A Red and Pleasant Land: RPG Review

Welcome to a review of A Red and Pleasant Land, a bizarre and beautiful setting book for Lamentations of the Flame Princess or just about any earlier edition (best for Basic or 1st Edition), or clone of Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) you might be playing. This review concerns the portable document format (PDF). For reference, I have a first edition in print as well. A Red & Pleasant Land was released in 2014. In 2015 it was awarded four ENnie awards; two gold: Best Writing and Best Setting, and two silver: Product of the Year and Best Adventure. The PDF is available at drivethrurpg.com and rpgnow.com. The print version is available on the Lamentations of the Flame Princess site (lotfp.com), among other places. The company is based in Helsinki, Finland.



A Red & Pleasant Land

Disclosure: This review includes affiliate links to DriveThruRPG.com. I receive a token % if you make a purchase through the landing page. Thank you for your support.   

“Some women and some men and most children know that dreams leak. A lifetime of thinking it that way in your sleep can make drawer on a drafting table three or four inches wider on a side.”
“But there are lives longer than ours. And longer dreams.” (PG 7)

A Red and Pleasant Land is a difficult book to review, but thankfully not for the usual reasons. First, it is unique. Second, the maps and the illustration style are more impressionistic and almost abstract in spots rather than clean. Third and arguably most important, the book doesn’t endorse, nor does it resemble your Grandfather’s or your Dad’s D&D setting. It is a mash of strangeness, inspired by Lewis Carrol’s Through the Looking-Glass, with vampires replacing the principle ruling class, for reasons of which I’m uncertain (other than, why not). In case you are thinking it, the book is not of your favorite D&D setting (Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms etc.) meets Ravenloft, by any sense of comparison. Honestly, it doesn’t even try to do this. As a product, it is a very specific and very strange sort of thing. It is thoroughly, an interesting book cover to cover.

A Red and Pleasant Land is a setting and adventure book. If Lewis Carrol, Bram Stoker and John Eric Holmes decided to take a road trip in a Cooper Mini, because what else would these fine time-traveling gentlemen have to do on a random Tuesday… A Red & Pleasant Land would be the title of the made for TV movie, about such an adventure.

The setting is the war torn Place of Unreason, formerly known as the Land of Voivodja. In the north is the Card Castle, the rule of the Heart Queen Elizabeth Bathyscape. To the south, The Looking Glass Castle; the red house of the Red King, Vlad Vortigen. A war between these two vampire houses has gone on an indefinable amount years, months, or days upon the player characters arrival. The cause of the war is unknown. And to the last two points, and like so many other features of this book, these elements are left open for the Referee (Ref) to determine as they choose.

Wherever The Place of Unreason fits in the Ref’s campaign world, it is hidden and difficult to access. To the north and east it is shadowed by the Carpathian Mountains, while to the south and west forested by the Terrible Goblin Wood. The human population has been severely decreased by the vampire presence. The setting is a strange caricature (of an already strange land) of Wonderland, the world as its best represented in Lewis Carrol’s novels, Through the Looking-Glass and less so, Alice and Wonderland.

The terrain is divided by square-like a chessboard, though unlike Through the Looking-Glass the means of division are more to do with the altitude or height (or lack thereof) of each square, rather than by division of hedge. The terrain is left to the Referee to decide how these varied altitudes connect or even if they connect be it by portal, bridge, stair, ladder or earthly passage. The squares are unique unto themselves, the characteristics of which will be mostly left for the Referee to fill in via useful series of tables.

Through a looking glass is the Quiet Side (the above mentioned is the War Side), which is a mirrored reality. It is a place the gods can’t see (so clerics can’t cast spells) and where vampires don’t exist (lack of reflection). Only the Red King and his Red Brides can cross to the Quiet Side willingly, for but a moment. The Red King uses this ability, and falls to immediate to sleep there, and so that his rest is safe and undisturbed. Lesser vampires use mirrors to call out and lure humans from the Quiet Side for a meal. The Heart Queen can make an appearance if her name is called three times. The Player characters are very limited by the amount of time (mere seconds) they can inhabit the Quiet Side; the silence drives them mad, but like the Red King they too can keep their sanity if they can will themselves to sleep… Rest, keep their sanity, and hopefully be rescued. Almost every being who exists on the War Side has a Quiet Side equivalent and still does even after they are slain.

The Land of Unreason is a rich with unique character and monsters encounters. Most of the outlandish interactions, which are natural choices to those familiar with the fictional works of Lewis Carrol are therein, and have a chapter (and stats) dedicated to them. Admittedly, while it had been sometime since I’d read Alice and Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, (which, I did blow the dust off both) the author has left few stones, if any, unrecycled. There is even an opportunity for player characters to make an Alice, the settings only offer of a character class, but one that is more than worthy and a perfectly quirky fit for the setting.


Review Featured in KoDT #247

Adventure and nonsensical randomness, is generated through a respectable amount of tables. While use of these tables is enticing, but not required, their utility is indisputable; and entirely built to strengthen the setting. Many of these can be stripped of their nonsensical elements and re-utilized for any system, but the most impressive thing about them is the way the author has reversed engineered Carrol’s work for use as an RPG supplement.

