#hellpiercers

[prokopetz]

Me: *downloading a copy of the public playtest edition of Hellpiercers, a tactical combat tabletop RPG about an ascended transhumanity who've defeated the Angelic Host, murdered God, and are now in the process of storming Hell to achieve the liberation of every human soul*

itch.io's "other games like this" widget:

[sandypuggames]

in HELLPIERCERS, we represent the larger War of Infernal Liberation through a strategy phase called STRATCOM. This phase takes a ton of inspiration from map games, like A Quiet Year, as well as faction-focused TTRPGs like REIGN.

Each faction gets its own map to start with, and you will spend a lot of the game adding buildings, locations, traps, hazards, armies, convoys, and more to it in the same kind of collaborative-combative vibe as the rest of the game, with the GM trying to dominate Hell, push back your forces, and retake lost locations, and the players pushing up toward the final fortress of the enemy faction.

Each map is an abstraction, covering roughly a 800 mile stretch of territory that you'll grow into a complex visual log of The Last War.

First map is a representation of the SYNCRASIS faction's paleoproterozoic landscape, illustrated by the incredible @leafie-draws, and the second represents the industral-blasted nuclear wasteland of @leaftilde's AUTOPHYES faction, illustrated by the marquis of shadows, @jnbutlerart.

budget allowing I'd like to ship everyone two 11x17 trifolds with the maps printed, because Risk Legacy permanent changed my brain chemistry and i love the idea of physical maps covered in drawings and supply lines and armies and stuff.

How this side of the game plays out is very very much one of the more exciting elements of play, and I can't wait to see how you all engage with it. And remember, Hell is a prison. Break its bars.

[leafie-draws]

concept art of She Who Eats for HELLPIERCERS 🔥

[raul-volp2]

Ekhinos Field!

Ekhinos Field Territory for HELLPIERCERS tabletop rpg from Sandy Pug games, pixel art tile showing places where players can storm and destroy demon hordes!

I love to work on HELLPIERCERS pixels, they are always so inventive and cool to work, and I am very proud of this one. =)

[boltsj]

Finally got some time to do some more work on the HELLPIERCERS system for foundry. The range editor took less time to make than I was worried it would.

[moofahdrome]

In regard to your pin post, what games do you like to play? I'm always a sucker for hearing about other tabletops people enjoy.

Ooooooh thank you for asking!!! I'm a big sucker for easy to run character focused games like Thirsty Sword Lesbians or Masks: A New Generation, but I also love love love games with potential for really cool and creative combat like Eidolon: Become Your Best Self, Gubat Banwa, and LANCER.

My primary experience is with Powered by the Apocalypse games, but I'm looking to expand my horizons a bit in the future! Blades in the Dark is super cool, but other Forged in the Dark games appeal to me a lot, especially Brinkwood - The Blood of Tyrants, a super cool game about organizing a revolution against colonialist capitalist vampires.

There's really so many amazing games by queer indie creators out there - Apocalypse Keys recently had its full release, as did EXTREME MEATPUNKS FOREVER the TTRPG! There's really something for everyone. I really need to play more Ryuutama for its lovely adventure vibes, Hard Wired Island for a return to true anticapitalist cyberpunk, as well as Flying Circus for amazingly accurate WWI-era plane action in a miyazaki-inspired setting! Other stuff I've had for a while but need to play are Monster Care Squad, Heart: The City Beneath, and Comrades, a Revolutionary RPG.

There's also plenty of nice, charming, slower paced games as well. Wanderhome is a beautiful pastoral journey game, where everyone comes together to heal a land and experience wonders. Our Traveling Home is inspired by Howl's Moving Castle and has everyone play a unique role as a queer found family. Yazeba's Bed and Breakfast just released, and it's an amazing episodic experience packed full of beautiful content!

One of my favorite game creators is Dinoberry Press, creator of fantastic titles like Justicar, What Waits Beneath, and GUN&SLINGER, a cool 2-3 player game where one person plays a magical gun and the other their haunted wielder. It's got a couple great extra modes of play, too, like SWORD&BEARER or MECH&PILOT !

And there's even more amazing games in development. Dinoberry's You're in Space and Everything's Fucked just funded, as did HELLPIERCERS: TACTICAL HARROWING ACTION. Guns Blazing and Wetrunners are really close to being funded, too, check them out! Some other great games that aren't fully complete but you can play right now are ICON, Bloodbeam Badlands, Red West, and In the Time of Monsters, all of which are some of the COOLEST things I have ever seen.

