The Inside Scoop on Gaming

This review was solicited by, and appeared in, Serendipity's Circle (issue #19) a gaming zine of horror and weird fantasy. It appears here with the editor's permission. http://members.aol.com/serccircle/index.html

I remember my very first issue of Dragon Magazine, #60, had an add for a playtest company called Escape Ventures. They were offering a sign on bonus for paying to playtest games, their own rpg called Element Masters. Over the years I watched the ad remain pretty much the same, disappear and reappear from time to time. I was always curious but never enough so to pay to playtest. Well now (about 200 issues of Dragon later) I have finally had the chance to check out this long lived game, in its most recent incarnation, titled GateWar and I didn't pay a dime.

The game rules and campaign world come in a single 270+ page soft cover book. The typesetting and layout are very well done, main text with sidebar details. The sidebars provide fantastic examples of the rules being described in the main text and/or other useful details appropriate to the associated main text. Graphics and art are all black and white, save the cover, of average quality but very appropriate and well placed. The cover consists of the games masthead, publishers logo and a very average bit of stereotypical FRPG art, scantily clad female with weapons next to a male warrior fighting a horrid creature. The masthead proclaims GateWar, "Believable Fantasy Role-Playing in the World of Vinya". What believable fantasy is remains a mystery to me, accepting that statement, I find the chaos inherent in this campaign world difficult to consider "believable". If believable is defined by detail, then GateWar does qualify.

After a short description of what role-playing is, the book jumps right into character creation. Each of 8 character races receives a one page data spread and large picture. Elves and dwarves are replaced by Geffren and Bruff (direct parallels), but the other races are more original. Half-Tron are the mysterious offspring of androgynous warrior aliens (Trons) and other PC races, having dual opposable thumbs and 2 spines. Kitzu are like pygmy warriors, African culture and all. Nequitar Warriors are Amazons and Zod Bowman their mates (a Robin Hood culture existing separate from the females). The Unspeakable provide comic relief as surfer dude nixies. Wellan are mark 1, mod 0 humans. Further, characters have a chance of additional racial bonuses by being: Potential Element Master (most powerful magic available), Partial Drazzi (race of powerful magic users, 2nd to Element Masters), Partial Golden Hero (ancient warrior heroes from Vinya's past).

Characters are defined in every way via one table or another. Even creative details like "hometown", morality, bravery, phobias, handedness and age are available for randomization on a table. Attributes are rolled with 5d4 and include all of the typical ones (Strength, Size, Dexterity, Intelligence, Magic Points, Appearance and Luck). The attributes help determine success and prowess in skills and professions chosen individually to define the characters' abilities and experience. Skills, professions, combat and magic are all explained separately but work basically the same. Rolls against modified targets, modified by attributes, conditions or outside influences. There is a hit location system and a weather/random teleportation system that really add to the work necessary with possibly disastrous results to game play. It is neither the most real nor the easiest to play system, falling short of being too math/chart heavy but far from basic. It is, however, complete and consistent.

The bulk of the book is taken up by reference and background materials, everything is again available on a chart. Details like travel and monetary systems are given great depth. The list of creatures is a unique blend of native flora/fauna and alien invaders. As the book goes on to explain, Vinya was once a utopian paradise, lead by wise and powerful rulers. The development of instant teleportation "gates" between places on the planet evolves into an attempt to reach the stars. It is this "gateway to the worlds" through which all of the alien invaders (good and bad) enter Vinya. Most of the native Vinyan entries are unremarkable, some existing just to provide food/healing. My favorite exception is the horner, a semi-intelligent beast of burden with the will and honesty of a 4 year old human, a fantastic opportunity to create some memorable role-playing moments.

The alien races are some of the most bizarre, horrifying, unbalancing and out of place creatures ever detailed. Most are deadly, including a bipedal mecha robot with the skeletons of its pilots still inside, but a few are almost too silly to exist. For example, the Observer is an invincible voyeur of unknown intentions, and the Treasure Critter just wants to buy some friends with items stolen from previously bought friends. Many more, like the Tron mentioned above, exist mainly as adversaries to the PC races or life in general. All in all they are fanged, spindly, insectoid, saurian, savage and scary to extreme degrees. The background tells how the Golden Heroes stemmed the tide of the alien invaders and made possible the current relatively balanced situation. Later in the book campaign ideas are provided for the native races winning or losing the struggle for Vinya against and with the help of some alien races.

Great amounts of text are dedicated to governments, communities, taverns and organizations. Everything is given to the GM and players including a timeline of past and possible future events, this is a very complete campaign world that shows the years it has existed and been playtested. In the appendixes, there is a thorough example of play and a complete adventure (The Great Mip Migration, concerning one of those native food creatures) in the appendixes.

The rules also show their age and the amount of time spent on them. This game is everything role-playing was, detail to the max and randomized at every opportunity. GateWar is truly a master work of some dedicated players but it will always feel like someone else's world. If you want something different, action oriented and ready to play, this is it. You will find it hard to change things enough to make a campaign unique but there are plenty of gems to be pirated to existing game worlds.

Appropriately this journey of discovery ends where it began. That same ad, I saw so many years ago in Dragon #60, is on the last page of the book.

This review originally appeared in Serendipity's Circle #19 (05/00) and has been posted here with Serendipity's permission.

