RPG Review: Lamentations of the Flame Princess & Death Frost Doom

LotFP

Welcome to a review of Lamentations of the Flame Princess (LotFP), by James Edward Raggi IV, and a brief look at the revised adventure supplement Death Frost Doom (DFD), by author Zak S. 

LotFP is published by, Lamentations of the Flame Princess. This review concerns the PDF versions of these products, which were supplied free of cost for the purpose of this review. I purchased the slim, sleek physical copy of LotFP and Zak S. A Red & Pleasant Land (link to that review) shortly after I wrote this review for Knights of the Dinner Table (KoDT #230).

Disclosure: This review includes affiliate links. I receive a token % if you purchase something from the landing page. Thank you for the support.

Lamentations of the Flame Princess: Player Core Book: Rules & Magic & Death Frost Doom (DFD) can be purchased in the usual places, as well as DriveThruRPG.com in PDF. If at conclusion of this review if you prefer an actual book, you can order it direct at the LotFP store here as well. The company is based in Helsinki, Finland.

When I first contacted James Raggi about reviewing LotFP, he requested, that I review the recently revised DFD adventure supplement as well. The hope being that I would be able to better understand the “feel” of LotFP, as an RPG. Or that which is beyond its own subtitle, “Weird Fantasy Role-Playing.” Besides the fact that had no reason to refuse such a generous offer, I agreed and for the most part Mr. Raggi was right.

In regards to system, LotFP doesn’t necessitate a game play dynamic or seem much different from any other Old School Renaissance (OSR) retro clone that uses an Open Game License (OGL). The Tolkien inspired setting has many of the familiar elements with its hand in the proverbial Dungeons & Dragons cookie jar. Yet-there are defiantly features which distinguish it as a system and LotFP accomplishes something I’ve found rare among retro clones, it really does stand out. How it stands out is one focus of this review.

Review Featured in KoDT #230

Fans of D&D and/or OSR works in general, will defiantly appreciate the author’s efforts. If you consider yourself in either of these categories, it’s safe to say that you should have this RPG. “Lamentations,” is worth your CASH.

Some of the features that I appreciate about LotFP are in my view, subtle improvements to D&D, but it also has to do with how “Lamentations,” applies the old school game in concept. As I’ve noted in other reviews I’m not a sage of D&D, so forgive me if I miss something vital. And while you’re doing that, also forgive my chosen format for this review-as it is more of a highlight piece of what I found most interesting-and what I found unique, rather than my typical format.

The first thing that struck my eye with LotFP is how alignment is presented and so following how magic is viewed within game context. LotFP; Alignment, PG 8:

“Alignment is a character’s orientation on a cosmic scale. It has nothing to do with a character’s allegiances, personality, morality, or actions. Alignments will mostly be used to determine how a character is affected by certain magical elements in the game. The three alignments are Lawful, Neutral, and Chaotic.”

Alignment for LotFP breaks the typical handcuff of character morality. To paraphrase a later passage, morality is something that a player has to role-play in regards to character. If I had a gold piece for every time I heard a Referee (Ref), question a player: “Yeah, but does that action follow your character alignment?” I’d have a dragon’s hoard. I’ll bet most of us would.

I’ve never been in favor of how alignment has come to work in most games, or I should say, how it is applied. You may not be in favor of it, but at the very least, LotFP presents something different.

Character classes for the most part follow with the tradition of D&D, but LotFP does a bit of hammering and a little beveling. The classic demi-human races such as the dwarf, elf, and halfling are presented as a class; with human classes being the cleric, fighter, magic-user and specialist.

The traditional thief class has been replaced with the specialist class. Specialists have a few more options available to them than the traditional thief and receive points upon character creation and at each new level, which they can spend towards nine (thief like) skills. LotFP does away with a percentage as a base and in turn skill progression determined by character level. A specialist gets to choose how they allocate these points and all skill checks utilize a D6, with a point increasing a skill by one point out of a maximum of six.

Optional: Black Powder

The fighter class is the only class which is awarded attack bonus upon creation and as they progress levels. For the human classes this is design gold, though it leaves my beloved dwarf a bit out in the cold in regards to combat. While most of us are accustomed to the idea, “Yeah-we’ll give every class a bonus to hit and kill stuff-but the fighter will have even more…” From a design standpoint I thought this was an innovative approach to what essentially can become a number crunching dilemma. LotFP strips this away and says, “fighters, fight-and are good at it.”   

Clerics are required to be of lawful alignment, while magic-users and elves must be of chaotic alignment. Though with the understood changes, this is not such a restriction, as it is in other games; but a cosmic philosophy if you will.

Magic-user and cleric spells offer both the familiar and the not so familiar. If anything captures the essence of LotFP it is this section. One interesting choice is to make Turn Dead a spell rather than an automatic divine privilege for clerics. Magic-user and cleric spells are weighted more as tools rather than offensive firepower (which more is typical in old school games). Magic descriptions are quite good, feeling a bit fast, while anything but loose. Again some of these will be familiar, but most if not all have been tweaked (some to the weird) to a few degrees.