While a good deal of the land, and basic plot points of the interior locations are left open for the Ref, both the Card Castle and The Looking Glass Castle are thoroughly detailed. Each space or room is described with a bullet point of three or four features on average, and if relevant the purpose of each space. In design, both castles are meticulously laid out and are very much like a dungeon. Some of the strangeness within these castles is occasionally anticipated, but great deal is unique. Some of my favorite elements are the little things:

One instance of this is that items are occasionally referenced with the following descriptor, I’m paraphrasing: “Items or furniture of this room are worth two or three times their weight in gold.” While this descriptor might be an affront to old school sense or game ability (coin = experience), its use made me put my put my Dungeon Master hat on (don’t you have one of those?) and ask why? After that, I found myself imagining the Red Kings favorite arm chair (the one worth three times its weight in gold) recently gone missing and the player characters hired to find it. Or reading the line straight to my player group, just to see what they would make of such a simple, yet odd concept. Was this what the author intended? Am I a reading a bit too much into this simple turn of phrase? That’s likely. But still, and like Carrol’s work, a weird and well placed phrase (or unsolvable riddle) is a perfect fit for this strange and dark world. And better than this, it gets the reader or in this case the DM thinking.

There are two print errors of note: the handouts for Fragment 6 and Chess Puzzle are missing. If you pick up the second printing I have no idea if these were amended. With the PDF these errors are nonexistent.

In conclusion, A Red & Pleasant Land is certainly strange and has some awesome features that with a little, “do it yourself,” you can plug and play with most RPG systems. The stranger elements don’t really journey to far from the inspired source material. The specific way these elements were engineered for the purpose of an RPG supplement is very well done. At the same time, if you’re in the market for a product with a more standard old school approach, the niche and strangeness of the Through the Looking-Glass setting, with vampires added in for flavor, might not appeal. Apart from all the above, while the review style for this column doesn’t usually point out the finer and more subjective aspects of composition, this book is literally one of the most unique and interesting RPG products that has graced my table… And (I cannot help myself, but) unlike D&D 4th Edition, the awards are well deserved.

RPG Review: Simple Superheroes

Simple Superheroes RPG

This is a review of the portable document format (PDF) of Simple Superheroes, undoubtedly a superhero themed role-playing game (RPG). Published and written by Joshua John Kitz of Compose Dream Games. Simple Superheroes is available online at the RPG Market Place (composedreamgames.com/marketplace) and my new favorite seller site, Indie Press Revolution (indiepressrevolution.com) in print as well as PDF. Compose Dream Games is a small indie publisher, which brought this RPG to life via Kickstarter at just over $4K internet bucks. Simple Superheroes was provided by the publisher free of charge, for the purpose of this review.

Disclosure: This review includes some affiliate links and references.

I’ve been reading over a lot of superhero RPGs lately. My live group is making a push for an alternative game and superhero RPGs are at the top of the pile. I blame Marvel Studios. My player group (of gentlemen grognard scholars) started with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, but when the original Dungeon Master bowed out, and I couldn’t sell them on HackMaster 5e (which is why I’m not in sales), we reverted to yours truly running a hack of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) Basic. Personally, D&D Basic is my favorite for obvious reasons, simplicity. So, three such (simple) superhero themed RPGs are at the top of my reviewer slush pile and will most likely serve the purpose for our fill-in game. These are: Save the Day by Okum Art Games, OneDice Supers by Cakebread & Walton (reviewed for EN World here) and this very title, which is about to come under review.

Simple Superheroes features a unique system and via character creation is a bit of a sandbox. There are also some optional features in the rules as well, which push it a bit away from its simple theme and I suspect the author is a fellow number cruncher at heart. Honestly, I don’t mind sandbox elements, as long as the writing does the job of defining the elements for use within said RPG. While many gamers have different ideas of what is a sandbox is, mine are as follows. A sandbox has a box. A written framework, while the “sand” should consists of the ideas, which fill the box and like sand, should be plentiful, but because of the box, not overflowing. Even a decently framed sandbox, is usually the opposite of simple, because sandboxes are meant to cultivate ideas, rather than limit or streamline them. I’m not saying a simple sandbox is impossible, but I’m getting off track and I’ll leave that thought for the conclusion…

As far as its Sandbox elements, Simple Superheroes does this pretty well. The author defines the framework and is none too shy with examples which help color this in. Owing to simple, the book starts out with Character Creation, defined in brief within one page, The Rules defined in one page. And one page, which features Options and Special Actions. This organization is a bit disorderly to what is usually common clicking off the first few pages, but as a rough guide to the system/game itself, it’s decently presented while at the same time, will serve as a useful reference point for new players.

Character creation is anything but straightforward, yet is well defined. The most important and crunchiest aspect of this is selecting an Array. The choices which determine the type of superhero character being created are Well-Rounded, Standard or Focused. Each Array has a specific number of Talent Ranks and Relation Ranks, which will correspond to how many dice, are rolled when a specific talent/superpower/skill is performed. Well-Rounded characters will have a broader Array of Talents with more utility with Standard being the medium, and Focused characters… Being well, more focused!

Players and GMs will essentially be defining each character’s superpowers (Talents) as well as the overall superhero type, from scratch. In Chapter 3: Powers and Common Foes, there is a respectable amount of detail provided to assist with this process. Most information is based on what you’ll find familiar in superhero fiction, but the writer translates these ideas for the purpose of a RPG, without being reliant on other IPs. A collection of guidelines and tables, round this section out, providing a good starting point for how the ranks of superpowers or Talents apply.

