Product Overview:

            Crimson Empire is an independently published line of dark fantasy roleplaying products made available by its creator, Chris Loizou. Each product in the Crimson Empire line is dedicated to providing the reader with the rules and background necessary to run an ongoing campaign in The World of Thargos, a pseudo-European fantasy world.

            This review deals exclusively with the content present in the Crimson Empire main rule book, Crimson Empire: Roleplaying In The World of Thargos. Future reviews will detail the contents of other books in the Crimson Empire product line, including all of the background modules and scenario modules made available to me.

Price vs Presentation: 

 

[Disclaimer: My copies of the Crimson Empire products were very generously provided to me by the publisher free of charge, for the purposes of providing an in-depth and thorough review of the game line.]

            The current retail price of the Crimson Empire main rule book is £30.00 (GBP), or approximately $53.00 (USD). This may seem like a rather hefty price for the book, and indeed it is, but it is not an unreasonable price (given that the production costs of the book were an out-of-pocket expense for the publisher).

            The Crimson Empire main rule book is a large, perfect-bound, soft cover book; measuring roughly 11.75" by 8.25". The book sports a light-weight, laminated cardstock cover and contains exactly 323 pages of content printed on heavy-weight paper. It appears to be quite durable for a soft cover book, as despite the rigors that it has already been subjected to, it remains in perfect condition.

                                                        The cover showcases a beautiful piece of full-color artwork, rendered by Rob Larson, while the interior artwork is composed primarily of black and white line drawings rendered by Wilfrid Arnold and Christophe Lesas. I’ve seen the latter pieces criticized as being poorly rendered, but they meet the quality standard that I’ve come to associate with independently published games.

            The layout itself is somewhat disorganized, but not horribly so. At the most, you'll have to flip back and forth between a few sections to locate certain rules, but I suspect that this becomes unnecessary once you are sufficiently familiar with the game. Additionally, the inclusion of a very thorough index helps to overcome many of the organization issues.

            Finally, it’s also worth noting that the book is signed and numbered by the author (my copy being 430 of 1000). While this might not mean a great deal at the moment, it could potentially boost the collectible value of the book in years to come.

Creating Characters:

            Creating a character using the Crimson Empire rules has the potential to be both a confusing and frustrating affair. Several of the steps that one must follow to create a character are glossed over, often offering only the bare minimum of explanation, as though the author labored under the impression that the reader would somehow be as intimately familiar with the game as he himself was (specific instances are cited below). That said, you can work around this pitfall, but you really have no way of knowing whether the solution that you choose is the solution that the author intended (and hence, may cause problems during play).

            This section of the review briefly touches on the high points and low points of creating a character using the Crimson Empire rules. Please note that several steps of creating a character are not discussed here (such as randomly generating a character’s weight or height), as they don’t really merit examination in depth. The steps of character creation that are examined in depth here are those that are critical to understanding the system which drives the game and the setting in which the game takes place.

Characteristics:

 

            The foundation of a character created using the Crimson Empire rules is formed by nine characteristics: Intelligence, Essence, Charisma, Beauty, Reflexes, Endurance, Mental Resistance, and Strength, and Agility. These characteristics define the core elements of a character. The initial score of each characteristic is determined by rolling 2d8+1d4, producing a range of results from 3 to 20 (although a score of less than 7 in Intelligence is considered unsatisfactory, according to the author, and should be re-rolled). Once a rating has been assigned to all nine characteristics, the player is supposed to record a characteristic adjustment (a bonus or penalty) for each, based on its rating.

 

            While it is evident that all of the characteristics are meant to have an adjustment assigned to them dependant upon their rating, the text fails to provide rules for assigning such adjustments to five of the nine characteristics (Charisma, Beauty, Endurance, Mental Resistance, and Agility). Each of the other four characteristics is accompanied by a table that implicitly states the appropriate adjustment for the characteristic that it is attached to, dependant upon that characteristic’s rating. While it’s not difficult to examine these tables and guess at what the proper adjustment for the other five characteristics should be, it is an annoyance.

            Finally, the text suggests that a positive adjustment to the Intellect characteristic benefits a character, but it never bothers to explain what the benefit is or how it is applied. That is, the text briefly mentions that a positive adjustment to the Intellect characteristic determines how many languages a character can speak and with what degree of mastery they can speak them.- unfortunately, that’s as specific as the text gets. There is a table that attempts to illustrate the relationship between the Intellect characteristic and the adjustment where languages are concerned, but it lacks a written explanation, thus greatly limiting its usefulness. Again, this is one of those situations where you simply have to do some guess work, hoping for the best.

