The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Maelstrom Storytelling. The easiest way I can think of to describe the game is Amber and Everway meet Aria. Let me rephrase that. The easiest way to describe the game is the chaotic world changing of Everway, meets the freeflowing of Amber, and a near-diceless sytem of Aria. Not enough? Read on, then, and perhaps you'll get it.

The world of Maelstrom is an everchanging world, more fantasy orientated than sci-fi, although magic has been broken down into a pseudo-science. In the world of Maelstrom a person might go to sleep one night near a mountainside and wake up next to a swamp without ever moving. Mists randomly appear and can shift one scenic vista into another. The land and weather is never just okay, it flows from one end of the spectrum to another, either being near-paradise or so bleak and dismal it's disheartening. There are a variety of races, as well as the ability to be a "newcomer" and design your own characteristics.

Character creation is a set of descriptives which can be as vague as "strong" or as defined as "quick as a snake on a hot day with an attitude". The only things written on the character sheet are Name, being the name of the character; Story, which is no more than the character's background; Description, a combination of a physical description as well as a brief synopsys on their emotional characteristics. The only three items that affect system rules and dice rolls are Descriptors, which really are just a more well defined version of the Description. Each Descriptor is linked to an Aspect, be it Mind, Matter, Spirit, or Chaos. Primary Affinity, the one thing that the character is truly attuned to, usually the culture the character is from; and Secondary Affinities, which are skills and talents. Finally there is a line for the belongings, or Possessions.

The conflict resolution system is designed to be very rules-light and as limitless as possible. It doesn't matter what sided dice are used. All that matters is that odds are counted as successes. A conflict is resolved by players "bidding" or in which opposing sides bid their descriptors until one side passes. The bidding pool is really just the toatl number of descriptors that the group has in the Aspect being used for the event, plus any base dice from Primary Affinities. Should the players feel they need more dice they can "burn a descriptor", each descriptor can only be burned once per game. The players and GM, or Narrator, then roll against eachother the greater amount of successes winning and the number of successes determining how well they succeeded. Of course, this leads to a small problem within the rules. Since all odd numbers count as a success and all even numbers count as failures, no matter how many dice are added into the pool the chance of succeeding re! mains the same. Of course, the game itself doesn't seem geared for dice rolls or contests at all. It seems more a case of the Narrator decides what happens and the "rules" are added in just to make it seem fair. For instance, if a narrator doesn't want the players to go through a door, the narrator can simply raise the number of successes neccesary to break it down.

Magic in the Maelstrom has a "broad effect of range, and a poor accuracy." There are no spells, no rituals, nothing but a few moments to really just will something to happen, although spells tend to be easier to cast if they fit within the Aspects and Descriptors listed on the character sheet. Once again, the narrator can raise the difficulty if he does not desire the spell to be cast.

Maelstrom is suited best for a follow the plot only, type of game. Although it could also be used as a stepping stone into diceless or freeform games. The world is really what the Narrator desires it to be and if he doesn't like the way things are going can always whisk the players to another portion of the world or simply not allow the players to "go the wrong way." A game like Maelstrom needs a completely non-biased GM and players willing not to stray far from the plot. And while that might seem constrictive, there is always the advantage it has of being able to get rid of all the power-gamers, rules-lawers and munchkins, so it's not all bad.

HIGHS: practically limitless in potential for character ideas

LOWS: relies too much on impartial GMs and strictly plot-based games

FINAL CALL: best suited as a stepping stone into straight-out storytelling or diceless games

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Maelstrom Storytelling
Author: Christian Aldridge Category: game Company/Publisher: Hubris Games Cost: 22.95 Page count: 210 ISBN: 0-9660736-0-6 Playtest Review by Shadow Sprite on 07/12/98. Genre tags: none	Maelstrom Storytelling. The easiest way I can think of to describe the game is Amber and Everway meet Aria. Let me rephrase that. The easiest way to describe the game is the chaotic world changing of Everway, meets the freeflowing of Amber, and a near-diceless sytem of Aria. Not enough? Read on, then, and perhaps you'll get it. The world of Maelstrom is an everchanging world, more fantasy orientated than sci-fi, although magic has been broken down into a pseudo-science. In the world of Maelstrom a person might go to sleep one night near a mountainside and wake up next to a swamp without ever moving. Mists randomly appear and can shift one scenic vista into another. The land and weather is never just okay, it flows from one end of the spectrum to another, either being near-paradise or so bleak and dismal it's disheartening. There are a variety of races, as well as the ability to be a "newcomer" and design your own characteristics. Character creation is a set of descriptives which can be as vague as "strong" or as defined as "quick as a snake on a hot day with an attitude". The only things written on the character sheet are Name, being the name of the character; Story, which is no more than the character's background; Description, a combination of a physical description as well as a brief synopsys on their emotional characteristics. The only three items that affect system rules and dice rolls are Descriptors, which really are just a more well defined version of the Description. Each Descriptor is linked to an Aspect, be it Mind, Matter, Spirit, or Chaos. Primary Affinity, the one thing that the character is truly attuned to, usually the culture the character is from; and Secondary Affinities, which are skills and talents. Finally there is a line for the belongings, or Possessions. The conflict resolution system is designed to be very rules-light and as limitless as possible. It doesn't matter what sided dice are used. All that matters is that odds are counted as successes. A conflict is resolved by players "bidding" or in which opposing sides bid their descriptors until one side passes. The bidding pool is really just the toatl number of descriptors that the group has in the Aspect being used for the event, plus any base dice from Primary Affinities. Should the players feel they need more dice they can "burn a descriptor", each descriptor can only be burned once per game. The players and GM, or Narrator, then roll against eachother the greater amount of successes winning and the number of successes determining how well they succeeded. Of course, this leads to a small problem within the rules. Since all odd numbers count as a success and all even numbers count as failures, no matter how many dice are added into the pool the chance of succeeding re! mains the same. Of course, the game itself doesn't seem geared for dice rolls or contests at all. It seems more a case of the Narrator decides what happens and the "rules" are added in just to make it seem fair. For instance, if a narrator doesn't want the players to go through a door, the narrator can simply raise the number of successes neccesary to break it down. Magic in the Maelstrom has a "broad effect of range, and a poor accuracy." There are no spells, no rituals, nothing but a few moments to really just will something to happen, although spells tend to be easier to cast if they fit within the Aspects and Descriptors listed on the character sheet. Once again, the narrator can raise the difficulty if he does not desire the spell to be cast. Maelstrom is suited best for a follow the plot only, type of game. Although it could also be used as a stepping stone into diceless or freeform games. The world is really what the Narrator desires it to be and if he doesn't like the way things are going can always whisk the players to another portion of the world or simply not allow the players to "go the wrong way." A game like Maelstrom needs a completely non-biased GM and players willing not to stray far from the plot. And while that might seem constrictive, there is always the advantage it has of being able to get rid of all the power-gamers, rules-lawers and munchkins, so it's not all bad. HIGHS: practically limitless in potential for character ideas LOWS: relies too much on impartial GMs and strictly plot-based games FINAL CALL: best suited as a stepping stone into straight-out storytelling or diceless games Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 3 (Average)