Close
Close
Advanced Search

Nobilis: the Game of Sovereign Powers (2002 Edition)Click to magnify
Quick Preview
/gs_flipbook/flip.php?xml=/demo_xml/141424.xml&w=500&h=250
Full‑size Preview
https://watermark.drivethrurpg.com/pdf_previews/141424-sample.pdf

Nobilis: the Game of Sovereign Powers (2002 Edition)

ADD TO WISHLIST >

In 2002, James Wallis and Hogshead Publishing Ltd. brought Nobilis: the Game of Sovereign Powers into the world—a diceless RPG that gave each character control over an elemental aspect of reality. Designed as a boutique-quality coffee table book, it sold through its first printing in a flash and received a suite of positive reviews. The second printing fell into the hands of a malfeasant distributor and vanished. The third printi...

There was no third printing.

Nobilis: the Game of Sovereign Powers was never seen again.

Fast forward to Christmas, 2014.

The game line had moved on, of course. There was even a new edition from Eos Press, available here. But wise heads and caring hearts agreed: there was still something missing. The hearts of those who loved it, or would love it, still cried out for Nobilis: the Game of Sovereign Powers.

...and at last it has come.

Thanks to the generous assistance of Kari Tuurihalme, Rand Brittain, James Wallis, and Daniel Solis, it’s now possible for you to obtain a PDF version of the classic RPG, Nobilis: the Game of Sovereign Powers. Yes, it’s a little outdated. Yes, it’s 11”x11”. Yes, it’s not yet possible to print on demand.

It’s also a legend.

Enjoy.

pixel_trans.gif
pixel_trans.gif
 
 Customers Who Bought this Title also Purchased
pixel_trans.gif
pixel_trans.gif
Reviews (1)
Discussions (9)
Customer avatar
Jim L October 02, 2021 8:23 pm UTC
PURCHASER
The product brief should be revised to omit the link to the Eos Press edition on DTR, which is now broken.
Customer avatar
Aaron A August 07, 2021 7:15 am UTC
This says that there "was no third printing."

I do own a "Nobilis 3" from this site which seems to no longer be for sale. I love the concept of Nobilis and may be willing to purchase this edition, but I would like to know why the edition I own has been apparently disowned by the author.

I'm sorry if it isn't kosher to ask or there's some drama there, but this seems to be an older edition so I would like to know why the newer edition I own is no longer acknowledged.
Reply
Customer avatar
Jessica F August 11, 2021 4:35 pm UTC
That description is referring to the third print run of the second edition, not to the third edition. She hasn't disowned the third edition; the third edition is no longer on sale here because of distribution rights nonsense thanks to (from what I recall) the publisher for 3e going under.
Reply
Customer avatar
Randford B August 11, 2021 5:30 pm UTC
PURCHASER
The third edition was published by Eos Press, who defrauded Jenna over Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine and then more-or-less vanished from the internet. They own the layout elements and art, so Jenna was unable to sell the book without their involvement and unwilling to let them continue to to it for her.

A fourth edition of Nobilis is currently in playtesting and is likely to Kickstart in late 2022 or 2023. If you want to learn more about Jenna's recent and future products, you could join her public Discord server at https://discord.gg/gutdr2P9ea .
Customer avatar
Jeremy T July 04, 2021 6:13 am UTC
PURCHASER
Hi,
I recently purchased the PDF of Nobilis. I would like to print it, but the unusual size makes it impractical to print at home -- plus it's long and that would be really expensive.
I have found I can print it through Barnes & Noble, but they require written permission from the copyright holder.
Does anyone know if the purchase include printing rights for personal use? Is it possible to get this permission in writing from DriveThruRPG, or would I need to contact the author herself?
In general, can anyone advise me about printing this PDF and the copyright issues associated with it?
Thank you,
--JT
Reply
Customer avatar
Lan D H September 12, 2021 6:31 pm UTC
Would love to hear any follow up on this.
Customer avatar
Christos L January 19, 2020 2:47 pm UTC
Any chance for PoD ?
Reply
Customer avatar
Christopher H April 25, 2020 5:19 pm UTC
PURCHASER
It's an extremely unusual format (11"x11") and DTRPG's largest supported format is 8.5"x11". So if PoD were to happen, it would have to be through a different printer...
Reply
Customer avatar
John N October 24, 2020 7:12 am UTC
Well then, any chance of Kickstarting a new printing then? That way you don't have to go all forward with the investment and hope it sells.
Customer avatar
Christopher L October 23, 2017 1:55 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Any chance we'll see The Game of Powers released in PDF format as well?

Also, where's the file with the cover art others mentioned previously?
Reply
Customer avatar
Randford B January 08, 2018 5:46 am UTC
PURCHASER
Game of Powers is in proofing, albeit on the low-priority track.

It's up for PoD, even, since it's a normal size!

