Tommy's Take on Crown of Shadow

So one of my favorite "dead lines" is the Midnight line by Fantasy Flight Games. While everything is out of print, you can probably find most of it for cheap somewhere online (or inflated, I haven't checked), and it all remains available digitally. Including Crown of Shadow, one of the first titles released for Midnight, being an introductory adventure.

Two More Good Causes (and How You Can Help)

So, the good news is that the bundle from Tuesday to raise money for Tammy Mansfield's funeral expenses has already been pulled, because the bundle actually hit the goal they needed to cover her expenses, and all thanks to the generosity of gamers (consumers and publishers alike).

Unfortunately, the gaming community has been rocked with more tribulations:

Persephonee Banks

Aaron Huss of Roleplayer's Chronicle and Mystical Throne Entertainment is trying to raise money to assist a very close friend who just suffered the absolutely crushing loss of his 5 1/2 month old daughter Persephonee. I read the story and it absolutely kills me. I have three children of my own and the thought of losing one of them is unfathomable to me.

Aaron has assembled an amazing RPG bundle (though that's not really the point), to help the Banks family through this most trying time. Accursed, Shadowrun 5th Edition, Necropolis 2350, Lowlife, even the War/World of the Dead series that I had the pleasure of working on. Fantastic products, $20, a kind gesture for a family that is facing the worst kind of Hell right now.

You can find the bundle here and read Persephonee's story here.

The d20 community is rallying around one of their own as well, Joe Flores. Joe has been diagnosed with a hereditary liver defect that has given him cirrhosis. He now needs a liver transplant, and the great people at d20pfsrd.com are hosting a big bundle, with the proceeds going to Joe's GoFundMe account. $10 for $110 worth of product.

If you can, help. If you can't, spread the word to people who can.

Please.

And I promise I'll try to get back to the business of reviewing RPGs next week, but I believe that this stuff is important, and if I can help get that word out, I should.

Tommy's Take on D&D Player's Handbook 5th Edition

First off, apologies for all the reviews I'm behind on. I did, however, cave and pick up the D&D 5th Edition Player's Handbook, and given my vocal anti-D&D stance, I've actually been asked by a few people to do a review, so here goes:

Tommy's Take on 13th Age

So, I've been reading 13th Age a lot lately, and have even signed up for the Organized Play program, so I decided to go ahead and take the time to review it...because why not?

Tommy's Take on Midnight Second Edition

I’m not a big Dungeons & Dragons fan. Don’t pretend to be. That said, I like a lot ABOUT Dungeons & Dragons, and one of my favorite things from the D&D 3/.5 era is the Midnight campaign setting by Fantasy Flight Games.

I wish I had a larger version of this,
because it is epic. 

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: First and foremost, Midnight is – to the best of my knowledge – out of print, though the PDF is still available at RPGNow. Midnight is a desperate, dark fantasy campaign setting commonly described as “Lord of the Rings if Sauron won and corrupted the Fellowship”. This review is of the physical copy of the book, rather than the PDF as I commonly review, and the book is written with the D&D 3.5 system in mind. I have ran it with 3.5, and am planning on resuming that campaign, though we will be switching to Savage Worlds.

The book is absolutely gorgeous, with the cover depicting Izrador’s (the Big Bad of the setting) Night Kings, four fallen heroes who are now his most powerful and vile generals. As was common for FFG at the time, the first 30 pages or so are full color setting material, before diving into the rules. The full color section tells the story of Aryth, how Izrador was cast out by the Gods and how the act of doing so trapped him on Aryth and cut the Gods off from the planet, as well as how the people of Aryth repelled his forces not once, but twice…only to be betrayed by their greatest heroes the third time. Now the good and decent people of Aryth are fighting for their very survival…the humans largely betrayed by their leaders, the dwarves cut off in their caverns and the elves waging a final, desperate war as their forests burn.

The tome is divided into three Books, the first being Adventures in Midnight, essentially serving as rules the player’s need. Midnight makes some key changes to the d20 rules, which are detailed here. For one, every PC has a Heroic Path, a destiny that grants them abilities to fight Izrador’s forces. Some of these include Beast (the hero is reverting to a primal state, gaining bestial senses and the ability to rip his enemies apart with his bare hands), Charismatic (the hero is a beacon of leadership, using his words to sway allies…and sometimes enemies), Giantblooded (the blood of giants run through the hero’s veins, making them larger than normal, and they can learn to use this size to their advantage), Painless (while the hero can still take damage, they shrug off nonlethal damage, and can even learn to channel the pain of attacks suffered back at his enemies), Pureblood (a very Aragorn-like Path, being master adventurer’s descended from kings) and Tactician (generals with a knack for finding the most effective means of victory).

The Class list gets altered, with Barbarians, Fighters and Rogues existing largely unaltered, though Fighters do gain a Warrior’s Way at 4^th level, with options like Adapter (the Fighter gains more skill points to give him more options), Improviser (anything that’s handy), Leader of Men (extra Feats to help lead) and Survivor (providing bonus feats designed to keep the Fighter alive). There is a single spellcasting class (Channeler), and the magic system is not Vancian here, with Channelers instead channeling spell energy to cast their spells. There are three “Traditions”, which serve to distinguish one Channeler from another. The Monk-like Defender and Ranger-like Wildlander round out the class options.

The racial selection is also a tad different here, with three human options: Dorns (Highland warriors), Sarcosans (nomadic horsemen) and Erenlanders (thhe more “common” humans). Dwarves are divided into Clan Dwarves and Kurgan (surface dwellers). Elves are split into Caransil (the wood elves), Danisil (savage jungle elves), Erunsil (snow elves) and Miransil (sea elves). Gnomes rule the rivers, often openly serving Izrador while secretly helping resistance fighters. Halflings have had their society crushed, with many becoming nomads while the rest try to cling to a farming lifestyle. Orcs, Izrador’s favorite warriors, are also a playable option, as a few occasionally break from the monolithic evil and join the side of good. In another twist, there are halfbreeds, but humans cannot breed with other races. Instead, we get Dwarrow (from Gnomes and Dwarves), Dworgs (Orcs and Dwarves, and yes, they are commonly products of rape) and Elflings (Elves and Halflings).

