Showing posts with label Fantasy Fridays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fantasy Fridays. Show all posts

Friday, July 18, 2025

Fantasy Fridays: Atlantis The Second Age

Atlantis: The Second Age Khepera Publishing Edition
 Today's game is not something I am proposing as a D&D replacement, which is interesting given the game and the history of the games that led up to it. I was thinking about it after going through the Barbarians of Lemuria RPG a bit ago. These two games, though, are a good addition to your current Fantasy games. And maybe, for the right table, it is the game they need.

Atlantis: The Second Age

Morrigan Press Edition, 2005, 411 pages
Khepera Publishing Edition, 2014, 368 pages

Atlantis: The Second Age, both versions, is the spiritual successor of the classic Atlantean Trilogy and Talislanta by Bard Games, which, of course, were developed after the Complete Adventurer, Spellcaster, and Alchemist books.  Those books were written to be used with "any fantasy role-playing game," but the obvious choice was AD&D 1st Edition. 

The book is titled “Atlantis, the Second Age,” so it is Atlantis, after the Flood. A bit odd, but I’ll go with it. Plenty of information on the world, and despite the name, you could run it as a pre-flood/pre-sinking Atlantean empire. Tons of new races, spells, and magic, all pulled from the old Bard Games books and a variant of Talislanta’s rules. If you've played Talislanta before, you'll feel right at home especially since this is a spiritual descendant. 

The game uses the Omni System for the 2005 edition and the Omega System for the 2014 edition. I'll get to the Omni System after a bit, but both are very similar to each other. The systems are similar to True20, and can be used in conjunction with True20 with some adjustments. Well. Some radical adjustments, but it can be done. For a bit in 2005 I tried a short Atlantis based game using True20, it worked out well. 

The 2005 edition was originally published by Morrigan Press and is the one I was most familiar with. Though here on out I'll focus mostly on the 2005 Morrigan Press version, with bits from the Khepera Edition as they come up. Khepera Publishing, which is Jerry D. Grayson, published the revised and updated edition in 2014. Both editions are now published by Khepera Publishing. 

Atlantis

Let’s start with the world, because that’s the real star here. This is mythic prehistory, a time before the oceans swallowed everything, when man fought serpent-men and sorcerers whispered to gods that had no names.  These are set in the Atlantean Age world, which is similar to the Hyborian Age, but maybe a bit before it. It has a solid Conan-esque feel to it. Except there are a lot of non-human species here. 

Think Conan, but written by Clark Ashton Smith and Michael Moorcock and published in Heavy Metal.

What I like about this game is the Greco-Egyptian feel to this world. Obviously, this is due to the stories and tales of Atlantis. It also feels like a world out of mythology. If you never play this game, the background is something I keep coming back to time and again. I recall reading the Morrigan Press edition while holding my oldest son when he was a baby.  The Khepera edition is an improvement over the Morrigan Press edition, but both are great. There are enough differences between the games to warrant discussing them as different games, but enough similarities that I am keeping them together. The setting remains the same, and the basics of the rules are sufficiently similar.

Atlantis The Second Age by Morrigan Press, 2005
Background

The game begins with a background familiar to many who have played D&D or read any of the Appendix N books. It is a Mythic Age before recorded history in a world that looks like ours. As I mentioned above it has a solid Conan/Pulp feel to it. Ophidians are the bad guys at the start of this and can be an ongoing threat. I also can't help but get a little Edgar Rice Burroughs / Mars feel from this. Lots of different species/races all living on the same planet. It feels like a Conan game, only with more Greco-Egyptian elements.

The 2005 Morrigan Press version has more background on the geography of the world, a little more than half the book to be honest. For this reason, it makes it a good buy if you want to play in this Atlantean world. The 2014 Khepera version has more historical background and a good timeline of events. 

The games are set up in similar fashions. Choose your background, race/species, and then select either a profession with some skills (Morrigan) or a set of skills with a profession (Khepera). Both get you the same places in the end. If you are familiar with the old Arcanum books, then you know what sorts of "classes" and species you have choices of.  While there are professions/classes of sorts, it is skills that really define what your character can do. 

The species, in particular the Andaman, are particularly fun. The Ahl-At-Rab make for a very playable Lizard Man species and this might even be the origins of my Saurian-Ophidian war in my current games. Feels right even if I can't fully recall it.  An aside: This is one of the main reasons I enjoy revisiting these older games; it's the memories they stir up in me. 

Of note. The 2005 Morrigan Press edition does have Elves and Dwarves. The 2014 Khepera Publishing one drops them in favor of focusing more on the unique species of the lines and adding the "First Born" the Djinn. All of these can be ported over to your favorite D&D-like with little effort. 

The Khepera Publishing version has their "Walk Life Paths," which help define who your character is since you are already starting out as a hero among normal humans. It is quite interesting to be honest, and easily adaptable to pretty much any game. 

Magic

While there are magical professions, there are also magical traditions. Witchcraft is one, as are shamans and practitioners of the Dark Arts. Both games have you build your spells based on the different Modes of spellcraft, and some traditions are better and worse at some modes than others. It this sounds a little like Mage and their spheres then you have the right idea, though it is not as complicated as that. 

It can be a dynamic system, and there are some example spells to get you going.

Omni & Omega Systems

The system for each is similar. Close enough that broad strokes will suffice. Both are d20-based systems. Roll a d20 add modifiers from abilities and skills, look for a target number. I mentioned they are both very similar to True20 in this respect since all you need really is a single d20. 

The Omega system has characters that are slightly more powerful than a standard normal person. So more powerful than say a 1st level AD&D character, but maybe not as powerful as a 1st level D&D 5e character. The Omega system also features a lifepath system that helps to flesh out a character's background, providing them with a history and motivations from the outset. This also informs how your character moves forward, or maybe a better phrasing is how they could possibly move forward since the options are still up to the player.

Both systems, though, are easy to pick up. Morrigan Press still sells the Omni System as a separate generic system. 

