Tagline: Fading Suns is AD&D in space, but it keeps the best parts and gets rid of the worst. Its system is much like what AD&D could have become if it had kept pace with the rest of the industry and its setting combines the best of pulp sci-fi and moody Dark Age fantasy. Fading Suns is flawed only by a surprisingly poor organization.

Writing reviews for RPGNet is what first taught me rudimentary HTML coding skills, and it started with this review. (I know this because my original copy of this review is a Word document filled with HTML coding.) The reason for this was simple: My reviews were getting longer and more complex (I’ll talk about this a little more at the end of the review), and I needed to use HTML coding in order to format the reviews into something that could actually be read. So it wasn’t just a new set of skills: It was also a burgeoning understanding that format and structure is important in clear communication.

Fading Suns is a game full of surprises – not all of them good.

When I first read through the game I was pleasantly surprised by a background which teemed with exciting possibilities and unexplored avenues, by a rule set which seemed simple and well conceived, and by evocative and primally powerful artwork. It was a package which was surprisingly well done and with quality material inside it. I sat down to prepare a properly enthusiastic two-thumbs-up, five-star review.

In doing a review of a main rulebook the first thing I prepare are my “cheat sheets” for the game. These cheat sheets summarize all the rules of the system – from character creation to basic resolution to combat resolution to any optional, secondary rulesets (for disease, etc.) that might be used by the system in question. I also include the game’s lists (skill list, equipment list, etc.). I can then use these “cheat sheets” to both create characters for the game and also to run the game in question. They are exceptionally useful, and I have also found that in preparing a review for the game they improve my explanation of the basic mechanics and help me put my thoughts in order so that I don’t just ramble on and on.

In creating the cheat sheets for Fading Suns, however, I began running into some rather unpleasant surprises. The rules are not well laid out or organized. There are combat rules in the character creation section, and character creation rules in the combat section. Crucial information for running combat is relegated to what appears to be a summary sidebar and poorly explained. Repeatedly through-out the creation of the cheat sheet I would find myself mysteriously leaving the sheet devoted to combat in order to return to character creation because I had stumbled across yet another rule which properly belonged in a chapter fifty to one hundred pages earlier.

When I first read through Fading Suns I was struck by its similarities to the AD&D game. In my mind the setting (a mix of feudalism, fantasy, and pulp science fiction) was the best “AD&D/fantasy in space” I’ve seen in a long time. The rule mechanic (based around a d20) looks much like what AD&D might’ve looked like if the designers at TSR had kept abreast of industry developments during the past 20 years. The two magic systems (Psi and Theurgy) looked much like what AD&D’s magic systems would look like if the problems were fixed (they are based on levels of ability, but use a much more logical system of usage). Fading Suns, in my mind, was everything AD&D could have been and should be in a space setting. It’s as if Holistic Design is actually a company from another dimension in which AD&D is actually a good system in comparison with other systems on the market today and they are merely licensing it from TSR in order to create this game.

After spending 12 hours of work creating the cheat sheets for the game (which normally takes me no more than 3-4 hours), I decided they had also decided to emulate AD&D’s editors. Rules and information scattered wherever it had “first occurred” to the designers, and then kept there through iteration after iteration of the rules. At first glance Fading Suns seems to be a book which is well organized, but in actually attempting to access that information (either in gameplay or for the creation of my cheat sheets) you discover a distinct lack of intuitiveness about where information is placed and some downright stupid omissions from charts which are supposedly central reference points. Fortunately there is an index, but this doesn’t wholly solve the problem because you will still be thwarted in some situations because you continually receive the impression you’ve gotten all the rules for covering a certain situation, but in actuality there is still one rule floating around 50 pages away from where all the other rules for this situation are located.

Fading Suns still receives my approval, but be aware of this poor lay-out and organization of material. Keep in mind that you’re going to have to be well-versed in this material (or create the equivalent of my cheat sheets and organize the information yourself) unless you want to have frustrating delays during game play while you try to track down a rule.

MECHANICS

The Fading Suns rules are elegant and simple. Character Creation is based on the selection of a Character Role and the expenditure of points in different areas. Resolution (combat and otherwise) is based around a single d20 roll with the degree of success or failure specifically interpreted by the ruleset.

These mechanics, as mentioned, are difficult to get a firm grasp on because of the way in which they are presented. However, once you’ve got that grasp I believe you’ll find them to be an incredibly simple, but powerful, set of tools for your roleplaying sessions.

CHARACTER CREATION

Character creation is a six-step process, only five of which actually have anything to do with rules.

Step one is practically a given, but it’s still nice to see game designers specifically mention it for any new players out there: You have to formulate a character concept (who your character is, what they’ve done, etc.)

Step two is the selection of your character’s Role. The first thing that crosses your mind as you enter this section of the rules is, “Oh my god, it’s a class system.” As you begin to look at what’s being done here though, you become impressed by the way in which it is being handled. Don’t think of these Roles as classes, think of them more as mandatory templates. First, they are much more basic in the degree to which they define your character. Second, they don’t restrict your options as to which directions you wish your character to develop. Finally, because they are tailored for a very specific and limited setting they don’t present a problem. Again, it’s as if AD&D’s class system had been repaired. (Although, actually, it’s more like BECMI D&D’s class system because non-human races are treated as separate roles – again, it works because of the way the setting is constructed.)

