Das Schwarze Auge (DSA) (4th Edition)
Attribute/Stat Based (STR, CON, PER, etc) Class Based (Pilot, Wizard, Scientist, etc) Dice (Primarily d20) Dice (Various) Point Based (allocate points to get skills, powers, etc) Race Based (Player Race/Species affects gameplay) Skill Based (buy or gain skills) Trait / Aspect Based (personality affects gameplay)
The Dark Eye (TDE) is a German role-playing game created by Ulrich Kiesow and launched by the Schmidt Spiel & Freizeit GmbH and the Droemer Knaur Verlag in 1984. The name literally means "the black eye". However this does not imply a 'black eye' as in a bruise; the German expression for such bruising is "blaues Auge" ("blue eye").
It has become the most successful role-playing game on the German market, leaving all contenders behind in terms of sales (even Dungeons & Dragons). The many years of editorial work on the game have led to an extremely detailed and extensively described game world. The Droemer Knaur Verlag dropped the project in early 1989, and after the bankruptcy of the Schmidt Spiel & Freizeit GmbH in 1997 publishing was continued by Fantasy Productions, Kiesow's company that had already done all the editorial work. Since the game's launch the game system had already gone through three editions, making the rules and background more and more complex. The fourth edition of The Dark Eye was published in 2002. It was the first edition to be released in English (in October 2003).
