| Меню сайта |
|
|
 |
| Логово Фонтанщика |
|
|
|
| Правила Постов |
|
|
|
| Категории раздела |
|
Warhammer 40k
[867]
Материалы по вселенной Warhammer 40k
|
|
Warhammer FB
[253]
Материалы по вселенной Warhammer FB
|
|
Другие игры от Games Workshop
[350]
Lord Of The Rings (LOTR), Blood Bowl (BB), Battlefleet Gothic (BG), Epic Armageddon (EA), Inquisitor, Mordheim, Necromunda, The Battle Of Five Armies (TBOFA), Warmaster, Aeronautica Imperialis (AI), Gorkamorka
|
|
WARHAMMER HISTORICAL
[29]
Материалы по WARHAMMER HISTORICAL
|
|
D&D MINIATURES
[61]
Материалы по D&D MINIATURES
|
|
Warmachine
[80]
Материалы Warmachine
|
|
Rackham
[17]
Материалы по Rackham - Confrontation, DOW, Ragnarok
|
|
AT43
[7]
Материалы по AT43
|
|
Infinity
[3]
Материалы по вселенной Infinity
|
|
Военно-историческая миниатюра
[621]
Материалы по В.И.М
|
|
Литература по миниатюризму
[568]
Все остальное по теме
|
|
Прочее по миниатюризму
[266]
Другие производители миниатюр, игровые миры и книги , не попавшие в другие категории
|
|
Игры
[33]
Компьютерные игры
|
|
Софт
[7]
Публикации нужного софта
|
|
Юмор
[1]
Все смешное именем Империи
|
|
Фильмы
[39]
Фильмы всех категорий и жанров. Порно запрещено
|
|
Музыка
[9]
Материалы музыкальных коллекций и альбомов
|
|
Интернет
[1]
Софт для сети
|
|
Мобилки и КПК
[1]
Софт, игры и т.д
|
|
Portable Софт
[1]
Portable Софт онли
|
|
Иконки
[1]
Публикации коллекций иконок
|
|
Картинки
[10]
Обои рабочего стола онли
|
|
Книги и аудио-книги
[41]
Материалы для чтения всех жанров
|
|
Комиксы и журналы
[877]
Комиксы и журналы всех направлений
|
|
|
|
Главная » 2011 » Октябрь » 22 » Legends of Anglerre (OEF) 2011
21:51 Legends of Anglerre (OEF) 2011 |
The Legends of Anglerre RPG (LoA) by Sarah Newton and Chris Birch takes
the Starblazer Adventures iteration of the FATE 3.0 system and adapts it
for the fantasy genre. This game strives to cover multiple subgenres in
the fantasy milieu, with the focus on the Moorcockian swords and
sorcery setting of Anglerre, and the high fantasy Hither Kingdoms. The
source material for this game is drawn from a series of British comics
that appeared in the Starblazer Adventures comic books. References are
made to various characters and events from the comics and can at times
leave the reader a bit in the dark.
The physical book itself is an
impressive tome at just over 380 pages. The cover is full color and
depicts three adventurers posing dramatically in a ruined building. The
interior of the book is predominantly black and white with the sidebars
offset in parchment colored boxed. The artwork is predominantly drawn
from the LoA comics. Art is a very subjective topic and while I do not
care for the style of art in this book, I do applaud the consistency of
the artwork to present a unified vision of the setting of Anglerre.
