The Dark Eye always attracted me as a sort of darker fantasy RPG. A game where Mirkwood is replaced by the Black Forest.
I picked the 2nd Printing of the English edition at my local game auction. I grabbed the core rules and a bunch of add-ons that I suspect came from Kickstarter. There is a lot, and it all looks so good. There is even a basic QuickStart.
Hardcover & PDF. 414 pages. Full-color cover and interior art (and all of it is gorgeous).
For the purposes of this review, I am considering both my hardcover version and the PDF from DriveThruRPG.
There is so much about this book and game that I love. Before I go into my deep dive I want to say that this game is wonderfully crunchy; this is not a rules-light game. BUT, and I can't stress this enough, it works so well here. This easily could have come across as an artifact of the mid-80s with some early 2000s notions added on, but it doesn't. It actually all holds together rather well. I can well imagine that this is what D&D would have been like if instead of the wilds of Wisconsin it grew up in the wilds of Germany. In both cases, the beer and brats would have been good. The adventuring world, Aventuria (and I will be discussing that more), is a dark place but the characters seem lighter for it. It is a nice antidote for the "Grimdark" worlds where the characters are equally grim.
Chapter 1: Introduction
This chapter gives us the basics of the game including what an RPGs are. We also get some background on the adventuring land of Aventuria including the lands of Middenrealm and surrounding lands. There is a nice map too. We get a brief on all the gods and demigods and even the five major dragons of the world.
Chapter 2: Basic Rules
Covers what it says, basic rules. The game mostly uses d6s and d20s. There are eight attributes; Courage (Cou), Sagacity (Sag), Intuition (Int), Charisma (Cha), Dexterity (Dex), Agility (Agl), Constitution (Con), and Strength (Con). Remember I said it was wonderfully crunchy. Attribute checks are rolled on a 1d20, rolling under their score. Pretty easy. There are modifiers to these rolls, as expected. A roll of "1" is a success, and "20" is a botch. If a modifier ever brings an attribute below "1" then it can't be attempted. This chapter also covers the basics of Skill checks and combat.
There are also various Conditions, like confusion, pain, paralysis and so on that also modify various rolls and even combat and movement.
I think this great to have all of this up front since it helps with the Character Creation section next.
Chapter 3: Hero Creation
This chapter details character creation. There are 15 steps outlined. Sounds like a lot, but character creation is quite detailed. It is a 4-page character sheet after all. There are many human cultures that provide some roleplaying differences and some mechanical ones. Additionally, there are Elven and Dwarven cultures too. By Step 5 we are getting to allocating points to our Attributes. Going pretty fast so far. This is a point-buy system and like many modern RPGs you can set caps on attributes and the total number of points. You can choose a Profession (detailed in Chapter 6), as well as choosing Advantages and Disadvantages. You can then modify abilities, calculate combat techniques, choose any special abilities, calculate your derived characteristics, buy equipment, choose your starting age and name.
There are some sample characters given and some details of how they were made. With all these cultures, professions, advantages, and disadvantages you can make a wide variety of characters.
I created one for a Character Creation Challenge. The process was long but really fun. I was reminded of both factors while working on Larina below.
Make no mistake here. Character creation takes a long time. There is a lot going on here. While there are no classes, even with the aid of professions character creation will take up a good part of Session 0.
Chapter 4: Races
This gets into detail on the races available to us. In addition to the Humans, Elves, and Dwarves we have met there are also Half-Elves (who use elf or human culture). They seem to conform to pretty much what you would expect them to. The attraction of this game though is again, the deep lore and connection to the setting. These are not Tolkien elves and dwarves, nor are they Forgotten Realms, Skyrim, or Pathfinder ones. They are, on the surface, familiar and also very much their own thing.
Chapter 5: Cultures
Cultures are the more important aspect of your character's background. So there is more on culture than on race. The cultures are highly detailed and have some Earth analogues, but not exact copies which is nice. There is a good overview on Wikipedia.
