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Fantasy Imperium

Started by jdrakeh, January 02, 2007, 09:24:37 PM

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jdrakeh

January 02, 2007, 09:24:37 PM


"An Interactive Storytelling Game (ISG) of Historical Fantasy"

Fantasy Imperium is a low medieval fantasy roleplaying system published by ShadowstarGames. Written by Mark O' Bannon, Fantasy Imperium weighs in at 437-pages (including
character sheets and quick references), measure eight and a half by eleven inches, sports a beautifullyillustrated hard cover, and will set you back a reasonable $34.95 (US).



I make a distinction between a game and a system where Fantasy Imperium is concerned, as thebook presents no single default setting (rather, it gives you your choice of two) or a defined premise(here you have a choice of many). To clarify, Fantasy Imperium is less a thing that you do,than a way of doing things. For some readers this may not be an important distinction, though I mention it here because I know that for others, it is.



Product Aesthetics:

Upon first examining Fantasy Imperium, three aesthetic qualities immediately struck me – the artwork (for several reasons, as outlined below), the poor  layout, and the illusion of complexity.
Now, I'll explain why I walked away with these impressions, but your own mileage may vary (after all, what constitutes "good" or "simple" is entirely subjective).



First, the artwork. Much of the artwork in Fantasy Imperium is what many people consider to be "cheesecake art" (i.e., art that capitalizes on sexuality). Further, some of the artwork isn't entirely
subject appropriate – there are, for example, pieces of artwork showcasing high fantasy monsters (e.g., dragons, animated skeletons) when such monsters aren't a default part of the game (more on this later). Finally, some of the artwork is rendered extremely well, while other pieces are merely unremarkable past possible contradiction where the game's subject matter is concerned.



Second, the layout. The layout in Fantasy Imperium is, well. . . bad. This is especially true whenit comes to tables, which is unfortunate because Fantasy Imperium contains many of them.
Specifically, text isn't wrapped around tables, which often makes for several blocks of unsightly white space where smaller tables appear. Likewise, in the chapters examining magic, text
flow is often broken up in an unsightly manner due to table insertion. Further, certain tables used inccharacter creation don't appear in the chapter dedicated to character creation (some appear scattered throughout the book, while others appear only in the Appendices). The layout, fortunately, doesn't make the book unreadable, but it does make the book both incredibly frustrating and downright ugly in places.



Finally, the illusion of complexity. This brings us back to tables, of which (as mentioned above) Fantasy Imperium contains many. The good news is that these tables don't appear to govern many elements of actual play but, rather, serve only to organize certain elements of the game into lists (e.g., equipment, spells, etc). Thus, if all you do is flip quickly through the book, you may think the product is horribly complex – if, however, you actually read the book, I think you'll find that the system itself is quite simple, despite appearances.(I did).




Creating Characters:

Creating a character using the Fantasy Imperium system is a 13-step process, most of which is quite simple, though some of which may raise red flags where mechanical intuition is concerned.
Note also that, by default, all characters created using the Fantasy Imperium system are human. Options are presented near the back of the book for introducing demi-human races, but as such races are arguably  inappropriate for low medieval fantasy, they're not what the game defaults to. Here's how creating a character works. . .



Step One:

First, you must generate your character's er. . . characteristics. All characters are defined
by ten characteristics – Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, Intuition, Self Discipline, Reasoning, Ego, Awareness, Presence, Attractiveness. To determine the ratings of these characteristics, you roll a percentile die (d100) for each, in order, and record the results. This is simple enough, but very random, which may present some problems. That said, the game's author addresses
some of these issues. . .



If more than half of your character's characteristics end up being ranked less than 50%, you may throw out all of them and roll an entirely new set of ratings. Additionally, you may re-roll any one characteristic rating that you choose (once). Finally, if your character is female, they may re-roll their Attractiveness rating once if they so choose.



All of these things will help even characters out a bit, but that it's possible to randomly generate a hideously ugly,  mentally retarded, paraplegic and still have that character recognized as playable by the rules as written gives me cause for concern. Granted, it's not particularly likely that you'll generate such a character, though it's not entirely unlikely that you'll generate such a character, either. It can happen and, eventually, it will happen.



Ultimately, I'd like to see this pitfall of totally random characteristic generation tightened up in future printings, perhaps by starting off each characteristic with a base rating in excess of 0%. While I suppose that playing a handicapped hero could present interesting roleplaying possibilities, I can't see a player getting stuck with a character who has a whole slew of handicaps by random chance being very happy about it.