Larina Nix for Atlantis: The Second Age

A dedicated witch tradition and a funky magic system? You know I am going to try that out. Though stating up Larina for an Atlantean game is really not a stretch. Back in college, in the last days of AD&D 1st ed, I ran an off-and-on "Atlantean" campaign. I would later supplement the lore with bits from the Talislanta RPG that was released later (90s). It was largely divorced from my high school game, except at two points. First, my necromancer "Big Bad" Magnus was there before he turned completely evil.  It was in a sense his big origin story. Additionally, the "very first" incarnation of Larina was also there. While her first version was my AD&D 1st ed version, I was coming up with the idea that she was reincarnated many times, and her first incarnation was a priestess or witch who died when Atlantis sank below the waves. I do not recall if I ever had Magnus and Larina meet in Atlantis. Nor even if I ever had planned them to meet. Magnus was always more an enemy of the Werpers and the occasional ally of my assassin. Magnus and Larina knew of each other in AD&D and beyond, but she avoided him. 

So yeah, I really just took a lot of late 70s Atlantic Lore about psychic powers, energy crystals, an episode of In Search Of, a cheesy documentary I had watched in the early 80s, and the Doctor Who episode The Time Monster. A heady brew to be sure.  The point is, if there was questionable scholarship about any sort of occult topic, I was going to try and add it to my games and somehow, somewhere, one of my witches was going to be there. 

Larina in Atlantis

Working through the character creation was a lot of fun and really shows where the  2014 Khepera edition grew. It also highlighted the similarities and the differences of the two systems. To be fair the differences are subtle and you could play either system and switch to the other with only a few problems. The differences are akin to Basic D&D and Advanced D&D 1st ed. My opinion that both games would work well together still stands. Each has something to offer the other. 

I don't remember everything about Atlantean Larina. I knew she was not an Atlantean native. I was using my own experience of going away to college to say she had also left her home to study magic at Atlantis. So I kept that bit and said she comes from Alba (England/Scotland). As I was generating her stats I opted to have her at age 25 for the 2014 Khepera edition and 35 for the 2005 Morrigan Press edition. I used 35 because that is how old I was when I originally created her stats for the Morrigan Press edition. I do remember she was in Atlantis when it finally sank beneath the sea, and she died with everyone else. Hey, death is a part of the life-death-rebirth cycle, and no one knows that better in my worlds than witches. 

I am taking scans of her sheets to show what they look like. I particularly like the 2014 Khepera version. It is colorful and there are page numbers on the sheet to help find where the rules for that section are. That is a rather nice touch. Click to see larger.

Khepera Publishing (2014), Larina age 25

Larina - Atlantis the Second Age (2014) Larina - Atlantis the Second Age (2014) Larina - Atlantis the Second Age (2014)

Morrigan Press (2005), Larina age 35

Larina - Atlantis the Second Age (2005) Larina - Atlantis the Second Age (2005)

I am rather happy with these. I have filled out everything, but you certainly can get the idea. She would be a good witch in this game. I am going to say in the 10 years she has been in Atlantis, she has picked up more skills and the Astrology and High Sorcery traditions of magic work. This is a subtle nod to the crazy 70s and 80s "documentaries" I watch on Atlantis, the Bermuda Triangle, and related topics. 

Given the image I created (thank you, Hero Forge!) I think that the Orichalcum pentagram she is carrying must be important. Maybe a quest for a different incarnation of Larina.

Who Should Play This Game?

There is not much here that can't be found in other games, really. Nearly every Conan game does something similar, and Wasted Lands does the best job of all. BUT that is not a reason for you not to play. Some fun things are going on in this game. The 210+ pages of geography in the Morrigan Press edition are engaging, and the history and backstory in the Khepera Publishing edition are also great. Together, they create a compelling world. 

The system is easy to learn and flexible enough for most gamers. 

Essentially, I have been using them both, along with my Bard Games Atlantis books and The Arcanum as another campaign world for D&D. This was my campaign world in the last years of the 1980s when I first went off to college. Both Larina and Magnus were prominent NPCs in that campaign. 

No one will leave D&D 5e for this system. But I can see people coming from 3e or even 1st ed to give it a try. 

Khepera Publishing has quite a few products for their version and the Morrigan Press one. I am still a fan of the Atlantis: Bestiary, even if it is full of creatures I have seen many times over. 

Both games are excellent Sword & Sorcery games of the old cloth. They were criminally underrated when they were new, and that is more true now. 

The Morrigan Press edition is largely a Fantasy Heartbreaker, albeit one with a good history and an interesting idea. The Khepera Publishing one elevates into something else above a heartbreaker.

It has been a decade since the last edition of this game came out, and from what I can tell, it is still supported. 

This one would be fun to see an update for, especially if Jerry D. Grayson continues the evolution of the game. In fact, I think we are overdue for an update.

Links

Khepera Publishing


Friday, June 20, 2025

Fantasy Fridays: Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia

Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991)
 While my Fantasy Fridays are overtly about featuring fantasy RPGs other than Dungeons & Dragons, I feel a pretty solid case can be made for this as a different game. The truth is that the 1991 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia is worthy of more love and attention. Well, at least more love and attention by me.

June, after all, has traditionally been my month to celebrate all things Basic-era D&D, and this is a perfect choice. 

Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991)

Edited by Aaron Allston and based on the work of Frank Mentzer, Dave Arneson, and Gary Gygax.

There’s something magical about the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia. It’s not just a book, it’s a time capsule. Released in 1991, this single volume condensed the sprawling BECM,  Basic/Expert/Companion/Master (excluding Immortals, which I'll address later) sets into one massive, 300+ page tome. When the standard was established and continues to be three-volume sets for AD&D/D&D, the Rules Cyclopedia broke the mold, providing everything in one book.

I have already gone on record stating that I didn't pick this up at the time, despite my initial interest in it. I was heavy into AD&D, and as a broke college student, and my drinking spending money was limited. 

Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia

One Book to Rule Them All

Sort of. The Rules Cyclopedia was certainly an ambitious project. Take the well-loved BECMI pentalogy and try to rearrange it into a cohesive whole. By this point, we had already had the Original D&D game, which was reorganized into the Holmes Basic game, which was in turn re-edited into the B/X Moldvay/Cook/Marsh books, and then finally those gave rise to the Mentzer BECMI. There was a lot of play and a lot of history here to try to gather together.  The DNA of all of those works is still visible here.

If you are familiar with Basic D&D in its many forms (Basic, B/X, BECMI) you have four basic human classes: Cleric, Fighter, Magic-user, and Thief, and the three demi-human races (races was still used here, so let's stick with that) Dwarf, Elf, and Halfling. Human classes go to an impressive 36 levels. Demi-humans have level limits, but still have ways to improve with experience. There are a LOT of things characters can do in these 36 levels, too. Neutral Clerics can become Druids, Lawful Fighters can become Paladins, and there is more. Magic-users at 36th level get 81 total spell levels. There is a lot more like this. There is also a Mystic class, sorta like the D&D Monk. 

I also still feel that BECMI and the RC have some of the best high-level play advice in D&D. In truth, there is a lot of great "D&D" advice here that is great for any D&D edition, but obviously the best translation is to AD&D 1st ed. Some of this advice does exist in different wording in the DMG. But without all the High Gygaxian. And better organized. 

The trick here is, of course, not how the rules are the same, but how they are different. A great example is how dragons are handled. There are small, large, and huge sizes for starters. Something we would not see in AD&D until 2nd edition. Plus all sorts of Gemstone dragons which include the rulers of Dragons, Diamond, Pearl, and Opal. (An aside. What if the Dragons were divided like this: Pearl = Chaotic, Opal = Neutral, Diamond =Lawful, Bahamut = Good, Tiamat = Evil?)

Lots of fun monsters here and despite the lack of art (or maybe because of) there is a lot of intersting entries. The entry on Monster spellcasters is uniquely BECMI/RC and something I wish I had adapted more back in my AD&D games. 

The D&D planes are covered, similar to the AD&D planes. But only the inner planes are covered. 

Some of the best bits are cover the D&D Game World, Mystara, and the Known World. Here we see a departure from BECMI, where the game world was called Urt and was a living world. The map from the Expert Set is back for the Known World, which we learn on later maps is just a small section of the world. AND the Known World is Hollow, which was a revelation to me when I first read it. I rather love it. 

Appendix 2 covers conversions to and from AD&D, which is rather fun. 

D&D vs. AD&D

The character sheets are rather plain, to be honest. 

Immortals

I call this one out specifically, because it is one of the main differences between the Basic and Advanced games. In the D&D Rules Cyclopedia, Immortals are discussed, but specific Immortals are rarely mentioned.  Ka, Odin, and Atzanteotl, are mentioned by name and have appeared in other BECMI products over the years.  The conversion notes for D&D to AD&D 2nd Ed in the Cyclopedia gives us this little tidbit:

The Immortals of the D&D system and the deities of the AD&D system should not be converted between the game systems.

They were really set on the whole Immortals ≠ Gods thing. But this works for me since it is possible and even desirable for characters to become immortals. 

The most interesting parts cover the PCs' acquisition of immortality. We would see this again in D&D 4e, though in a different form, the idea is the same. 

Summary

I have not covered this book in detail and certainly not in the detail that it deserves. This is a masterpiece really. 

Larina Nix for D&D Rules Cyclopedia

Larina got her start as a witch in Glantri (the Country) and wanted to move to Glantri City to attend the city's magic school. Of course, this was before I picked up the Glantri Gazetteer. Who knows what I would have done with her had I bought that Gazetteer back then? 

For this I am going to use my "The Witch." While not exactly for the Rule Cyclopedia nor BECMI, but for "Basic-era games" going to level 36. It does work for this and honestly the book was created largely based on Larina as my major play-test character.

Larina by Jeff Dee
"Larina" by Jeff Dee
Larina Nix
36th Level Witch, Classical Tradition
Human Female

Strength: 10 (+0)
Intelligence: 18 (+3)
Wisdom: 18 (+3)
Dexterity: 12 (+0)
Constitution: 12 (+0)
Charisma: 18 (+3) * (+15% XP)

Death Ray or Poison: 2
Magic Wands: 2
Paralysis or Turn to Stone: 2
Dragon Breath: 2
Rod, Staff, or Spell: 2

THAC0: 6
Movement: 120 (40)

Occult Powers
1st level: Familiar ("Cotton Ball" Flying Cat)
Herb Use
7th level: Temporary Magic
13th level: Permanent Magic
19th level: Witch's Blessing
25th level: Ability Bonus
31st level: Timeless Body

Spells
Cantrips: Black Flame, Chill, Dancing Lights, Inflict Minor Wounds, Object Reading, Quick Sleeping
First Level: Bewitch I, Black Fire, Burning Hands, Charm Person, Endure Elements, Fey Sight,  Glamour, Read Languages, Concentration (Ritual)
Second Level: Alter Self, Candle of the Wise, Enhance Familiar, Ghost Touch, Hold Person, Produce Flame, Scare, Suggestion, Calling the Quarters (Ritual)
Third Level: Bestow Curse, Bewitch III, Clairvoyance, Danse Macabre, Dispel Magic, Fly, Scry, Tongues, Imbue Witch Ball (Ritual)
Fourth Level: Analyze Magic, Arcane Eye, Divination, Ethereal Projection, Intangible Cloak of Shadows, Mirror Talk, Phantom Lacerations, Spiritual Dagger, Drawing the Moon (Ritual)
Fifth Level: Bewitch V, Blade Dance, Death Curse, Dream, Endless Sleep, Eternal Charm Person, Hold Person, Primal Scream, Telekinesis
Sixth Level: Anti-magic Shell, Death Blade, Eye Bite, Find the Path, Greater Scry, Mass Agony, Mirror Walk, True Seeing, Legend Lore (Ritual)
Seventh Level: Ball of Sunshine, Breath of the Goddess, Death Aura, Etherealness, Greater Arcane Eye, Insanity, Wave of Mutilation, Widdershins Dance, Vision (Ritual)
Eighth Level: Astral Projection, Bewitch VIII, Damming Stare, Discern Location, Mystic Barrier, Prophesy, Wail of the Banshee, Descent of the Goddess (Ritual), Protection of the Goddess (Ritual)

Immortal Sphere: Energy

This is a good build. This is Larina right before her ascension to Immortality. If I review Wrath of the Immortals, then that is where I will go next.

Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia with Larina

Who Should Play This Game?

Honestly, anyone who has ever played AD&D or played any version of D&D after this should give this a try. The rules are different enough to be a new experience and familiar enough to make it easy to get into. The Race-as-Class will feel odd to most other veterans of D&D, but it is such an important piece of D&D history that everyone should try out. 

The newer Print on Demand version is reasonably priced and easier to read than the previous versions, but it makes for a great choice for people who do not want to pay eBay prices for it. 

Links

The Known World

Print on Demand Review


Friday, June 13, 2025

Fantasy Fridays: Barbarians of Lemuria and Sword & Sorcery Codex

Barbarians of Lemuria
 Returning to Fantasy Fridays this week with a twofer today. I was reading through my list of potential fantasy RPGs to talk about and landed on an old favorite, Barbarians of Lemuria. I had some fun with this game in the past, having covered both the Legendary and Mythic editions.  I wanted to cover the Mythic Edition in more detail today, but when I went back to DriveThruRPG I noticed it was gone! I am not 100% sure why, it was a fun system. The Legendary Edition is still available as are the German and Spanish editions. Since I can read both languages (well, I used to be better at German, and I am learning Spanish), I grabbed both. The Spanish language one looks like the Mythic Edition, but the German language one has some excellent-looking art. 

I did find it with a new cover (more like the German one) over at Studio2Publishing's website.

While reading through these, I also stumbled on the Sword & Sorcery Codex RPG, which uses the same rules, slightly modified, and is based on the Everwhen RPG, which is based on Barbarians of Lemuria. So between all of these games, I am pretty set.

Barbarians of Lemuria

The "first" edition of this game was originally designed to be a game of Lin Carter's "Thongor." The designer, Simon Washburn, even had the game up on his Geocities site and encouraged people to copy it and give it to others for free. This evolved to the "Legendary" Edition, which is still available, stripped of the Thongor references and heavily rewritten. The cover above is for the Mythic Edition. 

The game is what I expected from a fantasy game of mighty barbarians, evil warlocks, sly thieves, and semi-naked women. Very much the stereotype of the Pulp Age of fantasy, I expected it to be.  Except it plays it with an honesty and earnestness that I really want to play a big, dumb barbarian with mighty thews and a giant axe. 

The game is full of sorts of great backgrounds that I could adapt it to any old-school fantasy game with no issues and run with it.  I mean, honestly, look at the cover of the Legendary Edition.  Barbarian standing in a pit surrounded by vaguely eldritch horrors as a tribal shaman gorilla prepares to sacrifice a slave girl.  If you think the next scene is the girl's spilled blood and horrors unleashed over the land, then go play a horror game.  If you think the next scene is that sword cleaving through the bodies of the horrors and the barbarian killing the shaman and saving the girl. Then this is the game you want. The Mythic Edition cover (above) is just as cool only this time the girl looks more capable. Get her out of those chains and she is going to make some wish they had kidnapped something safer, like a tiger.

The system I have to admit took me aback, in a good way.

I had been expecting another OGL-based or D&D-clone, but instead we get a very nice, very simple system.  Character creation is all point-buy, and not dozens of points, but 4.  The real joy here is being able to create a character in minutes and get going. I created several in one go. 

The underlying mechanic is a simple 2d6+mods vs target number of 9.  This makes it very, very similar to Unisystem and also to Spellcraft & Swordplay.  I suppose that if you wanted a more flat game then you could use a d12.  But d6s are great and they give us boons and flaws.  Boons and Flaws are a neat mechanic. In either case you roll 3d6 instead of 2d6.  If you have a boon, drop the lowest d6. If you have a flaw, drop the highest.  Each character gets a boon or two boons and a flaw. As you advance you can add more.

There is plenty for everyone to do in combat since fighting styles can vary.  I appreciate that the emphasis here is on everyone having a chance to be the hero.  Sure, you might be a lowly thief or slave, but you still have something to contribute.

The careers are a nice touch and help give your character some background on what they were or did, or what they can do now.  Frankly, I enjoy how it is all put together.

The art is good, not up to the level one expects from, say, Pathfinder, D&D, or Daggerhaert, but perfect for the tone and the feel of this game.  And I liked it, so that is great for me.

The magic system is very open and reminds me a lot of magic from the time period.  These are sorcerers who gained their power through evil pacts or forbidden knowledge. Or magicians who spent long years with musty tomes. Magic isn't blasty cantrips or wish spells.

Sword & Sorcery Codex
Sword & Sorcery Codex

Barbarians of Lemuria influenced the Everywhen RPG, which in turn influenced Sword & Sorcery Codex. The idea behind Sword & Sorcery Codex was to be able to play at the same table where someone was using a BoL book and another was using Everywhen, and still everyone speak the same language. And honestly I think they succeeded in that.

There is not a lot of difference between the two games. There are some character creation tweaks, and there are some different professions, most notably a witch. But by in large they are same rules wise. where Barbarians of Lemuria has their Lemuria setting, Sword & Sorcery Codex keeps it setting light even to the point of just using humans. This also works well. They do have plenty of optional rules and options like non-human characters and even firearms. 

Both game have good monster lists and there are enough in one game and not the other that you are rewarded for buying both. 

Sword & Sorcery Codex also has the advantage of having a good print-on-demand option. 