 In place of alignment or disposition common to most RPGs, Simple Superheroes builds character personality through two short sections: Relations and Values; Description and Weaknesses. These elements are presented in brief, but mostly encourage players to create concepts or description(s) which will outline their superheroes history, personality, faults and flaws. I’ll let Relations and Values sections, speak for it-selves:

“Relations can be to a person, place, thing, activity or even a Value. The rank reflects the relative importance that your character places on each Relation. Relations are not meant to be used between player characters. They represent how much your character cares about something, not how much someone else is willing to help your character.” (PG 12)

 “…Heroes can take a VALUE instead of a Relation. A Value is a tenet, precept or belief that the hero cherishes and upholds. Because Values tend to be broader than Relations, a hero should only get to roll a Value once per session.” (PG 12-13)

I like what is presented in these sections. Ode to building character for a character’s sake, always gets a nod in my book, as it doesn’t delve into the pitfalls of alignment for a superhero themed RPG. What can I say? A superhero is always the good guy so time is usually better spent developing a backstory. This might be a personal hang-up of mine (in regards to superhero RPGs which focus on alignment), so let’s talk a bit about the system, while I contemplate that.

Simple Superheroes is a dice pool system, which utilizes d6. When characters are using a power or skill and need to resolve a conflict, the number of dice rolled is expressed by the Array Rank of the relevant Talent. For instance, if the player selected the focused Array, one of their powers will start with a rank of 5. If that power is say… super strength, they will roll 5d6 to determine if their task (using super strength) is successful. Like any dice pool the GM sets the difficulty, or the amount of successes required, which in Simple Superheroes a basic success is any die with a result of 3 or higher.

Except, the game also allows the GM to increase the difficulty, by raising the number of individual die as well, such as instead of a success being a 3 it might be a 4 or higher. Unfortunately, while this idea had my RPG mechanic-gear works turning, beyond a few play examples the idea (a good one mind you) doesn’t fully expressive itself. I found myself re-reading over sections just looking for it, doing key phrase searches… It also doesn’t keep to the simple theme, so perhaps this is why the idea isn’t further explored, but this also leaves me to wonder why it was included at all.



This Review Featured in KoDT #246

The true gems of this product are among some of the Game Master (GM) sections. My favorite was a simple questioner with the section Building Your City, which engages the GM to fill in some of the more mundane details of the city setting. Admittedly, this is something I do, when the city itself is important to the campaign or in the least, the player characters will be returning. Details are important for the backdrop of a mundane setting (as well as for the GM to know and create ideas on the fly) and I was delighted to add a few of the author’s questions to my own series. Also as to the GM sections, there is a nice presentation on conflict and how to use it, as well as a short collection of adventure hooks and pre-made superheroes, both of which should assist in getting the dice rolling.

The PDF upon my screen features black and white illustrations and is mere 119 pages cover to cover. Honestly, it reads a lot bigger than it is and much of it speaks not only to running this game, but superhero RPGs in general. The writing is in (RPG) standard double column format, which includes hyperlink references throughout text as well as The Table of Contents. I’m really starting to appreciate publishers who include this as a feature. It makes the material much more searchable and certainly assists with ease of comprehension in regards to new players and aided with this review.

Overall, this is a decent product. If I had to make a choice based on the layout, I would certainly recommend the PDF, rather than the dead tree version. The search-ability of the PDF is a plus, while the layout in book without digital tools leave a bit to be desired. Despite not liking the layout, the writing has craft in spots and the GM sections are articulated very well. In the download section over at Compose Dreams Games (composedreamgames.com) you can get a better idea with five page sample (here) of what Simple Superheroes free, by downloading The Heart of Simple Superheroes.

While no doubt, there are certainly easier systems I can only think of very few which have also attempted to merge the concept(s) of simple and sandbox. While I wouldn’t say the authors attempt is a complete success, I certainly do think the game has achieved a medium between the two and might provide some nice variation from your old RPG, go to systems. This product is worth a look if your player group likes creating their own superpowers and needless to say, especially if you are in the market for a superhero RPG.

Mechanika: RPG Review

MECHANIKA

This is a review portable document format (PDF) of Mechanika: Empires of Blood and Steam; by Xaos Publishing. This product was provided free of charge for the purpose of this review. Mechanika funded for just over $9k, via Kickstarter in 2013, with the final push for delivery, fulfillment, and eventually availability at drivethrurpg.com and RPGNow.com, occurring mid, 2016.

Disclosure: This review includes affiliate links to DriveThruRPG.com. I receive a small percentage if you decide to purchase something from the landing page. Thank you for your support.

Mechanika is a bit of an odd duck as far as RPGs go. While I wouldn’t disagree that its theme is steampunk, the more I read and as the pages went by, less did this game feel like a steampunk RPG. When I brought out the dice, for character creation, and to test some of the mechanics all heck broke loose!

As the author admits, Mechanika is a bit of a mash or perhaps a rehash of many other RPGs. There is certainly a bit of Fate Core here and a bit a Savage Worlds there. Add in a hint of gothic fantasy, a little (non-plushy) Call of Cthulhu and that about sums it up. I’m a bit on the fence with this one, but it is less about what this game is and more about what it could be, which admittedly doesn’t give credence to the idea of paying money for it. Steampunk isn’t an RPG genre I’m too familiar with, but setting wise this RPG is absolutely a mash of many elements other than steampunk. Gamers familiar with Fate Core or Savage Worlds might consider giving it whirl, but at the same time Mechanika, is very different from those RPGs.

