CRPGs vs. Table top RPGs

 

Something has come up.  And that is my feeling on table top RPGs and computer RPGs.  Obliviously, there has been some good ones on both sides.  For me, it's the Elder Scrolls series and the Dungeons and Dragons game.  I play both, although I have been playing table top more as of late.  And I'm still looking forward to the Elders Scrolls 6 game from Bethesda Studios.  So, the question is, which is superior to the other?

 Actually, the table top experience is actually superior to the computer RPG experience. At least, until Wizards of the Coast decided that their audience is toxic and they decided to expand their player base.  They show this with bad writing, bad illustrations, and bad editing.  So, lets talk about computer RPGs first, obviously they have the upper hand, correct?

 Computer Roleplaying Games

 Actually, I should be showing Starfield up there.  However, I don't play Starfield, I'm looking forward to playing Elder Scrolls 6.  Obviously, computer gaming has advanced since the first four Ultima games.  You've got first person view along with beautiful landscapes and modularity.  You can mod Skyrim, and many people have. I also modded Skyrim. I added new things to my Skyrim that I liked.  Skyrim, being a first person CRPG, has revolutionized leveling.  You choose your skills as you go up and you also customize your character to how you like.

With me so far?  Good.  The Elder Scrolls series is one of the best series for computer gaming.   They have four things going for them:

* Their Creation2 Engine.

 * Modified games.

* Exemplary graphics.

 * (Usually) good stories.

Skyrim is great to play and is a good diversion.  And while I can modify my game, no one Skyrim is the same (modually) as another Skyrim. However, the game gets old and it's tiring to play the same game after a few years.  So you hope that the next BethSoft game will be as good or better than the last. 

Tabletop Roleplaying Games

 So we come to tabletop RPGs.  So to me I get more satisfaction from running a tabletop roleplaying game than playing one on computer.  Sure you get amazing graphics (thank INVIDIA for that) from a computer RPG.  And sure you see amazing spells as flashy.  I mean look at your computer screen.  The difference is, with a tabletop game, I'm telling my own story.  And my players interact with that story. 

I'm currently running a Shadowrun 4th edition game and playing in a Rolemaster game.  Sure, I'm doing it over roll20, but very few people in my area have time to play face to face.  Although a face to face game is ideal, roll20 is a backup. 

So, what is the problem with Wizards of the Coast?  Well, they lie to their customers.  They treat their customers as toxic.  They consistently pay for bad illustrations, and they blame us for their shortcomings.  Still, I think that Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition is the best version to play.  Although other people may think that older or newer editions are the best to play from.  However, D&D 3e allows for greater player customization.  This way, my players can make different fighters, different Wizards, and different clerics.  All this based on their feat selections.  It's a win-win situation.

So, are CRPGs better than tabletop RPGs?  It's mostly how you play both games. 

Legend of the Five Rings 5e Review

 Before I review Rokugan, I thought I should review something a little more current.  Like the current Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game by Fantasy Flight Games (now Asmodee North America). Like in my review of Oriental Adventures 3e, this roleplaying game is set in the land of the Legend of the Five Rings, Rokugan.  Legend of the Five Rings (L5R) is a colorful book that promises to deliver a good game to the masses.  Now I haven't been able to run a game in the lands of L5R, so I can't give you a review on how it plays.  But I did have some opinions on the game as well as the company itself.  I'm here to tell you that I was wrong with some or most of those opinions.  Most of my criticisms go to how the game is played now, rather than anything else.  The game was mainly written by Max Brooke and Katrina Ostrander.

Expectations

Like most games I bought on my budget, the new Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game aims to be a skill based system.  Unlike Dungeons and Dragons, the L5R RPG is not a heroic roleplaying game.  This is because it retains the roll and keep system from earlier editions, and combat promises to be quite deadly.  I don't know if players of this game try to avoid combat, but I'm running an L5R game on Paizo as a play-by-post using the previous 4th edition rules by Alderac Entertainment Group.  So far, my group has avoided combat except when it's necessary.  Unlike Dungeons and Dragons (and OSR clones), where players can take more risks in combat, the new L5R RPG promises to be mainly a social game.  Don't worry, you will be able to see many roleplaying opportunities in playing the game.  One thing to keep in mind is that Rokugan is a High Fantasy land inspired by the culture of Sengoku Japan, especially the writings of Miyamoto Musashi, and his book the Book of Five Rings.

Miyamoto Musashi in his prime, wielding two bokken.

 

No Elves?!

No, there are no elves in Rokugan.  Most of the races in Rokugan are human or ratling, although there were a group of feline humanoids called Kitsu, who were changed into humans and founded the Kitsu family of Shugenja for the Lion Clan.  However, there is magic, monsters, and wonder in Rokugan that makes it the equal of any thing like Lord of the Rings has to offer.

There are seven great clans, each embodying one tenant of Bushido.  Take for instance the Scorpion clan, who embody the tenant of Loyalty.  They make up the clan you love to hate. The scorpions play the villains, even though they are in the business of protecting the Empire.

Miyamoto Musashi killing a giant creature, from The Book of Five Rings

Playing the Game

The first chapter is probably the most important.  This chapter deals with playing the game.  And there are some different aspects from the AEG versions of the game.  For instance, you are expected to use different dice.  This probably my most warranted criticism of the game.  I don't like that you have to use different dice to play the game.  I just want to use my traditional six sided dice and my traditional icosohedric (20 sided) dice to play the game.  However, how the different dice are there to help you roleplay your character. I almost got a set myself, though, then I remembered I can't run a tabletop game right now.

Before you play the game, you create a character.  Character creation goes by twenty questions.  However, if there is one fault to this game, it's that all the schools of the various clans are listed -- along with skill bonuses for your character learning in that particular school is remunerated. What sucks, and yes, it is a problem, many of the schools could have been reserved for Clan Sourcebooks (like the Way of the Lion or Secrets of the Phoenix).  Players of the new system could fork over the cash on a certain clan sourcebook they'd enjoy.  That sourcebook could contain new rules and ways of looking at your clan.  This is true when I picked up and read Way of the Crane.

However, reading through this chapter a second time, it seems that Asmodee North America has kept the high fantasy feel of Rokugan.  After that, the rest of the game deals with skills, techniques -- including magic -- and playing the game.

Contemporaneous portrait of Miyamoto Musashi (Edo period)

 

Critical Hits

You should know that at first, I thought this game didn't capture the feel of the original game I was used to.  However, like I said, the current L5R RPG isn't a heroic fantasy game.  I don't think it was meant to be a heroic fantasy game.  Of course you can run a campaign where the PCs go out on adventure and slay monsters.  And of course, you can probably run an all ninja campaign.  The rules do let you do that.  However, in keeping with previous editions, I feel that the game is more suited to social roleplaying rather than combat.  I didn't get any of the adventures for the new game to see how they interpret the RPG as they meant it to be played, though.

