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Sweet Chariot
Review by C. Demetrius Morgan
Synopsis
This review examines the 167-page PDF “Sweet Chariot”
from Flying
Mice LLC, currently available as an $8.00 PDF from
RPGnow.
Sweet Chariot is an independent expansion to the Starcluster
role-playing game written by the erudite team of Albert Bailey, Clash
Bowley, and Klaxon Bowley. The setting and style of Sweet Chariot
could easily be a mistaken as a distant second cousin of Traveller,
which for those who are too young to remember was a fairly decent
space opera RPG with a well fleshed out setting published back in the
last millennium circa the mid- to late 1980s.
Is should be noted that Sweet Chariot, while an independent
role-playing game in its own right, is also part of a line of
products designed around Flying Mice LLC’s StarCluster
system. This means Sweet Chariot should be compatible with other
StarCluster products. Or, as Mr., Bowley put it, “Any
StarCluster product will work with Sweet Chariot, but we will
probably be releasing an updated game to make it fully compatible to
StarCluster
2E.”
Summary
The
Setting
The
Game
System
Mechanics
Character
Creation
Initial
Impressions
Appraisal
PDF
Issues
Negatives
Positives
Rumors
Summary top
Sweet Chariot may be the sort of game you will either love out of
the box or loathe with a passion rivaled only by Iblis’s
contempt for Adam or Loki‘s scornful disdain of the Aesir. To
further misuse religious metaphor I should point out that Chariot,
while no New Jerusalem descending out of the Empyrean Heights, is
also no fetid pimple of puss on the Evil One’s arse waiting to
burst its vile contents forth into the 9th circle either.
Chariot is closer to a five course meal at a four star restaurant,
each chapter has to be studied and devoured in turn before the whole
of the game can be properly appreciated. While the game does not read
like poorly edited campaign notes from a decade’s worth of
gaming quickly written for use as setting filler one has to wonder
which post-apocalypse FRPG influenced the inclusion of the region
known as the Deathlands and the mutations table. Alas the
authors’ polished writing has left few clues.
The Setting: Sweet Chariot falls
within the arena of Space Opera, being set specifically during a post
Diaspora era. However the game focuses primarily upon Chariot, a
world located within the Gloria star system. Culturally and
technologically the world is somewhere between the primitiveness of
PERN, that legendary home world of the Dragonriders of Pern
series of novels by Anne McCaffrey, and the pseudo-steampunk setting
depicted in the Anime The Last Exile sans Claudia technology.
More simply put it’s a world that backslid into primitivism
with anachronistic retro-tech and more cultures offering potential
clashes of ideologies than a rabid fan boy can shake a toy katana at!
top
The Game: The primary goal of game play
is stated to be survival. However, while the object of play is
survival, it seems odd that a game with such a primordial mode of
play, a game in which it is explicitly stated, “there are no
character classes”, should then delve at depth upon social
hierarchies. Or interesting, pending your point of view.
top
System Mechanics: Sweet Chariot presents
a system consciously designed NOT to be like the class systems made
popular in the infancy of role-playing games, this despite the fact
social class plays a central role on the world of Chariot. Thus those
used to role-playing games with a “level up” system of
advancement tied to “classes” may be initially confused
by this distinction. On the bright side, task resolution, while
involved, looks to be much simpler than some resolution systems that
have appeared in similar games over the years. Task Resolution is
%ile roll (+ modifiers) under TN. The core STATS of Sweet Chariot
characters are: Strength, Coordination, Agility, Endurance, IQ, Psi,
Rank, and Charisma. Coordination and Agility are essentially
redundant Stats. However that is largely a matter of opinion. Compare
with the stats used in Traveller: 2300: Size, Strength,
Dexterity, Physical Endurance, Determination,
Intelligence, Eloquence, Education. Is it
coincidence both have 8 attributes? Probably. top
Character Creation: Most will find the
character generation system to be either incredibly detailed or
unnecessarily convoluted. The design philosophy takes the approach
that the GM and player have, not need, but must interact to
determine all manner of minutia every step of the way. To begin the
player and GM work to determine a character’s “Mother’s
Milk skills”, these being skills based upon a character’s
nation, background, and social status- in other words you are
required to flesh out your character’s background in what some
may feel to be painfully boring detail. top
Initial Impressions top
If ever there was a reason to check your e-mail on a regular basis
it would have to be to see what sort of fun free stuff you have
waiting for you. Granted that usually means weeding through spam or
newsletters full of adverts from software companies who have your
e-mail address because you registered some game or another a hundred
days ago. Then there are the real surprises, like freebies, people
who send you stuff just because. I love those people. They bring a
ray of sunshine to an otherwise dreary e-mail experience. So let me
tell you when I first clicked the link to find out what Sweet Chariot
is my proverbial jaw hit the floor, 90 MEGs, ZIPped! Then I
readjusted my glasses and realized that, no, it’s only 9 MB.