Step three is the selection and buying of Characteristics. The characteristics are split into three groups (Body, Mind, Spirit). There are three Body characteristics (Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance) and three Mind characteristics (Wits, Perception, Tech). Spirit characteristics are split into four pairs — Extrovert vs. Introvert, Passion vs. Calm, Faith vs. Ego, and Human vs. Alien. You receive 20 points to split between the characteristics (on a one-for-one correspondence). Body and Mind characteristics start with a base of 3. The player must decide which one of Spirit characteristics in each pair is primary for his character – that characteristic starts at 3 while the opposing characteristic starts at 1 (except for Alien, which starts at 0 if it is secondary). No characteristic can be bought above level 10, but there is a further stipulation that no pair of Spirit characteristics can total more than 10 together.

Step four is the selection of skills. Fading Suns is a broad-based skill system (meaning that each individual skill covers a great deal of territory). The player receives 30 points to split among skills (again, on a one-for-one basis). Learned skills start at a base of 0, but there are several Natural skills (dodge, etc.) that practically everyone knows and these start at a base of 3.

Step five is the selection of Benefices and Afflictions. These are basically advantages and disadvantages, with a couple of setting-specific twists. Only 10 points can be spent on Benefices, but Afflictions naturally give more points for additional Benefices.

Step six is the expenditure of “extra points”. 40 extra points are given and then used to flesh out the various aspects of the character in any way which the player chooses. In addition to the stuff mentioned above, extra points can also be spent to purchase psychic or theurgic powers (magic) and specific fighting techniques.

There’s some other minor calculations to be carried out (figuring out Vitality for combat and Wyrd for psychics), but that’s character creation in a nutshell. It is a very simple system – reminiscent of AD&D, GURPS, and the World of Darkness games all at the same time. There are some oddities with the chapters which detail both the process of character creation and the specifics of characteristics and skills.

First, there is a bonus to damage inflicted during hand-to-hand combat which is based on the Strength characteristic. Why is it listed here, but not in the Combat chapter? There’s no practical use to it being located here (there’s nothing you write down on the character sheet), and every logical reason for it to be included in the combat section (where all the other rules you’ll be referencing during combat are included).

Second, and more annoying, is the fact that Skills and Characteristics are lumped into a single chapter entitled “Traits”. Referring to these two facets of character quantification under a single title makes sense for FUDGE (which treats them identically for all intents and purposes), but doesn’t make any sense for a game like Fading Suns in which they are treated entirely differently from each other. Using the term “trait” (which has no real meaning in the system) adds an unnecessary layer of complexity and possible confusion. Organizing both skills and characteristics into a single chapter without definition between them (despite the fact that the system treats them distinctly from each other) is simply confusing.

BASIC MECHANICS

The basic resolution mechanic of Fading Suns is cunningly designed to absolutely minimize the modifications and additions which must be made to it in order to handle combat.

The first step is to determine initiative (if necessary) – this is done by comparing the skill levels of everyone who is attempting to go faster than everyone else. Hence, the more skilled you are in something the faster you will be able to do it – if you’re doing something you are very skilled in and the other person is not, you’re going to be able to do it faster than the other person and hence get a chance to go first. It’s a very nice system which, in a few decoy runs I performed, seemed to create a very nice effect – particularly when two people are trying to use the same skill against each other (swordfighting for example). A slight problem immediately crops up here, however. In the case of ties the Wits characteristic of the two characters is consulted – whoever has the highest Wits rating will go first. If the comparison of Wits again results in a tie, the two actions are considered to happen simultaneously.

Wits?

Wits?

There is a certain sort of tenuous logic there, but wouldn’t Dexterity make a far more logical choice in determining the speed with which you respond? If you felt that created unrealistic results for cerebral activities I could see making the rule “compare Dexterity if the action is physical, compare Wits if the action is mental” – but if you’re going to choose one or the other (presumably for expediency and simplicity) it makes far more sense to choose Dexterity since you know the initiative system is going to be most often used in combat situations.

The next step is to determine the Goal Number for a specific action. You determine this by adding the character’s skill and the character’s characteristic together. You then roll a d20 in an attempt to roll lower than the Goal Number.

Now, as you may have already guessed, it is time to determine how successfully your character performed. In Fading Suns you accomplish this by merely looking at the number which was rolled – did you roll a 17 and succeed? You have 17 successes. Did you roll a 6 and succeed? You have 6 successes.

That may confuse some of you momentarily, but a moment’s reflection will show that it produces the same results as adding or subtracting numbers to determine a margin of success or failure – it may be a little more intuitive for some than that method, and for others it will probably be a little less. You are still more likely to succeed better if your skill-characteristic combination is high than if your skill-characteristic combination is low (since if you have a combination of only 10 you can never get 17 successes).

This interesting approach, however, does allow for an interesting set of optional rules which Fading Suns refers to as “Accents”. Essentially you either throw a lot of power into an action at the loss of expertise (making success less likely, but if you do succeed it will be more powerful) or you attempt to finesse your way through the situation with the loss of some power (making it more likely to succeed, but less powerful when you do). Essentially you decide to apply a positive or negative modifier (no greater than the skill level of the action you’re attempting) to your goal roll – if you choose to give yourself a positive modifier you make it less likely that you will succeed, but the success will be better if you do succeed. If you give yourself a negative modifier you will be more likely to succeed, but that success will be less effective.

When it is necessary to determine exactly how effective your success was (in combat for the purposes of calculating damage, for example) you compare the number of successes you received to the Victory Chart. The Victory Chart translates the number of successes into either Victory Points (which are primarily useful in determining sustained actions) or Effects Dice. You then roll the number of Effects Dice against a Goal Number of 13, counting the number of dice which succeed (not the total number of successes across all rolls). You can also choose to pull your punch and reduce the number of Effects Dice you use.