The art, however, is certainly colorful. The book contains examples of art from traditional Japanese Samurai art to realistic colorful art to bring Rokugan to life in the imaginations of the players or readers.  The art gives the book a five star rating for art direction.

Critical Misses

Where the game fails is that you are expected to buy a new set of dice to play the game.  This was a feature that I didn't like -- but was introduced in all the games from Fantasy Flight Games of the period. If you are like me, and run most of your games online, you would hopefully not find this to be a barrier from purchasing the game. If you are considering a new roleplaying game to give to the gamer in your family, you should get this game.

A word about Asmodee North America

If you are Christian, and are looking for a gaming company to support.  You can't do better than Asmodee North America.  The company -- and thankfully is not Wizards of the Coast -- is certainly doing its best to maintain an atmosphere of honesty and integrity.  As far as I know, the company has been supporting Christian values.  If you care about supporting a good company that you will feel good about, then Asmodee North America is that company.

Oriental Adventures (3e) Review

 Welcome to the third edition of Oriental Adventures (OA).  OA 3e contains all the stuff necessary to play a campaign centered on the Orient (again, Japanese culture is ascendant in OA 3e, but there is a reason for this).  Oriental Adventures introduces a new campaign setting for use with Oriental play, Rokugan.  Now the reason why OA was produced is because Wizards of the Coast sold the Legend of the Five Rings (L5R) card game to Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG).  However, when they put up L5R for sale, I wanted to buy it.  However, I lacked the resources to buy it -- even the resources to consistently support it.  However, AEG was a good steward of L5R for upward to 2017, when they sold L5R to Fantasy Flight Games. 

Despite that, I desired the rights to L5R, and I'm waiting for my time to buy them.  Since I have the resources right now to purchase the rights to L5R.  Plus, Fantasy Flight Games is not doing a good job supporting L5R, despite the beauty of their books.

OA brings Rokugan (L5R's fantasy land) into the d20 System.  At first, I thought that the d20 System would not be a good fit for Rokugan, however when AEG put out Rokugan later, they did a good job making the setting of Rokugan fit the d20 System.  The book was published over twenty years ago.  The writer is James Wyatt.  The book came out in 2001.

Overview

OA is a book trying to play the kid who wants to be a friend to everyone.  OA includes the setting of the Legend of the Five Rings into it's framework, but at the same time it's trying to be an update of the Original OA (reviewed here earlier).  The book tries to be all things L5R and all things Kara-Tur (in the Forgotten Realms).  Still, it's a beautiful book -- printed in full color -- the art in the book brings Rokugan, and other realms in the Orient, to life.

The book starts with an introduction, and James Wyatt did a good job of writing it.  Adventures in the Orient (although L5R takes it's primary inspiration from the Sengoku era of Japan, there is some Chinese and Indian influence).  The idea is to have adventure in an exotic land.  And Rokugan is certainly exotic.

The next chapter goes over character creation, and the players should ask their DM about the setting and rules to play in.  Then races are introduced, including humans and Nezumi (which are found in Rokugan).  Spirit folk, Koboruku (asian dwarves), Vanaras (based on Hamuman from the Ramayana) and Hengeyokai.  The last fit in a campaign that is not Rokugan.

 

Then classes are introduced.  There are few classes from the Dungeons and Dragons Player's Handbook that are introduced as a way to fit the Asiatic concepts of Rokugan and Kara-Tur.  But the book introduces two new classes: Samurai and Shugenja.  The Samurai class in the original OA is suprisingly very adaptable and flexible.  Player characters would be able to customize their Samurai character in a number of ways.  The shugenja class is the same way, although presented as a variant of the sorcerer class.  Another new class introduced is the Shaman class, which is a variant of the cleric class in the PHB.  Finally, the Sohei and Wu Jen are introduced, which are classes updated from the original Oriental Adventures.  If one is running a Rokugan campaign, then only the samurai and shugenja are the new classes to include in that setting.  After that, there are a few banned classes that don't fit in the world of Oriental Adventures.  But the NPC classes are discussed.  One, the Aristocrat, is included in Rokugan as a courtier.  However, Rokugan introduces the courtier class, which will be discussed in the next review.

After the character classes are introduced, then the prestige classes are talked about.  Of note is the Ninja Spy prestige class.  While not worked as a full class, the idea behind the Ninja spy prestige class is that a group of player ninja start out as another class, and then takes the ninja spy prestige class  when they are ready for it.  This graduates them into full ninja.

Another prestige class of note is the Yakuza, which is good for rogues, apparently.  The yakuza prestige class in Rokugan makes a perfect fit for the Kolat and other organized crime families in Rokugan. There are other prestige classes.  Some of them fit the monk class.

By Aaron Lovett

 

After that, character options: skills and feats -- are discussed.  The skill section includes on how the skills fit the Rokugan campaign setting.  Of course, new skills are introduced in the Rokugan book.  Then a number of feats are introduced.  Most of these feats are ancestor feats, where the characters in a Rokugan campaign takes an ancestor feat for their human bonus feat.  However, Rokugan has a different feat option.  And there are a few feats in OA that are regular feats.

After that there is a chapter on alignment, honor, and equipment.  In an oriental campaign, honor is better to use than alignment.  However, Alignment is discussed anyhow.  In some oriental campaigns, alignment might still be used.  In Rokugan, honor takes precedence over alignment.  Though this still discussed.  Then a number of equipment is also discussed.  After that, combat is covered in another chapter.

After that, magic is discussed.  This is an important chapter, since it goes through the Shugenja spells that are available to certain Rokugani Shugenja schools.  The new spells also update the spells from OA 1e, allowing wu jen and other spellcasters of Oriental campaigns have their magic.  The only schools missing are the schools for the Isawa family of the Phoenix clan.  This was, sort of, rectified in the Rokugan book.  After that comes a chapter on magic items.

Then comes a chapter on monsters.  While the chapter on monsters discusses which monsters from the Monster Manual fit in Rokugan, many more monsters -- such as seven varieties of oriental dragons -- are introduced.  Some of the monsters are introduced fit in Rokugan, but many do not.  After the book on monsters comes a chapter on campaign design.  Which is a good chapter, to say the least.  This next chapter provides options with which the GM/DM can design a campaign.

After this chapter comes an overview of the land of Rokugan.  Plus the setting begins the Four Winds saga (the emperor is killed, and without a designated heir, his four children try to take the throne). Also, the land of Rokugan is described in some detail, with some prestige classes compatible to each great clan.  After that, was a chapter on the Shadowlands.  Taint rules are introduced here, along with the Maho-Tsukai prestige class and a monster template.