Let’s talk, Death Frost Doom. 


Death Frost Doom 2014

According to the PDF, the original Death Frost Doom was released by LotFP in 2009. The one I have is a 2014 revision of James Raggi’s original. Tweaked and made creepier by author Zak S. The cover art is the work of Yannick Bouchard. The black and white illustrations, cartography and interior images are the work of Jez Gordon. The art for this supplement is excellent, many of which are full page black & white illustrations and perfectly serviceable as game aids.

While I’m perfectly comfortable comparing LotFP to its origins, I hesitate to compare Death Frost Doom to any other adventure module or supplement. Certainly, it has the classic elements of a dungeon crawl, but it also offers such a dark and foreboding environment, it is more akin to a Call of Cthulhu scenario. I’ll leave it there and let’s take a brief and muddy crawl down the rabbit hole:

“There is a mountain that no-one climbs. It dominates the landscape like fear and the memories of what once lived there. But memory recedes and rumor breeds-and the rumor is a rumor of gold.”

“Someone will be the first to scale the white mountain: it will be someone who is greedy, stupid or fanatical— but also, perhaps, lucky…” (DFD: Pg. 8)

Through to a graveyard, which rests at the top of a snow and ice covered mountain, there is a cabin. Below the cabin, within the bowels of the mountain is a cursed tomb, one with unique enchantments and evil. However, it’s actually much-much worse than that.

If the player character’s survive, they will likely turn out to be the catalyst of this adventure, releasing the evil of the tomb upon the world. Death Frost Doom is not only an adventure supplement, but offers the potential of a campaign. Assuming the player characters will want put right the evils they have unwittingly release upon the world. If they survive...

Traps in DFD are of the magic variety though they are very unique in their application. They might not even qualify as traps in the classical sense. They are not the typical, step here and enact a poison arrow trap. The traps require more interaction such as moving the hands on the clock creates a time warp (forward or backward in time) while playing notes on the organ creates a random effect none of which are particularly beneficial-outside of the fact of making the player characters aware that indeed this place is magically cursed.

Encounters don’t begin until near the end of the tomb delve. DFD doesn’t provide a table to roll for random encounters. And this makes sense because nothing random would inhabit such a place. The tomb itself is what is at play here, each room being an encounter unto itself; the discovery of how deep and dark the rabbit hole goes. The tomb is one hell of a creepy place. The writing is really excellent with ideas and options for the Ref to play with and consider.

Disclosure: This review is property of Kenzer and Company, published here with permission. The writing may have been slightly tweaked from the original.

Overall, I found Death Frost Doom refreshing and unique in its approach to the “Dungeon Crawl.” If you wouldn’t use it in full you could use many of its elements to create your own ideas-and run with them. Though it’s obviously designed with LotFP in mind, this adventure supplement and it's ideas are serviceable towards any OSR system.

Added Post: I've read some recent commentary that DFD is known as a negadungeon. Or that the best thing the characters could do would be to ignore the place entirely. While I certainly see the point, what makes this product a true gem in my mind is the content of ideas being presented. I myself rarely run straight from the script, so when I get a product like this, what I'm really buying it for, is ideas. And which, this product has plenty of.   

Lamentations of the Flame Princess encapsulates old school, yet it doesn’t do it idly or rest on the laurels of D&D. The art is spectacular, though I would recommend it towards mature viewership; featuring old school black and white goodness as well as an inlay of color art. Did I mention the art is spectacular? The book offers a concise layout of game rules and tables. The writing is succinct and to the point.

No RPG clone I’ve read yet, does it better.

RPG Review: Cryptworld

Cryptworld

Welcome to a review of Cryptworld by Pacesetter, an RPG which includes a complete rule set for modern horror, and adventure style gaming. Cryptworld is available at DriveThruRPG.com and RPGNow.com and you can pick your poison be it print (soft or hardcover) or PDF format.

Disclosures: Links to product pages in this review, include my RPGNow.com & Amazon affiliate identification. I receive token % in compensation if you purchase something on the landing page. This review is property of Kenzer and Company, republished here with permission, and may have been modified by the author. The PDF Cryptworld was provided by Pacesetter, free of charge for the purpose of this review.  

For lack of better terms, Cryptworld  is sort of your everyman all-purpose horror game. Though the game derives most of its inspiration from 1980’s as well as late 70’s to early 90’s horror flicks-the actual theme of the game is left open or for the CM (Crypt Master/ Game Master) to decide.

 

The very essence of Cryptworld is written on the back cover:

“INVESTIGATE-strange occurrences and supernatural sightings.”

“HUNT-irredeemably evil things that torment humanity.”

“DESTROY-malicious forces of the unexplained.”

Cryptworld  follows more of a campy horror theme rather than what one might consider pure horror. However as the description above indicates, what the game lacks in one regard, it makes up for it with monster mashing, with an adequate listing of “Things” (monsters) for characters to try their wits and mettle against.