Characters
In the Legends of Anglerre character creation and system discussions
are intertwined within each chapter. In this review I shall untangle
them and initially deal with character creation. In this game character
creation is a very collaborative process between not only the players
but the GM as well.In many RPGs game play does not begin until the
players gather together with characters typically created separately
from each other. This leads to the clichéd starting scene in a
tavern/bar/other public meeting place and the PCs joining together for
sake of the plot. In LoA actual play begins at the start of character
creation. This facilitates a collaborative process between players and
the game master (GM) and proves advantageous as it allows the players to
have input in the direction of the game and they provide plot ideas and
potential stories for the GM to use. The first step in character
creation is establishing the character’s concept. The basic power level
of each character is determined by the rating of the peak skill they
posses. Each of the power levels (there are three discussed in the book
grants a number of aspects, phases and skill points to create the
character, and beyond these levels of power there is a chapter dedicated
to epic and mythic games later in the book. The number of stunts
affects the refresh rate of fate points a character receives between
sessions. The role of fate points will be discussed in the Game section
below. The next step is to move through the phases of background
creation. The number of phases each character has experienced varies
dependent on their starting power level. Each phase adds depth to the
character by granting aspects (descriptive qualities that are applied to
characters, objects or locations, discussed in more detail later in
this review), and some phases will establish ties to other characters
thereby creating some kind of narrative logic as to why the characters
are helping each other. I have found this method of character creation
to be extremely useful as it drastically cuts down on the brooding loner
archetype, or it compels the player to somehow integrate the character
into the group. The first phase is a general background, describing the
character’s life until adulthood. The second phase is the first legend
(i.e. adventure) the character starred in. In the third phase the ties
between the characters are established by having one player contribute
how their character played a supporting role in another character’s
story from phase two. The fourth and subsequent phases are identical to
the previous phase except the player must choose different characters’
legends to costar in, or add an additional legend. When all phases are
completed each character will have ties to at least one other character
before play even begins.After completing the phase portion, character
creation moves to the more traditional style of character detail:
skills, powers and stunts. Skills in the FATE system are rated using a
ladder that is the core of FATE. The ladder is a number line ranging
from -3 to +8 and each number has an associated adjective, e.g. Mediocre
(+0). The rating of Average (+1) is for a skill that a character
performs regularly and professionally. All skills default to a rating of
Mediocre (+0). The number of skill points available is dependent on the
power level of the game as established by the GM. The maximum rating in
a single skill at character creation is also limited by the power level
of the game ranging from Good (+3) for characters just beginning their
careers, to Superb (+5), highly competent, characters. Raising skill
levels is a simple matter of spending points on a one to one basis. The
only trick is that each skill level must have at least one more skill
than the level above. The book provides some examples of point
distributions to satisfy this skill pyramid. For example, in a lower
power game each character would have 15 skill points, and could spend
them to buy: 1 Good, 3 Fair and 6 Average skills.Skills and powers are
handled identically, with the only difference being skills are mundane
in origin and powers are supernatural. Each skill or power provides
access to stunts which can be selected by any character and provide
situational modifiers to a skill roll. An entire chapter is dedicated to
stunts and provides a list of examples, sorted by skill modified, and
in-depth guidelines for designing stunts. Powers reflect abilities that
exceed normal human capabilities. These skills and their associated
stunts can be used to emulate magical spells, divine powers, or
supernatural abilities of monsters. Like mortal skill stunts, powers are
detailed in a separate chapter. This chapter provides a short list of
special abilities and the grouping of stunts by general theme, e.g.
powers of Nature. Once skills are chosen the only tasks remaining are to
establish the refresh level, by adding up all of the character’s stunts
and subtracting them from the initial refresh level of ten. Each
character begins with a number of fate points equal to their refresh
level.
The LoA also provides options for faster character
generation as well. The minimal preparation method skips the phase
portion. In the on the fly method, players begin with blank character
sheets and fill them in during play. Of these two fast methods I prefer
the on the fly method as it maintains the idea of collaborative creation
of the phased method where the minimal preparation method would result
in the more clichéd band of misfits method of meeting. A final piece of
helpful advice is included in LoA for players that are stuck on creating
a character or for players who enjoy a bit of randomness. There are a
series of lifepath tables covering the major details of a character’s
background. This would be very useful especially for a new player who
could suffer from the paralysis of too much choice.In addition to the
creation of characters LoA allows players and GMs to create other story
elements, e.g. items, vehicles, buildings and nations, using the same
basic method use to create player characters. This is one of the major
strengths of the FATE system and used to great effect in LoA. The types
of items covered range from non magical devices, traps, magic items, to
magical creatures. Each type of item is given a list of improvements
that may be applied. Characters may acquire these items in two ways,
either at character creation or through play. Stunts are used to obtain
these items at character creation, but the stunt does not impart plot
immunity to the items, that can only be obtained through using an aspect
to define the item in addition to the stunt. The creation of special
items are detailed as well with each major item type receiving a
description of how it is to be made. There are other interesting methods
of creating or obtaining these magical items as well. They can be
developed during play through character actions or plot stresses, where a
character using the item to fulfill its purpose can unveil different or
more potent abilities.