 

Hits and Misses

Again, Oriental Adventures tries to be something of a child that wants to be your friend.  While the focus is still on Rokugan as a setting, other options fit other settings. This is a strength, although a weakness at the same time.  Some people still think that the d20 system wasn't a good fit for Rokugan, I beg to differ.  OA does a good job, and Rokugan does a better job, of fitting the setting of Legend of the Five Rings to the d20 system.

Conclusion

I do believe this book is a good book to get if you are planning a game in Legend of the Five Rings, and find the EDGE Studio's version of Rokugan to be unlikable. While the EDGE Studio does a good job (and I was reading the book for purposes of review), I think both AEG and Wizards of the Coast did a finer job of fitting the world of L5R to the d20 system.

Eberron Campaign Setting Review

 

 

Ah, the Eberron Campaign Setting.  A long time ago, about twenty years ago, Wizards of the Coast did a setting search.  I sent my proposal in, and so did thousands of others.  All hoping for a chance at fame for producing the next Dungeons and Dragons campaign setting.  Keith's setting made the cut.  Called Eberron by Bill Slavicsek, Keith Baker's setting became a new setting for Dungeons and Dragons.  Although still for D&D, it's different than what came before. The Eberron Campaign Setting describes a world that is unlike anything before.

Inspirations

Eberron is inspired by the pulp era of the 1930's. The book suggests you watch several movies inspired by the same era.  Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark was one of these. Casablanca was another (though I don't know how it was an inspiration -- but it's a classic movie).  The original Conan stories by Robert E. Howard certainly counts as inspiration. The Lensman series by Doc E.E. Smith also certainly counts. Certainly Buck Rodgers also counts, along with the classic Flash Gordon movies. However, thanks to the novel series and collaboration by others than just Keith Baker, the Eberron setting grew and evolved.

Innovations

Eberron, due to it's pulp era inspiration, brought a few innovations to the D&D game. These include Action Points, new races, dragonmarks, a new heroic class, and the philosophy that if it exists in D&D, there is certainly a place for it in Eberron.  This included psionics and other things as well.

Action points was one of the new innovations.  Eventually, Paizo would create hero points for Pathfinder (1e), which was based on the same idea.  Basically, you can spend a hero point to modify your d20 rolls.  This means, if a d20 roll wasn't the result you desired, you can spend an action point to modify your roll with a d6.  This is to reflect that in Eberron, your characters are larger than life heroes.  Which was already a thing in D&D.  Eberron characters just stand out.

 

The new races included certainly don't have dragonmarks.  But they represent something new about the setting.  These races include the changelings, the warforged, the kalashtar, and the shifters.  Changelings are beings that can shapeshift into other persons by using a supernatural ability that works like the alter self spell in D&D.  This shapeshifting is so complete that the changeling can replicate other beings exactly.  This makes them useful as spies and rogues.  They do not have dragonmarks.

Warforged are living constructs.  They were constructed by House Cannith to basically serve in the Last War.  Which, I promise, we will come back to. Anyhow, like the Changelings, the warforged do not have dragonmarks.  But they do have souls, which can be worked into adventures exploring that fact. Because of their constructed nature, warforged have bonuses to AC and living construct traits.

Kalashtar are the result of man bonding with Quori spirits in the past. Because these spirits are good and trying to be good, Kalashtar tend also to be good.  They are also beautiful persons, with an ethereal quality about them. And because the Quori are from the region of dreams, the Kalashtar also tend to be psionic.  Like the Changelings and the Warforged, the Kalashtar cannot have dragonmarks.

Shifters are the result of lycanthropes breeding with humans.  The result is a race that is capable of shifting with animal like features.  This brings into question that the Shifters represent the fusion of man with the natural world.  Like the warforged, kalashtar, and changelings, shifters can't have dragonmarks.

Dragonmarks are a new thing brought into being with the Eberron Campaign Setting.  The idea that the seven common races in the PHB (and incidentally, Pathfinder) can have dragonmarks.  They are purchased with a feat.  A dragonmark allows a person to have a certain spell-like ability depending on it's strength. indviduals with stronger dragonmarks have stronger spell-like abilities. While some races get only one dragonmark, and humans get five.  Also, the dragonmarks are tied to the Draconic Prophecy.  They are manifestations of the Draconic Prophecy and the dragons are trying to understand them. What the dragonmarks did was allow the formation of the Dragonmarked Houses -- financial, political, and social institutions that have at least a near monopoly on certain services.  Such as crafting and healing.

Artificers are another addition to D&D by Eberron. Artificers are a class that is made to represent the construction of magic items and constructs.  Artificers achieved this through the use of craft points and the various craft item feats.  In D&D 3e, however, the class was broken.  It wasn't balanced and so DMs would disallow the class in their games.  In fourth edition, they received an overhaul.  Which I didn't like anyhow.  When Paizo released the Advanced Player's Guide for Pathfinder, there was a contender for the Artificer called the alchemist.  Although the class was meant to represent something new to Eberron, it would take Advanced d20 Magic to provide an alternative to crafting magic items that would make this class viable.

If it Exists in D&D, then it fits in Eberron

This philosophy is the guiding light of Eberron campaigns.  Everything about D&D exists in Eberron somewhere.  This means that you can have exotic items from D&D in your Eberron campaign, like psionics.  Although each monster was given a certain flavor in order to exist in Eberron.  Mind flayers are aberrations from Xoriat, and orcs aren't seen as automatically evil. Alignments aren't concrete in Eberron either.  This means you can have good creatures do things that are thought of as evil, and evil creatures push for good things all around.

Eberron's History

The history of Eberron reflects its pulp nature.  There once was a continent spanning empire in Eberron, called the kingdom of Galifar.  This lasted for nearly a thousand years.  The empire of Galifar (lets just call it what it is) was a time of peace and prosperity.  It was divided into five geopolitical areas known as the five nations.  The scions of Galifar would rule each nation and the eldest of the scions would ascend to the throne.  However, there was a devastating war that split the kingdom of Galifar into thirteen separate kingdoms.  Called the Last War, it was almost every man for itself.  As each nation warred to have it's king or queen to ascend to the throne of Galifar. Due to a devastating attack on the nation of Cyre, which utterly destroyed the nation, the last war was brought to a halt and a treaty was signed.

Tensions run high, however.  It's almost like a cold war has replaced a hot one.  The nations spy on each other, and there are small conflicts on the borders of certain nations. While the dragons are obsessed with the Draconic Prophecy, they did little to halt the conflict once it began.

 

Eberron's Technology

Eberron is definitely set apart by it's high technology.  As reflected above, the most obvious example is the Lightning Rail, a train that runs on magnetic levitation.  Produced during when the Kingdom of Galifar was at it's height, the lightning rail represents what can be done with magic in Eberron. Magic is definitely seen as a tool by everyone that uses it.  Through magic, man and other races have created great wonders. But, like what happened to the Mournland (Cyre) and what happened to Mordain the Fleshweaver, magic itself is a tool that can be misused.  Although Eberron is described as medieval, it's technology certainly places Eberron in the late Renaissance era.  It's more like modern times, like the early 1920's of our history.  What else sets Eberron apart from other campaign settings is the lack of gunpowder.  There is no gunpowder on Eberron.

