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Trojan War: Roleplaying in the Age of Homeric Adventure
by Aaron Rosenberg
Green Ronin Publishing
P. O. Box 1723
Renton, WA 98057-1723
www.greenronin.com
Stock Number: GRR 1405
ISBN: 10932442-25-1
Copyright: 2004
160 pages, perfect bound
$27.95
Grade: B+
Reviewed by Lisa Padol
I am not a huge fan of the d20 system, and it would not be my system of choice for a Trojan War setting. Nevertheless, Aaron Rosenberg did an excellent job of convincing me that a d20 Trojan War campaign is not only possible, but also fun.
I was a Classics Minor in college, and I have read parts of the Iliad and the Odyssey in the original. Rosenberg captured the flavor of those works perfectly, and I found myself wanting to run a Trojan War campaign. The setting has far more potential that I would have guessed.
A large part of this is because the Trojan War was an epic event in which not one, but many, heroes took part in. In his introduction, Rosenberg stress the war is about heroes, not ordinary people. My Latin professor made the same point, noting that the one ordinary soldier mentioned by name is captured by two Greek heroes and killed after he quite understandably tells them everything he knows. All of the other named characters have their moment in the sun, whether Homer chronicled it or not.
Better still, from a roleplaying perspective, the Trojan War was not a brief event, but one which lasted ten years. Its duration provides plenty of space for a well developed campaign, and, as the author points out, the events before and after the war also present opportunities for campaigns. Two different cultures, each with a history behind them, clash in an epic battle involving dozens of famous people. And Rosenberg brings this all to life, just as Greg Stafford brought the world of Pendragon to life.
Rosenberg fits the world of the Trojan War into the d20 system. While I do find the fit odd and awkward in some places, the classes he adds fit the world I remember reading about. Want to be a charioteer, mercilessly driving down your enemies? An orator swaying crowds with rhetoric? A seer filled with the power of the gods? All of these and more can be created with the rules in Trojan War. And they feel -right-. For example, while I find it odd to talk about how often someone in the ancient world can perform a spell within a 24 hour period, the rules for the magician class, from charging wine and gifts with magic to using amulets and wands, make the setting feel more magical than mechanical, which I heartily approve of. Side note: If I ever decided to run a Harry Potter game, I would borrow heavily from Trojan War's rules about wands.
Player characters in Trojan War should not be the elves, dwarves, and other stock fantasy races appropriate to different settings. Trojan War allows two races, humans and children of the gods. These latter are blessed with great physical prowess and Charisma, but not with extreme intelligence. I found myself nodding as I read the section on Divine Offspring, for here again, the material reflects its sources.
Religion is also treated appropriately. There is a system for determining a character's Piety. Characters with high piety are more likely to get favorable responses to prayers, while characters with low piety may get destroyed outright by the gods. The gods, like the heroes, are creatures of extremes, showering one mortal with great favor, while devastating the life of another, often for the pettiest of reasons. During the Trojan War, the gods walked beside mortals on the battlefield, each with his or her own divine agenda. Trojan War discusses the political agendae of the various gods, as well as several options for using -- or not using -- the gods in play.
So, Trojan War describes the background of the period it covers, the gods and heroes involved in the war, and new character classes, skills, feats, and magic. It also has rules for battle tactics which cover single warriors, a heroic captain and his unit, chariots, and other aspects of a massive battle that lasted for ten years, but covered only a small physical space. It has statistics for monstrous and wonderful creatures, and for magical and mundane treasures. Characters from this setting were definitely as interested in loot as the stereotypical party of dungeon crawlers, and a well wrought suit of ordinary armor was a rich treasure indeed.
Rosenberg provides advice on running various types of campaigns, from those sticking strictly to the events chronicles by Homer and others to those where the PCs can change the course of history. He describes epic conventions and omens, provides plot ideas, and does as much as he can to make the world of Trojan War come to life.
It helps that the art of Trojan War is beautiful. Men and women are both dressed appropriately for the climate, the period, and their activities. There are a couple of maps which, while not highly detailed, show enough to give readers a handle on the geography of the world. The layout is clean.
Trojan War is not perfect, but it succeeds in bringing its setting to life within the parameters of the d20 system. It should satisfy both those interested in exploring the world and characters of the period and those who simply want a new setting in which their characters can fight and plunder. I recommend Trojan War for anyone who wants to use the setting, whether as a quick change of pace or for a long term campaign.
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