The Inside Scoop on Gaming

[Editor's note: Stan is an employee of WotC/TSR, working on the Dragonlance line. As such, he both works with some of the same people involved also with Sovereign Stone, and competes with them (in that SS and Dragonlance are competing products). We do not feel his review has an inappropriate bias, but leave it to the readers to decide if he is, due to his position, the best suited or worst suited person to review Sovereign Stone.] Over the past year or so I've heard a lot about the SOVEREIGN STONE project -- a colaboration between Larry Elmore, Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, and a whole bunch of other really creative people to forge a new fantasy world for both fiction and roleplaying. In many ways it sounded reminiscent of the origins of DRAGONLANCE (in fact, a few of the major players are reprising their roles), and is sounded like a lot of fun. I had no inkling, though, when we'd see any products in the line. Then came Gen Con.

Though no one else I know managed to snag a copy, I walked home with one of the free SOVEREIGN STONE Quickstart Rules booklets (which I got by actually making a purchase at the Game Guild's booth). Before someone borrows the product, I thought I'd let my opinions be known.

First of all, I LOVE this type of product. Game systems are becoming (in my opinion) less and less important as the gaming community grows more and more sophisticated. No matter what the game is, if you like the setting you can translate it into your favorite RPG engine. Quickstart rules like this one (and the ones recently produced for VAMPIRE, ALTERNITY, AD&D, TRINITY, and a host of other games) make it easy for players and GMs alike to try the game without laying out $30 for the privelege. If you like the what you see, the theory goes, you'll then go buy the whole game AND a bunch of supplements (a good theory, as long as the audience you're aiming at is established roleplayers!). But I digress.

This booklet contains a piece of short fiction, introductory rules, and an introductory scenario for the SOVEREIGN STONE game, and acts as a pathway into the world itself. I'll let you know what I think about each individual section.

The Fiction: The world of SOVEREIGN STONE, as I understand it, is based on the ideas and images of Larry Elmore (painter extraordinaire and all around sweet human being). This five-page piece of fiction (though the booklet claims that it is a "short story," it's really just a framing device) is written by Margaret Weis, and is meant to provide all the information you'll need to understand the rules, play introductory scenario, and (hopefully) be intrigued enough to buy the upcoming SOVEREIGN STONE novel "Lord of Sorrows" (by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman). While it does the first two well enough, I was not drawn into the world all that much and, after completing the booklet, did not feel myself involved enough in the world to feel compelled to search out more info. It's an interesting enough place, but it just didn't grab me.

The Rules: The game system (by Lester Smith and Don Perin) is quick, clean, and seems intuitive enough. At this writing, I haven't yet had a chance to play it but I have a feeling I'll like it. Without giving too much away, SOVEREIGN STONE uses all the usual polyhedral dice in a fairly innovative way, using one die to represent the character's basic ability and another die to represent applicable skills. It's a difficulty number system with a great deal of flexibility. The rules explain enough about actions, combat, and magic to get through the introductory scenario, but not enough to spin off into a full-fledged campaign.

The Scenario: As I said before, the fiction piece didn't really grab me, and the scenario is a continuation (or actually the conclusion) of that story. Needless to say, I was less than enthralled. It's a fine first adventure IF you and your players are intrigued by the premise. Otherwise, it's just a few encounters with little motivation or incentive other than "that's the way the adventure goes." Still, the designers HAD to proceed under the assumption that the players were throughly wrapped up in the world and story (and if that is true, then the value of the adventure increases ten fold) ... I, however, was not.

Overall Review: Like I said before, I LIKE this type of product. In recent weeks I've had a number of debates with friends over exactly how much of a game a company should "give away" in products like this, and my answer is "as much as possible. Get the people playing your game because if they like it, they'll buy ALL (or most of) your other products and may very well come back to pay for the main book too!" For my tastes, the SOVEREIGN STONE Quickplay Rules does not give enough away in this product ... not enough of the story, not enough of the game, and not enough to make me anxiously await the first of their full-blown products or novels (though I may very well buy them eventually, I am not really anticipating them).

