The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Most of my reviews on RPGnet have been of impulse buys; things I've seen on the shelf that bear no relation to the lines I regularly buy, and before I leave the game store, they're on the counter with a chunk of my hard-earned cash. Most come out well, but, unfortunately, some don't. Legacy: War of Ages falls into the latter category. I bought it several years ago; it was one of those Large Tomes like Call of Cthulhu's Beyond the Mountains of Madness which, by virtue of sheer size alone, screams "Buy me! Buy me!" (No, I don't have BtMoM... yet. But Call of Cthulhu was a recent impulse buy.) I was also intrigued by its Highlander-esque premise, and wanted to read more, so I forked over the dough (something like A$45-50 at the time; being in high school with no job, that was a LOT of money).

Unfortunately, I was disappointed with my purchase for reasons I shall go into below. Recently, I was reading through a friend's copy of Vampire: The Masquerade in contemplation of creating a character for a campaign, when I was suddenly seized by the mysterious urge to read through Legacy again. After that came the thought of posting a review, just so others can get an idea of what this product is like. Checking the reviews archive indicated no-one else appeared to have written a review yet, so I got the book out of my "not planing to run" cupboard, had another read-through, fired up FrontPage and went to it.

The Basics

The Quick Summary: Highlander in the future.

The Detailed Run-Down (or for those who haven't seen Highlander, Highlander III: the Sorcerer or either TV series):

Legacy: War of Ages focuses on the long conflict waged by a race of Immortals; beings whom, although biologically human, have incredible life spans and a mystical resistance to death. If an Immortal has ever died of old age, no-one knows. The only way an Immortal can die and not recover is if his spinal column is severed between the shoulder blades and head; the method favoured by Immortals is beheading after besting an opponent in single combat by sword. When this occurs, the Immortal's life-force leaves his body in a showy display of lightning and noise.

If another Immortal is present at this moment, part of the dead Immortal's life-essence flows into her in an experience called the Rapture, granting that Immortal part of the dead one's knowledge and power. The Rapture is such a heady experience that many Immortals dedicate themselves to hunting their fellows down and slaying them in order to experience it again.

Since the horrors of the Inquisition, Immortals have striven to keep the War of Ages out of the eyes of mortals.The game is set in a "Techno-Gothic" future, sometime in the early- to mid-twenty-first century, when global computer networks work against the Immortals' efforts at secrecy. Some Immortals are looking to the prophesised Ragnarok; the final battle that will leave one Last Immortal standing.

Other Immortals and human agencies aren't the only opponents Player Characters will face; the magical Warlocks, shape-changing Chimerae, reality-bending Dwimmerlaik and vampiric Nosferatu are provided as potential allies or enemies.

First Impressions

The Good:

Of all the games which have covered the concept of immortal beings on Earth, this is the one that has come the closest to the popular movie Highlander. Thus, many will find its concept easy to grasp; substitute "the Gathering" in place of "the Conclave" and "the Quickening" in place of "the Rapture" and you're there. It has the base idea of the War of Ages for those more into combat to play with, and the depth of Immortality in a world which changes and dies before one's eyes for those who want more roleplaying.

Although the game appears very strongly influenced by Highlander (I thought it was a straight rip-off until someone mentioned to me that Highlander was based on certain legends), the War of Ages does not appear to be as strictly followed as Highlander follows its "There can be Only One" plot (then again, the latter was a two-hour movie). More avenues are available to Immortals who don't want to be carving a path toward Ragnarok head by head.

One of the interesting ideas in the book is the result of the success of the Human Genome Project. The mapping of the human genome, co-inciding with the establishment of the "Winternet" (the global computer network/virtual reality ala Cyberpunk 2020's Net or Shadowrun's Matrix), sees the creation of the GenCode, a personal ID based on one's genetic structure. Thus, most individuals in developed nations are identified by their DNA and possess GenCards; a combination of phone, minicomputer and credit/access card. This development would be the nightmare of electronic privacy advocates and, as is noted later on in the book, makes life really hard for Immortals who wish to maintain a cover.

The game leaves the nature of the Rapture and the Last Immortal fairly open, and poses some interesting questions regarding them: Does the shortening of the Ages (Antediluvian, Imperial, Medieval, Modern and Post-Modern) truly indicate the coming of Ragnarok? What will happen when there is only the Last Immortal left? In fact, probably the best base a GM could have for writing a campaign would be the answers to these questions.

