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Invisible Sun Logo (Monte Cook Games)The newest roleplaying system from acclaimed designer Monte Cook has just launched on Kickstarter. Indications are Invisible Sun is a complete departure from standard conventions of RPGs, with a setting, tone, and system aimed directly at adult gamers. It will be interesting to see what Cook and his team have up their sleeves for the finished product.

It’s important to note Invisible Sun isn’t priced in the same manner as most RPGs hitting Kickstarter as the game is aiming at only producing what amounts to a deluxe or prestige edition. The basic pledge level to receive a copy of the game is $197.00, so Cook is recommending gaming groups pool their resources in order to reserve a copy. The project has already surpassed $70k in the first hour so it doesn’t appear the pricing model is much of a deterrent…

About the project:

Invisible Sun is a tabletop roleplaying game of surreal fantasy. It’s dark. It’s moody. It’s adult. It’s also perhaps the most deluxe and amazing roleplaying game product ever produced. Inside the specially designed cube you will find four books, a folding game board, a resin monolith, a metal medallion, four special dice, player handouts, tokens, and hundreds of cards to enhance your gameplay. 

Invisible Sun is a game of secrets. And that is true of both the physical product and the in-world game as it is played. Hidden within the pages of the books, within the components of the game, and perhaps even within the box itself, lie clues to discover—clues that can unlock new secrets. Invisible Sun is as much about interacting with the physical game itself as it is about interacting with the other players. This is a game of deep immersion. Of escape. 

Players create in-depth and intricate characters where the house in which they live is as important as their stats and skills. Character choices drive everything, with game rewards based on personalized story arcs, and emergent mechanics arising from not just from character creation, but from ongoing character development. However, in the end, it’s not game mechanics that dominate gameplay, but roleplaying. 

Player characters in Invisible Sun discover and utilize secrets. These secrets often involve the very nature of the universe, and those who master such secrets can change that nature. In common parlance, this is magic, and thus player characters are magicians and sorcerers called vislae. How they utilize their magic—casting spells, creating objects of great power, entreating with otherworldly spirits, or improvising effects by weaving together threads of power—is up to them. Character creation and customization are paramount, and no character concept is refused. In a game where everything is possible, it’s never a matter of “You can’t do that,” but “How do you go about discovering the secret to do that?” 

Let’s be upfront, though. Invisible Sun is not a game for everyone. Not because it’s difficult, but because it’s involved. It’s not really designed for casual, fire-and-forget sorts of play. It is character-focused the way a good novel or television series is character-focused, with individual story arcs, deep development, complex motivations, nonlinear narratives, and asymmetrical play. If you’re the kind of player who enjoys musing over your character between sessions, thinking deeply about the setting and events in the game, and making interesting choices, then Invisible Sun is the game you’ve been waiting for all this time. 

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