Halcyon is an indie role-playing game

Indie role-playing game

An indie role-playing game is a role-playing game published outside of traditional, "mainstream" means. Varying definitions require that commercial, design, or conceptual elements of the game stay under the control of the creator, or that the game should just be produced outside of a corporate...

, independently published by Neuwerld Studios among two editions. The Player Codex was released in 2008 in softcover format, replaced in 2010 by the illustrated Core Rulebook in hardcover format.

Synopsis

The setting of the game is rooted within the fictional metropolitan city of Halcyon, a futuristic city that was constructed on Manhattan island from the ashes of the former New York City. The storyline exhibits themes that have received prominent attention from contemporary mainstream newscasts including such issues as the polarization of wealth, disappearing middle-class, decline of the Earth's ecosystem, abuses by the executive branch of the United States Federal Government, manipulation and control of the mass through the use of fear tactics, erosion of the United States economy and employment market, and the perils associated with plutocracy and corporate imperiousness. Gameplay begins in the year 2120, eight years after the Great Tribulation

Tribulation

The Great Tribulation refers to tumultuous events that are described during the "signs of the times", first mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet discourse...

, and includes the involvement of numerous governmental, militaristic, corporate, organizational, and independent factions as they converge upon the emerging city in struggles over power, money, and ideals.

Genres

The Halcyon fictional universe

Fictional universe

A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....

 comprises a fusion of several various genres that are popular among role-playing games. According to the introduction to the core rules handbook, equal attention was given to developing the elements of science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

, cyberpunk

Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...

, fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

, mythology

Mythology

The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...

, and dystopia

Dystopia

A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...

.

Related Fiction

Money for Nothing was released in early fall 2009 at the Gen Con

Gen Con

Gen Con is one of the largest and most prominent annual gaming conventions in North America. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card-style games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, board games, live action role-playing games, collectible card games, non-collectible...

 convention annually held in Indianapolis. The novel is based in the Halcyon game setting and uses a traditional action storyline from the perspective of mercenaries.

Religious undertones

While the narrative text of the sourcebooks makes no direct reference to religion, nor to any religious sects, Halcyon does carry undertones consisting of the foundational beliefs of the prominent world religions. The topics of religion and religious prophesy are dealt with through the use of allegory

Allegory

Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...

 and reference to asceticism

Asceticism

Asceticism describes a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from various sorts of worldly pleasures often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals...

. Religious themes that are exhibited in the game's narrative include concepts of armageddon

Armageddon

Armageddon is, according to the Bible, the site of a battle during the end times, variously interpreted as either a literal or symbolic location...

, the mark of the beast, and the beginning of the thousand years of peace as presented by the Biblical Book of Revelation

Book of Revelation

The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...

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