There are also some other, minor rules which effect this roll. Automatic success takes place on a roll of 1, automatic failure on a roll of 19, a critical failure on a roll of 20, differing rules for sustained actions (you have to receive a certain number of Victory Points before success is achieved), contested actions (whoever gets more successes), etc.

Finally, critical successes in Fading Suns occur when the number rolled on the d20 is identical to the Goal Number (recognizing that no number on a d20 is more likely to come up than any other). As the designers, say, the difference between a critical success for a fledgling musician and a critical success for Beethoven is that when the fledgling musician gets a critical success he manages to get through the high school concert and get a standing ovation. When Beethoven gets a critical success, he composes the 9th Symphony.

COMBAT

As I mentioned the combat system is a very natural extension of the basic resolution system, doing exactly what a combat system should do – providing rules for keeping track of damage done to your character and providing guidelines of sufficient strictness so that arguments over a section of the game with potentially “deadly” results are eliminated or at least kept to a minimum.

This extremely effective system, however, is presented in the most bizarre manner possible. Of the three step procedure to combat action resolution (Initiative, Goal Roll, and Damage Roll) only one is actually discussed in the main text – Initiative (which is identical to normal initiative which is described earlier in the book, but receives an equally detailed, reworded treatment). The rest of combat resolution is never discussed in the main text and is, instead, relegated to a sidebar located 2-3 pages into the chapter. Anyone familiar with other roleplaying games will immediately recognize this sidebar as the ever present “quick combat order reference” found in many games – except that in Fading Suns it is the only reference.

As a result of this short treatment the elements of combat are not well explained. This isn’t a tragic loss, since the system is merely an extension of the basic resolution system. As a result two of three steps (Initiative and the Goal Roll) are identical. The resolution of Damage, though, takes a bit of work. I had to read through the twelve half-lines of material several times before I was fairly sure I had understood what I was supposed to do. If I was successful, damage supposedly works like this:

After rolling a successful Goal Roll you determine how many Damage Dice you get. This is determined by adding the Weapon’s Damage Dice to the number of Victory Points you scored on your Goal Roll (multiply this number by 2 if you scored a critical success). You then roll the damage dice against a Goal Number of 13 – each die which rolls a success means that one point of damage was done (do not count the number of successes – count the number of dice which succeeded).

Damage which the character actually incurs is then determined by subtracting the armor value of the victim from the damage done, and subtracting that total from the victim’s Vitality. Vitality is basically a hit point system. For those who have developed a phobia against hit points from AD&D, be pacified. Since the number of hit points doesn’t inflate, it acts essentially like a standard wound level system minus the paperwork and a little bit of the so-called accuracy of wound level systems.

The remainder of the Fading Suns combat rules are dedicated to discussing specific actions, movement, and modifiers to combat goal numbers. To avoid the common complaint against World of Darkness games, actions have been specifically defined as to what attribute determines them. This creates an Action Chart which I personally find annoying, but which is the only way to solve the “problems” the Storyteller engine supposedly possesses.

Now we move into the oddities of this combat system. First, when more damage is done to a character in a single blow than his Endurance rating, the character must make an Endurance + Vigor check in order to stay conscious – if he succeeds he is stunned, if he fails he is knocked unconscious for a number of rounds equal to the amount of damage taken. This sounds pretty good, but doesn’t work. 15 seconds of proper playtesting (or just a little critical reading) would reveal that although you have made it more difficult to knockout a person with high endurance, you have also guaranteed that a person with higher endurance will tend to stay unconscious longer on average than a person with lower endurance. The rule should read “unconscious for a number of round equal to the amount of damage taken minus the victim’s endurance”.

The details on weapons (damage done, etc.) is presented, as in most games, in a series of charts. For reasons unknown the order of the columns in 1 of these charts was changed from the order in which this information is presented in all the other charts. Brilliant.

Finally, the largest idiocy of the entire game is found in “Chapter Six: Combat” – and it was the one which finally pushed me over the edge into broadly condemning the game as having been the victim of poor organization. Fading Suns handles Martial Arts, Fencing, and special actions with firearms (reloading, burst shots, etc.) by assigning special “actions” which must be learned in addition to the basic applicable skill at varying levels of difficulty. For example, you might possess a skill level of 5 in Fencing, but you’d only be able to attempt a Feint (which first requires a skill level of 5 in Fencing) if you had bought it. (The exception to this are the Firearm Actions, which only require possession of the appropriate level in the Shooting skill.)

This actually works quite nicely, here’s the problem: This is the only place in the rules these things are mentioned. All the rules for purchasing these things (both at character creation and during character advancement) are located here – and are not referenced in the handy tables three chapters earlier which supposedly summarize the point costs for all elements of character creation and advancement. The full descriptions for each action are also located here, instead of where they logically belong (back in the Skills section). It makes sense to have the entries for these actions on the Action Charts – it makes no sense to make this place the depository for this information, any more than it would make sense to put combat-related skills in this section.

Nonetheless, once you have worked your way around these impediments to your comprehension you find an elegant combat system which is easily and intuitively built off the basic resolution system in such a way that there is really very little definition between the two except in the degree of strictness in which they are applied. (I would have done without the Action Charts, but that’s just my personal opinion.)

PSI AND THEURGY

The Psychic and Theurgic powers of the Fading Suns game can be summed up in four words: “AD&D magic done right.”

The central mechanic of both these systems are an opposed occult characteristic (Psi vs. Urge and Theurgy vs. Hubris – though this has to be inferred from context and from the character sheet because it is never explicitly explained in the text) and Wyrd points. Wyrd points are determined at character creation in various ways and can be used in non-psychic/theurgic functions as well. For a psychic they are determined from the Extrovert or Introvert characteristic (whichever is primary), for the theurgic they are determined from the Faith.

