We’re excited to announce BURN BRYTE, the first-ever TTRPG built from the ground-up for Roll20. Available for preorder now, Burn Bryte will hit the virtual tabletop on July 7.
We asked lead designer James Introcaso to write a brief introduction to the science-fantasy world of Burn Bryte. Read on to find out more!
Stare oblivion in the face and dare to hope.
On July 7, more than three years of incredibly hard work by many, many people will come to fruition. You will be able to purchase Burn Bryte, the first original tabletop roleplaying game created exclusively for Roll20.
In Burn Bryte, the players build heroic characters who live together on a spaceship in the Olaxis Galaxy, a place of tenacious creatures and magic-powered tech. Its ancient celestial bodies are dotted with bygone mysterious ruins and highly advanced modern settlements.
Olaxis is the last galaxy in the universe. A bright orange existence-consuming phenomenon, dubbed the Burn, surrounds and slowly closes in on Olaxis, wiping out entire solar systems as it makes its slow, inevitable advance.
With the Burn’s unrelenting destruction comes all manner of hardship. Resources grow scarce. Refugees struggle to find welcoming spaceports. Wars are fought over the planets at Olaxis’s center, the last to be taken by the Burn, while the ever-diminishing edge of the galaxy is rife with criminals and bizarre, space-faring monsters pushed ever inward by the glowing phenomenon from parts unknown.
In the time of the Burn, or the “Burn Bryte,” as it is known in Olaxis, the galaxy panics. Exceptionally greedy industrialists and magnates exploit that terror for profit.
But the player characters are exceptional in their generosity. They put themselves at risk to help those in need, slicing corruption with laser swords and exploding wickedness with missile turrets. The end of the universe is no reason to stop having a heart. Overwhelming odds are no reason to abandon hope.
In Burn Bryte, you can play a crystalline pilot who hunts space pirates, a felinoid hacker who exposes overguild double-dealings, a living mecha who rescues those trapped on doomed planets, or a swarm of insects who share a hivemind and smuggle food and medicine to desperate families. If your crew of adventurers is daring enough, you just might find a way to stop—or even turn back—the Burn.
Burn Bryte was tailor-made for Roll20 from the very first meeting. Every mechanic was designed to get the most out of what the platform has to offer, and to maximize the big moments similar to those in science fantasy epics like Star Wars, Voltron, and Guardians of the Galaxy.
Burn Bryte uses the power of Roll20 to let players roll fistfuls of dice with instant resolution, build super customizable characters with unique backstories in a matter of seconds, apply automated conditions to creatures with the click of a button, track shared resources, run white-knuckle spaceship battles with every player participating in a meaningful way, customize a spaceship together, roll on random tables instantly without flipping through pages, and do so much more.
We’re also taking digital safety tools to the next level with a beautiful deck of cards that allows players to let each other know when the game needs a slow down or stop with 100% anonymity.
This blog post isn’t the place to do a deep dive on game mechanics, but if you want to know more, World Builder Blog has a preview of the game’s core mechanics and character advancement rules.
Roll20 first unveiled Burn Bryte to Plus and Pro subscribers almost two years ago for a playtest. Needless to say, the feedback from our awesome playtesters helped us reforge the game to be in a new way that makes it faster, easier to pick up and play, far more dynamic, and even more optimized for Roll20. To our playtesters: Thank you so much. We could not have made this game without you.
On July 7, you can experience Burn Bryte through one or more of the following options on the Roll20 marketplace:
Burn Bryte Character Sheet and Charactermancer - FREE to all Roll20 users
Burn Bryte: Burning Daylight Starter Adventure with pregenerated characters - $9.99
4 Burn Bryte Map Tile Art Packs - $4.99 each
After launch, more Burn Bryte products wait just over the horizon, including a lengthy adventure, and a creature and ship expansion.
I cannot wait to join you in Olaxis. Let’s dare to hope.
We’re also excited to announce an upcoming Actual Play of Burn Bryte on our Twitch channel! A ragtag crew of adventurers will travel the stars of Olaxis and try to outrun the end of existence. Our heroes will play through Burning Daylight story and take on a mysterious cult that worships the Burn. Keep watching this blog for more upcoming information on the new show!
As a reminder, we’re matching donations to Code2040, “a nonprofit activating, connecting and mobilizing the largest racial equity community in tech to dismantle the structural barriers that prevent the full participation and leadership of Black and Latinx technologists in the innovation economy.” Learn more and donate through our Tiltify campaign here: http://roll20.io/Tiltify-Code2040