System
The Legends of
Anglerre uses the FATE 3.0 system created by Evil Hat Productions. The
FATE system uses a dice pool and target number to determine the success
of actions taken by characters. Unlike the vast majority of other RPGs,
the FATE system is designed to be used with special dice. These dice
were originally used with the FUDGE system, which FATE is based on. The
dice are six sided and have two plus signs, two minus signs and two
blank faces. The dice pool is always made up of four dice and the
operators are added together giving a result between -4 and +4. To this
result is added any bonuses from aspects, skills and stunts the
character can apply. This total is then compared to the difficulty set
by the GM. If the total exceeds the difficulty the character succeeds
and for every point over the difficulty a greater degree of success is
added, which in LoA are called shifts. FUDGE dice are fairly difficult
to obtain as they have not been produced in several years. In LoA a
simple workaround is proposed in rolling d6-d6. This gives a bit of a
flatter probability curve and can lead to more dramatic successes and
failures, which fits the tone of the game quite nicely. All difficulties
are measured on a single scale called the ladder. This scale is both
numeric and descriptive in nature, for example, a character may have a
Good (+3) rating in Discipline. The ladder is also used by the GM to set
difficulty numbers.
The primary way a player can influence the
outcome of the die roll is through the use of aspects. These are
descriptive qualities that are applied to characters, objects or
locations. Typically they describe some permanent (or more rarely,
temporary) feature of a character, object, or location. It is through
aspects that the character acquires and spends fate points. Fate points
are used to apply the bonuses inherent in aspects or supernatural powers
and avoid unwanted complications in the game. In the chapter dedicated
to aspects there is a short list of sample aspects mainly to provide
inspiration for players and GMs. Also included is advice on how to
create aspects that help shape the story the character is involved in,
with several examples of good aspects and how to improve them to include
advantages and disadvantages. LoA also places an interesting twist on
aspects through the use of, future aspects. These aspects represent long
term goals for the characters and can be used to generate a character
plot stress track, which is similar to a general plot stress track.
There are several ways aspects are used in the game: invocation,
invocation for effect, compel and tag. Invoking an aspect is where a
player uses an aspect to gain an advantage, and if ruled applicable by
the GM then the player can spend a fate point and can either choose to
add two to the die roll, or to completely reroll. Invoking for effect
allows a player to make a statement about the game that becomes true,
with beneficial statements costing a fate point to invoke. Compelling an
aspect is where a player, and more typically the GM, uses a character’s
aspect against them. The main outcomes from a compelled aspect are
either limitations to a character’s response or adding complications to a
situation. The exact terms of a compel, like an invocation, can and
should be negotiated between the group so as to avoid blatant abuse. The
character receives a fate point when an aspect is compelled, and can
opt to avoid a compel by spending a fate point. Compels are not entirely
negative as they are used to drive the story and make it more
interesting and since aspects are created by the players these should be
problems they are interested in playing through. This mechanic is an
excellent way of keeping characters involved in the story and making
sure the story remains interesting to the players.
Aspects are
predominantly a permanent part of whatever they are attached to, but
temporary aspects can be created through events in game. The most common
way a temporary aspect is applied is through the use a maneuver, which
is an action that applies an aspect rather than directly hurts the
target. These aspects come in two varieties: fragile and sticky. Fragile
aspects are gained when a maneuver roll gains zero shifts, and the
aspect can be then tagged once and it goes away. A sticky aspect is
applied when the maneuver roll gains shifts and can be tagged without
disappearing. A target of a sticky aspect must perform their own
maneuver to rid themselves of the aspect. Tagging an aspect is a special
type of compel that a character can use without spending a fate
point.Aspects need to be known to a character before they can be tagged
or compelled. The surest way to discover aspects is through assessment.