The cover for this one is a little "modern." No scantily clad slave girl here. Our mightily thewed barbarian is joined by an equally mighty warrior woman.

The publisher of S&SC, Garnett Elliott, is the same as Everwhen. They have a lot of adventures compatible with both and, by extension, BoL.

German and Spanish Versions

I was bummed that the Mythic Edition was gone from DriveThru, but pleased to see the German and Spanish editions.

Barbarians of Lemuria German Edition Bárbaros de Lemuria

The German edition cover seems closer to D&D, but it is still great and has some fantastic interior art. This is also the cover of the new Mythic Edition. When I saw the art, I was hoping to see a new piece of my ex-girlfriend Methyn Sarr, but not this time. Though the magician art is really cool.

Magier, Hexer, Zauberer

 The Spanish edition is the same as the Mythic edition, I am happy to say. Save for, of course, it is in Spanish. The cover is nearly identical, but has more of an old pulpy paperback. The interior art of the Spanish edition is the same as the English language Mythic edition. 

Methyn Sarr, la Reina Bruja

It is cool to have Methyn Sarr, die Hexenkönigin and la Reina Bruja.

Larina Nix for Barbarians of Lemuria and Sword & Sorcery Codex

These are solid fantasy games and nearly any concept will work in them. But not all. I don't think my "righteous knight in shining armor," Johan, will do well here, nor will my "not at all righteous, but also not really evil" goblin, Nik-Nak, work here either.  No. These games demand a witch.

The stats between the two are very similar and yes you can play a character from one using the rules of the other with no issues. 

Larina Nix (Barbarians of Lemuria)
Larina Nix
(Barbarians of Lemuria)

Attributes
Strength 0
Agility 1
Mind 5
Appeal 4

Combat Abilities
Initiative 2
Melee 0
Ranged 1
Defense 1

Careers
Magician 5
Alchemist 2
Scribe 1
Temptress 1

Advance 2
Arcane 17
Hero 4
Lifeblood 12
Fate 0

Boons
Artistic, Attractive, Beast Friend, Excellent Library, Hard to Kill, Magic of the Sorcerer Kings

Flaws
City Dweller, Distinctive Appearance, Lustful, Missing an Eye, Obsession (Magic)

Weapons
Dagger d6
Staff of the Archwitch d6

Armor
Leather Armor d6-3

Larina Nix (Sword & Sorcery Codex)
Larina Nix (Sword & Sorcery Codex)

Attributes
Strength 0
Agility 1
Mind 5
Appeal 4

Combat Abilities
Initiative 1
Melee 0
Ranged 1
Defense 1

Careers
Witch 6
Scholar 2
Temptress 1

Advance 0
Arcane 16/17
Hero 4
Lifeblood 10
Fate 0

Boons
Attractive, Familiar, Magical Affinity: Autumnal (p. 114), Second Sight

Flaws
Amorous, Haunted, Infamous, Witchmark

Weapons
Dagger d6
Staff d6

Armor
Leather Armor d6-3

In Barbarians of Lemuria, she is a Magician with some levels in Alchemist and Scribe. In Sword & Sorcery Codex, she is a proper witch. Witches in S&SC have some alchemist abilities, so no need to double up there since they don't stack. In both cases, she has a level of Temptress. It is a Pulp Sword & Sorcery world, and have you ever seen a chaste witch in those?

S&SC has fewer Boons/Flaws than BoL, but in a real game, I'd combine both lists. I also had her take more Boons and Flaws in BoL to reflect her growing levels. 

I am happy with her stats in both cases, but a perfect one would be a blend of the two. 

Who Should Play These Games?

With all these varieties and editions of this system out there there is a flavor for every taste. That is, of course, as long as your main meal idea is Pulp Fantasy of the type written about by the likes of Lin Carter, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Robert E. Howard. These are not the races of the world on a fellowship to stop a great evil. These games are action-packed tales at the dawn of time, where one day you are an adventurer warrior, or thief, or pirate, and the next day you are king, and the next day you are back to being a warrior or something else.

These games are all great fun. The grittiness might not appeal to some of Fantasy RPG's newest fans, but who is to say?

Personally, I enjoy these games and would play them more. But I am also happy taking ideas from these games to use elsewhere too. These games cover a lot of the same ground as Hyperborea, so if you like one you will like the other as well. 

The system is fast and intuitive, allowing you to learn and get up to speed quickly. 

Links

Friday, May 23, 2025

Fantasy Fridays: Daggerheart, Part 1

Daggerheart
 I had a plan for today, but I want to put that off till later. Mostly because I was not ready since I was too busy with today's new topic. The new game from Critical Role, Daggerheart, was released just a couple of days ago and I have been doing a deep dive into that.

I picked it up from DriveThruRPG a couple of days ago (Wednesday night) and wanted to run out and get the physical copy from my FLGS, but I was informed that, since it's close to my birthday, I am not allowed to. Fine with me, I also picked up the Demiplane Nexus Corebook so I can use the character builder. 

The core book is gorgeous. I like the art more than the art in the new D&D 5.5 core book. This book/game is certainly going after the New Schoolers who love D&D 5, but wish it had more options. 

In many ways Daggerheart takes the best ideas from a lot of games, including D&D 5.x and even D&D 4 (I'll get into that later) and combines it into a very effective whole. I have not read enough of it to notice differences from the playtest, except for some presentation differences, which I think are an improvement. Oh, and how HP are used. 

The game has shot to Gold status in a matter of 28+ hours, and that is taking into consideration that it is effectively divided between two different versions: PDF only and PDF with Demiplane Nexus access, which has gone to Silver. Not too bad really. 

The PDF comes with the Core book and the cards you use with your character. The cards are a nice gimmick, but to have the PDF is great if your group ends up with say, multiple sorcerers. I can print as many as I need and just slot them into one of my kids' old Pokémon folders. It feels like the old cards we had with D&D 4, but more useful.

