There are a few things in this world that I’m a total sucker for, and one of them is fantasy gaming systems. I buy nearly all of them that I can find, but rarely do they capture that spirit of raw excitement that I first felt upon opening that very first Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set that Christmas morning so long ago.

I’m pleased to say that “Iron Gauntlets” from Politically Incorrect Games brings that magic back for me in a big, big way.

An easily customized, dice-pool system makes this the tinkering game master’s dreams come true. Task resolution is a simple formula: dice pool = Attribute score; every die rolled resulting in a number equal to or less than the appropriate skill value = one step; task success depends on exceeding the number of steps required by the difficulty level of the task. There are plenty of options to add into the task resolution system depending on its context, allowing quick customization of the game to suit the sophistication and tastes of a game group.

 Playing around with the character creation system, I found that I could pretty much represent any sort of fantasy milieu that had ever crossed my mind. Before long, I had Puritan witch-hunters, brave Celtic warriors, questing knights, shadowy wizards and even more. The character generation system has a lot of wiggle room, with plenty of vocations, gimmicks, skills, races, backgrounds and more that can allow most players to make whatever their heart’s desire.

My only major concern with “Iron Gauntlets” is its magic system. Iron Gauntlets uses a loosely-structured, free-form magic system, and while I am a fan of these myself, in the wrong hands these systems can result in game balance quickly flying out the window. The author, cognizant of the power inherent in the magic rules, encourages gamemasters to only allow one or two magic-using characters in any group. This is probably advice well-followed.

One of the first things that I do whenever I crack open a new game system is to head straight toward the “monsters” section. It’s the horror fan in me, I suppose. I was not at all disappointed with the selection of creatures offered by “Iron Gauntlets”. All of them seemed balanced, with most of the representative standard fantasy creatures found within its pages.

Although “Iron Gauntlets” is well-suited for homebrewed campaigns, the author went the extra step of including a very well planned campaign milieu, complete with unique creatures, peoples, and cultures, so it is absolutely possible to jump right into play shortly after purchasing the book.

Even better, “Iron Gauntlets” comes packaged with an introductory adventure, and – continuing the fine Politically Incorrect Games tradition of giving you more than you probably even deserve – a set of “Disposable Heroes” paper miniatures and battlemaps.

My verdict on “Iron Gauntlets” is that it is standard fantasy that is anything but “standard,” and would be a good purchase for anyone with a taste for fantasy roleplaying.






 

Thanks for the review!

Quote from: jrientsThanks for the review!

Indeed. Many thanks!

Nice review.

IG is hard to beat if you want a fantasy system on the lighter end.

Great review of a great game, Matt!

-clash