Psychic powers are split into various paths – along each path there are powers at nine discreet levels of power (there is also a 10th level, but it is not defined in the rules). To progress along a path you must buy a power at each level (so to learn a 7th level power you must first possess at least one power at each of the levels between 1 and 6). Using a Psychic requires the expenditure of a variable number of Wyrd points (depending on the power in question and the type of effect desired) and a goal roll.

There is a catch, however, a dark side to Psychic powers. This is known as the Urge, and it is a dark twin of the character. If the character ever fumbles a Psi roll, the Urge takes control of the character. There are several ways in which the character can attempt to take control back from the Urge twin, but if he fails the Urge twin will grow stronger by the attempts. The Urge possesses its own path of twisted, dark psi powers.

The Psi vs. Urge characteristics doesn’t behave quite like other opposed characteristics. It is possible to have a total Psi + Urge higher than 10. To accomplish that the character must “face his Urge” – roleplaying through a scenario and rolling some dice to see if he was successful in overcoming the Urge and improving his psychic potential. It is also possible to lose or increase Urge through actions which you take.

Theurgy is handled similarly, but differently from Psi. If Psi powers are most analogous to magic spells in AD&D (with “paths” instead of “circles” and a logical methodology behind the system), then Theurgy is akin to priestly magic in AD&D. Again, Fading Suns gets right everything that AD&D gets wrong.

Theurgic Rituals are also divided into various paths of learning – but each of these paths is unique to one sect of the Church. Theurgy also adds the mechanics of Components and Vestments. Components can be Liturgy (spoken words), Gestures, or Prayer (meditation). Vestments are various relics of the individual’s faith and belief that improve his chances of success in requesting the Pancreator’s (God’s) aid. Holy relics can also aid the attempt.

Like the power of the psychics, however, theurgy has a dark side as well – and that is the side of Hubris. Unlike the Urge the dark powers of Hubris do not take control, they merely alter what exists as the relationship between the priest and the Pancreator changes. Their effects are generally permanent (unless the character’s Hubris is reduced).

CAMPAIGN SETTING

The rules of Fading Suns raise my ire because of their poor lay-out and (at times) abysmal explanation. No such claim can be laid against the setting of the game, which is expertly presented and described. No one is going to say this is a realistic future, but then it isn’t really trying to be. It is pulp science fiction at its best, with the dab of fantasy thrown into the mix.

Little is known of interstellar history before the arrival of humanity in space, but this is: Long in the past two ancient races seem to have seeded the galaxy with life and to have accomplished great technological marvels … before inexplicably disappearing. The earlier of these two races (referred to as Jumpmasters, Gatekeepers, or a handful of other names) constructed an interstellar transportation system consisting of jumpgates – gates which (as you’ll now if you’re any sort of science fiction fan) connect various solar systems at faster-than-light speeds. The younger race, known as the Successors or Marauders, apparently entered into some kind of war with the Jumpmasters. It is supposed that this Great War was the cause of their sudden disappearance – leaving behind only ruins and their direct descendant races the Ur-Ukar and Ur-Obun. This happened at approximately 100 AD.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, mankind will realize their dream of a one-world government by the 22nd century. It’s not quite all we dreamed of – although referred to as the First Republic, it is also referred to as the Human Combine because it was really controlled by oligarchic mercantile interests. It was during the time of the First Republic that mankind found the jumpgate orbiting at the outer extremities of the solar system (in the year 2305).

By 2500 AD the First Republic had spread throughout a fair portion of the galaxy, but its leadership had become ingrown – the elite of mankind was ignoring the pleas for fair leadership from the underclass. The First Republic collapsed under its own weight and ineffectiveness, and the age of the Diaspora began. A time of balkanization and independence, it saw a great confusion as man’s extra-solar colonies found new ways of life. A nobility arises. During this time period the Prophet appeared, preaching a new religion designed for the stars. His god – the Pancreator – became wildly popular. After his death the majority of his close followers would see to the development of a highly-structured Church which followed his teachings, a Church which has become ever more regimented as time goes by.

In 2700 man’s conception of himself changed radically as they encountered the first intelligent species besides themselves. The results were disastrous. The Shantor – an equine race – were subjugated and over time were banished to reservations. They have yet to recover from this maltreatment, and this once proud people are spread throughout the galaxy. Unfortunately, rather than proving the exception to the rule the treatment became a model for subsequent human treatment of intelligent species they encountered.

In 2945, however, this devil-be-damned attitude finally caught up to humanity. “Pacifying” a peaceful race they were surprised to discover this race had big friends – in this case a powerful society even more technologically advanced than humanity, known as the Vau. The Vau were willing to leave well enough alone … so long as humanity didn’t cross the line they chose to draw in the intergalactic sand.

Ten years later in 2955 mankind found their second challenge – the Ur-Ukar. The Church, however, was able to unite mankind against this common enemy. The Ukar were crushed and the Church rose to control all of humanity.

In 3500 merchant interests managed to overpower the Church’s influence and establish the Second Republic. What starts as a mercantile-controlled empire becomes a Republic. The next 500 years are the Golden Age of mankind’s existence – the Known Worlds are terraformed, government is a pure Republic, and the people are prosperous and happy.

