A few years back Wizards of the Coast announced and released d20 Modern. I was pretty excited about a fantasy game set in modern times. This was a game that was not just a horror game, but actually a fantasy game with magic and monsters. The game was released, I bought a copy, and then blah set in. The game read just like D&D, but with modern guns and cars. I think they made some nice changes to the d20 system to make it have a modern feel, but in the end it was still d20 and it was still going to be a monster to learn and play. When all was said and done, I read the book, and it has sat on the shelf ever since. In fact, it is about to come off the shelf and be sold at 1/2 Price Books. I will add that WotC has some great maps and supporting material for the game on the web site which could easily be adapted to another game in the same sort of setting…maybe a game like Fireborn.
1/2 Price Books opened a Pearland store a few weeks back, and we stopped in one day to grab Iain some more books. I, of course, went right for the games section and found copies of the Fireborn players and GM guide. The books were 8 bucks a piece, and I could not resist. Fireborn is a game by Fantasy Flight Games that I looked over when it was released. I have now read the players guide, and I think my decision to pass it by was a mistake. I have not played the game yet, but I am very interested in giving it a try.
Take a bold step into a new world of sorcery, intrigue, and action with Fireborn!
Players simultaneously roleplay in the modern and mythic ages. In the mythic age, dragons reign supreme and sorcerers make pacts with dark beings, threatening the world with their power-mad schemes. The present day is a dark and ominous time, poisoned by mystery and the occult. Magic has returned, and every secret power is out to control it. The common man is caught in the middle of countless power struggles.
But the players are not common men. They are the dragons of old, reborn in human form, and they are the only ones with the abilities to prevent a return of the catastrophe that doomed the mythic age so long ago… but in order to stop the end, the dragons must remember who they were in the beginning.
That’s how Fantasy Flight describes the game on it’s home page. This description sums up one of the things that I was thought was very interesting about the game. Players actually get to play two PC’s. The first is a human, a Scion, carrying the soul of a Dragon from long ago. The second, is the Dragon itself, in the form of flashbacks to the Mythic Age. It looks like most of the game is played in the modern era, with the flashbacks accounting for a couple of scenes per session. I like this concept though. The modern era has some fantasy elements to it, but then you get to drop into this heavily fantasy based setting. The flashbacks are meant to provide clues to the players. For example, perhaps there is a secret to killing a particular kind of creature. A secret that was known to dragons of the mythic age, but that has been lost to humans. With magic increasing in the world, this kind of creature has taken rise again and the players flash back to a time when they knew how to kill them.
The game uses a d6 dice pool mechanic based around 4 attributes. The attribute score allows you a number of dice to be rolled for tests involving that attribute. Skills are used to move dice from attribute to another where the skill relates to the test being made. So in combat, you could move some dice from your defensive attributes to make a strong or faster attack. You might use your melee skill to do this. The disadvantage is that you are now more open to attack yourself with less defensive dice. I like this dice system. It seems flexible, but does not require a lot of maintenance.
The combat attempts to capture the cinematic feel of action and kung fu movies. Players put together a sequence of actions during combat that include both moves and attacks. The dice tell you how far you get in your sequence, and you skills/attributes tell you how long of a sequence you can even attempt in a turn. It seems to have a nice cinematic feel. I think the most important thing is that I got it the first time I read it. The section is well written with good examples. So many RPG’s just don’t make sense the first time you read them. Characters can actually enhance these sequences with predefined styles. So if you want to combine guns and martial arts you might chose the Gun Fu style. The advantage of these styles is that if you complete an entire sequence on a given turn you gain a special event in addition to normal damage that might be caused. Basically, these are critical hits. Everything from push backs to additional damage to major bleeding to dismemberment are covered. It seems to be a pretty nice system.
This game has the feeling to it that I wanted from d20 Modern. Lots of fantasy options, but set in the modern day. It has very modern, cinematic fighting which I think is important. I am excited to give the game a try.
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