Welcome to the Introduction page for Horizon: out of the ashes! Chances are, you're here because you're new to the game, but whether you're trying out roleplaying for the first time or you've been doing it for years, there are some unique elements in Horizon you should know about, in addition to a classic story-driven experience. Here in the introduction, we try to shed some light on our vision for the game: the universe, the story we want to tell and how we want it to feel when you play. If you're curious about Horizon, you're in the right place.
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Horizon: out of the ashes is a science fiction-themed roleplaying game, featuring compelling future events of oppression, resistance and hard-won survival, set on humanity's only colony planet: Horizon. Despite the futuristic perspective, the world has just a hint of Old West flair and draws primarily on themes of grit, conflict and the unknown, without glamorizing technology or human nature. In that regard, the civilization of Horizon is advanced, but without making a point of it and remains more relatable to the present day, or even the past, than it does to a distant future of bubble domes and space cars. Since the main setting is the colony world of Horizon, story is mostly conveyed through the stories and adventures of its people, including war, betrayal and other, stranger events, but if you're new and would like to get a good feel for the background, we thoroughly recommended reading The Horizon Story in the Lore section.
From a gameplay standpoint, Horizon is designed from the ground up to give as much creative freedom as possible, both for the Player building a new Character, and the Director crafting a new story. Trying to achieve this while keeping the system intuitive and focusing the spotlight on a unique and immersive setting has created some unique challenges and lead us to take a different approach with development, compared to many other RPGs. Firstly, we wanted the gameplay system to be as approchable as possible, so it could be fun even for a first-time player but at the same time, we didn't want to lose the depth or variety that keep it fresh for veteran players. To satisfy this balance of accessibility and depth, we're developing intuitive browser-based apps that do the heavy lifting when it comes to maths and information management. This allows Players a wealth of choice and flexibility, but with less time searching the rule book and more time forging an epic journey.
Our one caveat in this area is the ideal that Horizon: out of the ashes will always be playable with good-ol'-fashioned pencil, paper and dice, because sometimes there just isn't a substitute for sitting around a table to banter with friends.
Altogether, we hope to give every Horizon Player a journey all their own. We want to offer something really fun; a game that is consistently compelling and can show you something new every time you play. We hope it captures your imagination the way it's captured ours. Even if this page is the furthest you ever go with Horizon, thanks for exploring this far! ~Calder Niven, Creator.
Roleplaying, like acting, is imagining yourself in the place of another person -real or fictional- and playing out the role as if you were them. In the context of Horizon: out of the ashes, this means taking part in the events of a story by assuming the role of a fictional character. Unlike in a play or movie however, Characters in a roleplaying game are not only created by the storyteller. Instead, each Player may create a Character for themselves, then use the strengths and abilities of their Character to play out the adventure. This Character can be anyone and do anything, limited only by the setting and the rules of the game.
Also unlike traditional media, a roleplaying adventure can be different every time you play. In the role of your Character, you begin by exploring mysterious events or desperate struggles created by the storyteller, but as the story unfolds, your choices and actions shape the events that follow and can change how the story ends: for better or worse. You can also make any number of Characters, so if you feel like a change of pace, the sky is the limit! While you're only able to play one Character at a time, the experience can still be fresh and new each time you play. In our game, we recommend a group of 4 Players, though more or fewer is always possible.
The last element of roleplaying is the storyteller, referred to in Horizon: out of the ashes as, “The Director”. This person creates the story and oversees events as they play out. Players have total control over their Characters, but the world they explore is imagined and created by the Director. In the event that something happens with an uncertain outcome, the Director decides the result. In this way, stories can be very flexible, so no matter what Characters or events happen to collide, it's always possible to have a great experience. Have a cool story idea? Get some friends together and have fun!
Roleplaying games are often complex and there can be a lot to keep track of. In the beginning this can feel a little overwhelming so here we're going to cover the basics of how our game works. The first things you need to know are the roles of Player and Director along with what each entails. Next, we cover how to be a good roleplayer, then we move on to describe the mechanics of play, like making tests and rolling dice.
If all you need to know is what dice to roll for a specific test, there's a Quick Reference Guide for that!
