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Diana: Warrior Princess is based on the popular holovision show of the same name, enabling you to run adventures in ancient times (the 20th century, to be precise). Players can take the role of Diana herself and her loyal sidekick Fergie or play recurring guest stars such as Bonnie Prince Charlie or Wild Bill Gates, while fighting to thwart the evil schemes of the nefarious Queen Elizabeth, Thatcher the undead sorceress, and the War-God Landmines. Given the nature of the source material, don't expect historical accuracy or gritty realism; this is a game of swashbuckling heroics.
Diana is available as a 70-page PDF from SJ Games' e23 store. There's also a print version published by Heliograph Press, though I haven't seen it myself. It's written by Marcus Rowland, probably best-known as the creator of Forgotten Futures, and illustrated by Aaron Williams, best-known as the creator of Nodwick. At first glance, both the setting and the system are completely different from Forgotten Futures, yet there are still common elements between them: both are "alternate" historical games with relatively rules-light systems.
Before I get into the details, here's a rough breakdown of the contents:
- Cover, credits, table of contents, introduction (5 pages)
- Brief descriptions of the main characters from the series, with portraits (9 pages)
- Plot outline of "A Typical Episode" (3 pages)
- Guidelines for creating episodes, followed by brief descriptions of sample episodes (which serve as adventure seeds) and spin-off series (5 pages)
- Rules (13 pages)
- A blank character sheet and more detailed descriptions, with stats, of the main characters, one to a page (14 pages)
- A sample adventure, "Diana Does Dallas" (17 pages)
- An appendix with ideas for running a campaign in which the PCs are really actors in a "sensie" (a full-immersion virtual reality TV show), hypnotised into believing in their roles (2 pages)
- Ads for Forgotten Futures and Dork Storm comics (2 pages)
The PDF, unfortunately, has no bookmarks. This is especially bothersome considering that the actual rules don't begin until page 20. (Fortunately the layout is easily memorized, so it's simple to find a particular section by scrolling.) Furthermore, it's coded in a way that makes it impossible to copy-and-paste or do a text search. I was tempted to deduct a point from Style for these offenses, but I decided that wouldn't really be fair and would give a misleading impression. (Besides, if you buy the print version it's not an issue.)
The author is British, and it shows; England is named as the default starting point for adventures, though the sample adventure takes place mainly in America. Non-British readers may not be as familiar with some of the political figures parodied within. For example, I couldn't place Red Ken or Emperor Norton at all. That didn't prevent me from enjoying the game's humor, though.
The default assumption is that players will take on the pre-established roles of regular series characters, including Diana and Fergie, although rules are provided for making your own. Of course, any game based on a popular movie or TV show faces the problem of how original PCs can fit into the setting without feeling overshadowed by the "stars". As mentioned above, there are several ideas proposed for "spin-off" series featuring different characters in the same setting, such as Toni the Vampire Slayer (Toni Blair, that is). One of these spin-off concepts, Elvis: The Legendary Tours is currently being developed into a full-fledged supplement.
However, actually putting any of these ideas to use would require the GM to do most of the work of creating characters, plots and locations. Then again, that's true of nearly any RPG; it's just particularly noticeable here because the game focuses so strongly on the regular series cast that the lack of details on people and places not directly related to those characters is conspicuous. Rather than providing an in-depth description of the campaign world, Diana is deliberately vague (there isn't even a world map) -- which, of course, perfectly reflects the series on which the game is based (1). For a GM who "gets" the tone of the setting and is comfortable with improvising, this allows plenty of room to fill in the gaps with their own ideas. On the other hand, it might prove challenging to less imaginative GMs.
Rules: To quote the author, "This is not a realistic system; it sets out to be as cinematic and melodramatic as possible, and as easy to play as possible given that intention. It is thus wide open to rules lawyers and power gaming -- if you want a system that doesn't reward such abuse you should probably look elsewhere."
The basic mechanic is a dice pool system. Characters have 16 "attributes" (actually skills, for the most part) ranging from 0-10. These are naturally pretty broad and seem to cover all the essential bases; the only notable omission I thought of is the lack of a perception attribute. I suppose this could be handled using Luck, if not for the fact that many of the key characters don't possess that attribute. (Also, it's not at all clear what Luck is supposed to be used for, aside from gambling; "What it sounds like" is not an adequate description. Chalk this up as one of those rules that's wide open to abuse.) There are also no rules on what to do when a character wants or needs to use an attribute that they have 0 dice in. I suppose you could say that they automatically succeed at "unusually easy" tasks (those which normally don't require a roll) and fail at all others, but it really should've been spelled out.