Races:

            There are four possible player character species to choose from (Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Dergs), each of which is divided further into at least two sub-categories (cultures, in this case). The entry for each sub-category (culture) contains a short description of the culture that briefly details their general outlook on life, important customs, allowed classes, and relationship with other cultures. The break downs are as follow:

Humans: Condorians, Mandorians, Uldanians

Elves: Wood/Valley Elves, Noble Elves

Dwarves: Northern Dwarves, Darvanne Dwarves

Dergs: Faldor, Nirkar

            Oddly, none of the actual species are described. When one of my players asked me what a Derg was, it struck me that the game never actually tells you what a Derg is - nor are you told anything about Elves, Humans, and Dwarves outside of the individual culture descriptions. That is, I could tell the player a fair amount about the lifestyle of the average Faldor Derg, but had absolutely no idea what a Derg itself was. While this is a relatively minor annoyance where character creation is concerned, it has the potential to cause significant problems during actual play (considering that the game in no way explains how these different species fit into the setting cosmology).

            While there is enough information contained in this section of the rules to facilitate character creation and give the players a fair idea of how that character will fit into the setting, there are also quite a few gaps to fill. This another section of the rules that, although not broken, would benefit greatly from more explanation on the part of the author.

Classes:

            There is a total of eight possible player character classes to choose from (provided that a character’s race permits them to engage in a given profession), each of which receives roughly a half page worth of description. The eight player character classes are:

The Knight

The Darkun

The Druid

The Warrior

The Mage/Sorcerer

The Tracker/Ranger

The Warrior Priest

The Thief/Assassin

            The descriptions of the character classes in this section provide information vital to understanding the role that each character type plays in the world of Thargos, down to typical personality traits and motivations for such characters (such information is purely descriptive, not mechanical, in nature). Noticeably free of errors and presented much better than the aforementioned aspects of character creation, this section acquaints the players with the world of Thargos and their character’s role in it.

            That said, of the eight classes listed above, six are merely the stereotypical archetypes common to the majority of fantasy roleplaying games on the market today. Two of the classes, however - the Darkun class and the Druid class - merit further discussion, as the concept and execution of neither are commonplace nor stereotypical. Indeed, the inclusion of these two character classes helps to define the brand of dark fantasy that Crimson Empire promotes while simultaneously allowing players to experience it fully.

            The Darkun character is essentially an evil, heretical, zealot that worships one of the four classic Greek elements (Fire, Water, Wind Earth). The Darkun character is bent on forcing their will upon others through displays of brute strength, sadistic cruelty, and acts of evil in general. Indeed, some Darkun even hunt Knights for sport. In short, the Darkun character is a brutal, sadistic, servitor of Evil (definitely not your stereotypical player character).

            The Druid character may be one of two different types - The Protector of Nature or The Druid Priest. The former is very much the stereotypical nature-loving Druid of games such as Dungeons & Dragons, but the latter is one of the more historically accurate portrayals (not 100% accurate, mind you, simply more accurate) of Druids that I’ve seen in a roleplaying game. That is, Druid Priests aren’t the happy, go-lucky, nature lovers commonly featured in fantasy role-playing games - they’re into human sacrifice and the exploitation of nature and knowledge as a means of obtaining personal power.

            While the inclusion of heretical religious zealots and power hungry druids as player character classes seems initially odd, it becomes apparent that such inclusions are very appropriate. Crimson Empire is a game of dark fantasy and as such, unlike many fantasy roleplaying games, it isn’t necessarily about playing heroes. The sadistic Darkun and scheming Druid Priest are integral parts of Thargos cosmology, rightfully made available to players as character classes and going a long way towards establishing Crimson Empire as a game of dark fantasy.

Aptitudes:

            In the game, every character possesses a total of 44 aptitudes (skills). Each of these aptitudes is assigned a base percentage chance of success from a list. It should be noted that all characters, regardless of race or class, possess the same base percentage chance of successfully using any given aptitude. All characters are then granted bonuses to their base percentage chances dependant upon their chosen race and class (said bonuses are likewise assigned from a static list). While simple, this method of determining aptitude ratings does have one big downside - all starting characters of a given race and class (for instance, Condorian Assassins) have identical chances of success when using their aptitudes.

            In fairness, this is a problem that it appears the author tried to address, for there is a sentence that mentions allocating bonus aptitude points. That said, aside from the aforementioned static bonuses based on race and class, I could find no mention of aptitude bonuses in the book. This is odd as the example of a completed character sheet does show aptitudes with percentage ratings that, as far as I could tell, are impossible to achieve using only the aforementioned lists. Again, this is a section of the rules that could have been greatly improved by more thorough explanation on the part of the author.

