Legends of Kralis

This is a review and overview of the core rulebook for the Legends of Kralis role-playing game from Fantasy Makers Industries. NOTE: For this review I received an exceptionally well laid out and neatly formatted PDF of the Kralis core rulebook..

Target Audience: “Anyone that enjoys fantastic stories involving great heroics, odd heroes and mystical abilities. In addition we feel that everyone from new players that have never played an RPG as well as old veterans will enjoy this game and be able to play it.” -Levi Davis

Time Required: Median to Difficult. (A GM familiar with the rules may be required.)

Core System: Talarius Gaming System. (AKA: D100 System.)

Playability: 4. GM is currently required to create scenarios and flesh out the setting.

Complexity: 6-8. (cf. Time Required above.)

Quality: 8

Originality: 6 ½. Uses standard genre tropes with a few twists.

Grade: B+

Overall Rating: 6 out of 10 golden apples. (Solid rule system but lacks setting depth.)

At first I paused this review, waiting to see what portion of the announced world guide and bestiary would be released. Then things began to change behind the scenes, thus invoking another pause, which allowed for current events to force yet another pause. What matters is the long and the short of it is, so far, neither supplements appear to be forthcoming anytime soon. At least (and perhaps) not in the forms previously announced.

However a lot of changes were/are going on behind the scenes at FMI. With that in mind, and remembering that it was only last that I reviewed a PDF playtest copy of Legends of Kralis, I shall now delve into reviewing the PDF of the finished core rulebook made available to me. So with sincere apologies and without further adieu. . .

Originally I referred to LoK as an FRPG with a definite old school feel. That still holds true. It's like looking through a kaleidoscope of vintage eighties game elements. Portions of the rules system, especially the character creation process, left me with a sense of Deja Vu. My mind raced through a laundry list of old games, and at least one semi-abandoned project of my own. I asked myself why that should be and the only answer forthcoming is that Kralis, like my own endeavor, uses many of the same familiar fantasy tropes that have appeared in role-playing games since D&D was first published. Some have problems with that. But what establishes a genre are these very same familiar tropes. Of course, after reading half a dozen games that are little more than variations on a theme the reader can become worn-out and tired. That's to be expected. Yet it can not be denied that these familiar genre tropes are what makes fantasy role-playing games fantasy. Yet, after all is said and done, it's really the rules that matter.

So what are the rules like?

Overall they are marginally different, if not entirely unique, from what you’re likely to find in FRPGs on the market today. The system is a throwback to the classic systems of the late eighties and early nineties. LoK is powered by something called the Talarius ? system. Which is a complete and fully function set of rules. This Talarius system underpinning LoK is very reminiscent of the systems found in Stormbringer and M.E.R.P., the latter of which was based off of the old Rolemaster rules.

That said, I would venture a guess that the early Chaosium and TSR role-playing games might have been major influences here, if not directly then certainly on overall style of the system and game world. It takes diving beneath the surface to examine the rules up close to reveal that the system used doesn't have any direct parallels with existing systems. For instance the first reaction is to look for signs this is a hack off the D20 SRD, it's not. Nor is it merely a homebrew set of rules spawned off of AD&D in a attempt to "fix" some perceived wrong. Of course it could just be that the authors were influenced by later games I never encountered or played. But at some point you have to admit that there's only so many ways you can write a RPG, acknowledge that certain similarities in style are impossible to avoid, and move on.

What we really want to know is whether Kralis is worth bothering with. Namely should we buy it or ignore it, and why. That's a tough call. First, a bit of background. Know that I was approached about writing a introductory sample adventure- and seriously gave it some thought as I know how difficult it is to get help on RPG projects, even going so far as to start a file full of scribbled notations and general plot outlines- thus you'd think my answer would be a resounded yes. Sadly it is not. But perhaps not quite for the reasons you may think. You see Kralis recently underwent a major conceptual revision.

From the start Legends of Kralis gave the impression it would be your standard core rulebook, world book, and bestiary type release. In fact I was made privy to preliminary documents so when recently it was brought to my attention that FMI had decided to not pursue that model it came as quite the shock. Especially as there was no information forthcoming about what the status of Kralis, or even FMI for that matter, might be.

Then came the bombshell. Kralis was going interactive. My first thought was FMI decided to developed Kralis as a MMORPG. But that wasn't it at all. Rather Legends of Kralis will be a player supported project with those who purchase the game given access to a restricted Wiki wherein they may take a active role in further developing the game world. It's a interesting idea. But it also highly conceptual thus making rating this endeavor a challenge. So let's just start from the beginning. . .

