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In my previous review - Fireborn Player's Handbook (I accidently titled it incorrectly, mea culpa) - I discussed how Fireborn managed to overcome its own faults to produce a truly enjoyable cinematic roleplaying game. One thing that struck me while reading the first book was that there was a sparseness of setting. I identified this as being due to the setting being modern day London - or near enough to. The game is built around the unravelling of a mystery - why magic is returning and why the PCs are beginning to remember that they are reincarnated dragons.
Fireborn Gamemaster's Handbook focuses on developing out that setting and giving the GM all the little tools that the players shouldn't know about. I noted in the first review about the question of whether this split of system and setting is wise. After reading this book, it becomes apparent that there is a good reason for the split.
Layout and Visuals
The cover of the Gamemaster's Handbook is designed to act as a companion to the Player's Handbook. In an attractive austre white, the image on the cover is of the other eye of the dragon - meaning that placing the two books together give the image of a dragon's face peering out from behind the covers of the two books. Simple, but clever.
In inside layout is exactly the same visually as the Player's handbook. The art is presented more effectively for the most part - barring one piece that came out very pixelated to the point of being impossible to tell what the original piece of are was. It is meant to be a cultist, I think, but looks like a mess of squares.
Again there is a colour section at the beginning of the book, but this time it is properly done - ending at the end of the chapter, which is mostly a flavour fiction with side notes regarding the setting. A very nice introduction that serves to put the game into context and give burgeoning GMs a clear image of what kind of a game the designers had in mind when creating Fireborn. This is how fiction should be used in roleplaying products - to effectively introduce the reader to the concepts of the setting.
One other thing to note, that I forgot to mention in the previous review- the binding on the books makes disturbing cracking sounds. I haven't had any issues yet, but it does seem to be a cheaper binding job than the old Blue Planet hardbacks I have. The actual binding inside seems sturdy enough - but it feels like the spine could eventually break off. However after three rather rowdy and entertaining playtests, where the books were being constantly passed around the room - I bought two copies of the player's handbook - the books still look the same as when I first purchased them.
Grab Bag of Information
So what exactly do you get for your money?
Well essentially a grab bag of information, rules and hooks. The good thing is that all this information is rather logically laid out in the book.
Following the introductory fiction the book goes straight into a chapter on how to design and run games for Fireborn. So many Game Master Guides seem to arbitrarily dump this kind of information in the back of a book or some other odd location - but here we have as the first chapter a discussion on what the GM's job is in a game, how to plan out a session.
One of the many highlights of this chapter is a brief discussion on why the designers chose London as the core setting, and how to move the game to another city - including some ideas of how things would be different.
Another highlight is the discussion on how to handle flashbacks in the game. One of the core elements of Fireborn is that players are switching between modern adventures and mythical flashback adventures. Providing GM's with a series of tips and tools on how to design and run flashbacks on the fly really strengthens the fact that this book isn't aimed at just experience roleplayers - but is aimed at also guiding new GMs through the process of designing adventures specifically for this game.
Karma Revisited
Next is a chapter on game mechanics. It really acts as a toolkit for GMs, with advice on several different methods to use for awarding experience points. I really liked this, there wasn't a table of "this is when a point should be awarded." Instead there is a discussion of how to decide which methods appeal to you as a GM most. Award by scene? Award by achievement? Award by Roleplaying? Do the Players get to decide the awards themselves? Should players have all the same level, or different? It's a small thing for some, but I like the fact that the writers have chosen to give GMs options rather than straight directions.
There is also a fantastic little discussion about how to handle PC death in the game. Some nice tips on what to do to keep the game moving and also some of the subtle nuances of the setting.
But the bulk of the mechanics chapter is focused on Karma and Taint. Remember Taint? That little briefly mentioned element of the spell casting section. Well it comes back in full detail now. Taint is very much core to the setting's background, so I wont go into a lot of detail - you'll have to buy the book to learn more - but what I will discuss are the mechanical aspects.
Mechanically, Taint's effect is roleplayed. In an odd twist, the effects on PCs isn't based around system mechanics, but around emotional responses. The choice of Sire from the player's handbook becomes a lot more apparent - because it effects what kind of a response the PC has to Taint. In my previous review I mentioned how the designers had chosen to let narrative scenes be mostly roleplayed - that the system should disappear into the background for the dramatic non-combat scenes - the Taint rules continue to show this philosophy. Detailed mechanics need only apply when elaborate scenes, like the action scenes, come into play.