The core book is huge, but complete at 415 pages. I already see lots of options for expansions for characters, so that is nice. 

It also features six "Campaign Frames" which are like mini-campaigns, or campaign set-ups to play in. All of them sound fun. Each one has a "pitch," a complexity rating, and some keywords to help describe it. 

  • The Witherwild. A nature deity is attacked and then attacks back with all the power of nature.
  • Five Banners Burning. Rival kingdoms on the brink of all out war.
  • Beast Feast. The Monster Defense System is down and now the characters need to go in and fix it.
  • Age of Umbra. A dying world in shadows. 
  • Motherboard. High tech as magic in a post-apocalyptic world. 
  • Colossus of the Drylands. Giant creatures versus gunslingers in the deserts. (think Attack on Titan or Godzilla meets Boot Hill).
Not all of these are for everyone, but they do all look pretty cool. Of course you can play in a D&D-like world. It does lean more toward High Fantasy and High Magic.

Daggerheart Characters

For amusement's sake I converted, or more aptly, translated some characters from various games that are D&D or D&D adjacent to Daggerheart to see how they might work.

Not everything had a great translation, but honestly, that could also be due more to my inexperience with the system as much as anything.  So let's see some translations.

Larina Nix. My human witch in Basic-era D&D becomes a Loreborne (culture) Human who is a Sorcerer (Primal Origin) with Wizard (School of Knowledge) multiclass. In D&D 3, multiclassing Wizard and Sorcerer doesn't get you much, but here it is a fun approach. I rather like this version, but I would have to play her more.

Johan. My human paladin, all editions, becomes Highborne Human Seraph (Divine Wielder). I actually like this one a lot and if I get a chance to play Daggerheart this might be the character I choose. There is a lot of potential here for play. 

Amaranth. A newer character, she is a Tiefling Warlock. Here is she is Wanderborne Infernis Wizard (School of War). Now it is possible that Sorcerer is a better choice for her, but I had not done a wizard full class yet. 

Roan. This guy is new, he was an NPC satyr bard (who plays the bag-pipes) from the feywild. Here he takes on his "true form" I think and Wildborne Faun Bard (Wordsmith). The wordsmith is more like an occult poet (from Ghosts of Albion) so I really excited to try this guy out as a PC.

Sinéad. My Forgotten Realms half-elf Sorcerer/Bard doesn't drift too far from her origins. In Daggerheart, she is a Seaborne Elf (to reflect her growing up in the Moonshae Isles). She is a Sorcerer (Elemental) with a Bard (Troubadour) multiclass. She feels the same to be honest.

Nik Nak. My goblin warlock (who talks in rhyme) for Pathfinder 2nd edition has the most changes. Here he is still a goblin (wildborne) but now he is a druid (Warden of Renewal). I like the Daggerheart goblin species, but I am not really happy with this class choice. Though I am happy with the druid. 

These are all just based on my readings of the open Beta and just a little over two days of the final rules. I am sure I'll make some tweaks to all these characters. Well, maybe not Johan and Sinéad. I am pretty happy with how they turned out. 

With Critical Role Campaign 3 now over I am pretty certain that Campaign 4, when it kicks off, will be using these rules. I can't imagine they would want to miss the chance to sell the house system. 

I'll continue to read the PDF and play around on Demiplane Nexus. When I get the physical game (it's the only thing I asked for, I don't really need much), I'll revisit this for Part 2. 

Friday, May 16, 2025

Fantasy Fridays: Man, Myth & Magic

Man, Myth, & Magic RPG
Man, Myth & Magic by Herbert "Herbie" Brennan and J. Stephen Peek and published originally byYaquinto Publications in 1982, and now published (in PDF and single softcover formats) by Precis Intermedia.  

I have always been fascinated by this game. The name of course grabbed me for two reasons. There was the whole "Myth and Magic" side to it all which in 1982 was a big draw for me.  There was the magazine and encyclopedia series also called Man, Myth & Magic that dealt with all sorts of occult-related topics.  

I read reviews for it in Dragon Magazine (#80) and White Dwarf (#41) and was actually quite curious about it.  The reviews really ripped into the game, and I needed to know if it was as bad as they made it sound.  Sadly, I never found a copy near me, and a mail-order of $19.00 + tax and shipping and handling made it a little more out of reach when it was new and all I had was a paper route for spending money.

But I was always drawn to historical games. If I could play or run a game and learn something about history at the same time, then it was time well spent. I have enjoyed quite a few, mostly Victorian-era ones, and others I ripped online so much that I promised I wasn't going to rip on them anymore. 

Man, Myth, & Magic sadly belongs to the camp of a historical mishmash, that is to say, it is about as historically accurate as an episode of Xena: Warrior Princess.  Don't get me wrong, I love me some Xena and it is very entertaining in the right frame of mind.  The same is true for this game. Great, in the right frame of mind.  In fact, I think that now, living in a post-Xena world, there is a place for this game that did not exist in 1982.   

Man, Myth, & Magic

For this review, I am going to consider my original boxed set from 1982 (now minus the dice) and the newer PDF versions found on DriveThruRPG published by Precis Intermedia.  In both cases, the material is the same minus some of the extras that came in the boxed set like the dice and a pad of character sheets.

Man, Myth, & Magic

Man, Myth, & Magic was published in a boxed set of three books (same covers), with a pad of character sheets, some maps, and dice.  The PDF combines the three books into one 132 page volume. The original boxed set retailed for $19.00 in 1982 ($55 in today's buying power) and the PDFs sell for $7.95 today.  The books feature color covers and black & white interiors. 

Book 1

Book 1 is 24 pages and covers the "Basic Game" and the game most like the one as originally conceived of by Herbie Brennan.  In this game, the players play gladiators in the time of the Roman Emperors. Which one? That is up to a random dice roll unless of course, the players want something different. 

Who's in charge around here?

