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In Short

This is not a game for everyone. For many people this game is going to be too depressing. Humans (even the supernatural) turn against the character at every turn, nature fears and rejects the Promethean, and anywhere the Promethean stays becomes a desolate Wasteland. The character will develop mental derangements during the course of play, create another lonely monster in the quest for Humanity, and even at the end of the long road may fail to become human. If you enjoy playing action and adventure games, where the heroes battle the forces of evil and ultimately save the day, then this one might be worth a pass.

However, for those who are interested in a thought provoking examination of the good and bad of human life this could be a wonderful game. It serves as an excellent vehicle to pose questions like “What is the nature of morality?”, “What does it mean to be human?”, and “What would you do for acceptance?” A narrowly focused game, Promethean is meant to tell a certain sort of tragic tale and the mechanics reflect this at every turn.

The Physical Thing

The World of Darkness rulebook is required to play Promethean.

The Ideas

A newly created Promethean emerges with some knowledge and skills from the body parts it now possesses. Whether with a mentor (rare) or alone, the new Promethean has little choice but to head out into the world and realize a monstrous existence. Prometheans who remain in one place corrupt the land for miles around them, causing massive destruction and ultimately making the area completely inhabitable for all living things.

Prometheans, by their very existence, are the antithesis of all things natural. Living things can detect this on a fundamental level, reacting to a game concept called Disquiet. A Promethean’s Disquiet (unnatural aura) often extends far ahead of them, and quickly turns humans and other sapient creatures against them. Disquiet warps human perceptions and always results in tragedy, forcing a Promethean to always be on the move and to generally shun humanity.

A variety of different themes and campaigns can be played out with Promethean, but all of them will involve the quest for Humanity. Storytellers invent goals that the Promethean character has to meet in order to become human, the number of which is based on the campaign length. Failing one or two of these goals wont be enough to deny the Promethean humanity, but repeated failure will result in a Promethean who can never become human. In the best of circumstances this involves the Storyteller accurately presenting challenges for individual Prometheans that result in their learning life lessons. In the worst the characters are failing arbitrary goals the players were never aware of. I recommend playing Promethean only under a Storyteller you really trust.

Under the Cover

Introduction 10 pages.

This is a general discussion of Promethean, including inspirational media and an overview of the product. I find some of the choices to be a little strange. Terminator for example really isn’t about a creature striving to be human, unlike Terminator 2 which still only narrowly fits the idea. The themes for Promethean are discussed and a general lexicon of terms is provided.

As an aside, there are two works in particular that I thought of while reading the book. Buffy: The Vampire Slayer has a few episodes that do a good job of touching on some of Promethean’s themes, especially the Season 2 episode Some Assembly Required. As strange as it sounds, the Homunculi of Full Metal Alchemist are also very similar to Prometheans in that they are creatures made through alchemy striving to become human through a long quest for alchemical secrets.

Chapter 1 Setting 50 pages.

This chapter introduces all of the major concepts of the product, from different types of Prometheans to the alchemical symbols they use to leave messages for one another. For the sake of brevity I will discuss many of these concepts in other parts of the review. Suffice it to say that quite a bit of thought has been put into presenting the different types of Prometheans.

All Prometheans belong to one of five Lineages. The Wretched correspond to Frankenstein’s Monster. They’re created through fire (typically electricity) from the body parts of a variety of people and are often the lumbering, angry creatures the reader would imagine. The Muses correspond to Galatea, a beautiful woman created in Pygmalion’s story. Muses are created through air (the spoken word is used to create them) from the body parts of various beautiful people and are creatures of striking looks and passion.

The Nepri correspond to the myth of Osiris being given new life by Isis. Nepri are created through water from the body parts of a single individual and are naturally cold (emotionally) and inquisitive. The Tammuz originate in Babylonian mythology from a god of vegetation who was reborn from the earth. Tammuz are created through earth from the body parts of a single individual and are steadfast and withdrawn. Finally, Ulgan correspond to shaman legend. They’re created when the body is rent asunder and the spirit infused from the spirit realm. Ulgan are creatures of instinct who are also deeply in touch with the spirit realm.

All Prometheans exude Disquiet, an aura of wrongness that causes both the natural and supernatural world to constantly turn against them. All Prometheans also suffer Torment, extreme emotional reactions to those who oppose them due to Disquiet. A mob which has decided it hates “that strange girl” likely was formed due to Disquiet making the local populace nervous about the Promethean. When they confront the Promethean that Promethean will suffer from Torment.