Prestige Classes include some familiar classes like Druid and Wizard, as well as more Midnight-specific options like Avenging Knives (assassins operating against Izrador), Bane of Legates (those dedicated to fighting his priests), Smugglers and Haunted Ones (conduits for the dead).

New Feats are provided, like Friendly Agent (which lets you spot potential allies, as well as hide your own allegiance from Izrador’s Agents), Drive It Deep (allowing you to boost the damage of small weapons), Orc-Slayer and Whispering Awareness (allowing you to hear the whispers of the woods).

Spellcasting is handled by channeling energy and casting the spells needed, rather than preparing spells beforehand. Using magic (even magic items) is dangerous…because the Legates have hunting companions called Astiraxes which sniff out magic and lead the Legates to the users.

Of course, living under the bootheel of Izrador, weapons and armor are also restricted, and being elven or dwarven is an automatic death sentence.

Book Two: The World of Midnight dives heavily into the setting itself, describing each region, its people and providing plot hooks. For instance, in the Great Forest, Dire animals are actually allies of the Elves, because they are intelligent enough to know that the Elves share their home, as well as their desire to protect it. Stuff like this is all over the book, like how the Danisil are fairly occupied with dealing with honest to goodness demons in the jungles while their kin are fighting the forces of an evil God.

Book Three is essentially the GM’s section. It covers the Northern Marches, the rarely-explored area where the Orcs make their home, under the rule of Izrador. Don’t want to give this info to the players up front. Again, plot hooks abound, like the Followers of the White Mother, who realize that they are nothing but cannon fodder, and are slowly spreading their word to other Orcs. This section also lays out an overview of the final plans of crushing the dwarves and the elves, who are cut off from one another, with no human aid coming.

We also learn about the Black Mirrors, which drain magic into Izrador, so long as blood sacrifices are provided to it. The four Night Kings are also profiled, describing who they were, how they fell and who they are now. A Legate NPC class is provided, with variations like Witch Takers, Soldier Legates and the Sisterhood of Tender Mercies.

Power Nexuses, places around Aryth with great power than can be tapped into, and Covenant Items (magic items that unlock new powers as their owners become more experienced) are described here as well. Midnight eschews the “arsenal of magic items” approach in favor of generally only doling out a single item or two that scales with the character, to compliment their Heroic Path.

Magic is heavily limited, with healing magic at a premium, and resurrection impossible, due to the limits of magic and the nature of the world (no dead can move on, with all deceased coming back as some form of undead unless properly disposed of).

A bestiary is provided, featuring the Astirax (mentioned earlier), a couple of dragons (Midnight definitely treats dragons as special, named creatures and not just monster entries), as well as suggestions on the kinds of creatures from the standard monster manuals that are likely to appear on Aryth.

Given that this is the second edition of the book and some supplements were available at the time of the release, Fantasy Flight Games took it upon themselves to tackle essays on various adventure types, tying these suggestions into the various supplements.

An introductory adventure is provided, as well as a series of random encounter charts for each section of the world, and some sample enemy NPC templates.

WHAT WORKS: The production values are amazing. The flavor text is generally short but evocative, and the art almost universally compliments the feel of the setting. A ton of information is provided (it is a 400 page book), giving ample material to run the setting out of the one book (or so I assume…I do own the whole game line). A lot of effort has gone into making the world oppressive. In many ways, Midnight is more horrific than classic horror settings like Ravenloft. Also, there is no metaplot. The game line never really advances the timeline, so the setting is truly yours to do with as you will.

WHAT DOESN’T WORK: I would kill for a version of the book that isn’t written for d20, though I do have a great Savage Worlds conversion downloaded. I don’t necessarily need more supplements, but the line being available via print on demand or something would be great. The setting is written with the assumption that the heroes will always fail, though with no true metaplot being present, that can be worked around.

CONCLUSION: Midnight, along with the Art Haus Ravenloft, is the best thing to come out of the d20 era for me, regardless of how I feel about the game system. I’m eager to give the Savage Worlds conversion a go, and I’ll report back on how that goes here on the blog. I went out of my way to ensure that I purchased the entire Midnight collection in print (I even own the first edition and Against the Shadow, both of which were largely folded into Second Edition), and I’m glad I did. And while I will run the setting harsh, the outcome will ultimately be very much in the hands of the PCs, not myself or the designers’.

VIP Wrestling: Father and Son

Yeah, this was supposed to go up yesterday. It's been a busy month. I'll try to get two more in by the end of the month.

This next set is a father-son tandem...Daedalus and his boy Icarus, a pair of wrestlers from Greek descent. Daedalus is a veteran of the ring who is breaking down, while his son is a reckless high-flyer. They form a tag team for two reasons: Daedalus is attempting to use tag team wrestling to extend his career, and he's doing his best to hone his son into a superstar.

Icarus is a popular daredevil who has some amazing trainwrecks with "Bad Boy" Jimmy Lee, though he rarely comes out on top due to Lee's edge in training and experience. That said, Icarus does know how to utilize his agility well, hitting his Wings of Icarus crucifix out of nowhere, and his breath taking FINAL FLIGHT, a flying body press where he leaps backwards off the top rope and spins in mid air, catching his opponent with a flying bodypress.

Daedalus is an old hand in the ring, who has ran afoul of just about every heel (and then some) in the region. His technical expertise hasn't really rubbed off on his son, though you can see some similarities (like their patented running knee lifts). Daedalus likes to lock on the GRECIAN SLEEPER GRIP - a modified sleeperhold - to put his opponents away, though he has less success with it than he used to.


