A look at Hidden Worlds: Incursion from Section 28 Publishing

“A new Roleplaying Game set in Bryan Donihue’s World of Incursion. No classes. No levels. No limits.”While we were broadcasting live from InConJunction 39, we ran across a small game that was actually launching at the convention. Based in writer Bryan Donihue’s fictional setting that his books are based in, the game is an interesting look at a d20 mechanic that seems fairly simple to play. During the demo, we navigated the world pretty easy. On the GM side of things however, that is where you need to get out of your own way. We found that it took some time to get rid of habits that we found ourselves with from decades of running games on other systems. The initiative system is good, and can allow you several actions in a round, but keeping track requires a little work on the GMs side. You only use one d20, and roll a limited number of times during the game.

There is a lot to get into, but rather than unpack it all here, let’s just jump to the end. Similar to GDW’s Dark Conspiracy, Traveler, and Twilight 2000, the character creation is based on a life path style process. One can take the steps to create a really unique character. That said, as with those systems, and systems like Call of Cthulhu and more, there are no real classes. There are just occupations that you take, then skills that you increase.

The end result is something fun to play, with some style choices that are familiar enough for us to grasp pretty easy. We suggest picking up a copy for yourself and giving it a go. On the bonus as well, there is only one book you need. So it will not break the bank to run the game.