It's free, and it's hard to argue when you get quite a bit out of this product. I just think that the fine folks at Corsair Publishing & Sovereign Press would have done themselves a world of good by taking a risk and giving away MORE.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Sovereign Stone Quickstart Rules
Author: Don Perrin & Lester Smith Category: game Company/Publisher: Corsair Publishing & Sovereign Press Cost: Free (?) Page count: 24 ISBN: 0-9658422-1-5 Capsule Review by Stan! on 08/28/98. Genre tags: none	[Editor's note: Stan is an employee of WotC/TSR, working on the Dragonlance line. As such, he both works with some of the same people involved also with Sovereign Stone, and competes with them (in that SS and Dragonlance are competing products). We do not feel his review has an inappropriate bias, but leave it to the readers to decide if he is, due to his position, the best suited or worst suited person to review Sovereign Stone.] Over the past year or so I've heard a lot about the SOVEREIGN STONE project -- a colaboration between Larry Elmore, Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, and a whole bunch of other really creative people to forge a new fantasy world for both fiction and roleplaying. In many ways it sounded reminiscent of the origins of DRAGONLANCE (in fact, a few of the major players are reprising their roles), and is sounded like a lot of fun. I had no inkling, though, when we'd see any products in the line. Then came Gen Con. Though no one else I know managed to snag a copy, I walked home with one of the free SOVEREIGN STONE Quickstart Rules booklets (which I got by actually making a purchase at the Game Guild's booth). Before someone borrows the product, I thought I'd let my opinions be known. First of all, I LOVE this type of product. Game systems are becoming (in my opinion) less and less important as the gaming community grows more and more sophisticated. No matter what the game is, if you like the setting you can translate it into your favorite RPG engine. Quickstart rules like this one (and the ones recently produced for VAMPIRE, ALTERNITY, AD&D, TRINITY, and a host of other games) make it easy for players and GMs alike to try the game without laying out $30 for the privelege. If you like the what you see, the theory goes, you'll then go buy the whole game AND a bunch of supplements (a good theory, as long as the audience you're aiming at is established roleplayers!). But I digress. This booklet contains a piece of short fiction, introductory rules, and an introductory scenario for the SOVEREIGN STONE game, and acts as a pathway into the world itself. I'll let you know what I think about each individual section. The Fiction: The world of SOVEREIGN STONE, as I understand it, is based on the ideas and images of Larry Elmore (painter extraordinaire and all around sweet human being). This five-page piece of fiction (though the booklet claims that it is a "short story," it's really just a framing device) is written by Margaret Weis, and is meant to provide all the information you'll need to understand the rules, play introductory scenario, and (hopefully) be intrigued enough to buy the upcoming SOVEREIGN STONE novel "Lord of Sorrows" (by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman). While it does the first two well enough, I was not drawn into the world all that much and, after completing the booklet, did not feel myself involved enough in the world to feel compelled to search out more info. It's an interesting enough place, but it just didn't grab me. The Rules: The game system (by Lester Smith and Don Perin) is quick, clean, and seems intuitive enough. At this writing, I haven't yet had a chance to play it but I have a feeling I'll like it. Without giving too much away, SOVEREIGN STONE uses all the usual polyhedral dice in a fairly innovative way, using one die to represent the character's basic ability and another die to represent applicable skills. It's a difficulty number system with a great deal of flexibility. The rules explain enough about actions, combat, and magic to get through the introductory scenario, but not enough to spin off into a full-fledged campaign. The Scenario: As I said before, the fiction piece didn't really grab me, and the scenario is a continuation (or actually the conclusion) of that story. Needless to say, I was less than enthralled. It's a fine first adventure IF you and your players are intrigued by the premise. Otherwise, it's just a few encounters with little motivation or incentive other than "that's the way the adventure goes." Still, the designers HAD to proceed under the assumption that the players were throughly wrapped up in the world and story (and if that is true, then the value of the adventure increases ten fold) ... I, however, was not. Overall Review: Like I said before, I LIKE this type of product. In recent weeks I've had a number of debates with friends over exactly how much of a game a company should "give away" in products like this, and my answer is "as much as possible. Get the people playing your game because if they like it, they'll buy ALL (or most of) your other products and may very well come back to pay for the main book too!" For my tastes, the SOVEREIGN STONE Quickplay Rules does not give enough away in this product ... not enough of the story, not enough of the game, and not enough to make me anxiously await the first of their full-blown products or novels (though I may very well buy them eventually, I am not really anticipating them). It's free, and it's hard to argue when you get quite a bit out of this product. I just think that the fine folks at Corsair Publishing & Sovereign Press would have done themselves a world of good by taking a risk and giving away MORE. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average)

Sovereign Stone Quickstart Rules