Legends of Kralis is a fantasy role-playing game. The rules are solid, for what they are, and the core rule book is as complete as you could hope for. However it is just a core rule book. Presently the background information is sparse at best, non-existent at worst, and there is no bestiary. Those are the two biggest hurdles I encountered while attempting to write a sample adventure. Not knowing what was going on in the world and having no stock critters, much less any clue how to STAT new ones, to draw upon to construct encounters. Try as I might to leap those hurdles they quickly became brick walls. Now, from where I'm sitting, that's a big honking problem.

When you consider the entire crux of the game product is a single selling point, namely it's titular setting, at least I assumed that calling this "Legends of Kralis" meant there's be actually megatons of information about the game world, but as that setting material isn't really there what can I say? Normally I'd come down like the wrath of God on heathen idolaters, but then there's the whole Wiki issue. It changes everything. Or at least has the potential to. But for now let's stick with what's actually been written.

The Core Rulebook: A quick glance at comparable games built around world settings such as Stormbringer, MERP, or even the Forgotten Realms will plainly show that these games contained enough information about the world, it's cultures, races, monsters, and key cities to be playable out of the box. At present I'd have to say Kralis isn't, at least not as a fully functional game world. As a set of rules it's more than complete. But that's not the point. This is supposed to be Legends of Kralis, so where are the pages containing these legends about Kralis?

In an appendix. Occupying exactly 16 of the 360 pages of this massive tome. An appendix? I have to admit to having a real problem with that. Appendices are usually included as an afterthought, aren't they? Yet there it is, at the end of the book, while the glossary begins on page iii of the preface! If this were a generic role-playing game I'd not mention that. But this is, and it bears repeating, Legends of Kralis. When I bought the Greyhawk box set I expected a certain amount of information about the city and environs of Greyhawk. Had the box set not delivered I would have returned the box set. So far all there really is are rules and a thumbnail outline of what Kralis is like, more or less. So why isn't the glossary an appendix and the "World of Kralis" section part of the preface? I am baffled. While there was probably some good editorial reason for this I can only imagine how those whose curiosity is piqued by the title of the product will be standing utterly mystified as they thumb through this tome looking to find out what Kralis is all about, for what they will discover is a dearth of world information.

The Setting: Legends of Kralis proudly proclaims itself a “high fantasy roleplaying game tailored for medieval-style fantasy worlds” designed to simulate the magical mystery of the “late Renaissance period”. However the character races are perhaps best described as a mixtures of the standard Tolkein types peppered with one or two unique beings. It is obvious that movies like Willow and novelists such as Edgar Rice Burroughs have had more than a passing influence. For instance the four armed Acires are very reminiscent of the Thark warriors often portrayed on covers of A Princess of Mars (sans tusks and more human than reptoid) and if the Aelwyn are not a more extroverted version of the Elwin from Willow then they Hobbits disguised under a name other than Halfing.

The Game World: My original synopsis- based on glimpses of the setting from unpublished material- still rings true. Kralis is a verdant world that exists at an intersection of fantasy and myth, a melting pot of diverse character races coexisting on a world that could easily be the alternate prime of Faerûn (AKA Toril AKA the Forgotten Realms), the Atlantean world outlined in Bard Games old Atlantean Trilogy (released c. 1984), the world of Palladium Fantasy or, yes, even Middle Earth.

However the game world and underlying system, while bearing many surface similarities to extant role-playing games, is not quite a knock-off clone. Kralis presents some sixteen odd character races. There are the four armed Acires, so human like yet not human at all; the diminutive Aelwyn, curious beings fond of drink and song; the ferret like Ba-Liyan, a furry race of natural psionisicts; the noble Centaurs, who need no introduction; the stereotypical Dwarf, who would be at home in any standard fantasy campaign; the quiet and aloof Elves, who are yet aren’t similar to their Tolkien inspired counterparts; the mighty Firbogs, a race of humanoid giants equivalent with the Fir Bolg of myth and legend; those ever tinkering Gnomes, who would be at home on Krynn or flitting about in a Spelljammer; the felinoid Jakara, a furry race of alien refugees; the aggressive and arrogant Kanus, a furry race of caninoids; the mysterious Manax, being a furry race of humanoid mice; Minotaurs, who like Centaurs need no introduction; Orcs, in every way the archetypal brutish menace found in D&D; Sprite-kin, covering both sprites and pixies; the ever repugnant Trolls, who here are a mutant hybrid of human and ram; and last, but not least, the ever important Humans. Races that are dispersed upon the three continental landmasses that make up the world of Kralis.

System Mechanics: Legends of Kralis uses d100 (2d10). The d100 system is the core of the conflict resolution mechanic used for all skill checks. This core mechanic assesses success based on a factor of 10, meaning that for every 10 points a player rolls it equates to 1 success for their character. Skill checks are an opposed roll. Characters, in addition to their 8 core attributes, have a number of secondary attributes that directly impact play. For instance there are Piety and Action points in addition to Heroic Luck, Reputation, Insanity, and Philosophy (Alignment by any other name). My initial thoughts were that the number of attributes are a bit of overkill. Redundant even. Then again there are gamers who like a lot of detail, even if that means involved bookkeeping and number crunching, and to be fair this never claimed to be a rules lite system.

