Hi, readers of Rolling Boxcars!

Today, Modoc invited me to talk about Spanish roleplaying games. Spain doesn’t export that many games which is a shame, because there are really cool ones. In this post I’m going to talk to you about three specific games I want the world to know more about.

Aquelarre (Witches’ Sabbath)

Aquelarre, published in 1990 by Ricard Ibañez, was the first Spanish tabletop RPG. The system is based in BRP (Runequest, CoC,…) and the setting is a version of medieval Spain where all kinds of mythological creatures (Some more dangerous than others) live among inhabitants. The general premise is that PCs are rather mundane people who find themselves on dangerous adventures and are lucky if they survive to an old age.

The most recent edition (the 4^th) came out in 2011 and has 9 sourcebooks with the last one being published this year. It’s part of the history of Spanish RPGs and it’s just a really good game, with a simple system and a setting that has lots of potential.

Spanish Language PDF at DTRPG

Walküre

Walküre is a game published by La Marca del Este, the creative group behind Adventures in the East Mark. This game has a “What if” setting, where the 3^rd Reich never lost and this caused an eternal Cold War (to 2075, where the setting stops). But the game system has rules for playing from World War 2 to modern times and beyond.

The system is a mix between classical/traditional game and an indie game. It has tactical combat, for example, but uses aspects and its own fate points. La Marca del Este is launching a Kickstarter very soon for a new box supplement focused specifically on WW2, with a new rulebook and more adventures. Ah, and you can get it free in pdf!

Espada Negra (Black Sword)

I’m not being impartial with this one. I have played Black Sword since it was released in beta in 2013 and I have been supporting it and writing for it ever since then. The creators, known as the Brotherhood of the Black Sword, have all their work available for free at their official website. Also, some of the books can be obtained in physical form through the PWYW model.

About the game, Espada Negra is basically a Sword and Sorcery setting, with remarkable differences. It focuses heavily on deeply developed cultures and societies that populate the world. It has a very realistic (and dangerous) feel. Espada Negra has a very solid game engine with very little randomness and lots of options for customizing.

If you’d like to learn more about each of these games, please follow the links provided (They are in Spanish) or feel free to ask right here in the comments.

~ Senshi Shiroi

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Senshi Shiroi is an avid reader of Rolling Boxcars and active participant on our Discord server. He’s very active in the RPG scene in Spain and always has some great insight into what is happening in Spain as compared to the US. We hope to see more article submissions from him in the future.