Dark Souls RPG's Standard & Collector's Editions Compared
The Dark Souls RPG will come in a Standard and Collector's Edition, with both versions having a different cover and minor cosmetic differences.
The pre-orders for Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game have gone live, but only for the Standard Edition of the book and not the Collector's Edition, with each differing cosmetically. Steamforged Games has revealed that there will be a Collector's Edition of Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game, with pre-orders going live on February 16. Dark Souls: Roleplaying Game uses 5e D&D rules, so players of the most popular tabletop RPG in the world should have an easy time adjusting to it.
Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game is set in the realm of Lothric from the original Dark Souls. The Dark Souls series is primarily intended to be a single-player experience, though it is possible to call for aid from other players. Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game is intended to be a tabletop experience with multiple players, which will change the dynamic of the combat system considerably. The ability for adventuring parties to face bosses will change how players see fights against the likes of Dragonslayer Ornstein and Executioner Smough. Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game has homebrew mechanics that will also change how the battle system works in comparison to D&D.
Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game is being developed by Steamforged Games. The book will contain everything a group needs to run a Dark Souls tabletop RPG campaign, with a bestiary that gives official D&D stats to many Dark Souls monsters, extensive equipment guides, and new rules for reviving at the bonfire upon death. Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game will feature a unique magic system that is closer to the video game, where spellcasters have a limited number of attunement slots and uses per spell. Along with all of these new rules, the Dark Souls RPG has unique classes for players to choose from for their character. Steamforged Games has revealed that there are two different versions of Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game that will be released, in the form of the Standard Edition and the Collector's Edition.
The difference between the Standard Edition and Collector's Edition of Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game is purely aesthetic. The Standard Edition uses a piece of key art from Dark Souls on the cover, showing a character sitting in front of a bonfire. The Collector's Edition of Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game has a faux leather cover, gold-colored gilded page edges, and a different cover design. The cover of the Collector's Edition has the name of the game in gold writing alongside a gold-flecked pattern, resembling the embers of a bonfire. The Collector's Edition is just a different design for the book and it doesn't come with any additional items. Dark Souls: The Board Game was crowdfunded (one of many board games to be funded on Kickstarter), so people who own that can likely repurpose some of its pieces for the tabletop game.
The pre-orders for the Standard Edition of Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game are live and a copy costs $49.99/£44.99. The pre-orders for the Collector’s Edition will launch at 15:30 UTC on February 16, and copies will cost $99.95/£94.95. Both versions are expected to ship in March. Only 5000 copies of the Collector's Edition of Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game will be available worldwide.
Source: Steamforged Games