I’ve finally finished the manuscript for Cross World, my genre-crossing post-apocalyptic science fantasy kitchen…

I’ve finally finished the manuscript for Cross World, my genre-crossing post-apocalyptic science fantasy kitchen sink supplement for Dungeon World. (Skip to the end of this post for more on what the supplement is about.)

I need blind testers. That is, people who will run Dungeon World games with at least some of the stuff from the supplement, without me looking over their shoulder too much or answering too many of their questions, unless it’s about a typo or formatting error. Is it comprehensible to people other than me, and is it fun and balanced?

If you’re interested, let me know and I’ll give you access to the manuscript; it’s in Google Docs at the moment. It’s still in a rough state and doesn’t have any art, but it should be playable.

People who give me at least some feedback will get credit and a PDF copy of the final product, and the option to get a physical copy at the same cost as me (no markup, at-cost_. Blind testers might get more depending on how the Kickstarter goes. And even if the Kickstarter fails, I will be producing a version with art and a print product, it just won’t be as polished.

Here’s more about the supplement, from the Introduction:

Remember when you were twelve years old, and the most AWESOME thing you could think of was a world stuffed full of everything kewl? You know, a world with magick, laser weapons, psionics, mutants, mecha, plasma axes, biotech, ninjas, rune weapons, nuclear grenades, uncontrolled AIs, and decorative skulls… You name it, and it’s there somewhere, so long as it’s TOTALLY AWESOME.

It’s time to return to that world. Maybe you never left it, or maybe you were never there in the first place. But it’s time to return there anyway, because time and space twisted and ripped open, and anything is possible.

In Cross World, the entirety of planet Earth has turned into a nexus for other universes. Because that is AWESOME.

Ever since I was twelve, I’ve loved mixing genres. It’s why I’m still a sucker for “world nexus” settings, such as Matt Howarth’s Bugtown, Cynosure from Grimjack, Neopolis from Top 10, and of course Sigil from the Planescape setting for Dungeons and Dragons. It’s one of the things that attracted me to RPGs like GURPS and Torg in the 1980s, even if my personal preferences drove me away from those games in time.

Cross World is a post-apocalyptic cross-genre setting for Dungeon World and Adventures on Dungeon Planet that is intended to allow characters from multiple genres and worlds to exist in the same game. Even if one’s game is not set in Cross World, the existence of Cross World in the background, or something similar, allows one to play the regular Dungeon World classes alongside Cross World classes, as well as classes from Adventures on Dungeon Planet, Class Warfare, The Last Days of Anglekite, Inverse World, Grim World, or anything else that I’ve forgotten or didn’t exist when this was written. Plus whatever crazy shit you decide to make up.

Don’t worry! Besides this supplement, all you really need is Dungeon World (or its System Reference Document) plus a willingness to roll with the crazy that comes from this sort of gonzo setting. I hope your inner twelve-year-old enjoys it as much as mine does!

Go play, and be AWESOME!

EDIT: Since Paride Papadia reminded me people might want these sorts of details:

There are several full classes/playbooks: the Chromium Angel, the Chthonic Arbiter, the Droner, the Hatter, the Necrodancer, and the Tweaker.

There’s also two Compendium Classes, the Borg and the Rotter.

There are several new races as well: Chorals, Evoans, Greys, Hivers, Pygmalions, Redcaps, and Rotters. Rotters are a race you can start as or become during play, hence theyre a race and Compendium Class.

There’s a chapter on higher tech equipment and mixed magic/tech equipment, including substitute equipment for the classes in Dungeon World, if you want, for example, a Ranger with a rifle instead of a bow, or a Bard with an electric guitar.

There are also lots of GM notes, including new Danger sub-types, new Steading tags, new Dangers, new Hirelings, and way more additional monsters than I originally intended to write.

I think that covers all the crunch. 🙂