This typically involves research by the character and after a successful
skill check will allow a character to be able to tag the assessed
aspect when appropriate. A quicker way to discover an aspect is through
guessing, by spending a fate point a guess can be made about an aspect
and if it is reasonably close then it is revealed and tagged.
Declarations split the difference between a guess and assessment as they
allow a player to introduce an entirely new aspect to the scene, by
succeeding on a skill roll.
While aspects define who a character
(or place) is, skills define what they can do. Skills in the FATE system
are the direct measure of a character’s abilities to accomplish various
tasks. The rating of a skill is added directly to the die result to
determine success. In LoA there is a fairly short list (27) of skills,
as each of the skills are fairly broad each one has a set of subsystems,
called trappings, that explain how certain skills apply in specific
situations.Power skills can be subject to different sets of limitations
than mundane skills in LoA. These limitations are presented as being
optional and any or all of them can be applied depending on the
requirements of the setting. This is an excellent design decision as it
allows groups to tailor the workings of magic and will impart different
feels on each campaign, and avoids a pitfall of some generic rules sets
where all of the magic systems feel the same. All of the power skills as
listed have very basic effects, typically taking little time to cast,
affecting one nearby target. In the section dealing with power skills
there are a variety of manipulations that may be applied to the base
effect. For example, more time can be taken to use the power granting a
bonus to the roll, or a penalty can be applied allowing the character to
affect multiple targets. Unfortunately these manipulations are not in
the same chapter as the power skills themselves and can require a bit of
hunting through the book to find them.Conflict resolution at its most
basic revolves around inflicting stress on opponents and striving to
take them out of the fight. Opposed rolls are made and if the attacker
wins stress is inflicted and if the defender wins the attack is
unsuccessful. Several common situations that occur in physical
confrontations are presented including blocking, grappling and
maneuvers. Unlike most RPGs, the FATE system does not rely exclusively
on physical confrontations resulting in the death of one of the
combatants. Each character in the game has two stress tracks: physical
and composure. These tracks represent how much punishment a character
can take in a given encounter before being "taken out.” The physical
stress track is used primarily in combat situations where physical
injury and character death is the goal. The composure track can be used
during debates or other non violent conflicts of interest, where
typically being "taken out” is the loss of the argument. Each track
consists of a number of boxes (dependant on the skill associated with
the track) and are marked off as stress accumulates. Characters can
reduce the amount of stress taken by suffering consequences. A character
can take one consequence in each of the four severities: mild, moderate
and severe. Minor consequences last until a character can rest for a
few minutes and cancel a small amount of stress. Major consequences last
for several hours to days of in game downtime and cancel more stress.
Severe consequences cancel even more stress and last for weeks. Extreme
consequences remove the most stress and need powerful in game magics to
remove, and even then can still result in permanent new aspects.Another
type of stress is available for the GM to use to move events of the
story along without the feeling of powerless railroading by the players.
Plot stress is a stress track which, has a variable number of boxes,
gets checked off when the PCs take certain actions and when specific
thresholds are reached significant plot elements come into play. Like
other stress tracks the PCs can opt to take consequences to mitigate
plot stress as well, creating interesting situations for the characters.
Settings
Anglerre is the default setting for
this game; it is a swords and sorcery setting inspired more by Moorcock
than Howard. Anglerre itself is a kingdom of "stoic, salt-of-the-earth
people” at near constant war with the neighboring kingdom of Suvethia, a
kingdom of wizards. Magic in this setting was introduced by an ancient
race and is seen by Anglerrans as something to be suspicious of. The
chapter introduces the various kingdoms and peoples of the setting.
Included in each description are a short list of typical aspects,
occupations and gear of each people. This is very helpful for both
players and GMs that may not be familiar with the source material. A
gazetteer follows detailing various places, including locations beyond
the physical world, i.e. other planes of existence. Lastly is a list of
key figures in the setting with brief descriptions of each. The brevity
of this chapter is not a detriment to the setting, as most swords and
sorcery setting are developed in less detail than high fantasy settings.