Mechanika utilizes the Xaos system. Dice mechanics are performed with percentile dice (d10s) and FUDGE dice. If you not familiar with FATE CORE, FUDGE dice are six-sided die, which are faced with icons instead of numbers. The icons for Fate Core & Mechanika are plus (+), minus (-) or blank (_); two of each icon on a d6. Needless to say, but easy enough to simulate on a standard d6 as well, assigning two numbers to each icon.

Beside the basic rolls which entail those improved by character skills/attributes/perks, or challenged by flaws, the Xaos System allows for degrees of success and failure. In other words, meeting the target number set by the GM is a success, but exceeding the number may count towards a special success. As such, rolling well below the target number may count as a “special” failure. Either occurrence encourages the GM and the players to incorporate some narrative story elements. The Xaos system also features a luck mechanic for dice rolls called Destiny Points. Those familiar with Savage Worlds and Fate Core will recognize it, as this mechanic allows rerolls as well as enables players to “edit a scene,” avoid an untimely death and a couple of other things. Destiny Points are rewarded to the player by the GM, mostly in regards to good character play. These points roll over to experience points for the character if unused at the conclusion of the session. Speaking of character, let’s make one.

Character creation with this RPG requires players to create a persona. The concept of this persona is then mitigated by two character concepts the “higher” and “lower” self. In essence instead of alignment we have a default character personality tag. The higher self is just as it seems, your character at his/her best, or most selfless, the lower self being your character’s worst or most selfish. Players are charged with creating these three tags and putting them together in a way that is somewhat reasonable. There are plenty of examples (for newbs) to get you started, and the concepts in this section are well presented.

Next is selecting a race of which there is a unique variety. Humans make up 80% of the current population of this alternate earth/steam punk setting, but my beloved dwarf is available (so I made one), as well as goblins, moreauvians, sylvans and Dhampyrs. Moreauvians are human/animal hybrids and of many varieties, sylvan are plant or tree like humanoids and dhampyrs are the spawn of vampires. Races have a high number racially specific, drawbacks and benefits. The race template is a bit overloaded in this regard. Thankful I located a pencil that Harley the cat, hadn’t yet had the pleasure of chewing on (don’t ask).

Step three is assigning attributes and wounds. Attributes in Mechanika are the physical and mental aptitude however, a score of zero is considered the human average. With creation, player characters are provided five points to distribute among these attributes, as well as some attributes may be further modified by the race template. Mechanika does not use a typical Hit Point system, instead incorporating a (meticulously written) wound system, which includes three different types of wounds, to show damage.

"Every character in Mechanika has their limits. Every character has a breaking point. This is illustrated by the Wounds system. The Wounds system gives you a visual representation of how injured you are by using damage grids. Each character has three different grids, one for each type of wound you can sustain in Mechanika.” (PG 46)

Character’s in Mechanika can take physical damage (Constitution), stress or mental damage (Willpower) and ego or social damage (Presence). The severity of injury for each type of damage is further divided into three additional ranks, each being more severe. The different sorts of damage will play more into the story building aspects, but also have mechanical significance providing penalties and the like.

Next in character creation, is the odd combination of assigning wealth and designating the number of actions available. There is really nothing to choose here, so it is really more of a “to make you aware section.” All characters are suggested at starting out with a -1 wealth rating or in other words, not very wealthy. Characters start the game with three sorts of actions, but may receive more if they have the appropriate ranks in agility attribute.

Rounding it out is selecting skills, perks, and flaws. These sections are pretty standard as far as RPGs go. Skills are linked to one or two designated attributes and help define what characters can and presumably, cannot do; all of these are based on character knowledge/education. Perks are divided into three categories: regular, supernatural and by race (race: listed with the race template). Likely my preference for old school games, but some of these read in line with what I would say was a skill, others are seemingly genetic graces and more in line with what I think a perk might be. Flaws can be taken at character creation, and award Experience Points (EPs), which you can put towards additional perks and skills during character creation.

Review Featured in KoDT #245

The setting of Mechanika is earth with an alternate timeline and a mash of several themes. At some point in this timeline the Old Ones (H.P. Lovecraft style) arrive plunging the earth in fifty years of despair. The effect of their presence causes disease, mutation and misery. The Fae arrive; from where the text isn’t clear. They fight the Old Ones offering humanity servitude, claiming themselves the saviors of the human race. The war between the Fae and Old Ones continues and somewhere in there the dwarves and goblins arrive. The dwarfs work both sides for profit, the goblins are mostly combat fodder. The Great War spans 250 years, until the Fae gain dominance. For one thousand years the Fae are worshiped unchallenged, when without explanation they disappear. There is a bit of unrest between the three lesser races as they via for power. And this is the setting Mechanika is subtitled and player character will explore: The Age of Blood and Steam.