At the core, when a Scion is effected by Taint, his/her reaction is dictated by who his/her sire is. Some will become more reckless, some will flee, others will start trying to help others to overcome the feelings of "wrongness." Too much exposure to taint slowly warps this response, until the Scion becomes tainted and loses his Karma pool. Instead, he then gains a Taint pool - representing the warping of his Karma into Taint.
However while there are mechanics for the process of getting Taint the effects of taint are, as mentioned, mostly roleplay based. The book guides a GM through the process of handling this.
Dragon's Horde of Goodies
Next on the list of rules and details are Dragon Hordes. The Wealth and Horde rules are given another look over. Wealth works exactly the same as d20 Modern's Wealth bonus mechanic. If the cost of an item is under your wealth score by 2 or more - you just have it. No problems. At higher levels, it temporarily lowers your wealth rating.
For Hordes, it works a little differently. Dragon PCs get a Horde rating, which can be used mostly like the Wealth rating, except that it represents the dragon rummaging through his horde of magic items and gold to find an appropriate item.
Oddly, the book then lists a mixture of Mythic and Modern Karmic/Magic items. All of the items have plot hooks connected to them - being karmic items they have more to them than just a mechanical aspect. (Remember what I said about the roleplaying focus?) There is a lively mix of items, ranging from Dragon Fang daggers (not made from actual fangs) - which can transform if the wielder shape shifts, can stave off Taint and can even fly and fight by itself - to magical posters of Sarah Bernhardt which inspire and beguile. Every item comes with a detailed description about how it was used and where it came from.
The Setting - Lessons from Blue Planet? Which brings me to the setting. Here is the strength of the handbook really shines through. It seems to me that the designers have taken a lot of tips from the Blue Planet Moderator's Guide.
One of the things that I liked about Blue Planet was that the moderator's guide told you everything that was important to the setting. The big secrets were all laid bare for the Moderator so that from the very beginning you could work those secrets into your campaign in whichever way you saw fit. It also showed how well thought out the setting was, with the way everything interconnected.
Well here is a surprise for some, Fireborn has a very similar approach to setting. I wont go so far as to call it as detailed as Blue Planet's setting - I certainly felt that it wasn't quite as in depth. But it does have a lot of scope and detail.
"Modern" Day London
To be more accurate, the game begins around the year 2011. Far enough in the future for the designers to have some freedom, but not so far as to be too different from modern day. Magic has returned to London, and nobody knows why.
But in typical London fashion, everyone has accepted that magic has returned and simply continues with their daily lives - some a little scared of the dark things now stirring in the shadows, others happily joining Golden Dawn type "secret" societies in the hopes of learning ancient knowledge.
Fireborn paints an interesting picture of the effect of magic on a modern city - parliament is portrayed as being somewhat lost - with the right-wing Tories gaining the upperhand by elevating the nephew of Alestair Crowley to head of their party. The political dynamic means that there is a growing understanding that the Right-wing Tories coudl stand to overthrow the Centre-Left Labour party. Yes, there is potential for political games in Fireborn. Especially if the players notice the mysterious figures in morning coats and bowler hats who are talking to certain MPs...
While the secret service and government are trying to come to terms with the growing change in London's vast cosmopolitan population - namely the number of people discovering that their old supersitious rituals are actually spells that are beginning to produce results - a number of genuinely secret socities are fighting for dominance over this newly returned source of power.
Of course they are competing with the returning Fae, the blood thirsty psychotic Brothers of Cernunnos - who are skinhead anarchist werewolves - and the ghosts who have been trapped inbetween worlds. Not to mention the strange magical plague that is beginning to take a hold in the slum areas - turning people into violent zombies like the people from 28 Days Later...
Fireborn's modern day setting is literally crammed with plot hooks to last several campaign, all with different styles of play. The chapter provides detailed descriptions of central London, with plot hooks for nearly every location in the city. Not only this, but they all interact with each other - the factions are never simply floating untouched by others. They all have a link to the setting. This really is a rich and detailed modern fantasy setting.
The Mythic Age - Four Visions
Of course to truly run the flashback mechanics, GMs need to have something to Flashback to. The Gamemaster's Handbook provides four key periods - referred to as Epochs - for GMs to use. These four Epochs are closely linked to each other and present a world that is a mix of Exalted's mythic nature - but from a western perspective - and Conan's prehistory world.
