Paizo has teamed up with German game publisher Ulisses Spiele to produce an English-language version of Germany’s best-selling roleplaying game: The Dark Eye (“Das Schwarze Auge”), thirty years after its initial publication.

Originally released by Schmidt Spiel & Freizeit in 1984, Das Schwarze Auge quickly became the number one roleplaying game in Germany, outselling even Dungeons & Dragons in that country.  This “high fantasy” style roleplaying game featured all of the themes common to the genre:  heroic knights, elves, and mages exploring the world of Aventuria and confronting the forces of evil.  In 2007, Ulisses -one of Germany’s leading RPG publishers - acquired the license to produce the game, which it has now partnered with Paizo to translate into English for the first time.

Mechanically, The Dark Eye uses the familiar class and level system common to other fantasy roleplaying games, and the English language version retains this proven system.

In May, Paizo will release the Core Rules book, written by Markus Plotz, Alex Spohr, and Jens Ullrich. This book includes all of the rules needed to play, including character creation, skills, spells, and fighting styles.  Players can create their own characters, or use the customizable pre-generated character archetypes.  This will be a 414-page, full color hardcover book.  MSRP is $49.99.

The initial release will also be supported with the release of the Revelations From Heaven adventure book, also written by the team of Plotz, Spohr, and Ullrich, designed for starting characters and gamemasters.  Intended for 3 to 5 characters, this module includes all of the NPCs, maps, and handouts needed to play the adventure.  The 64-page, softcover has an MSRP of $14.99.