Ascendancy [#Itchmas Day 10]
A few years back I had the privilege of running a playtest campaign of Ascendancy, from Ruby Soliel-Raine, and it's a delight to see characters from that campaign crop up in the pdf layout of this game.
Originator of the term "Sparked By Resistance" for hacks of the engine of Spire, Ascendancy also adheres to RRD's penchant for off the wall powerful abilities that redefine the parameters of play. Modular character classes ask you to put some thought into how the synthesis of two powersets manifest, but really take the limiters off for exploration and self-discovery.
It's a roaring good brawl of a time. Oppression to stick a fist up against, crumbling edifices of fallen occupation, and--I'll stress it again--some super cool powers to play with.
Ascendancy has had a rough road since its kickstarter campaign--I'm pleased with the game we got, though I can't fault anyone who is irate at not having gotten a physical copy. The stress, shame and burnout rates of creators biting off a too-ambitious mouthful is the sort of topic I'd love to spend some time unpacking and talking through on this blog going forward.
But we did get something beautiful from this. From the compromised pangs of realizing a creative dream, this ephemeral vision breaks through. I, for one, would hate to see it simply fade from mind unconsidered.
#12DaysOfItchmas