An Introduction to Legendlore

Steffie here, developer for the upcoming Legendlore RPG. What’s the Legendlore RPG, you ask? I’m here to tell you.

Legendlore was originally a comic, first published by Arrow Comics in 1986 and since procured by Caliber Comics, about four people who fall through a Crossing into the Realm. The Realm is home to all kinds of fantasy creatures from elves to dragons, and the characters discover they too have ‘fantasy powers’ – the jock becomes a Fighter, while the bookish one becomes a Wizard, and so on. They go on all sorts of adventures and some of them eventually find their way back to Earth.

This is the basic premise of the Legendlore RPG. You Cross into the Realm, where Steffie the author / game developer becomes Steffie the hairfoot Bard, or maybe Steffie the elven Sorcerer – I didn’t stat myself yet. You can change any characteristics you like. For example I have hay fever and glasses, and I choose if my Legendlore self keeps or drops those. Your identity might not always match your outward physique, but your Legendlore character does. We also updated the 1980’s setting so Realmborn characters represent all ethnicities, genders, and sexualities. No one in the Realm will bat an eyelash at your agender panromantic self.

We have an amazing team of writers on Legendlore: Elizabeth Chaipraditkul, Jacqueline Penny Fallows-Hart, Travis Legge, Megan Mackie, Ashley May, Katriel Paige, Roman Trevisanut, Vera Vartanian, and Ashley Warren.

You probably recognize some/all of them from other OPP projects, the Storyteller Vault, or the DM’s Guild. Feel free to leave comments (be nice!) or questions for them below, and I’ll poke them this way.

And now, a preview of Chapter 2: Crossing and Legend by Katriel Paige. Note: This is the unedited version, so no need to pick out spelling or grammatical errors. Beyond that, please do let us know what you think!

Chapter 2 – Crossing & Legend

A Crossing can be anything. Storytellers across the Realm sing of strangers down on their luck, selling off their possessions, until they come across a bracelet from their childhood: in the time of their greatest need, that bracelet became a Crossing, the stranger entered a land new to them, and their story began anew. Tales from the Grey Hills to as far as the Erebus Sea also tell of mirrors or pools of water being Crossings, as throughout time many peoples have wondered if other worlds lay just behind their reflections on the surface. But it is not just mirrors, or pools, or bracelets: a Crossing can be a battered suitcase locked in an attic and forgotten until just recently. A Crossing can be a hatbox just as easily as a Crossing can take the shape of a crystal pendant necklace, a porcelain doll, a crayon drawing or folded papercraft, it can be simple or it can be intricate. A Crossing does not fully sit in either the world of Earth or of the Realm: it can be anaction figure just as easily as it can be a specific and easily missed setting on an AM radio dial, just as it can be a leatherbound journal gift set with its brass lock and key. The item that acts as a Crossing can be five dollars or fifty, a brightly colored bauble from a vending machine from a child’s pocket money or a timeless treasure from an attic long forgotten with excellent craftsmanship worth a fortune – if it was ever sold.

Legacies

You are not the first from Earth to encounter the nations of the Realm. The Realm has had Visitors before, and each time these Visitors left something with the Realm: whether it be a new word, or even accidental technology. Some Visitors became stranded and formed their own communities out of an immediate need for survival. These communities can still be found in the Realm, though they tend to be pockets of isolation and have their own customs and concerns even if they are within the boundaries of other nations. Sharp-eyed Visitors may recognize aspects of their world turned into phenomena: in the depths of a forest, they may encounter a glider plane abandoned with vines anchoring it to the soil, its metal rusting, its markings faded under a strange sun its paint was never meant to withstand. These phenomena are considered Strange Things throughout the Realm.

Legends

Just as Earth had impacts on the Realm, the Realm can change a Visitor from Earth. Legends are the destinies Visitors may have when Crossing into the Realm: it is part of their Crossing, part of their destiny.

Each character has their own Legend, which affects the story and is built up through relatively minor actions as well as through more obviously weighty choices. Legends are things like “Avatar of Peace” or “Lord of Dragons” or “Heir to the Mountain”: they represent the destiny of You (your character) and mechanically can resemble backgrounds. Perhaps the You you want to be in the Realm is trying to not spread any more violence than absolutely necessary for self-defense. As a Player, you might want their destiny to reflect that commitment to peaceful solutions and to avoid continuing cycles of revenge and violence: thus the “Avatar of Peace” Legend. The seeds of that legend are there, but how does that affect You throughout Your adventures in the Realm?

Interested in playing Legendlore? Also going to the UK Games Expo? Great! Pop on over to the rolepaying events, search “Steffie de Vaan” or “Legendlore” and join us!