The Inside Scoop on Gaming

RUNEBEARER
Adventures in the World of Bostonia
265 pages, Adobe Acrobat format, 2.9MB zipped, 3.1MB PDF

Runebearer is a good example of how homebrew roleplaying games should be developed. The author, Chris Magoun, found that the game world he'd been using for years was outgrowing the system he was using, so he began to create his own rules, ones that would better reflect the uniqueness of the setting. The result is a very detailed game system with a unique spellcasting system and an interesting take on divine magic.

The core mechanic of Runebearer could be described as "D12". When a character attempts an action -- any action -- the player rolls a d12 and adds it to the appropriate ability score. The gamemaster determines the relative difficulty of the action, then rolls a d12 and adds it to the target number. If the player's total is higher, the character succeeds; if the GM's total is higher, the character fails. It doesn't get much simpler than that. It's an elegant system, but nothing earth-shattering.

The layout of the book is very "old-school", using the standard numerical chapter/section notations (i.e. 1.2.7) that grew out of wargaming. In this Runebearer shows its roots in Fantasy Hero and Rolemaster. I'm okay with that, but it makes the game seem like a lost manuscript from 1985. Other old-school touches include the number of attributes -- ten primary and five figured, none earth-shattering or unique; if you've been a roleplayer for a while, you've seen it all before. It also includes an encumbrance system, another holdover from roleplaying's wargame roots. Does anyone still use encumbrance? Did anyone really ever use to begin with?

There's a lot that I liked about the layout, starting with the incusion of examples and suggested difficulties right there with the ability descriptions. The examples provide a lot of the color and flavor of the world, as well as practical information. If I want to know something about agility, I don't have to go to the character creation section for a definition, the rules section for an example, and the GM section for some target numbers; it's all on one place. Kudos for ease of use here, many other games could learn things about user-friendly layout from this book.

A full 112 pages -- nearly half the book -- is dedicated to spell descriptions and spell lists for the various professions of Bostonia. If this sort of thing puts wind in your sails, you will be in heaven here. While I fully appreciate the variety of spells and the differentiation between the assorted types of spellcasters, I would rather have fewer spells and more information about the world itself.

In the end, Runebearer is just another fantasy rules system, albeit a very good one. If you're looking for a cheap alternative to D20, here you go; download it, print it out, and save a small fortune on hardcover books.

However, if you're like me and looking for setting, Runebearer is a tease, and a bit of a letdown. While the game claims to be "Adventures in the World of Bostonia" and grew out of one person's long-running campaign, the only evidence of Bostonia present here are side comments and color commentary. There is absolutely nothing here about the geography, culture or politics of Bostonia. I could put together a fun and interesting game based on this book, but would it be the World of Bostonia, or my own world cribbing some color commentary from Bostonia?

This review originally appeared at UncleBear.com and is reprinted here courtesy of Uncle Bear, himself.

Runebearer
Runebearer Capsule Review by Berin Kinsman on 24/03/02 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty) Runebearer is a good example of how homebrew roleplaying games should be developed. Product: Runebearer Author: Chris Magoun Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Chris Magoun Line: Cost: Free Page count: 256 Year published: ISBN: SKU: Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Berin Kinsman on 24/03/02 Genre tags: Fantasy	RUNEBEARER Adventures in the World of Bostonia 265 pages, Adobe Acrobat format, 2.9MB zipped, 3.1MB PDF Runebearer is a good example of how homebrew roleplaying games should be developed. The author, Chris Magoun, found that the game world he'd been using for years was outgrowing the system he was using, so he began to create his own rules, ones that would better reflect the uniqueness of the setting. The result is a very detailed game system with a unique spellcasting system and an interesting take on divine magic. The core mechanic of Runebearer could be described as "D12". When a character attempts an action -- any action -- the player rolls a d12 and adds it to the appropriate ability score. The gamemaster determines the relative difficulty of the action, then rolls a d12 and adds it to the target number. If the player's total is higher, the character succeeds; if the GM's total is higher, the character fails. It doesn't get much simpler than that. It's an elegant system, but nothing earth-shattering. The layout of the book is very "old-school", using the standard numerical chapter/section notations (i.e. 1.2.7) that grew out of wargaming. In this Runebearer shows its roots in Fantasy Hero and Rolemaster. I'm okay with that, but it makes the game seem like a lost manuscript from 1985. Other old-school touches include the number of attributes -- ten primary and five figured, none earth-shattering or unique; if you've been a roleplayer for a while, you've seen it all before. It also includes an encumbrance system, another holdover from roleplaying's wargame roots. Does anyone still use encumbrance? Did anyone really ever use to begin with? There's a lot that I liked about the layout, starting with the incusion of examples and suggested difficulties right there with the ability descriptions. The examples provide a lot of the color and flavor of the world, as well as practical information. If I want to know something about agility, I don't have to go to the character creation section for a definition, the rules section for an example, and the GM section for some target numbers; it's all on one place. Kudos for ease of use here, many other games could learn things about user-friendly layout from this book. A full 112 pages -- nearly half the book -- is dedicated to spell descriptions and spell lists for the various professions of Bostonia. If this sort of thing puts wind in your sails, you will be in heaven here. While I fully appreciate the variety of spells and the differentiation between the assorted types of spellcasters, I would rather have fewer spells and more information about the world itself. In the end, Runebearer is just another fantasy rules system, albeit a very good one. If you're looking for a cheap alternative to D20, here you go; download it, print it out, and save a small fortune on hardcover books. However, if you're like me and looking for setting, Runebearer is a tease, and a bit of a letdown. While the game claims to be "Adventures in the World of Bostonia" and grew out of one person's long-running campaign, the only evidence of Bostonia present here are side comments and color commentary. There is absolutely nothing here about the geography, culture or politics of Bostonia. I could put together a fun and interesting game based on this book, but would it be the World of Bostonia, or my own world cribbing some color commentary from Bostonia? This review originally appeared at UncleBear.com and is reprinted here courtesy of Uncle Bear, himself.