Arc Dream Announces Black Company RPG

Uses new game engine built on "suspense, terror, and savage heroics".

Black-Company-1984-cover-3-598x1024.jpg

Glen Cook's Black Company dark fantasy novel series last had a tabletop roleplaying game in 2004, from Green Ronin Publishing. The series features a mercenary group, with a mix of gritty military fiction and epic fantasy.

Arc Dream Publishing has just announced that it is currently developing a new game, written by Delta Green's Shane Ivery and Dennis Detwiller. It will use a new game engine built around "suspense, terror, and savage heroics", starting with a core rulebook and then supported by adventures and sourcebooks. There is no release date yet.


VICTORIA, BC — The Black Company Role-Playing Game is in development by Shane Ivey and Dennis Detwiller, co-authors and publishers of the award-winning Delta Green: The Role-Playing Game.

The Lady? Where had I encountered that word used that way, emphasized as though it was the title of a goddess? A dark legend out of olden times.… —The Black Company
In The Black Company and its sequels, novelist Glen Cook redefined epic fantasy by writing with ordinary soldiers in mind. He opened the way for generations of authors of dark fantasy.

Arc Dream Publishing proudly announces plans for a new tabletop role-playing game based on the Black Company series. Licensed by Glen Cook, The Black Company Role-Playing Game will put players at the heart of the adventures, dangers, and treacheries that surround the storied Black Company.

In The Black Company, we follow an elite mercenary company through a continent-spanning war and desperate raids. A war between good and evil, the enemy might say, rebelling against the dark empress who employs the Company. A war between evil and far worse, if you ask those who know what drives the leaders of the rebellion. Don’t ask the soldiers of the Black Company. They only want to do their job, look out for each other, and live another day.

I faced him. And the memory came. A devil’s hammer drove spikes of ice into the belly of my soul. I knew why One-Eye did not want to cross the sea. The ancient evil of the north.… “I thought you people died three hundred years ago.” —The Black Company
Glen Cook wrote The Black Company as a veteran who wanted to see the soldier’s experience in the wars and adventures of heroic fantasy. Arc Dream Publishing has spent decades capturing the experience of soldiers and government agents for RPG players. Arc Dream has received universal acclaim for its horror game Delta Green and its World War II game of desperate superheroics, Godlike. Detwiller and Ivey are writing The Black Company Role-Playing Game to evoke the soldier’s experience in a world of brutal bloodshed, shocking sorceries, and seemingly impossible odds.

“I’ve been enthralled by The Black Company since the first books came out,” Ivey said. “This is the thrill of a career. We’re writing the fantasy game that we’ve always wanted to play.”

Detwiller added, “Shane and I have long considered creating a dark fantasy game, and Delta Green always wanted a twisted, crazed little brother. The Black Company is a perfect fit.”

In the night, when the wind dies and silence rules the place of glittering stone, I remember. And they all live again. —Soldiers Live
Being a soldier of the Black Company makes you part of something greater than yourself. Yours is the tale of brothers and sisters who came before and those to follow. Your name and deeds will be recorded in the annals. When you fall, this bloody-handed family will fight and die to save or avenge you. And thanks to you, the Company will go on.
 

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What's interesting is I'd have sworn I'd read somewhere Glen had said Green Ronin's version during 3.x was going to be the 'only' one he'd do. Now, it's possible he changed his mind, or the money's too good to not be directly involved. I thought maybe it was in the foreword but either way... Never read the novels but I definitely mined the GR book for ideas and mechanics
 

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jdrakeh

Front Range Warlock
What's interesting is I'd have sworn I'd read somewhere Glen had said Green Ronin's version during 3.x was going to be the 'only' one he'd do. Now, it's possible he changed his mind, or the money's too good to not be directly involved. I thought maybe it was in the foreword but either way... Never read the novels but I definitely mined the GR book for ideas and mechanics

It's also possible that he wanted the setting to get a full, standalone, RPG treatment (the Green Ronin version wasn't a standalone RPG).
 

MGibster

Legend
Someone was inspired by Dr. Doom for the art piece above :) I just recently purchased the Black company on audible and enjoyed it on the commute to work. While listening I looked for that 3rd Ed era book but was pricey on eBay so I didn’t purchase it as it was just for reading material for myself but I’ll keep this in mind as we learn more and a release date.
"DOOM INSPIRES ALL!" -- Dr. Doom (citation needed)

I'm a big fan of Delta Green, but I haven't read any of the Black Company books. I'm willing to give it a look though. Could be fun.
 

Fenris-77

Small God of the Dozens
Supporter
The Black Company does one thing that I really like compared to, say, Game of Thrones or The First Law: it manages to be high (dark) fantasy at the same time as being mud and blood grimdark. Too many authors eschew the fantasy in favor of a more "grounded" approach and Cook's work shows you don't have to do that. The Silver Spike in particular shows you can get real gonzo and still talk about real people wrapped up in these events.

That said, I don't generally run games in established fiction settings (other than Star Wars). But Black Company has inspired many different games I have run. I will be curious to see what the bespoke system for this looks like, but it will almost certainly be better than wedging it into a 5E framework.
Steven Erikson's Malazan Books manage the same feat IMO. Probably not a coincidence.
 



Fenris-77

Small God of the Dozens
Supporter
I keep bouncing off it.
You aren't alone. It's a massive, sprawling, series and not everyone likes it enough to plow through the mass of pages and changes of PoV. The Bridgeburners, an army group in the novels for anyone unfamiliar, is IMO heavily inspired by the Black Company in a lot of ways, and the general tone of the books supports this.
 

Von Ether

Legend
Sure. I prefer cyberpunk and post apocalyptic to space sci-fi generally but I also like the occasional ST like or grimy Expansey thing.
Ah. I was asking as it seems that a lot of sci-fi gaming is fueled around IPs vs your standard "just tell me which forest the elves live in and lets move on" fantasy. But that's not everyone, so I was curious.

I've noticed cyberpunk, though, is on a huge upswing lately.
 

Reynard

Legend
Supporter
Ah. I was asking as it seems that a lot of sci-fi gaming is fueled around IPs vs your standard "just tell me which forest the elves live in and lets move on" fantasy. But that's not everyone, so I was curious.

I've noticed cyberpunk, though, is on a huge upswing lately.
I actually think Star Wars is "just tell me which forest the elves live in" from a gaming perspective. I don't care about the lore at all. I like that it is a giant mess of shallow worldbuilding with room for anything.
 


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