I'll ask about the cover.
Customer avatar
ARTEMIY K October 22, 2016 7:15 pm UTC
PURCHASER
What are the fonts used here? I am mostly GMing 3e, but I love 2e's fonts a lot, so I'd love to make handouts in the same style, and possibly re-lay-out 3e with using 2e assets for my personal use.
Reply
Customer avatar
Randford B October 30, 2016 7:30 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Adobe Caslon Pro, Arial, ITC Zapf Dingbats, Finesse, Myriad Pro, Times New Roman, and Trajan.
Customer avatar
Colin B February 05, 2015 11:25 am UTC
PURCHASER
Is there any chance that the original Little Pink Book of Nobilis first edition is being pdf'ed and may become available?
Reply
Customer avatar
Jay D February 06, 2015 4:14 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I'd buy an OEF copy of the Little Pink Book, so long as it had good bookmarks.
Reply
Customer avatar
Randford B January 08, 2018 5:47 am UTC
PURCHASER
It's a possibility, but it's going to be harder than the others because all the tables were saved as little jpegs and I'd have to have somebody recreate them.
Customer avatar
Jay D December 18, 2014 8:59 am UTC
PURCHASER
This says "original electronic format." Does it have decent bookmarks?
Reply
Customer avatar
Randford B January 03, 2015 12:04 am UTC
PURCHASER
It does. Daniel added bookmarks to the new files as part of the reconstruction process.
Reply
Customer avatar
Jay D January 03, 2015 1:12 am UTC
PURCHASER
No, it does not.

The copy I bought and reviewed on 19 December 2014 does not have any bookmarks at all. It also lacks pages showing the front cover and the back cover, and there exist some changes in the interior art from the original hard copy edition. Search RPG.net's forums for the list of artwork changes.

As of the time of this comment, DTRPG shows "File Last Updated December 11, 2014," which means the file available for sale hasn't changed since I bought it.

These minor defects don't make me regret my purchase at the sale price of $20. The PDF allows all Document Permissions, and I can add pages and bookmarks myself. On the other hand, had I read Rand B's claim before purchase and had I paid $43 for it...well, I am glad that didn't happen.
Reply
Customer avatar
Randford B January 06, 2015 3:18 am UTC
PURCHASER
Having downloaded the file from DTRPG, I see that it is indeed missing bookmarks. That's odd and inappropriate, since the bookmarks were present in the final draft PDF. Either way, you are right and I was wrong. I'll see what I can do about remedying this ASAP.
Reply
Customer avatar
Randford B January 19, 2015 3:45 pm UTC
PURCHASER
And the bookmarks should now be present. Thanks for alerting us (and Daniel) to this problem!
Reply
Customer avatar
Jay D January 20, 2015 7:47 am UTC
PURCHASER
You're welcome.

I've downloaded the new version (20150119), and found all the bookmarks. I also found a second file that shows the book's splendid cover. That was a pleasant surprise.
Customer avatar
Bret G December 12, 2014 11:45 pm UTC
I find it odd that the game's designer, Jenna Moran, isn't mentioned a single time anywhere in the promotional text here but a bunch of doodz are. If it's not at her request that's a pretty shitty oversight.
Reply
Customer avatar
Randford B December 17, 2014 1:30 pm UTC
PURCHASER
She did in fact, write the promotional text herself.
Narrow Results
$ to $
 Publisher
 Follow Your Favorites!
NotificationsSign in to get custom notifications of new products!















Product Information
Gold seller
Author(s)
Pages
304
File Size:
85.2 MB
Format
Original electronic Click for more information
Scanned image
These products were created by scanning an original printed edition. Most older books are in scanned image format because original digital layout files never existed or were no longer available from the publisher.

For PDF download editions, each page has been run through Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to attempt to decipher the printed text. The result of this OCR process is placed invisibly behind the picture of each scanned page, to allow for text searching. However, any text in a given book set on a graphical background or in handwritten fonts would most likely not be picked up by the OCR software, and is therefore not searchable. Also, a few larger books may be resampled to fit into the system, and may not have this searchable text background.

For printed books, we have performed high-resolution scans of an original hardcopy of the book. We essentially digitally re-master the book. Unfortunately, the resulting quality of these books is not as high. It's the problem of making a copy of a copy. The text is fine for reading, but illustration work starts to run dark, pixellating and/or losing shades of grey. Moiré patterns may develop in photos. We mark clearly which print titles come from scanned image books so that you can make an informed purchase decision about the quality of what you will receive.
pixel_trans.gif
Original electronic format
These ebooks were created from the original electronic layout files, and therefore are fully text searchable. Also, their file size tends to be smaller than scanned image books. Most newer books are in the original electronic format. Both download and print editions of such books should be high quality.
File Last Updated:
September 12, 2015
This title was added to our catalog on December 10, 2014.