Wild Skies Europa Tempest: RPG Review

Wild Skies

Welcome to a review of Wild Skies: Europa Tempest an action packed anthropomorphic themed role playing game (RPG), which is available in softcover, hardcover, and portable document format (PDF) at drivethrurpg.com. The book was originally crowdsourced to life via Kickstarter, just short of $11k internet bucks. This review concerns the PDF as well as the print version; both were supplied by Wet Ink Games free of cost for the purpose of this review. Wet Ink Games is a member of the Indie Game Developer Network (IGDN Site: http://www.igdnonline.com/) a hive mind of independent creators and publishers, producing a variety of products from pen and paper RPGs, to board and card games.

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

Ever since Palladium Books utilized Kevin Eastman’s and Peter Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) comic, as a jumping off point for an RPG, I’ve never ceased to have high hopes for anthropomorphic RPGs. TMNT was the my second-(or third) experience in this hobby and since I was a fan of the comic, and admittedly even enjoyed the movies in my youth, it was an easy transition. Though I’ve only had the opportunity to play a few, similar themed anthropomorphic RPGs have been a mixed bag at my table. Admittedly, why a player can get into an RPG like TMNT, and then put their nose up at something like Mouse Guard or Bunnies and Burrows, isn’t beyond my comprehension and in my opinion it’s simply a matter of choice.

What’s the fun with an anthropomorphic RPG without choices? The idea of having character options limited to only a bunny or only a mouse has limited appeal. This fact wasn’t missed out on by Palladium Books. TMNT had (I want to say over 50) a double handful of mutant animals you could roll up. Yeah, you could take the role as a ninja turtle (and I’m certain we did that), but creating a Kung Fu, butt kicking badger was just as fun (which I did). Having the choice certainly was worth its weight in D20s.

      

Wild Skies: Europa Tempest is a complete RPG featuring a unique dice system and a distinctive setting. The atmosphere of this RPG is classified as a dieselpunk and the art does a great job creating that tone.  Beneath the grit and with a little elbow grease Wild Skies is an alternate earth setting, which leads up to World War One and beyond. Anthropomorphic creatures are the norm of a human-less society, though playing it as humans is an option. While the timeline and events of this alternate world, pretty much mirror human history, it also expounds upon that, for its own (RPG) purposes.

Character creation starts with creating a concept and allocating points for Primary and Secondary Attributes. Each Primary Attribute has two Secondary Attributes. Players distribute ten points among the primary attributes and eight among the secondary attributes, with the caveat none of these can be less than one point. As with any system other abilities are outlined such as Health, Speed, Range, and the ability to jump etc.

Next, is selecting an anthropomorphic type, which Wild Skies offers up forty species, and as well as choosing the size for the type selected. Each animal is a unique template defining attribute bonuses and abilities, which are specific to the specific anthropomorphic type. For Instance, if you decide on a turtle the character has Defensive Tuck as part of that template; while a badger the special ability of: Eat Anything. These abilities are exactly as they seem, most of which are plays on the animal kingdom. If you prefer a bit of randomness in selecting the anthropomorphic type, there is a table (you roll on) which abides.

Rounding it out, characters start the game with a Perk or special ability and players can select up two additional Perks as long as these are balanced (one to one) with a Quirk. Perks and Quirks are pretty standard RPG stuff and there is a decent sized list of each. Players will then select a nationality and two Careers which offer a template of skills. Last is selecting the finishing touches on the character and select an affiliation… But, admittedly I’m skipping all that for better coverage for the unique experience point and alignment system of Wild Skies, the Moral Compass. We’ll let the game speak for itself here:

“Wild Skies every character has a Moral Compass which functions as both a compass rose, showing which personal goals the character can follow, and as a map, showing where the character has been. Starting from the center the character will move toward the edge of the compass after each game session and collect rewards along the way. Thus, the Moral Compass serves as both the alignment system and the experience system of Wild Skies. Combining these elements puts the focus on the storytelling. The Moral Compass helps determine a character’s motivations during individual game sessions and guides their story arc over many sessions.” (PG 45)

The Moral Compass functions as an alignment system and an experience system. This is a pretty interesting concept. The Moral Compass has eight axes points, each of which is tied together by two opposing concepts, or the potential of sixteen character goals/stories to choose from. Based on player character’s concept, players will create four potential stories they want to tell and design their characters Moral Compass. I’ll not give all of them away, but for instance one of the axes points is Wealth to Sacrifice. The player character can desire either, based on the story they want to build and the goals they want to achieve.

