[RPG]: Aces & Eights: Shattered Frontier, reviewed by Galadrin (5/5)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/13/13190.phtml

Evan Anhorn's Summary:

A complete Wild West experience, with innovative and exciting rules for everything from shoot-outs and chases to cattle drives and the gold rush.

Go to the full review for more information.

[theemrys]

Just wanted to add that even though I'd had no interest in Wild West RPGs before, this book has me VERY excited.

To add a comment about the index... there isn't one in the book, but one was provided online to download. (The Kenzer guys didn't want to waste page count for it).

All in all, an amazing product!!!

[Dan Davenport]

Nice job, Evan! I appreciate the clear and concise description of the rules; however, I'd beware of statements like "when compared to any other RPG", as that's an awfully sweeping categorization.

Also, I think you abandon the discussion of the setting a little too abruptly. I can understand it being overwhelming, but are there some basics you can give us? For example, I'm given to understand that the Civil War never ended in this alternate history.

[Particle_Man]

This is reminding me of Deadlands.

[Galadrin]

@theemrys, wow, there is so much web content available for this game that I haven't even sorted through it all yet. I must have missed the downloadable index, good find!

@Dan Davenport, thanks for your comment. This is my first review, so it was a little brief. To clarify, the setting actually is one big selling point (of many) for this game. Caldera, or the Cauldron, is center stage for Aces & Eights, and is fully described with background story and maps (two town maps, several mining prospector map, a cattle drive map and much more). The book has a massive list of dramatis personae in the region for your GM to use.

As for the greater setting, it is very complicated. The history feels incredibly realistic, because it goes to great length to describe why Texas is its own country, or Cuba belongs to the Confederate States of America. It's really doing it extreme injustice to boil it down, but here is a primer:

CSA won a stalemate vs the Union in the "war of Northern aggression", thanks in part to France (which the CSA was courting in real history). Mexico is led by an ineffective tyrant, against whom there is currently a federalist rebellion. The Union and Britain fell into a brief war over the territory around modern day Nova Scotia and Maine. The native Americans have been surprisingly successful in resisting conquest by the Americans (thanks in part to the Union losing the civil war). Mormons have set up their own religious state near Salt Lake, which they fiercely protect. The west is currently claimed by Mexico, the United States, the Mormons, the Native Americans, the settlers and practically everyone.

The A&8 website has a small part of the history section of the book for download, which covers the details about Texas (including the war of independence against Mexico) and (I believe) some part of the US vs England war. I'm still reading through the history section, so I'm still figuring it out myself, but so far I am impressed with the detail.

[Leofwyn]

Great review and I am eagerly awaiting the game. (ordered from an online dealer) Just wanted to point out, though, that Millennium’s End by Chameleon Eclectic used a system of silhouette's and a target overlay that determined where the bullet fell in a similar manner.

No, this I am not trying to say they stole the idea. Just that it has been done before. At the time, their system was too complicated (IMHO) and was hampered by not having enough silhouettes available for use in the game - particularly for targets that were of odd shape (animals, objects, children, people in multiple poses etc.) Does Aces and Eights have many differing ones? Are they making them easily available if they do not? (downloads or a propsed big book of silhouettes)

It becomes a problem as it gets difficult to find other images to use of the right scale and if you are drawing impaired as I am . . . well.

[crimfan]

Originally Posted by Particle_Man

This is reminding me of Deadlands.

I haven't read the book so I can't say for sure, it doesn't much remind me of Deadlands aside from superficially, i.e., both being set in the Old West. The review doesn't mention ANY supernatural stuff, for instance. It's alternate history, not fantasy/horror and I suspect the feel would be quite different.

Crimfan

[Kansas Jim]

I just finished reading the book myself yesterday and I'm quite taken by it with the exception of the backwards skill system. Rolling above your skill value is just counter-intuitive to me, it's saying to me that in order to succeed at a skill use you have to fail your skill check. If I can get a group to play A&8 I'm going to flip the skill system around and go with rolling under your actual skill rating, none of this rolling over (100 - actual skill rating) silliness.

[Kaemaril]

Originally Posted by theemrys

To add a comment about the index... there isn't one in the book, but one was provided online to download. (The Kenzer guys didn't want to waste page count for it).

I'm baffled by somebody saying they didn't want to "waste" pages on an index. A <i>400 page</I> book without an index?

For me, it's very simple. No index? No sale.

[theltemes]

Originally Posted by Kaemaril

I'm baffled by somebody saying they didn't want to "waste" pages on an index. A <i>400 page</I> book without an index?

For me, it's very simple. No index? No sale.

You are truly doing yourself a disservice, then. It is a beautiful tome filled with gritty wild west gaming goodness. There are even rules for cattle driving and the quality of beef coming from the cattle at the end of the drive!