The Electrum Archive - my new favorite ttrpg?

©Emiel Boven/CULT OF THE LIZARD KING

During the workweek I usually wake up between 07:10 AM (the first alarm) and 07:30 AM (the third and last alarm). If perchance I am fully awake right after the first alarm, I lay in bed until the last, organizing thoughts, looking at memes friends sent me during the night or earlier in the morning, or choosing if and which YouTube video I'll be watching/hearing during breakfast.

It was such a morning of october, 2024, when I got interested in The Electrum Archive. You see, the italian publisher Nigredo Press was about to release the localized version of this ttrpg, a few days before the famous Lucca Comics & Games convention, and they were spamming it on Instagram. To be fair I knew this game was in their upcoming roster, but it was a time when I had my mind fully occupied by other stuff and I didn't pay it much attention. That morning I opened Instagram to check the four memes a friend sent me during the night and the first post I saw on my feed was in fact an advertisement for The Electrum Archive, which recited the magic words "inspired by Morrowind, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Dark Sun and Dune". The website for the game says "The Electrum Archive is a science-fantasy tabletop RPG, inspired by games like The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Ultraviolet Grasslands, Mothership, and Cairn."

Given these references, and the fact that Morrowind is cited in both of them, I got very interested. I downloaded the free rules and gave it a read during breaks at work. When finished, I was convinced I found my new favorite ttrpg, mostly because of its mechanics.

Look, to put it simply, this game has a cool balance between granularity and abstraction. An example? The battle zones: if different characters are in the same zone they are physically close and can interact or exchange melee attacks with each other, otherwise they have to move or use ranged abilities. I consider this a midpoint between the theatre of the mind and battlemat-and-minis approaches. Another example? The way the game treats item usage, or the method to assign experience points to characters. These mechanics are delightful. Much is reminiscent of Cairn's simplified approach to stuff (attacks always land, equipment slots, magical effects of spells are negotiated between player and game master), but with a bit more of complexity. You should check it for yourself.

©Emiel Boven/CULT OF THE LIZARD KING

Worldbuilding in this game is interesting but not unheard of, to be honest. It is a mix of very cool stuff though and I can't wait to sink my teeth in it. It also reminds me a lot of the videogame Sable, which I talked about here. The zine approach is interesting, I just hope that Nigredo Press keeps publishing them. I know that there is already a second zine with a couple of adventures that is focused on a specific city and who knows what the future holds.

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This is an addendum, wrote after Lucca Comics and Games. I bought The Electrum Archive and I've even played a quick one-shot. In an upcoming article, I will talk about it and write a review for the game. Now, let's read it!