The Inside Scoop on Gaming

This review is difficult in that I'm not sure whether I'm reviewing a game or half of a game. Though the back cover claims that this book "...provides all the information necessary to begin a campaign.", I have my doubts you could get much past the character generation stage and, perhaps, a practice adventure or two without a lot of work. I barely gave it an 'average' in Substance on the assumption that this is merely the first half of a large work.

Shape and Form

The book itself is quite attractive. The cover art uses color strikingly, as do the color plates within. The black and white pieces range from passable to excellent with a few that are flat-out gorgeous. Amusingly, this is one of the few game worlds where scantily-clad characters make perfect sense, yet the artists showed remarkable restraint. A quick scan of the rare 'underclothed' characters, shows far more beefcake than cheesecake as well.

The design and layout of the rules and interior art is top-notch. Sections are easy to find and (mostly) clearly arranged and presented. Some rules are in odd places, or require a bit of a search if you haven't read through it a few times. Mostly, however, it is very professional . . . especially for a first-time publisher.

Ways and Means

After a bit of art, obligatory fiction, "What is roleplaying?" and other introductory fripperies, we get to the character generation system. One hundred and eighty pages of it, give or take a few. I was barely halfway through it before I was thinking, "A spreadsheet would be nice here." When I was finished, I was sure of it.

Don't get me wrong; I used to make up Champions characters with nothing but pencil and paper--just for fun--but I whole-heartedly converted to HeroMaker when given the chance. It's not that the rules were that complex, it was just there were enough of them, with little cohesiveness, that I need a crib sheet to keep track of what was going on.

Providence is a point-based system, much like others before it. You have Characteristic points, Skill points, Magic points, and Trait points with which to buy your character. 'Traits' are both advantages (which cost Trait points) or disadvantages (which give you more Trait points to spend). There's an optional rule to allow points to be transferred from one category to another, but the conversion rate is very high and probably not worth it except for specialized character concepts.

Characteristics are either Physical, Mental or 'Other'. Standard range is -3 to +3, with 0 being the average. The calculations for buying scores above 0 is bought on what XID calls the additive table (i.e. one point costs 1, two points costs 1+2=3, three points costs 1+2+3=6, etc.) times a Cost Multiplier depending on the characteristic. Buying stats under 0 nets you points, but requires careful reading to make sure it is done properly. Most of it could've been compressed into a simple-to-understand and use chart without much effort. As a special bonus for rpg.net readers, I'll throw my creation in for you:

Characteristic
-3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3

Strength, Constitution, Coordination, Willpower, Psyche, Intelligence -6 -4 -2 0 3 9 18

Appearance, Charisma, Perception -3 -2 -1 0 2 6 12

Aura -9 -6 -3 0 4 12 24

Negative numbers indicate you get points back. Simple, no?

Another optional rule lets you split all the Characteristics except Aura into several Advanced Characteristics, just in case 10 wasn't enough for you. Oh, and don't forget the four Secondary Characteristics that are calculated from the Primary ones.

Skills are bought straight on the additive table and range from 1 to 6. They are split into Innate skills which any fool can learn (even on their own), Learned Skills which have to be taught and Studied Skills which involved a lot of reading and skull sweat. An additional complication are Support Skills which are basically prerequisites in order to get higher levels of the skills they 'supporting'. There's a flaw in this, thankfully, optional rule that doesn't allow some skills to get above a certain level. In fact, Riding can't go above level 3! (One assumes that either I've missed something in those 180 pages or there's errata somewhere.)

Traits are a mixed-bag of things that you've, reasonably, seen in other point-based systems. This is where you decide that you want an ambidextrous, foul-mouthed, heavy-boned, wealthy, outcast who's afraid of spiders. The given list of Traits was rather short, and had some oddities, as well. A bit more terseness, and about half again as many entries would have made this section more useful. Another annoying thing is when buying one of the higher Caste statuses, the rules mention that you have to have Wings or Glider Membranes without providing a page reference. Since Traits comes before Powers, you might not know where to find them at first (hint: they are under Natural Flight).

Those lucky enough to have Magic can either indulge in Powers or Spells (but not both). Powers are bought in levels (the first five levels cost 10 points each, and the last five levels cost 20 points each), while Spells cost 3 points per level up to 6, but require that special skills be purchased. A feature of the system is that you can use a Power at less than full strength for a reduced cost in Wird (their 'word' for magical energies) using a rather cumbersome formula that I'd rather not have to explain. Spells can only be cast the level they were learned at, so if you want a reduced effect (and a reduced Wird cost), you have to buy the spells at multiple levels. Ack.