Feel free to ask more questions about any of these! I love talking about them and I'm thrilled to see interest in indie ttrpgs!!!

[questfriendspodcast]

What's the ideal XCOM TTRPG?

We got a question from @mistermustachiogmc, but for some reason Tumblr deleted it

The XCOM TTRPG discussion in the recent newsletter really interested me because the tactical gameplay is one thing that I would actually want from the XCOM experience. A little magicpunk TTRPG called Zafir does exactly that, and in fact, it's pretty Damn hard to actually die in that game. I think part of the reason for that is that it's really hard to create and get attached to characters that are gonna die very quickly. Even in something like Call of Cthulu, the death of the player characters is the end of the story, a climactic moment that sells the danger of what they're up against, while in something like XCOM, you're expected to keep burgeoning on, making new characters to throw at the enemy. People are more of a resource, and the most interesting thing a character could do in a system that almost guarantees their death is just not to die immediately.

I feel like my main response is to 👀 at the TTRPG they mentioned and maybe plug Hellpiercers by Sandy Pug Games? It’s extremely XCOM vibes except you are liberating hell and also communists. It also does not exist yet but I’m going to be obsessed when it does release. -Tom

I'm not surprised tactical gameplay is something you'd want in an XCOM TTRPG - it's a big selling point of the game, and I imagine it's something most players would want in any adaptation! The reason I'd cut it from my own TTRPG adaption is two-fold:

Like you said, it's tough to deal the relentless onslaught of death in a TTRPG setting. In XCOM, the way they avoid that is by having the player character and all other major characters stay safe in the command center. Unsurprisingly, the first XCOM game (to my knowledge) that has major characters as playable units is also the first one without permadeath.

Tactical combat in TTRPGs is very tough for me personally, in large part because I enjoy tactics video games. In XCOM, I'm getting to dictate the strategy of the entire squad, but in a TTPRG, I get to make my one decision and then have to wait 30 minutes for my next turn (NOTE: my opinion here is heavily skewed by my personal experiences playing TTRPGs). This is why the one tactical TTRPG experience I really want to try is playing a 1v1 Lancer Match against Tom, where each of us controls an entire squad.

For me, the solution to both of these problems is to make "the commander" the player character. The main issues with this solution are (1) keeping the personal connection to the units, and (2) making an experience that isn't just "XCOM with paper." For me, that means taking out the tactics to focus on unit creation, attachment, and death, but I know that's heavily skewed by my personal preferences. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! -Kyle

[indie-ttrpg-of-the-week]

y'know I feel like if Hellpiercers came out now it'd make fuckin' bank

like obviously i want them to take their time but

[bloodusedarch]

‘‘  what  a,  lovely  surprise  to  see  you  here.  ‘‘  tatia  said  as  she  raised  one  eyebrow.  she  couldn’t  get  used  by  the  fact  there  were  multiple  people  with  the  same  appearance  on  this  world.        IT  WAS  NOT  NATURAL.        it’s  a  curse,  she  had  to  life  with  it.  ‘‘  -                                      what’s  wrong,  katherine?  ‘‘

@hellpierced​ liked the starter call.

[rippermorality]

hellpierced said:' who said you could come in? '              ��  A MEME I DON’T REMEMBER BUT HERE.  

𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐘𝐄𝐓 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌. he stands by the door frame, watching her, the odd case when they are alone in the day, no prying eyes on them. “you don’t want me to come in, then? well, then, miss pierce. . .I must had misunderstood your looks outside.“ a quick glance, her presence alluring, dragging him along and he has no control over his actions as he followed her. “perhaps I’m just content to watch like this.“

[hybredtm]

hellpierced ; ᴋᴀᴛʜᴇʀɪɴᴇ ᴘɪᴇʀᴄᴇ & ᴋʟᴀᴜꜱ ᴍɪᴋᴀᴇʟꜱᴏɴ.

“what brings this displeasure of your visit, katerina?“ use of old name, just knowing well it’s not the one she chooses to go now. katerina was the young girl, oblivious to the world around her he met five hundred years ago. eyebrows raised, he had made a promise to not murder her on sight a long time ago. but oh, part of him craves for her to make a move and get on his bad side. “don’t tell me you wish to reconnect our old days. a trip down memory lane, perhaps?“

[sandypuggames]

HELL IS A PRISON - BREAK ITS BARS

HELLPIERCERS is a tactics TTRPG like no other. Gnostic-ascended demi-god Humanity has slain the false demiurge, reclaimed its divinity, and has set its communist sights against the last prison in existence - HELL 4E/Lancer inspired grid-combat paired with a rich and deep map game strategy layer bringing complex faction mechanics together ocean-deep customization options so that every Gnostic Warrior-Poet-God is utterly unique. The biggest Sandy Pug Games project yet, with art from @jnbutlerart and @leafie-draws, as well as pixel illustrations from @raul-volp2, HELLPIERCERS will be one of the most gloriously illustrated tomes in TTRPGs and we're on Kickstarter, right now.

