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| Luchador |
Let’s begin by letting the game speak for itself…
“Players take on the roles of luchadors pitting their high-flying talents against international criminals, secret spy enclaves, evil cults, mad scientists, and other luchadors. Sometimes they will even get to wrestle each other (this is a great way to teach players the rules). Throughout it all, the characters should embody the flamboyant excitement and code of honor that all luchadors revere. This is not a game for cautious schemers and meticulous tacticians. This is a game for swashbuckling daredevils who know every adventure should end in a free-for-all battle royale.” (PG 4)
For context, a Luchador is a professional Mexican wrestler.
The premise of Luchador is undoubtedly unique. I would say
that the setting is unique, but beyond the above quoted paragraph and a few
tidbits sprinkled in for flavor Luchador doesn’t focus too much on setting beyond
its own game elements. The game elements are the setting.
Luchador also doesn’t take itself too seriously or most notably, zero in
on the cultural significance of the sport. Though I’d have liked to seen
something in this regard, I’ve decided not to hold this fact against it.
Back to elements: Luchador’s main bad guys are worth note
and a bit outside the box for what one would intuitively conceive in regards to
a wrestling RPG. I imagine a lot of fun hi-jinx should come with the package. While
I wouldn’t call Luchador a monster mash, the mix of Harry Dresden meets James Bond
type villain tropes is an aspect which creates an interesting dynamic.
Featured is the Umbral Accord; an evil network of criminals,
spies, scientists and general no-do-gooders. If a government fails, the Umbral
Accord is likely responsible. If your cat gets stuck high in a tree-and you record
the tortured meows and play them back later at one third speed in reverse you
will hear, “The Umbral Accord is responsible.”
Creepy huh?-yes that last one was my feeble attempt at humor.
Besides other Luchadores, the big heavies our heroes might
face include a laundry list of evil creatures. Just to name a few there’s vampire
women, zombies, chupacabra and Aztec mummies. Okay, Luchador is a bit of
monster mash…
A certain familiarity with professional wrestling couldn’t
hurt, but there is enough covered within this book that even a fleeting
awareness of the sport, should get you started. If you don’t have that, there are
lots and lots of illustrations. As per usual let’s start with making a
character.
Creating a character in Luchador requires a little
calculation as well as some roll-drama and is finished up in four steps. The
first step is choosing a class, of which there are four possibilities.
Character Classes are the Aerialist, Technico, Gimmico and Bruiser. Each has strengths
relative to their name, which is reflected in their individual (attributes)
Stat-Lines. As well, each character class has its own black and white
illustration which helps a player get the basic of idea of the “type,” of Luchador
they’re about to select.
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| Interior Art |
Each new character receives fifteen Skillpoints to spend
with generation, but may have also acquired a few more points if the rolls
concerning the primary statistics were below adequate. Skills in Luchador fall
under four categories but are essentially either, “in the ring” or “out of the
ring,” skills. Out of the ring skills are mostly left to the group to create,
with a few examples to show the way. Since this is a wrestling game as you
might guess, most skills in Luchador are combat based and most fall into the
category of wrestling moves. Each skill and their relative costs are expensive
compared to the amount of skillpoints to start. Newly rolled characters won’t
begin with more than a handful.
The fourth and last step is Paint and Finish which is a
short section of ideas about how players can add some details to their characters.
Overall, creating a character in Luchador is a bit more
involving than it first seems. The section requires a bit of page scrolling (for
good grasp) and additional mouse clicking, but putting it all together it
takes a bit more time than I initially expected.
The process is inlaid with a few carefully placed checks and
balances. Character classes do not begin with a set amount of skills but points
to spend, while each skill is catered to work with a specific primary statistic.
Choices-choices… Character Mini-maxing is impossible. Gamers who prefer balance
with character generation will find Luchador more than passable.
A key specific to characters is how they progress. Luchador
doesn’t have character levels in the classical sense. Instead, players will be
able to purchase new skills, increased stats etc., with the experience points
they earn. This is a point buy system. Luchador’s experience point system, much
like character generation, doesn’t just lean toward balance-it encompasses it.
Advancing a skill or stat becomes increasingly expensive the higher the number
or the more proficient the character becomes.
The mechanics of Luchador is named the DEG System and
involves the exclusive use of a twenty sided dice. DEG isn’t innovative by any
stretch, but it gets points for being original and for the most part
serviceable. DEG is for the most part a medium crunch system. By my assessment,
the more familiar you are the lighter the system will be. This will take a few
sessions however so the learning curve is a bit sharp. Combat which is a
feature of this game, such as it should be, is a bit on the heavy side. This is
mostly due to how much data will need to be tracked by players during physical
confrontations.
The basics of DEG in regards to checks and game rolls, are
that the GM utilizes a level (or target number) of difficulty, while this
number will be subtracted from the characters rating based on skill or
statistic (character attribute) for a specific task. DEG encourages the GM to
present story elements based on the margin of success (MOS) or failure, be it
some extra flavor text via epic success/failure.
There is a bit more to these checks but I thought they fit
together well-given the nature of the game and how this is encouraged to work
in consideration with margin of success/failure. I did find myself with a few
questions after reading though the intricacies of DEG. For instance, the Taking
Damage section feels a bit taxing towards combat, but there didn’t seem to be
any major problems or at least nothing exploitable.
Luchador also has some unique game elements which lead it
towards the more theatrical nature of what you might find with wrestling on
television. First among these is that the game provides a basic framework which
allows players to create signature moves for their characters. After all what
would a Luchador be without some signature moves? I thought this was nice
addition to the ruleset, and while different examples of play can be found
throughout, I thought a signature move example-could have clarified this a bit
more.
Luchador also incorporates components of Fame and in game
karma coined: Heat, which a luchador can accumulate and burn during a game
session. Heat works very much like luck or tokens in other game systems;
allowing a character to acquire and use it within a session for a special feat
beyond game rolls.
(Note: This review is property of Kenzer and Company published here with expressed permission. Luchador was provided by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of review.)
Conclusion?
There are defiantly a few rough spots with Luchador, but
overall I had a favorable impression. I really enjoyed the concept of the Luchadores
as the heroes, and opposing an evil spy network and a bunch of classic monsters actually fits better than you would think.
The writing is decent save a few minor errors, while the
overall layout and organization is very well done. The book itself is only a
bit more than sixty pages and it reads a lot bigger than it is. The table of
contents serves its purpose, though with how chapters and sections are marked,
the table functions as an index of sorts. Black and white illustrations are
plentiful and decent. Character creation and progression is more balanced than
you will find in most games.
Is Luchador a niche game? Unequivocally, yes. Though unlike
most niche games you’d be inclined to pass on, the game has some additional
charm that might just grow on you if you let it.
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