            My group and I skirted the issue by making sure that no two characters in the party were of the same race and class, but this solution obviously won’t be to everybody’s liking. If for, instance, you want to run a campaign about a group of Condorian Darkun, you’ll be stuck with identical characters in terms of aptitude unless you draft up some house rules to solve the problem yourself (which I can only assume will, likewise, not be to everybody’s liking).

Lines of Conduct:

            Lines of Conduct are, essentially, an alignment system specific to the world of Thargos. Unlike many alignment systems, however, that presented in Crimson Empire is content to define alignments in shades of grey (which suits the setting perfectly). In the world of Thargos, there are three broad possible lines of conduct (or affiliations, if you will) - Order, Chaos, and Neutrality - of which, Order is divided into The Order of the Just and The Order of Evil.

            While some players will undoubtedly crave a more specific alignment system, I’m pleased that the author chose to take a broad approach to possible character alignments, as I feel that attempting to compartmentalize character behavior into very specific categories actually diminishes the potential for roleplaying. Also, as mentioned above, the lines of order chosen by the author very much make sense for the setting, as Thargos is physically divided between forces of order and chaos (see the section of this review entitled “The World”).

Cast Levels:

            Yes, Crimson Empire contains levels. Cast levels in Crimson Empire exist primarily to facilitate character advancement, as opposed to serving as a measure of a character’s aptitude (it is entirely possible to have a high-level character that is completely inept at performing certain actions). When a character gains a cast level (after accumulating a given number of experience points), they gain a chance to improve their character’s aptitudes and other aspects. There’s nothing particularly special about cast levels but they are worth a mention, as the inclusion of character levels (of any variety) seems to be a determining factor in whether or not many gamers purchase a given game.

 

Other Stuff:

            As mentioned earlier, there were several aspects of creating a character which I did not feel merited discussion in depth. That said, many of these things (energy points, magic points, etc) will be discussed in other sections of this review as they pertain to the actual playing of them game (for instance, I’ll discuss “magic points” in the section of this review that deals with magic). I merely didn’t think that the actual process used to determine the numerical value of these things (mathematical equation) would make for interesting reading.

Basic Task Resolution:

            Where character creation in Crimson Empire fell short of my expectations, basic task resolution is as simple and elegant as anybody could hope for. At its core, resolving character action in Crimson Empire is as simple as rolling two ten-sided dice (d100) and comparing the result to a character’s given aptitude rating. If the player’s roll result is less than or equal to their character’s aptitude rating, then the action being undertaken is performed successfully. If the player’s roll result is 1/10 or less than their character’s total aptitude ranking, then the action being undertaken has been performed perfectly. Conversely, if a player’s roll result is greater than their character’s aptitude ranking, then the action being undertaken is a failure (and if the player’s roll result exceeds their character’s aptitude rating by a certain amount, the action being undertaken is a critical failure).

            Undoubtedly, some readers will compare the basic task resolution system of Crimson Empire to that present in Chaosium’s Basic Roleplaying system, so I’ll briefly address this point myself. The basic task resolution system is indeed similar to that found in Basic Roleplaying, but it is by no means the same. For example, the author of Crimson Empire has included hard and fast rules for assigning difficulty levels and modifiers to dice rolls (something that many Basic Roleplaying fans have been after for years). The basic task resolution of Crimson Empire effectively builds on the foundation laid by Chaosium’s Basic Roleplaying system but expands it ever so slightly, producing very nice results.

 

            All of that said, the basic task resolution system in Crimson Empire does hit one minor stumbling block when it comes to resolving actions based purely on one of the nine characteristics. The task resolution system is simple and unified where aptitudes are concerned but where characteristics are concerned, the system strays into a minefield of micro-managed sub-systems. For instance; in order for their character to seduce another individual, a player must roll 1d20 and score less than or equal to their character’s Beauty characteristic. Similarly, in order for a character to understand a language being spoken in their presence, their player must roll 1d4 and obtain a result equal to or less than the character’s rank with that language.

            Overall the basic task resolution system of Crimson Empire is a gem, albeit one that could use a bit of polishing. The inclusion of multiple sub-systems was unnecessary and proved only to mar an otherwise elegant system. Fortunately, it takes almost no work to invent new aptitudes on the fly, something that goes a long way towards minimizing the negative impact of the aforementioned sub-systems (for example, drafting a seduction aptitude takes all of... well, I just did it). When the planned second edition of Crimson Empire is drafted, I think that the author would do well to simply drop the micro-managed resolution and expand the aptitude list to cover such actions, bringing everything in line to form a unified whole.