Advancing through this system is a matter of the player characters earning Plot Points (PP) based on play and using these points towards their character goals/desire. Once a story is told or a goal is achieved the character receives a reward toward advancing their character. There is a bit more to it than this and a healthy treatment of writing and examples which really help flesh it out. But, this idea is one which is both unique and awesome. I leave my thoughts for the conclusion.

The system mechanics of Wild Skies has a few moving parts. The system isn’t difficult, but the detail of the writing (when you just want an A,B,& C layout of rules) is a bit verbose. Basic skill rolls are percentage based, but each skill has a number of ranks available (in d6s) which are tallied onto the original (%) total. A Skill Specialty roll (a skill which is part of the character’s career) uses the standard basic roll, but is further modified by a governing attribute. The system also incorporates variable levels of success or failure based on difficulty. It’s hard to gauge without a playtest, but battles over land, sea or (most prominently) air, should be relatively fast and furious.

This review is property of Kenzer and Company and originally published in Knights of the Dinner Table #250; and republished here with permission.

As mentioned, the setting is World War One diesel punk, but that’s only scratching the surface. The discovery of Vrillium, which is a buoyant lighter than air (fictional) ore, allows the nations of the world to build efficient weapons of war and militarize the sky with fast planes and airships. The first massive air battleship the HMS Dreadnought is launched in 1906 and the arms race begins. The Great War kicks off in 1914.

The timeline covers 30 years of the history of the setting, and is richly described. Certainly, most of it is based on real world history before, during, and after WWI but it’s an impressive amount of setting detail (almost a third of the book) and there are plenty a nuggets, which the GM will likely build his or her campaign around. The major difference being the Great War doesn’t end in an agreed armistice. As with WWI, the setting is built on the involvement of many nations primarily (Europe) England, France (which is split in two nations), Germany and Russia. Though most of events described are put in past tense and the timeline assumes the campaign starts in 1930’s. The detail of the history is such that you could also run it as a plot point campaign within the major events of the history.

        

Overall, Wild Skies has a lot of elements I really like. The art does a really good job of giving the vibe of the setting. There is also a mini black and white comic in the middle of the text which I enjoyed. I probably relished the gun and equipment illustrations sections a bit more than is healthy, but nothing sparks the imagination looking over an illustration of a plane, tank or machine gun and the imaginings of heroic characters behind the yoke or pulling the trigger.

There were also a few things I thought could have been better presented. The writing in general and especially for the sections covering dice mechanics, are bit verbose. What’s written does an adequate job, but it’s not as clean (in origination) as some RPGs I’ve read lately, and I’d preferred to have read a bit less. Grammar wise there were a couple minor mistakes, but nothing all that distracting. The print version would have been just a bit better with a little more white space between the text of the column and the spine; obviously this is of no concern if you pick up the PDF version

Absolutely my favorite aspect was the presentation of the Moral Compass, which reverses the idea of characters acting for the purpose of receiving experience points and instead places a guideline which they themselves choose, for the purpose of advancement.

I certainly think Wild Skies is worthy of your cash. And even more so if like this reviewer you enjoyed TMNT or After the Bomb in your youth. The amount of character options is admirable, and if I’m reading this right more books involving the nations of the world as supposed to follow. I for one can’t wait to see what comes next.

RPG Review: Barbarians of Lemuria: Mythic Edition

BoL Mythic Edition Cover

Welcome to an in depth review of Barbarians of Lemuria: Mythic Edition, a role playing game (RPG) strongly based in the sword and sorcery genre, best known through the fiction of Robert E Howard’s Conan the Barbarian. Barbarians of Lemuria: Mythic Edition was brought to life via Kickstarter to the tune of £8,356.Barbarians of Lemuria is authored by Simon Washbourne.

This RPG isn’t directly tied to Robert E. Howard’s intellectual property as a number of swords and sorcery (pulp) authors are listed, but it is certainly inspired by it. I have both the full color hardcover and portable document format (PDF), both of these were supplied by the publisher free of cost for the purpose this review. If at the end of this review you’re so inclined, both formats are available at DriveThruRPG.