Prometheans are creatures of magical alchemy, which appears frequently in the book. Every Lineage (type of Promethean) has a specific Element, Organ, Humour, and Bodily Fluid that corresponds to it. These alchemical concepts are frequently incorporated into the Promethean mythology and setting.

The divine fire that animates a Promethean and generally represents constructive good is called Azoth. Every day, and under a few special circumstances, a Promethean generates Pyros which it uses to fuel its supernatural abilities called Transmutations. Many Prometheans seek one another out and alchemically bond together into a Throng, which gives them bonuses and penalties depending on their makeup. Finally, all Prometheans follow a Refinement which is a particular philosophy. As with other White Wolf games, there are five intrinsic choices in character creation (Lineage) and five philosophical choices (Refinements).

The Aurum are also known as Mimics. They want to integrate with and understand humanity as much as possible. The Cuprum are also known as Pariahs. They seek balance between themselves and the world around them, searching for a low-resistance way to move through existence. The Ferrum are also known as Titans. They wish to perfect their bodies in order to become something greater. The Mercurius are also known as Ophidians. They wish to understand the alchemical magic that creates and drives a Promethean. Finally, the Stannum or Furies embrace their Torment and lash out destructively against the world.

Every Refinement reflects a different philosophy and also enables a Promethean to purchase certain Transmutations (powers) at a reduced cost. A Promethean can change refinements at will, but doing so takes a month of contemplation. The exception is any Promethean progressing to Stannum, for all Prometheans may easily give in to Torment and fight against the world.

This chapter also discusses Promethean culture and traditions, all of which highlights their status as lonely wanderers who cannot have a place in life. Some elements of American Hobo culture are present, such as in the alchemical symbols Prometheans leave for one another designating an area “safe” or “filled with Pandorans.” The Pandorans are the badguys, more on them later.

Chapter 2 Characters 78 pages.

As with other World of Darkness games, character creation begins by creating a normal mortal using the World of Darkness rules. In some cases this may not seem entirely intuitive, as the Promethean may be created from parts of many mortals or from a single mortal and has no memories of that life. Prometheans, after all, are not resurrected mortals. They’re soulless abominations that exist outside of everything natural. Building a mortal really represents skills possessed by the various body parts in addition to skills the alchemical creation could have infused in the Promethean (such as regional language skills).

The only mortal stat that changes in Promethean is Morality which changes to Humanity. Other than the name change which reflects that the Promethean is not human but measures himself by human values, the stat works in exactly the same way except the number of dice rolled is a little different (between 2 and 5 instead of 1 – 10). New Merits are also included to choose from. Residual Memory, for example, allows a Promethean to call on memories belonging to his body parts. The Lair Merit gives the Promethean a secure place to retreat to. Considering how Disquiet and Wastelands work and that the Promethean is usually on the move Lair seems like a strange option.

Once the mortal is created players apply the Promethean template. First they select a Lineage, the sort of created being they want to portray. The Lineage determines their starting Bestownment (a special power of each Lineage that may be learned by others at high cost), how they create other Prometheans (by speaking alchemical words, electrifying them, etc.), and the sorts of problems they suffer from Torment.

Frankenstein – The Wretched are born of fire, suffer a vengeance streak, and gain Unholy Strength which allows them to greatly increase their strength score for non-combat effects. As an aside, that they can’t use it to hit someone but can use it to throw an iron gate feels very artificial to me.

Galatea – Muses are born of air, suffer obsessive passions, and gain Mesmerizing Appearance which represents their powerful unearthly beauty.

Osiris – Nepri are born of water, suffer extreme melancholy, and gain Revivification which allows them to return to life automatically one time. I was a little disappointed in their ability actually, as it only works once (though it can be used on others) and all Prometheans can return themselves to life once or twice anyway.

Tammuz – Golems are born of earth, suffer rage followed by extreme passivity, and gain Unholy Stamina which effectively doubles their Stamina.

Ulgan – The Riven are born of spirit, suffer beastial tendencies, and gain Ephemeral Flesh which allows them to perceive and interact with the spirit world.

Next the player chooses a Refinement, the philosophical perspective that the Promethean begins with. Refinements may be easily changed during play and offer two major mechanical benefits. First, a Refinement makes its corresponding Transmutations (powers) cheaper to buy with XP. A starting Promethean gets three dots (ranks, levels) worth of Transmutations and must spend one of those dots on a Refinement Transmutation. Second, when a Promethean enters into a Throng (group pact) the combination of Refinements may offer benefits or penalties.