The number of dice a character gets to divide up amongst the various attributes depends on their Status in the show: star, co-star, guest star, major or minor villain, etc. Unlike the Buffy RPG, there are no built-in mechanics (nor even any GM advice) to help in balancing the Star with her supporting cast.
Although the rules are simple and easy to remember, they have a number of odd quirks which seem unnecessarily complicated given their stated intent of being quick and easy. For example, all successes are rerolled and added. This seems like it would slow things down considerably -- although given that many of the sample characters have only 1-3 dice in most skills, perhaps it's not that bad, and helpful in assuring a reasonable chance of success. Then again, you only need 1 success for a simple task, 3 for an "extraordinarily difficult" one. (One rule I liked: you can retry a failed task at progressively higher difficulties.)
For characters with higher attribute levels (5+) and/or equipment bonuses, rerolling ad nauseum could quickly turn into overkill. Players are encouraged to find excuses to combine attributes (for example, a flying kick might use Athlete and Martial Arts), which may increase difficulty but also gives you more dice to roll. The author notes that you may need "twenty or more dice" for exceptionally powerful characters, though I think this is a slight exaggeration (2). Most characters, most of the time, will probably use no more than 5-8 dice on a single roll. However, given the low number of successes required, rerolling successes could easily lead to overkill, especially for the more powerful characters. (Then again, given the genre being emulated, overkill may be expected.)
To further complicate matters, the die roll required for a success depends on the character's Status. Nearly all the sample PCs succeed on a 5+ per die, but major villains only require a 4+, while extras need a 6. I would think that keeping track of all of this would be a big headache for the GM, though it apparently didn't bother the playtesters too much. (On the other hand, it provides a neat mechanic for handling explosions: the required success number increases with distance, allowing targets at different ranges to take different amounts of damage from a single roll.)
To sum up: even allowing for the intentionally fast-and-loose nature of the system and a high degree of GM judgement, there are still a number of balance issues and holes in the rules which should have been addressed. It's clear that designing a workable system was a secondary goal in writing Diana. (How many other RPGs do you know where the rules take up only 13 out of 70 pages?) Fortunately, it shouldn't be too hard to convert to another system of your choice. (Fudge comes immediately to mind, since it has customizable attributes and similar design goals. The d6 System, particularly the d6 Legend/d6 Prime version which I've heard was used in the Hercules/Xena RPG, already has some similarities to this one. The Buffy RPG also seems like an obvious choice for several reasons, though I'm not familiar with Unisystem myself.)
Aside from the basic mechanics and character creation, the rules also briefly cover weapons, armor, civilian and military vehicles, other equipment, stats for common animals and other opponents (including zombies, golems, robots and grey aliens) and awarding bonus points (which can be added to your rolls or used for character advancement). (Remembering the heated discussion provoked by an earlier review of the new World of Darkness rules, I should point out that bigger weapons increase your chances of a successful attack. However, in this case it's perfectly appropriate to the genre.)
Diana Does Dallas: Without giving too much away, the plot can be described as follows. The heroes are called in to help protect President Kenny from assassination while he negotiates with Elliot Ness, the leader of the Untouchables ("a caste of sanitation workers, cleaners, maids and other 'mucky' trades") aboard the riverboat casino Norman Bates. Despite the inherent silliness of the setting, this adventure is quite solidly-built and doesn't stretch credibility too much. (Although even allowing for the game's wonky geography, I'm not sure how you can sail "down-river" from a harbor.) The plot is fairly linear, but not obtrusively so; rather, the course of events is a logical consequence of plot developments. The adventure is intended to feature Diana, Fergie and possibly Red Ken as PCs, with an optional side plot involving Wild Bill Gates, Ron L. Hubble and Bonnie Prince Charlie, either as PCs or NPCs. However, I see no reason it couldn't be run with original PCs if desired.