Around the beginning of the 5th millennium, however, the Republic fell prey to mass-unemployment. The nobility (which had clung onto existence since the time of the Diaspora) leapt into the power vacuum. A Dark Age ensues and a hostile feudalism slips into place with a power balance between the lords, the Church, and the merchant guilds. Technology and society collapse and humanity loses hundreds of years worth of advancement. During this time period of terror and confusion many systems seal their jumpgates – cutting off contact with the rest of humanity. Known Space shrinks.

In 4525 a jumpgate opened onto Known Space and the Barbarian Invasions began. In 4540 Vladimir I used the Barbarian Invasions to unite humanity beneath his imperial rule. In 4550 Vladimir is successful, but is assassinated on his coronation day. For the next 450 years no emperor would rule, power passes from powerless regent to powerless regent. In 4900 a strange race known as the Symbiots attack humanity – they are capable of biologically converting any sentient into one of their own. This conflict slips into a cold war. In 4956 the Emperor Wars begin. They end in 4995 with Alexius I crowned Emperor.

Which brings us to the present day. Emperor Alexius I is interested in turning outward once again, but first he must cement his power base. The Emperor, the Lords, the Church, and the Guilds all face each other in a mad game of power and at stake are the lives and freedoms of millions. For the first time in centuries humanity has hope, but it could also plunge back into darkness all too easily.

Oh, and did I forget to mention? The stars are fading. Their light is dying, and not even the powerful science of the Second Republic could explain it when it began over half a millennia ago.

SUMMARY

Fading Suns is a great game. The rule system it is constructed on is fantastic, although it is here (due to the poor lay-out, organization, and explanation) that the game possesses its single flaw. This system is coupled with a fantastic setting – active politically, socially and technologically it provides endless possibilities for adventure: from politics to exploration to looting to mystery.

It’s flaws are minor and it’s strengths are great. Fading Suns is definitely on my list of recommended games.

Style: 4
Substance: 4

Title: Fading Suns
Writers: Bill Bridges and Andrew Greenberg
Publisher: Holistic Design
Price: $25.00
Page Count: 260+
ISBN: 1-888906-00-6
Originally Published: 1998/06/25

One of the things I became known for with my RPGNet reviews was, for better or for worse, length. Length and completeness. I thought of my reviews as a way to have a conversation about a game, and I felt no particular compunction in a digital space about needing to cut my thoughts short. So the more complex and interesting a game was, the longer my review would be.

I mention this here because this review of the first edition of Fading Suns was my longest review to date (11 pages of single-spaced text) and, if my memory serves me correctly, it provoked a significant debate on the site about whether or not a review could be “too long”. (My review of Immortal also factored into this discussion.) The issue of whether or not anachronistic concerns about “space” have any sort of significance in a digital age probably isn’t going away any time soon. (For example, Wikipedia’s endless “relevancy” debate is riddled with it.)

Tangentially, given the fact that both Fading Suns and 3rd Edition were, in my opinion, “AD&D done right” it’s still somewhat shocking to me that the D20 version of Fading Suns was so poorly done. I still feel that a properly executed D20 conversion of Fading Suns would (a) be an excellent game and (b) add a lot great stuff to the D20 system.

For an explanation of where these reviews came from and why you can no longer find them at RPGNet, click here.

Tagline: One of four games in WOTC’s family card game line, Pivot has all the potential of becoming a classic card game.

Ultimately, Twitch was definitely the best of the games in this line. Pivot hasn’t gotten as much play through the years, but I did pull it out at a party recently and had a good time with it. I’d still recommend tracking down a copy as a quirky alternative to Uno.

Wizards of the Coast has recently released a series of four games – Twitch, Pivot, Alpha Blitz, and Go Wild! — designed to enter the family marketplace alongside familiar games like Uno and Skip-Bo. After reading a review of Twitch I immediately went out and bought myself a copy of what sounded like a great, addictive game and was anything but disappointed (see my review of Twitch elsewhere on RPGNet).

On the strength of my extremely positive results with Twitch I went out and bought Pivot. After playing this game I would have to say that Twitch is the superior game, but Pivot is fantastic as well – as testament to that fact I’ve played it three nights in a row, and have plans to play it again this evening.

The concept, like Twitch’s, is incredibly simple: You have cards numbered from 1-80 along with a handful of Up cards, Down cards, and Pivot cards. Each player is dealt a hand of seven cards. The first player plays a card and the next player (going clockwise) must play a card higher than the one last played. Play continues in this manner until a Down card is played. When the Down card is played play now goes counterclockwise and each subsequent player must play a card lower than the one before him. This, of course, continues until an Up card is played. Pivot cards have the effect of reversing the direction of play no matter which way it is currently going (if you’re going up, a Pivot card will make you go down – if you’re going down the Pivot card will make you go up). If you can’t play you have to draw a card. If you play a card and no one else can play a card (play goes all the way around the circle and returns to you with no additional cards being played) you can play whatever card you want to. The goal is to get rid of all your cards.

That’s the game in a nutshell. In addition some of the number cards also act as specials – Extra Turn lets you take an extra turn before play goes onto the next player, Next Player Draw makes the next player draw a card before his turn, and Skip Next Player means (surprise, surprise) play skips the player after you. There’s also an optional scoring method if you want to play several games in a row to determine an outcome.

I have only one specific, quantifiable problem with this game. To understand this problem requires a bit of context: The Up card has a picture of a red arrow curving in a clockwise direction (which is the direction play continues when an Up card is in effect). The Down card, on the other hand, is a blue arrow pointing in a counterclockwise direction. The Pivot card has two arrows – one pointing clockwise and the other counterclockwise. So far so good, but for some unknown reason they chose (on the Pivot card) to color the clockwise arrow blue and the counterclockwise arrow red.