Step Two:

This is a short one – you need to determine how many skill points you have to purchase skills with (the actual purchasing is part of Step Eight) or boost your characteristics (see Step Three). Roll a percentile die (d100) and add 100 to the result. The final total is the number of skill points you have at your disposal.



Step Three:

This step is entirely optional, though if you end up with a lame character (literally) after Step One, this will give you an opportunity to make them slightly better. You can spend skill points to raise your any low characteristic ratings that your character may have – for every one skill point thatyou spend, you may add 1d6 to the rating of a specified characteristic.



This option appears to address the possible pitfall of characteristic generation outlined earlier,though it merely makes the pitfall less of a hassle after the fact, should it occur – and it creates problems of its own by forcing a player to trade points of skill rating away. Ultimately, if fate hands you a character with multiple handicaps right out of the gate, you can either accept it or gamble their skill development for a chance to overcome those handicaps. Neither choice is particularly attractive.



Step Four:

Now you'll need to record your character's "Speed Bonus" (an Initiative modifier based on their Dexterity rating, this value is erroneously referred to as a "bonus" – it may actually be a
penalty if your character's Dexterity rating is low) and their "Extra Damage" (a true bonus awarded to characters with a Strength rating of more than 70%). Both of these modifiers are simply read from a table and the plugged into the appropriate spot on your record sheet.



Step Five:

Here, you'll need to do some basic math to calculate a character's Combat Factors – Hits (when this Combat Factor is reduced to zero, the character dies), Stun (the number that a player must roll under after every injury that their character receives in order for that character to avoid being stunned), Morale, Winded, Exhausted, and Burnout (the three thresholds for states of fatigue). The math involved in calculating such ratings is very simple (e.g., Strength + Endurance, Endurance x2,
etc).



Additionally, as part of Step Five, you'll also need to determine how many Luck points yourcharacter begins play with (done by rolling 3d6), how many Fate points they begin play with (roll
1d6), and how many Special Talents (i.e., skills that a character has a natural talent in) they begin play with (roll 1d3). Of these secondary characteristics, Fate and Luck bear further mention (if only briefly).



First, Luck points give players a degree of authorial control, allowing players to either  re-roll a given test once or prevent their character's death (this costs five Luck points). While the options for spending Luck points are limited, I think that they are well set up to ensure players aren't easily de-protagonized by a heavy-handed Storyteller (the system's term for Game Master). All things considered, this use of player authorial control seems more appropriate for the genre that the system is intended to support than allowing characters to bust out the wire-fu would be.

 

Fate is an interesting thing, as it is specifically used by the Storyteller to randomly determine future events in a character's life (i.e., events that will be woven into play as a campaign progresses). A Storyteller rolls d100 on the Fate Table (page 414) a number of time equal to the character's Fate rating to determine those events that will unfold in the future of a character. Arguably, some of these (e.g., Thrown into prison) will be easier to enact than others (e.g., "Character falls in love") will be,
as some of these fates will require the player to act or react a certain way.



Aside from selecting skills (again, see Step Eight) this is the most involved step of creating a character (i.e., this is as complex as character creation gets). If you can handle this step, creating a
character using the Fantasy Imperium rules should be a snap for you.



Step Six:

Here you'll need to determine your character's Piety (the base percentage that God will interveneon your character's behalf, based upon their actions and beliefs), as well as their Spirit (roll 1d100),a representation of the protection versus spiritual attacks extended to a character by their faith in God.



[Note that, for the purposes of Fantasy Imperium, the default God is the Christian God (which, given the low medieval nature of the system and its two included settings of Europe in 1121 AD and
1348 AD, makes perfect sense).]



Step Seven:

This step involves calculating more secondary characteristics – specifically your character's resistance to different types of magic (Ceremonial magic, Natural magic, Extrasensory magic, and
the Black Arts, respectively). And yes, a character has a different resistance to each type of magic (a nice tough, I thought).



After you have calculated your character's magic resistances, you can choose to spend skill points in order to boost those resistances, with each skill point that you spend in such a manner
representing one additional percentage point of resistance rating. You can add a maximum of 10% to each resistance rating in this manner.



Step Eight:

This step consists of four parts, the first of which is randomly rolling for your character's Social Class on1d100. This will determine whether your character is Poor, Lower Middle Class, Middle Class, Upper Class, Wealthy, Rich. Each of these Social Classes has a rank that ranges from one to six associated with it. This is very important during the second part of Step Eight.



