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Old 08-08-2008, 12:44 PM
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mitchw mitchw is offline
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Re: [RPG]: Desolation, reviewed by mitchw (4/4)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kenny Bania View Post
Mitch, appreciate the review, it gave me a good overview of what to expect if I purchase Desolation. Which I most probably will.

Could you reconcile and clarify these two observations.

"However, given its dark tone, dangerous magic system, and the amount of detail left up to the GM, I don’t believe that just any group could make it work as it should."

With.

"And that would be a shame because it is all the glorious details that make Desolation stand out from the norm."

How do you differenciate the detail in the first with the details in the second? Thanks.
The details on the setting are great and really give you a lot to work with. As an example, the 10 or so detailed communities in the 'After' chapter could each be the central location for a full campaign. And they cover less than half of that chapter. The other setting chapters add even more.

It's the rule details that are left up to the GM a little more than I would like. I mean things like how much starting equipment a character has, what is the effect of taking a head shot in combat, etc.

For example: under the called shot section it says you take a -4 to shoot someone in the head (roll 4 less dice in your pool for that shot), the eye is -8, etc. But, for the effect of the called shot, that section says:

"The result of hitting a specific location is up to the GM to interpret based on the circumstances, but it can be anything from forcing someone to drop a weapon to blinding your opponent."

Giving GM advice like this instead of hard rules is not 'bad' it just makes the GM's job a little harder and needs the player to trust the GM more.

Edit: For me, a 'hard rule' would be something like "If shot in the head, take +6 damage and make a Body roll against a target of 3 or fall unconscious."

Mitch
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Last edited by mitchw; 08-08-2008 at 12:54 PM..
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