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12 December 2013

Remembering TheForge.pl

So, here's something you probably don't know:

There was a company, started by few amazing artists, that created high quality system-agnostic, fantasy RPG products. It was known as TheForge.

TheForge was usually releasing products describing locales, from towns to taverns, and everything in between. The pdfs were full of very atmospheric pencil drawings, showing vistas, items and floor plans of the described places (that you could use and handouts during session). Each product was loaded with adventure hooks, and simply perfect for low/no-prep gaming - just drop the players into one of those locales and let them explore. I have used their products heavily during my Savage Worlds Fantasy campaign and in early 2000s even done some writing for them. 

Sadly, this company is no more. Well, they still have an RPGnow store running with some of their work (mostly art to use in your games, not the good stuff) - but that's it - no website, no contact with the original creators. Maybe they have moved with their lives, maybe the market wasn't ready for their products, who knows? But TheForge had released some awesome products. Best of all? Their best pdfs were free!

Why am I writing this? Because I want to share and showcase their work. The website is still accessible trough the wayback machine - not all of it, but enough to get your hands on some of those awesome and FREE pdfs! And maybe, just maybe, someone out there will read this and find a way to contact the original creators - because quite frankly, I would be privileged to team up with them and write products like that in the future. And with OSR on the rise, I bet, that pdfs like that would be popular.

So head to TheForge.pl wayback machine and grab yourself some of those awesome products; you and your players won't be disappointed! Start with Fish Side and go from there - many of the pdfs describing buildings, are about places from Fish Side. All of them combined make for a fine mini-setting.
And if you like what you see - go to their RPGnow store and buy something as a thank you, even if they don't know why, I am sure they will appreciate it greatly!

I tip my hat to the guys from TheForge.pl

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