After you have determined your character's Social Class, you need to choose a Profession (e.g., Cartographer, Crusader, Glassworker, Hunter, etc) and pay the cost in skill points associated with that Profession. Your character's Social Class determines what Professions they qualify for by default, though you can buy your way into a Profession only available to a characters with a higher Social Class than yours by spending additional skill points.



Next, you need to calculate your Basic Skills (i.e., base skill percentages) for all skills by dividing the governing characteristic of a given skill by five. In order to calculate your character's
Basic Skills, you need to reference the Basic Skill Table – a table that doesn't exist. This would be a game-breaking omission if it weren't for the characteristics that govern a given skill
being listed on the character sheet. I still spent half an hour looking for the non-existent table in the character creation section of the rule book before I was directed to the character sheet (by the author, via email), however – so while this isn't a game-breaking error, it can be frustrating if
you're going into the game blind.



Finally, after you've calculated your character's Basic Skills (which, as mentioned above, isn't possible), you're supposed to spend whatever remaining skill points you have in order to boost those skill ratings. When doing so, one each skill point spent is equal to ten percentage points of skill rating. You can spend up to three points each on non-professional skills, and up to five points on each skill specifically related to your chosen Profession.



Step Nine:

Shopping! First, make a note of your chosen Profession's annual income and savings. After you have done this, you multiply their savings by 1d6 in order to determine their starting funds. And then you head to the market! Equipment shopping in many games isn't particularly noteworthy, but in Fantasy Imperium, this is clearly where a large portion of the historical research was applied.



Individual weapons and pieces of armor are classified, not only by price, but by region of origin (e.g., Greece, Persia, Saxony, etc) and the century during which they were in common use. I'll admit that I'm not a martial history buff, thus I have absolutely no idea how accurate this classification is, though it certainly seems accurate. Even if it isn't accurate, it makes for a wholly different shopping experience than that found in most fantasy RPGs, where equipment is merely equipment,without cultural or historical limitations of any kind.



I might as well mention Appendices B, C, and D. Appendix B is a fully illustrated guide to every single weapon in the game (all 568 of them, from arrows to siege weapons). Appendix C gives
the same treatment to 209 individual pieces of armor, while Appendix D examines specific armor ensembles (i.e., suits of armor) from different European and Middle-Eastern cultures throughout history (as well as ‘typical' Dwarven and Elven armor, just for good measure). If you've ever wondered what a typical Saxon wore in battle, Fantasy Imperium doesn't just tell you – it
shows you.



Step Ten:

This step relates back to Step Four, as you'll need to sum your character's Speed Bonus, armor modifiers, and weapon modifiers (if any) to determine their total Initiative modifier. This modifier varies depending upon what kind of armor your character is wearing, what kind of weapons they wield, and what (if any) expertise they possess in utilizing such  equipment.



Step 11:

Like Step Three, this step of creating a character is entirely optional – here you select your character's Starting Spells. As you probably suspected, only characters who have spent 10 skill
points to acquire knowledge in a given category of "magick" need apply – if your character has no access to magick, you can skip this step in its entirety.



There is a another potentially game-breaking pitfall here – I say "potentially", because this pitfall can be avoided if you apply some basic deductive reasoning and make some assumptions not clearly stated in the text. This pitfall is simply one of poor explanation coupled with poor editing (which means that it could have been avoided, but sadly wasn't). Consider this an
unofficial errata of sorts:



When choosing spells, you have a number of these levels available to your character. The exact number of levels available to you is dependent upon how many categories of magick your character is versed is. The more categories of magick you are familiar with, the fewer levels you have with which to purchase starting spells, representing the reality that knowledge can be spread thin . So, what is a spell level? I have no idea. Despite being referenced frequently in the rules, what
they are is never explained – and they aren't on any of the spell tables, nor do they accompany any of the spell descriptions. That said, I managed to puzzle something out. . .



As it turns out, there are two examples of that mention spells being "X level" – after looking up these spells, I was able to ascertain that the level associated with said spells in the
examples is equal to the cost of those spells in spell points (i.e., the number of spell points that a character must expend to cast a given spell). I assume that all spells have a level equal to their casting cost, though the game never explicitly says this.