Name: Icarus
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 199 lbs
Weight Mod: -1
Attitude: Face
Level: 5
Star Power:

Ath: +5
Brw: -1
Flr: +1
Ins: 0
Pow: 0

Skills
Athletics +4
Deception
Knowledge
 Athletic Moves +5
 Brawling Moves
 Flair Moves
 Power Moves
 Technical Moves
 Roster
 Specialty Match:
 Tag Team +5
Language
Perception
Performance +2
Presence
Special Talent


Gimmick Enhancements
Close Call
Feat of Dexterity (2)
Helping Hand
Leverage (Athleticism) (2)
MF: Technical
Moveset
Potent Strike (Athletic) (1)
Reckless Abandon
Ring Sense (Athletic)
Signature Move
Tag Team Specialist
Training Background
  MF: Athletic
  MF: Flair
  Finisher

Flaw
Overconfident
Rookie Mistake

Moveset
Flying Armdrag (Technical): Modifiers: 1d4 damage (+0), moveset (+1), prone self (+1), requires lifting (+1)
Total Modifier: +3

Dropkick (Athletic): 1d6 damage (+0), exertion: 2 Fatigue (+1), knockdown (–1), moveset (+1), prone self (+1), stunning: self if missed (+1)
Total Modifier: +3

Running Kneelift (Athletic): 1d6 damage (-1), knockdown (–1), moveset (+1)
Total Modifier: -1

Signature Move
Wings of Icarus (Crucifix pin/Athletic): 1d4 damage (+0), immediate pin attempt upon lift (-1), prone self (+1), requires lifting (+1), signature move (+2)
Total Modifier: +3

Finisher
Final Flight (Athletic): 1d6 damage (-1), add Weight Mod to damage (-1), exertion: 2 Fatigue
(+1), Finisher name (+1) immediate pin attempt upon lift (-1), prone self (+1), requires lifting (+1), stunning: self if missed (+1)
Total Modifier: +2

Name: Daedalus
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 226 lbs
Weight Mod: 0
Attitude: Face
Level: 9
Star Power:

Ath: +2
Brw: 0
Flr: +1
Ins: +5
Pow: 0

Skills
Athletics +2
Deception
Knowledge
 Athletic Moves
 Brawling Moves
 Flair Moves
 Power Moves
 Technical Moves +5
 Roster +5
 Specialty Match:
 Tag Team +5
Language +1
Perception +2
Performance +2
Presence +2
Special Talent


Gimmick Enhancements
Attribute Improvement (3)
Helping Hand (2)
Leverage (Submission)
MF: Flair
Maneuver Training (3)
Mastery (Technical)
Moveset
Ring Sense (Instinct)
Ring Smart
Ring Strategist
Signature Move
Tag Team Specialist (3)
Training Background
  MF: Athletic
  MF: Technical
  Finisher
Wrestling Savant

Flaw
Injury Prone

Moveset
Atomic Drop (Technical): 1d6 damage (-1), exertion: 2 Fatigue (+1), moveset (+1), requires lifting (+1), stunning (-2)
Total Modifier: 0

Belly-To-Back Suplex (Technical): 2d6 damage (–3), moveset (+1), prone self (+1), requires lifting (+1)
Total Modifier: 0

Running Kneelift (Athletic): 1d6 damage (-1), knockdown (–1), moveset (+1)
Total Modifier: -1

Signature Move
Grecian Crab (Technical): 1d6 damage (-1), requires prone target (+1), signature move (+2), submission
(–1)
Total Modifier: +1

Finisher
Grecian Sleeper Grip (Technical): 1d6 damage (–1), exertion: 2 Fatigue (+1), finisher name (+1), stunning (-2), submission (-1)
Total Modifier: –3

VIP Wrestling: The Juggernaut and The Bad Boy

This month's addition to the VIP Wrestling Roster for Wild World Wrestling are Rock Vargas' lackeys: "The Juggernaut" Leonidas Contreras and "Bad Boy" Jimmy Lee.

Jimmy Lee is a cocky, arrogant daredevil who isn't afraid to put his body on the line any night. A backyard wrestler who has been trained by Vargas and molded into a future superstar, Lee has risen through the ranks at a young age, thanks to a combination of his talent and Vargas' string pulling. Lee sometimes forms an effective tag team with Leonidas Contreras, a classic power and speed combo.

Lee combines high-flying with martial arts training, picking up victories with his brutal 90 MPH KICK and the SUICIDE RUN, which involves sitting an opponent on the top rope, climbing up with them and flipping over backwards, driving them to the mat. In addition, he likes to faceplant his opponents with the Bad Day and the Diamond Dust.

Lee's partner Leonidas Contreras is a big, brutal Mexican who is built like an absolute tank. The Juggernaut fears no one and only takes crap from Vargas and Lee. Despite his brute-like exterior, Contreras shows hidden depths, pulling out surprises that he doesn't immediately seem capable of, hinting at a brighter future for the hulking Contreras than some suspect.

His Lights Out is a crushing forearm smash that hits with devastating force and has been known to knock opponents clean out. His UNSTOPPABLE FORCE is huge flying shoulderblock to a running opponent, sideswiping them and knocking them senseless.


Name: "Bad Boy" Jimmy Lee
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 190 lbs
Weight Mod: -1
Attitude: Heel
Level: 8
Star Power:

Ath: +5
Brw: -1
Flr: +2
Ins: +3
Pow: -1

Skills
Athletics +5
Deception +2
Knowledge
 Athletic Moves +5
 Brawling Moves
 Flair Moves +2
 Power Moves
 Technical Moves +2
 Roster
 Specialty Match:
 Tag Team +2
Language
Perception
Performance +2
Presence +2
Special Talent


Gimmick Enhancements
Attribute Enhancement (2)
Feat of Dexterity
Finisher
Heat Machine
MF: Flair
MF: Technical
Maneuver Training
Mastery: Aerial Maneuvers
Moveset
Popular Appeal
Potent Strike: Athletic (2)
Reckless Abandon
Ring Sense
Signature Move (2)
Steal Heat
Training
  MF: Athletic
  MF: Brawling
  Finisher

Flaw
Cocky
Showboat

Moveset
German Suplex and Bridge (Technical): Modifiers: 1d6 damage (–1), immediate pin attempt (-1), Moveset (+1), requires lifting (+1)
Maneuver modifier: 0

Martial Arts Kick (Athletic): Modifiers: 2d6 damage (–3), exertion: 2 Fatigue (+1), knockdown (–1), Moveset (+1)
Total Modifier: –2

Moonsault (Athletic): Modifiers: 2d6 damage (–3), add Weight Mod to damage (-1), exertion: 2 Fatigue (+1), immediate pin attempt upon knockdown (-1) knockdown (–1), Moveset (+1), prone self (+1), stunning: self if missed (+1)
Total Modifier: -2

Signature Move
Diamond Dust (Athletic): Modifiers: 2d6 damage (–3), exertion: 2 Fatigue (+1), prone self (+1), requires lifting (+1), Signature Move (+2), stunning (-2)
Total Modifier: 0

Bad Day (Face First Legweep/Technical): 3d6 damage (-3), prone self (+1), requires lifting (+1); Signature Move (+2) total modifier: +1

