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Anima has the virtue of being a fairly reasonable "level" based fantasy game with a decently varied class structure, highly lethal combat, and an interesting series of races,and 'secret history stuff'. The fact that all the art is anime style is up the taste of the consumer I guess. The actual substance is closer to Runequest or something. The realm problem is that if you read the secret history, you realize your character is basically a regular guy(unless he plays a supernatural race..who are balanced by a steep experience penalty) in the world of Kentaro Miura's Berserk and the true masters of the world move sight unseen while you get murdered in the mud. The fact that Christianity and Jesus somehow fits into this game story is equally as weird. It's hard for me to hate the game, because it has lots of neat little touches, and interesting concepts, and the rule set isn't totally unplayable.it's just very dense, and full of subsystems for character types. The glacial release schedule and the occasionally wacky translation issues were the killers for me, but I might pick it up again if I could get the bundle on sale or something. Edit: Also echoing Ariamaki observation about the layout...the tables and reference issues are infuriating..but it's not impenetrable...just not very usable to the average gamer. Lazer Vampire Jr. fucked around with this message at Jun 30, 2011 around 14:03 |
| # ¿ Jun 30, 2011 14:00 |
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| # ¿ Jun 19, 2013 06:41 |
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Ehhh..at first level they match sort of. ...but Anima veers into supernatural fantasy quickly by giving player characters different power systems they can use to augment their abilities so they can actually fight toe to toe with the really scary stuff. It really does underscore that most people are always level 1, and your guy being level 3 is a statistical anomaly and he is destined for greatness and grand adventures. Edit:Whereas in WFRP, if you see an actual demon or a vampire the party is probably going to die messily trying to just injure it.
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| # ¿ Jun 30, 2011 14:20 |
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The only good parts of the CTech books beyond the Core are the parts about Tagers, and the giant robots. The rest is pretty overwrought grim dark nihilistic crapsack sexualized weirdness.
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| # ¿ Jun 30, 2011 21:04 |
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Young Freud posted:
I would like to see this. Hell, its only 12 dollars on DTRPG. Thats less than a hardback novel, or 1.5 terrible supernatural thriller books in price. I'm gonna go buy it and follow along.
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| # ¿ Sep 13, 2011 18:40 |
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about Underground
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Probably for the best considering how crazy the metaplot gets by the end. Game really was designed for swashbuckling, not CoC.
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| # ¿ Dec 5, 2011 16:27 |
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Y'know Ettin I was just thinking of a possible intended(but not likely) consequence of not allowing Tagers to have more Duty and thus work for government agencies covertly. If just one or two of the PCs in the Cheng adventure were Tagers that Desolate One might actually get wasted by the team, and their sky high(as required by the freaking Tager quality) Tenacity would mean they could give less of a poo poo about nightmares and so forth.
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| # ¿ Dec 11, 2011 06:10 |
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Anyone interested in hearing a dissection of the mostly defunct Eden Studios game Armageddon the End Times? It reminds me of CTech in a lot of ways, at least in terms of scope of the war for survival, and the kitchen sink approach to character types..though it for the most part a lot less surprise sex-y and is uh..more positive?
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| # ¿ Dec 13, 2011 14:37 |
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Desty posted:Also, Titan Commonwealth best faction what what No one else has a section on their military capabilities that says "three of their moons have been weaponized, and their offensive payloads are sufficient deterrent against Consortium jackassery for the present".
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| # ¿ Dec 16, 2011 03:01 |
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The strange thing about the Aeon/Trinity line is since it was developed and released in "reverse" order, the rules and writing tightened up in each era, with Adventure managing to do everything the other two lines did, but way better with just one book.
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| # ¿ May 3, 2012 14:43 |
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Lemon Curdistan posted:Or, you know, they were referring to the fact that "Botany Bay" was synonymous with "penal colony" in the UK for quite some time. Jovian Chronicles does this too...it has all the elements of the "super robot space fight show"...and then bludgeons you with hard-ish science fiction rules/technology. Sure..there are giant robots..but they are hilariously complicated and the better ones are actually less legs and more thrusters and guns than anything else. The ships are also designed in such a way that they actually make sense as far as "would this thing actually fly in space without handwavium".
