Re: [RPG]: Desolation , reviewed by Crothian (3/4)
Hmm, sounds a lot like the new 4e Forgotten Realms, so people who like this setting but play D&D could probably use it as fluff! I like the "magic is feared" thing. I can't stand how D&D somehow has everyone familiar with magic and how an elf, a dwarf, a dragonkin and a halfling can just walk into any pub and get a drink. Humans at least fear 'the other' so I am assuming in most small towns anyway such a party would get run out of town or stoned to death. As would a guy who shoots lightning out of his fingers.
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Re: [RPG]: Desolation , reviewed by Crothian (3/4)
It's a great game one doesn't need to actually buy, but can cherry pick good ideas from. Just take your standard fantasy setting, redraw maps and think about what's been destroyed, and move on.
I mean, from what you've said, the publishers really haven't provided much beyond an idea. There are no maps of the changed world. Great! I can do that with any fantasy setting that already has maps. Just add your own cataclysm and stir.
There's no explanation for why the cataclysm occurred, so how is that any different than trashing any other setting and coming up with the explanation on my own? If it was a magical cataclysm, the game could have really shined with a well-defined, high-risk, high-reward magic system. But instead it sounds nebulous and kind of bland.
Don't get me wrong. Most Fantasy Heartbreakers don't even have one good idea, let alone a great theme of ideas. But I just don't see why I can't apply the same elbow grease required in Desolation to create a similar feel in D&D, Savage Worlds, ad nauseum...
Re: [RPG]: Desolation , reviewed by Crothian (3/4)
IMO, a fantasy heartbreaker is the latest and greatest attempt to replace D&D. I can tell you that Desolation is not that. It is a unique game that covers its own niche.
Mitch
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Re: [RPG]: Desolation , reviewed by Crothian (3/4)
Oh, I get that it's not D&D. But I think I could totally snag the best parts of it and run it with D&D just as easily. I loved Hollow Earth Expedition, but just don't see how that game system could support gritty fantasy well.
How deadly is the Desolation version of Ubiquity? Because if it was on the gritty side, then it might justify something past the basic idea of a cataclysm that the characters have to stand up from afterward. Thematically, with that back story, I'm expecting grit and a magic system that is volatile and secretive (assuming the cataclysm was magic-based, that is).
Just color me cynical after buying umpty-ump RPGs for a great idea only to find that beneath the great idea, there is a gratuitous rules system.
Re: [RPG]: Desolation , reviewed by Crothian (3/4)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crothian
What is a fantasy heartbreaker?
There is some debate as to what constitutes a fantasy heartbreaker, but basically its a game (usually produced by a small, independant company) with a fantasy setting that attempts to 'fix' some of DnDs problems, but ends up with problems of its own. They often have some good points, but usually have serious flaws that the wider game design community are already aware of and so don't appear in modern games.
Basically, if it is a fantasy setting that could be better played with a DnD system (whatever edition), then it probably qualifies as a fantasy heartbreaker.
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