Looking forward to the Future

The Eberron Campaign Setting is certainly innovative. It describes a setting that is not like other settings. Unlike Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Dragonlance, and others -- it certainly has potential moving forward.  I foresee that the Eberron Campaign Setting certainly has potential and this has been realized in the Dungeon Masters' Guild.  Where anyone can contribute to the setting.  This has certainly been good for the setting as a whole.  Certainly more novels will be produced in the future, and more pulp campaigns will be realized. The Eberron Campaign Setting certainly has a bright future ahead of it.  Although I could have discussed more about what was in this setting, mind you this is only a review and I could not talk about everything.

More Magic and Mayhem Review

 Ah, More Magic and Mayhem.  I received this book back in 2007 as part of the Necromancer Games' gift exchange.  I wanted the book so I can use it.  And thanks to Advanced d20 Magic, I can.  More Magic and Mayhem is a magic sourcebook for the World of Warcraft Roleplaying Game (which is now not considered to be canon). Since the book was written for D&D 3.5, it can be easily used for that game.  Since the license for the WoW RPG expired, the book is also rare and it can cost more than fifty dollars to buy from Amazon. But what makes this book so good is the goodies that are inside it.  Such as the magic items, and not to mention, the magic spells.

The book starts off with some new classes and prestige classes.  New classes include the Inscriber, the Witch Doctor, and the Runemaster.  Both the inscriber and the runemaster deal with runes and glyphs of Azeroth.  While the witch doctor deals with mojo magic.  New Prestige Classes include the Argent Dawn Templar, the Enchanter, the Ley Walker, and the Steam Warrior.  The argent dawn templar is simply a class created to fight the undead of the plague lands.  The enchanter is capable of enchanting objects (although this class is competing with the Artificer in Eberron), and the ley walker follows the ley lines of Azeroth.  The steam warrior uses technology and mechs to fight.

Then there are some new feats to choose from.  There is a new feat category called Totem Feats, and are related to the Totem spells that shamans can use.  There are also alchemy feats, which are used for the alchemy portion of this book.  However, the Alchemist class from the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game can make use of these feats, if they wish.  Since More Magic and Mayhem are about magic and technology, most of the new feats are geared towards spellcasters.

In the next chapter Alchemy is addressed.  Each alchemical item has a DC associated with it's crafting.  The alchemy items addressed are from the WoW MMORPG -- and includes most items from the World of Warcraft game.  There are none items addressed from the Burning Crusade or other expansions.  Still the chapter can be useful for Pathfinder Alchemists, if the GM wants to expand on alchemy for his Pathfinder game.

After the section on Alchemy, enchantments are addressed. Again, enchantments from the World of Warcraft MMO are addressed, and no enchantments are addressed from the expansions.  Can they be used for a regular D&D game or Pathfinder 1e game?  Yes, they certainly can be.  The enchanter prestige class becomes important for enchantments, though.  Of course, the various crafting feats can be used instead.  The class isn't broken, although you'd have to break items to get the various items for enchantments.

The next section talks about runes. Since all the runes listed are for Azeroth locations, I don't use the inscriber or runemaster for my games -- as converting runes for my game world (Eberron) would be quite a hassle.  IF you are playing the WoW RPG, then the runes become important. Runes are a part of World of Warcraft.  That is why they added Inscription from the Wrath of the Lich King expansion.

After this chapter, spells are discussed.  All of the spells are magical abilities from the WoW MMO, so they become useful.  Some spells are not, such as sense demons. However, the spells are important enough to be mentioned -- and I converted a few to the Advanced d20 Magic Dynamic Spellcasting system.  Allowing me to use them, which isn't funny.  This chapter, to me, is pure gold.  I'm using the spells from this chapter in my Eberron game.

The fourth chapter of this book deals with magic items. The chapter talks about how magic items work in the game and lists many magic items that are apart of World of Warcraft.  While these items can expand your regular d20 or Pathfinder game, you may find that these items are apart of World of Warcraft lore, and many of them work in World of Warcraft.  Some of these items could be curious items in your game, of course.  Your GM has the right to approve of any item you wish to create from this chapter.

The last chapter deals with technology. Since most worlds are medieval, or Renaissance, the technology chapter is the least useful.  While technology was introduced in previous Warcraft games, almost all technology worked with the Phlogiston.  That property of the Warcraft world is discussed in Magic and Mayhem.  Still, there is an engineering skill in World of Warcraft that deals with technology.

This book is a good buy, from the usefulness of the spells alone.  Combined with the savvy of the system in Advanced d20 Magic, you will have a lot to add to your game. I recommend it if you are a fan of World of Warcraft.  If not, it's still useful.  Remember, its your game and you have to be judicious in what you will allow in your game.

Eberron: Secrets of Magic

 

EBERRON

THE SECRETS OF MAGIC CAMPAIGN

Some say that the ability to command great armies is power.  Of course, Queen Aurala of Aundair certainly commands armies to do her bidding.  Some say physical strength is power.  Just look at the physical might of any Warforged.  Or anyone that has practiced body building to great extent.  Certainly physical strength is power.  However, the wizards of the Arcane Congress has a better idea of power. Their saying: Scientia est Potentia . . . Knowledge is power.

Welcome to the Secrets of Magic campaign!  A campaign beginning in Aundair, but the travels of the party might take them outside of Aundair in search of power and magic. The heroes (the PCs) start off as magic using classes that have completed their apprenticeship, i.e. level one.  They are about to start their Journeyman stage of their mastery of magic.  Their masters of magic have taught them magic and they are ready to start their journeys.  On their journeys, the PCs must learn new magic and become masters in their own right in order to reach their goals.

Campaign Dynamics

 This is a Pathfinder 1e campaign.  To be frank, it's centered around a group of arcane magic users that have attained their apprenticeship and have graduated to Journeymen.  The player characters are expected to start out as magic users (wizards, sorcerers, summoners, etc.) but may discover other paths as they accomplish their goals.  As time goes on, as they journey, they will come across new magic. 

For this campaign, the following books will be used:

* PATHFINDER Roleplaying Game, Core Rulebook: The bulwark of the campaign.
* Advanced Player's Guide: Summoner class, other class options, and new spells.
* Advanced d20 Magic: Contains the magic system we will be using. It's a simple system of add and subtract.  It's not available on Drivethru, so you will have to download it.
* Unearthed Arcana Specifically, the Spell points optional rule. On page 156. After reading the rules in Advanced d20 Magic on drain, it should be easy to understand why we are using spell points.
* Ultimate Magic: Magus class and new spells.
* Advanced Class Guide: Arcanist class.
* Eberron Campaign Setting: This contains the basics of the world we are using for this campaign.
* Races of Eberron: Talks about the four new races introduced in the ECS.
* Five Nations, especially the chapter on Aundair.