The first Epoch details Atlantis. Presented in a manner that mirror's Plato's description of the island nation, Atlantis is placed in the mediterranean - maps showing a prehistory Europe where the mediterrenean sea is land locked, and England is a part of France. (English players may be somewhat horrified by this prospect.) The description of Atlantis provides a very detailed political history and a nice context for the civilisation and its particular traditions.
The next Epoch moves a little south, detailing how Atlantis' success gives rise to an Egyptian style nation, Keheb, which is the mythical version of Egypt. Gary Gygax's Necropolis would fit quite nicely into this setting. Again, a lot of attention to the little details helps to flesh out this nation and also provides a view of how it relates to Atlantis' own fate.
We are then treated to an Epoch that is dominated by the political and social issues of the Fae nations. The split of the two courts and the effects on a much later Atlantis, which is beginning to show the effects of some of the events hinted at in the first Epoch description.
The final Epoch follows the outcome of the Fae split, where barbarian tribes move in to herald - as they always do - the end of the civilised era. This is the Epoch that precedes the mysterious distaster that destroys the Mythic Age and heralds in the Ice Age. Of course, an earlier chapter details what actually happened, but I'm not going to give anything away.
All the Epochs are presented with an attention not only to detail, but to showing how they all relate not only to each other- but to the modern day setting as well. This was something I had initially feared would be the games weak point - the mythic age seemed somewhat vague in FFG's promotional material. But my fears proved to be unfounded. There is clearly a lot of attention towards keeping the setting consistent. Definitely one of the better fantasy settings I have seen.
A Gallery of Plot Hooks and Creatures
Finally we are presented with the bestiary and gallery of NPCs for the GM to use. The chapter begins with a very handy discussion of how to use NPCs, particularly when dealing with the combat rules. Naturally a GM doesn't want to have to be keeping track of every NPC's stances and changes. So FFG came up with an inspired solution - Mook and secondary NPCs have set stances - Aggressive, Neutral and Defensive. Rather than keep track of every change, the GM simply chooses one of the three listed stances - which automatically account for the skill ratings. Problem solved.
The special powers of all the supernatural creatures are also handled with the same focus on simplicity - they use the same powers as listed for Scions. The visual aspect may be different, but the designers have obviously figured out that if they already have a mechanic that handles it in a similar manner, why write new mechanics? In the case of truly unique abilities, these are listed in the book - and most are related to species types. In fact, it shouldn't be too hard for a creative GM to create Fae, Giant, Spirit or other such PCs with the information provided.
Just as was the case with Karmic Items, every creature and NPC provided has a history that provides a number of plot hooks for a GM to use. The chapter rounds off with some example Scion antagonists, main NPCs from the modern setting and a gallery of generic NPC Mook-types for the GM to use when they need a character in a hurry.
Finally there are a number of GM only character sheets that are, frankly, very well designed to help a GM keep all his NPCs at his finger tips.
Final Verdict
Over all, the Fireborn Gamemaster's Handbook is an excellent resource. It helps guide a GM through the stages of designing a Fireborn game, gives all the information needed to use the setting and leap straight on into a game.
The setting itself has proven to be of an impressive calibre for an action game. It is in depth and detailed with some very fun secrets for the players to discover. I can now see why the players benefit from getting only a brief overview of the setting - there is simply so much going on in the world of Fireborn, and all of it needs to be discovered. This is really the key theme for playes - Fireborn is a game about discovery.
So the less they know at the beginning, the more fun the game is to play. The numerous plot hooks provide a horde of different options, and because there isn't any real witholding of setting info, you only need the two books to play literally months, if not, years of games without using up all the ideas provided. This is a BIG bonus as I see it. Anything FFG makes for Fireborn is icing on the cake.
My final verdict is that this is an excellent game line that FFG can be proud of. It may not appeal to everyone, it may not be hugely innovative - it does have elements of Shadowrun and Earthdawn - but it is a fun and appealing game. Worth the purchase if you are after a high-paced action game with a well thought out setting and a system that I find still impresses me with how well thought out it is.
Should I buy this book?: If you have been looking for an urban modern fantasy with a cinematic feel. Yes. This is the game that Urban Arcana should have been- and in fact, it should be fairly easy to convert the Urban Arcana setting over for a truly exciting action game. The two books together provide a cinematic game that is fresh enough to be something new, but doesn't set its sights on unrealistic goals. Simply fantastic.
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