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

We start things off by letting this RPG speak for itself:

"Barbarians of Lemuria is a heroic role-playing game (RPG) set firmly in the sword-and-sorcery genre. Lemuria is a post-apocalyptic world of thousands of years into the future and unrecognizable to anyone today. It has returned to an almost prehistoric state – a land of steaming jungles, vast untamed wildernesses, horror-filled swamplands, and sunbaked deserts. Massive man-eating beasts roam the unexplored regions of Lemuria and beyond, from island-sized sea serpents capable of sinking war galleys, to the huge jungle-dwelling dinosaurs that can swallow a man whole." (PG 9)

The setting elements of Barbarians of Lemuria Mythic Edition, is absolutely the best aspect of this RPG. While admittedly the usual review format is more guarded towards the end, I just plain refuse to hold back on this one. Yes, spoiler alert: I’m totally impressed with this RPG!

We start with the Gazette chapter, which takes the reader through a brief historical overview of Lemuria. Additionally, this product goes the extra mile with chapters concerning the Gods of Lemuria, and the presentation of the most common (non-human and optional as playable) races of the land. Both the Gods and creatures in the bestiary are noticeably unique from any of the usual Tolkien inspired, fantasy fair. The bestiary includes full color illustrations for each beast. The art of most creatures includes a silhouetted (6ft.) barbarian, beside them, which will assist with (literally) sizing the encounter up for reference. HackMaster players will find this feature somewhat familiar, as the depiction is very much in line with Kenzer & Co.’s silhouette hero and creature comparison in the Hacklopedia of Beasts.

The world of Lemuria itself is detailed in my favorite sort of way: a respectable amount of detail, which frames the setting, with a decent amount space left for the GM to fill in for their campaign(s). A full color hi-vector map of Lemuria is included as a separate PDF Download with purchase, and a smaller version of the same map, is included as an illustration in both the PDF and Print version. The presentation of the setting includes a heaping handful of locations: cities, natural terrain, landmark areas of note, as well as isolated locations (ruins & towers). Adventure Ideas (basic plot seeds) and rumors are bullet pointed throughout the descriptions and the writing should do more than a decent job of getting a number of sessions and/or campaign adventure ideas rolling. The book also includes four fully fleshed out starter adventures. The plot of each adventure is well written and should have appeal to new players, easing the introduction and overall comprehension of the game.       

Barbarians of Lemuria offers relatively simple system catered with narrative or storyteller emphasis. Still, overall there is a bit of crunch to it. One of the most important aspects is that each character receives a number of Hero Points. These points can be spent or held back with character creation for the opportunity for specific die rolling boons or to mitigate unfortunate circumstances, and/or rolls; or spent towards specific abilities. Character advancement in this game is one of my favorite elements as players are encouraged to share tales based on what heroic or leisurely deeds the character preformed in their off-time such as spending booty, gambling, drinking into the wee hours etc., and will receive experience points from the GM based on the very tale(s) they weave.  

Mechanically, in performing an action if the GM determines that a roll is required this is called a Task Roll. To put it simply, the player rolls 2d6 against a Target Number (TN) and add the most appropriate attribute total and/or character career benefit, as a bonus to the roll. The Target Number is usually around 9 but can be modified (Table provided) depending on difficulty, which is determined by the GM. Rolling above the TN is an ordinary success, but the player character can spend a Hero Point to increase this to a Mighty Success, which is a boon providing a number of (player/GM choice) benefits to the task at hand. Rolling 12 (two 6’s) is an automatically a Mighty Success, but the player can again option to spend a Hero Point to change this to a Legendary Success, which is again a list of potential boons. Rolling 2 (two 1’s) is an automatic failure. Like any RPG system should have, there are subsystems for determining combat Initiative, and other such elements. While the system itself isn’t as intricate as you’ll find with medium or heavy crunch RPGs, it has a few elements that will take some experience getting familiar with, but it’s nothing unwieldy.    

Character creation is simple. First players are encouraged to decide on a concept and cater the rest of creation towards what they have chosen. Characters have four Attributes: Strength, Agility, Mind, and Appeal. With designing their hero, players have four points to distribute for their starting character among these attributes, which will assist with specific Task Rolls. Next is determining the characters combat abilities and again the player must allocate four points in regards to: Initiative, Melee, Ranged, and Defense; each of these will award a point bonus when engaging in that type of action. Next is deciding Boons and Flaws are very much as they are in most RPGs (+ or –; to something specific). Characters will start with a Boon, but it must coincide with their chosen background. Characters can start with more than one boon, but the player must also allocate an appropriate flaw.