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| # ¿ May 21, 2012 14:49 |
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I feel like talking about a game that killed itself via an unreadable core book due to the color of the INK chosen. Yup, I'm gonna do a thing on The Secret of Zir'An
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| # ¿ Jun 8, 2012 14:32 |
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I feel like I'm reading GM notes from a game I might have played in when both I and the GM were 15 and stupid and railroady. Generally dumb things happen and the only reasoning given is "because its in the notes".
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| # ¿ Jun 8, 2012 14:56 |
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The thing about the Jovians is yeah if you just read it as "they are generic fascist conservative bad guys in the wild and free universe of EP", then you sort of forget these guys watched the Fall happen and then humanity literally becoming other hideous or impossible things. It's true you can just paint them as authoritarian monsters, but the authors do offer the explanation that the Jovians feel they are under siege from a universe that is actively out to kill them, and full of things that dare call themselves human when the face that is talking is a giant bird or a dolphin or a sexless robot. (I'm gonna post a first section of Ziran tomorrow I hope, now that I have some time)
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| # ¿ Jul 1, 2012 02:48 |
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############ The Secret of Zir'An ############### A peanut butter and chocolate style RPG  An example of the physical core rulebook. Remember this image, because this is what gets this game into trouble with consumers. Introduction The Secret of Zir'An was released in 2005, during a time when White Wolfs Arthaus imprint was publishing stuff for small studios or other random projects which the guys at WW felt merited further investment. Production value wise it had some of the guys at UDON do their artwork, though sometimes it looks like all they paid for was a sketch on a napkin, its still light years ahead of its competitors. Zir'An is what you might call post-cataclysm steampunk fantasy, where everything was amazing and great and then it all got broken and hosed and now slowly things are getting more advanced again but its different now. (Does this sound familiar? Yeah there are a few RPGs that follow this initial setting seed so these guys aren't incredibly original but there are some neat wrinkles). Let's not dally, straight to the introduction chapter! Chapter 1 Overview We start off with some intro fiction about a writer who goes to the Periphery(basically ancient desert ruins on an island chain removed from most civilization), people show how tough they are to him, and then promptly die horribly, and he is one of the few survivors, now on the hunt for some ancient evil they released. Pulpy. Then we have a page sized side bar with additional fiction that lays things out a bit more clearly. The world of Zir’An is one of change, of destruction and renewal, a world reshaped by war. Countless eras have come and gone, countless empires have risen and fallen, destroying themselves only to be reborn again. The ruins of these ancient conflicts, these forgotten epochs, lie buried and silent in the dim corners of the world. Evidence of the cycle of creation and destruction, of mighty empires that once dominated the globe, laid to waste by their own ambition. For despite all their power they were not immune to the cycle. Zir’An suffers, and Zir’An endures. It has in the past, and it will continue to do so in the future. But this epoch differs from all others that have come before, facing challenges that defy all explanation. In past ages the Seven Gods walked openly among their children. The gods gave freely of their council and were a presence in the lives of everyone, but that time is no more. Three millennia past, when the Endwar spread destruction across the globe, the image of seven empty thrones flooded the minds of every living being. Its meaning was clear. Abandoned by their gods, the world plunged further into darkness. But while the Seven may have departed, their creations would live on, they would rebuild, and the cycle would continue. In the Modern Era, the world of Zir’An hangs in an uneasy balance. It has survived countless hardships yet remains plagued by dark powers bent on plunging the world back into the mire of war and the annihilation of a new dark age. Ageless tyrants of godlike power, the Fane, stand as a grim reminder of the evils still loose in the world. Their fanatical empires dream of the conquest and the degradation of their enemies. But against them stand an alliance of powerful Treaty Nations, who’s massed might are the only proven match against the threat of Fane domination. And this uneasy balance grows more tenuous with each passing year. But in a world of great heroes, as the