[Review] Falling Scales, Chapter One SAS for World of Darkness

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t usually review adventures, but I was intrigued by the idea of a multi-part chronicle specifically for the mortals of the World of Darkness, and Falling Scales seemed like a perfectly good place to start.

To those unfamiliar with the SAS system, the adventure is divided into scenes, which interact in a loose network. Unlike some adventures I’ve read, the SAS format allows for some extra flexibility as to how these scenes relate to each other and how they’re sequenced. It’s a rules-lite means of handling structure, I suppose and it does come off as fairly easy to use.

The adventure itself is suspenseful and introduces a few good  villain characters, including an Aswang (yay for Filipino Folklore!) and some rather interesting villains, both mortal and supernatural. There’s a good mix of combat and investigation, though the social aspect of it might not really be anything to write home about. The scenario makes for a good entry point into the World of Darkness, though the presence of one particularly interesting plot element makes it difficult to run with supernatural player characters, so that might be something to consider if you plan to run this for an ongoing campaign.

Overall Falling Scales, Chapter One comes off as an easy to use adventure that a new ST can use to kick off a chronicle in the World of Darkness. I’ll probably save this for my next WoD campaign.

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Falling Scales Chapter One is available from DriveThruRPG for $6.99 or roughly Php 315.00

[Review] Legend of the Burning Sands by Alderac

After what seemed to be an eternity, Alderac has finally released the PDF version of the sought after Legend of the Burning Sands RPG into the wild.

Released back in the days of 3rd Edition L5R, Legend of the Burning Sands (LBS) was a huge thing for me when it came out as it broadened the scope of L5R’s setting of Rokugan, and introduced new cultures and factions that were all interesting and potentially fun to play.

LBS takes place in Rokugan’s sister setting, the Burning Sands. Despite sharing the same “World” the Burning Sands was an entirely different setting with it’s own cultural norms and societies that are a far cry from the asian-inspired nature of Rokugan.

The Burning Sands is a harsh desert that holds multiple cultures, whose lives revolve around Medinat al-Salaam, the massive city ruled by the Caliph. Nine factions exist in the city: The Khadi, Qolat, the Ashalan, the Assassins, the Ebonites, The Jackals, the Ra’Shari, the Senpet and the Yodotai.

The city of Medinaat Al-Saalam is the focus of the game, and constitutes the majority of the attention to the setting. Everything from demographics to economics is given attention, and there’s enough material for a GM to spin off more than enough plot hooks for a lengthy campaign.

Of these factions, seven are given a chapter to themselves. These are the Ashalan, Assassins, Ra’Shari, Senpet, Yodotai, Jackals and Ebonites, and compose the playable factions in the game. Each of these are given a thorough treatment which include their histories, secrets, methods and techniques unique to each faction.

The system is pretty much the Roll and Keep system with minor tweaks aimed towards showing how magic here is very different from importuning Kami in Rokugan. Familiarity with L5R is nice, but the system is treated in full as to not require the L5R corebook to run a game.

There’s also a bestiary of the local wildlife, and a Jinn creation system to simulate these mysterious (and dangerous) beings native to the Burning Sands.

Legend of the Burning Sands is stuffed with information, and sometimes it feels that the artwork had to be sacrificed to make space. There’s art for each of the factions, but aside from that, there’s very little else out there. I don’t mind, but it might intimidate a few readers who aren’t used to seeing walls of text.

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Despite its age, I still recommend Legend of the Burning Sands. It works well as both a standalone product and as a supplement for the L5R games, and introduces an entirely different setting with its own interesting cultures. The setting is still every bit as interesting and compelling as it was the first time I picked it up as a CCG, and I’m more than happy to see that I can now run my own adventures in the Burning Sands in tabletop form.

For those who are currently playing the 4th Edition of L5R, Alderac has provided a Conversion Document that will make it easy for anyone to translate LBS to their 4th edition L5R game.

