The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Although Providence bills itself as a "mix of fantasy and the four-color bravado of super heroes" it really isn't a superhero genre. And it certainly is more than the stereotypical fantasy setting. Be forewarned, however, that this setting is by no means for everybody; both its unusual nature and need to roleplay within a caste society makes it a difficult challenge for those unwilling to explore racism in a game.

The basic premise of Providence is that the world is actually a former penal colony. On the original world a civil war ended with the rebels being exiled to this world through dimension gates. All contact with the original world was lost and the penal colonies survived as best they could. Eventually the prisoners' off-spring revolted and formed the current setting. Things were going great until a crack in the earth started to flood the world. Now the inhabitants are looking for the lost gates in order to get to safety.

Providence is an unusual setting in two aspects. First is the unusual world; it is set inside a sphere; think of Edgar Rice Burrough's Earth Core series as an example. The entire world is visible above the characters' heads with a "sun" in the center that periodically dims to simulate night. While the authors do a decent job in describing this unusual world at times the writing gets a bit convoluted. The best solution was to constantly refer to the world map which is located as a foldout with the back cover. GMs will probably want to photocopy large portions of this section as handouts for their players.

The second unusual aspect is the caste system which dominates the world. With quasi-racial overtones, one's position in society is determined by the functionality of wings the "ideal" citizen is suppose to have. Those with fully functional wings are on top with wingless people being the bottom of the pyramid. This society could be an uncomfortable one for less mature players as they could find their characters way down in the pecking order.

The social system was well handled with the caste system neatly placing individuals within the society. To further differentiate the characters a racial system is introduced which is referred to as Troupials. Eleven Troupials are introduce which provide a physical differentiation; typically the type of wing an individual has places him within the Troupial. Wingless Troupials are also included with good detail. Along with physical similarities each Troupial also has psychological similarities. Then come Guilds which help define what it is a character does. There is a decent selection of Guilds which further individualize the characters.

One of the main strengths of the book is the near total lack of rules or mechanics. The book is almost entirely narrative with actual "rules" or "mechanics" being minimally presented. This clever idea actually won big points from me; it is one of the few truly "generic" worlds out there. Any experienced GM will be able to quickly generate the necessary mechanics to create the variety of races and weapons described in the book. No need to buy the Providence Main Rules Book, simply insert your favorite system into the world. Naturally this increases the up-front workload of a GM, however, it also grants the GM an inherent mechanism to control power levels.

The chief difficulty I had with the setting was the need to suspend belief in the laws of physics. While this may sound strange to say for a fantasy game involving magic and winged creatures, the fact that the world is inside a sphere raised questions about gravity, heat dissipation from the central "sun", the source of the flood waters and water being forced up a tube 3.5 miles to form a waterfall from a spire. Is this world actually the inside of a planet or an artificial sphere? Maybe future books will answer this question. In any case, as a potential GM I tried to generate answers to these questions in anticipation of what I knew my players would ask. I wasn't satisfied with what I came up and I know that my players wouldn't be either. In order for the players to suspend their disbelief, there needs to be a better explanation of what is going on.

The second difficulty that I encountered was the stagnant society. Granted most fantasy settings are not exactly socially mobile, but in this case the society is firmly entrenched in their settlements and refuse to explore the world. The penal colonies were eradicated nearly 1,000 years prior to the start of the "Current Age" and the colonists have barely begun to explore their world. This is especially confusing given the fact that many can fly. This makes traditional impediments to exploration – wide rivers, swamps and dense forests – less of a factor. While fear of the unknown and of the local critters is given as an explanation for this lack of exploration, that is a dissatisfying reason. Only with the flooding of the world is interest in finding the other gates does exploration become important.

The art is of mixed quality with some being cleanly drawn and others looking too clunky. One artist has an interesting technique of painting onto photographs with interesting effect. The flavor fiction is simply awful and contributes nothing to enhance the book. It typically reads like the following:

"There is a place I heard of long ago, a place reportedly of Troupial Jackal, but the Ravens whisper that it is not so. They say that it is where the Fallen Eagles go and call themselves by the name of their fathers, though they have no wings. I learned of it from a Raven called Ichabbel, whom I do not love for his help. It was he who advised me how to win Isoe; it was he who failed me."

Mind you, this is not a the typical poorly worded prophesy that is endemic in fantasy; its a narration of an NPC.