And speaking of spell points -- you might as well make a note of those while you're here (though this is overlooked as an official step during character creation). All characters who practice magick
professionally are known as Mages and begin play with ten spell points, while characters who only dabble in magick (known as Dilettantes) begin play with five spell points.



Step 12:

This step, like several others, consists of multiple parts (neither too difficult, though one of which is a bit misleading). . .



First, the Storyteller creates the character's History (this is the misleading part). A character's History in Fantasy Imperium isn't purely their backstory, rather it's the premise of the game being played as defined by cultural and historical restraints of the chosen setting (e.g., the game might demand that all PCs are French). Non-standard campaign assumptions regarding a character's life are hammered out cooperatively in Step 13 (see below).



Step 13:

Finally, the last step of creating a character is one that has been around since the times of OD&D – writing a character Background (i.e., backstory). There isn't a lot to explain here, as it's pretty much exactly what it sounds like. I have reason to believe that you're familiar with the process if you're reading this review ;)



Playing the Game:

The basic resolution rules in Fantasy Imperium, though presented in a somewhat disorganized and incomplete fashion, are simple enough – in fact, they may be too simple. When your character attempts to do something, you need to roll equal to or less than a given number on percentile dice (d100). As I'm sure you've already guessed, that number will be either a
characteristic rating or a skill rating, depending upon the exact circumstances encountered. And.
. .



That's it. There are no detailed explanations of opposed actions, contests, or other situations that are likely to crop up during actual play (outside of combat, which I discuss below). In many ways, the basic resolution system isn't written, but implied. While it is simple, I still see rule disputes arising when it comes to things such as contests of skill. At the present time, the ultimate ruling on such matters is solely in the hands of the Storyteller.



Further, there is no "basic rules" section in the book – characteristic rolls are briefly mentioned in the section of character creation dedicated to characteristics (Chapter 1), skill rolls are discussed briefly in the section of character creation dedicated to skills (Chapter 2). This confused and scattered presentation does nothing to make the basic rules easily accessible and, when coupled with the vague explanation, leaves the reader to do much assuming.



The rules pertaining to combat in Fantasy Imperium are, thankfully, both better organized and more detailed. Indeed, resolving the default two-second combat round is a 19 part process. While this initially sounds complex (I know it daunted me a bit), the truth is that most of the steps are very simple (or, in some cases, entirely optional). The combat basics are spelled out below.



You determine character Initiative (i.e., acting order) by rolling one ten-sided die and adding a given character's Initiative modifiers to the result of the die roll. Characters then act in order of descending Initiative, from highest to lowest, though the issue of tie results in not specifically addressed in the rules (and, since the rules state that characters never act simultaneously, it really
should be). The only exception to this rule is, should a character who has not already taken action be attacked, their player may forfeit said character's regular Initiative action in order to immediately perform a defensive maneuver (e.g., parrying or dodging).



To attack another character or creature, you need to roll less than your character's weapon skill percentage, adjusted by the situation per the Hit Probability Tables in Appendix G. These tables
account for both melee and ranged combat conditions, as well as providing quick base "to hit" percentages for various NPCs types (e.g., peasants, knights, etc). Additionally, if the character is
wielding a rapier,  there are a number of different (and entirely optional) offensive maneuvers that a character can perform that may modify this roll.



Indeed, this is worth mentioning – the author obviously has a familiarity with fencing, as Rapier combat is the only style of armed melee combat that comes complete with its own
exhaustive list of maneuvers (both offensive and defensive). As a result, Fantasy Imperium is very much weighted in favor of using rapiers in combat. In point of fact, specializing in any kind of melee
weapon other than a rapier doesn't make a lot of sense, mechanically. It's easy enough to house-rule this anomaly out of existence by applying the maneuver lists to all melee weapons, though as written it has the potential to unbalance the game in favor of rapier wielding characters.



Performing a defensive maneuver requires you to roll less than you character's shield skill or weapon parry percentage (a weapon's parry percentage is equal to half of your character's weapon skill, plus the weapon's parry bonus). To dodge an attack, you need to roll less than the percentage that the attacker generated to hit your character (for example, if an attacking Norman solider rolled a 38% to hit your Roman Legionnaire, you'd need to roll 37% or less for your
character to dodge the incoming attack).



There are more detailed rules for combat, of course (consisting primarily of the aforementioned specific maneuvers), though these are all optional. The above rules form the core of the Fantasy Imperium combat system. As you can see, combat isn't anywhere near  as complex as a quick glance at the sizeable number of tables in the rule book tends to make it appear. For the most part, the complexity is an illusion, as I mentioned earlier. That said, injury is a wee bit more complex than the actual act of fighting is.