Finisher
Suicide Run (Top Rope Backflip Uranage/Athletic): Modifiers: 2d6 damage (-3), exertion: 4 Fatigue (+2), Finisher Name (+1), Immediate Pin Attempt on Knockdown/Lift (-1), Knockdown (-1), Prone Self (+1), Requires Lifting (+1), Stunning (-2)
Total Modifier: -2

90 Mile Per Hour Kick (Superkick/Athletic): Modifiers: 2d8 damage (–4), exertion: 2 Fatigue (+1), Finisher Name (+1), knockdown (–1)
Total Modifier: -3


Name: "The Juggernaut" Leonidas Contreras
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 320 lbs
Weight Mod: +4
Attitude: Heel
Level: 6
Star Power:

Ath: -1
Brw: +4
Flr: 0
Ins: 0
Pow: +5

Skills
Athletics
Deception
Knowledge
 Athletic Moves
 Brawling Moves +4
 Flair Moves
 Power Moves +4
 Technical Moves
 Roster
 Specialty Match:
 Tag Team +2
Language
Perception +2
Performance +2
Presence +5
Special Talent


Gimmick Enhancements
Attribute Enhancement (2)
Catch Phrase ("I'm the Juggernaut, Bitch!")
Hardcore
No-Sell (2)
Potent Strike: Power (2)
Ring Rage
Signature Move
Toughness (2)
Training Background
  MF: Brawling
  MF: Power
  Finisher
Versatile
Wrestling Savant

Flaw
Overconfident
Rookie Mistake

Signature Move
Light Out (Forearm Smash/Power): Modifiers: 3d8 damage (-6), Exertion: 6 Fatigue (+3), knockdown (–1), Signature Move (+2), Stunning (-2)
Total Modifier: –4

Finisher
Unstoppable Force (Flying Shoulderblock/Power): Modifiers: 3d6 damage (–5), exertion: 2 Fatigue (+1), knockdown (–1), Naming (+1) prone self (+1), stunning: self if missed (+1)
Total Modifier: –2

Tommy's Take on Rogue Mage Player's Handbook

One of the perks of this gig is that, occasionally, I get my hands on something even before it's made it out to the general public. This, not surprisingly, is one of those times. The Rogue Mage Player's Handbook is an interesting beast, based off of Faith Hunter's series of apocalyptic supernatural novels set on a future earth, and it is based on the Mutants & Masterminds 2nd edition iteration of the d20 rules.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: Right now, the game is up on Kickstarter, with just over two weeks
left to go and just over $500 until it is funded. You can head here for the full details, but the highlights of the benchmarks are $10 for the Player's Handbook PDF, $20 for PDFs of the Player's Handbook and GM's Guide and $55 for both books in PDF and softcover. I'm working off of a raw PDF, with layout mostly in place (no art).

The rules, as mentioned, are Mutants & Masterminds, with Luck Points in place of Hero Points. I'm not going to swear that they function identically to the M&M rules, as I've gotten quite rusty with them, but all of the basics are there, with Toughness Saves handling damage.

The setting, as noted, is post-apocalyptic: In 2011, the Death Seraph - led by Azrael - came to Earth and began unleashing plagues, wiping out humanity. Then the first Neomages came along, and now we're 105 years later, the Apocalypse in full swing, still awaiting Judgment Day to occur. We get a solid, but brisk, overview of the world in the Apocalypse, like how Canada is under a sheet of ice, the United Kingdom has returned to a powerful monarchy and a being known as Enear has taken control of Afghanistan. Technologu and travel have been knocked back quite a ways, although there is a (slow) mail service, as well as working trains.

In addition to humans, the world has now seen Neomages, The Second Unforeseen (when humans and mages mate), Kylen (the mating of humans and seraphs), Stanhopes (a seraph touched bloodline) and Daywalkers (matings of dark powers and light powers). The Neomages are segregated from humans, living in Enclaves, while Seraphs and their ilk live in Realms of Light and the forces of darkness live in Hellholes.

Character creation is point buy, with the M&M/d20 Ability Scores and modifiers, and a 120 point bank. Races are Templates, with humans not only costing nothing to play as, but gaining and additional 14 character points to spend. Each race is detailed, both mechanically and story-wise, including sections on their relations with other races (Daywalkers get hunted, even as good guys, for instance).

Skills only scale up to 12 ranks, but have jettisoned Attack Bonuses and the like in favor of Combat and Defense skills (like Ranged Weapon and Unarmed Combat or Dodge and Parry). While the skill list is pretty big, limiting ranks to 12 does help simplify it a bit.

Rather than Powers, many races can use Magic. Magic is powered by channeling Creation Energy, and the more mystical the race, the more Creation Energy they can channel. Neomages, for instance, can go a step further and hold that energy in for a while before unleashing it. Magic can be addicting, and can be channeled from multiple sources. For instance, you can channel from within, from Enclaves or Hellholes, and even from The High and The Red Dragon (God and The Devil without explicitly calling them the Judeo-Christian God and The Devil). You can also lose control of the power you are channeling, with results ranging from the power fizzling out to exploding, consuming you. There are a LOT of depth in the magic chapter, and this shouldn't be a surprise given the name of the game. I mean, toss "Mage" in the title and you need a meaty magic system. This is that in spades.

Spells are called Conjures and there are well over a hundred conjures, divided up into a general category and elemental categories (of which there are nine), although I did notice some crossover in categories, so I gave up on an accurate count. A table breaks the list down by category before detailing the conjures themselves in alphabetical order. General Conjures include Magic Lock, Invisibility and Quench Fire. Air Conjures include Choke, Weather Control and Thunder Clap. Earth gives you things like Poison, Cure and Cause Disease. Fire encompasses conjures like Rage, Steam and Heat Exhaustion. Metal touches on things like Magnetize, Sharpen and Shatter. Moon gives you Charm, Madness and Sleep. River covers things like Purify Water, Mist and Freeze. Sea gives you conjures such as Ocean's Fury, Control Current and Torrent. Stone includes Strength of Stone, Entrap and Seismic Shock. Finally, Sun covers conjures like Blinding Flash, Haze and Sunray.

