Blazing Hymn
A downloadable game
Free Quickstart Player Guide and Character Sheet are Here
Chorus of Devastation
Humanity, it seems, has lived on this planet long enough.
At first, when we called them Angels, we meant it. Their flawless crystalline forms caught the sunlight in dazzling colors, and their radiance set our hearts at ease. These otherworldly creatures didn’t come from any planet we could identify, but we knew the second we set eyes on them that they came from somewhere beyond us.
Then the slaughter began.
Soon, we spat the word “Angel” with a thick, poisonous irony heavy with grief and terror. Their attacks didn’t seem random – in the middle of our largest and proudest cities, they showed their blades and showered the land in their poison. They flashed into existence like exquisite kaleidoscopes, and everyone they touched died. Earth creatures – ourselves included – crumple at their touch, dead in instants.
Where Angels have gone, nothing will live. The air shimmers like an oil-slick in all the colors of the rainbow, and the very grass withers. There is a lingering sound, faint but detectable by sensors, like the ringing of a struck wine-glass.
Now, we call them Angels literally. We know what they are.
They have come from Heaven to massacre us.
We will not let them.
About Blazing Hymn
Inspired by Neon Genesis Evangelion and Senki Zesshou Symphogear, this action-heavy TTRPG takes you to a future where music is humanity's only weapon against the armies of Heaven.
Will yours be a song of pride? Of violence? Of regret?
Build a Hymnal unit, a music-powered anti-Angel battlesuit, and take on missions to protect humanity from destruction. The songs you choose will change how you play, protect you from damage, help you build up power and protect your teammates.
When you sing, you generate Gain, a force used to power your Hymnal unit itself as well as unleash a wide array of flashy moves and daring attacks.
The Blazing Hymn manual includes a sample mission, including a map, and several Angels you can use in your own stories.
About Lumen
Blazing Hymn is built using the Lumen system, a fast-paced action SRD built by GilaRPGs. It's played with a GM and a small party, ideally 3-4 players.
Conflict resolution involves rolling d6s, and in Blazing Hymn, there will be 3 at most.
Because the Lumen system is frantic and tactical, a map is recommended so that players can easily see where they are compared to enemies and allies.
Additional Material
All the supplemental material (past, present, and future) for Blazing Hymn can be found at the Ultimate Collection!
Expansions
Adventures
Free Resources
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $15 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Development log
- New Character Sheets!May 18, 2022
Comments
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Love this - especially the Song mechanics. The only downside is now I want to rewatch Symphogear, and I don't have time for five seasons of anything right now. :)
Couple of bits that feel like they're missing from the book off the top of my head:
- you mention a map is recommended; a few pages on drawing (zone-based?) maps would be a good thing to include.
- a page or two of advice on which hymnal type/song combos go well together would be great for new players.
As a side note - have you considered having a set list of advances for each hymnal type? i.e. just ordering the basic upgrades in slightly different ways for each class (and having the different types have the ability to take different upgrades twice or not at all).
At the time you sent this message, I hadn't!
But, I'm working on an expansion that goes more into the unique ways Hymnals can develop, so now I am!
This is a really nice system from what I've read. I'm still looking to get into an actual game (no dedicated Discord Servers or subreddits yet, which makes it harder), but I'm really looking forward to trying it out when I do.
Quick question regarding upgrades. In the theme of granting further player agency to character customization, and to incentivize the recovery of Angel Scraps (as opposed to just using them for battlefield repairs), would it be 'kosher' if a GM were to make it so that players had to spend Angel Scraps to apply certain upgrades to their Hymnals? Not all upgrades would cost Angel Scrap, just certain ones.
I mean, I don't see why not!
Thanks. :)
Another upgrade question. Can the basic upgrades be applied multiple times, or is it just once each?
Oh those are completely up to the GM! Multiple times are no problem!
Nice. Also... does the 'Harm Damage' upgrade apply to basic attacks only, or does it affect powers as well? Or is that another 'GM's prerogative' thing?
As an upgrade it's meant to be basic attacks, but a GM could make it flashier if they want!
Blazing Hymn is incredible. The base SRD it is built off of is already amazing, made by none other than Spencer Campbell. But the things Cat adds only improve on it.
Just buy it, seriously.
This game is a masterpiece and a love letter to Evangelion. I cant' wait to get to play it!
The Short of why this game is amazing:
Reading this game gives me the same vibes as when listening to the Evangelion Entry Plug Sound: It captures that uniquely 90s flavor of elegant mecha that all at once is awe inspiring and dread inducing.
The musical theming here shines most of all, with stats being musical terms and spells being literal songs. It's immediately intuitive, yet feels fresh and evocative.
The setting is perfectly fleshed out, focusing on the broad strokes of themes, mood and technology while letting GMs and Players hash out smaller personal details on their own. Frankly the setting alone is enough for me to recommend this game, but the way it pairs with the systems to create a truly inspired world is awesome (in the oldest and newest sense of the word).
Character creation practically begs for player customization and expression, while still maintaining a level of mechanical depth that's refreshing to see in a fairly rules-light system. Duets in particular are a stand-out mechanic, allowing other players to boost a song's cast.
What's perhaps most amazing here is that there's actually no art of the mechs or angels themselves in this book. Yet through Blazing Hymn's stunning layout and intentional prose you'll almost instantly have a clear picture in your head about the kind of world you're stepping into.
If this game has caught your eye, I can't recommend enough that you pick it up and give it a read!
Blazing Hymn is an amazing game and a true love letter to the source material. I enjoyed reading every single word of it and I can't wait to play it.
You can read me spilling my excitement in this little review.
5 Stars - and I would give 5 more if I could!