"TESTAMENT: Roleplaying in the Biblical Era" (For Dungeons & Dragons. Any D&D playing FReepers?)

Green Ronin ^ | 02-06-03 | Press Release

[Green Knight]

GREEN RONIN TO PUBLISH TESTAMENT CAMPAIGN SETTING
Biblical Era to Come to Life for d20 Fans

January 16, 2003—SEATTLE, WA: This April Green Ronin delves into the past with Testament: Roleplaying in the Biblical Era. Part history, part mythology, Testament is the d20 System campaign setting that's both instantly familiar and yet unlike any game world you have ever experienced.

"I conceived this product as an alternative to the current crop of fantasy worlds," says Green Ronin President Chris Pramas. "Really, how many more vaguely Tolkien-esque fantasy settings do we need?"

Veteran RPG and computer game designer Scott Bennie (Fallout, Starfleet Command) authored Testament, bringing his extensive experience to bear on a truly epic project. Artist Sam Wood, best known for his work on the new edition of Dungeons & Dragons, provided the gripping cover painting and will contribute interior art as well.

"Whatever your religious beliefs," adds Pramas, "you can't deny that the Bible is full of great stories. Game books make use of real world mythology all the time, but shy away from embracing the most important myth cycle of the Western world. Testament brings the Biblical Era to life, letting you experience the wonders and dangers of the ancient world."

Testament is part of Mythic Vistas, Green Ronin's new line of campaign settings. Mythic Vistas includes historical, legendary, and fictional settings suitable for d20 campaign play. Skull & Bones, due out this March, is the first Mythic Vistas release.

Product Details:

Testament: Roleplaying in the Biblical Era A Mythic Vistas Campaign Setting for the d20 System GRR1019 MSRP: $29.95 ISBN: 0-9726756-2-0 Written by Scott Bennie Cover by Sam Wood 224 pages, perfect bound

The world of the Bible comes to life in this campaign setting for the d20 System. Play a wandering Babylonian magus, a sorcerer in the service of Pharaoh, a Canaanite maker of idols, or a prophet of the God of Israel. Walk the streets of ancient Jerusalem, stand beside King David as one of his Mighty Men, smite Philistines, ponder the mysteries of gargantuan tombs, look upon the dwellings of the gods, and battle demons, dragons, plagues, and the legendary beasts of Babylon. Testament gives you everything you need to immerse yourself in the Biblical Era, including a dozen new classes, over 30 new monsters, over 50 new feats, and over 100 new spells; rules for barter, curses, piety, and for running mass combat in a mythic age; and guidelines for leading a small tribe through the hazards of the Bronze and Iron Age world. Part history, part mythology, Testament is the d20 System setting that's both instantly familiar and yet unlike any game world you have ever experienced. Now you can be a part of the greatest story ever told!

Green Ronin Publishing is a d20 System pioneer. Its adventure Death in Freeport was released on the same day as the 3E Player's Handbook and went on to win the Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Adventure of 2000. Since then Green Ronin has led the pack of d20 companies, with acclaimed products such as Legions of Hell and the Book of the Righteous, and blazed the OGL trail with its hit superhero RPG Mutants & Masterminds. Point your browser to www.greenronin.com for more info.

[egarvue]

D&D players need to get some exercise and sun.

Heh, so I see by your FReeper name, Palpatine, that you fall in the upper levels of Nakatu X's Geek Chart in post #5. At least we D&D'ers are superior to LARP players and 13 year old gamers of any sort...

[ThinkPlease]

I'm training for a marathon in October, and I'm an avid gamer. I get plenty of both.

[Green Knight]

He is? Wow. Had no idea.

Never met any Satan worshippers myself either. As for myself, I don't even drink alcohol or smoke, nevermind anything worse than that. I'm also on the road to converting to Catholicism. Far cry from turning to Satan.

- Green Knight, who's looking forward to playing an Israelite warrior and smiting all those damn dirty Baal worshippers ;-)

[ThinkPlease]

I was excited about this game when I heard who was writing it. I have another of Bennie's supplements that he published in 1990 on an pseudo Eqyptian part of one of TSR's worlds, and I've been using it a lot lately in a game that just ended. I'm definitely going to take a look at this when it comes out.

[ThinkPlease]

I agree - in my long years of gaming (23, to be exact), I also have never met any satan worshippers, - just us geeks.