Talents are broken up into three types of talents: Standard, Special and Supernatural, costing 1, 2 and 4 points respectively and broken up into categories like Combat, Faith, Fortune, General, Power, Racial, Skill and Supernatural. These are a lot like Feats, and d20 players will see a lot of familiar Talents here. Combat Talents include things like Chokehold, Improved Disarm and Elusive Target. Faith Talents include some goodies like Grace (opponents who fail a save cannot harm you), Conjure Blasphemy (letting you twist conjures in a dark way) and Battle Scripture (using scripture to stun bad guys). Fortune Talents include Leadership, Ultimate Effort and Inspire. General Talents are talents like Ambidexterity, Bully (allowing you to use Strength instead of Charisma for intimidation) and Partner (granting you a second character for back-up). Power Talents are things like Low-Light Vision, Savage Blade Focus (letting you spend Creation Energy to boost blade damage) and Vessels of Light or Darkness, which boost your Creation Energy depending on your ascent or descent into light or darkness. Racial Talents include Darkvision, Mage Speed (spending Creation Energy to move faster) and vampirism. Skill talents cover things like Attractive, Jack-Of-All-Trades and Taunt. Supernatural Talents include Caustic Blood (yes, you can spit your blood and inflict damage), False Aura (shielding you from magical detection) and Regeneration. Unfortunately, a lot of the Supernatural Talents are NPC-only.

I mentioned that ascension or descension a bit ago, and that comes into play with Virtue and Taint, a kind of morality system that can affect multiple things in play. One thing I particularly like is that you gain Virtue by succeeding in saving throws, while you gain Taint by failing Saving Throws. Very effective way of using the mechanics to convey the point. High Virtue can allow you to fend off evil effects and high Taint can ultimately force you into NPC status.

This is also backed by the Allegiance System, with three choices (Light, Dark and Neutral), although reaching the extremes of Virtue or Taint can force an Allegiance change.

Wealth is abstracted into a Wealth score, and Luck Points function a lot like Hero Points from Mutants & Masterminds, allowing you to do things like remove debilitating effects, pick up a talent in a pinch for one use, defend against hostile magic, re-roll dice and more.

The chapter on finishing out your character provides more background information on the different races and where they come from in the world, as well as optional scaling rules for playing characters of different ages (if someone really wants to play a 12 year old and your group doesn't want them having the same number of points to spend as their grown-ups).

The equipment chapter covers everything from tanks to swords to binoculars, but it also covers magical items, including character point costs and purchase target numbers for making Wealth rolls. There is also Mage Metal, which is a magical metal that can be used for a number of weapons, giving mortal types some kind of even footing against Seraphs and demons.

I'm not going to cover combat much. It's d20 combat and it doesn't look like there's a lot of surprises. If you're reading this, you PROBABLY know whether or not you like d20 combat or not, but the gist of it is you roll d20s for everything, with Toughness Saves rather than hit points.

Fiction is interspersed throughout the book, with a full short story in the back called Trading Debts. Since this is the Player's Guide and there is no in-depth discussion of the setting (though there is a lot of information, in various parts), it does a nice job setting the stage, as well as probably giving you some idea as to whether or not Rogue Mage novels would interest you.

WHAT WORKS: Here's the thing - I am not a big d20 fan. However, there have been some games that tweak it really, really well. I thought Know Your Role/Wild World Wrestling did and I thought Star Wars Saga Edition did. Rogue Mage does a very fine job of focusing the Mutants & Masterminds version on a specific power level, capping the skills to keep them from exploding into wild ranges and so on. The magic system has a lot of bells and whistles, but I mean that in a good way, given the setting. I like abstracted Wealth as I hate bean counting, so that's a plus, and the Virtue and Taint system is handled very well.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: My biggest gripes are organization and capitalization. Now, it may be a stylistic thing, but it sure would help me if the racial names were capitalized in the text. Also, I would have preferred the Talents section coming before the Magic section...seems like an odd organizational choice to me. Personally, I would probably have also combined the Secondary Touches chapter with Chapter One, but most of that is just nit-picky.

CONCLUSION: If anything, I just wanted More...which makes sense, as I am primarily a GM and this is the Player's Handbook. It also speaks well of the information in the book that I am genuinely interested as to what's in the GM's book. I can't say I wouldn't be more excited if this used a different system than a modified version of the Mutants & Masterminds iteration of d20, but they have done a really good job of modifying the system to fit what they are trying to emulate rather than just bolting it onto the existing framework. That's something I can certainly appreciate and I would be willing to give this version of d20 a shot as written. In my opinion, Rogue Mage is shaping up to be a very fine project with a lot of time and care going into it (and with the first credited playtest noted in the book as being in 2008, I should hope there has been). There's lots to like here, and Mutants & Masterminds has a track record of being particularly smooth among the d20 family, so the base is strong and tested even before the Rogue Mage team got to it.

VIP Wrestling: "Legendary" Rock Vargas and "Walking Tall" Floyd Rogers

A while back I reviewed the Wild World Wrestling game, and being a wrestling fan, decided to add some stuff to it, namely some write-ups for a promotion (although, if you feel so inclined, you can certainly use these guys on your own).

VIP Wrestling is a small promotion largely controlled by "The Legendary" Rock Vargas, leader of the VIP Elite. Vargas is a wily veteran who isn't afraid to use any tactic to get ahead, often using his influence and resources to stack the odds against his opponents before the match, and using brutal foreign objects like "The Spike" over the course of the match. This is incredibly frustrating to many observers, because Vargas is a savvy, intelligent wrestler who probably doesn't need to resort to these vile tactics in most cases. Still, better safe than sorry, he supposes.

Vargas is often joined by his brash, arrogant protege "Bad Boy" Jimmy Lee and their brutal muscle "The Juggernaut" Leonidas Contreras. The VIP Elite often compete in six man and handicap matches, and Vargas is known to use Contreras and Lee as his "gatekeepers" when foes come after him. Vargas' attitude that he, and he alone, determines what comprises the "Elite" of pro wrestling has a way of turning off the fans as well as other wrestlers...when they're not trying to impress him.

Vargas often ensures that referees look the other way when he's driving "The Spike" into his opponent's head (or other body part), which infuriates the fans. He often uses the Rocksault to soften up the opponent, in which he grabs the top rope and flips over them onto the opponent with a rolling senton, generally completing the roll up to his feet. He prefers to finish matches with THE BIG FINISH, however, a flying sunset flip off the top rope, and a holdover from his younger, crowd favorite days.