 

Classes Allowed: Wizard, Sorcerer, Arcanist, Summoner, and Magus. Multi-classing into other classes is possible. Just not the Gunslinger. Gunpowder doesn't exist on Eberron. Just remember that the Arcanist, Summoner, and Magi has to be converted to Advanced d20 Magic. Should be easy, after looking at how the other spell using classes work. I'll be willing to work with you. NO CUSTOM CLASSES!

Races: Any race in the Eberron Campaign Setting book and Races of Eberron book works out fine. Kalashtar also work as a choice, just remember this game is centered on spellcasters. Just remember, some Warforged feats work best as Alternate traits.

Character Creation Dynamics

* Purchase method; 20 ability points.
* Two traits.
* Average starting gp.
* 1st Level
* Starting spells from Advanced D20 Magic and the Pathfinder Core Rulebook. You will discover more powerful magic on your journey. Try to choose starting spells with 1 slot to learn.
* You start off knowing each other as friends and/or colleagues. Your friendship between each other should grow as the campaign progresses.
* Alignments: Any of the alignments are possible -- but try to stay away from evil alignments, I'd like to play all the bad guys.
* Character backgrounds: You can use Ultimate Campaign to generate your background. Or, if you are feeling adventurous, you can get a copy of Central Casting: Heroes of Legend by Paul Jacquays and generate your background using that.

Okay, that should cover everything. You start on your journeys as Journeymen. You won't be acknowledged as a Master until you reach 10th or 15th level. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.

Palladium Fantasy RPG Review

 

I received my copy of the Original Palladium Fantasy Roleplaying Game today, about 2:30 pm Mountain Daylight time.  I bought it from GameNerdz.com, and since my experience with them has been good -- I ordered a dead tree copy of the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying game from them.

First look, the cover sports the Palladium Books logo, the title, and a picture of a three headed dragon breathing fire on a paladin or knight on horseback.  It was written by Kevin Siembieda.  Opening the cover shows a powerful fight between a human fighter and a albino wolf-man (wolfen in the game, to be explained later).  This is in full color, and graces both the inside front cover and inside back cover.  Aside from the obligatory warning that graces this book, it's a work of fantasy, and not real life.

What is inside?

Inside the Palladium Fantasy RPG (PFRPG, not be confused with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game or again -- PFRPG) is a section on creating your character -- dealing with character attributes, races to choose from, hit points, insanity, alignment, and experience points.  There is a section on skills, along with the Occupational Character Classes.  These include: Men of Arms -- Mercenary Fighter,  Soldier, Long Bowman, knight, paladin (or spelled Palladin), ranger, thief, assassin, and a few optional O.C.C.s that work for NPCs.  Then includes Men of Magic -- the Wizard (or mage), Warlock (elemental magic), Witch (diabolic magic), Diabolist (Mystic wards and symbols), Summoner (Circle magic), Mind Mage (psion or psionicist), and Alchemist (NPC class). After that comes the Clergy, which includes the Priest/Priestess (Cleric or specialty priest), druid (shapeshifter), shaman (oracle), and the Healer.  After that notes on creatures and monsters as well as the world of Palladium itself.  Then the Tombs of Gersidi adventure and the Arms of Nargash-Tor adventure.

Differences from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons

The PFRPG is a complete Roleplaying Game.  It has information on how to play a roleplaying game and information on the world in which the game takes place.  It uses a variety of Polyhedral dice -- including all the dice from the D&D basic game.  Rolling attributes for your character is no different from D&D, and also percentile dice is also used.  The twenty-sided die (d20) is also used for combat related applications.  That should make the PFRPG similar to Dungeons and Dragons, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, and other similar games.  So, what makes it different?

The differences include: the magic system, the alignments, the available races, the Occupational Character Classes (O.C.C.), the skill system, and Monster statistics (which are gone more in depth in Monsters and Animals -- the monster book for the PalFRPG).  First are the O.C.C.s.

 An Occupational Character Class works like the Character Class in both D&D and AD&D.  But certain classes are split into different Occupational Character Classes.  In fact, the Fighter class from AD&D is split into the Mercenary Fighter, the Soldier, and the Long Bowman occupational character classes.  The mercenary fighter is your typical fighter.  The soldier is a career fighter, and the long bowman is trained in the use of the yew longbow. The paladin class and the cavalier class are the palladin and knight occupational character classes respectively.  The ranger and thief remain the same concepts from AD&D, and also from AD&D is the addition of the assassin occupational character class.

The Mage has been split into different occupational character classes as well.  You have the wizard (mage) which specializes in spell magic.  The witch is a class that worships demons or devils.  The warlock is a spell caster specializing in elemental magic.  The diabolist specializes in symbology, wards, and runes. The summoner works in magic circles of protection, summoning, and power.  The mind mage is your basic psionicist.  And the alchemist is an NPC class.

The clergy classes include: the priest or priestess (regular cleric class). The druid, who specializes in changing into animal shapes.  The shaman which is an oracle. And finally the healer who heals people.  And then there a number of optional O.C.C.s, which can be used for NPCs.

A key difference from AD&D and other FRPGs is the inclusion of many other different races.  Some of which can be quite alien -- including the wolfen, orc, and troglodyte. You can choose any number of races to play, although some (such as dragons and giants) are off limits.

Another difference, or innovation, from  D&D and AD&D is how the spell magic system is handled.  A Wizard may cast any spell from any level he knows, despite his current level. However, he's restricted by level of how many spells he can cast (same with the witch).  As he goes up in experience, a wizard would be able to cast more spells.  Although this is not universal.  The warlock's spell knowledge is limited by his spell level.

Besides this, the diabolist specializes in symbol, ward, and rune magic. Then the summoner specializes in circle magic.  And there are drawings of each circle, symbol, or rune included in the book.  Plus, the priest and shaman classes also use the Wizard spells for their magic.

Alignment is different and I touched on how it works in my Rifts RPG review.  The concept of Alignment works like how it works in Dungeons and Dragons.  It's a guide to help you roleplay your character to your likes.  You can select between two good alignments: Principled (Lawful Good), and Scrupulous (Neutral Good); between two selfish alignments: Unprincipled (Chaotic Good), and Anarchist (Chaotic Neutral); and between three evil alignments: Miscreant (Neutral Evil), Aberrant (Lawful Evil), and Diabolic (Chaotic Evil).  After that, your character is basically done.  There are no neutral alignments.

The skill system is another "innovation" of the PalFRPG.  It comes from the Runequest RPG.  Basically, each skill is governed by a percentile roll.  If you roll under the percentile chance, you perform the skill expertly.  The skills go up in percentile range as you gain experience levels.  This is different than AD&D, which can work without skills.

