In September 2017 we presented the Maelstrom Bundle featuring Maelstrom, Alexander Scott’s 1984 tabletop fantasy roleplaying game of 16th-Century Tudor magick and danger. Originally published by Puffin Books under the Adventure Gamebooks banner (alongside the famous Fighting Fantasy series), Maelstrom introduced a generation of British youth to roleplaying. Now the current publisher, Arion Games, has contributed this comprehensive bargain-priced Maelstrom offer — including two brand-new titles that debuted here.
Set in Tudor England around 1540, Maelstrom lets you create and adventure with nobles, mercenaries, priests, tradesmen, and herbalists. The game’s innovative freeform magick system, arguably a precursor to such classics as Ars Magica, allows mages to warp reality to their own ends. Combat is fast and furious, with dozens of weapons and armor types. The wound system means injuries are a real threat. The herbal section, a highlight of the original Maelstrom rules, has inspired many net-based RPG herbals.
There were six titles in our Starter Collection (retail value $43) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks, including the complete Maelstrom core rulebook (retail price $10) and the Maelstrom Companion (retail $8); Maelstrom Domesday (retail $15), a standalone companion game set in AD 1086 (previously in our August 2015 Bundle of the Ages +2), plus its Investigators Guide (retail $6); and the two supplements MQ1 Tournaments and MQ2 Inns & Taverns (retail $2 each).
Those who paid more than the threshold (average) price also got our entire Bonus Collection with no less than eleven more titles worth an additional $62:
- NEW IN THIS OFFER! Maelstrom Gothic (retail $15): A complete standalone game that adapts Maelstrom for supernatural investigations in 1850s Victorian England.
- ALSO NEW! Domesday North Yorkshire Moors (retail $8): A remote and wild region with enough supernatural action for an entire Domesday campaign.
- Classic Fantasy Toolkit (retail $5) and Bestiary (retail $3): Grab your 10′ pole for traditional dungeon-crawling using the Maelstrom system.
- Beggars Companion (retail $8): The lowest of the low can get into a lot of mischief.
- Four Maelstrom adventures (total retail $13) — The Beast of Ledsham, Purple Mushroom Caves, The Sward [sic] and the Stone, and The Yuletide Spirit.
- Domesday Maps and Charts (retail $5) and Manor Cartography Symbols (retail $5).
- Maelstrom Paper Minis (retail $5) and Domesday Miniatures Set (retail $7): Dozens of print-and-fold cardstock standups for medieval and Tudor games.
Ten percent of each purchase (after gateway fees) went to the charity designated by Arion Games owner Graham Bottley, the Yorkshire (UK) Air Ambulance. “In the area where I live it is a literal life saver,” says Graham. “I very nearly needed it myself a couple of years ago, but it could not fly at night at that time. In the United Kingdom these services are funded only by charities, and because there is a reasonable chance I may need it again, it is the main charity I support.”