Review Featured in KoDT #255

The last steps with character creation are calculating Life Points (health/hit point), determining how to use or reserve Hero Points (mentioned earlier), deciding the characters origin, and choosing their career paths.  The most interesting of these is choosing career paths. Characters with Barbarians of Lemuria receive four points to distribute among four (prior) careers and over twenty possible careers are detailed with what they offer the character. The system has no skills. Careers are used to roughly determine the characters knowledge and experience; and those points will add a bonus to a Task Roll, if the GM determines that the characters knowledge should award a bonus towards the roll. Finally, the player will create a backstory based on his or her characters careers. There is an excellent (succinct) example in the book so I’m quoting it here:

“Dagul was born into a family of traders from Oomis, and this naturally led him into a life of buying and selling (merchant 2). This lifestyle led him to sea trade and introductions to several sea captains in Parsool. Before long, he was sailing to far-off lands and learning the essential skills of a seaman (sailor 0). On one particular voyage several years ago, pirates attacked Dagul’s ship – the crew was captured and sold into slavery (slave 1). Dagul’s new mistress was the Witch Queen Methyn Sarr herself, and during his enslavement (and until his escape), he used every opportunity to learn the secrets of that great sorceress until he could perform basic enchantments himself (magician 1).”  (PG 23, 24)

The glossy hardcover on my desk is textbook size and 211 pages, featuring a full color depiction on the cover regarding a barbarian saving a damsel who is chained to rock and presumably about to be consumed by a tentacled sea beast. The PDF is organized with hyperlinked page marks with the Table of Contents. Both versions include a thoroughly done index. Interior art is an expressive mix of full color character and scene illustrations. The writing itself is very good. The layout is well organized with color text headers, and tables; the content text is in double column format. Both the print version and PDF include character sheets and maps for the adventures, illustrated by Dyson Logos.

   

Overall, Barbarians of Lemuria Mythic Edition is not your usual indie product. Without a doubt, the production and organization of this RPG is (surprisingly) on par with the big publishers. The quality of this product is obvious and immediate. As anyone who reads this column knows, this reviewer is huge on setting. Unfortunately, it’s often one of the most underdone elements with most RPGs.  In my read through -rarely (if at all), does this product miss an opportunity to integrate the Lemuria setting into just about every facet for the purpose of role playing. This also makes Barbarians of Lemuria something very different from your usual Tolkien inspired RPG, as it should be. And the creators involved, did not miss this unique opportunity with the sword and sorcery genre in mind.   

While most storyteller type RPG products I review get middle of the line reviews, because of simple lacking, be it in one area, or two, or three; I’m hard pressed to find any single element of this RPG which isn’t well done. If you’re in the market, Barbarians of Lemuria is certainly worth your cash.   

Adventurer Conqueror King: RPg Review

Adventurer Conqueror King

This issue is a brief review of the portable document format (PDF) of Adventurer Conqueror King (system). As suggested by the publisher I will be borrowing the much kinder and simpler abbreviation of ACKs. In 2011-2012 ACKs core book was brought to market via a successful Kickstarter campaign which funded just shy of $12k internet bucks. Autarch LLC has completed five successful Kickstarter campaigns since, through 2016 and while the publisher was kind enough to share a treasure trove of ACKs material, the focus of this review is with the ACKs Core book. This RPG and its supplements can be purchased in print as well as PDF at DrivethruRPG. You can also visit the publisher's website at: http://www.autarch.co/ for more information.

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

Adventurer Conqueror King is a clone of Dungeons and Dragons and utilizes the open game license (OGL 1.0) of Wizards of the Coast. While not fully a retro-clone, having more advanced features such as proficiencies (likely borrowed from D&D 3e or 4e?) and not entirely neo-clone, with a semi-independent (ascending type) combat system, it’s hard to relate where ACKs fits in the scope of other clones.

About the only reason to compare it as such, is to guess whether the OSR and fantasy gaming consumer is interested, or at least why they might be interested. To the OSR and old school customer base, I would say that this RPG certainly has bits and parts of old school familiarity, which the OGL affords it, but it is also… Perhaps and certainly more so mechanically, it is a bit of a D&D mash.

