Angels, Demons, Gods and Men battle against a being from beyond our reality! A solid game, but again shows up all the flaws that seem to dog the classic unisystem core books.
I have to disagree with you on a couple of points, though.
I think the game does do a good job of illustrating those "shades of gray," especially regarding the various factions of Seraphim.
And as for having a lack of focus, that complaint would seem to contradict your complaint that the game has too <u>much</u> focus on Leviathan.
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Re: [RPG]: Armageddon: The End Times, reviewed by Menchi (3/3)
Quote:
"Now I'm not expecting molly-coddling anyone, but I can see how any fresh GM who just got Armageddon would find themselves asking "but what exactly do I do with this game?" While there are three plothooks at the back, the discussion on themes and cast don't really enlighten the reader about how a typical game of Armageddon would unfold. "
Armageddon seems to be aimed very squarely at experienced players - the somewhat confusing layout, 4 different magic systems, varying power levels and playing modes and lack of GM advice attest to that.
I do agree with the review though.
I find readability an issue with this book too because of the dark grey page backgrounds.
Armageddon is one of the earliest in the new generation of Eden books and it's not aging quite as well as the Buffy or AFMBE books.
I would have preferred to have seen a little more wider view images rather than the character heavy art.
Much as I strongly disagree with your points concerning game play and the bizarre contradictory complaint you seem to have concerning the game setting's focus on Leviathan, I do actually agree with the quoted point above.
Most of the art in the book, while nifty on it's own, doesn't appear to represent any identifiable character. There are several drawings that don't even come close to being identifiable as being on one SIDE or another (one that springs to mind is a strange, multi-armed, hairy, and clearly supernatural creature that is impossible to connect with anything else in the book).
Another curious issue that I have with the art is the apparent presence of two separate symbols for Leviathan. Although Thom Marrion confirmed that the symbol on the forehead of the guy on pg 328 IS the Mark of Leviathan, I asked and never did get answer to the nature of the swastika-like symbol found on several other pages, including pp. 321 & 324.
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Re: [RPG]: Armageddon: The End Times, reviewed by Menchi (3/3)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Asmodai
Armageddon seems to be aimed very squarely at experienced players . . .
There's no WAY that I'd recommend Armageddon as a game for new GM's. The general rules are easy enough, but the setting and complexity of characters would overwhlem a GM without enough experience to work all that in.
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Running: Post-Modern Age Sentinels - Justice, Inc.
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Re: [RPG]: Armageddon: The End Times, reviewed by Menchi (3/3)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Davenport
Nice review, Conan!
I have to disagree with you on a couple of points, though.
I think the game does do a good job of illustrating those "shades of gray," especially regarding the various factions of Seraphim.
And as for having a lack of focus, that complaint would seem to contradict your complaint that the game has too <u>much</u> focus on Leviathan.
Thanks.
Firstly, nothing in the book actually fleshes out or supports the shades of gray that the game wants to have. The associations, the seraphim write-ups go to the point of suggesting something but then go back to the old black and white approach.
The point I was making about no focus relates to the game as a whole. It wants to be shades of gray an then in its antagonist chapter it waffles on about only one villain and even the history chapter presents a very black and white, two-sided war.
Much like Witchcraft did, the core book failed in presenting any of the complexity that the game aspires to. Instead where Witchcraft came across as everything thrown in and hinted at being connected, Armageddon has everything connected but is kind of confused about how it should all relate to a game.
Which leads me to the lack of GM support - the GM chapter kind of cops out and says "they war!" It doesn't really present anything particularly more complex than that.
The lack of focus comes from the fact that the fiction and first half of the book say something different to what is presented in the second half of the book. A common classic unisystem flaw.
Conan
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Much as I strongly disagree with your points concerning game play and the bizarre contradictory complaint you seem to have concerning the game setting's focus on Leviathan, I do actually agree with the quoted point above.
See my comment to Dan's post. There is nothing bizarre or contradictory about my statement that Armageddon lacks focus. It tries to be shades of gray and black and white at the same time. There is no effort to ever reconcile that. Further, it can't seem to decide whether it is about war or about supernaturals or about the end of the world. No effort is made to unify the themes of the game - which is what a GM's section is supposed to be about. Instead it reiterates pointless statements that have been throughout the book.
Finally, the fact that there are no mass combat rules or systems/advice about running a game set in war time despite the game being about war - suggests a serious lack of consideration about what kind of a game Armageddon is meant to be.
Conan
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