[RPG]: Erebus, City of Shadows, reviewed by Kester Pelagius (2/4)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/11/11288.phtml

C. Demetrius Morgan's Summary:

Erebus is a category defying world book supplement for use with the Wushu RPG. Very different. Very interesting. Very big headache trying to review. Yet great reading.

Go to the full review for more information.

Post originally by screenmonkey at 2005-05-23 08:00:53
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"What I want from a product is a fully functional game out of the box, not inspiration or ideas for how to maybe make the material work if I dedicate the time to working at it."

Amen, brother. That's why i play Savage Worlds. The fact is though, that most game lines don't provide a complete product that's useful right out of the box because they're trying to sell the most product to the most people. i don't agree with it either, but it's hard to argue with the success of lines like Forgotten Realms, Vampire: the Masquerade, etc. They provide reams of material, but there's always some serious work involved to get it to the gaming table.

Happy Gaming, =)
screenmonkey

Post originally by No2 at 2005-05-23 09:24:12
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"Useful right out of the box", now that's what's missing from most rpgs!!!!!

Post originally by BlackSheep at 2005-05-23 11:08:53
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...what do the templates look like?

Given that a powerful Wushu character can have a full statblock that's only a half-dozen words long (Anakin: Jedi 4, Pilot 5, Cyborg 3, Whiny Bitch 1) I'm wondering just how much less detailed the templates can be.

Post originally by Tim Gray at 2005-05-23 11:34:54
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Demetrius, I appreciate you taking the time to write and post this, but...

...it's hard to give good marks to a review that - explicitly - is unable to tell us what it's subject actually is. OK, it doesn't fall easily into categories, but more in the way of reference points would have been welcome.

Post originally by Ian Noble at 2005-05-23 13:50:54
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I still don't have much of an idea of what this is about. I got more going to the rpgnow page and looking at the product description.

Demetrius -- If it was too difficult for you to put forth the basic concepts of this product, why did you post the review in the first place?

Post originally by Kester Pelagius at 2005-05-23 13:51:33
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>>>...it's hard to give good marks to a review that - explicitly - is unable to tell us what it's subject actually is.<<<

Honestly there have been reviews in commercial magazines for books and RPGs that are both shorter and vaguer than what you find here at RPGnet.

To briefly recap:

As stated "Erebus" a world book supplement ostensibly for use with the Wushu RPG that also aims to be a generic world supplement. It is a supplement that covers various races, power groups, and various other sundries as relates to what is, essentially, yet another "free city" cast from the typical Fantasy mould of free cities.

The sub-title blurb actually sums the supplement up rather nicely. As to what type of world it is and what sort of intrigue is involved?

You'd litereally have to read the entire text. There is no way to say that the supplement is more one thing than another, as it tries to, Colossus like, straddle both sides of the harbor. Thus it's focus is on being a little bit of everything by way of being a "guide book to the realm" and environs of Erebus.

Good read. Needs polish.

Post originally by Tim Gray at 2005-05-23 14:16:51
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I wasn't talking about commercial magazines or the total mass of RPGnet reviews, just this one.

One thing I did pick up is that it *isn't* a typical fantasy free city, but some sort of hybrid genre setting.

Post originally by Kester Pelagius at 2005-05-23 15:06:39
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>>>I wasn't talking about commercial magazines or the total mass of RPGnet reviews, just this one.<<<

Sorry. Must have mis-read something.

You're just knocking this review. Gotcha.

As I said, on the whole, the reviews here at RPGnet are far superior to the sort of fluff you find in most magazines. Problem is that also raises the expectation bar so that simple, short, lame- er- fine wonderful synopsis come off sounding like a hungry pig rustling for truffles.

*oink, oink*


>>>One thing I did pick up is that it *isn't* a typical fantasy free city, but some sort of hybrid genre setting.<<<

*wipes forehead*

Then the review isn't a TOTAL wash out then.

Awesome!

I honestly couldn't find the words to properly encompass all that Erebus is and, in fact, posted about my feelings about the suckage of my review in Tangency a few three days ago.

To answer Ian, Mr. Noble, sir, I posted the review because I found Erebus to be a really nice read and there's no review of it in the database that I could find and I really think more people should know about Erebus, the faults with my review regarding Erebus not withstanding, because to continue this amazingly fascinating run-on-sentence Erebus, I did mention that this is a world book about a fabu city called Erebus, right, well anyhow it's really a nice little supplement and you should check it out. :-)

Post originally by Mike Gentry at 2005-05-23 17:53:36
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<i>To answer Ian, Mr. Noble, sir, I posted the review because I found Erebus to be a really nice read and there's no review of it in the database that I could find</i>

And, evidently, there still isn't.

Erebus wouldn't be the first RPG setting to encompass multiple genres. Writing an overview really isn't that hard.