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Monte Cook Presents: Iron Heroes - A Variant Players Handbook by Mike Mearls.
Like the wholly popular (and wildly useful) book Arcana Evolved, Iron Heroes presents itself as a variant player’s handbook. Although Mike Mearls does present rules for converting only some of the new rules in Iron Heroes into an existing game, (with more on that later) it is clear that the book is meant to be a part of a stand-alone world unto itself. As the title suggests, Iron Heroes targets players and DMs who prefer the sound of steel upon steel to the flash and flame of magic. It was with both excitement and a tad bit of trepidation that I began to read Iron Heroes. The excitement is obvious, your friendly neighborhood Geek is a gamer and anytime spent reading new gaming material is good times. The trepidation stems from my admitted less than perfect knowledge of the D20 system. I freely admit this to being my fault. I'm a stubborn bugger and even though D20 has been my groups system of choice for close to 5 years, I still complain about it from time to time and pine for the "good ‘ol days" of gaming. (Fully knowing that AD&D 2nd edition was painfully flawed. Memory fueled glasses I suppose). Before I delve further into this review let me state emphatically now. In the hands of writers like Mike Mearls, Monte Cook, and the rest of the gang at Malhavoc Press my trepidation is now long gone!
Introduction - Action Fantasy:
Only a few pages in length, the introduction breaks down what the reader can expect in the following pages. Unlike many books on the market, the introduction to Iron Heroes does not go into great lengths explaining just what a role-playing game is and is not. I found this to be a breath of fresh air. While gamers come in all experience levels (pun not intended) we all know what an RPG is. The introduction does break down just what a player and DM can expect from Iron Heroes in terms of game play and the implied low magic world the players will interact. Interestingly, the third paragraph into the book suggests that Iron Heroes is for players who are already familiar with the D20 system. As I will explain later, I found this statement to be not entirely true.
Chapter 1 - Abilities:
The building blocks of all characters, chapter 1 explains what the abilities are and how they can aid and/or hinder a character. While no great changes have been made to the core D20 system the reader is given the first example of how Iron Heroes various from a standard D20 fantasy game. For the first time, abilities exists as more then a modifier to hit or raise a saving throw. Lacking in magic, the characters in Iron Heroes need to rely on their individual abilities to get them out of trouble. The ability listing in chapter 1 explains how certain situations can be solved using abilities either solo or in conjuncture with a skill. A prime example being the Constitution score being used to help a character endure a charge into a burning building to attack a mad wizard; a logical idea, but one not thought of by my fellow gamers or myself.
Chapter 2 - Traits:
Every character in the Iron Heroes setting earns two traits upon creation. Traits represent small character attributes that help make the PC a unique individual. The player may chose between Background, Mental, and Physical traits (with a limit of only one Background trait, but may have two Mental or Physical). Most traits give the player a bonus to a very specific event or location such as the Jungle Born Background trait that gives a character a +2 to survival checks when in a jungle environment or a +2 to saves in high heat conditions. Many of the traits also come with drawbacks that help to balance out the positive modifiers. As is evidenced by the Short Physical trait, you receive help in fighting larger creatures and hiding, but your size takes its toll on your natural strength. It is funny that many gaming statistics found in modern games were simply character fluff when I first started role-playing. However, as long as these traits are also played out in character then I wouldn't have a problem with them in a game. With unique being a key phrase in Iron Heroes, the traits are a welcome addition.
Chapter 3 - Character Classes:
Here is where the world of Iron Heroes truly begins to stand apart from tradition fantasy games. Chapter 3 brings a refreshing element to the use of skills. Gone are class and cross class skills, instead characters have skill groups available to them dependant upon their class. For example, the lithe Harrier has access to the Agility skill group, which grants the skills Balance, Escape Artist, and Tumble. Spend a point in Agility and you get a point in all the skills listed. However, with cross class skills done away with, a player is free to make their PC as interesting and unique as possible without wasting skill points. Chapter 3 also hints at a new Feat system called Mastery Feats, a way for a character to excel in one given style of physical, mental, or social feat. Mastery Feats are explained in detail in a later chapter.
Another new addition to Iron Heroes is the concept of base defense bonus. The well-known Armor Class has been removed in favor of Passive and Active Defense bonuses. Your class skill and expertise now dictates how adept you are at dodging and shrugging off blows. Armor is still used, but its protective covering now acts as Damage Reduction. Long time gamers may cringe at the idea of their characters being "easier" to hit, but from a realistic point of view, the DR system of armor makes sense. Add that to character Defense Bonus, Feats, Skills, and the new Token system and you will find your PC is a tad difficult to hit. While not available to every character class, Tokens allow a player to boost a single attack, defense, save, movement, or other class dependant ability. They reminded me of the famous Limit Breaks in the Final Fantasy series. While this may seem like a broken element to the game, Mearls makes certain that tokens can never upset the balance of an Iron Heroes (or any other) game. If anything, tokens throw in yet another excellent option to a system, which could have simply been boiled down to monster and PC exchanging blows.
As for the classes themselves. Gone are the basic fighter, ranger, paladin, rouge, etc. In there stead a wholly new group of PCs for players to have fun with. The Archer with her amazing ranged skills takes down enemies from hundreds of yards away while using her speed to stay out of harms way. The Armiger, a warrior so skilled in the use of his armor that he actually gains strength from taking hit upon hit. Accepting hits, he channels the violence back upon his foes. Shaming the traditional Barbarian, the Berserker pumps herself into a violent rage that even her allies find frightening. Not caring for herself, the Berserker can fight long after her body should have fallen. The Executioner is feared through out the lands as the living embodiment of death. By the time the Executioner makes himself known on the field of battle his foe is already dead. Believing the best way to survive a conflict is never be hit, the speeding Harrier ducts and weaves around, under, and above her foes. She leaves a trail of destruction in her wake. Finally seeing a class that fits Aragon from the Lord of the Rings, the Hunter is the ultimate tracker in the world of Iron Heroes. Nothing escapes the keen eye of the Hunter, and even less survives his sword arm. The Man-At-Arms is the character you want when you have no idea what foe you will be facing. Skilled with all, but a master of none, the Man-At-Arms didn't see a weapon or armor she couldn't use. No gray area here, the Thief is a thief and makes no apologies for it. Darkness and shadows are his ally, the Thief sneaks into areas that would make even the strongest of Armigers shake. The Weapon Master treats her chosen weapon better then she treats her own family and quite possibly herself. Her attention and obsession coming to fruition in the form of stunning skill with her bonded weapon. The lone spell caster in a world of steel, the Arcanist wields powers that even the greatest of warriors fear. Walking the thin line between supreme power and utter destruction, the Arcanist lives a risky life.
Chapter 4 - Skills and Ability Checks:
The bulk of chapter 4 explains just what skills and abilities are and how they can effect and/or hinder your character. While this information may seem a tad redundant to the seasoned D20 gamer I urge you not to skip the information. There have been some subtle changes to how skills can affect the game in the form of extended challenges and base attack checks. Yet another reason to read chapter 4 in detail is the way Mearls has re-covered the rules on skill and ability checks. Mearls writing style is clear and concise and explains the skill check system better than the D&D Players Handbook. Chapter 4 also delves into the concept of skill challenges. The greater a characters skill in a given ability, the more he or she can risk to excel at beating the check in a given amount of time or while performing another action. (Such as picking a lock while balancing on a shaky pole as arrows fly)!
Chapter 5 - Feats:
A staple in D20 games, the feat system in Iron Heroes takes the concept of player’s edges and gives it some juice. As could be expected in a game where characters cannot charge into a fight with flaming swords and never ending healing spells, the feats in Iron Heroes give the added edge characters will need to survive in the form of Mastery Feats. The characters in Iron Heroes gain feats at a much more rapid rate of 1 feat every even numbered level (with some earning more depending upon class abilities). Mastery Feats expand upon a special ability and the progress that one ability to higher and more powerful levels. Starting with a Base Mastery, the new feats in Iron Heroes progress to Expanded Mastery 10. Each character class has a predetermined list of Mastery Feats they may choose from, with General Feats available to all character classes. To choose a new Expanded Mastery Feat a character must first be able to and select the Base Mastery of a given feat. Once selected a character may choose any level of Expanded Mastery Feat assuming they are of an appropriate class level. For example, a 7th level Archer must take the Defense Base Mastery and then progress on the Defense Mastery list or wait until they can choose Mobility, a Defense Mastery Feat 4. Again, the options available to a creative player are limitless in the Iron Heroes feat system.
