope you know what I’m talking about. If not, those are three great games to look into. Better yet, take the plunge and dive headfirst into A Land Once Magic.
Described as “a Post-Fantasy game” by its author, Viditya Voleti, whom you might know as the award-winning designer of Bloodbeam Badlands or Space Goblins (or various other works), A Land Once Magic sets out to explore a changing world with nothing more than the soon-to-be-funded full-color book and a deck of standard playing cards.
But what about the 2nd exciting project kicking off today? Well, as it happens, A Land Once Magic is also one of the many titles that are part of the launch of Pocketopia 2025.
Pocketopia is a celebration of small, portable, easy-to-learn tabletop games. Featuring a community of amazing creators, it runs on Backerkit from March 13th (today) through April 3rd, with many projects offering exclusive event rewards for folks who back “cross-collab” games. That is to say, some games have partnered up to boost each other!
A Land Once Magic – What Exactly Is Post-Fantasy Anyway?
A Land Once Magic is, at its heart, a game that inspires your own creativity. It’s a great way for your group of friends to start sharing imaginations and focusing those energies into creation. I love worldbuilding games, and having played this one before, I can say it’s extremely inventive. It’s hard not to feel your imagination careening off into corners as you start drawing cards.
In fact, you don’t even have to wait for the Backerkit to complete. You can check out the “ashcan” version of ALOM and take it for a spin yourself. See if it, for you, will deliver on the promise of “infinite worlds in your pocket.”
The game strives for “post-fantasy” which doesn’t mean a world where no magic exists. But rather a world that “shakes off the dull colors of traditional fantasy and invites the full spectrum of your imagination.” So instead of a world where dwarves drink ale and mine in the mountains, you might have:
- A world of molten metal where society exists only on airships fueled by elemental blood
- A world of wandering titans that leave warring ecosystems in their wake
- A world where a theocratic regime rules a frozen sea with spellcraft stolen from unborn gods
No wonder Voleti lists this as a game for fans of both Discworld and Brandon Sanderson’s Oeuvre. At any rate, you can find A Land Once Magic on Backerkit.
Pocketopia 2025 Cross-Collab – HISTORIC: The Road Eternal
But also, as mentioned, Pocketopia is happening. As part of Pocketopia 2025, you can also get back ALOM’s cross-collab partner: HISTORIC: The Road Eternal. This is a “grimdark TTRPG run on cards, made for one-shots in a world where demonic Malefact and angelic Aeons want your souls.”
If you want a quick and dirty (or at least gritty) game that evokes both Diablo and Darkest Dungeon in a single sitting, you’ll want to check this game out for sure. It has an intricate card-based system, where you’ll delve into dungeons that unfold as you draw cards from different decks.
Players take on one of six different character classes to tackle the challenges. And if your character dies? Well that’s where the Rogue-lite elements come into play – there’s a Legacy mechanic where you can add “history” to your cards by applying stickers to add damage or do other effects.
If you back both, you’ll unlock exclusive rewards!
See you in my postpost-fantasy world!
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