No one’s claiming that this isn’t a minor problem, but it confused us several times when we were first trying to get a hang of the game. (“What direction is play going?” “Let’s look at the arrow…” whoops…).

Here’s the final analysis: Twitch is ultra-addictive and a great game – if you haven’t bought it yet, I would say you should buy that one first. Pivot is a fairly addictive game, but also has strategy (which Twitch definitely doesn’t have).

Like Twitch, Pivot isn’t going to find a place on your shelf alongside Magic or the Dune CCG, but it is an admirable addition to your collection of games like Uno or Skip-Bo.

Style: 4
Substance: 4

Title: Pivot
Writers: Andre Francois with Jim Lin, Richard Garfield, Robert Gutschera, Paul Peterson, and Teeuwynn Woodruff
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Price: $6.95
Page Count: n/a
ISBN: 1-57530-597-6
Originally Published: 1998/06/23

For an explanation of where these reviews came from and why you can no longer find them at RPGNet, click here.

Tagline: The first game designed by Richard Garfield and released to the public, RoboRally shows the intriguing conceptual ideas and addictive game play which have since become Garfield’s stock in trade. Like so many games released by Wizards of the Coast I first picked this product up because the description just sounded too intriguing to miss. Like every product I have ever picked up from the Wizards, I was anything but disappointed.

“Like every product I have ever picked up from the Wizards, I was anything but disappointed.” Ah, 1998. How I miss ye. RoboRally remains one of my favorite games. Unfortunately, my original copy was lost in a move and later turned up in the bottom of a box that was being stored in a pole barn. Although sadly water-damaged, it is still tremendous fun. Anyone know what Richard Garfield is up to these days?

GAME CONCEPT

In the future the widget factories of the world are controlled by the mightiest artificial intelligences ever created by man. Capable of solving any problem which might arise and controlling the entire factory from top to bottom to compensate for any problems and keep production right on schedule, these mighty machines suffered from only a single problem: Boredom.

Then one day a processing robot fried a circuit and went careening onto a conveyor belt, which sent him spinning through the high-powered laser systems and dropped him off just in time for his broken and decaying programming databanks to send him plummeting down a bottomless disposal bit on the factory floor.

The computers were … amused.

Immediately they created the game of RoboRally – each computer controlled a single robot and, using a limited set of data registers, was required to send the robots through a specially converted section of the factory floor.

In the boardgame RoboRally you are the computer, programming your robot to cross the factory floor and reach a set of checkpoints in a specific sequence in order to win the game. In your way are conveyor belts, bottomless pits, gears, crushers, pushers, and laser beams… not to mention the robots of your fellow players.

RULES

The game comes with six gameboards which can be played individually or arranged in any combination you want. The checkpoints you must reach are represented by six counters numbered from 1 to 6 – you can place these counters anywhere on the gameboards you want and in any order you choose. The options are practically infinite.

On each turn you are dealt nine program cards. From these you must select five cards and “program” your robot by assigning one card to each of five programming registers. When all the players have completed programming their robots the turn begins – each register is considered in order and your robot moves.

This sounds simple, but in truth you’ll find yourself making bonehead mistakes – especially when you come in contact with the board elements. “Okay, first I’ll move forward, which will put me on the conveyor belt which will move me there, then I’ll turn left, and the conveyor belt will move me again, turning me as I go, so that when I move backwards on the next phase I’ll end up…” And, of course, you can always be pushed around by the other robots on the board so that your preciously planned sequence of movements will suddenly all be off by one square … and the results cascade through the rest of the turn.

Plus, your robot can take damage and be destroyed by various game elements on the board. Plus, your robot and the robots of the other players are all outfitted with lasers – allowing you to whittle away. What can be worse than getting blasted out of existence and having to start over from the beginning (there is also a way of “archiving” a copy of your robot at certain waypoints on the board)? Well, as you take damage the number of program cards you dealt to select from are decreased. If you take enough damage some of your robot’s programming registers may become locked – meaning that the cards you have assigned to those registers will have to stay the same until you can get your robot repaired.

Finally there are ways of retrofitting your robot with special abilities.

STRENGTHS

This game is a tremendous amount of fun. If you’ve ever played Paranoia and gotten great laughs out of watching your characters getting fried you’ll already understand the appeal this game carries with it – nothing is more hilarious then when one of your fellow players suddenly groans, “Oh nooooo…” and you know he’s made a mistake in his plans and his robot is about to go cascading off-course and into jeopardy.

The game is beautifully designed by Phil Foglio – the cover illustration of a ZIP 550 looking nervously over his shoulder as he enters the factory is absolutely perfect at setting the tone of the game. Foglio also designed the miniatures which come with the game.

WEAKNESSES

The learning curve is pretty simple, but there are some rules which could so with better explanation. Wizards of the Coast has posted the complete rules and a FAQ at their website, and from what I’ve seen they have not fixed these problems.

The confusion over these rules is quickly eliminated however by some practical familiarity with the game. Play your first game on a single board and establish up front that rule interpretations could fluctuate wildly during the course of the game as you figure out some of the nuances.

There are several handy reference sheets and the rulebook is laid out in such a fashion that information is easy to find when you need it. This is not an overwhelming problem, merely one of having to play the game first before you can see what some rules mean.

CONCLUSION

This game is great. The idea is great, the carry-through is great, the rules are great, the entertainment value is great. You simply can’t go wrong.