Character Creation: Characters in LoK have 8 core attributes as follows: Strength, Stamina, Agility, Perception, Intelligence, Wits, Willpower, and Charisma. Players fill out these attributes using a point distribution/buying system. Attribute scores range between 1 and 144.

Combat: Relatively standard. There’s an initiative segment, critical hits and successes, and of course health points. There’s also an entire chapter on defending and one on using miniatures. Combat is further supplemented-or powered, depending on which paragraph you are reading, and these conflicting impressions had me initially confused- by an “Action Point” system that is used to (more or less) determine who gets to do what and when. Overall the combat rules cover a lot of ground at a mad cap run. There are sections on how one should conduct a chase, deal with concealment, environmental conditions, fighting invisible opponents, impaling foes, throwing things, pushing, charging, and the typical rules fare one would expect to find in the combat section. In other words a lot of crunch with minimal fluff. Perhaps too much crunch.

Magic System: The rules are reminiscent of a less formalized version of the MERP/Lords of Creation magic system with a basic feel of a hybrid Palladuium/AD&D 1^st ED magic system physics. Magic (and Psionics) are essentially a derived skill. Using magic affects a character through Fatigue (expenditure of). Characters have a Magical Defense Score and there are Spell Fumbles (requiring the caster to consult a "Miss Spellings Table".) Very old school.

Negatives: I'll pull no punches by saying the lack of world information can be worked around. For me the entire point of a project named after the setting is to provide the Game Master with all the information they need to run that setting. That means having fully fleshed out background information at your fingertips.

While a "World of Kralis Guidebook" has been mentioned a "ready for the public" version does not exist at the time I write this, nor does the bestiary. (It should be noted that LoK would have been given a higher rating if not for this fact.) That means Legends of Kralis still has a long way to go before it can be called a complete and playable role-playing game from where I sit.

Are the rules complete? Sure. Is there information bout the world setting available? Sure. And let's not forget the Wiki. Of course if only a handful of people use it it could turn into a major negative quick. Thus, while a interesting idea with the potential to breath life into the setting, this might also be the weakest link where future development is concerned.

Positives: The Legends of Kralis core rulebook is a good first step. However, for all the tantalizing bits and pieces of setting information it contains interspersed between spell descriptions and racial write-ups, it’s but a whisper in a deaf man's ear. Yet, as a genre fantasy role-playing game it is a resounding triumph. All the familiar elements are in place, with enough differentiation from the norm to lend the setting individuality.

It's laudable to see the efforts of a small independent role-playing company, whether it is run by one man or a handful of hardcore gamers, finally come to fruition. As appears to be the case with Legends of Kralis, a role-playing game that was still in the playtest stages barely a year ago. However what the future holds for LoK is unclear. Mr. Davis declined to respond to my questionnaire concerning the game and related projects citing uncertainty about the status of the product line. Which is a shame. Legends of Kralis is a role-playing game with a well fleshed out rule system and a distinctive old school feel. Sadly it appears to also be the victim of gamer apathy. As every game designer knows feedback is important to the further development of any game, as is finding persons with the skill and will to write for a fledgling game system. Without a solid core of authors to help flesh out the world setting, write sample adventures, and just generally help the process along an independent effort can quickly find itself hurtling over a waterfall.

So what might have killed Legends of Kralis before it was birthed? Could it be the design concept of following the same tired old pattern of releasing the game in sections, meaning first putting out a core rulebook, then a world book, then a bestiary, with supplements to flesh out the holes along the way? Why do so many companies follow in the footsteps of TSR and bank on a marketing model of releasing individual books?

These are questions for which I have no answers. But the folks at FMI have obviously seen the limitations of this approach as they have shifted gears. What was once planned to be a series of core rulebooks is reforming around a core web presence- in the form of a open access Wiki- designed to be supported by the players and Game Masters, thus allowing them to help shape the world. While I'd much prefer an old school box set approach ala Chaosium or Avalon Hill turning Legends of Kralis into a community supported setting at least has the virtue of being different. Without a doubt this is a major gamble. Putting one's faith in Joe and Jane Gamer and their willingness to not only share ideas but help develop the setting is something that will resound with many gamers, but it may also repel many hardcore gamers looking to purchase a fully fleshed out setting out of the box.

Contact Information

There are official Forums for discussing Fantasy Makers Industries games here. The company can also be contacted via snail mail at:

Also take note that that, at the time of this review's writing, it FMI has announced that it will be in attendance at Phoenix Con where demos of LoK are intended to be run.

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In 3 reviews, average style rating is 4.00 and average substance rating is 3.33.