The game system is flexible to fit most gaming styles so if you’d like a little more mystery and a little less mash the game seems able to abide. A section on Character Foundations provides a good amount of detail towards secret agencies and societies, providing a solid foundation of ideas for the CM to get a game going. As per usual though, we must start with making a character.

Character creation is organized a bit different in comparison to other RPGs. If performed in order, players are tasked with selecting their character’s background and skills before rolling for the basic abilities.

Characters have eight basic abilities (attributes) they are strength, dexterity, agility, personality, willpower, perception, luck and stamina. Each ability score is determined by rolling 3D10, multiplying the product by two and adding an additional 20 points to the score. The final result will be a range between 26 and 80. After all eight scores are rolled a player assigns the numbers too each ability as they wish. I liked this feature.

A Skill Table is rolled on to determine, between three to six, the amount of skills each character receives upon creation. Players may create any background (as the CM approves), or basically any they can imagine as there is no character class with Cryptworld, but one of their skill selections should fit their chosen background.

In regards to mechanics, ability scores play an important impact on skills. Each skill base is represented by at least one, but up to as many as four skills. The relevant abilities are averaged, to provide the skill base. For instance, the base of the Computer skill is Perception and Luck. The base score of these attributes is cumulated, divided by two, and now you have your skill base score. Skills progress three levels for advancement, but begin on the specialist level which awards +15 to the base total. Expert can be purchased at character creation (at the cost of a skill selection) or later with experience points and awards +30 to the original base, while the Master level awards +55 points to the base.

Ability scores have a ceiling of 80 while Skills are limited to the skill base +55 points, at the Master level.  Ability scores can be advanced beyond character creation as well as players can advance a skill by spending experience points. Speaking of which, Cryptworld doesn’t have character levels. Player characters collect experience points and spend how they wish to further build their character’s abilities, skills, or paranormal talents.

The next steps are determining the characters unskilled melee score (STR+AGL/2), the characters Penetration Bonus in regards to combat, as well as the characters stamina recovery rate and the number of wounds a character can endure.

Unskilled melee score is just that relating combat skills without a weapon or combat training. Typical hit points are determined by stamina which in turn relates to the number of wounds a character can endure. Wound boxes are provided on every character sheet and wounds are accumulated as a character takes damage; exceeding the number of wound boxes means character death. The highest number of wounds available in Cryptworld is fifteen with most starting characters averaging about twelve or so. A characters stamina score determines the amount of damage that can be received before the character loses consciousness.

Last is selecting Paranormal Talents if it is allowed by the CM. For the most part Paranormal Talents follow the same line as skills. The base score is derived by specific ability scores and divided to get the average. Paranormal Talents work much like psionic abilities or magic spells of other games, allowing supernatural abilities. A specific amount of Willpower is burned off to enact a Paranormal Talent. Considering the high number of skills this section of the book feels a little neglected.

Beyond character creation, rules are provided to that cover all manner of game play and actions. Checks and how they actually work as well as combat were of particular interest and I thought of as unique compared to most other game systems.

An important aspect of play with Cryptworld is the use of checks and how they function. Ability checks, Skill Checks and Combat checks each rely on an action table as a key that gives a basic descriptor of the level of success. Failure for ability checks where physical danger is present means the CM must decide the appropriate damage. In regards to Skill Checks which utilize research or knowledge, failure simply means no information could be gathered, while for combat checks failure indicates the target was missed.

A successful ability check comes at four levels of success each listed here being better than the last they are; Limited, Moderate, High Success and Colossal Success. However, only the Colossal Success for physical ability check is immune to the possibility of damage, which is left to the disposition of the Crypt Master (CM) who would most likely who be weighing the specific danger of the task and corresponding ability check being performed.

Skill checks follow roughly the same guideline, success or failure. Success is progressive, based on the margin achieved. Tables are provided which give suggested modifiers for the CM to consider.  

Combat checks fall under two guidelines armed and unarmed combat. One design element that is interesting with Cryptworld is the lack of detailed weaponry. Without a guideline to determine damage the CM uses the Action Table as a key to determine the amount of Stamina and Wound Boxes effected on a successful attack, which also a knockback may occur. While weapons ranges are included and modified and their use detailed under skills and some combat tables, these weapon effects are less determined by the specific weapon being utilized and more dependent on the Attack Margin. In other words the skill proficiency is more important than the weapon itself.

Use of an Action Table to determine effect, for combat or skills, rather than straight rolling for damage or skill success is a rather abstract in my mind. Though it’s an interesting feature one drawback is that two distinctly different weapons wielded with the same skill prophecy and with the same attack margin can produce the same damage. In other words (theoretically), a bullet delivered from a pistol and one delivered from a rifle might produce the same damage, or at least use the same rank of potential damage as it is. Though I’m not completely sold on it, the damage system is interesting because it means that higher skill proficiencies yield better results, say what you want but many games don’t capture this as adequately as they should.

My thoughts on Cryptworld overall are that a as a system, some things in regards to mechanics are easier, while other aspects feel a bit more complicated than they need to be. I blame those damned D10s.