There are also several expansion sets for the game (Armed and Dangerous, Grand Prix, and (coming later in 1998) Radioactive). I hope to own and review both these and the second make of this game in the near future here on RPGNet.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Author: Richard Garfield
Company/Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Cost: $34.95
Page count: n/a
ISBN: 1-57530-088-5
Originally Published: 1998/06/19

[ This is a review of the first make of the RoboRally game. The second make of the game (which I do not yet own), slightly altered the lay-out of the rules and changed the design of the miniatures included with the game. However, to my knowledge, game play was not affected to any serious degree. The ISBN product code above refers to the second make of RoboRally, as that is the one which you can still order from Wizards of the Coast. ]

For an explanation of where these reviews came from and why you can no longer find them at RPGNet, click here.

Tagline: Ghost Dancers details the Indian societies and tribal beliefs of the Weird West. An above-average supplement, it is highly recommended for any GM running a Deadlands game and will prove useful to anyone playing an Indian character.

If I recall correctly, Ghost Dancers was the first time I received a review copy of a book. (At the time, RPGNet maintained a Wish List function for people who had posted reviews on the site. They probably still do. Here’s a document somewhat contemporary to this review describing their review policy.) Getting that review copy was terribly exciting for me at the time. I kept meaning to go back and write a review of the core Deadlands game, but for one reason and another it never happened. The half-finished file still lurks on my hard drive as a poor derelict.

Ghost Dancers is the sourcebook for the Indians of the Weird West. It does it’s job well – giving a highly effective overview of Indian political, cultural, and religious life. Those of you familiar with the Deadlands game will know that many of the crucial events which lead to the development of the Weird West (instead of our historical Wild West) are the result of various Indian factions – as a result this book is a crucial key to understanding some of the background to the world itself. Since it also details the Hunting Grounds in great detail, this book is a must for any Deadlands GM.

I also suggest, but not quite so highly, this book for any player with an Indian character who feels that the main rulebook isn’t giving him enough flavor or options for his character. If you are generally unfamiliar with Indian belief and culture, this book will also give you a good one-point stopping place for learning more. (Of course you should beware of taking things in this book as absolute historical fact – the designer himself is careful to point out that not only is the book simplifying many things about Indian culture, the Weird West is not an historical place by any stretch of the imagination.)

The book follows the traditional (and extremely advantageous) breakdown of all Deadlands material: a section for the players (Posse Territory), material that the GM should know and reveal only to select players (No Man’s Land), and material for the GM’s eyes only (Marshal’s Handbook). In Ghost Dancers, however, this has been changed to The War Party, Sacred Grounds, and The Chief’s Words – because “those white guys at Pinnacle Entertainment mistitled the sections in the previous books.” (Any product with the ability to look at itself humorously earns high points with me.) This lay-out is very nice – too often source material is only useful for the GM or reveals world secrets to the players because it lumps all the information about organizations and locations together. Nor have I seen this lay-out lead to useless regurgitation of the same information in each section. Pinnacle always seems to be careful in giving the GM just the extra information, without restating what has been said 50 pages earlier.

STYLE AND LAYOUT

My one persistent problem with Deadlands products is that the graphical presentation of the books fails to do anything for me. It is clearly meant to be evocative, but it just sits like a lump of clay for me. The cover art of Ghost Dancers, like all Deadlands products I’ve seen is a high-quality, excellent piece of work. The interior art, on the other hand, varies wildly from just slightly above average to pathetically horrid. The special font they use for headings is supposed to be mood-setting I suppose, but I’m pretty much indifferent. They have, however, solved one of my big problems with the main Deadlands rulebook – the type font is a nicely readable size, as opposed to the unnecessarily huge size used earlier.

One last minor complaint. Deadlands products use a nice referencing system to take you from one section of the book to another (for example, if you’re reading a section on the Sioux Nations in the War Party section you might get a page reference indicating that more material on this subject can be found in the Chief’s Words section). For this referencing system they use three miniature pictures – a gun and hatchet for the War Party, a holy symbol for the Sacred Ground, and a chief’s head and headdress for the Chief’s Words. These three pictures are then repeated on the title pages of each of the three sections. The problem comes because they apparently created these images at the thumbnail size for the referencing system and then just blew them up for a full-page presentation on the title pages. Anyone who has done this will know that you end up with a fuzzy image at the larger scale – and that’s precisely what you get in Deadlands products. Suggestion: Compose the pictures at the larger scale and then shrink them down to the smaller scale.

None of these are serious problems in my opinion, they just don’t click with me properly. A quick flip-through of the book should be enough for you to judge whether or not you agree with me.

Indeed, these problems are inconsequential. The lay-out of the product is excellent. Material is laid out in an intuitive and consistent fashion and a detailed table of contents will make it easy to find what you’re looking for. You won’t find any weird placement of information – such as sticking a section on weapon damage in the equipment section rather than the combat section with the rest of the weapon damage information – that seems to be trendy with certain companies.

So, to sum up: Externally this product is visually fantastic. Internally, it is visually boring. The lay-out is useful, productive, and easy-to-use however – and that’s the most important thing. It is only my aesthetic sense which is offended.

THE WAR PARTY

The first section of the book serves both as a reference for players and as a general introduction to the book. The first chapter (“Welcome to the Lodge”), serves as that general introduction.

Chapter Two (“Indian Country”) gives a broad overview of Indian history, as well as comprehensive look at the major tribes and organization of Indian society. Chapter Three (“Making an Indian”) provides details on modifying the basic character creation rules found in the main rulebook for Indian characters – including your role in Indian society, the selection of your Guardian Spirit, and new aptitudes, edges, hindrances, knacks, and gear. The section of the book also contains new archetypes for use by the GM and players both.

Chapter Four (“Guardian Spirits”) details the workings of Guardian Spirits, while Chapter Five (“Strange Medicine”) expands and improves upon the medicine rules found in the main rulebook, providing more options and details.