Likely the best material to get a feel for Mechanika, are the chapters to do with machina and magic. Interestingly, there is about twice as much content on the chapter for magic then there is for the chapter on machina. That said… the chapter on machina is pretty interesting. Both magic and machina rely on Flux, which is the source of magic energy. For the most part this section provides a handy set of guidelines for Artificers and Tinkerers to construct their own gizmos, which are machines/devices melded with this element of flux. Artifice Houses specialize in creating certain types of machina and each house is provided a treatment specifically describing what can be created as well as provides a few examples. Despite seeming a bit overflowing for a steampunk RPG, the Chapter on Magic is my actually my favorite. Magi in Mechanika belong to one of twelve houses, Warlocks wield elemental forces and Wyrds unstudied, but naturally gifted, harness their innate magical talents through a totem. The features of the three magic-user archetypes are diverse and interesting. The magic schools are subdivided by type: The Schools Elements, Matter, Energy, Life & Death and the Aberrant Schools.

While Mechanika is bit wonky, if I had put my money down, there are certainly some interesting concepts. The writing isn’t terrible, but the overall layout and presentation could certainly use some additional work. This being a Steampunk game, as I mentioned in the intro, it’s rather odd. While the games “theme” is steampunk it’s got a bulky dose of other things, which significantly weigh it down in regards to mechanics as well as to the core of its role-playing elements. If Mechanika was developed in the early 90’s no doubt it would have likely gained a fan base. As is, I’d wait to see if some of these things might be cleaned up and if it should ever come to pass with a second edition.

Strange Stars: RPG Review

Strange Stars

This is a review of the portable document format (PDF) of the Strange Stars Game Setting Book, Published By: Hydra Cooperative; written By: Trey Causey...

Disclosure: This review includes affiliate links to drivethrurpg; I receive a % if you decide to purchase something from the landing page.

Strange Stars is available at drivethrurpg.com and rpgnow.com in print and PDF format. On hand, I was also provided the Strange Stars OSR Rule Book and the Strange Stars Fate (Core) Rule Book, which this review mentions in brief. These products were provided by Hydra Cooperative free of charge, for the purpose of this review.

The Strange Stars Setting book is compact: 32 pages cover to cover. Unfortunately, it’s so compact that the effort to put forth what I’d consider a “setting book,” has been nearly squeezed to irrelevance. That’s certainly my opinion. While I get what this product is, after I finished my read, my conclusion was that it’s not properly defined. If the book was subtitled: Game Setting “Treatment,” this review would be a little less harsh. Being fair, I certainly seem to be in the minority with this opinion. I’d recalled seeing a high number of positive reviews (and 5 star rates) for this product, but after my impression I was compelled to take a second look at those reviews.

“If you are looking for a book filled with rich histories, detailed customs and lifestyles of each planet and race- then this might not be the book for you.”

Or in other words, nearly the exact definition of what a setting book might be?

This one, is my favorite:

“The layout is smooth, easy to read, & gives not only a gist of the interstellar setting but an entire setting straight out of the box.”

Review featured in KoDT #244

This reviewer is overstating it a bit: An entire setting straight out of the box? This statement is false. A concept of a setting is not for all intents and purposes, a setting. The closest thing I can think of, as to what this product represents in layout and art direction, is a splatbook. In fact, as I write this, I look up the term splatbook (as my mind grasps at what to call it) and here is the first result that sums it up nicely:

“A Splatbook is a non-core sourcebook for an RPG that provides additional rules and material that can be used with the main system.”

 And yes, this is what the Strange Stars, Game Setting Book is, a system less, space opera splat-book.

As far as system, mentioned in the book is a loose association for the RPG: Stars Without Number (SWN), which you can find and download for free on DriveThrurpg.com. If I’m remembering correctly, the tech level for Strange Stars seems a bit advanced for SWN. The two additional titles for this review: Strange Stars OSR Rule Book (which works with SWR) and the Strange Stars Fate (Core) Rule Book roughly follow the same splatbook format, but do provide some serviceable crunch to their respective systems. Let’s talk about the actual book.

First is an overview of the setting. A brief history notes, the four epochs of human space exploration. Earth, known as Old Earth is a fable. Other empires have left behind remnants of advanced technology.

Creatures in the setting are categorized as Sophonts: biological creatures, Moravecs: self-replicating, sapient robots, and Infosophonts: digital minds independent of physical form. Ten or so variants are given a fully illustrated one page treatment and a few details in text. As this book is system less no crunch. These illustrative treatments don’t have their own chapter, but are spread every other page.

Between those pages and starting after the history is the meat of the setting. System maps give a brief treatment to each of the worlds of these systems, slightly detailing inhabitants and basic social conflicts/customs. This is exactly the thing that was missing and was my chief criticism for the Redemption RPG (link to that RPG Review). The system maps and the ideas on how to use them (for RPG purposes), provides the GM a handy resource to work from. On the other hand, Redemption had about 100 pages of detailed setting and history, which Strange Stars doesn’t even compare. The book ends with a number of thoughtfully presented one page treatments, which should aid the GM in getting adventures in this system going.

Certain, Strange Stars wasn’t my cup of coffee. There is a difference between a setting book and splatbook. The art is beautiful to a point, but mundane in it’s over use. I like my setting books with content. The layout is simple to navigate, because the concepts don’t run very deep, and moreover, neither provide the appropriate amount of detail in what should be included with a setting book. If you’re in the market for a space opera setting book, I’d certainly encourage you to look elsewhere.

Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate: RPG Review

Wandering Heroes Of Ogre Gate

Welcome to a review of the portable document format (PDF) of Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate. A wuxia & xianxia inspired role-playing game (RPG). Don’t know what wuxia or xianxia is? Admittedly, I had only a passing knowledge myself. We’ll get to that. Digitizing in before me is nearly 500 pages of game content.

Disclosure: This review includes affiliate links. I receive a token % if you purchase something from the landing page. Any purchase you make supports this blog; thank you for the support.

Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate is available in Hardcover, softcover and PDF at studio2publishing.com and at OBS sites (RPGNow & DriveThruRPG) Bedrock Games is an active indie publisher and has a number of RPG products available. This is the second RPG product (Mafia Cosa Nostra being the first) I’ve had the pleasure to review for this column.

A brief on Wuxia and Xianxia:

One of the most well-known and readily available examples of wuxia is the movie Hidden Tiger, Crouching Dragon. If you haven’t seen this movie I highly recommend you do. If you don’t care to learn what wuxia is, I still recommend it. It’s good. To put it roughly, wuxia is Chinese mythologies knight errand. The literal definition is martial hero. Typically, these heroes roam the land righting wrongs, for the sake of virtue, instead of a typical knighted hero, for god and country. The driving elements in wuxia or of a wuxia story, are the martial artists’ journey for virtue itself-to do a thing because it is virtuous, rather than as with the western ideal, in the name of said virtue.

Xianxia literally means immortal hero. A xianxia story deals in the fantastical, bringing in the elements of demons and magic wrapped in Chinese mythology. The merge of these elements is attributed to the influence of Taoism, a real world religion being practiced today. While martial arts are a prime feature in wuxia, in xianxia martial arts are an element of the story. Xianxia themes are more to do with the supernatural. The best western movie I can think of to compare (or one which you may have seen) is Big Trouble in Little China; this to me, is a xianxia movie. Thankfully, the preface provides an explanation that should have any westerner ignorance covered, or least does so in an effort to create a roleplaying game with these themes. Now that we’ve covered that in brief, let’s get to it!

The setting of Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate is Qi Xien, the realm of man, which following the multiple definitions used by Chinese language also implies the physical world players will explore. To say that amount of setting detail in Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate impressed, is putting it mildly.

Historical Eras are succinctly defined providing a mythological themed “beginning of time” and a brief description for each of the following eras to the setting’s present. The timeline encompasses about 4,000 years of Qi Xien (fictional) history. A few of these eras even come with their-own map! Those that read this column know that if this reviewer is a sucker for anything; its maps and setting. Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate has both. Admittedly, the setting elements of this RPG were the first chapters/sections I jumped to when I began my review. Beyond eras, lengthy sections expand and tie in the basics of Qi Xien: religions, cosmology, customs & daily life.

Chapter Eight: People & Places-provides a detailed outline of the Zhan Dao Empire, (the likely, governmental protagonist) and a number of brief outlines for the independent regions and cities beyond. Just about every notable region, or city location indicated on the map, is provided a treatment. While a picture paints a thousand words, the description provided in regards to the setting make sure that this picture is specific (or at least will be) in the theater of the (players/GMs) mind. Wander Heroes of Ogre Gate doesn’t imply, it richly describes it.

A bit of an aside, but with a little improvisation the setting elements of this RPG could certainly be inserted into just about any medieval fantasy setting. I have some thoughts to even incorporate Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate as a land afar, for my current D&D basic campaign. Let’s move on to the fiddly bits, otherwise known as game mechanics.           

Review featured in KoDT #243

Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate utilizes a variation of the Network System. Mechanically, the Network System is a skill based system. Characters don’t have what we classically consider attribute or ability scores, which aim to simulate physical and mental aptitudes. The system utilizes a D10 dice pool. Unlike previous editions the system, Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate incorporates incremental numerical (+1 or -2 etc.) modifiers. Difficulty is determined by the Game Master and can be adjusted by situational modifiers and/or, martial hero capability.

A character’s skill or level of aptitude directly correlates to the total number of dice rolled for a check. With the target number set by the GM, as long as one of the dice rolled is a number equal or greater than TN, the character succeeds. A specific action which is determined by roll of the dice is a success, a greater than normal success, or failure.

A few particulars of this system are that with an unskilled check or trying to something in which a character has no rank in the relevant skill; the roll is 2d10 and the lowest result is taken. Penalty and condition modifiers can alter a roll dramatically reducing or increasing the dice roll by as much as (+/-) 3d10. In addition these modifiers, additional numerical modifiers equal to the number of dice, which are added (favorable) or subtracted (unfavorable) from the result. Rolling an unmodified 10 is counted as a greater than normal success and awards a bonus dependent on the specific nature of the roll, be it in the attempt at a skill or combat roll.

I’ve done a couple a reviews without; so let’s make a character!

Character creation in Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate is no simple task. The reason for this is the number of options and the meticulous nature of the writing. Right away, while everything is clearly outlined and this being my first delve into making my martial hero, I can tell I’m in for it. I’m giving a brief treatment here rather than covering all of the thirteen steps.

Step One is picking a race. There are four other worldly options besides being human and the subtle features of these races (advantages/disadvantages) are borrowed from Chinese mythology. I took the road most traveled here and selected a human.