Have a laugh on me. That said what is really amazing is the quality
of this product given its actual size. I particularly found the
background material stirring a sense of nostalgia as I read it for,
in certain aspects, it reminded me of the classic Traveller or
Traveller: 2300 games. And yet it wasn’t.
The system powering Sweet Chariot has a built in reliance upon
skills that define a characters “job”- jobs that are
defined by social status and character background- if this is not the
definition of a class structure then I don’t know what is. That
said, this a glaring and obvious inconsistency in focus that it bears
further comment, for if ever there was a doubt turning to page 86 and
87 is as good an example as any. For within these pages we are
informed about Urchins, the Working Class,
Gentleman/Gentlewoman, Aristocrats, and the rest boggles the mind. I
can just hear the players now, “This is very much a system
rooted in the hierarchy of social class, isn’t it? So why can’t
I be---.” The argument will probably follow that as a job is a
profession, and professions are archetypes, that ergo the style of
the game is best suited to a class system. So where are the classes
with neat nifty packages of skills and feats? Or it could just be my
penchant for imagining the worst.
Too, the designers assume readers will know what they mean when
referencing class. Most will. Yet this is more than a matter of mere
semantics, I worry that newbie role-players may be confused by the
distinction. Certainly a newbie will not fully understand thus I have
to read the text as any GM might, in full worry mode about the
comprehension abilities of players who don‘t generally like to
read rules in the first place and rely on what other gamers tell
them. However there is a bright silver lining in all this: no mention
of Dungeons & Dragons is made. That the writers don’t rant
against other systems is a major plus in the face of any perceived
problems that may be encountered with problem players.
Also I think that Character Creation could have been handled more
easily by providing a chart keyed to a random %ile roll. Chaosium’s
old Stormbringer RPG comes to mind as a perfect example of how
to create such a system. Still it could have been worse, the authors
could have wasted paragraph after paragraph outlining what is where
and talking about where is what instead of actually telling you what
to do. (Don’t ask.) Still, as Game Master, I’d like to
see character creation reduced down to something simpler that could
be included as an appendix or quick start sheet that could be used to
jumpstart a game without a lot of hassle, especially when dealing
with newbie gamers.
Appraisal top
I like the game and would like to see it developed. Not into my
vision of the perfect game because, well, I don’t think there
is such an animal. However I did note a few comments that some may
feel are bad assumptions about styles of play. For instance the
following comment regarding classic rule structures: “The
random method of character generation is best used if you have no
solid idea of what kind of character you want to play.” In
other words it almost sounds like designers approach to random
character generation comes off the ropes with nothing but disdain for
the process right out of the box. I have no idea why that sentence
elicited that concern, but it did. Perhaps if the sentence was change
to read: “..best use should you be uncertain what kind of
player you might want..”? Certainly it would be an unfair
assessment that random character generation is only appropriate when
a player is clueless. Random character generation, when time and due
consideration are properly applied with an established design Goal
and clear Focus should be nothing if not complimentary to the
core system.
Yeah, sounds silly to me too. So much for initial impressions. But
I made note of it and, looking it over, I feel it worth mentioning.
Otherwise the material is solid. It’s a bit of a thick read and
would require a major investment of time and energy on the part of
the GM and players to learn, but then Traveller was the same way. Fun
to read though.
