Roma Imperious is (obviously) Roman themed fantasy RPG. Roma has strong fantasy elements , so if your are looking for a strictly historical Roman RPG this game is not for you.  Also for full disclosure: I’m listed as a play tester in both the Iridium and True 20 version of the Roma Imperious but in fact I only play tested the Iridium version and this review will focus mostly on the True 20 parts.

Roma Imperious True 20  takes the original game and adapts it to the True 20 system. Instead of being a complete game as it is in the Iridium version, the True 20 version is made into a setting book. I think it was great idea moving to a setting book because while I liked the Iridium system most people liked the setting and were hit and miss on the system. So, Hinterwelt brings Roma’s excellent setting to a more widely accepted system.

The basic premise is that instead of the Roman Empire falling Constantine learned magic from Druids who had aided him in an earlier campaign. With the discovery of magic schools(schola magi) were established and new magi were trained. Magic has become essential to the Empires existence. Magic has improved farming, communications, transporting goods & people (the legions), and everyday life in the Empire. While magic has improved most every aspect of Roman life, it has also spawned it's own share of monsters, beasts, and tyrants. Some rogue magi summon demons, beasts, and monsters. When left alone monsters to do what they do, they multiply! In some areas of he empire wandering bands of cannibal dwarves, Cyclops and giants roam and if you are to close the Alkatian border maybe even some Terragena.

Roma Imperious True 20 is a 289 page book, the first 100 pages is all setting info. New to the setting info is a section on Britannia that is covered in about two and half pages. Britannia is know for it’s druids, dragons, and dragon hunters. I’m not sure what Hinterwelt has planned for this game line but I know at one time there was an entire supplement planned for Britannia, but the section in this book should give you a place to start. I’m not an expert on Roman history and this game was not meant to be a historical text but it seems to me that all of the Roman “controlled” lands are represented in the setting section and provide nice adventure seeds for each. There are also larger sections on Alkasas (the land of the evil magi and magical beasts),  Scandia (Norsemen who are magic weary), and the Jade Empire.

The new True 20 elements seem to mesh well with the Iridium system’s basic themes. Heroic Paths are near mirror images of the Iridium system classes: You start with certain skills and abilities(feats). So, those that are familiar with the Iridium system classes should be comfortable with “heroic paths”.  The Paths included are Artificer, Medicus, Druid, Magus, Priest, Shaman, Assassin, Augur, Bandit, Blacksmith, Courtesan, Mercator, Praetorian Guard, Sage, Scout, Thief, Monk, Gladiator, Hunter, Imperial Guard, Knight, Legionary, Shih Warrior, Specialist and Tribal Warrior. As you can see there are a lot of options. Most Paths get  around 4 skills and  4 feats (give or take) to start with.

The Paths make character creation fast and easy but Hinterwelt went one step further and included several regenerated 1st level characters that are ready to play and ideal for con games or new players.

Skills are largely the same as the True 20 version with some updates for Roma’s setting. Examples are you can use bluff to seduce and Diplomacy to grovel. I have not read all of the True 20 material, just the core book but it seems like there are several new feats. Some interesting ones are: “Fortune Favors the Brave” which gives characters a bonus when outnumbered or facing higher level opponents, “ Seize the Day” allows you a great benefit when in front of an audience, and  “ Reputation of Excellence” which gives your character a bonus to his reputation based on how skilled he is at a given task. The problem with “ Reputation of Excellence” is that it references “a bonus to reputation” and reputation does not appear to be described anywhere in the book and does not reference to any other True 20 book. It appears to have been simply left out or this feat was included by mistake after the reputation mechanics were edited out. (Update, ther rules for reputation are on pg. 26 of the true 20 core rules).

Magic is handled similarly in the True 20 version as it was handled in the Iridium system version. There are three main magic systems: Cleric (free form), Spell, and Chi (a mix of the first two).

Free Magic  form allows the players to make up effects on the fly, the GM assigns a difficulty, and the player makes a power check using their wisdom score. A character can use this ability as many times as they want but will suffer a -3 penalty each time past the first. In addition if a natural 1 is rolled on the power check the character is hit with backlash can range from a minor buzz to the brain to totally destroying the psyche. The free form system’s advantage is that it allows for ultimate creativity for players but also requires the GM to be good at making stuff up on the fly and is open to abuse by players if the GM allows it. Still, in groups I’ve played in this has not been an issue.

The spell system has set spells and characters may spend spell point to cast spells and in most cases it does not require a die roll to determine success.

The Chi system is a hybrid. Characters get either a single power or a group of powers that they can use by spending Chi points. The list of Chi abilities  in the book seems to be much smaller or limited than I remember from the Iridium system.

Combat used the base system from the True 20 core rules (you will need a copy of the True 20 rules) so the weapons and equipment section is essentially a reference section specific to the setting. The good thing is that there are a lot of weapons and equipment (magical and mundane) listed in the section. There also is a rather large bestiary (about 50 pages) that provides plenty of interesting foes for the players. In the back of the book is a nice little adventure called “Murder in Roma” which is a good 1st level adventure outline. I’ve had the opportunity to play “Murder in Roma” and I is good enough to be sold on it’s own.

The look and layout of Roma Imperious True 20 is very well done and in similar fashion as the Iridium version was. The art ranges from good to very good with Kui Devil and cannibal dwarf being my two favorites. The only gripe I have with the physical parts of the book  is the chapter order, I would have liked the pregens in the appendix section and equipment between  skills & feats and magic but that’s just a matter of personal taste. I’m still not a huge fan of the cover either, it seems a little too cartoonish. I would have liked a more life like version.

Roma Imperious is a great addition to the True 20 market. If you like historical flavor in your fantasy settings, you should take a serious look at Roma Imperious True 20 for your next campaign setting. I don’t think many people would be disappointed by this setting.

Thanks for the review Mike. Thorough job as always. I will post it up on our site an PR it to others.

Bill

Quote from: HinterWelt;225953Thanks for the review Mike. Thorough job as always. I will post it up on our site an PR it to others.

Bill

Thanks.

Was my assumption on the reputation thing correct?

Thanks for the excellent review!

Quote from: Mcrow;226032Thanks.

Was my assumption on the reputation thing correct?

The rules for the reputation bonus are described in the True20 core rules (page 26 under "Reputation"). I wrote the rules for Roma Imperious True20 with the assumption that the reader was already familiar with the core True20 rules since the book states on the cover that they are required to use Roma True20.

Each class or "heroic role" in True20 has a reputation bonus based on their level. You will notice that the reputation bonus for the Martial Artist class is listed in the last column of the table on page 99 of Roma Imperious True20. The other roles found in True20 Adventure Roleplaying have their reputation bonuses similarly listed. The description of what that bonus means and how to use it is in the True20 core rules (page 26 in the hardcover version of the True20 core rules).

Parhaps a page reference in Roma True20 would have been helpful, but at the time I was writing it, I didn't see the need for one any more than a page reference on other common rules included in the tables for each heroic role like the combat bonus or saving throw bonuses.

If you are familiar with reputation bonuses in d20 Modern, it works more or less the same way in True20.

Hope that helps!
-Matt Kaiser

I figured I would punt this to Matthew since he did the conversion.

Bill

Yeah, I remembered seeing the rules for reputation someplace but couldn't remember where. For some reason I thought it was in one of the supplements or something.