The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Gary Gygax's "Lejendary Adventure" (LA) is a skill-based, fantasy role-playing system that has been out for over a year but seems little known among gamers.

The mechanics of the game are simple, being percentage based. Ability scores are generally expressed as a number ranging from 1 to 100, and are three in number: Health (mental and physical), Precision (mental and physical), and Speed (again, mental and physical). A forth ability score, Intellect, is provided as an optional rule. One criticism of the ability system has been in cases of characters who may be healthy in one aspect of an ability such as Precision (say, he or she is a dead-shot with the bow), but lacking in another aspect of that ability (for example, this dead-shot with the bow fellow could be otherwise mentally clumsy, according to character concept). So, it might be asked, can the rules accommodate a Steven-Hawkings type, who is sharp of mind but not of body, which would seem to indicate a simultaneously high and low health rating (high mental health and precision, but low physical health and precision, nearly zero). The answer to that is yes. The system is so simple that if the player--with the approval of his GM---wishes to hamper his character in such a way, he may simply state that the ability score relevant to the disadvantage is halved, or even worse, when checking against it or associated abilities. Why a player would want such a major disadvatage is left to the imagination of my readers. The system is "rules light" so as to facilitate the whim of the GM, and is very flexible with interpretations. What some players have misunderstood is that this flexibility was intentional, and wrongly accused the game of being undefinitive in matters of ability scores or in the limitations of applied skills. Which brings us to the issue of skills...

The skill system of LA is "broad-based" in a fashion similar to the concept behind the three basic ability scores described above. Some of them may overlap in their general applications, such as Forestry or Savagery, because they are not only broad-based skills, but may be used to simultaneously describe character background in a meaningful way. That is why they are called "abilities" instead, because they may be skills or advantages. Therefore a scout-type and a druid-type may have similar abilities but each would be described by slightly different means; for example, the skills Hunt, Ranging and Rustic may be used for one, while Ranging, Savagery and Nomadic are used for the other. Hunt, for instance, used as a broad based skill, covers a wide range of activity beyond the simple activities of tracking and shooting game, such as "woodcraft, survival, the chase, tracking, recognition of flora and fauna, concealment and camouflage in woods, etc.". Another example would be a strong warrior whose strength is represented by the Physique ability, and whose background in the knighthood is represented by his Chivalry ability. The chivalry ability is great example of a "background" ability, and adds to the character's fighting prowess, among other less game-mechanic oriented benefits.
Due to the broad-based skill system, the GM has the freedom to choose a large number of relevant abilities in any given situation, asking for a simple percentage check. The skills are each based on one of the three base ratings. One advantage of this skill system is that few characters have a skill that is completely useless, or that cannot be creatively applied to a situation. Therefore a broad-based skill system encourages role-playing and creative thinking. Otherwise, a GM who enjoys more detail in his skill system would have no trouble breaking down the broad groups into small divisions.

Characters may belong to Orders, which are akin to character classes, but are not necessary in order to create an interesting character. The Orders are intended to reflect society, are based on the medieval European standard, and are ranked in a hierarchical fashion, like character levels. Each "rank" provides benefits to those characters who belong to the order. characters who are unordered are so only in the sense that they do not fit into human culture precisely, but the GM may create a non-human order to fit him or her with ease.

The equipment and weapons provided are predictable for a fantasy role-playing game. The armor is described in terms of full or half suits and simply absorbs damage, and is therefore similar to Palladiums armor system (though there is no AR to consider), or GURPS, etc. Armor does have a limited capacity to absorb damage, and may be repaired with a logical combination of skills. The differences between weapons are determined by the bonus or penalty to precision, speed class, range and harm class (penetration or shock damage generally). However, a dagger may kill as readily as a sword, provided it is wielded with skill, penetrates the armor and strikes true. In other words, damage ranges are less important in this game than the other factors described above, and in playtest this has been satisfying to me. Again, all GMs normally tinker with rules to suit themselves and this combat system is so simple that such adjustments are not only easy but encouraged.

Combat is simple, to-hit determined by relevant ability (Weapons) or natural Precision rating for animals, or Unarmed combat skill for hand-to hand. All rolls are ten-siders, modified by any number of things that can be included or discounted, depending on the style of the GM.

The spell system is broken up into several different types: Enchantment (typical mages), Geourgy (Elemental), Necrourgy (necromantic, obviously), Psychogenic (not considered "magic" of course), Sorcery (summon demons, etc.), and Theurgy (Priestcraft). The spells are nearly all fun and interesting (some just plain funny), use a spell-point system, and are generally very powerful. Spellslingers who are unprotected, as in many RPGs, may have a tough time releasing their spell power, but in the right circumstances, summoning a demon to your aid---or if a priest, a holy avenging spirit---is very entertaining. Any sort of basic magic that a fantasy gamer would expect to see is here. Characters and powers, if compared to D&D, would begin mid to high level in terms of ability to "get the job done". But there the two systems have little in common. D&D is a precise system, detailing everything and giving rules for nearly every common circumstance. LA is less precise and leaves much up to the whim of the GM, which suits my taste very well. I feel the game is better aimed at experienced GMs, but is easy to teach to less experienced players if need be. The Xp system assumes gradual advancement, but is not glacially slow either. Non-player characters are easy to create, and the game is easy to adopt to any kind of story line that may spring into mind. Game-balance and challenge level is easy to judge without consulting charts, the creatures described in the "Beasts of Lejend" book are simple to integrate, even on a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of session, and the "Lejend Master's Lore" book provides enough alternate systems and optional rules to satisfy most GMs who wish greater complexity.

In sum, the game is fun. Is it revolutionary? No, but that claim wasn't made by the author, so is a moot point. Some players have complained that the language used in the book is too verbose, calling it "gygaxian prose" and in the latest printing of the Players book, the language has been reportedly toned down and re-edited for greater clarity. I owned the first edition and found some passages to be confusing, but in my experience most games go through a rough development period. I've been in the habit for the last few years of not buying a book until the third printing if it is associated with the RPG industry, unless it is for collectability sake. This is not an excuse for poor editing, but only an observation. Thus, I advise picky people interested in this game to order it from dicetrader.com to ensure getting a recent printing of the rules. Otherwise, the community dedicated to the game (http://communities.msn.com/LejendaryAdventures/home.htm) has errata posted and anybody there would be pleased to answer questions.

The game setting will be the "Lejendary Earth" (not yet published) and looks interesting from what little I've read online. Is it similar, from what I've seen, to Aearth of Dangerous Journeys, but beyond that I cannot say. Creative GMs should have little trouble adapting the game to their own settings if they feel like doing so.

As to art and layout...I feel that there elements could be improved. In fact, the "look" of the game has turned some people off, which is a shame. Others have no complaints, and there shall always be disagreements in-between. I suppose (though I could be wrong) that fans of GURPs and AD&D had no such qualms in the very early days. In other words, although today books such as the D&D 3E book are beautiful, these facts do not make the LA game terrible by default. On the positive side, the text is an easy to read font and the organization is fine. There are so few rules that finding the passage I need is never tough.

Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

The "Lejendary Adventure" game