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Legend of the Burning Sands is now available from DriveThruRPG for only $24.99 or roughly Php 1125.00

[Let's Study: Yggdrasill] Part 5: Magic of Scandia

Now that we’re done talking about most of the mundane world of Yggdrasill, let’s take a dip in the supernatural side of things with a look at the magic system.

Yggdrasill starts off with a quick rundown of the threefold soul as the Scandians understand it, composed of the Hugr, or world-soul, the Hamr or the individual soul, and the Fylgja which is equivalent to a spirit guide.

There are three basic spellcasting forms in Yggdrasill: Seidr (sorcery), Galdr (incantations) and Runes. All spells are considered to operate on line of sight range, and may take multiple actions to cast.

Spellcasting considerations are given full attention here, including  hurrying or extending a spell, taking damage while spellcasting, and resisting spells.

Seidr

Sorcery is the magic practiced by Freya, and the one that she taught to Odin. This form of magic uses complex rituals and sacred ecstatic rites, where the practicioner falls into a sacred trance and frees his Hamr soul to communicate with the spirits.

Examples of Seidr spells include: divination, protection, healing, mastery of the elements (weather magic) and  curses.

Galdr

Incantation magic is tied to the power of the voice, and is often used by skalds. This is Odin’s magic, as he is also a master of poetry.

Unlike Seidr’s set spell lists, Galdr has three paths: Curses, Illusions and Charms, each of which is subdivided into five domains each. Spellcasters learn these domains and try to learn as many as they can to expand their power.

Mechanically Galdr serves as a partial freeform magic where the player sets the parameters of the spell being cast and draws the Success Threshold from there.

Runes

Rune magic involved engraving it on a given material, and stained with the blood of the caster. The sort of material matters as it determines the duration of the spell.

As with reading runes, the runes may be written right way up, or upside down, which will determine if the effect happens normally , or if it has an opposite effect.

Runes also have their own separate listing of spells, each keyed to a particular rune. Runes aren’t a spontaneous sort of magic like Galdr or Seidr are, but one that is more deliberate and rewards people who are used to planning ahead.

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Yggdrasill might seem like a game that’s well grounded in low fantasy, but the presence of three magic systems fixes that handily. The Seidr, Galdr and Rune magics are all very flavorful and reward magic users in a genre more known for Axes, Mead and frothing in the mouth.

Yggrasill is rapidly becoming a benchmark title for making a solid setting in my experience.

Legend of the Burning Sands Now Available on PDF from DriveThruRPG!

Finally!

I don’t even remember just how many  years I’ve waited for this product to go PDF, but the wait is worth it. Legend of the Burning Sands is the sister setting to Alderac’s Legend of the Five Rings, exploring the lands of north of the Rokugan. The Burning Sands presents a unique spin on middle-eastern cultures with the same flair as L5R’s take on Asian cultures.

While written for compatibility with the 3rd Edition of L5R, Alderac has also provided a Conversion Document for L5R 4e players, so the book works well for both editions.

To the north of the Empire of Rokugan, lies a mysterious land called the Burning Sands, where great empires clash, where deadly intrigues abound in the great Jewel of the Desert, and where intrigue and war are one in the same. To Rokugani, the Burning Sands are a gaijin enigma. But as the long exile of the Unicorn and the shorter exile of the Scorpion have proven, the destinies of the two are intertwined, whether the Rokugani understand this or not.

The Legend of the Burning Sands has exerted a powerful pull on the imagination of gamers since its debut with the collectible card game in 1998. With this book, it joins the Legend of the Five Rings Role-playing Game with its unique core Roll and Keep mechanics. But, it can also be used as a stand-alone role-playing game product.

• Descriptions and new mechanics for all of the major factions of the Burning Sands, from the proud Yodotai and Senpet Empires to the stealthy Assassins and Jackals
• Continues of the history of the Burning Sands from the end of the Collectible Card Game story arc
• A condensed version of the Legend of the Five Rings Role-playing Game Third Edition rules for those using this as a stand-alone role-playing game
• Notes for meshing both games for those already familiar with the system

Legend of the Burning Sands is now available from DriveThruRPG for only $24.99 or roughly Php 1125.00