I’ve heard it said that you like people because of their good qualities, and love them despite their faults. Blue Rose is a game that I love, but is not without it’s faults.
Post originally by Darrin Bright at 2005-04-08 06:34:23
Converted from Phorums BB System
I was scratching my head for a good long while, had to fire up webster.com to see if I had actually gone through all the pain and suffering to get a liberal arts degree and had somehow never heard the term "genera".
You mean "genre".
So... is this actually a D20 game? I haven't seen it advertised as such... sounds a little like someone's homebrew version of D20, they took out everything that annoyed the hell out of them (rolling 3-18 ability scores to determine ability bonus and never using the original ability score again, hit points, memorizing spells).
If I was designing a game for the romantic fantasy genre, D20 would be the last system I'd use... but I'm curious if Blue Rose has managed to overcome some of its klunkiness. It looks like it's still using Base Attack Bonus and Skill Points, though...
Could you talk a little more about the feat system? Your review suggests that skills, magic, basically everything you add to make your character distinctive is done with feats... which doesn't sound all that distinctive if the advancement is only 1 feat/3 levels as with most D20 games.
Are there Flaw/Disadvantage mechanics to make more emotionally/socially complex characters?
Post originally by cjh at 2005-04-08 08:00:20
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Variant d20 is the best label for it (I think). It really streamlines and simplifies a lot of the d20 concepts. Its hard to go into them here, so I would suggest going into the Forums and searching for the Blue Rose threads (there have been a lot).
Also, characters get one feat every level, and they start with 4 feats (I think some of the races may lose a starting feat or two) and all class special abilities are converted to feats. This allows for a lot more customization in characters too. Your BR character isn't going to be as cookie cutter as a D&D one.
I also think that the system would be great for other forms of fantasy, and not just Romantic Fantasy.
Post originally by Michael Dingler at 2005-04-08 12:23:46
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It's still level-based, you still have your BAB and all the D20 combat options, so even with all the stream-lining, I wouldn't exactly call it light-weight. And if you like to sling around hip pseudo-philosophical meta-gaming technobabble like "narrative-driven", try other games.
My personal take (which gets confirmed by several reviewers) is that the system is actually the biggest benefit of Blue Rose. You get a decent toned down D20 system with several options meshed nicely together.
I couldn't care less about the genre or the default background. Teenage feminist meritocratic utopia, beset by a evil male-dominated theocracy. Lot of thought went into the world of Aldis, but at its core we've got the background setting for Mary Sue fanfics.
(Yes, I'm a little bit familiar with the genre. I kinda like Tamora Pierce's Alanna of Trebond series, but don't give a rats behind for the saccharine helpings of Lackey et al. -- Heck, just when you thought David Eddings is all touchy-feely...)
Post originally by Tbrierly at 2005-04-08 12:40:02
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For some reason, up until I first heard of this game I had never heard of the Romantic Fantasy genre. Can anyone suggest a few good novels, etc within this genre to get started.
Post originally by Dalmagar at 2005-04-08 13:19:11
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Strating humans actually get 5 feats starting out, and as others have said, it lends itself well to a great deal of charecter customization, without being quite as involved as a strict point buy system.
Combat does use BAB and defense, but mixed role (multi classing) heros are very easy to do, with little penalty. Also, I really like the fact that the games version of magic can be made availiable in a limited for to everyone.
Post originally by Frank Sronce at 2005-04-08 13:31:42
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They did get rid of skill points, though. Your rating in a skill is either Level + 3, 1/2 of that, or zero. There aren't any actual skill points to distribute.
Linear Mode