I enjoyed reading this book and think that experienced GMs and players can have successful campaigns using the world of Providence. GMs should be forewarned, however, that many questions that players may raise regarding the world may not be answered to their complete satisfaction. While this does increase the level of mystery in the world, it can also add to the sense of "huh?" that can create difficulties within a campaign. However, the lack of rules vacuum gives a GM the ability to adapt the power levels to his own desire.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Providence Main World Book
Author: Lucien Soulban Category: game Company/Publisher: XID Creative Line: Providence Page count: 216 ISBN: 0-9682942-1-9 Capsule Review by Tomas J Skucas on 10/04/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Generic	Although Providence bills itself as a "mix of fantasy and the four-color bravado of super heroes" it really isn't a superhero genre. And it certainly is more than the stereotypical fantasy setting. Be forewarned, however, that this setting is by no means for everybody; both its unusual nature and need to roleplay within a caste society makes it a difficult challenge for those unwilling to explore racism in a game. The basic premise of Providence is that the world is actually a former penal colony. On the original world a civil war ended with the rebels being exiled to this world through dimension gates. All contact with the original world was lost and the penal colonies survived as best they could. Eventually the prisoners' off-spring revolted and formed the current setting. Things were going great until a crack in the earth started to flood the world. Now the inhabitants are looking for the lost gates in order to get to safety. Providence is an unusual setting in two aspects. First is the unusual world; it is set inside a sphere; think of Edgar Rice Burrough's Earth Core series as an example. The entire world is visible above the characters' heads with a "sun" in the center that periodically dims to simulate night. While the authors do a decent job in describing this unusual world at times the writing gets a bit convoluted. The best solution was to constantly refer to the world map which is located as a foldout with the back cover. GMs will probably want to photocopy large portions of this section as handouts for their players. The second unusual aspect is the caste system which dominates the world. With quasi-racial overtones, one's position in society is determined by the functionality of wings the "ideal" citizen is suppose to have. Those with fully functional wings are on top with wingless people being the bottom of the pyramid. This society could be an uncomfortable one for less mature players as they could find their characters way down in the pecking order. The social system was well handled with the caste system neatly placing individuals within the society. To further differentiate the characters a racial system is introduced which is referred to as Troupials. Eleven Troupials are introduce which provide a physical differentiation; typically the type of wing an individual has places him within the Troupial. Wingless Troupials are also included with good detail. Along with physical similarities each Troupial also has psychological similarities. Then come Guilds which help define what it is a character does. There is a decent selection of Guilds which further individualize the characters. One of the main strengths of the book is the near total lack of rules or mechanics. The book is almost entirely narrative with actual "rules" or "mechanics" being minimally presented. This clever idea actually won big points from me; it is one of the few truly "generic" worlds out there. Any experienced GM will be able to quickly generate the necessary mechanics to create the variety of races and weapons described in the book. No need to buy the Providence Main Rules Book, simply insert your favorite system into the world. Naturally this increases the up-front workload of a GM, however, it also grants the GM an inherent mechanism to control power levels. The chief difficulty I had with the setting was the need to suspend belief in the laws of physics. While this may sound strange to say for a fantasy game involving magic and winged creatures, the fact that the world is inside a sphere raised questions about gravity, heat dissipation from the central "sun", the source of the flood waters and water being forced up a tube 3.5 miles to form a waterfall from a spire. Is this world actually the inside of a planet or an artificial sphere? Maybe future books will answer this question. In any case, as a potential GM I tried to generate answers to these questions in anticipation of what I knew my players would ask. I wasn't satisfied with what I came up and I know that my players wouldn't be either. In order for the players to suspend their disbelief, there needs to be a better explanation of what is going on. The second difficulty that I encountered was the stagnant society. Granted most fantasy settings are not exactly socially mobile, but in this case the society is firmly entrenched in their settlements and refuse to explore the world. The penal colonies were eradicated nearly 1,000 years prior to the start of the "Current Age" and the colonists have barely begun to explore their world. This is especially confusing given the fact that many can fly. This makes traditional impediments to exploration – wide rivers, swamps and dense forests – less of a factor. While fear of the unknown and of the local critters is given as an explanation for this lack of exploration, that is a dissatisfying reason. Only with the flooding of the world is interest in finding the other gates does exploration become important. The art is of mixed quality with some being cleanly drawn and others looking too clunky. One artist has an interesting technique of painting onto photographs with interesting effect. The flavor fiction is simply awful and contributes nothing to enhance the book. It typically reads like the following: "There is a place I heard of long ago, a place reportedly of Troupial Jackal, but the Ravens whisper that it is not so. They say that it is where the Fallen Eagles go and call themselves by the name of their fathers, though they have no wings. I learned of it from a Raven called Ichabbel, whom I do not love for his help. It was he who advised me how to win Isoe; it was he who failed me." Mind you, this is not a the typical poorly worded prophesy that is endemic in fantasy; its a narration of an NPC. I enjoyed reading this book and think that experienced GMs and players can have successful campaigns using the world of Providence. GMs should be forewarned, however, that many questions that players may raise regarding the world may not be answered to their complete satisfaction. While this does increase the level of mystery in the world, it can also add to the sense of "huh?" that can create difficulties within a campaign. However, the lack of rules vacuum gives a GM the ability to adapt the power levels to his own desire. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Providence Main World Book