| Alshard | |
| Designer: | Jun'ichi Inoue, F.E.A.R. |
| Publisher: | Enterbrain, Game Field |
| Date: | 2002 (1st edition) 2005 fortissimo (v.1.5) |
| Genre: | techno-fantasy |
| System: | Standard RPG System |
is a Japanese role-playing game designed by Jun'ichi Inoue and FarEast Amusement Research. It was released in July 2002. The current, version 1.5, known as was published in July 2005. It is a fantasy role-playing game with mechanical items like Final Fantasy. Alshard's game system is named Standard RPG System (SRS for short) and is used in other games such as Tenra War and Kaze no Stigma RPG and so on. SRS including Alshard series is one of the largest role-playing game systems published in Japan.
Alshard's world is named Midgard, and the setting includes many deities from Norse mythology (for example 'Odin' and 'Thor'), but most of the deities died in Ragnarök, the ancient war of the gods. Midgard is a fantasy world, but guns, motorcycles, robots, androids, airships, tanks, and other mechanical items are present in the setting.Player characters are called "Questers" and possess a crystal (called a "Shard") of ancient gods, and can use supreme divine powers by using it. Questers seek an ideal world, Asgard, and stand against the world's enemy, the abyss, and the evil empire Wahres Reich (German for the True Empire). The game title, Alshard is a coined term that means "a Shard with complete power." Every Shard has ego and tries to guide the owner to Asgard.
Midgard is about as large as Eurasian Continent in the actual world. More than 70 percent of it is occupied by Wahres Reich. Wahres Reich is a theocratic empire which worships the god of machinery, Deus Ex Machina. Imperial science technology called Kabbalah are well-developed. However, in contrast to other technology systems such as ancient race Alf's "Relics" and desert tribe Jarhead's "Gears", Kabbalah wastes mana of world and increases the abyss which is the enemy of world. Wise men and Questers in Midgard hate the abyss and blame Wahres Reich for using dangerous Kabbalah technology. Also the empire looks on Questers as imperial enemies and is hunting Questers for their Shards possess enormous power according to imperial proclamation.
By Kabbalah technology, Reich's army possesses many modern weapons including tanks and airships, and is the strongest military force in Midgard. The same person holds posts as the Kaiser and the Pope in this theocratic state. The present Kaiser, Gustav Joseph II, is a very taciturn and incredibly old man at the age of 412 years. It would be a large incident if he said just one word. The line of Kaisers born in the monogenesis from the women who were called Blessed Virgin. To prevent the accident, several clones of Blessed Virgin are made, but subjects of Reich are not told the truth. Some propagandas tell that these clones are twins. These tragic Blessed Virgins appear in early scenarios as beautiful and innocent heroines whom questers should help.
The empire has more than 10 big arcology cities as representative by imperial capital Gladsheim in the empery. Arcology cities are structured of complex skyscraper and they are in the frontier of Reich's science power. Future scientific equipment, including air cars can exist only in the cities where the power of Shard was applied. The urbiculture of the cities are developed and is very different from the outside fantasy world, PCs can play cyberpunk adventures in there.
The imperial overstretch of Wahres Reich cause frictions and strained relations with other nations as follows.
Cosmology of Alshard is called Yggdrasil universe and described as the world tree Yggdrasil. Many worlds are connected by Yggdrasil like as branches and leaves of the tree. Several major worlds (including Midgard and Blue Sphere) are called "root worlds". Minor worlds and parallel universes of root worlds are called "leaf worlds". The abyss that try to change everything into void is similar to the disease of the tree that blights leaves and roots.
Yggdrasil universe includes many worlds as follow.
| Alshard GAIA | |
| Designer: | Jun'ichi Inoue, Takeshi Kikuchi, F.E.A.R. |
| Publisher: | Enterbrain, Game Field |
| Date: | 2006 |
| Genre: | contemporary fantasy |
| System: | Standard RPG System |
is a contemporary fantasy role-playing game using the Standard RPG System which was released in August 2006. Alshard GAIA has high degree of compatibility with Alshard, it is possible to use classes of two games together.
GAIA's world is named Blue Sphere. It is an alternate Earth. There is magic, but it is concealed from public knowledge; it is united magic with science in Alchemy, a highly developed process; for instance, the magic device named Chamber staff strengthens magic with magical bullets.
Blue Sphere is invaded by the abyss that it is the enemy of Questers.
The game presents a starting character with the choice of various classes: returner (time traveler), homunculus (artificial humanoid), psychic, overlander (plane-shifter), dhampir, machinehead (animate machine like as Transformers) and intelligent weapon (including Chamber staff) etc. The setting is inspired by recent Japanese games, novels and animations, including Fate/stay night, Lyrical Nanoha and Haruhi Suzumiya series.
See main article: Standard RPG System.
Standard RPG System uses only 6 sided dice. To determine whether the action is successful or not the player rolls only 2d6, if the total of the dice rolled by the player and ability/class adjustments is more than or equal to difficulty score the action succeeds. To determine damage the player rolls a number of 6 sided dice. The number of dice that are rolled increases with various class abilities.
Players choose up to three classes during character creation—for example, fighter/fighter/fighter (a 3rd-level fighter), valkyrie/valkyrie/scout (a 2nd-level valkyrie/1st-level scout), or black magician/white mage/wizard (a 1st-level black magician/1st-level white mage/1st-level wizard).
4 base classes (fighter, scout, black magician and white mage) have important core abilities. Therefore, player characters are encouraged to choose at least one basic class.
Sub-classes are the classes that have not only abilities but also various cultural backgrounds. Sub-classes represent ethnos, memberships of organizations, schools of magic and lifestyles.
Non-human race characters are represented by racial classes. These classes provide the unique racial abilities, magics, items and martial arts.
Overlander and overlander-alternative classes represent plane-shifters who came from various worlds in Yggdrasil universe.
Advanced classes and Einheriere classes are the special classes for high-level characters. Einheriere characters gain immortality.
At this time there are more over 70 character classes and about 2,800 class abilities. In Standard RPG System, all spells and skills are comprised in class abilities.
The characters' ability scores are decided by the selection of classes almost automatically. Moreover, characters possess supreme divine powers according to their classes. For example, fighters possess the power of 'Thor', which adds extra damage to damage rolls, while white mages possess the power of 'Idun', which can raise the dead. Supreme divine powers are named, and work much like hero points. Each character can use Kago three times every a session, according to three classes was chosen during character creation.
The rule books are only released in Japanese language. Translations of some of the book titles are noted in brackets.