When your character successfully lands a blow in combat, they'll likely damage something, even if it isn't the intended target – in Fantasy Imperium, combat is nothing to
sneeze at.



When determining damage in combat, you first need to determine where the potentially injurious blow lands. Melee attacks may be aimed at specific areas of the body (the head, torso, arms, or legs), while missile weapons are, by default, only able to strike a target in general (specific hit locations are determined randomly). That said, specific locations in excess of those normally associated with a given type of attack may be specified in exchange for a -25% penalty to the attacker's weapon skill.



After you have determined where a weapon blow has landed, you need to determine the severity with which it struck by rolling the weapon's damage rating (each weapon deals a random
amount of damage) and, if applicable, adding your character's bonus for superior strength to the result (if applicable). The protection value of any armor that the target fo the attack is wearing in then subtracted from the amount of damage dealt. If the damage dealt is reduced to zero or less in this manner, only the armor takes damage. If there is any damage remaining, it has bypassed the target's armor and carries over directly to their person.



Now, this is where things get more complex – if any damage penetrates the target's armor, you roll for extra damage based on the type of weapon (e.g., edged, blunt, or pointy) used to deliver the blow in question. Now, all of this extra damage, plus the initial damage dealt, determines the severity of the wound itself – Minor (1-4 damage), Light (5-9 damage), Serious (10-14 damage), Critical (15-19 damage), or Terminal (20+ damage). This total amount of damage is also multiplied by the appropriate Trauma Value on the Hit Location chart. This is what determines the total number of Hits that a character loses.



Dying as the result of one well-placed blow is a very real possibility in Fantasy Imperium. A character can die in one of four ways – receiving a Terminal wound to the head or body, bleeding to death after combat is over due to their injuries, having their total number of hits reduced to zero by their injuries, or failing to recover from a grievous injury after combat is over.  Additionally, after every wound that a character receives, their player must roll equal to or less than the character's Stun value on 1d100 in order for that character to avoid being stunned (though Serious wounds or worse automatically stun a character). When a character is stunned, they can take absolutely no action and are completely open to subsequent attacks.



And these are the damage basics – there are rules for blood loss, specific wound effects (e.g., crippled and severed limbs). Arguably, determining and tracking damage is not only the most complex aspect of combat in Fantasy Imperium, but of the system as a whole. The good news is that you can make due with the rules above – you only need to take things such as blood loss and specific injury effects into consideration if simulating real combat is a big concern for you. Ignoring such detail doesn't break the system in any way whatsoever.



This brings us to Spiritual Warfare – and, yes, this is a Christian concept. As mentioned earlier the default deity of Fantasy Imperium is the Christian God (note the big G). The default
world view of medieval Europe makes this a necessity, of course (it's not that there weren't other religions around, merely that Christianity was the predominant religion at the time). To clarify,
however, Spiritual Warfare isn't what is sounds like – it's not all about smiting what one perceives as evil, but about practicing personal virtue and exercising faith in one's own life.



Spiritual Warfare, as Fantasy Imperium frames it, is more about exhibiting certain virtues (e.g., generosity, humility, love, etc), taking vows of service (e.g., vow of poverty, fasting, performing charity work, etc), and refraining from sinful behavior (e.g., pride, avarice, lust, etc). This makes the system a somewhat dramatic departure from other RPGs with a Christian theme, as most such games consider Spiritual Warfare to be a literal fight (complete with blood and violence), rather than
the personal endeavor of setting an example for others.



Ironically, although Fantasy Imperium doesn't set out to be a Christian fantasy RPG by design, I think it actually handles the theme of Spiritual Warfare much better than many professed
"Christian" games do by emphasizing that personal responsibility (not martial combat) is the most effective weapon against evil. There are, of course, rules for resisting demon possession and casting demons out of others, though neither of these requires bloodshed – instead, both of these things rely upon invoking prayers (not rote scripture, mind you) and relying upon one's own Piety (as mentioned earlier in this review).



As a Christian and as somebody who is keenly aware of how shallow standard evangelical rhetoric tends to be, I have to applaud the author of Fantasy Imperium with regard to the
Spiritual Warfare rules. The rules don't treat Christianity as the one true way to enlightenment (indeed, I'll discuss the rules for magick in just a moment), nor do they use the concept of Spiritual
Warfare to proselytize. As the rules are written, they're merely another wrinkle in the fabric of Fantasy Imperium, neither overtly exclusionary or preachy in nature. I'm very impressed with how
this aspect of the system was handled. Which brings us to magick. . .