If the goal is to make a simpler system, then the choice of excluding the other dice seems rather moot.  I’m not certain of the reason, and perhaps I’m being unfair, but why limit the mechanics to ten sided dice if not to make things simpler? If I had to guess I would say that perhaps the use of D10s is the Pacesetter system…

Though the idea of using a Key for skill and combat checks seems a bit complicated at first, I can see that in many regards this would move gameplay along quite nicely; in fact making checks a lot easier. This will appeal to some and not so much for others. Anyone one who has played a system, in which a five minute battle took an hour of real time or more, knows what I’m talking about. I don’t imagine this occurs with Cryptworld.

As I said, Cryptworld  is an everyman all-purpose horror game. The game has a unique system that will take a bit of time to get accustomed to and a game that “borrows” a good deal of its theme and ideas won’t offer much original. However, the use of broad strokes will have their own benefit in the hands of the right CM.

The cover art fits the campy horror theme as well as the layout and black and white interior art is pleasantly consistent. The page format is three columned text, which sort of gives the book a newspaper feel to it. Tables are legible, but overall I felt there should have been a better separation of information; that said, they do the job. Weighing in at a mere 92 pages cover to back, there is defiantly a good amount of gaming content.

If you like campy style-monster mashing or like your horror genre a bit on the lighter side, I’d say you couldn’t go wrong with giving Cryptworld a try.

RPG Review: Feed

Feed

Welcome to a review of Feed by Kris Newton, a vampire themed RPG that certainly presents some interesting ideas to the genre. Take or leave it, Feed is a sandbox and in this reviewer’s opinion, a game with a bit more sand than box. Personally, I like my sand with a game or two of beach volleyball, and three or four martini's, but to each their own. What the vampire characters will be; the setting they roam and even the disposition of the game is determined throughout a very involving process. So put those fang files away for the time being and let’s begin.

Disclosure: Links to product pages in this review, include my DriveThruRPG.com affiliate identification. I receive token % in compensation if you purchase something on the landing page. This review is property of Kenzer and Company, republished here with permission, and may have been modified by the author. The PDF of Feed was purchased for the purpose of this review.

The game starts with the players getting together and crafting a story profile by the Collaborative Method, which is at its essence sitting down, sharing ideas and taking notes. Alternatively, a Game Master can opt for the GM Method which is exactly that, with the GM deciding on the setting and scope of the game. The beginning of the story profile is defined by three key questions: Who are the main protagonists? What is the story’s setting? What is game play going to involve?

I’ll leave you to your thoughts…

A specific Strain of vampirism is communally decided. In short, one possibility is to gather all the vampire movies, books and any other media you can think of and cherry pick what you liked best. My words, not the authors and you’ll have to decide the game context later, so stick those ideas in your pocket for the time being, as we move to the next section and read the Two Commandments:

Vampires Feed & Vampiric Nature Opposes Some Other Nature: The first one is a given-the second however, is both the strength and weakness of this RPG. The Vampiric Nature in Feed opposes human nature-so I was unclear about the author’s choice to word it this way.

Next the Basic Elements are decided on. These elements will define the characters more specifically such as, Aging, Appearance, Cure, Feeding, Physiology and Transmission. Each of the Basic Elements has a rating of strong, neutral or weak. Though they’re no rules to apply or implement balance based on rating. The GM and the players decide as they see fit, though there are options that more than two Stains of Vampirism is possible.

As suggested by the game, a GM who is tasked with creating something like an opposing group of NPC vampires and does not want to implement the same Strain, might consider balancing the two against each other. Each of the basic elements has four general suggestions but the players can invent (pull those ideas from earlier out as well as for the next sections) their own ideas as well.

Gifts & Weaknesses are presented (special abilities/disabilities) of which there are a five and four respectively. The Gifts are Personality, Physical Perfection, Regeneration, Spirit and Success. The Weaknesses are Compulsions, Tells, Vulnerabilities and Wards.

What is presented for these is a very basic outline. For instance, a character might have the Gift of Physical Perfection but the Gift isn’t specific as to what Physical Perfection entails, beyond a die roll bonus and the gaining of a (which comes later) Hunger Trait. Interestingly, Gifts & Weaknesses are not; or seemingly not written as opposable. The fluffs for these, as well as most of everything else are left to the player group to fill in.

Next is developing a Strain, which is a Special Rules section which gives examples of special circumstances that players and GMs may decide to award dice bonuses, such as specific tweaks in regards to action as well as for dramatic flavor.

Last for Strain is the Vampiric Trait Section which mentions a vampire’s addiction to blood and addiction is mentioned throughout (examples) and is a core mechanic of the game. As blood is usually considered subsistence rather than addictive in regards to vampires, it took me awhile to get past this concept and understand that it is the most important mechanic of the game. Addicted to blood? Feed assumes it so.