Style: If you've ever read Nodwick (or any of Williams' other comics), you know exactly what to expect from the illustrations, and whether you'll like the style or not. If you haven't, head over to Dork Storm Press and check out his work for yourself. I thought they were spot-on in capturing the silliness of the subject matter (my favorite illo is the portrait of Wild Bill Gates), but I wish there had been more illustrations of the technology instead of duplicate portraits of all the cast members. (Incidentally, I would've loved to see what Phil Foglio would have done with these characters and setting.)
The writing style is excellent -- it's never dry, but doesn't try too hard to be funny, quirky or colloquial. Instead, the author uses a conversational tone which gets the point across clearly while consistently engaging the reader's interest.
Aside from a tendency to use commas where semicolons should be, I hardly noticed any typos; the most significant one is the omission of the Science attribute from the blank character sheet. Prince Albert Einstein doesn't have any dice in Science either, which is surely a rules gaffe, but easily fixed.
Substance: The rules get a 3 out of 5 for being simple and functional but not particularly elegant (I'm actually more inclined to give them a 2 due to the clunky bits mentioned above, but since I haven't playtested them I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.)
The setting, on the other hand, is a gem. Although I've spent more time dwelling on the shortcomings of the system, the setting is really the most "important" part of Diana, and the main reason to buy it. It's just that I can't think of much to say about it beyond the basic description. If you want to know more, you're better off reading it yourself. (You can download a free sample here.) I can't give it a 5 because of the sparseness of detail, but it definitely earns a solid 4 in my book, even though I'm not likely ever to play it.
This gives a 3.5 average, but since the setting is the main draw I've rounded it up to a 4. Of course, the real measure of the value of this game is how much the premise appeals to you. If it tickles your funny bone, as it did mine, it's worth the price (though I wouldn't want to pay for the print version). If it leaves you cold, don't bother.
Appendix: To give you a taste of the kind of characters you may encounter in Diana: Warrior Princess, here's one I created just for fun.
Indian Jones, Treasure Hunter
Status: 25 (guest star)
Success: 5+
Hit Points: 5
Attributes
Animal Handler: 1
Athlete: 3
Charisma: 2
Luck: 3
Marksmanship: 3
Martial Arts: 2
Speed: 3
Strength: 1
Thief: 4
Thinking: 3
Quote: Snakes... Why did it have to be snakes?
Back Story: Davy "Indian" Jones is a globe-trotting treasure hunter, thief and smuggler. He was orphaned at an early age, but brought up by a friendly Indian tribe which trained him in scouting and stealth. He travels all over the world searching for valuable artifacts to loot or steal. His main motivation is self-interest, but he has a good heart and will gladly assist any attempt to undermine "Uncle" Sam's tyrannical rule. Jones is a friend of Wild Bill Gates; he also knows Red Ken, but doesn't get along with him, mainly on account of his fear of snakes (which stems from a traumatic childhood experience with an Indian snake charmer). Elizabeth has had a death warrant on him ever since he managed to steal one of the Crown Jewels.
Possessions: Jones wears a coonskin hat and a buckskin jacket (no armor protection). He is occasionally seen riding a horse or paddling a canoe up the Nile or Amazon. He also has a "locker" (a brass-trimmed wooden trunk with a combination lock) in which he stores and transports artifacts until he can sell them on the black market. The locker was a gift from an Indian shaman and possesses Mystical Powers; it has a nearly unlimited capacity and appears empty unless opened with a particular combination (there are several false combinations which allow the locker to be opened without revealing its contents).
Weapons: A bullwhip (use Marksmanship to hit), which does nonlethal damage only, but can be used to disarm, trip, choke or entangle opponents with 2 or more successes; a pearl-handled revolver (which never seems to run out of bullets except at dramatically appropriate moments); and a David Bowie knife (which doubles as a machete).
Notes: Indian Jones currently has his sights set on the Millennium Falcon (a priceless black bird sculpture), which is in the possession of American billionaire Bruce Wayne.
Footnotes
(1) Just in case it isn't obvious by now, Diana: Warrior Princess is an indirect parody of the TV series Xena: Warrior Princess.
(2) Even combining the highest attributes of the most powerful sample character (in combinations which I'm not sure are strictly legal, but then "legal" is a flexible concept in this system) and adding equipment bonuses, the maximum I can get without using bonus points is 19 dice.
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