Magick in Fantasy Imperium comes in four different varieties, as mentioned previously (although a character cannot begin play with knowledge of Black Magick). Each of these categories
is further divided into specific skills. Ceremonial Magick skills include Alchymy, Conjuration, Ritualism, and Spiritualism. Natural Magick skills include Deceivers, Elementalism, Enchantment,
and Sorcery. Extrasensory Magick skills include Mysticism, Psychics, Seer, and Talismanic.The only Black Magick skill is Black Arts (it cover all things foul, essentially).



Now, I've already let slip quite a bit how magick and spells work earlier in this review. You already know how to select spells and that your character must expend Power (i.e., spell points) to
cast them. That said, each spell also has a specific percentile difficulty that you must roll equal to or less than on 1d100 in order for your character to successfully cast it. There are also, depending upon the specific spell, certain limitations in the form of required material components, time constraints, and such. There is also a specific Spell Failure table for each broad type of magick (the big
four).



Given the attention paid to martial combat in Fantasy Imperium, I was a bit surprised to see that spell casting didn't receive the same kind of treatment. That said, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, as I think that handling magick in a similar manner would have made it much less. . . well. . .
magical. Ultimately, though simple, the magick rules work well during actual play, thought hey tend to take a back seat to combat (given the low medieval nature of the game, this may be
intentional).



Finally, this brings us to character advancement. As in many games, the PCs in a game of Fantasy Imperium gain experience points. There aren't any hard and fast rules for awarding these
points in the core rule book (I suspect that this is more the domain of the planned Storyteller's Guide) – basically, the Storyteller awards players with 1-10 such experience points per game session and the player spends these points to make skill development rolls.



A skill development roll is the one percentile die roll in Fantasy Imperium that you want to generate a  high result. If your roll result exceeds the current rating of the skill that
you are trying to improve, you may add 1d6 percentage points to that skill's rating (or 1d3 percentage points if that skill is ranked over 80% and one percentage point if it is already ranked
90% or more). Further, three quarters of a character's experience points must be spent on their professional skills, though for five experience points, you may change your character's
profession.


     
Other Things You Need to Know:

As mentioned earlier, Fantasy Imperium doesn't have a default setting – it gives you our choice of two. Well, it also doesn't have any monsters by default (there is no bestiary in the core
book). This might be a deal killer ofr some folks, but I'd be remiss to point out that Fantasy Imperium isn't alone here (neither the popular Rifts or Burning Wheel contain a bestiary in their
core books, for example).



Also, since it is bound to come up -- movement in the Fantasy Imperium rules is reminiscent of that in AD&D (not D&D 3x), with one inch equaling five feet and all movement being abstracted
into inches. This makes it easy to to both calculate movement in your head or on the tabletop (with minis, rulers, and the whole nine yards).


                       
The Final Verdict:

The ideas in Fantasy Imperium are simple and solid, with the exception of the earlier mentioned pitfall inherent in characteristic generation and the subsequent clumsy efforts to address it. That said, content editing gaffes greatly complicate the rules for magick (especially where character creation is concerned) and the basic system is scattered here, there, and everywhere. What's worse, when you find it, the explanations tend to be very vague. These aren't simple typos that can be easily dismissed
as a purely cosmetic flaw. These are genuine pitfalls.



Editing gaffes are the major thing holding Fantasy Imperium back. Indeed, whoever was responsible for the content editing of Fantasy Imperium was extremely lax. The game itself introduces some very interesting ideas and what would appear to be a simple, very playable, system if not for the poor organization andgenerally vague explanations of how things (again, outside of combat) work. The game also has a few potentially troubling quirks, such as the fixation on rapiers in melee combat.



I really wanted to love Fantasy Imperium as there aren't many low medieval fantasy games on the market and it's a  genre mode that I have great affection for. Ultimately, however, the poor
content editing introduced an unforgivable number of flaws into what could have otherwise been a very fine game. Typographical errors are no big deal – and, remarkably, the game has few of them. What it has many of are major organization gaffes and vague explanations that make a second, corrected, printing of Fantasy Imperium highly desirable.



The bottom line is that there are many good ideas here and, I think, a good game system in Fantasy Imperium – it just needs some competent copy editors to unlock its potential.

