ARC

ARC is Tabletop RPG physical game developed by Momatoes, a developer from Philippines. The game was kickstarted in 2021 and attracts 2,272 backers . Unfolds the story of impending doom, heroes must navigate and save the world before the doomsday clock ticked to cataclysmic event.

According to Polygon and Dicebreaker articles, ARC considered as one of the best TTRPG of 2021.

## Story

In order to save the world, a group of heroes banded together to defend the world from lingering evil. As they progressed, they understood the necessity of eradicating the sinister threat before the doomsday clock completed its countdown, averting global catastrophe.

## Gameplay

The game can be played by 6 players and 1 player as **Guide** throughout the game. The dice being used for the game are six-sided dice. The Gamemaster or Guide will narrates the story, plot points, and scenarios with players can go along and interact how to approach the next scenario. In ARC, skill check is occurred when player performs risky action concerning about the story.

### The Heroes

In ARC, players can chose to be what they want , a human, an elf, a demon, or a mage disguised as a prince whenever it fits with the setting. Players can roll the dice and choose its attribute based on Random Hero Generator. Next players can choose approach scores alongside with blood & guts modifier. After that players must also choose skill ranks, determining inventory, answer character building questions, and determine bonds .

### The Guide

The **Guide** is one player who helps set up the story and world for the heroes. The Guide is also conceptualize plot and sandbox of ARC that reacts to what players do. Most of the time, they can be also describing scenes and scenarios such as role-playing as non-hero characters and building challenges that players tackle. The Guide can also comfort character during major mistakes that happened during specific chapter.

### Doomsday Clock

Doomsday Clock is real-time clock that advances during the journey of the heroes. Once the clock is ticked, heroes must prepare for suffering and severe consequences for wasting their time. The Doom will appeared as a cataclysmic event threatening to destroy the world of heroes. The Doomsday clock is made up of discrete intervals called Moment and it depends on how long the game lasts. According to Chapter 1 of ARC, one session of game worth as 3 hours of play which makes Doomsday clock advances every 30 minutes. When the clock has ended, players can choose three options such as Epilogue, New Beginnings, and Rewind .

#### Epilogue

Players can choose as accepting for the world's end. This will allow players to describe what hero's life after the apocalypse. Once the players are done then it can be narrated as an epilogue.

#### New Beginnings

With the Doomsday clock has ended, players can start a new beginning with higher stakes. This will allow the Guide to create another Doom. Furthermore the Guide will asks if the players would like to continue as new heroes or creating new one.

#### Rewind

Rewind is an option to revert back before the Doomsday Clock has ticked. However each rewind will also make Doomsday Clock to revert as well. For example if the game is 2 or 3 sessions then they are able to restore 1 moment per total hour of play left.

### Omens

Omens are story fronts reinforcing the coming of Doom. However it should be noted Omens did not directly cause the Doom only so to make its arrival faster. Keep in mind **players could not intervene and Omens are able to move by itself**. For example if the Doom theme is about escape of demon lord that able to consume entire kingdom then the Omens can be:

* A cult is performing ritual to summon a powerful demon.
* The council has disbanded and creates a fuss around the court.
* The disappearance of the great wizard and leaving with mysterious map .

## Development

A teaser for the development was made by the creator on March 1 2020 showcasing layout ideas for a TTRPG Game called ARC, however records shows the game has been developed since 2019 . According to the creator of ARC, the game will be shipped in A5 book with uncanny art showcasing struggle between light and dark. On June 1st 2021 the game launched its kickstarter and the physical version of the game will be released by Exalted Funeral following the launch of the campaign . The campaign received tons of supports for over $80,000 funding. A month later the physical version of the book is in production alongside with Backerkit containing early access to ARC digital version. The game was released on June 8 2021 however physical versions were released on September 28 2021 for Kickstarter backers .

## Trivia

* Many of the creatures that can be found in ARC are based on Southeast Asia mythology creatures.
	+ Bakunawa and Tikbalang is a monstrous creature based on Philippines mythology.
	+ Vengeful Pocong is a strong creature based on Indonesia and Malaysia mythology.
* The Doomsday Clock in ARC is based on the iconic Doomsday Clock from Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
	+ It is also considered as “the most powerful piece of information design of the 20th century".

## Official Links

* ARC Itch.io Store
* ARC Official Website
* Momatoes Official Twitter

## Reference

1. ↑ [1] ARC : Doom Tabletop RPG Kickstarter created by Exalted Funeral
2. ↑ [2] Polygon.com article "The best indie tabletop RPGs of 2021" written by Chase Carter
3. ↑ [3] Dicebreak.com article "The best tabletop RPGs you might have missed in 2021" written by Bob Wieland
4. ↑ May Bianca. 2021. ARC. Exalted Funeral Press. (Page 38-46)
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 May Bianca. 2021. ARC. Exalted Funeral Press. (Page 24-36)
6. ↑ [4] Momatoes. *Thank You.* Kickstarter. 2 June 2021.
7. ↑ [5] Dicebreaker.com article "Race against the clock to stop the apocalypse in real-time tabletop RPG Arc" written by Matt Jarvis
8. ↑ [6] "Delivering The Goods!" via Exalted Funeral on Kickstarter.com
9. ↑ May Bianca. 2021. ARC. Exalted Funeral Press.