Blue Rose is a fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 role-playing game

Role-playing game

A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...

 published by Green Ronin Publishing

Green Ronin Publishing

Green Ronin Publishing is an American company based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2000 by Chris Pramas, they have published several role-playing game–related products...

 in 2005. The game is described as being in the romantic fantasy

Romantic fantasy

Romantic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy fiction, describing a fantasy story using many of the elements and conventions of the romance genre.One of the key features of romantic fantasy involves the focus on relationships, social, political, and romantic...

 genre — it is inspired by fantasy fiction such as that of Mercedes Lackey

Mercedes Lackey

Mercedes "Misty" Lackey is a best-selling American author of fantasy novels. Many of her novels and trilogies are interlinked and set in the world of Velgarth, mostly in and around the country of Valdemar...

 and Diane Duane

Diane Duane

Diane Duane is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Her works include the Young Wizards young adult fantasy series and the Rihannsu Star Trek novels.-Biography :...

 as opposed to Robert E. Howard

Robert E. Howard

Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....

–style of swords and sorcery

Swords and Sorcery

Swords and Sorcery is a 1963 anthology of fantasy short stories in the sword and sorcery subgenre, edited by L. Sprague de Camp and illustrated by Virgil Finlay. It was first published in paperback by Pyramid Books...

. In romantic fantasy the emphasis is on role-playing and character interaction rather than on combat. This makes for a more social game than is typical for fantasy RPGs. The game uses a lightened version of the D20 system

D20 System

The d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast originally developed for the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons...

, called True 20. Blue Rose won the Gen Con

Gen Con

Gen Con is one of the largest and most prominent annual gaming conventions in North America. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card-style games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, board games, live action role-playing games, collectible card games, non-collectible...

 ENWorld Roleplaying Silver Medal for Best Rules in 2005. Green Ronin subsequently released True20

True20

True20 is an award winning universal generic role-playing game designed by Steve Kenson and published by Green Ronin Publishing.-Settings:...

 as a separate system without a setting and genre neutral.

Setting

Blue Rose is set in a world called Aldea, and most campaigns center around the Kingdom of Aldis. Aldis is a monarchy whose ruler is chosen by divine intervention rather than inheritance. The current ruler is Queen Jaellin, who earned the throne when "the Golden Hart", a being symbolizing rightful rulership, chose her over rival contenders. Populations of sentient telepathic animals are prevalent in Aldis (talking animals are a common theme in fantasy literature, but far less so in role-playing) and are considered equal citizens on par with humans.

Aldis endures tense relations with Jarzon, a neighboring realm of intolerant fanatically religious ultra-conservatives fashioned after an extreme version of Evangelical

Evangelicalism

Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...

 Fundamentalism. Both nations are threatened by Kern, an evil kingdom of necromancers, and have occasionally operated as uneasy allies against the common aggressor.

Reception

Upon initial release, Blue Rose was met with general approval and even some acclaim by the gaming hobby. The greatest attention was directed at the rules system, which was praised as a skillful slimming down of the comparatively more cumbersome d20

D20 System

The d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast originally developed for the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons...

 rules. Three supplemental books were published (in addition to the original core rulebook).http://www.greenronin.com/bluerose

Green Ronin later released True20

True20

True20 is an award winning universal generic role-playing game designed by Steve Kenson and published by Green Ronin Publishing.-Settings:...

as a separate game, without any default setting. The company now treats Blue Rose as one setting for True20 - for example, the Blue Rose forum was abandoned and replaced with a section in the True20 forum.http://www.true20.com/forum

External links

• The New Noble Assembly: The Official Forum for Blue Rose
• The Green Ronin power search page on RPG.net contain 6 different reviews of Blue Rose all linked to extensive discussion.