The Bad:

The game is meant to be set in the early- to mid-twenty-first century; however, details on the world of the future are surprisingly sparse. The six pages devoted to outlining the future are taken up by vague descriptions of the Winternet (Couldn't they have thought of a better name?) including "cyber-punks" and "wiretappers", the hackers of the future; how an AI nearly nuked the globe and the international laws resultant; and the GenCode/GenCards concept. This is sorely inefficient for a GM unfamiliar with cyberpunk-genre futures. The concept of megacorporations is mentioned in passing, and no information is given as to what the future is like to actually live in.

As a comparison, Cyberpunk 2020 is able to provide the following in six pages: a point-form history from 1990 to 2020, an overview of the situation across the globe, notes on the law, weapons and part of the Vehicles section. In fact, if you want more info (in game format) on the future Legacy is trying to present, Cyberpunk 2020 would be a good buy. It's handy that I already had it.

Throughout the rest of the book, the future world is given very sparse treatment. An idea of technology is given in the weapons and equipment table; however, the only equipment featured is armour, weapon accessories and vehicles, and of those, only armour and weapon accessories are explained in any detail. The sample campaign setting (which sacrifices space for detail in favour of a how-to-make format) is set in contemporary times, providing little help for a GM wanting to develop a future campaign. Also, with other supernatural races such as the Cthulhu-flavoured Dwimmerlaik, Mage-esque Warlocks and Nosferatu (can you say Vampire?) running around, little detail is given on how they fit into the modern day world, let alone the future.

The rules are somewhat tricky to grasp at first. Statistics and Abilities feel like a cross between the Storyteller system (in the point ranges) and Interlock (a skill check is stat + ability + modifiers), although rather than rolling to beat a difficulty, you roll under your skill total, the lower, the better. As this means "average" characters would have only a four or five in ten chance of success on an unmodified roll, an "average" task imposes a positive task modifier. This is a little tricky to grasp at first, as most would think an average task wouldn't modify the roll in any way.

To me, the layout and writing style of the book has a very "Vampire was cool - Let's do what they did!" feel to it. There's hints of it in the Afterword: "In 1990, during the long van ride home from GenCon... Brandon [Blackmoor] sketched out the rough concept of a game he'd been developing that stressed roleplaying over 'mechanics'... a series of games that... violated the accepted structure [of roleplaying games] since the 1970s.

"What seemed reasonable in the middle of the night... sounded naively optimistic in the harsh morning light... yet here we are in 1993, and... there is a new trend in role-playing games, emphasising creativity and passion instead of number-crunching and dungeon-bashing."

Unfortunately for Legacy, the Vampire-style layout just doesn't seem to suit the feel of the game. The text is laid out in two columns in a large, Times-style font, with a thicker, bold font used for headings. There are also the pop-culture quotes below the header of most subjects; I think Legacy and Vampire even share a few. Not only that, a vine-leaf pattern runs up the outside of each page, which contributes nothing to the feel of the book. For a game set in the near future, the layout doesn't present a futuristic tone at all; it doesn't even feel quite right for the modern day. The overall impression I get is "wasted space".

The layout style isn't the only carry-over: Legacy is supposed to be set in "The Techno-Gothic World" (for those unfamiliar with Vampire: The Masquerade or the World of Darkness, it describes its world as Gothic-Punk). Although both books explain the meaning of their worldviews, Vampire does it in a clear, concise fashion. Legacy just has a tendency to ramble. This tendency is also applied to most of the rest of the book.

The artwork consists of photos put through a photo-manipulation program. Mostly, blurring and splotchy effects are applied as if to make them appear painted or perhaps sketched (if that was the intent, it certainly failed); sometimes, photos of heads are superimposed on weird backgrounds. Unfortunately, the art is very ugly; also, pictures of people attempting to look cool whilst waving swords around don't look good unless they subjects are professional models or actors and you have a big photo-budget. Black Gate Publishing should have stuck to hand-drawn art; then again, perhaps they weren't able to attract artists of sufficient calibre.

Post Playtest

I did playtest this game once not long after I bought it, but that was years ago; at the moment I have no real desire to try running another sample game. Sorry, folks.

Summary

Legacy: War of Ages is the closest Highlander nutters will get to a franchise game of their favourite movies, and it has some nice ideas. However, it is unable to support its basic futuristic premise thanks to sparse detail; unimpressive layout, ugly art and a rambling writing style serve to undermine what promise this book has. Highlander nuts might enjoy it for five seconds, but I'd advise not to waste your money unless you can dig it up in a bargain bin (probably the only place you'll find it these days), and perhaps even then you shouldn't bother.