It's an interesting idea, but...well there are some problems here. According to the back of the box, it is the Summer of 41 CE. Cool.  But Caligula was assassinated in January of 41 CE.  Tiberius ruled 14 to 37 CE and Nero was Emperor from 54 to 68 CE.  The only Emperor in the Summer of 41 was Claudius. Adding dates in parentheses would have been a nice touch.  Let's not even get into the fact that Cleopatra VII, the last of the Egyptian Pharaohs, had died back in 30 BCE, 71 years before the events of this game, but that looks like her on the cover.  I'll talk more about this later.  In theory you can tun this game from 4000 BCE to 500 (or 1000) CE. 

You begin with your Roman Gladiator and your two percentile d20s and roll up your characteristics.  The characteristics in the Basic Game are Strength, Speed, Skill (not used just yet), Endurance, Intelligence, and Courage. The scores range from 1 to 100.  You add all these up for your Life Points (so 5 to 500), you fall unconscious at 20 or below and dead at 0 or below. 

The Basic rules take your gladiator from start to a bit of combat and adventure with the maxim that the best way to learn is to do.   This is a tactic that the rest of the game uses.  At the end of this, your character is ready for new adventures.

The neat bit, and one I want to revisit, is the idea of reincarnation. That is if your character dies they can be reincarnated. 

Book 2

Book 2 covers the "Advanced Game" and includes 40 pages. Here we learn more about skills, the Power score, and the different Nationalities (10) and Classes associated with each (2-5 each).  All are completely random and no real attempt is made to explain why say an Egyptian Sorcerer, a Gaulish Barbarian, a Roman Gladiator, and a Hibernian Leprechaun would all be part of the same adventuring party.  Ok. That's not entirely true, but the explanation takes some digging. 

Up first is determining your Nationality. Again a random roll gives you African, Briton, Egyptian, Gaul, Greek, Hebrew, Hibernian, Visigoth, Roman, and Oriental. Each at 10% chance.   Within each nationality, there are character classes.  Regardless of how many there is an equal chance for any given class.  Most nationalities have a sort of "fighter" like class and all have merchant.  There are two classes open to women characters only, Wisewoman (African) and Sybil (Greek).  Details are given for all the classes, 20 in total, but not a lot of information.  In most cases only a paragraph here and some more details later on.  This brings up a persistent issue, the rules are a bit scattered everywhere throughout the book. 

Additionally, there are two "Special Categories" of players (not characters) of "Orator" and "Sage" or essentially a storyteller and a record keeper.  Much in the same way Basic D&D has a "Caller."  Not much else is mentioned about these roles however. 

This character is considered to be your first incarnation.  Anytime your character dies, you can then reincarnate.  This allows you to change your nationality, class, and gender and retain a little bit of the Skill from a previous incarnation.  It is an interesting idea, I am not 100% certain though that it works. Knowing gamers I see a situation where players would play a character only to get them to die for a chance at a better character next time. 

There is a fun chart on inheritance that would be fun to port over to other games.  Related there are our ubiquitous tables of equipment.   

Some of the other secondary "Optional" characteristics are also detailed.  These include Agility, Charm, Dexterity, Drinking, and so on.  These are really more akin to "skills." The trouble is that some of these you have to roll higher, some you have to roll lower and others you don't roll at all.  There is no rhyme or reason here. 

Combat rules follow and they remind me a bit of Runequest.  Nothing really special really.  Strength points over 50 can add to your damage, Skill points over 50 can add to your "To hit" chance. Combat, like all the rolls here, start with a basic 50% chance to hit.  The Basic game just has you roll. The Advanced game has you make called shots.  Classes with Combat as their "Prime Ability" can improve their ability to hit even more. All classes can spend Power to also increase their to-hit bonus; 10 points of Power to increase your chance by 1%.  Interestingly armor does not stop you from being hit, it does reduce damage taken.

The goal of the game though is the accumulation of Power.  Power advances your character and can overcome that 50% failure rate.  Power also is the, well, power behind Magic. 

The Magic part of M,M,&M

The last third or so of the book covers all sorts of additional rules.  Some seem tossed in, to be honest. Poisons are covered as are spells.  

Magic, as expected, is given some special attention, though not as much as I was expecting.  Magic is assumed to be real and work, at least part of the time.  Magic is described as "Coincidence," a spell is uttered and something happens whether it caused it or not. "Science," Damascus steel is given an example. The superior technology was seen as magic. "Psychic Phenomena" which not really an explanation at all, likewise "Trance State" and as "Lost Knowledge."  Though no explanation is really given as to how magic works.  

Book 3

The adventures take up Book 3 and is 64 pages.  This book is for the Lore Master (Game Master) only and is also one of the weaker parts of the game.  The Adventures, while interesting, are a bit of a railroad. In order to succeed the players have to hit all the parts in order and then move on to the next adventure.   

The adventures include the following:

  • The Dragon Loose in Rome. Not a dragon really, but a rogue T-Rex.  Not that this makes any more sense, but ok, points for effort.  
  • Apollo's Temple. Emperor Caligula sends the characters to the Temple of Apollo aka Stonehenge.
  • The Witches of Lolag Shlige. The characters then have to go to Ireland (Hibernia) and rescue a child from some witches.
  • The Great Pyramid Revealed. Caligula has issued a death warrant for the characters. They find themselves in the Great Pyramid of Giza.

These adventures are a prelude to the published adventures.   There are some neat ideas here, but the adventures lack something for me. Actually, it lacks a lot of things for me, but I could make some changes to make them work.

There are some encounter tables, but they only cover the areas that the adventures are detailed here. I also have to note there are no monsters here. Just humans. 

One of the bigger criticisms of this game at the time was the then $19.00 price tag, which is about $55 in today's buying power. Now, $20 for a boxed set of three books, character sheets, and dice sounds like a steal. With the PDF at just $7.95, it is a price I think should attract anyone interested in this game. 

The art is in black & white, which is expected and welcome, but there is not a lot of it and some of it is repeated throughout the books.  