Name: "Legendary" Rock Vargas
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 219 lbs
Weight Mod: 0
Attitude: Heel
Level: 11
Star Power:

Ath: +2
Brw: 0
Flr: +4
Ins: +3
Pow: 0

Skills
Athletics +2
Deception +5
Knowledge
 Athletic Moves +5
 Brawling Moves
 Flair Moves +5
 Power Moves
 Technical Moves
 Roster
 Specialty Match (Cage Match): +5
 Tag Team
Language
Perception
Performance +4
Presence +2
Special Talent

Gimmick Enhancements
Attribute Improvement (3)
Close Call
(TB) Finisher
Heat Machine
Leverage: Athleticism
(TB) MF/Athletic
MF/Brawling
MF/Flair
MF/Improvised Weapons
(TB) MF/Instinct
Maneuver Training (5)
Mouthpiece
Resources (3)
Ring Sense (Instinct)
Signature Move (2)
Stacking the Deck (2)
Training Background

Flaw
Hated

Signature Move
Rocksault (Athletic): Damage D6 (-1), +1 Damage Die (-2) Exertion (+1), Requires Prone Target (+1), Signature Move (+2), Stunning Self if Missed (+1). Total Modifier: +2

The Spike (Improvised Weapon Keyed to Flair): Damage (2)d6 (-1), Extra Die of Damage (-2), Illegal (+1), Signature Move (+2). Total Modifier: 0

Finisher
The Big Finish (Athletic): Damage (2)d6 (-1), Exertion (+3), Finisher Name (+1), Immediate Pin Attempt on Knockdown (-1), Knockdown (-1), Requires Lifting (+1), Stunning Self if Missed (+1). Total Modifier: +3

Vargas' biggest and baddest enemy is the hard-nosed, no-nonsense common man known as "Walkin' Tall" Floyd Rogers. Rogers, a burly, blond haired badass who takes no prisoners vows to each and every one of his opponents that he will "Walk tall and stomp a mudhole in your ass." Rogers, who has very few friends, is known to carry a big ax handle to the ring and has lost more than one match because he decided to tee off on his opponents. He's not a flashy performer by any stretch, but he riles the crowd up by entering the arena through the general admission entrance, ax handle held high, slapping hands as he goes.

Rogers has learned a trick or two from Vargas over the years, and has gotten better and better at misdirecting the referee so he can hit a HARD LINE DRIVE on his opponent with the ax handle. More and more, he's come to rely on his Stand and Deliver Spinebuster to inflict serious damage on his opponents, and to sometimes even score the pin.

Rogers is a big, strong guy who can take a beating, but he's also pretty one dimensional and he has a tendency to get a little overconfident, knowing the amount of punishment that he can take.


Name: "Walkin' Tall" Floyd Rogers
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 260 lbs
Weight Mod: +2
Attitude: Face
Level: 10
Star Power:

Ath: -1
Brw: +3
Flr: +1
Ins: +1
Pow: +2

Skills
Athletics +3
Deception +2
Knowledge
 Athletic Moves
 Brawling Moves +5
 Flair Moves
 Power Moves +5
 Technical Moves
 Roster +2
 Specialty Match:
 Tag Team
Language
Perception +2
Performance +2
Presence +2
Special Talent

Gimmick Enhancements
Amazing Recuperative Power
Attribute Enhancement (3)
Catch Phrase ("I'm gonna walk tall and stomp a mudhole in your ass!")
Hardcore (2)
Finisher
High Pain Threshold (3)
MF/Brawling
MF/Improvised Weapons
MF/Power
Monster Comeback
No Sell (3)
Potent Strike (Brawler)
Ring Rage
Signature Move
Spectacular Entrance
Toughness

Flaw
Overconfidenct

Signature Move
Stand and Deliver (Spinebuster): Modifiers: 3d6 damage (-5), immediate pin attempt (–1), prone self (+1), requires lifting (+1), Signature Move (+2)
Total Modifier: -2

Finisher
Hard Line Drive (Improvised Weapon Keyed to Brawn): Modifiers: 3d8 damage (–6), exertion: 4 Fatigue (+2), Finisher Name (+1), illegal: automatic DQ (+2), knockdown (–1), stunning (-2).
Total Modifier: -4

Hurricane Irene Flood Relief Bundle

Hey folks...

I'll try to get back to regular reviews and such in the coming week, but I wanted to toss a shout-out regarding this Hurricane Irene Flood Relief bundle, meant to help out the Schoharie County Community Action Program in New York.

There's some great stuff in here from several companies, but I'll say that Killer Thriller, Little Fears Nightmare Edition, Savage Suzerain and Zeeks alone make it WELL worth your $25.

Tommy's Take on Valherjar: The Chosen Slain

This game wasn't even on my radar until a few days ago, when a friend of mine asked about it on a message board and I discovered I had acquired it during the Haiti Bundle. So, since he was asking about it, here I am reviewing it.

Valherjar is a "modern day Ragnarok"...an urban fantasy game with a distinctly Norse bent. It was released in 2004 and has its own game system, as well as a d20/OGL appendix. To set the stage, the cover is a guy standing in an alley wearing a trenchcoat over chain mail, holding a shotgun and a glowing ax.

The PDF is 233 pages, black and white, and pretty bare bones. It IS searchable and copy and paste enabled, at least. It also includes a table of contents and appendix.

PROLOGUE: MORTAL FEARS

This is pretty much intro fluff game fiction. Honestly, I skimmed this...I usually do, unless it's short and sweet or hooks me pretty quickly...and this didn't hook me, and takes up most of seven pages...of double columns of text.

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

The first part of this chapter starts with a crash course in Norse mythology, and hits most of the points I remember. It talks about the major Gods in very loose terms, the Nine Realms, etc. This game focuses on Ragnarok, and the idea that it is drawing close. The Jotun are corrupting basically everything, while the Aesir are moving to end Ragnarok before it can begin, and that's where the Valherjar come on: The Valherjar are valiant warriors plucked from death and given Rune Stones that restore them to life as elite soldier tasked with stopping the Jotun before Ragnarok.

This section talks about Valherjar Year Books that were apparently meant to update the world annually, but I can find no record that they were ever released. There is also a section on inspiration, citing such sources as Frank Miller's 300, Saving Private Ryan and The Crow, as well as a smattering of historical/mythological sources.