cycle dawns anew, there is reason to hope. Many believe each cycle is a test set forth by the goddess of Fate, a test to the civilizations that have prospered in that time. Will they endure? Or will they succumb to the evils they have fostered? The forgotten ruins of ancient epochs have testified to the failure of past civilizations, but each holds a secret, a clue to the dangers facing the Modern Era. And from this era will be born heroes, Fate’s Chosen, each walking a long and perilous path of discovery. Witnesses to great events, seekers of hidden histories, adventurers. The key to the present lies buried in the past. For their world to survive, they must discover its secrets. -Yeah okay so your guys aren't just gonna be schlubs who happen to stumble across adventure, but big drat heroes or something. Let's go to the timeline, which helpfully explains that the current setting is like..the fourth iteration of advanced civilzation that has yet to drown itself in blood and ruin. Great! A ZIR’AN TIMELINE -2 p.d. (Post-Deity): The Endwar begins. War spills across all borders as the Dhalman Confederacy and the Triune Empire clash. The conflict spreads and intensifies over the next two years, finally reaching its apex with the departure of the Seven Gods. 0 p.d.: The image of Seven Empty Thrones fills the mind of all living beings. The Seven Gods depart this world. The loss of the Seven shatters the spirits of the people, as well as their minds, and the war ends in a final spasm of destruction. 0 to 100 p.d.: The Aftermath. Much of this century was a nightmare of chaos and death, as the survivors strove against the years of darkness, the long winter, and the plagues that followed. This era was characterized by great migrations of people. Entire populations relocated. 100 to 600 p.d.: The Reconstruction. As the threats of the Aftermath recede, the survivors begin rebuilding their cultures. But this was also an era of conquest, as wars for consolidation swept through the known lands. 600 to 1001 p.d.: The Post-War Empires. Civilization has returned to the world and powerful Empires rule over a prosperous and promising era of peace. A time of grand adventure, of famous heroes and villains. Zir’An’s “golden age” before the nightmare that was to destroy it all. 1001 to 1050 p.d.: The Rise of the Fane. Seemingly normal people suddenly find themselves endowed with incredible power, power that corrupts them to evil. They manifest almost at random, spreading death, destruction, and suffering to all within reach. Nations fall as Fane arise among their populations. 1050 to 1100 p.d.: The War of the Fane. Fane battle Fane in the war for domination. The Ianer and Dolonorri become pawns in their battles and toys for their amusement. All civilization is in ruins, the devastated playground of bloodthirsty demigods. 1100 to 1517 p.d.: The Second Darkness. The surviving Fane settle into their domains, beginning the four centuries of torment suffered by the survivors of the War of the Fane. Each Fane fashions their domains to fit their twisted desires, crafting empires dedicated to torment. 1517 to 1624 p.d.: The Liberation. Many cultures tell of a coming Savior, and that savior was Kah. His war of liberation spread slowly, but grew greatly in strength with the death of each Fane, until the final conflict that birthed the Hegemony and the Treaty Nations. 1624 to 3020 (present) p.d.: The Modern Era. The Treaty Nations lead an era of uneasy peace. Though prosperity and the wonders of the modern era promise a bright future, there can be no true peace while the Hegemony exists. Then there is a section about how Fate chooses people to serve Destiny and its basically there to say that there will be great heroes and great villains because all light casts a shadow and well you get the picture. Pulpy again. This ends the chapter with a  picture of some soldier citizens from a nation called Illestan, who we'll talk about later. They seem to be fighting tentacle monster,spiders, zombies, and summoning a magic dinner plate to help them out. Next Time Chapter 2 The Rules- Oh boy, bet you can't want for our dice mechanics!
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| # ¿ Jul 1, 2012 15:13 |
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Welp at least the SDF-1 Main Gun from the Robotech Sourcebook can smoke these giant flying TPKs. Or it could shoot them with one of its 8 Reflex cannons or something and do 1d6x1000 MDC per cannon per shot. Which still means you bring an interstellar battlecruiser from another dimension to kill some flying jerks living a landlocked valley because RIFTS.
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| # ¿ Aug 28, 2012 21:17 |
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| # ¿ Jun 19, 2013 06:41 |
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The Commoner art could easily represent an alternative take on a Ranger.
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| # ¿ Nov 26, 2012 15:12 |
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