As for monster statistics, they are considerably shortened than those in the Monster Manual.  Something I'll get into more depth when I review Monsters and Animals.

 Conclusions

 The Palladium Fantasy RPG is a good game to start young players on.  Just remember to tell them the difference between fantasy and reality.  The game system is easy to learn and use, even though it's a bit dated compared to newer systems of D&D (3rd, 4th, and 5th editions). The game is a good system and I recommend it.  Just remember, it's a fantasy game and not real life.  The book itself is a marvel, though. I suggest you order yourself a copy.  Oh, and this is the 1st edition of the game, which is forty years old, now.

Getting a copy of Palladium Fantasy RPG tomorrow

 

I recently bought a copy of The Original Palladium Fantasy Roleplaying Game by Kevin Siembieda. This game takes me back to my teen years, where it was an alternative to AD&D. I also have a copy of Rifts, which I previously reviewed.

I have a pdf copy of two versions of the Palladium Fantasy RPG, the revised edition and the second edition. I was reading the revised edition, and I find that I am very tempted to start a game. I will review the Original Palladium Fantasy Roleplaying Game as soon as I read it.

The Rifts RPG Review

 Today, I'm reviewing the RIFTS® roleplaying game by Kevin Siembieda. Kevin is a great guy.  He gets ideas from everywhere and turns them into RPGs.  Rifts started a long time ago, probably after Kevin watched STAR WARS A New Hope. It is certainly one of the most imaginative settings for a Roleplaying game.  It literally includes everything, including the kitchen sink.

The book begins with the usual Palladium Books' disclaimer.  That the Rifts RPG is one that deals with the supernatural and occult themes.  This disclaimer may have been warranted in the early eighties when there was a scare on Roleplaying games and their themes.  Dungeons and Dragons was attacked for including elements of the occult.  Something the publishing company got away from during the Second Edition publication of the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons game.  However, when Wizards of the Coast took over Dungeons and Dragons, the occult themes returned.

As for Rifts®, it's part of the landscape that magic is included.  And like other roleplaying games, you won't be able to learn magic for real.  Still it's a strange RPG chosen by my wife as her first time playing roleplaying games.  I don't recommend Rifts® for the first time player.  I would suggest the Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying game (BECMI) for the first timer.  Rifts is just too strange for the first time gamer to grasp.

When did the Rifts come?  When did it all began?

Technically, they came after a nuclear war exchange.  The death of so many caused their energy to pump into the ley lines.  Which opened up rifts into different places and times.  This caused more people to die, which caused a surge, and the result was a chain reaction no one could stop. As a result the Earth had changed.  With a landscape that is both familiar and alien.  The landscape is crisscrossed by a web of ley lines, which can be seen from space.  The land is full of alien creatures called "D-Bees" which is short for dimensional beings.  It is into this world that the Rifts® character enters the picture, a larger than life character.  It's a savage, violent world, the world of the Rifts®.

Character Creation

Character creation is like that in AD&D.  You roll 3d6 worth of dice on seven different attributes.  After this is done, you calculate your hit points and your structural damage capacity (SDC). After that, Mega-damage and mega-damage capacity (MDC) is figured.  Then you determine if you are psionic or not. After that, you select your Occupational Character Class (O.C.C.) or a Racial Character Class (R.C.C.), figuring out your skills. After this is done, you figure your Potential Psychic Energy (P.P.E.).  Then you figure your money and equipment.  Then comes alignment.

The concept of Alignment works like how it works in Dungeons and Dragons.  It's a guide to help you roleplay your character to your likes.  You can select between two good alignments: Principled (Lawful Good), and Scrupulous (Neutral Good); between two selfish alignments: Unprincipled (Chaotic Good), and Anarchist (Chaotic Neutral); and between three evil alignments: Miscreant (Neutral Evil), Aberrant (Lawful Evil), and Diabolic (Chaotic Evil).  After that, your character is basically done -- with a few things that need to be explained.

Innovations from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (TSR, WotC) and Basic Roleplaying (Chaosium)

There are four major innovations from AD&D and Basic Roleplaying.  Basically, the Palladium System has these four innovations.  They are the way Character Classes are handled. The way Alignment is handled, the way experience is handled, and the way Skills are handled.  Alignment has already been touched on.  There are basically three categories of alignment, and at least two different alignments for each category.  Character class is also handled differently, in that you either select an occupational character class or a racial character class. However, within these classes there is little customization in the way of skills. So before you choose a character class, be thoughtful because it might very well be the only character class you will have.  Unlike other Palladium Roleplaying games (like Robotech or the Palladium Fantasy Game) multiclassing isn't mentioned.  It may not even be possible with some concepts.

Experience points are awarded differently than in Dungeons and Dragons. You are rewarded for performing a skill, coming up with ideas, endangering yourself to save others, avoiding unnecessary violence, and other actions.  You typically get less experience for defeating foes.

Skills are also handled differently.  Although it's the same in Basic Roleplaying, you have to roll under a certain number (in this case a percentage value) for the skill in order to successfully preform the skill in question. This percentage value has a maximum score of 98%, because there has to be a margin for error. Plus, there are a large number of skills to choose from.  This is different from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.

All of these innovations allowed the Palladium System to be unique from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (by TSR and WotC) as well as the Basic Roleplaying Game by Chaosium..  "Basically one can consider the Palladium setting as a major reimagination of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.

Rifts is not a good introductory roleplaying game

I would stay away from Rifts if you are a first time gamer.  I actually got started playing Dungeons and Dragons -- but Rifts is a whole different dimension. The game features darker things to play as your regular PC -- juicers, crazies, borgs, dragon hatchlings, mind melters, psi-stalkers, "mutant" dogs, men of magic, and many others.

Plus, the system is dated.  It was great in 1990 when Rifts came out.  But now it shows it's age.  The system shows signs of wear when compared to other roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons 3rd edition.  The lack of customization, the plethora of O.C.C.s and the way alignment is handled can be quite counter intuitive. Plus, you have adult themes in the game.  You are most likely locked into a game of survival, where the normal concept of heroics is usually not to be had.  A RIFTS game is usually about surviving in a world that is both alien and familiar more so than about being heroic.  Although heroic actions are rewarded, and there is at least one heroic O.C.C., the Cyber-knight.

So Why Buy the Game?

You should buy this if you are looking for a different game to run.  If you want to run a survival game, where saving someone from that demon is a good idea.  The visuals are stunning, and there are a number of world books you can buy to enhance your game.  In fact, I was stunned when my wife decided to play Rifts® for her first roleplaying game. Although she chose the Savage Worlds system for her first system, she read my entire library of Rifts Books and had fallen in love with the setting.  She has picked the New West setting for her first campaign and I'll be setting that up in time. (DAZ soon). 