Style: 1 (Unintelligible)
Substance: 1 (I Wasted My Money)

Legacy: War of Ages
Author: Brandon Blackmoor and Susan Blackmoor Category: game Company/Publisher: Black Gate Publishing Line: Legacy Cost: $25.00 Page count: 256 ISBN: 0-9641722-0-8 SKU: BGP 2000 Capsule Review by Robert Farquhar on 10/02/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction Modern_day Conspiracy Gothic	Most of my reviews on RPGnet have been of impulse buys; things I've seen on the shelf that bear no relation to the lines I regularly buy, and before I leave the game store, they're on the counter with a chunk of my hard-earned cash. Most come out well, but, unfortunately, some don't. Legacy: War of Ages falls into the latter category. I bought it several years ago; it was one of those Large Tomes like Call of Cthulhu's Beyond the Mountains of Madness which, by virtue of sheer size alone, screams "Buy me! Buy me!" (No, I don't have BtMoM... yet. But Call of Cthulhu was a recent impulse buy.) I was also intrigued by its Highlander-esque premise, and wanted to read more, so I forked over the dough (something like A$45-50 at the time; being in high school with no job, that was a LOT of money). Unfortunately, I was disappointed with my purchase for reasons I shall go into below. Recently, I was reading through a friend's copy of Vampire: The Masquerade in contemplation of creating a character for a campaign, when I was suddenly seized by the mysterious urge to read through Legacy again. After that came the thought of posting a review, just so others can get an idea of what this product is like. Checking the reviews archive indicated no-one else appeared to have written a review yet, so I got the book out of my "not planing to run" cupboard, had another read-through, fired up FrontPage and went to it. The Basics The Quick Summary: Highlander in the future. The Detailed Run-Down (or for those who haven't seen Highlander, Highlander III: the Sorcerer or either TV series): Legacy: War of Ages focuses on the long conflict waged by a race of Immortals; beings whom, although biologically human, have incredible life spans and a mystical resistance to death. If an Immortal has ever died of old age, no-one knows. The only way an Immortal can die and not recover is if his spinal column is severed between the shoulder blades and head; the method favoured by Immortals is beheading after besting an opponent in single combat by sword. When this occurs, the Immortal's life-force leaves his body in a showy display of lightning and noise. If another Immortal is present at this moment, part of the dead Immortal's life-essence flows into her in an experience called the Rapture, granting that Immortal part of the dead one's knowledge and power. The Rapture is such a heady experience that many Immortals dedicate themselves to hunting their fellows down and slaying them in order to experience it again. Since the horrors of the Inquisition, Immortals have striven to keep the War of Ages out of the eyes of mortals.The game is set in a "Techno-Gothic" future, sometime in the early- to mid-twenty-first century, when global computer networks work against the Immortals' efforts at secrecy. Some Immortals are looking to the prophesised Ragnarok; the final battle that will leave one Last Immortal standing. Other Immortals and human agencies aren't the only opponents Player Characters will face; the magical Warlocks, shape-changing Chimerae, reality-bending Dwimmerlaik and vampiric Nosferatu are provided as potential allies or enemies. First Impressions The Good: Of all the games which have covered the concept of immortal beings on Earth, this is the one that has come the closest to the popular movie Highlander. Thus, many will find its concept easy to grasp; substitute "the Gathering" in place of "the Conclave" and "the Quickening" in place of "the Rapture" and you're there. It has the base idea of the War of Ages for those more into combat to play with, and the depth of Immortality in a world which changes and dies before one's eyes for those who want more roleplaying. Although the game appears very strongly influenced by Highlander (I thought it was a straight rip-off until someone mentioned to me that Highlander was based on certain legends), the War of Ages does not appear to be as strictly followed as Highlander follows its "There can be Only One" plot (then again, the latter was a two-hour movie). More avenues are available to Immortals who don't want to be carving a path toward Ragnarok head by head. One of the interesting ideas in the book is the result of the success of the Human Genome Project. The mapping of the human genome, co-inciding with the establishment of the "Winternet" (the global computer network/virtual reality ala Cyberpunk 2020's Net or Shadowrun's Matrix), sees the creation of the GenCode, a personal ID based on one's genetic structure. Thus, most individuals in developed nations are identified by their DNA and possess GenCards; a combination of phone, minicomputer and credit/access card. This development would be the nightmare of electronic privacy advocates and, as is noted later on in the book, makes life really hard for Immortals who wish to maintain a cover. The game leaves the nature of the Rapture and the Last Immortal fairly open, and poses some interesting questions regarding them: Does the shortening of the Ages (Antediluvian, Imperial, Medieval, Modern and Post-Modern) truly indicate the coming of Ragnarok? What will happen when there is only the Last Immortal left? In fact, probably the best base a GM could have for writing a campaign would be the answers to