Artesia: Adventures in The Known World
http://www.theknownworld.com/the_game.html

Has anyone ever played this? Read the Comics? Reviewed it?



Thanks

QM

Quote from: TheQuestionManArtesia: Adventures in The Known World
http://www.theknownworld.com/the_game.html

Has anyone ever played this? Read the Comics? Reviewed it?



Thanks

QM

I think it has been reviewed. Don't remember where.

It's a beautiful, beatiful game. The author's vision shines through, from illos to fluff to some game concepts. So it's extremely cohesive.

Unfortunately, he used the Fuzion engine and cranked it to eleven in some respects. A tree (I'm talking of a simple tree here, not some talking-fighting-walking tree) is made up of a dozen stats, which is just fucking retarded.

I think the author would have considerably augmented his audience had he enrolled a solid game designer to help him with the crunchy aspects. Some people have reported small glitches as far as combat and other things bt to me, it's just the sheer volume of crunch that kills the game.

The setting is amazing and very inspiring, though. You really get a great feel of the world throughout the book and it inspires you. And there are nice touches like an advancement system tied to arcana, lifepaths and tons of flavorful options. It's just that the core sucks ass due to detail overkill.

It is beautifully illustrated and the book supports multiple kinds of campaigns.  I think there is something for almost anyone in this book but those who will benefit the most are fans of fantasy world and very meaty, traditional rule systems.

There's only one Known World, and its Mystara!

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPunditThere's only one Known World, and its Mystara!

RPGPundit

Get off that hobby horse, man. :raise:

Of course, I was going to say Larry Niven... but that's Known SPACE...:keke:

I'm reading the graphic novel and the game simultaneously.  The graphic novel looks great, although the people do tend to look very similar to each other.  Still, it's an interesting story so far.

The game is one of the best looking games I've ever read, and it's got an incredibly detailed and in-depth setting.  The mechanics, though, are very high on the crunch style, and finding specific rules would seem to be pretty difficult.  Although I'd be willing to give it a try, I doubt anyone else in my group would, just due to the mechanics.  They may be good, but very complex.

There are several good reviews on rpg.net, including a very thorough one by Shannon:

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12011.phtml

Artesia has been sitting on my bookshelf for a month now, unread. The system is Fuzion, and the setting looks nearly as complex as Glorantha (it was going to be published as an alternative world for RQ at one point).

In other words, it's potentially glorious but not a little scary. But since you (QM) seem to be a HERO gamer, Fuzion's crunch will probably not turn you off per se?