The Vampiric Trait Section, at best it feels incomplete. The heading “Trait List” is a section with two paragraphs about how you might develop some traits based on the theme of the game and most notably… No list! No love for shapeshifting or enhanced senses, which could have been written here or under Gifts and Weaknesses. What could have been an awesome section of the book falls flat on its spine. It would seem appropriate that a section titled “Trait List”-should, or at least it might be prudent to have an actual list of traits… “Just-sayin.”

With the Strain developed we move to Character Creation and I already know I’m running out of space to cover it appropriately… (Note: for a published article anyway)

The short of it is that for Character Creation, players pitch character ideas to the group and when all are approved-sixteen questions are answered to the individual player’s liking for character development. The answers clue key personal traits (human traits) in regards to the characters before they became a vampire. Human Traits are segregated equally into four categories; Personal, Physical, Spiritual and Public. Each of these human traits is assigned a sliding scale die pool by player preference, which exhibits strengths and weaknesses in ability.   

Characters are then… (Deep breathe…) Degenerated; which entails swapping human traits with vampire traits. Characters may start with as many as seven but each brings with it an Addiction Point which we shall cover the basics of in a moment…

A session of Feed relies on three key events Anchoring, Compulsion and Temptation. Behind this are the ideas that blood is addicting to vampires, Vampire Traits and Human Traits are in conflict, and that Hunger (technically a trait) is something to be resisted.

Before we get into this and without specifically going into dice pools, Feed is a game without typical hit points; instead characters take Trait Damage. A weakened trait can be attacked by a fellow player or GM; a failure by the target of this attack indicates that the trait is swapped with a vampire trait. This is called Compulsion. Feed is much more of a story building game than you might think a more typical RPG, as players are not necessarily opponents but in a situation such as this roll against each other.

(Disclosure: This review is property of Kenzer & Company and republished on this blog with express permission.)

Anchoring allows characters to go off scene to renew one Human Trait. Anchoring lowers hunger and in essence helps the character to maintain their Addiction at a manageable level. Temptation works as a dynamic for a GM to plan a future Compulsion, against a player character’s weakened human traits (remember traits can be damaged).

The more Vampiric traits inhibit a character, the less “in-control,” that character is of both the Addiction and Hunger. This key is how conflicts will be resolved, though it’s an implied understanding, because if it’s written within the book-I missed it.

Does the last six paragraphs sound complicated?

Good, because it is. And a game that attempts to toolbox the setting and from a certain perspective the game mechanics, will be…   

I place a high value on originality and for that alone, Feed is one of the most original RPGs I’ve seen in a long time. Certainly their are elements of world of darkness (Vampire Etc.), however this game occupies a strange space, while in concept being utterly brilliant-the game is totally blind to itself.

The game concept is interesting but the tone and theme of the game is depressing. You’re addicted to blood but if you give in, you’ll become a monster. Think of yourself as Louis at the beginning of Interview with a Vampire, but to a certain degree you’ll never get past being him. As brilliant and original with how the game mechanics actually come into play, the scope of how this plays out is in part limited to, “bad things.”

A vampire game which assumes you don’t want to be a monster. So, if you don’t want to be a monster… Why play Feed? The answer is (and not my personal bread & butter for gaming) to create vampire stories with a unique approach to toolbox play.

In Feed the mechanics are designed to drive the story more so than other RPGs. Most importantly the mechanics change the characters. Other games have this as an interesting option or limited feature but Feed pushes the concept to the foreground. Interesting to say the least, but this also impedes the scope somewhat and is counterintuitive to toolbox play.

In regards to content, the writing suffers a bit from a couple of pitfalls; sentences that run on unnecessarily as well as key sections that reference page numbers (to other sections) instead of explaining how something should work within the section it’s most relevant. Using the PDF I didn’t find this appealing. Though the writing is decent, the book isn’t well organized or easy to comprehend. There is also no example of gameplay, which would have gone a long way to making this a better RPG. The cover is beautiful in that it fits the mood of the game perfectly and the interior art ranges from mundane to spectacular.

 
Feed is no ordinary game. Its toolbox and its mechanics aren’t typical. The game suffers from overwritten sections that essentially say, “hey, your group can make up anything you want and apply it here,” while sections that could have/ should have been detailed were apparently eaten by the hounds of hell. This is game that is more of a story engine toolbox than an RPG, but the game may appeal to some, and to those it does (and quite literally so) more power to you.

Now if you’ll excuse me, thumb-keying this review has put me in the mood to hack something…

Used for this review is the PDF version of the book which is available on drivethrurpg.com, at the suggested price of $10.00 with the Pay What You Want program.

RPG REVIEW: Breachworld

Breachworld

Welcome to a review of Breachworld, published by Jason Richards Publishing. Breachworld is currently available for purchase at drivethrurpg.com and rpgnow.com in print as well as Portable Document Format (PDF). Breachworld offers an interesting take on the post-apocalyptic theme and features a system with a light approach towards game mechanics.  
Disclosure: Links to product pages include my DriveThruRPG.com or RPGNow.com affiliate identification. I receive token % in compensation if you purchase something on the landing page. Breachworld was provided free of charge for the purpose of this review. 

