"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.

[opusprime]

Thank you all for your kind and well thought out responses. I dont mind playing a little protagonist once in a while. And I'll let you pray for me this one time Alamo-Girl, only because you seem sincere.

Profit == Prophet Freudian(SP?) slip.

"There is one truth, and that is God's." Prove it. Thats all I ask. And dont give me "the bible says". Santa says Reindeers fly, it doesnt make it so.

" Why do ye not understand my speech? [even] because ye cannot hear my word. - John 8:43 " Ah... the book of John. The fourth and last gospel, also the most controversial and contradictory (unless you consider Thomas) of the other three. But you proved my point. This could mean many things to many people. Maybe I have a hearing ailment.

"Even if Christianity is not for you, the rest of my prayer remains: for you, a long life, friends, love, health and prosperity. " Cheers. You earned my respect.

"The only thing you need to believe is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died as payment for your/my sins and that He rose from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the Father. That's it." Once again, I'm empirical by nature. Why has this deity choosen this method to share such a fantastic story? Seriouly, if I were God, and I was truly "Good", and I wanted the people of the earth to join me in heaven, is this the method I would chose? No flippn way. Whats the point of having free will if am not supposed to engage it? If you were God, how you pick your chosen? Come on... be honest.

"Hmm, as long as it doesn't lead to Jesus as your Saviour?" I've read the Bible. I've even met Lee Strobel. I have no reason to believe that Jesus was anything but a very decent man. The facts of his life remain a mystery.

" Reason, discovery and intrigue are neccesary parts of the Christian life" There lies the conflict. You ask me what it would take to prove to me that Christians are right. I say facts. I ask you what it would take to prove Christianity is wrong?

"Saying that eternal suffering is the result of the rejection of God is like saying falling to your death is the result of jumping off a skyscraper; it's just a fact." I havent rejected God, he has failed to prove to me that he exists. He has the burden of proof, not me. I cannot reject that for which I have no physical understanding.

Thanks again for the conversation. Sorry for the thread theft. Peace.

[opusprime]

Actually, it was me. I just made it up.

Hehe... I thought it was great.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you for your kind words! And, indeed, I will keep your best interests in my thoughts and prayers. Hugs!

[houstonian]

The Bible, almost uniformly, deprecates imagination.

[ksen]

The fourth and last gospel, also the most controversial and contradictory (unless you consider Thomas) of the other three.

What is contradictory about the book of John?

Prove it. Thats all I ask. And dont give me "the bible says".

What would be your standard of proof?

I have no reason to believe that Jesus was anything but a very decent man. The facts of his life remain a mystery.

If the facts of His life remain a mystery, then how do you know He was a decent man?

You ask me what it would take to prove to me that Christians are right. I say facts.

What facts?

I ask you what it would take to prove Christianity is wrong?

Produce the body.

Thanks again for the conversation.

And thank you. ;^)

Sorry for the thread theft.

Whoops, maybe we should carry this conversation over to the Religion forum if you're game.

Peace.

And to you.

[Heartlander]

The Paradoxes of Christianity
- Gilbert K. Chesterton

[Kuksool]

If the TESTAMENT Campaign World encourages more kids to read the Bible, then I am all for it. Interesting to note, TSR produced an Arabian Adventures Campaign during the early 1990's. TSR left out any references to Islam because it did not want to offend muslims. At that same time, TSR deleted demons & devils from the 2nd edition of D & D as a way to disavow any link to Satan worship. I wonder if the TESTAMENT supplement is a way of marketing the game to the evangelical subculture?

[The FRugitive]

well don't quit your day job ;)

[Green Knight]

Yeah, I heard about that. From what I heard, it was coming out while the Gulf War was going on, so that's why they cut out all the monotheism in it.

As for Testament, hopefully it will. Nothing wrong with something that encourages folks to read the Bible.

- Green Knight, who just found out that there'll also be a "Psalmist" class.

[billbears]

the game does attract a very large contigenent of people who are suicidal and who feel that there is nothing good in their lives.

I don't know about that statement. I know of a few people that were labeled truly suicidal when I was a teen, however none of them were even vaguely interested in D+D. Myself, I played for a few years, didn't get into it as much as my buddies did, but none of us ever ran through the woods waving swords if you know what I mean. My parents (father's a pastor) didn't like it and refused to have any of it in the house, but I always felt a lot of the hype back in the 70s and early 80s was just media talk. The same with heavy metal. I consider myself a very conservative Christian and would find this version interesting. The only issue I would have with it was this line

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.

Now if there were a way to lead the sorcerer, magus, or idol maker to God in the game through scripture clues or something, just rattling some ideas, it might help some that think themselves out of God's reach to really start questioning their beliefs and get into the Bible and eventually into a relationship with Christ

[Green Knight]

Well, as I said, I don't think that line's such a big deal. This is a Press Release after all, and you want to get in as many references to how diverse your setting can be as possible. You wouldn't get the same effect if every class listed was an Israeli class (Like the aformentioned Psalmist, which wasn't mentioned. You've already mentioned an Israeli class, the Prophet, so why name another when you can can name a class from somewhere else to show just how far the scope of the game reaches?).

And as another FReeper who's actually gotten an early peek at this, said, the non-Israeli classes aren't nearly as interesting as the Israeli ones. So chances are, most people would play Israelis, and the aformentioned Magus, Idol Maker, and Sorcerer would be the bad guys (along with the Beasts of Babylon, whatever they are, demons, and others).

Whatever the case, though, it's still nice to give players the option of setting the game wherever they like in the Middle East, and to do that you need to allow for people who aren't Israelites. But I'm sure, though, that anyone who plays this but plays those others, will probably gravitate towards playing the Israelis eventually, since the focus will be heavily on Israel and the Jews.

(For those who understand the reference) This is in a way like the Forgotten Realms setting. Yeah, you get information so you can base your campaign in the Shaar, Damara, etc, but the focus is clearly on Waterdeep and the Dalelands, and the setting book has lots more information about those 2 places than most anywhere else in the Realms. Same deal. It'll give you info on playing in Egypt and other lands, but the main focus of the book will be info on Israel and people from there.

[denydenydeny]

You have FReepmail.

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

How many hit points do christians get?

[MrB]

Roll the dice to see if I'm getting drunk

Are there any girls there? Where's the mountain dew?
Yep, I've seen the vid, and laughed my butt off, and so did all the friends I invited over for rpg night.

I'm involved with a gaming system that's completely based on "real" mythology. Nothing in the game that can't be verified by mythology research.
Check it out

[Green Knight]

Probably 0, cause they don't exist yet. :P