‘It’s been a century. 100 years since Contagion spread. No-one knows where the Infection came from. No one-knows whether a biological weapon was set off or a parasite evolved. And, honestly, no-one cares all that much anymore. Because over the last 10 decades, one thing has become clear: there will never be a cure. Research was abandoned after the Infected, humans as well as animals, started to mutate and civilization collapsed.
Now, only a number of small towns and villages are left. There is no unified government and very little order. Factions have formed. Some of them promise they can save us, others are bent on installing totalitarian regimes across what is left of the world. One – the Red Cross – distributes the only substance which is able to delay Infection, but supplies are running low. Chaos runs rampant. Treachery abounds. And every day, our numbers dwindle.’
Forget whatever you think you’ve come to know about post-apocalyptic roleplaying games! Era: Survival by Shades of Vengeance has does not present your standard zombie setting, but a world wrecked after 100 years of Infection.
Humanity was almost wiped out after Contagion hit, but small pockets of survivors are trying to steer clear from the parasite that has turned humans and animals alike into degenerate monsters, mutating them in horrible, twisted ways. Most of them have grouped together in 14 different playable factions. Others are loners who believe their best chance of survival is to keep as little contact as possible with their fellow men and women.
Era: Survival uses the same rules system as previous Era games, all successfully funded through Kickstarter, with minor tweaks to better reflect the genre and the addition of a Karma mechanic. The Core Rulebook does not only include everything need to play, but also presents adventures and campaign outlines. With more adventures and supplements already on their way, we would love your support!
The developer really wanted to make this Kickstarter special, so Badass PR got some fans together — all roleplayers, actors and acting students at Badass PR’s Intensive Acting Course — and shot a live action trailer to accompany the project. Everything you see and hear is made in-house: the imagery itself, of course, but also most of the sound effects, the soundtrack, the voice over and the rest of the post production process.
Guitarist Stef Donné, an avid roleplayer and improv actor at Badass PR’s Improv-Asion, recorded an evocative sountrack, while Badass PR’s Dirk Vandereyken wrote and directed. Alwin Dewaele, once owner of Europe’s best-known cult video shop, was Director of Photography and Aaron Van den Eynde, who is also involved with other Shades of Vengeance projects, joined the team both as an actor and as a post production engineer. The Skulpture Koiffure team did a great job on the Infected’s hairdo, whilst Tamara Thys took care of the SFX makeup.
All of the actors (Tom Vangindertael, Amy Tsé, Sanou Sunthorn, Kevin Kloek, Vincent De Coninck , Ryan Sisson and the above-mentioned Aaron Van den Eynde and Dirk Vandereyken) have tabletop roleplaying experience, all of them are Era fans and all of them thoroughly enjoyed shooting the video — maybe the first in a longer series?
Here is the Era: Survival Kickstarter fan-made trailer:
You can help support Era: Survival on Kickstarter right now.
Related: Era: Lyres – Pocket Edition Online Already 300% Funded on Kickstarter
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