THE PLAYER
The Player is you! Players make up the majority of any roleplay group and take the role of Characters in a story. Every Player may create a Character for themselves to use, acting as that Character to play out their journey on Horizon. Players have total control over the actions of their Character and whenever the Character uses their abilities, it should normally be the Player who makes the test to see if they succeed. Sometimes this may change, but that leads to our next point: play the Character, not yourself. If your Character is convinced of some lie by a master con man, you should do your best as a Player to control your Character as if you believe it. Outside the game, you may be fully aware that the con man's claims are nonsense, but in this case you are asked to “play the Character, not yourself”. This also works in reverse; if a Player Character successfully deceives one of the Director's non-Player characters (NPCs) in the story, the Director should play that NPC as if they believe your deception. Losing full control of your Character may sound scary, but any decent Director will not allow things to get out of hand. If you are ever uncertain, talk to your Director. Be polite, but ask clearly that no unreasonable detriment comes to your Character. Another case when the Player is not in full control is when their Character is unaware of something. Let's say your Character is being followed by someone. If the Director asks you to make a Perception test to see if your Character notices, you already know something is there and it can be difficult to play your Character objectively with that knowledge in the back of your mind. In this case, the Director may take the Perception test on your behalf. If the Character succeeds, you will be alerted to the stalker's presence and can act from there, but if not, you are truly none the wiser. As a Player in any roleplaying game, show respect to your fellow Players, as well as your Director. Getting treated with disregard is no fun, so don't do it to anyone else either. This goes for everyone in the group, including the Director.
THE DIRECTOR
The Director is the group member who oversees the story as it is played out. Most Directors also create many of their own stories. Outside a game, the Director has total freedom to allow or disallow any part of a Character's design for the games they run. Just because it is allowed in the rules doesn't obligate a Director to allow it in their story. A Director may also ask for new Characters to be created for a specific adventure. Anyone who wants to play should follow the Director's instructions; it's their story. During a session, it's the Director's job to make decisions about how the story changes in response to Player actions. Because of this, Directors may often need to make judgement calls about unexpected events or conflicts in the group. They should try to be consistent as well as fair and keep things as fun as possible: the Director can bend or break every rule in the system if they think it's the best course of action in a given situation, but that doesn't mean they are obligated to do so. If you decide to take on the role of Director, remember we're in this to have fun together. In the same way that Players should not abuse each other, your enjoyment cannot come at the cost of theirs and vice versa. Do your best and talk to your Players. Earn their respect. Having a good understanding between Director and Player often leads to the most enjoyable groups.
COMMUNICATION
At its heart, roleplaying is a social activity, in which groups of people get together to share a fun experience. As with any other shared event, it's important to communicate, not just to maintain a friendly atmosphere, but also to make sure everyone knows what's going on. Social activities usually stop being fun if people feel they can't do what they enjoy, especially if that's because of decisions made by someone else. Roleplaying games can often struggle with this issue, and Horizon: out of the ashes is no different. Every Player can create their own custom Character and the Director makes up a unique story themselves. With the number of variables this creates, if every Player is tyring to go their own way and nobody is listening to the Director, the session can very quickly grind to a halt or alternatively go completely overboard. This makes communication crucial: it's important to share what you're thinking and how you plan to act. Plus, you never know when your conversation might uncover an opportunity you otherwise would have missed! This also leads us to our next point.
RESPECT
We mentioned before that a large part of our vison for Horizon: out of the ashes is creative freedom; both for the Director when making their story, and also for Players building their Characters. Now let's introduce the idea that these freedoms of choice that make the game so fun are mutually dependent. When a Player or Director doesn't show regard for the others in the group, their fun comes at the cost of someone else's. While this might balance out naturally over time, as unpleasant Players or Directors find they have fewer and fewer people willing to join them for a game, we felt it was better to address this directly right at the start of evryone's Horizon experience: Let's be considerate, so we can ALL have fun. This means several things:
Action Points, or AP, are the currency of action in Horizon: out of the ashes and represent the amount of useful activity produced when a Character tries to do something. When a Character uses their Skills, the effectiveness of the attempt depends on the number of AP they can generate. The more difficult an action is, the higher the required AP score will be, so the more AP a Character can generate the better.
In combat, every Character has 15AP to spend every round. This 15AP pool, called Turn AP, represents the passage of time during the fight, and several actions which are not normally measured, such as movement, may ONLY use this pool of AP. Any remaining Turn AP can be added to other test scores, such as attack tests etc. This represents that instead of moving, the Character has devoted their time for the round to focusing completely on another task, thus improving the result.
There are several actions that can only use the 15 Turn AP during combat. For more details, see the Combat Actions section in the Quick Reference Guide.
When a Character attempts an action, tests are the method for deciding whether or not they are successful. The basic concept is fairly simple; the more difficult an action is, the higher the AP Threshold, or in other words, the higher the number of AP required to succeed. On that basis, the more AP a Character can generate, the more difficult actions they can accomplish. As a Character grows, they become stronger, allowing them to generate more AP for their desired abilities. There are several ways a Character can achieve this: