Ever since I was little, I mean really little, I have enjoyed "The Wizard of Oz". I can recall being about 4 or so and being frightened of the flying monkeys, the Winkies and of course the Wicked Witch. I also remember we had this old copy of the Wizard of Oz book in the house and I remembered how different it was than the movie.
Oz is a fascinating place really, and I was amazed the first time I learned how much of it was there beyond Dorothy and her friends. I learned about names like Mombi and Ozma. I will admit I have always wanted to put a "pumpkin head" in my games largely in part due to "Journey Back to Oz". In my WitchCraft games we also used to call witch hunters "Dorothies".
I think Oz is a bit under rated to be honest. It's not the drug referenced lands of Alice or even the purely fantasy of Peter Pan, it is, in a way, pragmatically American. But it is fertile land as well. It gave us "The Wiz" and "Tin Man" and of course, "Wicked".
So I was thrilled when I heard of F. Douglas Wall's Adventures in Oz RPG.
It is, like the literary Oz, a great game for the younger set. The rules are fast, simple to learn and you can be up and playing in no time at all. They game is also really, really fun. If you never play it, the book offers a good resource to using Oz in your own games.
The game is simple, fast and fun.
If you have kids and want to introduce them to the world of Role-playing then this is a great bet. Just like Oz you get a fantastic land that is kid friendly with characters we all know (or at least, mostly know) and like Oz there is a lot more to this game than seen at first glance.
This is also a great game for adults. I would recomend a game of Oz as a palette cleanser. There are no Tolkien dwarves or elves in this game, but plent of Muchkins, Winkies and Gilikins. There is magic, but it's not the same as all the other games you have played. Plus it is rules lite so Narators and players can get up to speed fast.
All in all this is a great game and worth picking up.
Nice to see that it doesn't look like the modern trend of taking a old property and making it 'darker' has taken hold of this little slice of Oz. Could find.
ReplyDeleteI try to keep it as true to the original source as possible, but once it's in your hands it becomes your game. I do have some suggestions on making things darker, or more serious but it's not required.
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