These are the "not classes" of The Dark Eye. And there are a lot of them here. They are divided into three types: Mundane, Magical, and Blessed.
Mundanes include Bard, Courtier, Gladiator, Guard, Healer, Hunter, Knight, Mercenary, Merchant, Performer, Rogue, Sailor, Spy, Tribal Warrior, and Warrior.
Magical professions are: Spellweaver, Wyldrunner, Cat Witch, Raven Witch, Toad Witch (three witches!), Black Mage, Gray Mage, Guildless Mage, and White Mage.
Blessed professions are your cleric and religious types. They are: Blessed One of Boron, Blessed One of Hesinde, Blessed One of Peraine, Blessed One of Phex, Blessed One of Praios, and Blessed One of Rondra. Or, the various gods of the land, but not all of them.
Chapter 7: Advantages and Disadvantages
This covers the same lists found in character creation, but much more detail.
I am a huge fan of Advantages and Disadvantages. We used them all the time in Unisystem and became a great mechanic. I would love to see them ported over to D&D in someway. But I guess modern D&D has feats, so there is that. These are great here and hit all the ones I expect to see.
Chapter 8: Skills and Chapter 9: Combat
Both chapters deal with how to run skills, non-combat, and combat, respectively. Chapter 8, like Chapter 7, provides more detail than what was presented in Character Creation, Chapter 3.
Chapter 10: Magic
My favorite part of any fantasy RPG is Magic. This one is no exception. In the Dark Eye we have two basic methods of controlling arcane power, Spellcasting and Rituals.
Now various spell-casting checks rely on different combinations of attributes, so no one mage is going to be great at everything unless all their attribute are high. Point-buy mostly assures this won't happen. Magic is a highly detailed affair, as to be expected. So one magic-using class is certainly not like the other.
There are rules for traditions, artifacts, illusions. Just tons of details here. It is certainly one of the most robust magic systems I have seen in a while. Even elves have a complete different set of magics.
And of course, there are spell listings.
Chapter 11: Works of the Gods
This is similar to the Magic chapter, but for the Blessed Ones. The magic here has different mechanics as to be expected really. While the "Spells" are largely similar format (for ease of reading) they feel very different.
Chapter 12: Detailed Rules
Covers all sorts of other rules. Healing, disease, poisons, heat and cold, and gaining experience. Also how Arcane Energy and Karma are replenished.
Chapter 13: Bestiary
My next favorite chapter after Magic is usually this one, and it's great. We get all sorts of demons, elementals, animals, and familiars listed here. There is obviously room for much more. The monsters are built like characters, so they have similar stat blocks.
Chapter 14: Equipment
All the gear your characters will need.
Chapter 15: Game Tips
Both tips for the Players and the GMs. Kudos to them showing apples as the game snack.
Appendix
This includes a checklist for optional rules (with page numbers), common abbreviations, and tables.
There is just SO MUCH with this game.
I am overjoyed AND overwhelmed with all the options. I can easily see why this game is so popular here and in Germany. It is a game I would love to do more with. There is just so much material to be had, both to buy and for free. There is even a Community Content section for fan-produced works.
I could spend another year with it and still be finding something new. My only regret is not having anyone I can play this one with. Well. I suppose I will mine it for ideas.
Larina Nix for the Dark Eye
A fantasy RPG with a dedicated witch class? Of course, I am going to try to build Larina here. I am opting to go with an older and more powerful version of her here with the Legendary experience level. It gives me a good idea of what progression is like in this game.
