The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Imagine, if you will, a game that encompasses all mythology from all cultures, and unifies all the myths of the world into a single, stunning premise. If you can do that, then you have a basic grasp of what IMMORTAL: Millennium is all about.

I am, however, getting ahead of myself. Stay with me -- I'm prone to do that from time to time.

Let's start with the basics of the setting and layout, and then move into system from there. The book is 96 pages, and includes a CD with another 96 pages of material in both PC and Mac format.

The artwork is amazing, as is the layout, although my copy is a pre-run put out for GenCon and still had a few annoying typos and the such. I've been assured that they will be fixed by the time the game hits shelves in late August/early September, and from what I've seen of the production values of other Precedence products I believe them. My personal favorite art piece in this book is an illustration of what looks like Cthulhu in power armor on page 49 (you have to see it to imagine it), which I believe was done by artist Jeff Nagy. All of the art by Ran Ackles is amazing as well; this is a beautiful book in every way, including the cover illustration (which is an altered photo of the actress Claudia Christian).

Now to the setting. I won't go into much detail, but will give a brief overview....

Sixty-five million years ago, an utterly alien, utterly evil being called the Sanguinary fell to earth from the relm of pure thought and essence, shattering into thousands of shards. These shards retained the sentience of the Sanguinary, however, and sought to re-unite themselves and reform the Sanguinary's body. In order to do this, the shards parasitized life-forms all across the globe, hoping to use their hosts to reunite them with the rest. The hosts (first dinosaurs, which became the dragons of myth, but later on animals and even elements of all types) were made immortal to protect the shards inside, and eventually gained a sentience of their own, jumping all the rungs of the evoloutionary ladder. Over time, as man became dominant, they learned to look like us, and have hidden among us to this day -- when many of them, the true gods of old, are coming out of hiding to walk among us again. These are the Immortals that you play.

The next few chapters cover the basics of role-playing and character creation, but I'll spare you most of the details. Most of it can be extrapolated from the system mechanics explained below. What I will say is this: Character creation is very simple and very user friendly -- you can create a basic character in about 10 minutes -- but extra detail can be added from the material on the CD if you're inclined.

Finally, however, we get to the system itself. Designed, simply put, to get the hell out of the way of role-play as quickly as quickly as possible, a tiered die-type system is used. Dice with a smaller number of sides are better than larger ones, so that, for example, someone with a d8 in a stat is better than someone with a d10. One of each traditional die type is used -- from d20 down to d4, and you roll against a target number. The lower you roll the better, which explains why dice with fewer sides are superior, and a simple check will tell you if you succeeded. In contested rolls, both participants roll, and the lowest one is the victor. Bonuses and penalties shift die types up or down -- for example, someone with a d10 who is blinded might shift to a d12 (which is worse than a d10, remember)as a penalty for the test. What this means is that there is no math involved, which, if you're like me, is a *very* good thing. That's it in a nutshell. There are, of course, a few minor extras I've left out, but they're all just extrapolations of the basic mechanics premise I have gone over.

That's it, folks. I recommend this game whole-heartedly. While I wish the core book was longer, that's really the only complaint I have. I've hardly scratched the surface of the setting, and haven't touched on the supernatural abilities which Immortals wield. Buy the book. Enjoy it. Discover all of the things that a review, even as lengthy as this one, can't cover but really should.

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

IMMORTAL: Millennium
Author: Ran Ackles, Steve Winter, John Myler, Jim Ward, Paul Beakley Category: game Company/Publisher: Precedence Entertainment Line: IMMORTAL: Millennium Cost: $19.99 Page count: 96 pgs, plus a CD with 96 more pages of additional material in PC and Mac format ISBN: 1-929323-01-8 SKU: PDN 10001 Capsule Review by Cameron Lyle on 08/17/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Modern_day Historical Conspiracy Gothic	Imagine, if you will, a game that encompasses all mythology from all cultures, and unifies all the myths of the world into a single, stunning premise. If you can do that, then you have a basic grasp of what IMMORTAL: Millennium is all about. I am, however, getting ahead of myself. Stay with me -- I'm prone to do that from time to time. Let's start with the basics of the setting and layout, and then move into system from there. The book is 96 pages, and includes a CD with another 96 pages of material in both PC and Mac format. The artwork is amazing, as is the layout, although my copy is a pre-run put out for GenCon and still had a few annoying typos and the such. I've been assured that they will be fixed by the time the game hits shelves in late August/early September, and from what I've seen of the production values of other Precedence products I believe them. My personal favorite art piece in this book is an illustration of what looks like Cthulhu in power armor on page 49 (you have to see it to imagine it), which I believe was done by artist Jeff Nagy. All of the art by Ran Ackles is amazing as well; this is a beautiful book in every way, including the cover illustration (which is an altered photo of the actress Claudia Christian). Now to the setting. I won't go into much detail, but will give a brief overview.... Sixty-five million years ago, an utterly alien, utterly evil being called the Sanguinary fell to earth from the relm of pure thought and essence, shattering into thousands of shards. These shards retained the sentience of the Sanguinary, however, and sought to re-unite themselves and reform the Sanguinary's body. In order to do this, the shards parasitized life-forms all across the globe, hoping to use their hosts to reunite them with the rest. The hosts (first dinosaurs, which became the dragons of myth, but later on animals and even elements of all types) were made immortal to protect the shards inside, and eventually gained a sentience of their own, jumping all the rungs of the evoloutionary ladder. Over time, as man became dominant, they learned to look like us, and have hidden among us to this day -- when many of them, the true gods of old, are coming out of hiding to walk among us again. These are the Immortals that you play. The next few chapters cover the basics of role-playing and character creation, but I'll spare you most of the details. Most of it can be extrapolated from the system mechanics explained below. What I will say is this: Character creation is very simple and very user friendly -- you can create a basic character in about 10 minutes -- but extra detail can be added from the material on the CD if you're inclined. Finally, however, we get to the system itself. Designed, simply put, to get the hell out of the way of role-play as quickly as quickly as possible, a tiered die-type system is used. Dice with a smaller number of sides are better than larger ones, so that, for example, someone with a d8 in a stat is better than someone with a d10. One of each traditional die type is used -- from d20 down to d4, and you roll against a target number. The lower you roll the better, which explains why dice with fewer sides are superior, and a simple check will tell you if you succeeded. In contested rolls, both participants roll, and the lowest one is the victor. Bonuses and penalties shift die types up or down -- for example, someone with a d10 who is blinded might shift to a d12 (which is worse than a d10, remember)as a penalty for the test. What this means is that there is no math involved, which, if you're like me, is a very good thing. That's it in a nutshell. There are, of course, a few minor extras I've left out, but they're all just extrapolations of the basic mechanics premise I have gone over. That's it, folks. I recommend this game whole-heartedly. While I wish the core book was longer, that's really the only complaint I have. I've hardly scratched the surface of the setting, and haven't touched on the supernatural abilities which Immortals wield. Buy the book. Enjoy it. Discover all of the things that a review, even as lengthy as this one, can't cover but really should. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)