Far away from home, settlers found a new nation in a strange land. But, with this land comes dark powers that prey on the minds of men and beast alike. Unknown to the settlers, a web of powerful magic has been spun beneath the very ground upon which they stake their claims, mutating the flora and fauna above. Long have these innocent days past, with four nations now standing where tents did before. And the lurking threat now bares its fangs.

WHAT IS THE DAYS OF THE SUN?

The Days of the Sun, or TDOTS for short, is a %dice (d100/2d10) based system that produces powerful characters who are worn down over time. In addition, TDOTS is a cooperative creative experience at its core, providing tools for both the players and game master to establish lore, non-playable characters, locations, and historical events. TDOTS is set in a late middle / early modern age fantasy setting, where cultures cross oceans and mix for the first time. It’s an age of discovery, however, one poisoned with paranormal magics that brutally transmogrify the land and its people.

Interested? Keep reading, or scroll to the bottom of the page to learn how to buy the game!

Below I will also embed a video tutorial that walks you through the broad steps of the system while making a character. It is long, but goes into much greater detail. If you are pressed for time I would recommend reading this page instead.

WHAT ARE THE MECHANICS?

COMBAT

The combat in TDOTS is turn-based, and will be familiar to veterans. Some consider it slow, however, this is due to the variety and depth of choice a player has. All of the decisions you make in a combat encounter will carry over into your future ones, as resting takes a long time and will only give you a fraction of your resources back. One standout mechanic is the “Quick Actions”, which you can take as many of on your turn as you like. Some classes, like Warden, have attacks that are Quick Actions. 

These attacks are very powerful, but come at a higher cost than attacks that use normal actions. And if you use more than three, you gain “Fatigue”, which lowers your stats until you spend precious resting time removing it, rather than regenerating your spent resources. 

The spell / ability system in TDOTS is expansive, very expansive. Every class has their own unique list, and not one shares a name or function. Each class has at least twenty four abilities, and some have upwards of thirty. Abilities also use a keyword system called “Mutations” that let you know how an ability works at a glance. “Mutation” comes from the old FPS term “mutator”, which describes a change in the core mechanics of the game. Like “Instagib”, for example. Ability mutations work in the same way, altering the core rules that every ability has. Like “Area” abilities not requiring a roll to hit, and “Melee” abilities act the same as melee attacks. As a GM, you can alter what mutations abilities have to experiment with balance, or give rewards to your players.

Speaking of classes, I pride myself in interesting and varied class design. I can guarantee there will be a class in this game that will capture your imagination. There are stance-dancing sword swingers, boxers that punch with magically enchanted fists, wizards that can change the elemental type of their spells at will, magically endowed trust fund kids who create counterfeit money and gamble with gods, and many more. There are ten in the first edition and twenty in the second edition. There is a plethora of races to choose and mix as well, each with a unique heritage and place of origin. Some with their own spells or effects that can dramatically change how you approach combat. Ten in the first edition, and twenty five in the second.

NARRATIVE

For the core narrative you will be following as adventurers, or the one you will be constructing as a Game Master, there are many great options. TDOTS works best in a setting that restricts how much the players can rest via a time limit or other external factors. Military service, seafaring, urban or wilderness survival, caravaning, and restoring a poor community are options I use personally. Players are worn down not only in combat, but through the narrative. Travel, eating, weather, and environment can all take a toll on adventurers. There are also “Critical Injuries”, which can persist for the rest of your adventuring career.

The narrative is also cooperatively constructed, with players being involved from the first steps of character creation. Players have the tools to add towns and cities to the map with their own lore, add non-player characters to their personal network for the GM to use, and establish cannon with books and magical discoveries. Yes, that means if a player wants to write the lore of a village composed entirely of magically animated scat, and they roll well enough, it becomes cannon. Or name the king of a land Richard Hemorrhoid. Forever! As each campaign you do will reuse the same map, making the world more dense and personal as time marches by. 

The included campaign is a “hex-crawl”, a free form adventure that sees your players setting up the world. You and your players will journey through the land of Chike, populating the map through random encounters and scenarios set up by you. Or ones forced upon you via player consequences. Explore based on your wants and needs, and create a world worth saving. Eventually, the cracks in the old world that you have carefully built up will start to widen. Culminating with the last days of the sun and a battle for survival. I also encourage using your own campaign ideas and maps, to create a whole new adventure for yourselves. The second edition will have starting scenarios that will help guide the early growing pains of a campaign, and give you places to go and quests to do. Until your group establishes a goal for themselves, at least.

Don’t want to use my site? Buy it from DrivethruRPG instead!