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So what made Visionary Entertainment Studio’s Book of the Unliving mesh with me? A mix of stylish presentation, flexible and multiple rulesets, and a decidedly engrossing, divergent setting that strides for beyond self-pity or self-loathing into much deeper needs, motivations, and expression. With dark/urban fantasy, it’s very easy to go for the “easy kill”—the overplayed angsty bits that many people think of when first perusing this genre. It was a pleasure to see Book of the Unliving stridently avoid hitting these common notes in exchange for a lively, vibrant direction--yet without disregarding the darker impulses of (in)human nature. The book focuses more on creating legends, or rather, enabling the players to do so.
Physical Checkout
My copy of Book of the Unliving was of the revised, hardback edition. The 302-page book seems physically sturdy enough, and despite heavy use (and shamefacedly, I admit a bit of inadvertent negligence) over the past 30 days or so, I could likely pass it off tomorrow as a brand new purchase. No complaints in this area.
Overview: Races, Abilities, Philosophy, Etc.
Book of the Unliving is part of VESI’s The Everlasting, a line of fantasy/horror sourcebooks. Others in the line describe beings of light, spirits, and fantastical/fey races such as Dragons, Dwarves, and Elves. Like these books, BotU (as we’ll refer to it, to hinder the spread of carpal tunnel syndrome) can be employed as a stand-alone game (all the core rules are included in each book) or used in conjunction with these other titles to create a fuller, more divergent Secret World (as it is termed). Focusing on the darker aspects of such, BotU players may take on the roles of such creatures as Ghuls (eaters of the dead), Revenants (dead having come back to life), Vampires (yep), Reanimates monstrous creations along the lines of Frankenstein), and Dead Souls (spirits).
One area of BotU that I really appreciated was how each dark race (or gente) has its own Torment to bear, not unlike the race traits for Burning Wheel. For example, Ghuls must contend with Degeneration, or mental and physical decomposition. Revenants are tormented by Detachment, growing apart from humanity and life. Vampires have Damnation, the guilt of self or of those who have come before them. Dead Souls must deal with Imprisonment (a possible eternity of lingering in limbo), and Reanimates have Angst (Hah! You were waiting for it, weren’t you, you cynic? Fortunately, BotU goes to great lengths to frame and explain things in such a light that your Abomination of Science won’t resemble some emo kid).
Each of the races presented in the book has a subrace it may belong to. For example, Ghuls may be a Bhuta, your more typical, slowly-decomposing creature. They may be a Faitour, a more rare specimen which may stay normal-looking physically while rotting away mentally. Grotesqueries are at the extreme end of the spectrum, and are misshapen, gnarled (yet powerful) atrocities of the flesh. Each subrace had its own pros and cons, and really helps extend the game’s options.
I was hoping to see a bit more diversity within the vampire ranks, I have to say. Though I do very much like their treatment therein, some of the subraces such as the Cihuateteo (brujah) or Dracul felt like (well-done) re-hashes. In a work in which I found so many excellent subject treatments, perhaps I just expected something a bit more noveau. However, the chaotic, vampiric Dakinis (scions of Kali) were absolutely killer—poor pun totally intended—and the Kingu (offspring of dark gods) were spot-on.
The Revenant and Reanimates are where BotU really hits its stride, however. The Revenants, the undead souls who come back to inhabit living bodies once more, really chill the spine (as do the ways trhey have of procuring these new vessels). The subsist one the lifeforce of others, and present an interesting comparison to the way vampires are handled in BotU.
The Reanimates aren't just limited to poor copies of Frankenstein's monster, but may also be classes as DethMechs (the cyborgs of the undead) or Golems. Although the creation process of each is very well done and detailed (making it one of my favorite parts of the book), the DethMechs did seem a little glossed over in the abilities department.
The Dead Souls feel a bit constrained, mainly because they can’t really reach material Earth, which would be a show-stopper in certain games. However, this book does an amazing job of covering and including most of the types of ghosts from our world's folklore.
Each race has its own particular powers and bonuses, of course, which are far too lengthy to list here. But each race and subrace adds its own powers to the mix, and are not cookie-cutter, but customizable. One Ghul might choose entirely different powers from another Ghul. One complaint is that the powers for some could have been expanded a bit more, and VESI’s The Codex of the Immortals adds dozens of powers to each in what comes close (but not quite) to being a “must-have accessory” to the game.
