Shadows in the Fog is a diceless storyteller game set in the Victorian Era with a strong focus on character development that requires players to really think about the objectives of play. Characters will explore a London that might have been, a London where occult conspiracies abound and magic is perhaps all too real.
Post originally by Eric Brennan at 2003-06-09 07:00:23
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While I'm not especially excited by your description of the system, how is the world info? Is it solid enough to use the material as a sourcebook for another system?
Post originally by C. Demetrius Morgan at 2003-06-09 08:37:09
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Greetings Eric,
You wrote:
While I'm not especially excited by your description of the system, how is the world info? Is it solid enough to use the material as a sourcebook for another system?
In Answer:
The actual world material itself is rather sparse and threadbare in this volume, which as stated is the core rules of the system. Volume two should have the indepth setting material but, based upon the tidbits that appear in volume one, I'd have to say that if volume two provides the same amount of resource material as the core rules do then, yes, it should be very useful as a sourcebook. Alas that remains to be seen.
As it stands what the PDF currently available provides is a lot of stage dressing and flavor but not a clear idea of who the supporting cast is, or what their relationship is to the main characters, as yet. If that wasn't too poor an analogy?
Post originally by Jeremy at 2003-06-09 17:20:00
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I dunno, in my experience, I've found the average person (at least in the US) is fascinated by tarot cards.
Though in college, I had a mormon roommate, and he was a bit upset by them. But I think he was putting me on, as he also was upset by Rush (the band), because some of their albums have pentagrams on them. (However, he also actually owned a couple tapes of theirs, which led me to believe he was just kidding me)
Post originally by Sergio Mascarenhas at 2003-06-10 20:50:25
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You spend a lot of time (actually most of the review is dedicated to this minor issue) explaining what type of tarot deck the game uses, and the alternatives it presents. But you just don't explain how it uses a tarot deck, no matter what it is, for roleplaying purposes.
Post originally by C. Demetrius Morgan at 2003-06-10 21:35:31
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Greetings Sergio,
Good question.
As mentioned in the review this game takes some reading and requires time to digest. The fact that there is no actual sample character provided compounds the difficulties in distilling the game down into something simple and straightforward.
Such references are always helpful but not always present. I don't necessarily see this as an oversight as much is explained in the text. Conceptually the game rates high, but to be truthful if this weren't a playtest it would have rated a bit lower.
Which is no excuse for any failing on my part to provide a clear example.
How the game plays is much like any storyteller game might, only using Tarot cards in place of dice for resolution of actions. Mechanics are sparse and mostly comprised of dealing the players a 7-card hand, but how the cards are intended to be used in play is not entirely clear at a glance. Thus, I felt, an attempt to distill the mechanics into a simplex paragraph or two would not do them justice.
As for the review expounding upon issues to the Tarot, as the use of Tarot is central to the game, it is far from a 'minor issue'. In fact the text explicitly states that the ability to "manipulate the meanings of the 22 Trumps of a Tarot deck" are central to the game. Thus referencing a tarot that leans, shall we say, toward the fringe end of eclectic in its imagery could cause problems. Misperceptions that could lead to undue frustration, especially amongst gamers who may never have encountered the Tarot outside of television shows, fantasy novels, or movies.
However I do see your point. Alas there really is not a lot in the way of mechanics to discuss. The game is literally concept driven, and thus may be considered abstract to some, though it is perhaps better said to foment an 'immersive' style of play. Much hinges upon the establishment of a social contract that extends into actual game play to an extent. Too, as there are no dice to roll, that means comparisons are well nigh impossible to draw between most of the more popular systems.
That said I did write a different version of this review. It has a totally different format, is a bit more formal, and can be found here:
Should you, or anyone else reading this, be interested just log in and go to the Files area. The review is in the 'Game Reviews' folder. And, yes, in future this is likely the format I will be using for reviews. It is my hope that a more formal review style will present the salient points with more clarity than the review style I have used to date has.
Linear Mode