PDF Issues: Unlike many PDFs I’ve
seen Sweet Chariot does not default to having the bookmarks open. You
have to actually hit the tab, click on main directory entry, and then
you will see all the bookmarks. That may annoy some. Otherwise I
could discern not real problems with the file. (Not that this is a
problem.) All bookmarks appear to go where they need to and there are
plenty of them. Pages printed at random are crisp and clean. Printing
is fully functional. Exporting the document to a text file is fully
functional. top
Negatives: The font and font size used in
the main body of the text are extreme eyestrain. Granted you can go
to about 125% and read the text, however as the text is presented in
columns this does nothing to alleviate reading induced headaches.
Character creation could have been handled better. The last thing a
GM and players want is to have to spend more time than necessary
creating a character. Rules should be designed to facilitate play,
not simulate the evolutionary process. However this is a minor
nitpick, even so I would rather have seen an effort made to redefine
the focus governing the presentation of class system, rather
than assume there is only one way to do the mechanic. Perhaps
designing an class system around the setting and rules of play,
instead of tip-toeing around the blatantly obvious fact this world is
ripe for a new and fresh, if slightly rigid, hierarchical class
system! Sweet Chariot could have been the herald of a new age of game
design. The writing and presentation is that polished. Alas I come
away merely with a sense the designers feel class systems are passé.
It’s time we get over our neurosis about xD&D and
redesigning the wheel folks, because there are wheels and then there
are wheels. Some are made of wood and some are made of rubber, and
then there are the ones that are steel belted. Chariot is somewhere
in between. top
Positives: In spite of my comments above
it is nice to see a game that takes background into account. The
illustrations are well done and provide a welcome atmospheric element
lacking in many PDF products of similar page counts. Too, the maps of
the various nations of Chariot are very well done. The mechanics, for
the most part, are an air freshener in an old musty game room.
Granted there have always been problems with role-playing games.
Indeed, after all these years, I can still recall players griping
about Stormbringer. But there is something to be said for a game that
pays attention to details. Something that Sweet Chariot has in
abundance. But what this game does best is set out to establish the
world experience by way of environmental simulation, and thus drawing
players into the process to learn a little something about the world
they are playing in. Nicely done, squinty made-my-eyes hurt font size
withstanding. top
Rumors: And what might the future portent
for Sweet Chariot? When asked via e-mail what Flying Mice LLC
has on the drawing board for the year ahead front man Clash Bowley
had the following tantalizing behind-the-scenes details to offer: “We
have a very ambitious release schedule this year: ‘Blood Games’
is finished ... It's a gritty occult horror game set in the real
world. It uses the StarCluster system, but is not part of the
setting.” Mr. Bowley further stated that “‘StarCluster
2’ is being finished up now, and will be ... a free upgrade for
anyone who bought StarCluster, and contains a lot more setting and GM
help.” But that’s not all! For there is also
“Glorianna”, which according to Mr. Bowley is
going to be an “Stand-Alone StarCluster game like Chariot,
set on Glorianna, a Neo-Elizabethan culture in the same system as
Chariot, with a lot of political intrigue, dueling, uplifted animals,
and extremely high tech.” If you thought that was good
enough to whet your appetite then get ready, because those were just
appetizers. There is also another title, “Shoot”, slated
for a release in late 2004. And what will Shoot be about? According
to Mr. Bowley, “Shoot is being designed by RPGnet's Rhombus
and features a paranoid, xenophobic, militaristic culture heavily
into biological modification and enhancement.” Whew! Nice
to see a company taking such an active lead in providing loyal
customers material sooner rather than later. But what if Sweet
Chariot and StarCluster don’t interest you? Then there’s
“Aquavita”, a game currently being developed and designed
for use with then “F-20 system” and written by RPGnet’s
own Shanya Almafeta. And a “Book of Jalan” fantasy game
based on a setting originally released with StarCluster. I’m
not sure what all of that means, but it sounds like good news for
fans of Flying Mice LLC role-playing games. top
Happy gaming!
Copyright © 2004 C. Demetrius Morgan
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