Review Originally Published January 3rd, 2001
What I think I like best about Forge: Out of Chaos is the fact that it manages – while avoiding the common pitfall of market ignorance in assuming that D&D is the only game which has ever existed – to unabashedly bask in the glory of “Old School” gaming. Dungeon crawls, monster bashing, ornate pantheons of gods – all the fun stuff that used to fill you with awe and pulled you into gaming in the first place.
And maybe its just nostalgia overcoming me at the grand ol’ age of twenty, but I love this stuff.
So when I opened this game up and found, immediately within its cover, a twelve-page retrospective on the gods and creation of the world of Juravia, my inner child did a little dance, scampered around for a bit, and then kicked up its heels for a really fun ride.
It’s just too bad that the next two hundred pages failed at every single level.
It’s just too bad that the designers, for reasons beyond the comprehension of man, decided to randomly generate attributes by rolling 2d6 + .1d10. (Yes, you read that right: You generate decimals.)
It’s just too bad that this skill-based system utterly fails to describe the rules for resolving any sort of non-combat action. (Yes, you read that right: If it doesn’t involve swinging a weapon or casting a spell, there aren’t any rules for it in Forge: Out of Chaos.)
It’s just too bad that, after those twelve pages of creation myth, not a single scrap of information about the world of Juravia is contained in this book.
It’s just too bad that the art in this book is not only consistently mediocre, but regularly ripped off from other sources. (I don’t care – adding wings to the giant serpent does not disguise the fact that you ripped off Michael Whelan‘s cover for Conan the Usurper.)
It’s just too bad that Basement Games, like so many other would-be game publishers, not only felt a need to reinvent the wheel – but make it in the shape of a square.
Forge: Out of Chaos tries to move beyond D&D and embrace the larger tool-set of game design tools available today, but somewhere along the way it all went horribly, horribly wrong.
Writers: Mike Kibbe, Paul Kibbe, Mark Kibbe, Jim Childs, Scott Hawkey, Blair Hughes, and Loraine Sivoy
Publisher: Basement Games Unlimited, LLC
Price: $19.95
Page Count: 202
ISBN: 1-892294-00-1
Product Code: BGU1001
As described in my review of Enchanted Worlds, during 2000 I was trying to diversify the markets for my RPG reviews. This included seeking paying gigs from outlets like Games Unplugged and Pyramid Magazine, but also from websites like the long-defunct and, as far as I can tell, almost completely forgotten Gaming Outpost. At the time, though, the Gaming Outpost actually a pretty big deal in the online RPG community, and publishers would send them review copies.
I was kind of a sucker for weird, obscure, and unusual games, so I think Graveyard Greg, who ran the site, would send me the stuff that nobody else was willing to take.
I was looking for diamonds in the rough. Unfortunately, I didn’t find one here.
Hey Justin, I know you mentioned back in 2015 Ironclaw, and I know you did that review on Usagi Yojimbo recently, but do you ever plan on reviewing the Ironclaw books or Cardinal system they use?
I always enjoy your reviews and am curious to your opinion on those (if you ever get a chance to review them).
Wow. Decimal stats. That’s a new one on me.
And yet, somehow, I think I know EXACTLY what inspired this madness. Which makes me wonder: in your time as an RPG historian, have you ever stumbled across an explanation for WHY percentile strength was a thing?
Bad work from 3 different Kibbes.