Step Two Primary Skill Groups. Players select their primary and secondary skills groups, note, not the actual skills themselves, until (step seven) the character is better fleshed out. Primary skills are selected among two of the six total categories, and receive 12 points for each. Six points are given for Secondary skills and can be among any of the other six categories. What interesting about this section is the ability for characters to increase the physic of their characters is possible by availability of skill ranks which reflect physical aptitudes. Most skill based systems avoid the mechanics of physicality (or at least the ones I’ve read mostly do), but as the practice of martial arts is certainly a physical activity I was glad to see these options. Skills are divided into two categories General and Expertise.

Step Three is to Select a Sect and/or Sifu. I’ll let the game speak for itself here:

 “Martial sects are organized groups of Kung Fu Experts and come in many forms. Some sects are associations or communities, some are religious orders and others are martial arts schools. Sects are divided into orthodox and unorthodox sects….” (PG 190; Martial Sects, CHPT 6)

There are a dozen sects to choose from. Each are provided a brief treatment: History, Organization Belief, Reputation & available martial arts techniques. If I ran a Campaign, I would certainly have the players start in the same sect, though this isn’t a requirement.

Step Six, is selecting from among four Kung-Fu disciplines which players previously allocated points to determine proficiency. Each discipline has a specific number of techniques attributed. What’s most interesting here is the way Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate balances a characters ability to utilize techniques by creating an applicable mechanic: imbalance and limiting the initial techniques that are available via sect/Sifu. Each of the four disciplines, the available techniques and options receives a detailed treatment encompassing roughly 60 pages of content.

Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate is certainly not an entry level RPG. Though a minor point, that could be a criticism, but if it is, it’s really the only one I can muster up. The level of detail is likely the first thing you’ll notice if you pick it up. In fact, as I wrote this review I had to carefully decide what to include and there is a lot of good and great content here I’m not mentioning.

The layout and organization is very important in a product like this due to its sheer enormity, but thankfully the table of contents acts as a mini index; chapters and heading titles have been thoughtfully linked in the PDF. One click and you arrive. Beyond what is written I can honestly say that there wasn’t a single aesthetic that I didn’t like; which is pretty rare. I usually find something to nit-pick. The clean lines and effects of the interior black and white illustrations, certainly add to the wuxia and xianxia vibe. The artist Jackie Musto is awesome! As is the cartography work. The maps, borders, headers and side pane illustrations are very trim this product nicely.

Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate is a product I defiantly recommend. And in so far, the best RPG I’ve reviewed, this year.

RPG Review: The Dark Eye

The Dark Eye RPG

We are taking a brief look at the English edition, portable document format (PDF) of The Dark Eye role playing game (RPG), published by Ulisses Spiele. Many gamers from across the pond boast this RPG as the Dungeons and Dragons of Germany (some say even Europe), while here in that states, gamers have been begging for an English translation to find its way to market. No doubt, those wishes have been answered via Kickstarter and while technically this is the second time this has occurred, it is also a revamped edition. The Dark Eye (and the second English translation) was funded just shy of $150k internet bucks on Kickstarter.

(Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. I receive a token % if you purchase something on the landing page. Thank you for your support.)

The Dark Eye RPG is full color and is a behemoth at 418 pages cover to cover. By page count, the game is by far the largest (single volume) I’ve reviewed for Indy Game Scene (column, at the time). Hopefully that will be the last time I note that… I have no plans to review RPGs bigger than this.

The Dark Eye is a fantasy setting in the world of Aventuria. As far as setting elements go, Aventuria seems to have all the bells and whistles of a typical Tolkien inspired RPG, which many will be familiar with, dwarves, elves, orcs and the like. There is an interesting chapter that distinguishes the many dwarven, elven and human cultures, rather than jamming them all under individual race descriptions, which rounds out the setting nicely. The Dark Eye offers a fantasy realm of gods (and churches) for the characters to worship and magic to wield. The magic is toned down a bit from your usual fantasy RPG, and medieval elements are a bit better detailed than the usual fair. Included with the setting elements is very healthy amount of art, the quality of which is top notch.

I had my concerns (and would understand anyone else’s for that matter) knowing that this product was a translation, but I’m happy to report that my concerns were unfounded. Point of fact the writing really impressed me. While it would seem that 478 Kickstarters backers likely received a thief’s bounty for a mere $20 pledge before we get into the review itself let’s talk about what is, “The Dark Eye,” or the main premise of this RPG.

 “The game is named after the most intriguing magical artifacts it has to offer—the Dark Eyes, extremely powerful orbs that are very rare and hard to find. Wizards of eras long gone used them to look at far distant places, even other worlds, or to glimpse scenes from the distant past. Creating such an artifact calls for very powerful magic and a huge quantity of meteoritic iron. When fashioned into a Dark Eye, the iron takes on the form of an orb or, in very exceptional cases, an eye, hence the name.” (PG 6)

Rolling up a hero in The Dark Eye involves a fifteen step process. The game utilizes a variable point buy system which allows the players to start at a level which best suits the group. There is a lot of detail to character creation and the system allows a campaign that can be built from humble beginnings or one that is epic from the start. There is a fair amount of flexibility throughout the system and in regards to the sort of game/campaign you want to run, but the rules a very thoroughly written. Certainly an RPG cannot be written to cover every possible situation, but I'm confident the writing didn't miss anything for the purpose of gaming it at your table. Beyond character creation the system is well defined. Running a few numbers. the Arcane and clerical magic systems are thoughtfully balanced.

