#jorune

This is the third edition of Skyrealms of Jorune (1992), published by Chessex. The original rules were of a very old school mindset – heavy, concerned with simulation and peppered with a lot of in-universe lingo that made understanding everything harder than it should have been. The Chessex rules were meant to streamline that but it manages to be less comprehensible and feels rushed overall. Also, the hardcore simulation thing wasn’t exactly big business by 1992, and, well, I have heard you could buy these new from Chessex as recently as 2008, so I guess it wasn’t a big seller.

Jorune seems to be a bit cursed, which is a shame, because it is a weird and challenging setting full to brimming with creativity. The core idea is essentially the same as Tekumel – Jorune is the first human interstellar colony, which collapsed due to a cataclysm and culture has only recently scraped its way back up the the medieval level. The execution is its own kind of odd, thanks largely to artist and co-designer Miles Teves, whose work is jaw dropping and makes Andrew Leker’s floating world come alive. A lot of the art here is brand new, too, showcasing eight years of Teves’s honed craft. If nothing else, forget the rules, pick this up (you can find ‘em cheap) to explore the world.