Breachworld uses a system known as Mini Six. I had heard about Mini Six, but until this review had never read or utilized it. Mini Six is a variant of OpenD6, licensed under the Open Game License (OGL). Like most D6 systems, the dice mechanics are rules light and meant to provide simple and fast game play. You can get a free PDF of Mini Six Bare Bones Edition at the above mentioned locations, produced by Antipaladin Games, or at their website. As you might guess, the mechanics do in fact involve the exclusive use of six sided dice.

What is appealing about the Mini Six system are that all game actions or conflicts are essentially resolved in similar fashion. A player’s dice roll is used to determine success or failure. The number of dice rolled is based on skill ability and attributes with a Target Number (TN) determined by the Game Master (GM) to reflect how difficult the specific task is. On the crunch scale, this system is indeed very light.

What isn’t appealing is that some small gaps do exist in the system. This will be especially noticeable for players who prefer medium to heavy crunch RPGs. Some of this is reflected in Breachworld though it is certainly not a game killer. Overall I have very few criticisms of Breachworld (though I certainly have one) as a whole and really enjoyed the post-apocalyptic world that Mr. Richards has created.  

Apart from system and which is the strongest aspect of Breachworld is the setting. Stargate meets Rifts is a pretty accurate summation. I’ll let the game speak for itself:

“The Earth is an untamed wilderness, unrecognizable from centuries ago when humanity enjoyed a Golden Age of peace, abundance, science, and art. This era of enlightenment was brought about by the discovery of a new global teleportation technology known as Gates. The end of human society was brought on decades later by the sudden, total, and catastrophic malfunction of this technology, when control of it was lost and the Gates opened random doorways through space-time. These permanent, uncontrolled rips in the fabric of the universe are known as Breaches…”  (Pg. 9)

Even for its post-apocalyptic theme, Breachworld does an excellent job of toeing the line between giving a good amount of setting detail, while leaving a good amount to the imagination. There are also some aspects of the writing that seem in my opinion, be closer to what “would” happen within such a setting. A short example of this is the lack of monetary currency. There are no credits (or currency) in Breachworld-goods and services rely on a barter system.

There is also a wealth of material that will assist a Game Master (GM) with getting a game or campaign going. The basics of a world overview are highlighted by three town-settings, all of which are mapped a ready for game play. The Breach Creatures section is a bit light, though the majority of creatures therein are original concepts each with its own full color art.

For now, let’s move on to rolling up a character.  

What’s really cool about character creation for Breachworld is the number of humanoid character races that are available to the player. Not to mention the art and writing that brings them to life. Choices-choices; should I be a Tusk, River Folk, Reptilian Raider, Pathos, Morlock, Machine Man, Holy, Grim, Elder, Dru, Demonkin, Climber, or a Human? That’s thirteen playable races.

What’s great is that each race offers something unique, written and stated out in a way that promotes playing them. Certainly, plenty of kitchen sink post-apocalyptic games (boy that’s a mouthful) provide plenty of playable races, but none I’ve read as of yet make each as equally appealing.

Characters in Breachworld have four attributes: Might, Agility, Wit and Charm. Races have a number of dice (12-14) which are distributed among the four attributes. The player chooses how to distribute these dice. Each race has a minimum and maximum amount of dice for each attribute. Earthlings (humans) have twelve dice while Elders have fourteen. An Earthling’s minimum for any one attribute is one dice, while the maximum is four.

At character creation a player also has the option of distributing the dice as pips and some races also have pips to include with attributes. Pips explained, are +1’s or +2’s and roll over to an additional dice at +3.

Example: Lorraine has the distributed eleven of her attribute dice for her human character, Salapang (MGT: 3 AGL: 3 WIT: 3 CHM: 2) and is deciding how to distribute her twelfth and final dice. She could provide any attribute with one additional dice; and increase (Charm to 3 or Might to 4) the attribute one full die, give three “+1’s” to three different attributes, or give a “+2” and a “+1,” bonus to two different attributes of her choosing.

Rounding out character creation each race has a number of skill dice they can distribute among skills, a move rate, as well as racial perks & complications.

Some skills give a short list of specializations which the player can buy with skill points. A specialization is a sub skill of a main skill, such as a specialization of Athletics is Climbing. A point of criticism however, is thou there is an explanation of how this works and how dice are spent; the description is unclear in its application, beyond the example itself. Certainly what’s provided could/should have been less specific, with a description of how this generally applies.

Racial Perks can be gained by spending skill dice or are included as part of a Player Race, while Racial Complications can be chosen are as well a part of the Player Race. The selection of two of each category is recommended. Racial Perks are just what that, perks. Ways in which a character can get bonuses with specific actions as well as some meta-game bonuses. Racial complications award Character Points (CPs) when role-played within a gaming session.

Character advancement in Breachworld breaks away from typical level advancement. Character Points (CPs) are awarded by the GM at the end of each session and these points can be spent by the player for character advancement. The Breachworld experience point system allows for just about any advancement of any ability that works as a mechanic in the game. The more accomplished the ability the player wants to advance, the more CPs a player will have to spend to advance that specific ability. The section is clear, very well lined out and an interesting take on the experience point system.