Female Human Middenrealmer Cat Witch
COU 14
SGC 15
INT 16
CHA 18
DEX 10
AGI 12
CON 13
STR 9
Life Points 34
Arcane Energy 45
Karma -
Spirit 2
Toughness 1
Dodge 6
Initiative 13+1d6
Fate Points 3
Social Standing 2 (Free)
Experience Level: Legendary (2,100 AP)
Advantages
Spellcaster, Good Looks (II), Increased Arcane Energy (VII), Increased Life Points (III), Socially Adaptable, Rich (VI)
Disadvantages
Bad Habit (Bites Nails), Annoyed by Minor Spirits, Afraid of Fire (I), Negative Trait (Obsessed with Magic)
Special Abilities
Tradition (Witch), Language & Literacy, Flying Balm, Connection to Familiar, Forbidden Portals
Languages
Cyclopean, Alaani, Alaani Script, Middenrealmer (native)
Skills
Physical: Body Control 4, Climbing 4, Dancing 12, Flying 12, Perception 12, Singing 14, Stealth
Social: Disguise 3, Empathy 12, Etiquette 5, Fast-Talk 4, Intimidate 6, Seduction 14
Nature: Animal Lore 6, Plant Lore 12, Survival 4
Knowledge: Astronomy 15, Magical Lore 20, Math 14, Myths & Legends 12, Religions 12
Craft: Alchemy 12, Artistic Ability 12, Clothworking 1, Metalworking 1, Music 12, Prepare Food 6, Treat Disease 6, Treat Soul 6, Treat Wounds 6, Woodworking 1
Combat Techniques
Not Larina, but really close. p 345
Brawling 7, Daggers 7 (melee) 6 (ranged)
Familiar
"Wattebausch" (Cat)
SA: First Among Equals
Spells
Cat Eyes 6
Harmless Shape 5
Fighting Stick 4
Odem 4
Gaze into the Mind 6
Satvarian's Splendor 5
Witch's Bile 4
Witch's Claws 4
Analyze Arcane 6
Corpofesso 4
Motoricus 4
Transversalis 6
Rituals
Call Djinn
Cantrips
Lucky Fingers
Rainbow Eyes
Age: 37
Birthday: Travia 25
Social Status: Free
Hair: Red
Eyes: Blue
Height: 5'4"
I like this version quite a lot. For role-playing ideas, I based this one largely on the version of her I ran over last summer in Blue Rose.
Character creation is best done with the people you are going to game with. Not because the characters are mechanically tied to each other, but rather it is all too easy to make a character that is great at one thing and terrible at all others. Larina here is a great magic character and a very good (maybe even great) social character. When it comes to combat, though, she is rather terrible. She is going to have to rely on her charms to get through. But that is fine really, The Dark Eye is not a combat-focused game. Oh, you can, no doubt, but there is so much more here.
I spent about 500 AP on skills alone and about that on Spells and Rituals. I have a handful left, but I rounded down to keep my math in check. I didn't buy any equipment or weapons other than a dagger and a broom.
Who Should Play This Game?
This game may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it is perfect for some groups.
For me, I love it. The game is amazing, really, and it looks great. Production-wise, it can go toe-to-toe with D&D 5e. It is deep, gorgeous, and there is history here. I am so disappointed that more people don't play it, and I am more disappointed that *I* don't get to play it more.
So, who should play this game? Everyone. Everyone should try this game. Under the caveat that you should try it with a Game Master who knows the game well and can help speed you along some of the crunchier bits.
Could this Game Replace D&D?
That depends. It has everything to play the same sorts of games that people playing D&D want. In fact while going through it all I can't help but think that Strixhaven would fare better under the rules for The Dark Eye. I have also already taken the adventure Witch's Dance and ported it over to D&D/OSR. While power levels are different, with characters in The Dark Eye scaled down from their D&D counterparts.
In it's home country of Germany, Das Schwarze Auge has already replaced D&D for many and is the "generic" for Fantasy RPGs, much like saying D&D is here.
The setting is deep and rich. The art is gorgeous. The customization options for characters is outstanding. The only thing holding it back is how crunchy it is. Figuring out skills was like dealing with AD&D 1st Ed proficiency bonuses. Yes, it got a lot easier as you went on. Same with spells. But that initial learning curve will be more than many will want to do.
In any case, it is still an excellent game. I wish it got more love here in the States.
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