Advanced Task Resolution (Combat):

            Combat in Crimson Empire is largely an extrapolation of the basic task resolution system, though several rule additions are made to lend both atmosphere and detail to combat encounters. Said additions are straight-forward and simple, fit the game’s setting, and avoid the pitfall of over-complication. A typical combat round is composed of ten-second intervals called “combat turns”, each of which is composed of eight phases as follow:

1. Choice of Target

2. Initiative Throws (for all parties)

3. Attack Throws (with the possibility to select specific body sections)

4. Parry / Dodge Throws

5. Armor Throws (if Parry / Dodge roll fails)

6. Damage Throw (Armor protection subtracted from damage if Armor Roll was successful)

7. Pain Endurance Throw (when energy points are reduced to zero - see below)

8. Return to Phase 3 (repeat until combat is resolved)

            Though the majority of the above rolls are straight percentage rolls versus character aptitudes (as discussed earlier in the review), some are resolved through the use of other dice. The Initiative Throw, for instance, calls for each player to roll 1d10 and modify the result according to the type of armor that their character is wearing (after which characters act in descending order of results scored on their behalf). If an Armor Throw (a straight percentile roll) is successful, the player rolls a variety of dice (which differs from one type of armor to another) and the result is subtracted from the result of the attacker’s Damage Throw. Finally, that Damage Throw is also made using a variety of dice (which also differs from one weapon to another).

            While at first glance, this may seem to be a bit complex, it really isn’t. The rules pertaining to combat are organized well and each phase of the combat round is discussed in depth. Anybody familiar with either Runequest or Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (both of which seem to have influenced the combat system in Crimson Empire) should soak up the basic rules of combat quite quickly, and new initiates to the hobby won’t be too far behind. The advantage of a task resolution system based largely around straight percentile rolls really shines through in combat, the simple elegance of such a system taking center stage.

            The method of tracking character damage that a given game uses frequently a determining factor in whether or not an individual purchases a game, but it’s also an integral part of combat in every RPG that I can think of. Crimson Empire utilizes “energy points” (a fancy name for the more common “hit point”) to track the damage that a given character sustains during their journeys. Energy points aren’t utilized in quite the same way as your typical hit point, however, and all for the better - the manner in which the author of Crimson Empire has utilized energy points is far more befitting to a game of dark fantasy than a simple abstract measure of overall health would be.

            Rather than acting as a purely abstract representation of health, however, energy points represent the specific amount of trauma that a given section of a character’s body can sustain before being rendered useless. That is, energy points are distributed amongst a character’s head, torso, legs and arms. Like hit points, energy points are diminished any time that a character sustains damage but as energy points are divided amongst different sections of the character’s body, combat becomes a significantly more risky endeavor.

            Should the energy points allocated to a section of a character’s body ever be reduced to zero, a hemorrhage occurs and the player of said character must successfully make a Pain Endurance roll in order for the character to remain conscious (unless it’s the head which has been reduced to zero energy points - such a bad turn of luck forces the character into a coma). Further, should the amount of damage inflicted to a given limb ever exceed double the initial number of energy points allocated to it, that section of the characters body has suffered a critical hit and is rendered useless - in the case of a critical torso strike or critical head strike, instantaneous death is almost assured.

            Given the above detail provided by the energy point system utilized in Crimson Empire, some of you may immediately jump to the conclusion that the combat system is a touch too lethal - don’t. With the exception of critical torso and head hits, the only thing that will outright kill your character is having their energy point total reduced to zero (I said earlier that energy points didn’t act purely as an abstract measure of character health, but they do address the issue). The system strikes a nice balance between lethal detail and old-fashioned abstraction, providing the finishing touch to a well-rounded combat system that can accommodate several different styles of play.

Magic and Essence:

            The magic system in Crimson Empire is a definite high point. Magic in Crimson Empire is defined as the ability of an individual to manipulate the very fabric of existence (called “Essence” in the game), shaping it to conform to their will through the use of visual and auditory stimuli. Although the game contains several lists of spells which may be made available to characters, the real beauty of the magic system is the section of the rules which deals with spell creation.