Not in question, is that the value of this product is the campaign chapter. Adventurer Conqueror King (system) provides an interesting continuation of somewhat subtle idea. The framework of what was started (if I’m remembering this correctly at any rate) by AD&D nearly four decades ago: the push for adventure beyond the dungeon crawl. Otherwise known as Duh! A Campaign! The framework which is found in the Strongholds and Domains section is very well done. Anyone who has ran a D&D campaign knows that with survival comes player character influence (even fame) and while the final idea is that the player characters will build and maintain strongholds and domains, game designers have rarely provided a serviceable framework for this gameable idea. Even if you’re not in the market for an entirely new D&D system, the framework in ACKs can be modified to most systems with a little finesse. Personally, this chapter alone, turns this product into something I'd be happy to have paid money for. And recommend to others, which I do.

Review featured in KoDT #242

In ACKs characters cap out at 14th level. There are the traditional four: fighter, cleric, mage and thief. And some interestingly varied campaign character classes. Campaign classes are the Assassin, and Bard; which are exactly what you imagine them to be, Blade Dancer; human women who serve the god of war, think Amazon Women etc., the Explorer; which is much a ranger, Dwarven Vaultguard, Dwarven Craftpriest, Elvin Spellsword and Elvin Nightblade. All and all a decent mix of magic or advanced fighting/thief capabilities, in regards to demi-human races. No halflings, gnomes or half-elves; thank you, said some people.

Character Alignment is pretty much straight out of OD&D and applies the same way as most retro-clones; Law, Neutrality & Chaos. An interesting choice was to do away with memorization/preparation for spell magic. Casters need only rest themselves for eight hours before being able to restore their spell repertoire. I’ve house ruled this way for most of my fantasy RPGs a long time.

The production value of ACKs, art, tables and layout is respectable. For the PDF of the core book each chapter has a number of hyperlinked pages which you can click and arrive at your chosen destination rather than scrolling through or typing in the page number. This feature is present in the table of contents as well as the index. Both sections have been meticulously detailed and encourage use. The hyperlinked pages are certainly a feature I wish more publishers would take advantage of. One can only hope those publishers are reading this column!   

As I said, Adventurer Conqueror King (system) s is a bit of a D&D mash up. It seems as if the creator borrowed their favorite elements from the different editions of D&D and made an RPG stew of sorts. Some people like stew, while others won’t get near it. The combat system isn’t too difficult to get the gist, but I think most old school gamers would have preferred the standard ascending or descending armor class (AC) system. As I mentioned, the campaign chapter is really well done, expanding the idea of a valuable concept and creating a respectable framework in making it gameable. Keeping with our stew analogy, this is the ingredient that I think most gamers will love.

Centurion-Legionaries of Rome: RPG Review

Centurion-Legionaries of Rome: Cover

Centurion is a prime example of a genre specific storyteller RPG, featuring three potential (era specific) settings within Roman history.

This RPG has a couple of features which make it unique. Most prevalent, is the overarching emphasis (throughout) of crafting and sharing the narrative of the story. So defined, a liberal amount of creative control between the players and the Game Master (GM) is expected. System wise, Centurion has a distinct dice system, and even for a storyteller or narrative style RPG character creation is on the lighter side. Nearly all features of this RPG are designed to encourage story.

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

Character creation for Centurion is framed in four simple steps. First, each player will create a character Concept. The concept is a word or phrase, which the player decides what they think best defines the (persona of) character. If this phrase can be referenced into (or used mechanically to build the narrative of) the story, the Concept will award (d6) a boon for the character, dependent on the situation; in regards to dice rolls. Second, the player decides how to distribute a set amount of Rank(s) for Traits: 1, 2, or 3 between Physical, Mental and Social. Each of these Trait points represents a d6. Third, players will create or distribute seven Ranks for Elements, which specifically define abilities or skills of the character.

Example: Players could choose to create four elements for their characters and use the remaining 3 points to increase the capability of those Elements or decide to create seven unique Elements. As with Traits, each Element’s rank (number), directly corresponds to a d6. Fourth, is an option for players to create 1 to 3 Pivots for their characters. Pivots are character goals or quirks. Each Pivot is shaped by one of three base Aspects, these are Duty, Honor and Valor, but additional Aspects are available depending on the scope of the game. If role played appropriately, Pivots shaped by an Aspect provide the GM an opportunity to award player characters an optional boon (d6) to spend in a variety of ways for a future a Test (or check in other systems) in a Challenge presented by the GM.