Beyond character creation a good amount of game rules cover all manner of game/role play situations. One interesting aspect is the lack of character alignments. I’ll be honest; I’ve never been a fan of light crunch games and being more of an old schooler with a medium to high crunch preference. I have been looking over more than a few dice exclusive systems (D6, D10) lately and good deal of them “light” or “flexible” systems-Breachworld is on par in this aspect. Mini Six is light and flexible.

(Disclosure: This review is property of Kenzer and Company, republished here with permission, and may have been modified by the author.) 
   
If I have one major criticism it has more to do with Breachworld as a product. This may come off as nitpicky-and neither does it change my opinion that Breachworld is still worth the asking price. The writing is excellent. The layout is professional. The art is a mix of very good to awesome. The features and descriptions are spot on. But-there is this, quoted from the beginning:

“The core volume of this RPG was not written specifically for novice gamers. For the sake of brevity, I would refer anyone new to role-playing in general to www.breachworld.com and the introductory document and example of play found there as a free download. Pulling out the basic “how to” for beginners allows this RPG to be packed with as much gaming material as possible.” (Pg. 12)

My first problem is that an RPG should be a product unto itself, especially one with the subtitle, “A Complete RPG.” My second and third problems are to create a book which references the internet for an example of play, then leaves me in the dust, because if such a document exists-I’ve yet to find it. Keep in mind I wanted to be fair on this, so I did spend a couple of hours looking for said document. I’m aware that referencing the internet is something that is common even among larger RPG publishers, but (and get off my lawn-while you’re at it) it’s not a strength. If my opinion, exposes my age so be it.

I hope that doesn’t come off too harsh. My criticism of Breachworld has nothing to actually do with what is contained within game itself. Being fair this is probably more to do with the budget decision of a small independent publisher. That said-and example of play is an important aspect to players new to roleplaying games-an audience that Breachworld was not specifically written for…

For the most part, Breachworld is a very well put together RPG. Gamers who enjoy rules light systems or are looking for an alternative might do well to give Mini Six a look. Breachworld provides a unique post-apocalyptic setting that I’m certain, many can enjoy.

RPG Review: Baker Street

Baker Street Cover

This issue we review Baker Street, published by Fearlight Games (site). Baker Street is a role playing game (RPG) involving the most famous of Baker Streets, based upon the work of the late-great, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This review concerns the Portable Document Format (PDF), which is available at DriveThruRPG.com and RPGNow.com. The game was successfully brought to life via Kickstarter to the tune of just over $31k.

Disclosure: This review is property of Kenzer and Company, republished here with permission, and may Links to product pages include my RPGNow.com
affiliate identification. I receive token % if you purchase something on the landing page. Baker Street was provided by Fearlight Games free of cost for the purpose of this review.  

“The year is 1891, and Dr. Watson needs your help. Holmes is missing and cases are pouring into Baker Street. It is up to you to select a Victorian profession and put your brain power to work against Sherlock Holmes’s greatest foes.”  (Pg. 5)

The player characters will be thrust into the spot light of consulting detectives in the stead of the most famous consulting detective of all time. The timeline of Baker Street is the Victorian era, shortly after Holmes and Moriarty have had their (perhaps) deadly confrontation at Reichenbach Falls.

The mechanics of Baker Street involve the use of standard six sided dice (D6) and a special D6 named the Sherlock Die. This dice is numbered one thru three, on three of the sides and with a Holmes, Watson and Moriarty icon on each of the other faces of the D6. Though I don’t possess the Sherlock Die this is easy enough to simulate with a different colored dice.

Something to understand is that the characters (investigators) in Baker Street don’t have attributes. Actions and conflicts are resolved with skills. The number of skill points indicates how many standard D6s are rolled to determine whether the skill attempted was successful. Rolling the standard D6s for a skill check, fours, fives and sixes indicates a success. The amount of success needed for a specific skill check is determined by the Mastermind (Game Master/ Referee), though a difficulty chart is provided and entails the basic idea of how this works.  

Two nuances to this are that using a professional skill (listed with a specific profession) allows the investigator to roll additional dice and that any sixes rolled may be rerolled (similar to dice penetration or an explosion mechanic) for an opportunity to roll additional success and add them to the total, with no maximum of successes.

In addition to the standard D6s-the Sherlock Die is rolled. With this dice if the player rolls a number (1-3) they can change any standard dice of the same number from a failure to a success. If the Holmes icon is rolled they get to choose which of the dice they change, while rolling the Watson icon allows one extra success or to distribute the success to a fellow investigator on their next roll. Rolling Moriarty removes successes equal to the number of rolls which did not succeed. Brutal-I love it!         

This really is a wonderful dice system. I wasn’t sure at first-so I broke out the dice and did some experimenting. Also the choice to design a skill based system over any other sort be it attribute or ability based system eliminates number crunching and focuses on exactly what this game is-a detective fiction RPG.