Exalted 2nd Edition Review

 

Hi everybody!  I thought I should review Exalted Second Edition!  Exalted is part of the Storyteller system by White Wolf, and it's a different take on Fantasy Roleplaying Games than other games.  You see, Exalted takes it's cues from world literature.  This includes the Bible, the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Ramayana, Journey to the West, Arabian Nights, and Anime. So, instead of starting out like Frodo Baggins -- with nothing and little experience, you create a super human character called an Exalted.  In fact, in this game you will be playing Solar Exalted -- humans that carry a divine spark provided by the Unconquerable Sun.

What's in it?

The first chapter introduces you to the setting of Exalted.  Which is not set on a globe, but a flat planet called Creation.  At first, it starts with the Primordials, who made Creation and the gods.  Then they made the various races of Creation, including humanity.  Then the gods grew dissatisfied.  They took the best of humanity and exalted them with their essence.  The result was a Superhuman.  The Unconquerable Sun created the Solar exalted, the Moon created Lunar exalted, the planets created the Sidereal exalted, and the elemental dragons created the Terrestial exalted.

Then the gods with their exalted humans made war on the Primordials. After many years of war, the Exalted triumphed.  But not without the Primordials cursing the Exalted with a terrible curse. After that, the Exalted ruled over creation.

But after a time, the curse wore powerfully on the Solar exalted, and the Terrestial exalted rebelled against the Solar exalted and overthrew them.  Mostly at the urging of the Sidereal exalted. It was to save Creation.  But now, after a few thousand years, the Solar exalted are returning.

The second chapter talks about character creation. The character creation is similar to other Storyteller games by White Wolf.  Including Werewolf: the Apocalypse. You begin with a concept and are given free reign to create your Solar Exalted. He or she can come from any nation or creed of humanity.  He or she is a superhero, that's for sure, but he or she probably doesn't know unless she was instructed by a mentor.

You start with a concept for your character, then choose a caste (which is analogous to Character Class in other roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons or Palladium Fantasy), then choose a motivation.  After the core of your character is chosen, then you decide attributes.  The game allows you to develop between mental attributes, physical attributes, and then social attributes.  You decide which your character excels at.  Like other roleplaying games -- Attributes in Exalted are your ability scores (in D&D), or attributes (like Palladium Fantasy).

After that, you choose your abilities.  These are your skills, and they are divided after which Caste excels at. Dawn abilities are warrior abilities.  Zenith abilities are priestly abilities.  Twilight abilities are spellcaster or wizard abilities.  Night abilities are thief or rogue abilities.  Finally, there are the Eclipse abilities which are social abilities.  Of course, you may also specialize in an ability to two.

After your abilities are determined, your advantages are determined.  These include your background, your charms (which are superhuman abilities), then you determine your virtues -- which are an aide in roleplaying. After that, you apply your finishing touches which include your character's willpower, her intimacies (another aide in roleplaying), essence and health levels.  After your solar exalted character is created, then you work with the storyteller to work about a background story, called the prelude.  There are also some basic questions to ask about your character.  After all this, an example of character creation is recounted. After that, there is a character creation summary.

Chapter three describes the traits used in the game. This chapter also contains a discussion of each Caste of Solar Exalted. Starting with Dawn, which are the warriors of the Solar Exalted. After that, comes the Zenith caste, which are the priests. After that is the Twilight caste, which are scholars and wizards.  Night comes after Twilight, who are thieves, assassins, and rogues. Finally comes the Eclipse Caste, which are diplomats and social butterflies.

After that, the attributes are discussed.  As said before, the attributes are a total of nine, divided into three.  Physical attributes are your character's body capabilities, while social attributes are their looks and charisma.  Finally there are the mental attributes, which include perception and wits. After all this are the virtues -- a roleplaying aid.  Then the flaws.

After the flaws come the Abilities. All the abilities denote the Solar's skills.  There are five abilities for each Caste. First the Dawn cast abilities are given, then the Zenith abilities, and so on. After the abilities, the backgrounds are discussed.  And each background works like the backgrounds in other White Wolf storyteller games. Then Essence and willpower are explained.

Then comes Chapter four: Drama and Systems.  This chapter discusses how the game is played.  It's the longest chapter in the book.  Although the first rule of the game is to have fun.  The second is if you don't like it, you change it for your game.  Then the rules, and how they interact with your character, are discussed.

After this comes chapter five. Which includes all the Solar Charms, combinations, and sorcery.  Here, the superhuman abilities of the Solars are discussed.  And there are several charms for each skill. You can create combinations of charms for your solar character.  It is here that certain spells are discussed as well.  After chapter five, comes chapter six, Storytelling.  This chapter talks about telling the story for the game, and it's invaluable for the storyteller (or game master).

As a storyteller game, Exalted does not disappoint.  But the game assumes that you already know how to be a storyteller (or GM).  The chapter goes over game styles and other things the storyteller needs to know. Including action and experience.  The comics help here too (there are comics included in the core rulebook).

Chapter seven deals with antagonists.  The examples in the book cover everything, including a small bestiary.  Of course, there are other books (like Exalted: the Infernals, the Dragonblooded, et. al.) that can help you round out antagonists for your games. Finally, chapter seven talks about disease, and how different diseases (including leprosy, consumption, and hysteria and others) affects your game.  There is two diseases for each virtue. 

by Immanuel Giel.

The last chapter deals with items in Creation.  Everything is bought and sold by the Jade standard, which is different from other fantasy roleplaying games (D&D and Palladium Fantasy uses a gold standard). This depends on how many dots in Resources you have.  The more dots, the more you can create your panoply with.  After all this, there is an index.  There is a map of Creation both in the back and the front of the book.

Conclusion

 This game, Exalted Second Edition, is White Wolf's better game.  It's the best, better than Werewolf or even Vampire.  The game allows you to play over the top heroes in an over the top setting.  You aren't playing monsters, but super-heroes in an fantasy setting.  It's a storyteller game, though, and requires some thought to play.  Despite it's flaws, I recommend it for adults (it's marketed to adults). It's not good to start with, although if you are a kid reading this, I suggest starting with Dungeons and Dragons or Palladium Fantasy.

The Open RPG Creative license

 A big deal has been about the Open RPG Creative license.  Or ORC (hereafter, as ORC).  I think its a good idea that all publishers should look into.  It allows you to license your RPG game as license content out to other creators.  In fact, Basic Roleplaying is a licensed product under the ORC.

The ORC Allows you to:

* License out your game mechanics to be used by downstream publishers in derivative works.  Just your game mechanics.

* Protect your Trademarks and story and other elements as Product Identity.  For RIFTS and Palladium Fantasy -- this would be the worlds these games are based on.

* Allows, currently, a safe harbor for 1st party publishers and 3rd party publishers.  This allows for more creativity within the game community.

