As Dungeons & Dragons Goes Woke, Superhero RPG Alternative ‘Ascendant’ Tops Best Selling Charts At DriveThruRPG

Source: Ascendant

Source: Ascendant

Newly released superhero RPG Ascendant is topping the best selling charts at popular RPG website, DriveThruRPG.

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Ascendant’s rise to the top of the sales charts comes as both Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder find themselves taken over by political fanatics that has resulted in radical changes to the games’ characters and lore.

According to a press release, the game, which was released on DriveThruRPG on December 14th, took over the top sales charts hitting the top spot for Small Press, Print, and Other System.

In fact, the game is still #1 for Print, Other Systems, and Small Press.

The game would hit #2 overall.

It has since dropped to #3 behind The One Ring Core Rules and Root: The Roleplaying Game [BUNDLE].

The success at DriveThruRPG comes after a successful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter where it was backed by nearly 500 people to the tune of $32,435.

If you are wondering what Ascendant is, it is described in a press release as a “superpowered role-playing game of infinite possibilities.”

“Ascendant delivers this high-powered comic book action in an all-new universe of iconic superheroes,” the press release adds. “The Ascendant universe is a new comic book universe both literally and figuratively – one where superpowers are just emerging, right now, in the present day.”

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In their Kickstarter they specifically described their roleplaying system, “Ascendant strives to be neither a descriptor-based nor effect-based game. It is, rather, a physics-based game. The game mechanics are intended to be the physics engine of the game world.”

“Powers have both descriptors and effects. Some effects are precluded by the logic of the descriptor, and some descriptors inevitably entail certain effects. The mechanics are elaborate and detailed (as in an effect-based game) but they are also broad and universalized (as in a descriptor-based game). Players are expected and encouraged to use their powers in whatever manner makes sense within the physics of a comic-book world, but not in ways that don’t make sense,” Autarch explained.

They further added, “If a descriptor-based system aims to let players experience a comic-book story, and an effect-based system aims to let players play a superhero game, our physics-based system aims to let players simulate a comic book world. To do so, we have created logarithmic chart-based universal mechanics, a style of design that has not been widely used in the last two decades, but which will be instantly familiar to fans of the classic FASERIP and MEGS RPGs from the 1980s.”

The 496-page standalone rulebook includes:

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As noted above, Ascendant is not just a new RPG rulebook, but there are also plans to expand the RPG into a line of comics and graphic novels.

In fact, a 96-page graphic novel featuring artwork by Mel Joy San Juan, Jay David Ramos, Will Conrad, Jinky Coronado, and Rohvel Yumul titled Ascendant: Star-Spangled Squadron is in the works and is expected to arrive on crowdfunding site IndieGoGo.

What do you make of Ascendant’s success on DriveThruRPG? Do you plan on checking out this new comic book universe?

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