System wise, as you may have guessed, the use of Ranks implies that Centurion utilizes a dice pool, but that’s not all there is too it. In discussing the dice mechanics let’s start by letting the game speak for itself:

"Dice are used in Centurion to resolve actions. The process… is called the Test, and the results of Tests are decided by rolling… against the dice rolled by other players…"

"Centurion Characters are designed using Qualities… Each Quality is rated in D6s. A Quality that is rated at 2 has 2d6…"

"During a test… Qualities are assembled and can be used to buy other dice…" (PG 7)

Based on how many Qualities or d6s a character has, players compose a hand of dice. From this players can choose to use those dice to buy higher ranked (d8, d10, d12, d20) dice for each specific test or roll the raw amount of d6s available. Thankfully, and because the concept is a bit foreign, there is a table which clearly outlines the specific costs of buying higher ranked dice. Depending on the sort of Challenge presented by the GM, he or she composes their dice hand first for each specific Test. This allows players to consider making strategic adjustments to their own dice hand, if they choose.

A few caveats of the system for Centurion are that a higher ranked die (d8 vs d6) conquers a less sided dice in the instance of a tie, and for the most part number totals are compared by higher sided dice first, then highest to lowest, until the number of comparable dice run out. When the number of comparable dice runs out the Test is concluded. If one player rolls 6d6 and the GM has rated the Test of the Challenge at 4d6 and both roll the dice raw, the four highest results of the player rolling 6d6 will be compared in order. Each success or conquering dice allows the player narrative control of the story. There is also a Difficulty Table and info on how the GM might include Quality Elements to the Challenge. There is a bit more depth to the system for Centurion than this, and even an opportunity for players to earn luck (a future boon) when a Test roll results in 1; but for the most part these are the mechanics.

Review featured in KoDT #249

As mentioned in the introduction, Centurion is a genre specific RPG and based on the bibliography alone the author has certainly put in the work. Rome wasn’t built in a day and it’s apparent that neither was this RPG. All kidding aside, the setting info is thoroughly presented and takes up about two thirds of the book material. Centurion covers three Eras of Roman history.

The Late Republic details Roman activity, society and politics between 500 to 100 BCE (Before Common Era). The Civil Wars or the historical period known as the Denouncement of the Republic, as well as the Principate and provides a brief overview of Rome’s involvement in the wider world; territories conquered and how the army and social structure of Rome changed. The Crisis of the Third Century provides a brief overview of the beginnings of Rome’s fall from grace. These latter two go between 100 BCE all the way to 240-ish CE (Common Era). All of these periods are well written and include semi-relevant info as to the whys and whatnot's about Rome per specific period, including information as to running a game, but it also brings up a point of criticism. In short, some of topics should have been more broadly detailed. While the content on politics and intrigue, and massive scope of Rome itself is interesting on its own, the sections on how to incorporate this info for the purpose of an RPG, (though it is certainly present), is a bit light.

Disclosure: This product was provided by Swords Edge Publishing at no cost, for the purpose of this review, which was written for Knights of the Dinner Table, and reprinted here with permission. Centurion is available in print at Indie Press Revolution as well as other places, and in portable document format (PDF) at drivethrurpg.com. Centurion was brought to life via Kickstarter just short of $6K internet bucks. 

Centurion encourages players to create characters which are specialist type soldiers, scouts and spies. Though there isn’t a template or what most would consider a character class. Characters will likely be part of the Legion, but at the same time somewhat independent, and likely spend a fair amount of their military service away from Rome. If the player characters might be envoys, working for a Legion or Rome itself, a brief about some locations of the empire or outside it; a few sections about Carthage, or details about nations such as the Germany, Spain, Egypt etc., could have change my thoughts on this product from good, to great. As is, Centurion is a good RPG.

Overall, I enjoyed my read through and I defiantly recommend Centurion-Legionaries of Rome, especially if your fascinated with Roman history. Centurion has some unique storyteller style mechanics for sharing and creating stories with your player group. I found the premise interesting and writing does a more than adequate job of bringing Rome to your gaming table. I suspect the dice mechanics and the methods of “buying dice types,” might put those who prefer dice pools (or just standard D&D type checks) a bit off, but I think Centurion should especially appeal to role-players who enjoy dice lite or dice-less systems.

A Red and Pleasant Land: RPG Review

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



A Red & Pleasant Land

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Review Featured in KoDT #247

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

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

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

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

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