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

GateWar
Author: Escape Ventures Category: game Company/Publisher: Escape Ventures Line: GateWar Page count: 270 Capsule Review by papyrus on 06/04/00. Genre tags: Fantasy	This review was solicited by, and appeared in, Serendipity's Circle (issue #19) a gaming zine of horror and weird fantasy. It appears here with the editor's permission. http://members.aol.com/serccircle/index.html I remember my very first issue of Dragon Magazine, #60, had an add for a playtest company called Escape Ventures. They were offering a sign on bonus for paying to playtest games, their own rpg called Element Masters. Over the years I watched the ad remain pretty much the same, disappear and reappear from time to time. I was always curious but never enough so to pay to playtest. Well now (about 200 issues of Dragon later) I have finally had the chance to check out this long lived game, in its most recent incarnation, titled GateWar and I didn't pay a dime. The game rules and campaign world come in a single 270+ page soft cover book. The typesetting and layout are very well done, main text with sidebar details. The sidebars provide fantastic examples of the rules being described in the main text and/or other useful details appropriate to the associated main text. Graphics and art are all black and white, save the cover, of average quality but very appropriate and well placed. The cover consists of the games masthead, publishers logo and a very average bit of stereotypical FRPG art, scantily clad female with weapons next to a male warrior fighting a horrid creature. The masthead proclaims GateWar, "Believable Fantasy Role-Playing in the World of Vinya". What believable fantasy is remains a mystery to me, accepting that statement, I find the chaos inherent in this campaign world difficult to consider "believable". If believable is defined by detail, then GateWar does qualify. After a short description of what role-playing is, the book jumps right into character creation. Each of 8 character races receives a one page data spread and large picture. Elves and dwarves are replaced by Geffren and Bruff (direct parallels), but the other races are more original. Half-Tron are the mysterious offspring of androgynous warrior aliens (Trons) and other PC races, having dual opposable thumbs and 2 spines. Kitzu are like pygmy warriors, African culture and all. Nequitar Warriors are Amazons and Zod Bowman their mates (a Robin Hood culture existing separate from the females). The Unspeakable provide comic relief as surfer dude nixies. Wellan are mark 1, mod 0 humans. Further, characters have a chance of additional racial bonuses by being: Potential Element Master (most powerful magic available), Partial Drazzi (race of powerful magic users, 2nd to Element Masters), Partial Golden Hero (ancient warrior heroes from Vinya's past). Characters are defined in every way via one table or another. Even creative details like "hometown", morality, bravery, phobias, handedness and age are available for randomization on a table. Attributes are rolled with 5d4 and include all of the typical ones (Strength, Size, Dexterity, Intelligence, Magic Points, Appearance and Luck). The attributes help determine success and prowess in skills and professions chosen individually to define the characters' abilities and experience. Skills, professions, combat and magic are all explained separately but work basically the same. Rolls against modified targets, modified by attributes, conditions or outside influences. There is a hit location system and a weather/random teleportation system that really add to the work necessary with possibly disastrous results to game play. It is neither the most real nor the easiest to play system, falling short of being too math/chart heavy but far from basic. It is, however, complete and consistent. The bulk of the book is taken up by reference and background materials, everything is again available on a chart. Details like travel and monetary systems are given great depth. The list of creatures is a unique blend of native flora/fauna and alien invaders. As the book goes on to explain, Vinya was once a utopian paradise, lead by wise and powerful rulers. The development of instant teleportation "gates" between places on the planet evolves into an attempt to reach the stars. It is this "gateway to the worlds" through which all of the alien invaders (good and bad) enter Vinya. Most of the native Vinyan entries are unremarkable, some existing just to provide food/healing. My favorite exception is the horner, a semi-intelligent beast of burden with the will and honesty of a 4 year old human, a fantastic opportunity to create some memorable role-playing moments. The alien races are some of the most bizarre, horrifying, unbalancing and out of place creatures ever detailed. Most are deadly, including a bipedal mecha robot with the skeletons of its pilots still inside, but a few are almost too silly to exist. For example, the Observer is an invincible voyeur of unknown intentions, and the Treasure Critter just wants to buy some friends with items stolen from previously bought friends. Many more, like the Tron mentioned above, exist mainly as adversaries to the PC races or life in general. All in all they are fanged, spindly, insectoid, saurian, savage and scary to extreme degrees. The background tells how the Golden Heroes stemmed the tide of the alien invaders and made possible the current relatively balanced situation. Later in the book campaign ideas are provided for the native races winning or losing the struggle for Vinya against and with the help of some alien races. Great amounts of text are dedicated to governments, communities, taverns and organizations. Everything is given to the GM and players including a timeline of past and possible future events, this is a very complete campaign world that shows the years it has existed and been playtested. In the appendixes, there is a thorough example of play and a complete adventure (The Great Mip Migration, concerning one of those native food creatures) in the appendixes. The rules also show their age and the amount of time spent on them. This game is everything role-playing was, detail to the max and randomized at every opportunity. GateWar is truly a master work of some dedicated players but it will always feel like someone else's world. If you want something different, action oriented and ready to play, this is it. You will find it hard to change things enough to make a campaign unique but there are plenty of gems to be pirated to existing game worlds. Appropriately this journey of discovery ends where it began. That same ad, I saw so many years ago in Dragon #60, is on the last page of the book. This review originally appeared in Serendipity's Circle #19 (05/00) and has been posted here with Serendipity's permission. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)