            By combining different runes (each of which possesses its own mystical significance), a Mage or Sorcerer character may create their own unique spells. Typically, spells are created by combining three series of runes - the first series of runes is related to the aspect (or aspects) of the environment which the spell controls and how they control it, the second series of runes is dedicated to the defining the intended target of the spell, and the third series of runes is dedicated to the specific effect of the spell. For instance the fireball spell, a traditional fixture of many a fantasy role-playing game, is composed of four runes as follow:

1. Projectile Rune

2. Fire Rune

3. Localization Rune

4. Creation Rune

            In this case, the first series of runes is composed of the Projectile Rune and the Fire Rune, which define the aspect of the environment that the spell controls and how the spell controls it. The second series of runes is comprised wholly of the Localization Rune which defines the intended target area of the spell. Finally, the third series of runes is composed wholly of the Creation Rune which defines the intended effect of the spell - the creation of a ball of fire.

            The inclusion of a defined system for spell creation (especially one as intuitive as the one found in Crimson Empire) is a welcome addition to any fantasy role-playing game as it not only provides a balanced framework with which players can incorporate their own ideas into the setting, but can also prove to be a source of entertainment in and of itself (I’ve spent an embarrassing amount of time creating new spells for Crimson Empire).

            In order to actually cast spells, characters expend a number of “magic points” equal to the magic point cost of a given spell. Magic points are an abstract measure of a given character’s innate connection to the fabric of existence (derived in part from a character’s Essence characteristic). Naturally, as one would reason, characters of those classes specifically graced with magical aptitude are rewarded with more magic points than those classes which are not. These gifted classes are the Darkun, Druid, Druid Priest, Warrior Priest and Mage/Sorcerer.

            It is worth noting that while Druid and Priest characters can cast magic, they are specifically denied the ability to create spells via the aforementioned system. This stems from the fact that Druids and Priests lack the understanding of magic’s true nature that the other gifted classes do. Druids and Priests are unaware of the mystic abilities that runes possess, merely acknowledging them as characters in a written alphabet. Instead, Druid and Priest characters manipulate Essence through a series of hand gestures combined with meditation (other classes cast spells by reciting the names of runes) which, while it produces results, comes nowhere near approaching the nuts and bolts mastery of Essence that has been obtained by other magic-using classes.

            One final note about magic in Crimson Empire - wielding it can be very hazardous to a character’s health. Appropriately, the author of Crimson Empire chose to make magic taboo in the eyes of the world (an absolute must for a truly dark fantasy game). Throughout most of the world, magic is viewed as an unnatural thing, its practice held as a crime against man and nature alike. In civilized countries, practitioners of magic are routinely burned at the stake as a reminder to their fellow heretics that playing god isn’t an acceptable pastime. Even rural communities, in which Druids and Priests often practice their craft, are wary of magic to some degree. Ultimately, a practitioner of magic must exercise caution and prudence if they are to enjoy a long and healthy life.

The World of Thargos:

            The setting of Crimson Empire proves to be one of the real draws for this product line. While the system has its high points, it simply pales in comparison to the ideology which underlies the world of Thargos. Politically divided between those forces which champion a brutal revolution (The South, Karnarcos) and those which struggle to preserve the old ways (The North, The Empire), the world of Thargos is a land in need of heroes.

            This section of the Crimson Empire rules provides an in depth geo-political overview of Thargos, including a detailed examination its main continents, cities, towns, and villages. Additionally detailed maps of several prominent locales, a recounting of the world’s history, detailed listings of knightly orders, sinister cults, and notable individuals are included throughout the book. Simply put, just about everything that you could ever want to know about Thargos is covered somewhere in the core rule book. With one exception.

            Gods. While religion is mentioned often, specific pantheons aren’t mentioned at all as far as I can tell. While the Darkun worship elements, and Druids worship an abstract concept of nature, who or what the rest of the world worships seems to have gone without mention. This, of course, isn’t necessarily a problem (I know many gamers that really delight in creating their own pantheons), but it did seem odd that such information was omitted in light of the massive amount of detailed information on other subjects contained in the book.

            That said, the information that the book does provide is more than enough detailed to accommodate running a long-term campaign. With dozens of interesting characters, organizations, and locales to choose from; getting a Crimson Empire campaign off the ground isn’t a problem at all. Political intrigue, epic battles, and religious crusades all await your discovery within Thargos. Not only does this make for a very complete setting, but it also lends itself well to different styles of play. Really, with that one aforementioned exception, Crimson Empire pretty much cover all of the bases.

The Verdict:

            While the lack of explanation that plagues the character creation section of the rules can be extremely off-putting, if you’re interested in dark fantasy role-playing, you really should pick up a copy of Crimson Empire if you can spare the cash. Despite a few glaring flaws, the game still has a lot to recommend it to fans of dark fantasy or those individuals seeking a fantasy game that can easily accommodate many different tastes.