The Wizards and the Wastes

There are cities and villages. What we call civilization. Then there are the Wastes. Beyond. Where the witches and wizards hide. Kings and Queens lead armies of flying war machines against each other from the safety of their castles. Bombing countrysides into ashy echoes. Soldiers with rifles and bayonets guide tanks down village streets, ready for war. This is the backdrop for the world, where Spellcasters hone their craft, probe the Wastes, and  try to make a difference before the Corruption creates monsters of them all.

The first edition of this game was released in June of 2020. It was my first excursion into printing book and shipping them from my house. I sold all of the 25 original print run copies within the month and TWATW still is one of my highest selling games to this day. With this second edition, I wanted to rewrite the text with clarity in mind. I may not have succeeded, but for fans of the original, this will prove to be a useful update, and for new folks looking to expand their TTRPG hobby, this will open avenues for you that you may not have thought were possible.

The Wizards and the Wastes is a game of arcane bargaining. Nominated "Most Innovative" for its unique spellcasting system, wherein you create spells from your personal spell source; a painting, a book, a collection of poems, a graphic novel, or an album.

You circle passages, lyrics, words, images, panels, and turn them into spells. Then you bargain for those spells using the various currencies the game chokeholds you with. Trading years of your life, insight, toxicity, and corruption to cast spells as you see fit.

This is where the game lies. Taking its cues from the likes of Diplomacy, or social games like Werewolf or Among Us. The relationship between the people at the table could lead to rather adversarial bargaining, while, on the other hand, two friends might take it easier on one another. 

The game features a unique Save System that builds your character through failures.

Whenever faced with a risky situation, the Spellcaster rolls a twenty-sided die (d20) and hopes to equal or get under their Save. If they succeed, they avoid any Harm. If they fail, they take the Harm and create a new Save named after the situation they were reacting to, and increase its number by 1.

The book is an expanded 112 pages, packed with picklists, charts, random tables, and tips for taking this idea from the book and turning it into a game at your table. Pick it up today. 

John Battle (or Batts) is a queer, non-binary writer based in Chicago. John writes personal, artsy-fartsy games about the struggles of body image, acceptance, and queer identity. They are known for their work on .dungeon and My Body is a Cage.

Pickup a physical copy by clicking the big image above!