Aurum – Gold gives Deception and Mesmerism so as to make it easier for the Promethean to pass as human.

Cuprum – Copper gives Metamorphosis and Sensorium, reflecting the Promethean’s further understanding of their place in the greater world.

Ferrum – Iron gives Corporeum and Vitality, reflecting the Promethean’s focus on her own body.

Mercurius – Quicksilver gives Alchemicus and Vulcanus, reflecting the Promethean’s greater understanding of the nature of alchemy and Azoth.

Stannum – Tin gives Disquietism and Electrification, reflecting the Promethean’s drive to obtain revenge against the world that constantly shuns her.

Transmutations represent a Promethean’s ability to control Azoth, the Divine Fire that animates them, by using up Pyros – an alchemical substance that their bodies generate every dawn and at certain other times. Azoth is the “power stat” of this game in effect, like Blood Potency in Vampire or Primal Urge in Werewolf. Pyros is the pool of energy spent on powers, like Vitae in Vampire or Essence in Werewolf. In general Prometheans can not use their special powers as often as many other supernaturals.

Alchemicus is used to identify and change material objects.

Corporeum is used to alter the Promethean’s body, such as by healing wounds.

Deception is used to, well, deceive through changes to the Promethean’s appearance.

Disquietism manipulates Disquiet, typically either suppressing the effects of Disquiet or greatly magnifying them so as to invoke fear.

Electrification is used to power electrical objects and throw bolts of electricity.

Mesmerism alters the minds of others, such as by making them believe the Promethean is someone else.

Metamorphosis is used to transform the body into unnatural shapes (unlike Corporeum) such as by growing claws.

Sensorium invokes clairvoyance and aura reading.

Vitality gives the Promethean the power of incredible feats of strength.

Vulcanus allows a Promethean to detect and manipulate Pyros.

Normally Pyros hides the unnatural aspect of a Promethean, making sutures and bolted on steel plates unnoticed. The Promethean looks odd, but onlookers can’t figure out why. When a Promethean uses its Transmutations the inhuman nature of the Promethean is revealed to all witnesses.

Chapter 3 The Promethean Condition 30 pages.

This chapter breaks down the major advantages and disadvantages to being a Promethean.

Prometheans gain many advantages, including being extremely tough. They can not be knocked unconscious, are only “killed” when their health bar is completely full of aggravated damage, can return from death at least once (it is a cumulative cost in Azoth dots), are largely immune to poison and disease, can consume anything organic for sustenance, and only need to sleep 4 hours for every 48 hours of activity. Additionally, Prometheans are healed (quickly healed) by electricity (it stokes the Divine Fire) and can use Pyros to boost their stats beyond human maximums for single turns. Finally, they can form an alchemical pact with other Prometheans called a Throng.

A Throng allows the Prometheans to freely transfer Pyros to one another, gives them a bonus to using Transmutations for every member of a Refinement that gives that Transmutation (so two Cuprum in a group get a bonus to Sensorium), makes it harder for humans to be affected by Disquiet (every Promethean of a different Refinement in the group removes 1 die from the Disquiet roll), and generally provides trusted companionship. On the downside, lots of Prometheans of the same Refinement tend to make Disquiet worse so Prometheans tend to band together with philosophically different Prometheans.

Unfortunately, the disadvantages Prometheans suffer are far worse than the advantages they gain from their condition. Disquiet, Torment, and the formation of Wastelands force Prometheans to be eternal wanderers.

Every time a Promethean interacts with a human in any way other than walking past, never to return, the Promethean rolls his Azoth and the human rolls her Resolve + Composure. Success allows her to tolerate his presence, though she may find him quite odd and feel generally ill at ease. Failure inflicts one of the four stages of Disquiet on the human. It starts with dreams, then waking fantasies, impulsive acts, and finally full scale obsession with the Promethean. Every Promethean provokes a different sort of disquiet, from humans who want to destroy the Promethean to those that must sexually possess the Promethean.

It is likely that Disquiet will build gradually. The Promethean isn’t going to be chased out of town by a torch bearing mob the first night, but just interacting with people in town for a few days will likely result in serious problems for the Promethean. Disquiet is contagious, and once one human becomes afflicted they can spread it to others through whispers and rumors. To combat this many Prometheans will exist on the edge of town, only going in once every few weeks or months. Even then Disquiet still results in animals running from the Promethean in fear.

