The RPG Zone at Pyrkon – a place where fantasy becomes reality!

Play a Pyrkon role-playing game!

One of our fantastic Guests, Grant Howitt, has created something really amazing especially for you for Pyrkon! During this year’s Convention you will have the opportunity to play… a Pyrkon role-playing game! Yes, you’re reading us right! Take on the role of the chosen ones, save Pyrkon and face various convention challenges along the way. We won’t give too much away, but, to at least lift the veil of secrecy a little bit and satisfy your curiosity, we can say that you will face a disaster of cosmic proportions during the session. What kind of a disaster? To find out, there is only one thing left for you to do – get your own free copy of the game at Pyrkon!!! 

Secrets of the RPG world: Workshops – RPG Academy

During the RPG workshop you will expand your knowledge related to role-playing games. How much you already know does not matter! After all, RPG workshops are all about feeling like you’re part of a crew where you’ll find your place and go on an epic journey with other participants! Your guides will be our fantastic Guests, including:

• Marcelina Falińska-Tarka and Marcin Tarka of Fileus Zero,
• Zbigniew “Zed” Zych of Lans Macabre,
• Adrian “Skrajnie Poczytalny” Kaszuba
• and many, many more!

During the workshop you will learn the secrets of creating characters, creating coherent, unconventional worlds or improvising when the situation is out of control. 

The workshop will be divided into two parts: a theoretical and a practical one, so you will not only be able to listen to the advice of experts, but also apply the knowledge gained in practice. Who knows, maybe after the workshop you’ll be able to take it to the next level!

Who will be our guests in the RPG Zone?

One thing is certain, during this year’s Pyrkon, the RPG Zone will be visited by the greatest game masters who will share their knowledge and experience! So much for the introduction, because, unlike a wandering bard, here we will not be creating a schmaltzy story without order and composition. Here’s a list of acclaimed artists who will come to Pyrkon from various corners of the world:

• Luke Crane – a game designer specializing in creating independent RPGs. Naturalistic, unconventional, unusual – this is how the works that he created are described. In 2002, he published his first proprietary RPG system called The Burning Wheel, which consisted of two volumes – a manual describing the rules of gameplay and a guide to character creation. Over the next twenty years, he also created several other systems, including Burning Empires, FreeMarket, Torchbearer, Inheritance, Miseries & Misfortunes and Mouse Guard, known in Poland as Mysia Straż.
• Chris Birch – co-founder of role-playing and board game publisher Modiphius Entertainment, through which he has created extraordinary worlds (From the proprietary “Achtung! Cthulhu” to exciting licensed projects – Matt Leacock’s “Thunderbirds,” “Dune,” “Fallout,” “The Elder Scrolls Skyrim,” “Homeworld: Fleet Command” and many others).
• Pádraig Murphy – is a developer who is working on the latest productions in the Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40k universes. To date, he has written, designed and participated in the development of a wide variety of titles for franchises such as Warhammer Fantasty Roleplay, Wrath and Glory, and Age of Sigmar: Soulbound and Imperium Maledictum during his work for Cubicle 7.
• Maz Hamilton – are among the founders of Rowan, Rook and Decard, a publishing house in existence since 2017, which is responsible for games such as “Heart: The City Beneath”, “Spire: The City Must Fall” and “DIE RPG.” Their productions often deal with themes of rebellion, social oppression and the exploration of the human mind. 
• Grant Howitt – a versatile artist, known for his joint ventures with Chris Taylor. He creates captivating worlds and narratives that have won widespread acclaim. Grant’s portfolio includes many notable projects, including “Heart: the City Beneath,” “Spire: the City Must Fall,” “Honey Heist,” “DIE: the RPG” and “Eat the Reich.” Their upcoming venture, “Hollows,” is generating huge expectations in the RPG community.
• Tomas Härenstam – co-founder of role-playing game publisher Free League Publishing. Co-creator of the game Mutant: Year Zero and its award-winning mechanics. Tomas is the lead designer of many titles released by Free League, including: Forbidden Lands, ALIEN RPG, Blade Runner RPG or Dragonbane.

Our Guests will reveal to you the arcana of creating original RPG systems, talk about the secrets of their work, participate in Q&A sessions and give you tips on how to create unforgettable storylines! Of course, these are just some of the fantastic highlights they have in store for you! We can advise you only one thing – take your magic books with you, because the knowledge provided by our guests will be as helpful as the most powerful spells!

Pyrkon RPG Jam – create your game in one night!

You are also invited to another special event – the Pyrkon RPG Jam! This is a unique opportunity for a group of enthusiasts to create their own RPG on a single sheet of A4 paper under the guidance of experienced developers. The event will begin on Saturday, June 15, 2024, at 11:00 p.m. and will last until Sunday, June 16, 2024, at 8:00 a.m. 

During the RPG Jam, you will create your own game prepared in accordance with two themes: a mandatory one – “potato” – and an additional one, chosen from two drawn at the beginning of the event. The created game should be a fully playable RPG system that fits on a single A4 sheet of paper. It is permissible to use the other side of the sheet and additional sheets for character sheets, but the basic rules must fit on one page. 

All submitted games that meet the regulatory requirements will be published on our website (unless you do not agree). You can create the game individually or in teams – the number of team members is unlimited.

Gallery of Condemned Cubes 

You will also find a space in the RPG Zone where you can take your frustrations out and share the dice rolls that contributed to your spectacular failure. Those that totally didn’t turn out the way you wanted and significantly affected your characters’ actions, often putting them in uncomfortable, hilarious, embarrassing or even dangerous situations. 

The Condemned Dice Gallery is a place (wall) where you will be able to describe how your dice betrayed you. We, for our part, provide sheets of dice outlines, crayons and other miscellanea, so that you can color the cube and report underneath what happened to your characters.

This unusual idea is created in cooperation with Ola Menio, known for running Erpegowy Codziennik, who is the patron of the entire Gallery. If this has piqued your curiosity – be sure to follow Ola’s fanpage on her social media. All in all, follow her fanpage anyway, because Ola is awesome and doing a brilliant job for the whole RPG community!

No RPG Zone without RPG sessions 

RPG sessions are an integral part of the attractions of the RPG Zone, also this year we can not do without them! Feel invited to participate in RPG sessions. We assure you that there will be a ton to choose from will be huge – more than 300 sessions led by Pyrkon’s Game Masters are being prepared. A whole variety of universes, storylines and game mechanics guaranteed! 

You are also welcome to submit your own ideas for RPG sessions. We will provide more information soon, so follow our website closely ^^