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I'll begin with the core book. Now reviews are almost like opinions. I'm going to do what every english teacher tried to drill into me with my writing. And that is to assume the reader knows nothing. Or in this case the reader hasn't played another rpg before. The reason why is Ramlar uses a d100 percentile system and everyone who's played in the past probably, i'd say almost 90% of gamers, knows a d100 system. So no comparisons to BRP or even d20.
The first thing about the book that impressed me greatly was the visual aspect. John Prescott, in his disguise as art directory, did a fandangtastic job. They got some of the best artists to present the world of Eranon. James Ryman, Jennifer Meyer, Ron Spencer of WotC fame, Lindsay Archer, Mark Tedin, Alex Bradley, Jessica Hickman, Kevin Crossley who I loved in Legacy of the Dragons for Arcana Unearthed, Kirk Kugel, and last but not least the famous Larry Elmore. This book has some of the best artwork I've seen in a game product IMO of course. Layout is simple two column with an attractive border and no wasted space.
I've broken by thoughts about this book into three catagories; Pros, Neutrals, and Cons. Pros and Cons are self explanatory but neutrals are something that some may like and others don't. Let's start with the pros. There is an index and a comprehensive Table of Contents. Artwork of course. A simple percentile system but with a few twists.
The object is to roll under the number but staying as high as possible. The number in the tens position translates into a Success Value. Let's say you have a 68% chance to attack. You roll a 60%, which also happens to be a critical success because the ones value is a zero. Your success value is then a six doubled to 12. With that twelve you can parlay that for Momentum. Momentum is a mechanic that allows for some dynamic and heroic game sessions. For example, you can spend 5 of those points the next round to give you and all your allies a +5% to attack rolls.
Demeanor/Theme is an interesting take on gaining experience. There is a circle on the character sheet surrounded by 10 dots. After a session the GM gives as many dots as he feels was warranted. When all ten dots are filled you gain a level. Now, the twist. You can have other D/T circles that have a role-playing aspect. Say you want to join an order of paladins. You make one of your D/T circles that. It may take several years of game time but once all circles are filled you join the order. But say you're still not quite there. Only eight circles are filled but you're on a quest for said order of paladins. You need to make a successful ancient knowledge check to decipher the clues. You roll the dice but come up a measly five points short. You temporarily borrow five points from your D/T and boost your roll to succeed.
Fluff. The fluff in this book is terrific. The writers really succeded in immersing me in Ramlar. The equipment chapter has a section on toxins and the flavor text was a delight to read. Even the section on constellations is awesome. Depending on which constellation there is a bonus to certain things. For example, when the Evil constellation is in power there is a +5% to attack good creatures.
Neutral things.
Standard D&D races minus half-breeds, which are impossible.
Spellcasting is based on your Endurance attribute.
Divine Boons. Divine Boons are something that can be very powerfull. They are essentially very powerful things a character can do, granted by their chosen deity. A starting character can be created with a divine boon but to gain further boons you need to allocate a D/T to it. One of the deities divine boons is to allow their followers the power to eclipse the sun once per day plunging the entire hemisphere into darkness.
Total opinion here. But I thing Ramlar needs an experienced GM to run. A new GM might not have the sense of restraint that a more experienced GM might, and I say might have. The affore mentioned Divine Boons are an example.
Combat could last awhile with the hit locations and armour to go through. Combat is a hit location with armour on top of it. An attack has to make it through all armour points then it starts eating away at your life points. You can do called shots though.
Cons.
There are no chapter designations. Meaning when I go to the chapter on outfitting your character it says just that, outfitting your character. The TOC lists Chp. 9 as the outfitting chapter but it doesn't say that when you actually get there. I know, small, nitpicky, but it was something I noticed.
The Karthmarch and Octmarc axes are about as bad as the orc double axe and dire flail in D&D. I happen to not like either.
There are very few low level Divine and Nature magic spells. Lots of arcane but one or two for the stepchildren.
For a book that mentions raider centaurs and werewolves several times they don't make an appearance in the bestiary section of the book. Perhaps there will be a further supplement down the road.
Done with pros, neutrals, and cons now.
A little needs to be said on magic. There are spells and how many your brain can hold a day. You can cast any combination of spells in your memory matrix until your mana runs out. Say you can have nine spells in your memory matrix. Unless I'm wrong you could have nine difficulty level 20 spells there. The spell list is small but there is spell creation guidelines given.
There's also a nifty little section on making magic items. I do hope that is expanded on later.
My review for Veto Syzol's Legendaria Geographica will be short but sweet. A 95 page pricy ($24.95) guide to Ramlar. This book is just fluff. Not a single stat anywhere. I love it.
I've rambled enough. But my opinion is to give Chronicles of Ramlar a try if you like fantasy, standard races, and both types (roll & role) of playing. My group and I are going to roll up characters and see what this baby can do.
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