Since our reorganization in 2000 (and for several years before that to a lesser degree) we've been working from the proverbial garage and doing our best to make the greatest RPG the industry has ever known - Ustio: the Rebirth. We originally came together as a group simply trying to improve our own gaming experience. While our intentions have changed to include sharing our game with the world, our commitment to producing the Holy Grail of Role-Playing Games grows stronger with each passing day.

What is Ustio: the Rebirth?

Ustio is our single focus at this time. It is a "Neo-fantasy, non-Tolkien" role-playing game. The world is not based on the mythos, geography, races or creatures of Earth; that is to say not intentionally, but many things could be likened to creatures or races of Earth in some fashion - the game was designed by humans after all. That disclaimer withstanding, the game, world, breeds, creatures and history of Hlomb are ours and not based of of any fiction or mythos known to us.

Hlomb is the world and main continent of focus at the games release. The word "Ustio" in the context of the game world describes an event of singular importance in the history of the hlombanoids world. Several thousands of years ago civilization on Hlomb was all but obliterated due to a "celestial event" which originated from one of their system's binary suns. This event, and an unknown number of cycles or decades directly surrounding it, is referred to as the Ustio. In their mythos they believe this event to have been caused by the unbridled wrath of their Celestial Pantheon's patriarch, Chion, towards his manipulative children; it just happened to affect them as well.

What is the Foundation Matrix System?

Ustio: the Rebirth uses a system unique from other game systems. The Foundation Matrix system is aimed towards people who have more of an interest in style and fluidity of combat over simplification and generalization seen in some other systems. This system is also "skill-based" rather then "level-based" and Task Rolls within the system are contested rather than absolute. While your roll may have indeed been mythic in nature, it may still be countered by an equally mythic task on the part of your opponent.

Anyone with even the slightest grasp of numbers and estimation should be able to learn the system readily. Even those limited skills become unnecessary when all areas of the character sheet have been completed. The game can be played with a single set of percentile dice (or 2d10 of differing colors and a declared "high" die). While simple in concept it is fluid enough to encourage very detailed combat and is generally recognized for encouraging very visual, imaginative manuevers.

In the era of the d20 homogenization we thought it was just as important to remain individualistic in this area as it was to have a unique and engaging world in the background. To that end you may see the logo (above right), or an element from it, from time to time at events we attend or on our publications:

In association with the above graphic (or its simpler cousins without text) you may also hear us utter phrases like, "Because two dice are better than one" or "Fight the Power ."