QuoteHere is a complete tome! Within these pages is all you will need to run a successful campaign on a brand new world! In here you will meet beings you have never met anywhere else; a new concept of magic-using (8 different Schools of Magic/8 different Temples of Worship), each of which have their own spells; and the most realistic fantasy-based R.P.G. on the market! There will be some constants you have met before (i.e.: goblins, trolls, ogres, etc.), however, even these have a new slant on them! And as stated, the most realistic fantasy-based game around (if you do not get your armor and weapons repaired, you could lose them in the middle of battle; if you do not care for your horse, you could lose it as your horse has Life Points as well). So have fun with this brand new world and the many new being you will meet during your adventures!

QuoteHolding his new book, Vulcan resident John Holland says words cannot describe the feeling.

"This is the culmination of 18 years of work," he said about the self-published 544-page The Game Master's Bible, which delves into the world he created, Atlantasia.

Holland had come up with his medieval fantasy world in anticipation of writing novels set in Atlantasia, but became frustrated after finding the popular RPG Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) was not challenging enough.

"When I got bored with D&D, it's like, OK, put novels on the backburner, let's get a real game going here," he said.

Holland says other companies' RPGs are "passé" and "too generic."

"To tell you the truth, I'm really not in this for the money," he said. "I'm in this to do a David and Goliath. I'm going after the big boys."

Holland wants to give them "a taste of what's to come," and what's to come, he says, is realism.

He's marketing the game as the most realistic fantasy based role-playing game (RPG) on the market.

In his game, called The Realms of Atlantasia, realism means bows are less useful in the rain, armour rusts and horses die if not cared for.

"Your weapons and your armour take damage in battle," he said. "You've got to get them repaired."

"As realistic as I can get in a fantasy-based world, we have added it in this," he said.

Like in real life, players won't find the same stores everywhere they go, and similar stores don't have the same prices and merchandise, he said.

And players have to make sure characters practise their skills or their characters won't develop as quickly as they could, said Holland.

"It's part of the realism," he said.

Holland has introduced exchange rates into his game, something he says no other role-playing game has done before.

"Something else that no one RPG game has done, and this is my pride and glory, is the magic using class," he said. "Every other game it's all generic, it doesn't matter kind of priest you are, what temple you worship, you get all the same spells. It doesn't matter what kind of mage you are, you get all the same spells.

"In this world, there are eight different temples, there are eight different schools of magic. Each one of them has their own spells."

There are 900 spells in the game, and there are many more to come, he said.

Out of the 52 monsters introduced in the game, 44 of them nobody has ever seen before, he said.

Holland has many supplementary books he wants to publish to give his game a more "3D like experience."

The supplementary materials include a dictionary for each of the languages he's come up with, atlases, and books on potions and poisons.

The game is certainly involved, with an eight-page character sheet. (The D&D fourth edition character sheet is two pages.)

Holland wasn't always sure he was going to complete even the first book, let alone others that delve into his world.

"I got halfway through the 900 spells and I thought I'm never going to get this done, and (his wife) Alisa just kicking me in the butt," he said.

He said he was getting disenchanted dealing with publishers, but when she found a company with which he could self-publish the book through IUniverse, it became a reality.

The Game Master's Bible is available online, both in print (for $44.95) and ebook (for $3.99). Holland is selling it on the website //www.realmsofatlantasia.com, the iUniverse website, //www.iuniverse.com, where it can be found by searching for The Realms of Atlantasia, and the websites of large bookstore chains including Chapters, Indigo, and Barnes and Noble. The soft cover book is $44.95, and the ebook sells for $3.99.

The next steps are to get the book into game stores in southern Alberta, and then onto the shelves in the large bookstores, he said.

Holland plans to auction a signed first edition, complete with documentation and a case, on eBay sometime in December.

He also wants to set up a game night at his Vulcan residence.

Quote from: TristramEvans;492801On the website you can find the 8-page character sheet. In Word format. In 8 separate files.

Quote from: Kaldric;492814I dunno. I think this guy's a troll, actually. The book isn't actually up for sale anywhere, the website appears to be quite intentionally stuck in the 90's - to the point the guy must have gone a far bit out of the way to make it look that way.

And the front page of the site looks like someone made the map with a felt-tip pen. I've seen better maps made with mspaint - I could draw a better map, and I'm so lacking in any artistic talent, it's hilarious.

Which makes me think this has been made to look this bad on purpose.

I suppose, if anyone actually gets their hands on a completed book, I'll have to admit it was real. Maybe the purchase link is hidden somewhere I couldn't find it?

But I really don't think so, at this point.

Quote from: TristramEvans;492821http://www.amazon.com/Realms-Atlantasia-Game-Masters-Bible/dp/1462058566

$44.95 on amazon

QuotePar-traxx 0 E.P.s
    Par-traxx is an enigma on Atlantasia. Here is what is known about him:

     he is a Moon Elf who became the first Dragon Mage (combined with the Demi-god ChaosDragon)
     he has been known to show up in many different looks and personas
     he lives in the Crystal Tower which is located in the Nor-Scand Mountains
     he is the idol of almost every Elven Mage
     he is 5' 1" tall and weighs 79 lbs.
     he is always seen with his familiar Terronis (a large black bird with red splotches in its wings)
     he is always seen with a black/gold staff that is 6' high

    That is what is known around Atlantasia by any who are able to read or have been to a bard's performance. Here are the things no one knows about Par-traxx:
     his familiar is actually a 75' phoenix
     the staff he has with him is actually the relic The Staff of the Cosmos (which he keeps with him so no one can wield its tremendous powers )
     he was the one to teach the War Magi how to create their shield which absorbs energy and uses that energy to strengthen itself
     he knows and can use ALL forms of magic
     the biggest thing not known about Par-traxx (none of the Deities even know this) is that he is actually the avatar of the original creator of all the known universes and dimensions

    Because of this last point, Par-traxx cannot be touched physically, mentally or magically. If confronted, Par-traxx will use the following tactics in order:
     he will first try to talk the antagonist out of the confrontation using a logical approach
     if that does not work, Par-traxx will unleash his familiar in its true form (he will cast a fireball in Terronis' direction)
     if they continue to press, he will alter his own form into that of his ancient Chaos Dragon
     if this fails (and the antagonist is angering Par-traxx), he will scatter their atoms across every known plane of existence and dimension, allow those atoms to retain all the knowledge of the plane of existence/dimension they were in. Then he pulls the atoms back together using the line "knowledge is power and all you seek is power so that is what I have given you; ultimate power". While Par-traxx cannot destroy anything or anybody (after all, he is THE creator), this has been known to kill any this happens to (there is 1 person who survived and now wanders Atlantasia babbling to himself as he attempts to organize all the information his mind holds now )

    Par-traxx can be used to insert quests into a group (he is famous for this). He will either show up in your camp out of the blue (10% of the time) or be situated somewhere in any form you wish (he has probably used the form before so be creative; he is!) where the group will pass by him.