 

jdrakeh

#1
January 03, 2007, 04:50:53 AM
I sincerely apologize for that formatting. For some reason, the review submission form hates pre-formatted text. It might be my browser. It may be an issue with submitting in HTML. I'll have to puzzle this out over the next week or so. Any help would be much appreciated. :confused:
 

Mcrow

#2
January 03, 2007, 10:44:01 AM
Quote from: jdrakehI sincerely apologize for that formatting. For some reason, the review submission form hates pre-formatted text. It might be my browser. It may be an issue with submitting in HTML. I'll have to puzzle this out over the next week or so. Any help would be much appreciated. :confused:

Nice review, thanks fro posting it.:D

I corrected the formatting as much as I could. unfortunately the system does not like preformatted stuff.

lev_lafayette

#3
January 08, 2007, 06:42:55 AM
Most reviews (myself included)* don't think as highly as Fantasy Imperium as yourself.

For example:

1) The "roll randomly on d100 for characteristics in order" has a harsh bell curve and usually means that players get characters that the don't really want.

2) The extremely impoverished skill and experience point system doesn't help (did you work out whether experience is allocated or randomly rolled on d10).

3) The astoundingly ahistorical magic system (especially for a game that is supposed to be historic fantasy).  

4) The incredibly naive treatment of feudal professions.

5) The fact that designing a simple character takes an hour and a half...

6) and sweet mother, did you test the combat system? Just one hit takes eight rolls. I'm not sure whether this really is a good thing. Actually, I'm pretty sure it isn't.

This is aside of the authors rather meagre description of regional history and his unkind treatment of medieval Islam.

* http://bluealien.org/node/203
* http://community.livejournal.com/roleplayers/1099346.html

Spike

#4
January 08, 2007, 11:11:46 AM
Quote from: lev_lafayette3) The astoundingly ahistorical magic system (especially for a game that is supposed to be historic fantasy).  


* http://bluealien.org/node/203
* http://community.livejournal.com/roleplayers/1099346.html


Am I the only one that finds that line totally giggle-worthy?  Historical accuracy in a magic system??? For a Fantasy game????


:rolleyes:
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#5
January 08, 2007, 06:16:56 PM
Quote from: SpikeAm I the only one that finds that line totally giggle-worthy?  Historical accuracy in a magic system??? For a Fantasy game????


:rolleyes:

pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease tell me that as well as a total smeghead swine Lev is also a "wiccan" or "ritual magician", pleasepleaseplease!!!!  That would be the icing on the fucking cake, the official "too fucking stupid to live" stamp on his forehead.  

He'd be the Swine equivalent of a "perfect storm".

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lev_lafayette

#6
January 08, 2007, 06:48:49 PM
Quote from: SpikeAm I the only one that finds that line totally giggle-worthy?  Historical accuracy in a magic system??? For a Fantasy game????
:rolleyes:

Specifically, for a game that claims to be "historical fantasy".

For example, there could have been a discussion on ancient hermetic magic, Roman theurgy, the cult of relics and veneration in Christendom, astrology, Islamic siher and so forth.

Instead one gets Ceremonial magic (Alchymy, Conjuration, Ritualistic, Spiritualism), Natural magic (Deceiver, Elementalism, Enchantment, Sorcery), Extrasensory magic (Mysticism, Psychic, Seer, Talismanic), and Black magic (The Black Arts) all of which are described in the same manner and with no cultural referants.

If the game had pitched itself as being "just another fantasy RPG" I would have shrugged and thought "well, like I haven't seen that before". However it specifically argues that it an "interactive storytelling campaign of historic fantasy" (specifically Europe in 1121 and 1348 CE). The magic system certainly doesn't support this claim.

The Yann Waters

#7
January 08, 2007, 06:52:22 PM
Quote from: lev_lafayetteHowever it specifically argues that it an "interactive storytelling campaign of historic fantasy" (specifically Europe in 1121 and 1348 CE). The magic system certainly doesn't support this claim.
From time to time, similar accusations have been levelled at Ars Magica as well, of course.
Previously known by the name of "GrimGent".

Spike

#8
January 08, 2007, 08:26:05 PM
Quote from: lev_lafayetteSpecifically, for a game that claims to be "historical fantasy".

For example, there could have been a discussion on ancient hermetic magic, Roman theurgy, the cult of relics and veneration in Christendom, astrology, Islamic siher and so forth.