Powers come in categories and anything outside of your main category, chosen at character creation, costs an extra 10 points. In addition, you can various modifiers to make a Power less or more powerful and modify its cost thereby. Of course, since Natural Flight is a Power, if you want any others, you are automatically down 10 points. I recommend taking Natural Flight, if you want it, as an alternate category in order to save points. But, wait! At nearly the end of the book, it says races (or Troupials, as they like to call them) that have natural 'powers', like Wings, don't have to pay the 10 point premium because they are a free part of the race.

The racial package rules seem to have been written without a careful consideration of the rest of the book. Caste status and the type and quality of the wings a character possesses are strongly tied together. Yet some troupial descriptions seemingly allow someone to have incompatible characters. For example, Hawks get Wings or Gliders for free, but no Caste status. Does this mean that the player should buy the Caste status with their Trait points? That's fine, but some racial package do have the Caste included as a freebie; so what happens if that character is an Outcast, instead? It would have only taken a paragraph of two to explain how to use these troupial rules and one wonders why they didn't.

Powers and Spells seem to be the crux of the system. Frankly, I had the strong feeling that this was a superhero RPG (which I believe is even mentioned on the back cover blurb) that was caught between two worlds. On one hand is the AD&D model with tables of spells, lots of oddball modifiers and special rules. On the other hand was a Champions-like model, but not as well-defined and subject to some odd cost restrictions and non-generic elements.

Methods of Mayhem

The actual mechanics of the system are fairly clear, however. Most rolls you add a Characteristic plus a Skill level and you get that many 'dice'. Why the quotes, you may ask? Because the dice aren't really dice. Each die above two represents a +2 bonus to the roll and each die below two (which can go into negative numbers) is a -2 penalty to the roll. Most modifiers to the roll in the game are based on 'dice' and not straight numbers.

Once you know your modifier, you roll 2d10+modifier and compare it to the target number. An optional system allows you to take some of the 'dice' as actual dice and pick the best two for your roll. In my mind, this is much easier in that you don't have to mess with modifiers; just pick the best two and get on with your life.

Then we get to Margin of Success. In order to actually find out how well you did, subtract the target number from your roll and look it up on a chart. Unless precise degrees are very important (such as in a competition of some sort between characters), I'd ignore this whole except that the combat system uses a similar system to determine damage. Although it requires another chart, this one is small and easily memorized. Then you look at the weapon or attack's damage and you're done.

Well, maybe it's not quite that simple. Armor subtracts from the damage, then you compare it to the Body score to determine how bad you feel on another chart. This determines how much Body you lose and any skill penalties to be imposed. There's more detail than that (lots of modifiers!) but it seems workable. Did I mention that you have to cross-reference the type of armor with the type of attack to find out exactly how effective it is? No? Well, you do, so make sure to write it on your character sheet for easy perusal.

Frankly, the system is a bit heavy, though workable. I recommend that GMs look over the Modifier/Effect table and then just 'wing it' after that. Those who like their RPGs to be more tactical (again, Champions comes to mind), you'll probably enjoy the exercise of playing with the modifiers and terrain features.

World of Wonders

The best part of the book is from pages 232 to 247, where Providence is explored in about as much detail as you can squeeze into 16 pages. It is literally chock-full of enticing ideas and grand visions. Combined with the fiction and bits of culture and lore scattered throughout the book, you are left hungry for more detail, more!

To make a shortened story even shorter, here's the outline. Providence is a hollow world meant to serve as a prison for those who rebelled against a stratified and unjust society. They fought under the banners of Gods who turned out to be merely powerful mortals and were defeated along with their false deities. Soon after their interment into a number of prison-camps, the gates that deposited them to Providence stopped working, trapping guards and prisoners alike. After a number of bloody rebellions (and a few generations), the prison system broke down and most of the cities were freed. Most of the world is unexplored jungle, containing odd creatures that were once like the PC races. And it's a world that appears to be coming to end as cataclysmic natural disasters begin to tear it apart. Countless roleplaying scenarios are hinted at, but little support is given to realize them, though.

Conclusion

On its own, the book has little unique to recommend it apart from some pretty pictures, and some fun ideas. As part of a large growing body of supplements (11 books, not including art portfolios), however, it truly begins to shine. Plan on spending at least $30 extra dollars and pick up the Main World Book. Providence is very strongly supported, and worth looking into for those who want to play a different 'superhero' game and are willing to shell out sixty dollars or more.

Note: I'll have an upcoming review of the Providence Main World Book coming up soon and I've already reviewed Providence the Ecology.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Providence: Main Rule Book

Shape and Form

Ways and Means

Methods of Mayhem

World of Wonders

Conclusion