When a Promethean encounters humans who are acting due to Disquiet, or where the Promethean believes they are acting due to Disquiet (the perception is enough, Empathy roll to determine) the Promethean suffers from Torment. Torment takes different forms depending on the Lineage of the Promethean but usually involves extreme emotional reactions and destructive rages. The Torment lasts until the Promethean is no longer around humans suffering from Disquiet.

Wastelands are without a doubt even worse than Disquiet and Torment. Those can be somewhat mitigated by forming diverse Throngs, only occasionally interacting with humanity, and generally taking a few other precautions. To put it very simply, when a Promethean stays in one area (within a one mile radius) for more than 24 hours a Wasteland begins to form for miles around the Promethean. The Wasteland is a little different for each type, corresponding to the element of the Promethean’s Lineage, and goes from Level 1 (minor) to Level 4 (completely unnatural horror filled environment).

Going from Level 1 to Level 4 will take months (typically 3 months) and even after that time only the central area will initially be at Level 4. The mechanic forces Prometheans to either continually wander or to largely destroy the world around them. Level 4 Wastelands are nasty, reflecting environments where no one can discern buildings and direction (air) to areas where huge rifts in reality form that allow spirits to cross over (or abduct people). Depending on the Promethean’s movements the Wasteland can continue to spread even further.

Wastelands give Prometheans benefits and penalties. On the one hand, a Promethean can spend time in a Wasteland to lower her Azoth (Divine Fire). As with other World of Darkness games, the primary supernatural stat here both helps and hinders the Promethean so it could be a good idea to lower it (and doing so is required in some instances). Wastelands are also one of several ways Prometheans may acquire Deragements (mental disorders) in addition to all the usual ways humans get them.

This chapter concludes with a discussion of how a Promethean creates another Promethean. It is a horrific requirement, but all Prometheans are required to make another before they can become Human. The book treats it as a law of the universe, though the “Why?” part is unexplained. At least the requirement explains why Prometheans still wander the Earth. A roll is made with many negative modifiers, but the player can spend a special type of XP called Vitriol (more on it below) on the roll to increase their chances. Should the Promethean fail they create Pandorans, horrible monsters that want to consume Azoth (and so eat Prometheans alive). Considering how important the creation is, the time required to assemble the body parts, and the horrors associated with failure I suspect most if not all players will just dump 6-10 XP on the roll to guarantee a success.

Chapter 4 Storytelling and Antagonists 70 pages.

This chapter kicks off with a special system used in Promethean called the Milestone system. After players create their characters, do their Preludes, and communicate what their character is about to the Storyteller then the Storyteller has some work to do. The Storyteller generates somewhere between 0.7 and 1 Milestones per session she expects the campaign to run. So an 8 session campaign has around 5-8 Milestones per character and likely involves one or more Milestones every session.

Milestones are big events in the life of a Promethean that represent the Promethean becoming more Human. Learning to love another, learning to murder, sacrifice, and other concepts are all appropriate. Often the Milestone is specific and the opportunity to fulfill it only presented once in a game. The Storyteller generates a bunch of Milestones for each character but does not let the players know what they are. During play the Storyteller will present situations where the Promethean has the opportunity to realize a Milestone. Where the Promethean succeeds they get special bonus XP that can be used only for Promethean abilities, called Vitriol. Where the Promethean fails they have to complete around 3-5 additional Milestones to make up for it. Where they fail more than once or twice the Promethean will never become human.

I really dislike this mechanic. It is already difficult for many Storytellers to know what their players want out of a game, and even the players are often unsure of how they intend for their characters to act as the game progresses. To have the Storyteller create “goals” for the Promethean, which seem arbitrary to me to say the least, and then reward/punish characters for meeting those hidden goals doesn’t seem like a lot of fun. Were I to run the game I would work with players to create Milestones together, that way we both know how the character will involve and what sorts of experiences interest us.

The actual mechanics for becoming a human are presented, and they’re harsh. After a long progress of meeting Milestones (all or almost all of them), creating another Promethean, and suffering the horrors of Disquiet, Torment, and Wastelands (not to mention the mental illness and horrific experiences apart from these) the Prometheans player makes a dice roll. Success means the character becomes a human, failure means they must complete more Milestones, lower their Azoth in a Wasteland, and raise their Azoth back to where it was to try again.

The system for becoming human goes on for several pages, with special rolls to see if a Promethean who becomes human remembers their Promethean existence and retains any special powers because of it. The mechanics are generally simple, though to have a character’s journey through existence culminate with this focal event and then bring everything down to a few rolls of the dice seems unsatisfying to me.