*Snip needless listing*
.

well, unless you want to claim any of those types of real world 'magic' ever did a single fucking magical thing...

Making up a whole new magical system is hardly a crime against accuracy. This is 'fantasy' after all.  None of those systems historically worked, so its perfectly fair to postulate some that did.  Besides, this is not, I assume, some sort of textbook... it is... wait for it...








wait for it.....









A fucking Game. :rolleyes:
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#9
January 08, 2007, 09:11:11 PM
Quote from: GrimGentFrom time to time, similar accusations have been levelled at Ars Magica as well, of course.

The only "authentic" historical system I've seen for medieval magic was in the spanish game Aquelarre, which doesn't do a bunch of new-age wiccan crap, or even the "hermetic magic" bad aleister-crowley-imitation nonsense that was actually much more of a renaissance gig; it did a whole bunch of wierd good old fashioned curses and love talismans and shit that made no sense whatsoever, using all kinds of silly ingredients and superstitious notions which is, to our best historical understanding, what really passed for "magic" around the 13th century.

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lev_lafayette

#10
January 08, 2007, 09:27:35 PM
Quote from: GrimGentFrom time to time, similar accusations have been levelled at Ars Magica as well, of course.

Yes, I can imagine that would be the case. Ars Magica's saving grace of course is that the magic system (particularly spontaneous magic) was interesting, new and had the sense of being genuine with the use of Latin. FI doesn't have these features.

lev_lafayette

#11
January 08, 2007, 09:34:03 PM
Quote from: Spikewell, unless you want to claim any of those types of real world 'magic' ever did a single fucking magical thing...

IMO, consistency in a fantasy historical setting means that you use what was believed to work at the time.

QuoteMaking up a whole new magical system is hardly a crime against accuracy. This is 'fantasy' after all.  None of those systems historically worked, so its perfectly fair to postulate some that did.  Besides, this is not, I assume, some sort of textbook... it is... wait for it...

I think you may assume somewhat incorrectly. The author of FI did see the need to provide over one hundred pages of illustrations of medieval weapons and armour. Thirty one knives. Fifteen hand axes ... and so on to the five oxybeles, the five trebuchet (traction) and the seven trebuchet (counterpoise). Then there was the armour.

lev_lafayette

#12
January 08, 2007, 09:39:00 PM
Quote from: RPGPunditThe only "authentic" historical system I've seen for medieval magic was in the spanish game Aquelarre, which doesn't do a bunch of new-age wiccan crap, or even the "hermetic magic" bad aleister-crowley-imitation nonsense that was actually much more of a renaissance gig; it did a whole bunch of wierd good old fashioned curses and love talismans and shit that made no sense whatsoever, using all kinds of silly ingredients and superstitious notions which is, to our best historical understanding, what really passed for "magic" around the 13th century.

Personally, I think that would be ideal for a game that is about historical fantasy. I'd heard good things about Aquelarre (specifically the relationship between magic use, resistance and rationality). What you say makes me more interested.

RPGPundit

#13
January 08, 2007, 10:14:21 PM
Quote from: lev_lafayettePersonally, I think that would be ideal for a game that is about historical fantasy. I'd heard good things about Aquelarre (specifically the relationship between magic use, resistance and rationality). What you say makes me more interested.

Hmmm... interesting.

Aquelarre is spectacular.  Far better, for example, than CoC Dark Ages, while trying to accomplish much the same thing.

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ARROWS OF INDRA
Arrows of Indra: The Old-School Epic Indian RPG!
NOW AVAILABLE: AoI in print form

LORDS OF OLYMPUS
The new Diceless RPG of multiversal power, adventure and intrigue, now available.

Balbinus

#14
January 13, 2007, 10:31:44 AM
Lev has a good point, a historically accurate magic system is a system that reflects a magic that works as people of the time believed it worked.

Aquellare for example, Fvlminata has a fair stab at this too.

Ars does not have a historically accurate magic system, it's one of the ironies of the game that it follows the medieval paradigm as best it can save in the core element of the game.  However, it has a great magic system, so it's a great game anyway.  

There was a supplement for fourth edition Ars called Hedge Magics which contained historically accurate magic systems, and very good it was too.

Now, I've no issue with a game having secret magic and saying that historically they had it wrong, this is the real deal.  And a game with historical magic is great.  What leaves me cold is games with overt ahistorical magic, because at that point the setting ceases to make much sense.
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