We also get a very basic "what is a role-playing game" section, and an overview of the dice used in the AOR system, which are soley six sided dice.

CHAPTER 2: THE VALHERJAR

Here we learn just what the Valherjar are. They are handpicked by "The Valkyrie" from the ranks of the Einherjar, who are deceased mortals that have a profound sense of duty and perserverence.

We get a nice, basic description of how they are picked, with The Valkyrie appearing to the warrior at their death and asking, simply, "Was it enough?" If so, they move on...if not, they get to join the ranks of the Einherjar and, perhaps, the Valherjar.

This chapter also delves into the psychological ramifications of returning as a warrior in Ragnarok, especially since the warriors are drawn from all walks of life and belief systems. There is no hard and fast rule here: Some break...others just suck it up and go on.

There are rules that the Valherjar must follow, and punishments if those rules are not followed. They can range from getting crap assignments to having their status as Valherjar removed.

The Valherjar are divided into six groups, each serving a Patron God, and it is noted that there are common stereotypes among the six groups, related to the temperments of the Patrons. The six Gods are Frigga, Heimdall, Odin, Sif, Thor and Tyr. From there, they are typically placed in roles as either spies or shocktroopers. They are then assigned to squads, where the squad members are linked through their Rune Stones for added effect. Finally, they are ranked by battlefield prestige, making an unofficial chain of command.

We get a rundown of the types of bases the Valherjar will call on, which range from Leyline access points to processing plants where the Valherjar can dispose of bodies in order to keep their cover.

The mechanics of HOW the Valherjar work is explained, starting with the five runestones that animate the body (one in each limb and one in the sternum), plus the 6th Rune Stone implanted in the head. We also get the rundown of their abilities, from Rune Magic to Accelerated Healing to no longer requiring food or drink. However, physical trauma will still kill their mortal form...(their bodies burn up after a day, and they are reborn).

There are nine distinct types of Jotnar, and this chapter provides the common stereotypes tossed about regarding them.

The chapter ends with a section on the psychological ramifications of "dying" and being reborn again...as many Valherjar experience odd dreams and visions during the process (plus, leaving a body around makes keeping secrets a problem).

CHAPTER THREE: GAMING SYSTEM

Valherjar is powered by the AOR Gaming System, and it's a nice little system. In pretty much every roll, you roll 3d6. You pick two of your dice to add to your relevant abilities or attributes, and you take the third die to be your Action Opportunity Roll, which basically dictates how quickly you act.

Characters have eight Attributes: Dexterity, Agility, Strength, Endurance, Intelligence, Perception, Charisma and Will, ranked from 0 to 6 (though scores of 3 are getting into extreme mortal limits, with 4s maxing out mortal limits...5 and 6 are definitely supernatural).

Rolling higher than the Target Number invokes Degrees of Success, with each point being a degree.

Rolling all 6s is a critical success, all 1s is a critical failure.

EVERYTHING uses the same basic mechanic: Combat, Rune Magic, Everything else, that's pretty cool, especially since I like the mechanic. Combat is modified a bit, as you have an Initiative rating, and your AOR die is added to that, rather than used by itself.

Combat does confuse me, and I've re-read the damage system multiple times, but something isn't "clicking": You have wound boxes of different levels, from Light to Moderate to Serious to Critical, and you compare the damage rolled to either Fortitude or Vitality (depending on the type of damage suffered)...and that determines the type of Wound. The problem is that I'm not seeing HOW it's calculated. For instance, if all your Moderate wounds are filled up, you get a Serious wound...but in their examples, the character is taking Moderate wounds without suffering any Light wounds. I haven't dug around on their website to see if there is any clarification, but if it is explained in the book, I am completely missing it.

Rune Magic generates Fatigue, but there was no example supplied, though if you understand the combat damage, you will understand the fatigue.

As characters gain Prestige, their Patron will give them Boons, which are kind of like Rune Magic, but don't incur any fatigue. Prestige can also help you find "black market" items to help you on your missions, which is kinda cool, and makes Prestige valuable.

OH, WAIT...okay...here it is...I had to skip ahead to the Character Creation to see it, but there is a chart there that shows you how to determine Vitality and Fortitude, and sets the thresholds for the types of Wounds taken. So it's an organizational issue, not a true writing issue. Good to see.

A number of optional rules are included if you want more complexity in your combat, and many of these are old standards in other RPGs, such as concealment ratings for weapons, recoil, off-hand fighting, dual wielding and so on. You can keep it fairly light and free flowing, or you can add on complexity until you hit the sweet spot for your group.

CHAPTER FOUR: CHARACTER CREATION

The six "splats" are set up similar to how the World of Darkness splats are set up in their books, although there is no splat to splat fighting like you see in WoD. You have 12 points to Prioritize over four categories (Attributes, Skill, Rune Magic and Prestige), and this provides a recommended spread for each group (you can further customize within that spread, so even if everyone uses the recommended spread, no two characters of the same type have to look alike). It also lists the available Starting Magics and available Booms for each group.

Heimdall's Gjall are more modernized, tend to be jacks-of-all-trades, and keep a close eye on humans.

Tyr's Gleipner tend to be valiant knights who have to be kept away from humanity, or they will be sidelined with trying to save the poor and downtrodden from every little thing, in addition to fighting the war against the Jotnar.

Odin's Grimnir are focused on subterfuge and guile, and will try to maintain the veil of secrecy among the Valherjar no matter what.

Sif's Gyllen tend to be a bit more optimistic than the others, in the sense that they think the Ragnarok prophecy can be altered, rather than everything being doomed and they are just playing their parts.

Frigga's Hlin, on the other hand, think the war can be averted altogether, and a peaceful resolution struck. They're the hippies of the Valherjar.

Thor's Mjolnir (named after his hammer) are ferocious warriors who would just as soon fight in the open as battle in the shadows.

When Prioritizing, each level gives you point spreads to use. For instance, if you put 4 Priority Points on Attributes, you can put two Attributes at 3 and six Attributes at 2 or three at 3, four at 2 and one at 0, or four at 3, one at 2 and three at 1. A final option instead gives you a number of Veteran Points (think experience points) that you can spend to buy up your Attributes (or Skills or Rune Magic) instead.

