The Whispering Road: A Miyazaki-inspired Tabletop RPG is a game styled after the great works of Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki. This is a game that anyone can play. You do not need to be an experienced role player.
Basic Information
Players: 3 – 6
Ages: 8+
Time: 2 – 4 hours
Estimated Delivery: April 2014
Location: Leesburg, VA
Game overview
Forum: http://geekerskeep.com/topic/whispering-road-miyazaki-inspired-tabletop-rpg/
The Whispering Road, created by Brent P. Newhall, appears to do what Legends of Chaos: A Fantasy Role Playing Card Game claims to do. Specifically is a game for everyone which can bridge the gap between children’s games and games like Dungeons and Dragons.
Each player in the game is a hero. Each hero has the following: an archetype (class), a need, and five traits (the game will provide 30 traits for players to choose from). Like the Miyazaki films, the game will consist of the heroes traveling to an alternate universe, meeting people along the way (good and bad) and solving any conflicts that arise. The following is from the Kickstarter campaign.
When the heroes get into a conflict, the players first figure out how that conflict applies to the heroes’ Needs. Each player can then tap his or her hero’s Traits to satisfy the hero’s Need or someone else’s Need. Each tapped Trait gives you a d6 for a normal trait, or a d8 for a highly applicable Trait (like using Pacifist to argue someone out of fighting). If any of your dice roll 5 or higher, you satisfy the Need you identified.
Satisfying another person’s needs provides good karma, while fulfilling your own needs provides bad karma. The object of the game is to make sure you have more good karma than bad. Otherwise, you can never return to the “real world.”
Kickstarter Specifics
Goal: $1,000
Pledge Levels: Three levels ranging from $1 to $20
End Date: Wednesday Feb 12, 11:45am EST.
Chances of success
This campaign has already met its goal and continues to grow. Millions of people around the world love the films of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. For those who have never seen their films, this game would be a great way to introduce the types of films they have made. The campaign does present possible risks and challenges such as a possible delay in delivering artwork. The creator also may have issues when it comes to printing prices. However, with the rapid funding of this campaign, this project should be able to get off the ground soon. This game can help the films of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli live on for many more decades to come.