The races are detailed exceedingly in-depth, from culture to relations, to habitat and habitat, to basic and complex motivations and machinations. Some will present a challenge to roleplayers, but also a true host of possibilities. As horrid as the aforementioned Ghul sounds, after reading this, you're truly tempted to step up play one, and the same goes for the other races.
Later in the book, other denizens of The Secret World are described; not exactly in brief, but not given the full treatment, either. Where other books may have directed you to “Buy Book X!” to learn more about these spirits, creatures of light and fantastic races, BotU gives you enough to spur the imagination and actually make use of them in your own game. That said, it also does a damn fine job of piquing one’s interest for the other titles in the series.
As I said earlier, the BotU is very much a game about legend-making, the Hero’s Journey. The rules explanations are built up around this, and there is a very nice section describing some of the more common core elements or themes to legendary tales—The Penitent, The Martyr, The Progenitor, and many more. Even those unfamiliar with Campbellian themes will find themselves ready to apply these to their game. There’s also a nice talk about different types of Milieus, and basically BotU devotes a lot to making sure everyone is one the same page before we create those characters and stories. BotU really stresses making your gaming about Something, rather than moping around or incidentally-perhaps-possibly running into something-or-other. No, these undead get off their arse (if they still have one) and get with the legend-making. Perhaps more than anything, these parts of the book set the tone for a different, epic game. Not just motivation of your character, but of the overall game. How do we treat the fantastic, the supernatural? These are not mundane topics, or mundane races, and BotU reflects that. The sense of utter respect towards gaming in general and the search for a quality gaming experience will likely strike some as overserious, but BotU does such a fine job of presenting each section and topic in an engrossing manner I find it hard to dole out too much fault.
System
The three different resolution systems that may be used with BotU are rolling dice (the oft-forsaken d12) and drawing playing or tarot cards. Actually, you might say 4 systems can be used, because provisions are also stating for using dice other than d12s (though mainly for creating a greater disparity of ability between mortals and presented races). None of the systems have much crunch, as you may well imagine, but do a nice job of fading into the background during play, as you’d likely expect with a game that so stridently involves and advocates The Story.
Either cards or dice operate on a 1-12 scale, one being bad and 12 rocking (1=Ace, 11=Jack, 12=Queen). For skills and the like, you are attempting to roll/draw to beat an assigned Base Difficulty, which may be modified due to your abilities. You roll/draw a number of times based on the Aspect you are using (if I am using my Spirit of 4, I roll/draw 4 times). Depending on the number of successes you score (beating the target number), you success may range anywhere from Minimal (1) to Astounding (7). If you roll or draw more 1s than you do successes, you can have a Disaster on your hands, which depending on severity, can be anywhere from humiliation to tragic, permanent harm.
Combat, in its most basic form, is really straightforward. Without getting in too deep, all you really need to know is your Dexterity (with modifiers) vs. your foe’s Dexterity (with modifiers, which acts as the Target Number for the attacker to beat). Damage is dependent upon the weapon used; melee weapons such as sword are generally based off your Strength, divided by 2 plus or minus a number plus your number of successes. Ranged weapons have a number you add your successes for damage.
Character Creation
Step One: Genos
Fancy way of saying, “Pick your race”.
Step 2: Concept
Neat! Book of the Unliving asks you to answer twenty questions before we go any further. Questions from the basics, such as “Male/Female?” and “How old is your protagonist?” to “What are your protagonist’s fatal flaws?” Don’t worry, though—the section is very clear that many of these questions can be answered later if your character concept is yet 100% fleshed out. But hey, at least it got you thinking.
Step 3: Ethos (optional)
As I mentioned earlier, BotU wants to know what your Hero’s Journey revolves around. This section provides examples for those wanting to decide immediately how their legend begins.