Edit: Now fully funded and in our last 2 weeks!

[leafie-draws]

SYNCRASIS map for HELLPIERCERS 🔥

[raul-volp2]

Working on the Paracletus Demon Faction for HELLPIERCERS ttrpg.

The Boss demon and it's minions, now I need to finish the 3 Minibosses.

[shotgunscn]

@hellpierced​ liked for a starter !!

           “I DON’T KNOW if I can do it.” The youngest Winchester laments, sorrow laden jade hues falling into chocolate orbs. It was Jake’s fault ; that knife he’d plunged inches deep into his spine —if it hadn’t been for him— no ; NO it was Azazel who should have the blame ; the demon who’d taken everything from him, Jake had only been a pawn ; another victim in yellow eyes’ plan —the soldier had only done what he thought was necessary . . . taking Sam’s life— putting him into transition.

Brows knit together as hands intertwine with the elder vampire. It’s Katherine’s blood that’s saved him from passing on— but now Sam’s faced with the horrible truth; allow nature to take it’s course and have him die a second and final time — or turn, feed on human blood and complete the transition. Lose lose, the only question was which was worse.

“Look Sammy I know we’re up shits creek without a paddle here—“ Dean comments, his pacing feet like woodpeckers beak for Sam and his heightened senses. “But I say you take the out man, at least for a little while huh? There’s gotta be somethin’ we can do —some mojo we can swing to deal with— . . .things.” He doesn’t like it in the slightest ; hell hunters were already eyin’ his brother like he was a trophy to be won. Hunt the bad thing and kill it —his own words, now come to bite him in the ass. It was the lesser of two evils though, vampire trumped demon boy wonder that was for damn sure. Unnatural was one thing but hell— that was a whole other ball game, one Dean had no intention of batting in.

“Oh yeah? What’s that Dean, lores pretty clear ; there’s no cure for vampirism.” Frustration flashes like a hot wave over Sam, followed by an intense flooding of despair and anguish. It hadn’t been enough to feel like a freak while he was human ; now he was full on monster mashing— one of two curtain calls to choose from and the band was getting ready to pack up shop.

“You don’t know that— not for sure ; we nail down some of those originals we can get some answers, maybe Bonnie can get in touch with some spirits who know somethin’ hell Sam —I don’t know ; but I know I don’t wanna lose my brother, okay? . . . Please. I can’t do it again.” The pain had been unreal, when he’d thought Sam was finished. The eldest Winchester would never be able to explain the rush of relief he’d felt when Sam had taken that gasp of air. Bittersweet — but still sweet.

               More pain flickers over soft features; he doesn’t want to die— of course not what sane person did? But this, drinking blood to survive — even animal blood was a line Sam wasn’t sure he wanted to cross. Head falls on heavy shoulders and sigh falls like a thousand bricks onto Sam’s lap. Everything dialled to eleven is getting to be too much ; he’ll need to feed soon if he’s going to survive— won’t BE LONG NOW.  

[timewarn]

       𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄'𝐒   𝐀   𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑   𝐀𝐍𝐃   𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐍   𝐀   𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 .     noises   shortly   followed   by   a   disgruntled   exclamation   of   irritation   from   the   depths   of   the   building .      everything   in   the   shop   is   priceless  ,     irreplacable .      𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆   𝐈𝐍   𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄   𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃   𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑   𝐁𝐄   𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐍 .     luckily   it’s   only   glass   from   a   picture   frame   that   was   caught   and   ripped   from   the   wall   by   his   coat   as   he   passed .      𝐇𝐄   𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐄𝐒   𝐇𝐈𝐌𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅   𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇   𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆   𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐒 .     placed   into   the   palm   of   his   hand   with   caution   so   as   not   to   cut   himself .

            ❝     mind   yourself   ----   you’ll   never   know   how   far   glass   travels   when   it   explodes .      ❞       he   comments   without   even   looking   up   from   the   floor .     he   knows   that   she’s   there .       𝐂𝐀𝐍   𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋   𝐇𝐄𝐑   𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆   𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 .   @hellpierced​