32 skills - combat and non combat - are included, with the encouragement to use those as a base, if a player wants something new. If you have a Skill of 3, you gain a free Specialization. Specializations are listed for each Skill, with their benefits, to give you some idea.

14 Rune Magic powers are listed, with each having three Foci. For instance, Wrath of Thunder is a straight up damage dealing power. It has three Foci, including Ball Lightning (which inflicts area damage), Chained Lightning (hits multiple targets) and Jolt (inflicts damage through a solid object).

30 Boons are included, for those with a high enough Prestige. These include things like Unbreakable, which provides several rounds of immunity to most damage, once per day. Other Boons include Thrust of the Spear, which allows the hero to turn their fingers into blades and Familiarity, which allows heroes to immediately set those they deal with at ease, improving social interactions with them.

Pages of armor and weapons are included, pretty standard stuff. Given that it is a modern weapon, there are plenty of hand guns, but they don't skimp on the melee weapons, given the Asgardian roots of the game.

CHAPTER FIVE: NARRATING

The first part of this chapter is some good, but basic stuff: The three act structure, ten tips for GMing, and so on. Stuff you've read in a hundred RPG books by now.

It gets a little more useful with about a dozen game-specific plot hooks, and there are some interesting items here: Like a string of youth related crimes, all incredibly violent, and spread out across the map...with a single thread: Each mother visited the same chain of fertility clinics in order to get pregnant. Or an obnoxious celebrity type has targeted certain Jotnar concerns with their rhetoric, and the Aesir are finding this to be decidedly beneficial - so the PCs are dispatched to protect this windbag from assassination...(depending on your political leanings, your PCs could find themselves protecting a Glenn Beck or a Keith Olbermann, for instance).

The book recommends setting up your game in Campaigns, which consist of eight or nine individual Operations, with multiple Campaigns making a Saga.

A helpful section is included on making the best use of the AOR, including some tips on how people can regret just ditching their lowest die into the AOR, especially in non-combat situations.

The chapter concludes with a section on Player Rewards which, somewhat unhelpfully for some people, is basically "Find your own pace and stick with it." The faster you want the PCs to be movers and shakers, the more Veteran Points and Prestige you should give them.

CHAPTER SIX: THE JOTNAR

This amounts to the Bestiary in the game.

Instead of Rune Magic, the Jotnar have Ritual Magic, which isn't just the same thing re-skinned. A few "schools" of magic are provided, with descriptive effects of some sample effects, but - for better or for worse - actual mechanical effects are left completely up to the Narrator's interpretation.

From there, we break down the individual types of Jotnar, most of which have an image to go with the statblock and background.

The Boda are cat-ladies who try to avoid conflict.

The Garm are brutal warriors who are smarter than they look...(they look a little like classical orcs).

Jormun are reptilian creatures, little more than animals.

The Nidhogg are creepy boogeymen.

The Surtur are big, ugly, scare demons who are not meant to be fought by beginning characters at all.

Ymir are second only to Surtur in sheer, horrific strength...and have less restraint that Surtur. In fact, it is the Surtur alone that keep the Ymir from waging open warfare on the world.

Ratatosk are a catch-all for a number of freakish creatures, and an excuse to concoct just about anything and dump them into the front lines of Jotnar combat. Land Sharks, Felhounds, Grendels, Squids...many of these are not much more intelligent than animals, but there are a few...but yeah, these are just an in-game rationale to bust out whatever beast you feel like.

Thokks are kinda like Ratatosk...except they are harvested entirely from the dead, and are almost uniformly unintelligent. The most frightening of these are the Draugr, which are magically corrupted Valherjar...complete with Rune Magic.

The last major listing are for Muspells...who are mortals that have joined the Jotnar and have been given power similar to the Rune Magics employed by the Valherjar!

A basic statblock is also provided for generic thugs.

CHAPTER 7: OGL APPENDIX

You can tell this came out in 2004...the obligatory d20 tie-in. Unnecessary, really, since the game is perfectly fine without it, but at least it's an appendix and not dominating the book. Counting the OGL license, it is a full 35 pages, with Feats, Powers and Jotnar. The six splats are given the full character class treatment, and Prestige is now tied to class level.

That's all the space I'm devoting to the appendix. I don't know if it's top quality conversion work or not...I did d20 for a while, and I didn't care for it (although Star Wars Saga Edition is the tremendous exception to that rule). Just know that the option is there in the book, but it's just that, an option.

CHAPTER 8: QUICK REFERENCE

It starts off with a glossary and moves to the index, which seems fairly comprehensive. A list of Norse runes with names, pictures and meanings are included as well. Several quick reference sheets are included, covering just about everything except Boons for some reason.

The book ends with an NPC sheet followed by a (non-d20) character sheet.

THOUGHTS

The first two chapters of the book were hard to get through. WAY too much in-character fluff. I found it hard to read. From character creation on, it was a breeze. I don't mind in-character fluff, but we're talking in-character quotes about topics taking up a page, while the topic itself is a paragraph. It was patently ridiculous. After that, my only real complaint was the chart for determining damage being in Chapter four, while the combat rules were in Chapter three, and there was no indication that you needed to skip ahead to see the chart.

I was concerned with the bestiary...until I saw the two categories designed to give you free reign to do with as you will, basically. Frankly, the stat blocks look simple enough that I could mine old D&D bestiaries for fodder with minimal problems. That's always cool.

I really like the core mechanic of rolling three dice and picking one for speed and two for effect. It seems like I've seen a mechanic like that somewhere, but I can't place it. Normally, I would complain about the size of the skill list, but for some reason it doesn't feel too excessive. I also love that the game has a built in "This is why you're a team" bit, so everyone can play their chosen character type, whatever it is, and then you just say "And the Aesir bonded you together". If anyone decides to be a game wrecker? In-game punishment from the Gods.

The plot seeds in the Narration chapter show a surprising amount of depth in the types of Operations that can be played, and I'm honestly a little sad that the company apparently died after this book came out, because none of the promised support materialized, though their website is still up with character sheets and a preview of the game system (taken directly from the book).

It's a pretty cool little game, that probably deserved more attention, and a better editor on the first two chapters. I'm not HUGELY into Norse mythology, but I do like the concept of "...and then you found out that Ragnarok is real, and these guys want you to help try to stop it".

Recommended, even if there are some organizational issues.