Another big bundle - The Dark Eye

[ffutures]

This is a bundle offering a material for one of the oldest fantasy RPGs - The Dark Eye, a German system from from Ulisses Spiele, which has been in print since 1984 and has a ton of support material. This offer covers the 2016 English translation of the system, and is aimed at newcomers to the system. Some of it has been in previous bundles:

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/DarkEyeMega

The Dark Eye Megabundle presents the English-language edition from Ulisses Spiele of the leading German RPG of heroic fantasy, The Dark Eye. In continuous publication since 1984, The Dark Eye is Germany's premier FRPG. As a virtuous knight, elven ranger, or erudite mage, you'll rebuild the war-weary Middenrealm, marvel at the Lands of the Tulamydes, discover lost ruins in steaming jungle, or drive back the evil of the Shadowlands. Rescue innocent victims from cults of the Nameless One – navigate labyrinthine intrigues at the Court of the Empress – or defend border cities from the Orc Storm.

Ulisses funded English translations of much of The Dark Eye line in a May 2016 Kickstarter campaign. This new Megabundle, targeted at players new to The Dark Eye, presents the core rulebook and a kingdom-sized range supplements and adventures set in Aventuria, a rich and believable setting inspired by Europe's medieval lore, forbidding landscapes, and fairytale castles.

We provide each title complete in .PDF. Like all Bundle of Holding titles, these ebooks have NO DRM (Digital Restrictions Management), and our customers are entitled to move them freely among all their devices. (By publisher request, the DriveThruRPG versions of these files are inobtrusively watermarked.)

Ten percent of each purchase (after gateway fees) goes to this Dark Eye offer's designated charity, Direct Relief. Direct Relief sends protective gear and critical care medications to health workers, with emergency deliveries to medical facilities across the US and to regional response agencies across the world.

The total retail value of the titles in The Dark Eye Megabundle is US$243.50. Customers who pay just US$24.95 get all ten complete English-language titles in our Player Collection (retail value $106) as DRM-free ebooks, including The Dark Eye core rulebook (retail price $20), along with the Character Sheets Pack (retail $2.50), Deluxe Character Sheets (retail $3), Figure Flats (retail $4), and the free Quickstart Rules; the sourcebooks Aventuria Armory (retail $20), Armory of the Warring Kingdoms (retail $6.50), and Magic of Aventuria (retail $20); the Aventuria Almanac and Map Set (retail $10 each); and the introductory solitaire adventure Conspiracy of Mages (retail $10).

Those who pay more than the threshold (average) price, which is set at $44.95 to start, also get our entire Game Master Collection with twelve more titles worth an additional $137.50, including the Aventuria Compendium (retail $25) plus its Compendium Figure Flats (retail $2); the sourcebooks Aventuria Bestiary (retail $10.50) and Gods of Aventuria (retail $20); all six scenarios in the colorful Theater Knights campaign (retail $10 each) – I White Lake, II Blue Tome, III The Black Forest, IV Green Platoon, V Silver Guard, and VI Red Choir (retail $10); the companion sourcebook Legacy of the Theater Knights (retail $10); and The Dark Eye GM Screen (retail $10) with its Inns & Taverns insert booklet.

Twelve of these titles have appeared in past Bundle offers in 2018 and 2020. The titles new to the Player Collection are Aventuria Armory, Magic of Aventuria, and Conspiracy of Mages (total retail $50). The titles new to the Game Master Collection are Gods of Aventuria, Theater Knights III-VI, and Legacy of the Theater Knights (total retail $70).

When these were last on offer in 2020 I repeated a comment from 2018:

I'm not hugely into fantasy RPGs, I played way too many in the eighties and sort of lost the plot, but this looks pretty good, the art is excellent, and you get a huge amount for your money. And some things look like some actual thought has gone into them - for example, most of the depictions of women show them wearing sensible clothes for adventuring, with the balance of the sexes roughly even. The rules look comprehensible, though a little more complicated than I like, and (I repeat) you get a hell of a lot for your money. Recommended!

I wonder if there has ever been a German version of this offer - it might be interesting for linguists etc. or (of course) for German gamers, but since these bundles are organised by Americans I won't hold my breath waiting...

I don't see any reason to change any of this - it's not a system I particularly want to use, but it's very good value, and well worth a look if you're into fantasy RPGs. My main caveat considering that it has been in bundles several times is that it may be worth checking how much of it you already own, and whether it would be cheaper just to buy the bits you don't have and will actually use.