SACRED GROUND

Chapter Six (“Objects Sacred and Profane”) detail the rules for creating and using ‘medicine objects’ (magical items). This is an exceptionally useful resource for the GM, as is the next chapter (Chapter Seven – “The Hunting Grounds”) which details the extradimensional realm of the Hunting Grounds.

If there is one reason above all others to buy this book it is the material found in Chapter Seven. With amazing grace the designers allow the Hunting Grounds to be not only something of significance and importance to Indians, but to all religious groups. In the Weird West the magical forces which have been interpreted through the faith and religion of humanity are all too real – and it was the release of those forces from what the Indians call the Hunting Grounds (and Christians would call Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell) during the Reckoning that created the alternate history which Deadlands details.

In my mind, therefore, understanding and being able to use the Hunting Grounds in a Deadlands campaign is extremely important – and this book is the key to allowing that. As a result, every Marshal/Chief/GM should own a copy of Ghost Dancers.

THE CHIEF’S WORDS

Chapter Eight (“The Chief’s Guide”) provides everything about the Indians of the Weird West that the players just aren’t supposed to know. I won’t go into details here, because there are probably several players reading this review, but some of the stuff you uncover here is truly exciting and made me want to go out and start writing adventures.

Chapter Nine (“Secret Societies”) details the Ghost Dance (from which the book gets its name) and the Raven Cult. The Ghost Dance is a ritual revealed to the Paiute tribe – it preaches of peace and tolerance, and foretells of a time when the white man will be driven from his lands and the red man shall return to power. A time which shall be prophesied in the birth of a pure white buffalo calf.

The Raven Cult — as anyone whose familiar with the Deadlands game knows – is responsible for the Reckoning. They, too, foretell a future where the white man has been driven from the lands of the Indians – but they see the way to this future as one paved in blood and violence.

The GM will learn everything he needs to know about these two secret societies. Once again this is important information and mandates buying this sourcebook. The information on the Raven Cult is important because of the role in the origins of the Weird West setting. The Ghost Dance is important because they are clearly going to become important in the future of the Weird West.

SUMMARY

This book is an excellent and required resource for the GM of a Deadlands game, but only of mild interest to a player (even if the player happens to have an Indian character). I suggest that only one copy is really necessary for any gaming group, but that one copy is necessary for any long-term campaigns set in the Weird West.

Style: 3
Substance: 4

Author: Paul Beakley
Company/Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment Group
Cost: $20.00
Page count: 128
ISBN: 1-889546-20-8
Originally Posted: 1998/06/19

Tagline: Wizards of the Coast and the Bourbaki card game design team strike again in this surprisingly fascinating and addictive card game, the first in a line of non-collectible games meant to provide competition with games like Uno and Skip-Bo.

Thirteen years later, Twitch remains one of my favorite card games. My review speaks highly of it, but a game with that kind of staying power deserves special attention. Sadly, it is long out of print and virtually unattainable as I write this. If you get a chance, though, I recommend you grab a copy ASAP.

The premise of the game is simple: Someone plays a card. The cards tells you who goes next. If it’s you, you’ve got to play another card before someone challenges you and you have to take the entire stack of cards. If it’s not you, you’ve got to figure out who it is and challenge them before they can play. Be careful, if you play or challenge wrong you’ll end up taking those cards.

Simple, right? Right.

Until you start playing the game, that is. Then what seems so simple on the surface suddenly seems to be the most complicated thing you’ve ever done.

The basic game centers around eight different cards. The four basic cards are Left, Right, 2 Left and 2 Right. These cards tell you who goes next (the player to your left, your right, two seats to your left, and two seats to your right – respectively). In addition the card Ditto means that the last card’s effect is repeated, the card Back At Ya! sends the turn back to the last player to play a card. The last trick is that all players are given a color card, and a duplicate of this card is place in the play deck. When that color card is played the person to who it belongs must play next. Finally there are the challenge cards – these cards are keyed to the colors of the players. If a player is too slow or if they make a mistake, you can challenge them with the challenge card corresponding to their color.

The name of the game is speed, and once you’re into the heat of the chase you’re going to find that these simple rules are more than challenge enough.

Now let’s take another step, into the Advanced Game. At this point we add three more cards: Pick a Color, Rotate Colors, and Left to Right. These are called “Pause Cards”, when they are played gameplay temporarily stops while their results are gauged. Pick a Color means that the person who just played the card picks the color of another player, and then that player plays a card (resuming play). Rotate colors means that everyone takes their color card (indicating what color they are) and hand them to the player on their left – this causes confusion regarding what color to use to challenge which players and what color you are when the color cards come up during gameplay. Finally, Left to Right means that all cards referring to a particular direction mean exactly the opposite – left means right and right means left. Conveniently there are exactly two of these cards, meaning that once play is reversed, it will eventually turn back the other way.

Twitch is the first in a line of games Wizards of the Coast is producing in order to apparently attempt to compete with traditional family games. On the strength of this product I intend to go out of my way to also purchase Pivot, Alpha Blitz, and GoWild! — the other products in this line-up.

At seven bucks you can’t lose with this game. It won’t be put on the shelf next to your Magic cards or your Doomtown cards, but I think it more than amply deserves a place alongside such classic games as Uno and Skip-Bo.

Style: 4
Substance: 5

Author: Richard Garfield, Skaff Elias, Jim Lin, and Dave Pettey
Company/Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Cost: $6.95
Page count: n/a
ISBN: 1-57530-581-X
Originally Posted: 1998/05/30