Step 4: Persona (also optional)
Here we are confronted with figuring out what makes our character tick. Persona scores can be allotted to give these traits above-average strength or conviction. Again reminding me of something in Burning Wheel (BITs), Persona is divided into Beliefs (“Betrayl will always serve me in the end”), Outlooks (Hedonistic, Shy, Haughty, Paranoid, etc.), Passions (close to Beliefs, but more a character’s reason for living, such as “regain my rightful place in the world”), and Relations (basically, feelings for people, places, and things). There is also Dementia, which can describe abnormal behavior. Really, the entire section is about begin to frame your character in how they act, what motivates them, what traits they always employ, etc. Nice to see that employed here.
Step 5: Aspects
Hey! Genuine stats and stuff! We’d get to it eventually. But the order is such in BotU for a reason—to facilitate a more immersive, character and story-driven model of play.
Aspects are divided into Mind, Body, and Soul. They can range from 0 (incapacitated) to 10 (Beyond Imagination).
Mind: Mind stats include Instincts (common sense, mental reflexes, wit), Intellect (smarts), and Perception (alertness/awareness).
Body: Include Dexterity, Resilience (toughness, constitution), and Strength.
Soul: Inspiration (creative capacity), Presence (charm/charisma), and Spirit (free will, self-confidence)
You can either do point-allocation or random draws/rolls to get your Aspects. The are used as the basis for how many card/dice are used in task resolution.
Step 6: Abilities
Abilities help draw down the Base Difficulty of certain matters. The are Aptitudes and Skills. Aptitude act as skill categories, more or less, and include such categories as Athletics, Criminal, Sciences, and the like. Skills therein may include, say for Athletics, Climb, Dance, Run. Of course, it’s easier to raise individual Skills such as Climb than entire the entire Aptitude of Athletics. Ability scores may range from 1 to a staggering 12, but rarely see the high end of the spectrum.
Again, both point-allocation and random methods are available.
Step 7: Distinctions
A brief section on somewhat limited advantages and disadvantages. Starting at zero, a positive increase indicates a beneficial effect, whereas a decrease belw zero indicates exactly the opposite. You might have a drawback or benefit in an area like Spirituality, Psyche, or Physique that describes a modified reaction to your persona.
Step 8: Preternaturae and Magick
Please, join with me in my campaign to drop the “k” from “Magick” in game books the world over. Thank you.
Races have their own supernatural powers, or preternaturae. Depending on your races, you can allocate points to different types of powers. Each race also starts with its own predetermined inherent supernatural powers (such as the Vampire’s Regeneration and Body Weaponry) that cost it nothing.
Step 9: Last Details
All the piddly stuff, plus Destiny Points, Backlash Points, and Torments.
Destiny Points are pretty straightforward. They can be awarded by the game’s Guide as a reward, and can be used in varying quantities to affect the outcome of rolls and the like. Backlash Points are sort of their opposite, and can be used by the Guide as punishment for cheating (!), or for breaking the laws of magick or their own nature in play. Basically, you want these to be in the hands of a competent GM, for obvious reasons. Chancy stuff.
Torment starts at 3. Remember how each race has a different torment? As that Torment goes up, it becomes harder for the character to fight it. Torments can lead to dark urges be fulfilled, and can also be caused by giving in to their darker side. Players might gain bonuses in the short term for doing so, but also add to their respective Torment. When Torment is at 13, the character is considered unable to control their particular urge or evil any more.
Style
The artwork throughout is pitch-perfect, dark and fitting at each turn of the page. A smattering of typos are an irritant, but perhaps the only real snafu the overall layout produces is periodic sidebars of black containing dark red text. I know my eyesight isn’t always the best at short range, but these entries can be difficult to read.
Overall
In the final verdict, Book of the Unliving is an ambitious stab at epic dark and urban fantasy gaming, and it hits the mark far more often than not. Folks looking for a lighter, breezy game won’t find it here, and I feel it sets itself up more for extended play than one-shots here and there. But the book is well-written, nimbly sidesteps the very worst of the pretension pits (though I think it’s fair to say it hits a snag here and there, and there will ikely be a few eye rolls in the crowd)), and offers several different systems for use. It’s epic Dark Fantasy done right, and it’s seen my interest grow in a genre I truly wasn’t much into before. But with a stylish, solid, enjoyable treatment of life in the shadows and a hauntingly stunning overall presentation, Book of the Unliving won me over.
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