(Note: This review is property of Kenzer and Company and republished here with permission and the format may have been slightly modified from what originally published)

Crunch wise The Dark Eye is a heavy rule set. Though, I would say that some of the crunch will be reduced with familiarity. There are a number of features that differentiate it from other RPGs of the fantasy thread, such as D&D etc. and while good deal of the mechanics will be familiar, the terminology used will require a bit of adjustment. For instance, among these is that in rolling checks -a natural 20 (D20) is a botch or bad result and the use of more than one D20, between 1d20-3d20, for most checks. The ruleset itself is meticulously detailed. If this puts you off just remember your first delves into this wonderful hobby. Thank fully there is good deal of charts, sidebars and tables to help speed comprehension.

Overall, I am very impressed with The Dark Eye RPG. There are plenty of nuggets for a gamer to appreciate. The magic system is well balanced (not unwieldy powerful) and the detail of the system should appeal to most gamers who prefer medium to heavy crunch. About the only criticism I have is that the Bestiary is a little light; however as an introduction to the game everything in this product is beyond adequate. The terminology which is exclusive to this RPG pulls my mind back to middle school when I was first embarking on this wonderful hobby. It was a nice reminder. If you’re in the market for a fantasy RPG you might consider giving The Dark Eye RPG a closer look.

OneDice World War One: RPG Review

OneDice WWI

Welcome to an RPG review of OneDice World War One. This review concerns the portable document format (PDF). Those familiar with some of my reviews know I’ve reviewed a couple of other of Cakebread and Walton’s RPGs and the OneDice game system covers a number of other settings such as steampunk, fantasy, pulp and rather recently space fantasy.

(Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. I receive a token % if you purchase something on the landing page. Thank you for your support.)

OneDice World War One is available in both print (black & white interiors) PDF at DriveThruRPG and RPGNow. If you want to choose the route of frugality, or take a look before you decide, Cakebread and Walton have you covered with a Pay What You Want Quickstart version; here. It’s essentially free, so you have few reasons to not check it out and if you’re looking for a clean and very simple RPG system…

Spoiler Alert: I recommend to give it a read and a run a one shot.

As you might guess, the OneDice system requires the use of one dice. In this case it is a six sided dice (D6). For the most part all conflicts and skill rolls are determined by rolling a D6 against a Target Number (TN) determined by the Game Keeper (GK or Game Master/Narrator etc. in other systems). If the player character exceeds the TN they succeed. If they don’t exceed the TN, the player character might be able to spend some Stunt Points to change the outcome more to their liking. Each player starts the game session with six Stunt Points which cannot be accumulated beyond the session. Stunt Points can be applied a number of different ways to mitigate or change the outcome of specific actions at the cost of one or two points. How Stunt Points can be applied and spent is aptly defined in the ruleset.

Modifiers or bonuses the character might receive in a task roll are calculated on a straight one to one basis. If the Game Keeper determines the task being attempted requires strength and the character has 2 points in the Ability: Strong; those 2 points are added to whatever is rolled on the D6. Most task rolls will be modified by either Abilities (or attributes in other systems) or the amount of skill points the character has, in the relevant skill.

Consistent with everything about this product is that making an adventurer (or character) is quick and simply laid out. Adventurers in OneDice World War One have three abilities: Strong, Clever and Quick and players have six points to distribute among the abilities. Adventurers also have three derivative abilities Health, Defense and Move. For instance Health is calculated as your Strength multiplied times three and the other derivative abilities are similar. Players must then choose one of three, Social Status’ for their Adventurer: Wealthy, Middle Class or Poor which will assist in defining the adventurer's Job Skill Set. This is more of the career that each character starts with giving them two skills to start. Players then receive four more skill points which they can distribute how they see fit and in line with the game and the concept of how they want their character. Skills are numerous (around 30-ish, but described with one sentence or two) and simply laid out, but just in case there are even rules to create new skills.

Beyond creating an adventurer OneDice World War does a good job of defining the setting, as well as provides the GK with a succinct set of rules. Everything presented in Appendices and Game Keeper Section is well presented and should assist in running (if the GK would like) a historical game; the RPG also has some options for including horror or an occult themed skin. The Appendices section has a Timeline which outlines the significant events of World War One as well as an excellent general overview in regards to who was involved and why; and the strengths of the world powers. The Gamekeeper section gives a basic shading of World War One in terms of converting it to a roleplaying experience.

Though I’d liked to have seen a bit more as far as adventure seeds, the setting material does a really excellent job of defining itself to the point where you get a ton of ideas reading through it. About the only criticism I have is a lack of maps in the product itself, but then again the fact that the game is based on real history and being in the day and age of Google means that maps are only a couple of mouse clicks away… Still no Maps!?

Cover to back the PDF of OneDice World War One is 108 pages. Like all products in the OneDice line, it’s a quick read and very easy to get the gist of. Characters can be rolled up in less than 20 minutes (for certain). Art is minimal, but decent.

(This review is property of Kenzer and Company. Republished here with permission)

Overall, OneDice World War One is an excellent product. I’ve been looking for an opportunity to slip in a quick session, or perhaps one of those nights when one of two of my players cancels with my regular D&D Basic game. I did get the opportunity to run OneDice Supers last summer, and it worked pretty well. With how simple OneDice (any system I’ve read so far) is, it makes for an excellent fill-in RPG. Whether it hits your table, I'll leave you to it.