The ORC license doesn't allow:

* Violation of your trade marks and other Product Identity.  This means for Palladium Books their trademarks will be theirs.  But remember, the idea is to create a virtual circle in allowing for derivative works to be produced.  If a trademark is violated, then the Upstream publisher will allow the malefactor sixty days to repair his breach or be sued.

I am not a lawyer, but I think strongly that the ORC license is ultimately a good thing for the hobby.  Several publishers are on board with the ORC license, and several games will be released within the ORC license.  The first of these, Basic Roleplaying, has already been released.  Chaosium was brave to do so, but it means that their fans will be able to produce derivative works without fear or reprisal.

More over, the license will be unable to be amended, changed, altered, or revoked.  That's why Azora Law is working to make it right the first time.  The license is in it's second draft.  You can join the beautiful discord group and join the conversation.  There is an FAQ that is called the AxE, that you can also download and read.  It explains what the License is, although it's not to be construed as a Lawer/Client relationship. Check them out!

Combining Barsoom with Lothlórien

After reading all of the posts on the Palladium boards and the Savage Worlds RIFTS boards I can world build a little.  The game is set in the New West setting for RIFTS, and my wife wants to play a nude elf cowgirl.  The game system we are using is Savage Worlds, the setting is RIFTS from Palladium.

by Mezzotint on Shutterstock.

I'm figuring a dude ranch in Southern Utah (like the one above is in Zion National Park).  She wants to be based in Moab, Utah, however, but we'll talk about it.  The changes everyone is suggesting is either cosmetic or mechanical, however.  The trick is creating a culture that combines Barsoom with Lothlórien.  Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote Barsoom to be an exotic Mars.  The Martians wore harnesses and very little clothing (their harnesses are their only clothing).  Something my wife approves of.  Remember, she's a nudist and wants her character to be nude in game.

Lothlórien is an elven forest found in the Lord of the Rings. The magical nature of the kingdom is protected by Galadriel's ring. I'll figure more out of the setting once I talked to my wonderful, nude wife. I'll be world building this for her.  And North America is a big place in RIFTS.  The most powerful nation, the Coalition States, only takes up a small part of the Heartland of America.  The rest is considered to be wilderness by the Coalition States.  There's room for an elven kingdom in Utah.  Even if they are nudists.

Rifts Atlantis Review

Cover by Keith Parkinson

Ah, Atlantis.  Atlantis is my second favorite setting for Rifts®.  Kevin Seimbieda wrote Atlantis and a lot of good ideas flowed to him. Atlantis is the lost continent, the ancient enemy, the place of lost secrets. And in the Rifts Earth it has returned with all the magic and technology. Returning to KS' vision of Atlantis is not exactly coming home for me.  Although I know a lot about Atlantis (I studied Atlanteology). Rifts World Book Two: Atlantis is a book with good ideas.  Ley line storms, true Atlanteans, Bio-Wizardry (an advanced form of genetic manipulation), Rune Weapons and ultra technology, this book is an unique setting for your Rifts® campaign.  Since my wife wants to play in a campaign featuring Atlantis, I thought this is a good book to review.  It's one hundred sixty pages long.

What's in it?

Atlantis contains a lot of good ideas.  It begins with a diatribe from Erin Tarn about Atlantis, and how she will predict war with Atlantis and the Coalition states.  Although the CS is over extending itself in the Heartland of America, the war would not go well.  Atlantis returned after millennia and the Splugorth -- aliens with a Cthulhu Mythos inspiration -- had already conquered Atlantis.  They built their city of Splynn and it's become a haven of trade and commerce through out the Megaverse®. When the Atlanteans returned, they found that their continent had been conquered by these alien beings.  Also, Atlantis is adjacent to the Bermuda Triangle, a region of sea that has become very dangerous to sail.  Called the demon sea, the place is an unsettled region.  It typically can appear in different worlds at different times, and sea monsters roam the area.  And true to Palladium system fashion, there is a random table you can roll to see what happens while you are on the Demon Sea.

Next are the ley line storms, and they are storms of energy that happens along ley lines.  The random tables provide occurrences that can happen along a ley line.  Then Atlantis is talked about.  All of it is wild imagination, even the Splugorth that conquered Atlantis is just imagination.  Good imagination, I should say!  Then the Atlantean race is discussed, and are given an R.C.C. treatment (in Savage Rifts, they are an alternate race that you can apply an Iconic Framework to).   After this, the various nations of Atlantis are visited.  With a dragon city, a gargoyle kingdom, a refuge, and then the kingdom of Splynncrith are all detailed.

Splynncrinth is a Splugorth, a mighty being that looks like a shuggoth from the Cthulhu mythos. He enslaved everyone and has built a mighty financial empire that rivals that in power of the Coalition States.  He built a market where everything and anything imaginable is bought and sold.  He also enslaved the humans of Atlantis and sells slaves from all over the Megaverse.  Is Splynncrinth powerful enough to conquer Earth?  Most probably he is.  But his financial empire is enough to satisfy him, for now.

Atlantis Map by Will-Erwin.

 

Player Options

There are a lot of player options in this book.  New Racial Character Classes (R.C.C.) such as the true Atlantean, the Atlantean Nomad, the minions of the Splugorth, including: the Highlords, power lords, and others.  Oh the Splugorth slaver and the blind Warrior Women are detailed in this book.  Also included are the Kittani, and other options.  Including some slave stock (which more are detailed in Splynn Dimensional Market). After that comes the OCCs.  Including Tattooed men (of which there are four different types).  And so far humans, neanderthals, and elves may become tattooed with magic tattoos.  Stone magic is discussed, along with Bio-Wizardry.

Bio-wizardry itself is described as disgusting.  As it is used to manipulate the DNA of a person, animal, or whatever.  (Splynn is a big place).  It's a magical science that includes transmutation of a person.  Then there is a transmutation table.  After that, various bio-wizardry items are discussed.  Some of these are just strange, others are beneficial.

Then there is a section of bio-engineered parasites.  These include the brain feeder, the mystic leech, the mind slug, heart worms, zombitron, and others.  Then there is a section of symbiotes.  Including the chest amalgamate or chest thing, the elom, mind link, and pathic healer, talo mind worms and others.

By Gaius31duke.

Then comes the bio-wizard weapons.  And there are many.  From items that can be used to control slaves, to P.P.E. batteries that are powered by captured and enslaved fairy folk.  Then rune weapons are discussed.  After that, futuristic vehicles and power armor are introduced!

Conclusion

This book contains a lot of information on Atlantis as a setting for your Rifts campaign. Most of it is imaginative, wildly so. The city of Atlantis has been renamed the city of Splynn. And it's ruled by aliens and D-bees.  There is a lot here for the setting and should be a good starting place for GMs.  A good book for your Palladium Rifts game.  I give it seven stars out of ten.