Dark Souls RPG publisher apologises and promises reprints after rulebook backlash
Steamforged Games says it will replace physical copies of both the standard and $95 Collector’s Edition criticised for typos, rules inconsistencies and other mistakes.
The publisher of the Dark Souls tabletop RPG has promised to replace physical copies of the video game adaptation’s rulebook, following the recent backlash from players over its errors and rules oversights.
As Dicebreaker reported last week, players had raised criticism over apparently widespread errors in Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game’s physical rulebook, ranging from small typos to major rules mistakes that reportedly impacted on gameplay.
Some of the more notable errors included the inability of some characters to use their own starting equipment due to insufficient stats, a spell that became less effective as characters gained levels, inconsistencies in how position - the game’s equivalent of health points - and death are handled, and references to missing classes from Dungeons & Dragons 5E, the ruleset on which the Dark Souls RPG is based.
“We acknowledge the concerns some have raised and take all feedback seriously," Steamforged Games told Dicebreaker at the time. “Although these concerns shouldn’t affect the playability of the game, we’re always striving to strengthen our processes to ensure our loyal fans continue to enjoy the games we release.”
In a fuller statement posted this week, Steamforged Games offered a “sincere apology” for the errors in the rulebook and thanked the RPG’s community for its feedback. Players, including members of the r/DarkSoulsTheRPG subreddit, had collated detailed lists of typos, rules oversights and other mistakes in the wake of the game’s release, with some even creating their own house rules to remedy gameplay inconsistencies.
“We at Steamforged Games would like to issue a sincere apology regarding the errors that have come to light in the Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game,” the publisher wrote. “We want to thank the community for all the feedback we have received through our customer support channels and online. We are listening to your comments and recognise the importance of the issues that have arisen.”
Steamforged announced that it would offer a corrected reprint of the 500-page rulebook to those who had already purchased its £50/$50 standard edition, as well as the £95/$95 limited-edition Collector’s Edition. Dark Souls: The RPG was released last month in the UK and Europe, with a US release planned for May 16th.
“We want to make it clear that we take this matter extremely seriously and therefore have decided the best course of action is to order reprints of the book, issuing replacement copies to those customers who have already bought or pre-ordered the Standard Edition and/or Collector’s Edition,” Steamforged said.
The game’s digital version, which is yet to be given a release date, will also be amended, Steamforged confirmed. The PDF had been bundled with copies of the physical book purchased directly from the publisher. A release date for the digital release, along with details on how players would be able to claim their copy, was said to be “coming soon”.
“We ask for a little patience as we gather more detailed information regarding these reprints, the timescales involved, and how best to ensure we resolve this for each affected customer.”