When Worlds Collide is an independently produced RPG from the United Kingdom. Starting out as a discuss amongst friends around the gaming table, it was conceived as a response to the seeming hegemony of the Big Games Companies (you know who they are) who were just not catering for what we, as a group, wanted. It was fuelled by a desire to see others sit down and enjoy things that we had written an
d to try and give something new to a stagnating games convention circuit. Six years in the making, When Worlds Collide is a game in which players are not tied to a particular genre during their games. The central idea was one that would allow players to play the games in the way they wanted to: if they wanted a generic system to build their own worlds, this would provide it; if they wanted a structure to have character flit between different realities, different genres, this would be all that they needed. Over the last few years we have been a fixture at the gaming tables of Conceptions UK, an annual roleplaying convention in the south of England, and have been receiving great feedback. The play-testing was highly successful, drawing out a few issues, which were dealt with. What we have now is a system which can be played within any and every genre. The structure of the book takes you through the creation of characters in a logical fashion, following the character sheet and providing Player Information boxes in the text so you don’t get lost. The game allows players to build characters as they wish, to furnish them with special abilities from a vast array, including paranormal and supernatural talents. The system has been designed to allow characters to “try” anything: you may not have a particular expertise, but you can always have a go using your innate skills. Speaking of skills, the system offers more than 4,000 expertise that can be cherry-picked to build a character in exactly the way you wish. Drunken Astronaut with a penchant for horticulture? It’s all there for you. In a game where you may be flitting from one reality to another, from the Old West one week to a Superscience future the next, to gothic horror the week after, you’ll need to be able to accumulate all manner of disparate skills to keep you alive. The combat system is quick and devastating, with more emphasis on the idiosyncrasies of individual weapons rather than the amount of damage they do. One of the key things that separates this system from others out there is the accumulation of Stress. Adventuring is a stressful occupation, and sooner or later, you may crack. But how do you react when you do? Will you lash out, flee, or collapse into a gibbering heap? Will your stress lead to a permanent psychosis? In Convention games, Stress has been one of the most entertaining parts of the game, with players revelling in the role-playing potentials of borderline insanity. But that isn’t all. In a game where characters can travel between dimensions by passing through tears in reality, there is the potential to develop powerful mutations, such as corrosive blood, liquid bones, and other useful features. There is also a comprehensive magic system which sets aside the notion of “spells” in favour of player-scripted spell effects. The game ships with an introductory adventure, “Into The Green Inferno”, where the players will find themselves lost in a new reality, and will have to confront a cannibal tribe in order to earn their survival. This adventure is also available as a free PDF download, just to give you a taster of what you may expect from our writing team. You can download free Character Sheets in PDF for as well.