A couple months ago, I pre-ordered AGON , a brand-new TTRPG by John Harper (of Blades in the Dark fame) and Sean Nittner (whose work is less familiar to me). I've actually had the PDF since I put in the pre-order, but I decided to hold off on reading it through until I got my physical copy. I also want to say that the fact that I shelled out for a hard copy instead of just buying (or, god forbid, pirating ) the PDF is a testament to how much I love John Harper's work. For a lot of reasons, some of which I'll be touching on here, I think he's a goddamn genius and probably the best RPG designer/writer currently working. So, on to the game! AGON is a sword-and-sandals system with a very narrow focus: it's meant for playing stories of heroes of the type you'd find in Greek mythology. The game hews pretty closely to the conventions and tone found in those myths; the basic structure of the game is episodic, with each session consisting of the party arriving on a new...