Man, Myth, & Magic sometimes feels like two different games, or rather two different ideas merged into one game. I feel that the classic Roman Gladiator/Basic Game was Herbie Brennan's idea and the worldwide game of various nations and types or the Advanced Game was Steve Peek's. Given that Brennan started working on a game called "Arena" which was a Gladitorial RPG. I don't have anything concrete to base this on other than a feeling. 

About Reincarnation

Reincarnation is quite a big deal in this game. This is not a huge surprise given Herbert Brennan's publication history.  His book "The Reincarnation Workbook: A Complete Course in Recalling Past Lives" could work as a guide for this game.  Personally, I would like to use the reincarnation idea to help smooth out some of the issues with different times.  So adventurers from Cleopatra VII's Egypt can then deal with Tiberius and then help in Boudicea's raid on Londinium.   Something similar to the Old Soul quality in Unisystem.  

Somehow, using the idea of the Distant Memory, which, like Old Soul, allows the characters to draw on past life knowledge and skill.  That is easy to do in Unisystem, not so easy to do in D&D like games with very rigidly defined classes. Taking a level in another class might do it. 

Man, Myth & Magic and Man, Myth & Magic
Not the same thing, but great fun

There is an interesting game here but I think the concept of it is greater than the rules as presented actually allow.  It never quite lives up to what the box claims.  Nor is it the abomination that earlier reviews made it out to be.  I think most reviewers balked at the price tag and the fact that the game did not offer anything new; at least not anything that meant going through the rather clunky rules. 

It is most certainly not a historically accurate game. It is historically inspired, to be sure, but not by any means accurate. 

The bottom line is that the game isn't good; in fact, it's rather bad in many respects. That is not to say that someone won't find this game interesting or fun. There are far, far better games out there. The game has some things that I enjoy, but not enough to make me want to play the RPG on a regular basis.  

Larina Nix for Man, Myth & Magic

Given this game's history and other tie-ins, a witch character is absolutely called for. As I have pointed out before in my *D&D games, witches can't use raise dead or resurrection spells, nor can they be used on them; witches can only reincarnate. This works well with Herbie Brennan's own ideas. So I am left sitting here wondering why it has taken me this long to make a witch character, especially one whose backstory (and future story) includes reincarnation. 

Indeed, the connection between Herbie Brennan, this game, and his own interest in the occult makes this character a no-brainer. A lot here works well for Larina, but nothing is perfect for her. There are sorcerers, wise-women, and even the leprechaun looks like fun. 

Larina and Nevez
Larina "Nix" Nichols
Daughter of Lars

Nationality: 
Class: "Witch" (Mystic)
Prime Ability: Intelligence

BASIC
Strength: 45
Speed: 66
Skill: 78
Endurance: 60
Intelligence: 89
Courage: 75
Power: 91
LIFE POINTS: 335

OPTIONAL
Agility: 58
Charm: 15
Determination: 77
Dexterity: 60
Drinking: 22
Devotion: 20 (to the Old Ways)
Hearing: 50
Height: 5'4"

Language: 86% (3) Brittonic (Fluent), Latin (Basic), Saxon (Rudimentary)
Loyalty: 92 (to coven and outcast kin)
Luck: 3
Mental: 23
Read & Write: 92% (Brittonic runes, Latin scripts)
Senses: 45
Sight: 60
Stealth: 60

Swimming: 65
Portage: 40
Throwing: 48
Weight: 122 lbs

City Knowledge: 29 (limited, prefers villages)
Desert Knowledge: 5 (none)
Mountain Knowledge: 52 (hills, sacred sites)
Sea Knowledge: 51 (familiar with coastlines)
Woods Knowledge: 86 (knows herbs, hidden paths, spirits)

Magical/Special Fundamental Failure Rate:  5%/ 21%
First Strike Capacity: 125
Basic To Hit Number: 66
Number of Blows per Combat:  2   Per Round: 1  
Damage Bonus: +2
CMF: +10 when using spells, herbs, or improvised items

Weapons Allowed: Dagger, small blade, staff, sling
Armour Allowed: Leather or cloth robes only (prefers no armor)

Dexterity Figure: 17

Spells

  • Healing - 1 pp = 2 LP
  • Corn Dolly - 5 points of damage
  • Woven Cross (Cross of Brigit) - Restores LP
  • Pentacle - Turn Demons

Who Should Play This Game?

I would say the PDF, at just under $8, makes it worthwhile for the very, very curious. I have my boxed set, and I am happy with it, but my expectations were low, and my curiosity was really high. The PDFs are good, and Precis Intermedia did a great job cleaning them up and getting them out, so that is also a point in favor of the game.

The game itself is only worth about 2 stars.  My curiosity about it and desire to have it pushed it closer to 4 stars.  Ultimately, I will give 3 stars since I don't want to unduly affect Precis Intermedia games' overall rating.  But don't grab this unless you are really curious (which is a good reason) or want to see how not to design a game. 

There is another group that might be interested in this. Anyone who takes Herbie Brennan's ideas of reincarnation and astral projection seriously can use this game as a guide for exploring ideas in his Reincarnation Workbook. Not my thing, but some one will enjoy that aspect of it. 

Still, there is fun to be had with the right group and mindset. 

Links

Friday, May 2, 2025

Fantasy Fridays: The Dark Eye

The Dark Eye
I am concluding Walpurgis Week with the perfect game for both Walpurgis Week and Fantasy Fridays, Germany's own The Dark Eye.

I have known about this game for a while, both The Dark Eye and the original German Das Schwarze Auge. I always wanted to own the original German, having taken German in both high school and college, but not using a language for, well, longer than I care to admit, you lose it. Das tut mir leid.

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.

The Dark Eye - Core Rules

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.

Toad Witch
Chapter 6: Professions

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.

The Dark Eye RPG

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. 

Larina Nix by Agregor
Larina Nix
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

Not Larina, but really close
Not Larina, but really close. p 345
Combat Techniques
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"

The Dark Eye character sheets for Larina

The Dark Eye character sheets for Larina

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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