A World on the Brink...
Lightning War is a roleplaying game set in a high fantasy world’s World War II. When three of the most powerful nations in the world succumb to the insidious evils of fascism, everyday people are forced into a desperate war for their survival. This 88-page book includes all of the rules you need to play, from squad creation to tense exploration and deadly tactical combat. It also features a gallery of adversaries, and guidelines for game masters to design devious missions.
Lightning War is about acts of heroism in the face of constant danger. Creep through ancient ruins and ruined cities. Battle ruthless enemies and dangerous monsters. Use creativity, strategy, and teamwork to win against all odds.
At this critical moment, even the smallest victories could turn the tide of the war.
What's Different?
How is Lightning War different from other tabletop RPGs you might've played?
Lightning War uses an original system that combines fast-and-loose rules with tactical teamwork-based combat. Characters have Attributes rated between 2 and 6. Players must roll less than or equal to their Attribute to succeed. The size of the die you roll (d4, d6, d8, d10, or d12) is based on the difficulty of the situation. Characters with sufficiently high Attributes can automatically succeed on easier rolls.
Each player controls a team of characters: one specialist and two grunts. Grunts can't take actions on their own, but provide passive benefits to your specialist while they're alive.
Combat in Lightning War can be extremely dangerous - but there's a way characters can cheat death. Once per session, grunts and specialists can avoid a fatal attack by revealing a detail from their backstory. This “Flashback” mechanic encourages you to give history and depth to characters who could otherwise be treated like expendable pawns.
What's in the Book?
A broad overview of Lightning War's high fantasy setting.
A full-color cover, and a colored interior with lined artwork.
Five playable species: cinderfolk, dwarves, halflings, humans, and orcs.
Ten playable roles, including the magic-wielding Arcanist, terrifying Flamethrower, decisive Officer, nimble Scout, and fearless Support.
Fast-paced and intuitive rules for exploration and roleplaying.
A fine-tuned combat system that allows for fast-playing but highly tactical battles.
A robust GM section with guidelines for customizing the rules and themes of the game to fit your group.
Random tables GMs can use to quickly generate interesting mission prompts.
Over thirty versatile NPC profiles, including allies, enemies, beasts and monsters.
Designer's Retrospective
Lightning War was my first original publication, crowdfunded in 2019, published in the summer of 2020. It was a monumental undertaking, only possible with the help from my friends and 3,000 Kickstarter backers. Special thanks goes to Craig Campbell, who mentored me through every step of the crowdfunding process, and Raeonda Ramoutar, whose phenomenal illustrations brought my war-torn world to life.
The fundamental message of Lightning War was meant to be "fascism is terrifying - do not let things get this bad." The good guys are imperfect, and the villains have an insidiously appealing logic to their societies. Play leaves the players feeling dirty - massacring a squad of fascist soldiers before they even have the chance to fight back, because in a fair fight, you might lose.
At the same time, it was extremely ambitious for a first project, and I was incredibly anxious about hitting my crowdfunding goal. With more than five years of hindsight, I think I played it too safe. If I ever revisit the game, I'd scream my message even louder, make the game even more desperate, and worry less about how strangers on the internet felt about it.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://rpgtrader.com/products/893/lightning-war