Sword Opera slashing its way to Kickstarter

Sword Opera is like if William Shakespeare wrote the Godfather/Princess Bride mashup of his dreams, or if Pride & Prejudice were produced by the Shaw Brothers. You play as paragons of the fantastic power arts, movers and shakers with incredible abilities gained from a mystic underworld that you build as you play. Created by Eli Kurtz (whose recent work includes External Containment Bureau) and Eric Farmer (writer of the ground-breaking party game, Trash Pandas), Sword Opera hits Kickstarter on January 22, 2025.

Sword Opera can tell many kinds of melodramatic, action-packed stories, and includes three complete “underworlds” for these stories in the core game. The default underworld is the magical island of San Mercurio: 

When Shakespeare writes of Prospero and his island, he comes close to the truth. There is indeed an island in the Mediterranean–wrapped in storm and enchanted with wondrous power–but it is not the lonely abode of a broken family and their enslaved spirit captives. The locals call it San Mercurio, named for the dueling saint, because the island itself craves the daring drama of the clash of steel.

The Grand Duchy of San Mercurio is a bustling and passionate city-state packed with adventure, magic, and daring. Ancient rivalries between noble families play out both in the court and in the streets, alongside the romance and comic coincidence of a thousand other stories. Fell forces lurk at the edge of society, and spirits whisper dire prophecy from the shadows.

All those intrepid paragons who seek their own path amid the obligations of family and community find powerful magicks to empower their fantastic deeds. San Mercurio loves the stories that play out upon its surface, and gives its players exceptional abilities to pursue grand romances and suffer glorious tragedies.

In addition to this, you could play out your melodrama in Hot Town, an international criminal network centered on an alternate-reality 1970s New Orleans, or A Lingering of Lilac, a provincial jianghu clasped between the sorrows of swordmasters and the decadence of their desires.

Sword Opera is crowdfunding to become a 120-page softcover book full of gorgeous layout from Emily Entner and dynamic, exciting art from Galen Pejeau and Jack Taylor. Sword Opera will also boast a full-color cover illustration from artist Gwenevere Singley. Quick highlights of what you’ll find inside:

• Game rules grounded in personal ambition and loyalty to your community that support anything from 3-hour one shots to long campaigns.
• Six character archetypes–like the Guide, the Disaster, and the Savant–each connected to major themes of melodramatic media.
• The power arts: Dash with incredible speed and agility, Sense the energies and emotions swirling around you, Flex your incredible strength, and more with these fantastic abilities that separate paragons from common bystanders.
• Work together as members of a Circle united by common goals and principles, and guided by an Inner Circle of leaders. Work to the Circle’s benefit, feel the pressure of reciprocity, and even aspire to leadership yourself if you like. The Circle is the vehicle that you drive toward domination of the underworld around you.

For stretch goals, Sword Opera has lined up a killer slate of writers to create new underworlds of Regency romantasy, sci-fi planetary ranching, and the wild world of professional wrestling. No matter your favorite flavor of melodrama, Sword Opera’s got you covered!