Same here, though I did use to game with one of the founders of Pink Pistols. Not the devil incarnate, just strange. But what geeks aren't?

Agreed! Monte Cook is one of the best game designers out there!

[Nataku X]

If the authors's a Christian, that's good. :-) Tell us more when you do actually get your hands on the game.

If an otherwise non-theistic person can be positively impacted by this game as a result... who knows...

Oh, and just tell these naysayers that they're better off staving away demons by breaking up frat parties and peacenik marches than by going to the computer science department and taking away the poor geeks' dice. ;)

[KC_Conspirator]

bump

[Dataman]

wasteland

[viaveritasvita]

>>"All of this destruction because we as a species have not yet evolved enough to understand that when we die, nothing happens" - a great philosopher<<

ROFL!! Is his/her post not ridiculously hilarious?! I don't blame the "great philosopher" for not wanting his name attached to this quote! LOL! Presumably, the "great philosopher" has returned from the dead to tell us that nothing happens when we die! I got a kick out of this one!

Actually, now that I think of it, this is really not funny at all. It's one of the most ignorant things I've ever read.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

I am not in that chart. I'm, uh, a viewer of one lousy Star Wars movie lately who liked the title (I did not see "The Phantom Menace", skipped LOTR, did not watch that future "8 people in a destroyed Earth vs. dragons" thing). So where does that put me?

[Alamo-Girl]

I am praying for him and all hopeless people that they discover the meaning of life, the purpose of their existence, and if they have "ears to hear" the joy and peace of Christ.

[Green Knight]

Interesting Sidenote: The guy said he even converted one of his DM's, though not intentionally. ;)

[Wombat101]

"the dog men live in the lower caves...."

[asformeandformyhouse]

Played a lot of D&D in my time, now playing Neverwinter Nights. But I don't think this is a good idea. Many christians will oppose this, as they also oppose D&D, and non-christians will take this as (as they see it) proof of the 'fantasy' of the Bible. I don't really see the up-side to this. There's a reason so many games are based on Middle Earth, it's a complete fantasy world. The christian references and allusions in Tolkein do make the world superior to other fantasy worlds, but the fact that they are not explicitly stated is part of the appeal.

This might be something to try using the toolsets of currently available games (NWN, Morrowwind, etc) and develop biblical-setting campaigns. This might give you some idea of it's appeal.

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

Nope, not going to bite. This has been tried many times before and the result is either blasphamous or silly, or usually a combination of the two.

Except for a very brief time during the late middle ages, the gaming industry idea of "adventurers" never took place in the real world. Would not have taken place in OT times either. You wouldn't have a sorceror of Bhaal and an Egyptian man-at-arms hanging out together with a wandering scribe and a Israeli priest. Not going to happen. Not in the real historical setting, not in a fantastic historical setting based upon the real history.

[opusprime]

"I am praying for him and all hopeless people that they discover the meaning of life, the purpose of their existence..."

With all due respect, please dont bother praying for me. Nothing fails as consistently as prayer.

Discover the meaning of life? Thats the whole point, I search for the truth in my life experiences, you and other zealots allow yourselves to have the truth defined for you. You call it faith.

The purpose of our existence is to replicate DNA using RNA, in the effort to form complex proteins to build and strengthen cells. At least that what I came up with today.

Dont get me wrong, I think the myth of Christianity teaches valuable lessons, in the same manner as Greek mythology.

The Bible was written by men in a way that could be misinterpreted and distorted by every culture on the planet.

The great conflict of Christianity to me is that the after life comes with a threat, "believe the stories in a 2000 year old book or I will make you suffer for all eternity". In other words, ignore all the gifts of reason, discovery and intrigue that you have been given and accept our version of truth, or suffer.

If Jesus were a true profit, he'd have told us to believe in ourselves, and our ability to good to one another regardless of faith or beliefs. Religion only divides us.

Flame away oh righteous Christians... I only seek the truth.

[Corin Stormhands]

In other words, ignore all the gifts of reason, discovery and intrigue that you have been given and accept our version of truth, or suffer.

There is one truth, and that is God's. And the fact is that honest use the gifts of reason, discovery and intrigue will lead to that truth.

[Karsus]

One thing I love is how many different(opposite) ways various faiths interpret God's one truth.

[Corin Stormhands]

That says more about us than it does about God.

[Karsus]

That is what I was talking about...