Also this allows groups to add what details they wish and put their own
mark on the setting and, coupled with collaborative campaign building,
increase the sense of ownership of the setting.The Hither Kingdoms is a
high fantasy setting drawing predominantly from Tolkien and Lewis. A
thousand years ago a shining alliance of men, elves and dwarves fell and
only the city of Selantium remains as a bastion against the tides of
darkness. Rather than the human centric Anglerre, the Hither Kingdoms
have all of the typical fantasy races of humans, elves, dwarves and
little people, with some new additions as well, namely wilderlings
(sapient animals) though they satyr race from the character creation
chapter could be included as well if a group wanted a bit more Lewis
influence. Various types of magic are covered ranging from natural magic
of the elves, priestly magic to sorcery, or "black magic.” Where there
is priestly magic there must be gods and a short pantheon is introduced
with a few example deities. This once again allows groups to tailor the
setting to their specific tastes, and many gamers are fairly familiar
with the deity archetypes. Similar to the Anglerre chapter a short
cosmology and key figures are introduced as well.
GM Advice
Chapters full of guidelines and advice for GMs are concentrated mainly
in the second half of the book. A particularly stand out chapter is the
one on epic and mythic gaming. The default competence level of
characters in LoA is within the range of human ability. This chapter
allows groups to run games that go beyond that level. Epic gaming is
centered on setting shaking events and characters that are larger than
life. Mythic gaming is focused more on interactions with otherworldly
creatures and powers. These options open up whole new vistas of play at
the start of a game rather than having to advance characters up to this
level. Complementary chapters include the one discussing world building
and another, albeit very short, on collaborative campaign creation.
Several chapters include sample characters, items, domains, etc. that
groups can use in play or refer to as a guide in creating their own for
the game. Obviously while there is no one right way to play a specific
game, I do find the inclusion of examples in these more open rule sets
to be very helpful, in that they provide some idea as to what the
writers intended as the feel and tone for the game. This allows a better
fit of a system to a particular game, avoiding the issue of the rules
interfering or limiting the type of story or characters that can be
portrayed.The bestiary chapter has a fairly standard array of high
fantasy creatures with the inclusion of ones from the Anglerre setting.
Unfortunately no real distinction has been made as to which creatures
are specific to Anglerre, and as a GM who is not familiar with the
comics this would have been helpful.
Conclusion
Legends of Anglerre RPG not only succeeds at its goal of providing a
rule set so groups may play in the Anglerre setting, it leaves enough
generality to the rules allowing groups to tailor this game to any type
of fantasy setting imaginable. In using this twofold method of
presentation, LoA avoids the pitfall of many universal systems in being
fairly bland in tone. This game is also one of the few out there that
can honestly claim it is complete in one book. The only criticism I have
of this game is the organization of chapters is a bit haphazard, and is
compounded with a less than complete index. This is mitigated a bit by
the inclusion of rules reference sheets at the end of the book
Победитель в следующих номинациях:
*UK Games Expo Best New Roleplaying Game Nominee 2011*
*ENnies Nomination: Best Game 2011*
*ENnies Nomination: Best Rules 2011*
*ENnies Honorable Mention: Product of the Year 2011*
Название: Legends of Anglerre
Издатель: Stablazer Adventures
Игровая линия: Legends of Anglerre
Interior Art: B&W
Author: Sarah Newton, Chris Birch with Marc Reyes, Tom Miskey & Mike Olson
Stock Code: CB7705
ISBN: 978-1-907204-22-7
Качество: OEF
Язык: английский
Страницы: 388
Файл: PDF (92,6 МБ)
|
|
Категория: Литература по миниатюризму |
Просмотров: 752 |
Добавил: MisterNurgl
| Рейтинг: 0.0/0 |
|
|
| Поиск |
|
|
|
| Календарь |
|
|
|
| Архив записей |
|
|
|
| Статистика |
Онлайн всего: 11 Гостей: 11 Пользователей: 0 |
|
* * * * *
|