Creating an investigator in Baker Street is broken down into four easy steps, the first of which is selecting a profession, which there are a total of thirty-five to choose from. Professions run the myriad of Victorian social casts from street urchins to the middle class and wealthy. The number and variety of professions in Baker Street is a definite plus, be it in creating a diverse party of player investigators or the Mastermind needing a few NPCs to fill into a scenario. Each professional profile has a list of skills and specialties that make it unique as well as a social class and status rating, which are elements to add to the flavor of role playing.

Second, after a profession has been selected players get to distribute thirty Investigator Points be it towards the improvement of professional skills-new skills, specialties and/or item characteristics for their investigator. The Skill list and Specialties do a very adequate job at giving a glimpse of the setting and the manner of gameplay. Item Characteristics is an interesting section and gives the player an opportunity to create special items which may work exceptionally or not so exceptionally as well as these items may impact resolutions.

Players will later be able to improve their investigator abilities by distributing experience points that have been awarded at conclusion of their cases. This serves as the games experience point system a good deal is outlined in how the Mastermind should decide to distribute points among the players, as well as what cost involves for character improvement.

Third, players are tasked determining the characteristics of their investigator. Every player investigator is tasked with coming up with two characteristics for Personal, Professional, and Negative. There is an ample list provided to get players started in the right direction for each category, as well as with Mastermind approval they can create their own. Characteristics provide both the opportunity for role playing (and the accumulation of experience points) as well as a potential boom or bust toward skill rolls.

The last step is completing the investigators profile and giving the basic details of character such as name age and a few other details.

Beyond creating investigators, there is a great amount of detail to towards the Victorian setting. Laws as well as sections regarding custom and status-even a good sized list of criminals to add to the mix; these sections really help fill in some of the details and bring the setting to life. How action and initiative functions brings a fresh approach to game mechanics. It is a turn based system with the first character acting being able to select the next.

Investigation in Baker Street feels like a game unto itself. Like a mini-game-within a role playing game, and adds an entirely different dynamic. To be fair-the investigation element of Baker Street is hard to simulate how it works without actually playing it. I haven’t yet had the opportunity, but I will. Just reading how it works, the investigation pays homage to the investigation elements present Sherlock fiction.

"Investigation Scenes play out in a series of rounds. During these, Observation, Reason, and Deduction Rounds, investigators make Skill Rolls to uncover clues, weed out false clues, and uncover possible leads to aid in their investigation. Players can choose to take additional scenes after the first - each extra scene taken increases the Threat Meter of the Adventure." (Pg. 64)

Observation, Reason and Deduction are skills. One player for each of the three phases of investigating a scene will become the player groups lead investigator-corresponding to the higher skill total and/or player decision. The lead investigator also borrows some skill ability of the overall group to conduct the phase.

An important element of the investigation (though most obvious) is the actual scene of the investigation, the Masterminds narrative. There is also the matter of who is giving the case to our investigators and what they say etc. Investigators can (usually) ask four questions per scene to help them narrow down clues.  

Clue cards are provided with the Observation phase of the investigation. A chart is provided which mitigates a roll difficulty for a scene corresponding to the number of clues-which may be discovered and the appropriate number of successes to maintain balance. Clue cards each provide three potential leads which will be further scrutinized in the Reason and Deduction phases. Some of these clues are false leads and will need to be scrutinized using reason and deduction.

Investigations will have a number of scenes, typically four per investigation (case). An investigation scene works as described above but the investigators may take on another scene (in the same place) to gather more clues/leads. However doing this raises the Threat Meter.

The Threat Meter in Baker Street is meant to provide tension to the story. Basically, the higher the threat meter gets-the more difficult the investigators will have in solving the case. As the threat meter rises, investigative rolls become more difficult in an addition to other possible difficulties-determined by the Mastermind. There may be points in the investigation where the investigators may have to decide to forgo the gathering of clues, in order to avoid raising the Threat Meter-this can happen if the rolls for gathering clues are really awful etc.

Baker Street comes with an investigation. The Case of the Jilted Bride is based on Mr. Doyle’s Fiction. This is very essential to the game itself-showing a future Mastermind the ins and outs of the game itself. Reading through it, it really helps to put some of the pieces of this game together in a meaningful way.

I don’t do scores for my reviews. If I did, Baker Street would get a pretty high total. I like this game. I’m also a fan of Arthur Conan Doyle-so I can’t help but wonder if that makes me a bit biased.

That said, Baker Street has a bit of everything. The dice mechanics and system is unique. The setting material is well presented, which a Mastermind can build more than a few cases around. I wouldn’t like printing out this PDF (full color and costly)-though the pages of parchment look rather excellent on my screen. There is respectable amount of illustrations used from the Doyle estate and quotes of Sherlock and other characters from these same works.

Overall, the game really does what it sets out to do and does it very well. Baker Street is an excellent game with a unique style and resolution to ins and outs of detective fiction in an RPG. The game as we say, is most assuredly afoot!