George Strayton is passionate about his new fantasy RPG, which is a good thing. But is it enough?

His game is called The Secret Fire and it’s kind of a cross between old school and indie story game. To design it, George revisited and “re-experienced” the history of RPG development, for example, reading Gary Gygax’s personal notes. He also drew on his screen writing experience to build a game that he feels is at once easy to learn, fast playing, and supports both tacticians and role players.

George’s RPG credits include several d6 games from West End and d20 products from WOTC and others. As a television and movie writer, he worked on Dragonlance, Hercules, and Xena. George is currently working on a biographical film about Gary Gygax.

In The Secret Fire, alignment is a recurring choice with practical consequences. A character can drift between good and evil during the course of a campaign. Where they fall not only merits them different traits, it also influences how they earn energy points, which are used to perform special actions or invoke unusual effects on normal actions.

George’s plans for The Secret Fire include three new books per year, available in softcover, PDF, and ePub. The first two supplements will cover demons and druids. There will also be iPhone and Android apps providing rules compendiums. In all, George says he has 12 people working on the project.

But in the end, it’s still another fantasy roleplaying game. Is there really any chance of The Secret Fire hitting it big in such a crowded and well-established field?

Good luck George.