The big problem at this stage is what to do next. If half the players Prometheans become human (highly unlikely) what do the players do? Do they create new characters and join the others in a Throng that continues onward? How long does the game get played? What about the Prometheans that can never become human because of failed Milestones? I have difficulty imagining a satisfactory ending for a Promethean campaign, and consider this to be a flaw in the overall structure of the game. It’s tough for some folk to leave a campaign with a beloved character hopelessly wandering, knowing only pain and loneliness until Final Death.

Several ideas for Promethean campaigns are presented next, from themes to explore to example campaign ideas. I consider most of these to be middling in quality, but have a gripe with one in particular which involves the Prometheans being a major part of a city. A city based Promethean game doesn’t gel well with Disquiet and Wastelands, so unless the characters are living in the sewers (constantly moving through them to prevent Wasteland formation) and rarely coming into contact with humanity it may be difficult to sustain. Promethean is meant to tell tales of the wandering philosopher who studies humanity from a distance.

This chapter also suggests small groups (around 3 players) to cut down on the amount of work the Storyteller has to do. I don’t see tracking Milestones as being very difficult, requiring no more than a few hours of upfront work and incorporating the elements into the game sessions. Nevertheless, Promethean recommends smaller groups of players to cut down on the amount of work a Storyteller has to do.

Nuclear Prometheans are briefly discussed here and in an earlier part of the book. No mechanics are provided, but several pages of discussion about Prometheans created from irradiated cadavers exposed to a nuclear blast with powers over radiation are presented. The idea is neat, but seems a little out there for this particular game. Promethean is a game that could be run with little to no weirdness, just human interaction, and be very rewarding as a result. Nevertheless, as wanderers who tend to live in all the places humans do not, it’s also a great game for showing off all the weird stuff in the World of Darkness.

The Pandorans receive a lot of discussion, which is appropriate since they are the big bad guys here. When a Promethean fails to create another Promethean Pandorans are created instead. These extremely alien creatures tend to be the size of a hand or human arm, but can combine to become larger. Most of them possess only animal intelligence, but some have real intelligence and cunning. Some rare, monstrous Prometheans embrace Flux (the opposite of Azoth, basically chaos) and learn to use and command the Pandorans.

When Pandorans are away from Prometheans and observed by humans they turn into rocks. When Prometheans draw near (a distance depending on their Azoth stat) the Pandorans animate and seek out the Promethean. Pandorans hunger for Azoth and will attempt to devour the Promethean, stealing his energy to make themselves stronger.

The rest of this chapter provides extensive details on creating Pandorans, buying supernatural powers for them (they have a lot to choose from), and how their inherent special abilities work. They are a good villain, their characteristics can be switched up to keep the players constantly guessing, and they are powerful enough to represent a serious threat without being overwhelming (usually). Several example Pandorans are provided.

Appendix Athanors and the Water of Life 21 pages.

Athanors are special metaphysical containers a Promethean may store Vitriol (special XP from Milestones) in. Vitriol placed in them can be used to raise certain Attributes (normally not an option with Vitriol), provides a special power for the Promethean, and will allow the human the Promethean transforms into later to have a special power. A few other abilities may be derived from Athanors as well.

Athanors are nice because they further distinguish two otherwise similar Prometheans and supply just a bit more philosophical crunch. For those familiar with Vampire or Werewolf, Athanors are the Bloodline/Lodge equivalent for this product.

Water of Life is a short introductory adventure meant to get the PCs together and on their way. It feels a little artificial, but it’s nice to have something present for the Storyteller who needs more ideas as to how the game works.

My Take

On the other hand the world is so overwhelmingly against the Promethean that I find the game to be very depressing and genuinely difficult to play. It’s not for all groups and may be a hard sell for many. More than any other World of Darkness game, characters here feel truly tormented. Many PCs will never become human, which means they will either wander hopelessly for a hundred years (they have a set lifespan) and die or suffer some horrible death earlier in their existence. The mechanics are harsh and turn the whole world against the Promethean at every turn, offering no solace except the hope that they may one day be free of this miserable existence.

Other than my objection to how Milestones were put together, which is a little too reliant on trust in the Storyteller’s judgment to figure out what a character is about, I have no other major objection here. This is an expertly crafted product that does exactly what it sets out to do and no more. Purchasers cannot entertain the wide variety of campaign concepts that Vampire or Werewolf provide without modifying the system a bit, but neither of those games offers what Promethean does – an exploration of what it means to be human, not a monster, and what a being is willing to do to realize a gift the rest of the world takes for granted.

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