The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Myth and mystery are an essential element of life, real and fictious alike. This truth lies at the core of every science, and at every magickal tradition. It's a useful element, because it endevors to hide the truth from those who aren't ready for it and reveal it to those who are.

That's what reading this book was like, and I'm not sure that it was accidental.

In this case, the mystery addressed is world creation. Every gamer gets the itch to design a new world out of whole-cloth sooner or later, and there are few books that offer any worthwhile advice about the process. This book is the best of the bunch, and it still feels like I'm reading "The Complete Golden Dawn System of Magic" or some like-sized tome.

Like those tomes of occult lore, this book is confusing and puts new readers off with its unnecessary redefinition of familiar terms, its immense detail and its great complexity. After struggling through it for a time, the cloudy text becomes clear. The information within is revealed, and the reader is enlightened. By that time, the reader is ready because he has his world clearly pictured in his mind and is able to set right to work.

Not everyone has that amount of time, though. Allow me to shortcut the process somewhat.

The keyword of Aria's system is "environment" and everything relates to the environment. Nothing in Aria exists in a vaccuum; remember this and you'll be fine.

The book's design process focuses upon pre-industrial societies where gunpowder doesn't exist. The artwork and all examples assume a Western look and feel, but the book can design an Eastern society with no difficulty.

The process starts with scope- sheer size- and narrows its focus from there. Each parameter builds upon those previous to it, until every piece of it is fleshed out. (The 17 page dossier at the back of the book is there for a reason.)

Two factors are omitted from the process: the presence of gods and the natural laws of the setting. This isn't a bug; it's very difficult to codify just what would happen if gods were factual, and it's just as hard to do that with entire physics. (Torg is the notable exception that proves the rule.) Therefore, the process leaves those to the designer to work out.

If you are willing to commit the time to decipher the jargon, you'll find this a wonderful design tool- what you get is worth the effort. As for the dossier in the back, these are best scanned in and used as templates. (Photocoping is a viable option.)

Aria-Worlds may be the most underated RPG book published, mainly because it's meant for advanced gamers. I hope that the rumors of a second edition are true, and that the revision turns a meaty book with muddled text into a beacon of top-notch writing with killer game design.

For designers, I recommend the book. For everyone else, take your money elsewhere.

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

Aria-Worlds
Author: Christian S. Moore Category: Company/Publisher: Last Unicorn Games Cost: $25.95 (US) Page count: 334 pages. ISBN: 09645-9031-X Playtest Review by Bradford C. Walker on 03/16/98. Genre tags: none	Myth and mystery are an essential element of life, real and fictious alike. This truth lies at the core of every science, and at every magickal tradition. It's a useful element, because it endevors to hide the truth from those who aren't ready for it and reveal it to those who are. That's what reading this book was like, and I'm not sure that it was accidental. In this case, the mystery addressed is world creation. Every gamer gets the itch to design a new world out of whole-cloth sooner or later, and there are few books that offer any worthwhile advice about the process. This book is the best of the bunch, and it still feels like I'm reading "The Complete Golden Dawn System of Magic" or some like-sized tome. Like those tomes of occult lore, this book is confusing and puts new readers off with its unnecessary redefinition of familiar terms, its immense detail and its great complexity. After struggling through it for a time, the cloudy text becomes clear. The information within is revealed, and the reader is enlightened. By that time, the reader is ready because he has his world clearly pictured in his mind and is able to set right to work. Not everyone has that amount of time, though. Allow me to shortcut the process somewhat. The keyword of Aria's system is "environment" and everything relates to the environment. Nothing in Aria exists in a vaccuum; remember this and you'll be fine. The book's design process focuses upon pre-industrial societies where gunpowder doesn't exist. The artwork and all examples assume a Western look and feel, but the book can design an Eastern society with no difficulty. The process starts with scope- sheer size- and narrows its focus from there. Each parameter builds upon those previous to it, until every piece of it is fleshed out. (The 17 page dossier at the back of the book is there for a reason.) Two factors are omitted from the process: the presence of gods and the natural laws of the setting. This isn't a bug; it's very difficult to codify just what would happen if gods were factual, and it's just as hard to do that with entire physics. (Torg is the notable exception that proves the rule.) Therefore, the process leaves those to the designer to work out. If you are willing to commit the time to decipher the jargon, you'll find this a wonderful design tool- what you get is worth the effort. As for the dossier in the back, these are best scanned in and used as templates. (Photocoping is a viable option.) Aria-Worlds may be the most underated RPG book published, mainly because it's meant for advanced gamers. I hope that the rumors of a second edition are true, and that the revision turns a meaty book with muddled text into a beacon of top-notch writing with killer game design. For designers, I recommend the book. For everyone else, take your money elsewhere. Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 4 (Meaty)