PBTA Roleplaying Game ‘Thousand Arrows’ Up for Funding on Kickstarter

Nov 15, 2018

An interesting looking Japanese themed roleplaying game, which is Powered by the Apocalypse, is nearing it’s funding goal on Kickstarter. In Thousand Arrows, from Galileo Games, players will enter a fictional version of 16th Century Japan. The game is around 75% funded with two weeks to go and you can reserve a copy of the game in PDF for a $10.00 pledge or in print and PDF for a $25.00 pledge.

From Galileo Games:

It is the sixteenth century. All Japan is at war. Feudal warlords called “big names,” rising from the knight caste, have carved the nation into warring states. Chivalric virtue, Buddhist moderation, friendship, and loyalty fade and fall before the hunger for conquest and glory.

The grand prize? None other than Japan’s unification under a single master. And then? Perhaps all Asia is next. Thousand Arrows is the story of the Japanese Warring States Period’s leaders—knight-commanders, Buddhist teachers, spymasters, peasant revolutionaries, even the gods and spirits themselves—as they establish themselves and direct the course of history.

Thousand Arrows is a tabletop role-playing game, in which three to six players assume the personae of commanding figures in a fictional Japan parallel to our historical one. Another player, Tenchi, describes the world and supporting cast around them as the main characters’ players describe their struggles and successes. A set of rules informed by the roll of six-sided dice helps guide the storytelling conversation, keeping outcomes unpredictable. The story you tell will be worthy of historical narratives like the Tale of the Heike, period dramas like Kurosawa Akira’s films, or comic books like Path of the Assassin.

Thousand Arrows is designed specifically to help you engage with unfamiliar cultures and settings—not only in Warring States Japan, but also in other role-playing games. The game teaches you to portray Asian characters with respect and confidence, while at the same time introducing you to the setting with a gentle learning curve and a forgiving attitude. It also focuses on basic battlefield concepts easily accessible to civilians (like the author and editor!), rather than advanced strategy or tactics. Pay close attention, and the habits you’ll develop will strengthen your ability to take on characters or even design games far from your own experience.

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Jeff McAleer

Founder/Editor-in-chief of The Gaming Gang website and host of The Gaming Gang Dispatch and other TGG media for fifteen years, Jeff takes on any and all sorts of games but is especially ready to tackle roleplaying games and strategy games. He's been involved with the hobby since he was just a wee grade school lad, over four decades ago.