Nexalis: Adventure and Wonder Through Bright Fantasy- Preview

Nexalis is a solo-friendly and GMless hopeful fantasy RPG that focuses on exploration, wonder, awe, and adventure, by Cezar Capacle. The game is currently crowdfunding so be sure to check it out and support it if you like what you see here.

CHECK IT OUT HERE!

Inspirations for Nexalis are C4 by Cosininha Verde (I need to look that one up!), Agon by John Harper and Sean Nittner (played that, loved it), Ironsworn by Shawn Tomkin (my favourite Solo RPG), and Blades in the Dark by John Harper (another great game). So some excellent foundations there.

I was provided with a preview copy of the game. It isn’t quite complete but it’s mostly done. I haven’t had a chance to properly play this game so this will be a preview instead of a review. I’ll go through some interesting parts of the game

I think the game is cool and I hope to get a chance to play in the near future.

Now let's go over a few aspects of the game!

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The Art: There are examples through this preview that you can take a look at. I love the bright, hopeful feel of the artwork here by Penflower Ink. The character art is great and it really stands out with a different sort of style than you typically see in RPGs.

Design and Layout: The game looks and reads great. The general feel is bright and colourful without detracting from the readability of it. Pages have a decent mix of words and graphics with plenty of white space to make it all pleasant. I like a book that takes space to unfold itself in a relaxed manner.

Basic Premise: Similar to Agon, you (and your party if your playing with friends) travel from magical island to magical island, solving mysteries and helping the locals of that island with dangerous issues they are having. Once you’ve helped the island, you’ll travel to the next one. What I like about this is there are clear gameplay loops you can work with as a solo player and you can take it Island by Island.

Mechanics: The base mechanics are simple enough. It’s a D6+stats vs Target number type system. What that means in practice is you create a Challenge Rating, for example 4. Then you’ll roll a D6 plus your Chosen Way (stat) and if you beat the Challenge Rating you’ve overcome the challenge. If you don't lower the challenge rating and try again. There are more advanced rules for combat and contests, but it’s that general mechanic.

Playbooks: There are six different playbooks and instructions for creating your own playbook, which is a nice touch. The playbooks are quite diverse and allow a variety of player options. The Whildheart is a protector of nature that has elemental and spiritual powers, whereas the Bladesworn is a valiant warrior dedicated to honor and loyalty. I’d like to try out the Spellweaver myself and use that playbook's sorcery and knowledge to unlock hidden potential and thwart magical threats.

Druid Class! Love this guy!

Don't think I'd mess with this Warrior!

Gameplay Loop: A whole section of an RPG dedicated to the Gameplay loop? I’m sold right here! It is my opinion that a strong gameplay loop is essential for a solo game, as it keeps the story going and keeps the player interested. Most importantly, it means the player always knows what they are doing next. Games like Starforged do an excellent job of creating a strong gameplay loop, which is why I think it’s the top Solo game out there.

I’m glad to see that Nexalis has a section discussing the loop, what happens in each stage of the game, and how the player engages with it. It also doesn’t seem too structured and leaves a lot of room for a player to go off track a bit and then come back to the structure.

Oracles: There are a lot of oracles and you love to see it. 15 to be exact and they cover the simple Yes/No question, to scene framing, story complications, and combat. Some oracles are your typical one-word answers but some provide chunky paragraphs of detail such as the Island Trouble table.

Adventures: Finally at the end of the book you have pre-made adventures. These are for if you are not keen on creating something from the Oracle tables. The included adventure is well written and it still includes lots of rolling tables for a unique experience.

And that’s it for Nexalis, quite a unique game I recommend checking out and backing. 

CHECK IT OUT HERE!

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