In March 2020 we presented the all-new Blue Rose Bundle featuring the AGE-system RPG of romantic fantasy from Green Ronin Publishing. Inspired by authors like Mercedes Lackey, Diane Duane, Tamora Pierce, and many more, Blue Rose makes you an envoy in service to the Sovereign of the peaceful and prosperous kingdom of Aldea. As much problem-solvers and diplomats as warriors, envoys uphold civilization’s ideals and protect ordinary people from danger. Aided by the rhydan — your psychic animal allies — you and your companions guard your homeland from aggressive neighbors, ancient monsters and artifacts, and a resurgent Shadow.
Funded in a successful June 2015 Kickstarter campaign, the Second Edition of Blue Rose uses Green Ronin’s Adventure Game Engine (AGE), the popular rules that power the Fantasy AGE and Dragon Age RPGs (both featured in our Feb 2018 Dragon Age Bundle).
The 2005 First Edition of Blue Rose drew attention — not all positive. Some found its take on the fantasy genre refreshing, others distasteful. The game and setting emphasized gender equality and inclusion, along with themes of cooperation and individuality. In “Controversial RPG Blue Rose Returns With More Intrigue, Psychic Powers” (Gizmodo, July 2015), Ed Grabianowski interviewed Blue Rose co-designer Steve Kenson (ICONS) about the “romantic fantasy” label. “‘Romantic’ refers to a style and a point of view that’s generally positive, hopeful, and cooperative,” Kenson said. “Good people can make a difference, true love can and does win in the end, we can make the world better, people of good conscience can work together (and even disagree) but still coexist peacefully, and, ultimately, there is good in the world and it’s something worth fighting for. That romance often includes interpersonal relationships, from boon comrades to passionate love, and such things are both the reasons why characters take action and the rewards they receive for their efforts.
“In this day and age, even mature adult gamers won’t blink at games and stories that model the most terrible forms of violence, but become sheepish and embarrassed by stories modeling love and friendship and family. [This] powerful story element has been missing from games aimed at telling legendary or mythological stories: the notion that love and connection are powers as great, if not greater, than any magic, any battle-prowess, or any cunning scheme.”
This offer gathered the entire Blue Rose 2E roleplaying line plus fiction and play aids for an unbeatable bargain price. There were four titles in our Starter Collection (retail value $48) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks, including the complete full-color, 384-page Blue Rose core rulebook; the full-length novel Shadowtide by Joseph D. Carriker Jr. (plus its novella-length sequel Pit of Vipers and the free Shadowtide: Recipes from Aldea); and the brand-new 14-story anthology Sovereigns of the Blue Rose.
Those who paid more than the threshold (average) price also got our entire Bonus Collection with five more titles worth an additional $51, including the rest of the Blue Rose gaming line — the massive city sourcebook Aldis: City of the Blue Rose, the adventure collection Six of Swords, and the Blue Rose Narrator’s Kit — plus two more Tales of Blue Rose: Of Shadow and Light and Heartsong.
