A Land Once Magic - Pocket-Sized Worldbuilding
The post-fantasy TTRPG from award-winning designer Viditya Voleti is crowdfunding a physical release this Pocketopia
A Land Once Magic is a conversational post-fantasy worldbuilding TTRPG by award-winning game designer Viditya Voleti and published by moreblueberries. With a deck of cards and a group of friends, players will have everything they need to build a world unlike any they have seen before.
What is a post-fantasy world?
A world of molten metal where society exists only on airships fueled by elemental blood.
A world of wandering titans that leave warring ecosystems in their wake.
A world where a theocratic regime rules a frozen sea with spellcraft stolen from unborn gods.
A world that shakes off the dull colors of traditional fantasy and invites the full spectrum of your imagination.
The Book
A Land Once Magic will be printed as a full-color 52-page A6 layflat book featuring an open spine—the perfect size to toss in your bag or pocket and worldbuild on the go.
Backers will also be able to grab the bag bundle, featuring the book and a purpose-built wire-bound notebook in a drawstring bag with room for your favorite deck of cards.
5 Years in the Making
Viditya Voleti first released A Land Once Magic in 2019, selling it exclusively as a digital product on itch.io with hand-sewn zines traded around cons in the years since. Now he is teaming up with publisher moreblueberries, known for such releases as Project ECCO and The Time We Have, to give this worldbuilding masterpiece a second edition and a physical release.
"Viditya and I have a deep love and care for matching form and function, making the best possible product to match how a game feels to play. This is a game we hope you will carry with you and pull out whenever inspiration strikes you," said Davis.
Together, Voleti and Davis have brought together a team from across the TTRPG industry to bring the game to life. Charu Chandni Patel is joining as editor, Luna P will be designing the game's layout, and John Gagne is the illustrator behind the game's imaginative new cover.
Damn, that's good fantasy
A Land Once Magic is a game that follows a rich lineage of both worldbuilding games and the fantasy worlds we know and love. Voleti's 'post-fantasy' endeavors to be in conversation with both.
I love fantasy but it is steeped in specific iconography and symbolism. Post-fantasy is me asking, ‘How do we move fantasy in a new direction? Can we take both what’s beautiful and messy about it, mix it with the unexpected, and move forward?’ Every game of ALOM I have played looks nothing like the worlds of Tolkien or Gygax, but I still go, “Damn, that’s good fantasy.”
Ultimately, the team behind A Land Once Magic hopes that this game helps players discover the worlds within them. Over five years of playing and refining, Voleti has found that to be precisely what happens:
"If this game is me and I am present at every table, there is a beautiful moment where I step back, nobody notices, and the players create something I never could have dreamed of."