these questions. The Bad: The game is meant to be set in the early- to mid-twenty-first century; however, details on the world of the future are surprisingly sparse. The six pages devoted to outlining the future are taken up by vague descriptions of the Winternet (Couldn't they have thought of a better name?) including "cyber-punks" and "wiretappers", the hackers of the future; how an AI nearly nuked the globe and the international laws resultant; and the GenCode/GenCards concept. This is sorely inefficient for a GM unfamiliar with cyberpunk-genre futures. The concept of megacorporations is mentioned in passing, and no information is given as to what the future is like to actually live in. As a comparison, Cyberpunk 2020 is able to provide the following in six pages: a point-form history from 1990 to 2020, an overview of the situation across the globe, notes on the law, weapons and part of the Vehicles section. In fact, if you want more info (in game format) on the future Legacy is trying to present, Cyberpunk 2020 would be a good buy. It's handy that I already had it. Throughout the rest of the book, the future world is given very sparse treatment. An idea of technology is given in the weapons and equipment table; however, the only equipment featured is armour, weapon accessories and vehicles, and of those, only armour and weapon accessories are explained in any detail. The sample campaign setting (which sacrifices space for detail in favour of a how-to-make format) is set in contemporary times, providing little help for a GM wanting to develop a future campaign. Also, with other supernatural races such as the Cthulhu-flavoured Dwimmerlaik, Mage-esque Warlocks and Nosferatu (can you say Vampire?) running around, little detail is given on how they fit into the modern day world, let alone the future. The rules are somewhat tricky to grasp at first. Statistics and Abilities feel like a cross between the Storyteller system (in the point ranges) and Interlock (a skill check is stat + ability + modifiers), although rather than rolling to beat a difficulty, you roll under your skill total, the lower, the better. As this means "average" characters would have only a four or five in ten chance of success on an unmodified roll, an "average" task imposes a positive task modifier. This is a little tricky to grasp at first, as most would think an average task wouldn't modify the roll in any way. To me, the layout and writing style of the book has a very "Vampire was cool - Let's do what they did!" feel to it. There's hints of it in the Afterword: "In 1990, during the long van ride home from GenCon... Brandon [Blackmoor] sketched out the rough concept of a game he'd been developing that stressed roleplaying over 'mechanics'... a series of games that... violated the accepted structure [of roleplaying games] since the 1970s. "What seemed reasonable in the middle of the night... sounded naively optimistic in the harsh morning light... yet here we are in 1993, and... there is a new trend in role-playing games, emphasising creativity and passion instead of number-crunching and dungeon-bashing." Unfortunately for Legacy, the Vampire-style layout just doesn't seem to suit the feel of the game. The text is laid out in two columns in a large, Times-style font, with a thicker, bold font used for headings. There are also the pop-culture quotes below the header of most subjects; I think Legacy and Vampire even share a few. Not only that, a vine-leaf pattern runs up the outside of each page, which contributes nothing to the feel of the book. For a game set in the near future, the layout doesn't present a futuristic tone at all; it doesn't even feel quite right for the modern day. The overall impression I get is "wasted space". The layout style isn't the only carry-over: Legacy is supposed to be set in "The Techno-Gothic World" (for those unfamiliar with Vampire: The Masquerade or the World of Darkness, it describes its world as Gothic-Punk). Although both books explain the meaning of their worldviews, Vampire does it in a clear, concise fashion. Legacy just has a tendency to ramble. This tendency is also applied to most of the rest of the book. The artwork consists of photos put through a photo-manipulation program. Mostly, blurring and splotchy effects are applied as if to make them appear painted or perhaps sketched (if that was the intent, it certainly failed); sometimes, photos of heads are superimposed on weird backgrounds. Unfortunately, the art is very ugly; also, pictures of people attempting to look cool whilst waving swords around don't look good unless they subjects are professional models or actors and you have a big photo-budget. Black Gate Publishing should have stuck to hand-drawn art; then again, perhaps they weren't able to attract artists of sufficient calibre. Post Playtest I did playtest this game once not long after I bought it, but that was years ago; at the moment I have no real desire to try running another sample game. Sorry, folks. Summary Legacy: War of Ages is the closest Highlander nutters will get to a franchise game of their favourite movies, and it has some nice ideas. However, it is unable to support its basic futuristic premise thanks to sparse detail; unimpressive layout, ugly art and a rambling writing style serve to undermine what promise this book has. Highlander nuts might enjoy it for five seconds, but I'd advise not to waste your money unless you can dig it up in a bargain bin (probably the only place you'll find it these days), and perhaps even then you shouldn't bother. Style: 1 (Unintelligible) Substance: 1 (I Wasted My Money)