Happy Friday, everyone! As we head into the weekend before the start of crowdfunding for Reign 2, I wanted to get to part 3 of our FAQ about the new edition of the game. Today Greg talks a bit about why it was time for a new edition, and what’s different about the new edition of Reign.

Why a new edition?

Several reasons. First off, the first printing ran out, and as long as I was reprinting it, it seemed like a good time to take a long look at Reign and its supplementary material. Secondly, I did a lot of the artwork and layout myself in the supplements, and it’s not up to the standard of the main book. I want to make a version of Reign that looks as good as Delta Green. Thirdly, I’m a better writer now than I was back in 2006, and I think I can make the text tighter, clearer and more fun to read.

What’s NEW about this new edition?

Organization. This may not sound like the shiniest of bells and whistles, but Reign’s supplements have been Kickstarted and released in online PDFs, so they’re a bit wild and random. Moreover, while I’m not changing a lot of the rules, I do want to modularize them and make it easier to get exactly the game you want. There are a ton of combat options, and in the first edition they’re just delivered here and there without much guidance about when you want to use the skirmish rules and when you can just fall back on abstracted fight scenes. In this edition, I say “If your group wants highly detailed tactical combat with loads of options, use A and B. If they just want it to be one element amongst skullduggery and political intrigue and low comedy, just use C.” You can pick what the rules magnify to make the rules right for your group’s adventures. There are rules for extended chase scenes that would work great for a game where you’re the cops chasing the robbers (or the robbers fleeing the cops) but which would be extraneous in a court intrigue game. If you’re playing a game set in the desert, you don’t need the detailed “managing a ship at sea during a devastating storm” rules.

Have a great weekend, everyone! We’ll be posting more soon as we head toward July 18th!