Hey again folks. I'm writing this at about 1 in the morning, so expect some fairly wonky stuff, but I find that I'm sometimes more creative when suffering from a head-ache and sleep deprivation. Anyways, enough about me, and more about this amazing little gem of a system called Warrior, Rogue, & Mage(Henceforth referred to as WRM). Now, I don't normally go around advertising for tabletop game systems (Well, OK, I do it with the World of Darkness, but that's because it is so very awesome), but WRM is special.
Envision the Tabletop RPG economy as a landscape, alright? You've got all the generic little Medieval Fantasy titles forming a field where each blade of grass is one such title. FATAL sits off to the side, a steaming pile of diarrhea, and nearby a herd of Golden Calves, one for each of the iterations of Dungeons and Dragons (Except maybe 4th edition, but I digress), quietly rest beneath the shade of a dark, sinister, and magnificent tree named World of Darkness. In the very far distance, one can see the great cities of Paranoia and Shadowrun. In the sky above, a great math equation constantly rewrites itself, this is GURPS. But in that field, that seems to stretch on for eternity, there is a single blade of grass that is unlike any other. This blade of grass represents WRM, and it is made of gold, and whomever holds it will be rich. And anyone can hold it, and it regrows.
Ok, maybe I'm hyping it up a little too much, but you get the idea of how I feel about it now. Let me explain why. WRM has two amazing things going for it:
1. It is rules light, but with good customization.
What does this mean, exactly? Well, it means the rules are simple and easy to learn. It means that anyone can pluck this blade of grass from the fields, or, in a more real sense, that anyone can pick up this game and learn to play it. Which is good, since if the roleplaying system were a person instead of a landscape, and players were blood, it is bleeding out and needs a transfusion very badly (More on that later this week, maybe). But every character has the potential to be different, too!
You see, there are three stats: Warrior, Rogue, and Mage. These are basically just the regular attributes, and describe how good a person is at fighting, rogueish stuff, and spellcasting-stuff. You spread 10 points out amongst these any way you want. Then, you pick three skills and one talent. The skills list is simplistic, and has no numerical value. It takes up a single page. The talent list is also simplistic, and takes up a single page, no numerical value here either. The only stats that require numbers are Warrior, Rogue, Mage, Health, Mana, and Fate (Which lets you just mess around with the world, sort of).
So, basically, anyone can pick it up and create their own character any way they want.
2. It's Free.
That's right, it's free. And unlike most free games, it's fun. Anyone can pick it up at any time, by just heading over to Drivethru RPG. Which is good, because spending money is not fun, and it also means that, one again, anyone can pick it up and start playing.
Now about the setting. WRM's pdf actually contains a few premade areas to play the game in, but they consist of a paragraph at most, encouraging the GM to come up with things on his own. Which is cool, because it means one is open to do almost anything with this book. I, personally, feel it fits light-hearted semi-comical dungeon crawls nicely, but it can also be used for a more serious game. Which segues nicely into my announcing two upcoming Actual Plays:
1. Derelicts of the Broken Lands: This will actually be a series of episodic Actual Plays, played in an IRC Channel. I won't be running it. The basic premise is that a terrible calamity befell the world a moon before the first episode, and a powerful archmage saved a single town (and a hub for heroes and adventurers) by tearing it from the earth and making it float in the sky. The town's heroes must teleport to the dangerous world below in order to gather supplies. Characters will switch in and out as people are available, though the game will be serious (with maybe some light comedy relief).
2. The Vampire Killer: A quick Hunter: The Vigil -style One-shot story, played over an IRC Channel. I will be running it. In New York, a serial killer stalks the nightclubs, leaving his victims dead of blood loss days later. An FBI Task Force, the Vanguard Serial Crime Unit, is formed to assist local law enforcement in the investigation.
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