Chapter 6 - Roleplaying Iron Heroes:
Explaining the nature of the Iron Heroes setting, chapter 6 did feel a tad out of place within its section of the book. Giving ideas on playing characters with unique personality, backgrounds, and goals the information provided is helpful to those playing and running an Iron Heroes game. Chapter 6 also gives ideas on the type of world in which characters live and adventure in. Lacking in magic and divine influence, Mearls suggests that the world of Iron Heroes be relatively young with very few large settlements and civilizations. Although I found this take on the world to be interesting I am not sure I completely agree with this assessment. This is mainly a personal choice however, with the writing still top notch I can see how a DM who wishes to run a game in such a world would find the information highly useful.
Chapter 7 - Equipment:
Not a large amount of new information here, but I again urge veteran players to not skip this section. Again, Mearls writes on the less remembered (thus less used) rules on attack and damage when gripping a weapon with one or two hands, when using an improvised weapon, or when a character needs to use a weapon that is tool small or large for their hands. The greatest change in the equipment chapter is in the form of armor worn. While shields still add to a characters defense bonus, armor worn now gives a PC Damage Reduction as it lessens a blow that connects. Only magic and the natural weapons of magical creatures bypass the DR of character armor. While there are no hard fast rules on what happens to damaged armor, it can be assumed that a DM will make their players keep track of how much damage their suits can take before repairing them.
Chapter 8 - Combat:
Here we go. The chapter that would ultimately make or break Iron Heroes. Well it makes it and makes it well. Chapter 8 opens with a simple recap of the D20 system of combat. Again, Mearls writing is crisp and clear and I found myself wanting to use Iron Heroes to explain the combat system to new D20 players. The first major change is the active and passive defense bonus. A character that is caught by surprise or other outside effect is only allowed their passive defense bonus; in effect they are denied their dexterity bonus and any activity that would require their attention. A character's active defense bonus assumes the character is prepared for an attack and thus can use their full abilities to protect themselves. To prevent Iron Heroes from being a simple hack and slash game; Mearls introduces the concept of Combat Challenges and Combat Stunts. Challenges come in the form of attack and defense challenges. A character willing takes a negative bonus to their attack or defense in exchange for an increase in another ability that will aid themselves or their allies in combat. Like Skill Challenges, other characters may aid each other in Combat Challenges providing there is an opportunity. Stunts are actions that raise the character beyond the level of typical player character. In exchange for a more difficult chance to hit, a character may attempt a stunt to perform more dramatic actions in a combat round. Want to flick sand in the eyes of the Orc before you take a swing at him; attempting a Combat Stunt will help you do that, assuming you can make your rolls count!
With all this swords swinging, arrows flying, and no magic in Iron Heroes one would expect the death count to be high. To balance this concern out, Iron Heroes takes a new approach to PC death and dying. A -10 no longer means instant death as a character is now allowed a saving throw to prevent passing into the long night. Even without the help of a fellow character a PC has a chance of a slow and tedious recovery. As an even better advantage Iron Heroes characters can tap into a pool of Reserve Points. Matching their max hit point count, Reserve Points can use traded one for one to recover lost hit points. The catch is in the timing, unlike the convenient potion or spell, Reserve Points can only be used before or after a combat session. This system allows for combat to furious and dangerous while still allowing a game to have more then one combat scene per session. Reserve Points are regained in much the same manner as standard hit points requiring a full 8 hours rest. Reserve Points are also earned when an outside force returns more hit points then a characters max capacity.
Chapter 9 - Adventuring:
Again, chapter 9 covers much of the basic gaming conditions that anyone who is familiar with the D20 system will already know. Covering simple rules like light sources or breaking down doors, chapter 9 deals with the information that most DMs tend to rule on the fly anyway. Chapter 9 did remind me of a basic rule that I often forget when a character wants to break an object, the negative bonus from a lack of a dexterity score. Nice to be reminded.
Chapter 10 - Magic:
It was a little strange to see magic be given such a back seat in a Monte Cook game, as he is a self-admitted addict when it comes to magic. This makes sense, fantasy games are magical in their core and so to remove that core element is a little odd. That being said, magic still plays an important part in the Iron Heroes setting. Magic within Iron Heroes is raw and dangerous with only the mad and power hungry willing to mold the raw mana of magic. Arcanists tap into a mana pool that increases as the character advances in levels. A player may choose to exceed their mana pool, but they do so at the risk of the very lives as players must make Fortitude saves adding their negative mana pool to the difficultly number. If the roll fails the character loses ability points equal to mana spent. A character can continue to make spell casting attempts with a negative mana pool, but the risk of complete death looms greater. Once mana is gathered it must then be formed into the spell of choice. Again, a character must make a channeling spell check to ensure the spell is cast with no complications. Most spells have a minor and major disaster should the check fail. While minor disasters are little more then annoyances which will only make your fellow characters question why they allow a caster in their midst, a major disaster upsets the natural balance and could destroy you and your companions. This new approach to magic again lends itself to gamers who wish magic was a bit more dangerous and fit the approach that many authors take when they write about casters falling to their knees as magic saps their very essence.
The basic schools of magic known to all who play any OGL D20 game are intact but with minor changes. No longer able to cast many predetermined spells, the Arcanist instead taps into the raw powers of Abjuration, Conjuration, Necromancy, etc. An Arcanist who casts from the Abjuration school may make protective barriers that can protect herself or her companions. Where as the Necromancer draws upon the unnatural power of living death to bend the dead to his will. On paper the magic system seems massively limiting and in a way it is as a spell caster can no longer be a fireball tossing cannon. Instead, the magic system in Iron Heroes requires a good amount of imagination on the part of both the player and DM. The magic system in Iron Heroes is a fun alternative that reminded me of the early drafts of White Wolf’s Mage: The Ascension, but without all the soul-searching angst.
Iron Heroes wraps with an appendix that explains how the game could be integrated into other D20 systems should a DM wish. As expected, emphasis is given to using Iron Heroes within the D&D 3.5 games and Monte Cook's other variant player handbook Arcana Evolved (and Arcana Unearthed). Most of the information is useful and I am curious to try it out once I test Iron Heroes a few times on its own within a full gaming session.
The art within Iron Heroes is strong and hits the high energy and chaotic environment of the combat explained in the book. I had hoped for a few more color images but I understand that many are kept in black and white in order to keep costs down. A few dollars cheaper then a standard D20 book of the same size; this is a trade off I am willing to accept. As mentioned a few times above, I had a few organizational issues with Iron Heroes. While the information provided within individual chapters is well done, I would liked to have seen the chapters on roleplaying an Iron Heroes character moved to the introduction or first chapter of the book. I would also liked to have seen a secondary appendix after the conversations that reprinted all the frequently used charts as well as a chart displaying which skills fall under skill groups as I think this would decrease character creation time. I do wonder if these items will show up in the soon to be released book Mastering Iron Heroes. Part of me wishes the book could have been held until both could be combined into one large publication. However, I understand the cost of such a book may have been counterproductive to the company. (Although I have a feeling that if this book sells well we gamers may see an Evolved Heroes book, perhaps even an Iron Arcana that goes for broke on the epic fantasy scale).
In all, Iron Heroes will make an excellent addition to my gaming library. While I don't see myself using stunts or challenges within my current Ravenloft game, I fully intend to use the subtle changes Mearls has made to the D20 combat system as I feel it makes more sense and makes for a more enjoyable combat session. Iron Heroes will give players and DMs the tools they need to be truly creative in their gaming sessions. The stunts and challenges within Iron Heroes will allow players to act as the epic heroes they imagine their characters to be without being bogged down in sub rules for various maneuvers or fighting styles. In a sense, Mike Mearls has taken all the best of ideas from everyone’s house rules over the years and has constructed one damn fine game book. Players and DMs looking for a new system with an emphasis on combat need look no further then Iron Heroes. DMs wishing for a more advanced style of combat will also find the information contained within Iron Heroes very helpful. While not perfect, Iron Heroes is damn close. Pick one up soon, either in PDF form at Drive Thru RPG or in paper form at your local game store. You won't be sorry.
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