Arrowflight is an attractive book, but eschews the high gloss look that is increasingly becoming popular, and subsequently driving up the price of rpg sourcebooks. It's a perfect bound book coming in at around 200 pages, featuring a great cover painting and copious amounts of interior artwork. The illustrations range from excellent to average, but there doesn't seem to have been any conscious decision made to depict scenes that would illustrate aspects of the world instead of the generic stuff one often finds. The result is that the artwork, as nice as it is, does not do much to supplement the text in portraying the unique nuances of the Arrowflight campaign world, giving us an instant feel for the game.
Unfortunately, there are a few other problems that undermine the visual foundations of the book. I found too many errors and typos to be casually overlooked, the text is perhaps a bit large for my taste, and some space is wasted in inefficient charts (weapons take up over 3 pages, despite having perhaps a quarter of the options available in D&D's PHB).
As a new game system, rules logically take up a greater amount of the book. It's extremely difficult (in my mind) to accurately convey the conventions of a game in a simple review so I will touch upon key points, notably character generation.
The resolution system is seamlessly smooth and extremely easy to get a handle on. Essentially, you roll d6's, the number determined by the attribute score related to the task at hand. Each die that rolls under the required skill is considered a success, and obviously the more successes the better. So, by way of example, let's assume that Jonus the Halfling wants to pick a lock with his Dex of 2 and Thievery skill of 3. I roll a 2 and a 4 (1 success), so under optimum conditions he picks the lock. If, however, it is dark or Jonus is distracted, both of which would result in requiring additional successes, the attempt would be a failure. Simple, and while not exactly earth-shattering in its originality, the system does indeed work smoothly and is extremely easy to master.
Character generation blends elements of randomness and player allotment. It's an amalgam that I personally enjoyed, but those who wish to have it one way or the other will find it a simple matter to do so. In my mind, this just illuminates one of the strengths of the game system: it's flexibility.
Players a lot points to their characters from a pool, which is then modified and shaped by a series of "lifeline" tables that outline the highlights of the character's life. By the end of this simple process (character generation shouldn't take more than half-hour or so) you have a broad outline of your character's background, which is especially useful for helping new gamers find their legs. It's a far simpler and more story focused system than we find in D&D, for example, thereby providing an alternative to those who find the d20 system daunting.
This is not to suggest that Arrowflight is necessarily for beginners, because there is a depth to the rules that most introductory type games lack. The simple premise of task resolution is expanded upon in numerous detailed circumstances, fleshing out the book and offering all of the rules you're likely to need to run a fantasy campaign. In it's own way, Arrowflight is as all encompassing, as are D&D's PHB and DMG.
For further examples of this depth, we turn to magic and combat. Magic works significantly differently than in most fantasy games, where there is a fairly rigid spell list to choose from. In Arrowflight, there are comparatively few template spells that are intended to be personalized by players to create unique spells. This is a great way to get players more involved in the game, and a fun innovation that harkens back a bit to the Storyteller magic system of Mage: The Ascension.
Similarly, combat is made more interesting by the use of unique martial styles, which cover particular techniques, skill with various arms, or just combat philosophy. Among these are "Rogue" (backstabbing, and so on), "Cavalier" (mounted combat), and various racial unarmed combat options. As characters gain levels of expertise in their chosen style, new abilities are opened up to them---like in d20 classes. While the dozen or so options are enough to begin with, I see the opportunity here for the development of new styles much as we're seen a massive wave of new feats and prestige classes with d20.
The bestiary includes a total of almost 50 monsters, more than enough to begin a campaign with. They range from the typical humanoid races (granted, with unique origins and often radically new appearances) such as goblins and ogres, to the requisite types of dragons and undead, and an array of wild animals. Far more interesting are the host of new monsters: Ogron's are centaur like beings, resembling ogre's from the waist up and with the body of a mountain goat; Trawlers are monstrous predatory fish featuring a glowing appendage that is used as a lure for their prey; and Oodong are a lesser form of dragon that more closely resembles an emu than a mighty drake, and are used extensively as mounts.
We get a decent world overview that includes concepts such as government, architecture, taboos, social hierarchy, and so forth. Deep 7 is obviously not trying to reinvent the wheel here, and they stay close to the game's high fantasy roots. Still, there's enough here to really get you excited about the premise of playing Arrowflight. The world feels fresh and new (perhaps it's just d20 overdose?), with a mythical/folklore kind of bent to it. Indeed, the premise---a mighty empire crumbled and beset by enemies, with a young new ruler trying to secure his position and restore of the past---reminds me a lot of the early Arthurian story. As a result, I'd liken the game to an amalgam of D&D and Pendragon. The fusion of clearly polar styles doesn't always work perfectly, but when it does (which is often enough) the results are invigorating.
The book is rounded out by a brief GM section offering the usual staging advice and supplemental rules (aging, black powder weapons, drowning, etc.), several adventure hooks, and a complete 7-page introductory adventure entitled "Darkmoon Rising". The adventure is rather loosely designed and involves a bit of GM work to structure it for play, but it does offer a decent means of getting our feet wet in both the world and the game system.
The text is capably written in a lively and approachable prose; never quite sounding like a textbook or a preachy game-designer's rants. More importantly, there is a definite passion exhibited by the development team that is infectious.
In sum, Arrowflight is a worthy fantasy alternative. The system is detailed and flexible enough to please most gamers, but also proves simple enough to facilitate easy comprehension---an important consideration for new gamers and those with little experience beyond d20. There are a few slight growing pains, but Arrowflight is a game that deserves the chance to work out its kinks while it finds its legs. As long as you can accept that this game is not just another version of D&D, because it most emphatically is not, than you will doubtlessly find the game both enjoyable and rewarding.
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