In Short
This rules light high fantasy game takes full advantage of the PDQ system originally found in such games as Truth & Justice and Zorcerer of Zo. With simple player defined Qualities, a flavorful magic system, and all the trappings one would expect from a classic fantasy game Questers of the Middle Realms offers players the perfect collection of options for sword and sorcery adventure with a minimum of fuss.
The Good: If you haven’t been exposed to it already, PDQ is a fantastic system. What makes your character special is put front and center, whether it’s their combat ability, social status, beliefs, or something else altogether. The monster stats, magic options, example characters, and other support material makes it much easier to understand and tweak PDQ as you like while reducing game prep to almost no effort.
The Bad: Questers was written to be both classic high fantasy and humorous fantasy at the same time, and I don’t think it succeeds at either because of this. Monsters like the Were-Platypus are humorous to read, but unlikely to be introduced into a game. That some parts, such as the magic discussion, are clearly serious while others comical leads me to believe the author was fearful of having the product labeled a “fantasy heartbreaker.” The stock setting and material is bland.
The Physical Thing
This 70 page black and white softcover showcases above average production values for its $16.50 price tag. The formatting is easy to read, I found zero editing mistakes, and the artwork is frequent if a little plain. The formatting doesn’t have the polish of some other books, being a pretty simple affair, but it does make the book easy to work with.
My only complaint, and it’s a strange one, is with the art on the races page. Next to the discussion of Elves is a picture of an Owlbear, and next to the discussion on Dwarves is a picture of a Gnoll in shorts. It’s just weird, though I did get a good laugh out of it.
The Ideas
If you have ever had any exposure to the fantasy genre then Questers will be immediately recognizable as having the sort of stock fantasy elements you would expect. The product really isn’t about the very light, bland setting but is about a rules system that enables you to run fantasy games with PDQ. If you have ever wished there was a good resource for running fantasy games with a minimum of GM prep and maximum of player character definition (the characters are what the players want them to be) then Questers seeks to deliver.
Under the Cover
Rules
At its core the system here is very simple and easy to work with. Just roll 2d6 and add modifiers. Either you’re trying to hit a set difficulty number set by the GM (typically between 5 and 13) or you’re rolling against an adversary. High rolls are good, and by beating another character at a roll you harm them in an amount equal to the difference of the rolls. So if you get a 15 and your opponent gets a 10 they’ll take 5 levels, or Ranks, of damage.
With the basics of the system out of the way, let’s build a character!
Example:
I want to build Heshreth, an Orcish Light Wizard who hides his gift for magic with flashy gimmicks and subtle tricks. I imagine that he grew up with other orcs and, after his parents were slain by an evil wizard, wanted to learn the all powerful force of magic. Without a real teacher he only learned sleight of hand for years until, through impressive trickery, he managed to become apprenticed to a Thaumaturge.
Questers makes use of Qualities where other games have attributes and skills, and it works quite well. Players create their own Qualities for their character, with some guidance from the GM to make sure the Qualities aren’t too broad or narrow. For some games Trap Disarming might be just right, while others will allow the Thief Quality to cover that and dozens of other things.
For character creation players choose a Race, a Virtue, a Vice, a Homeland, an Organization, 5 Quality Ranks, and a Weakness. Race, Homeland, and Organization are treated as Qualities in their own right and start out at Good +2 (Qualities come in values of 2 and range from Poor -2 to Master +6), though Race is special because it’s also a Weakness at Poor -2 depending on the situation. Sometimes, for Orcs, it’s not easy being green…
Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and Hoblings round out the Races section. Each one comes with a variety of advantages and disadvantages that can come up during play. While they largely correspond to the classic stereotypes, there are some noteworthy differences. Elves are Immortal, not just in lifespan but in ability to regenerate from death. Dwarves are sculpted from the Earth instead of born, and Hoblings are rat people who unfortunately taste like chicken.
Example:
Since Heshreth is an Orc I have the Qualities Orc +2 and Orc -2, and they’ll come in under different circumstances. I note that the positive aspect of Orc includes Brawn, Keen Senses, and Survival skills. On the downside Orcs are Ignorant, Uncouth, and Vulnerable to Sensory Overload. Hmm, I should consider taking a Quality to make it clear that Heshreth isn’t an average Orc.
Virtue and Vice are used to acquire Fortune Points, which are in turn used for rerolls and bonuses. By roleplaying in accordance with the characters Virtue and Vice the player will see real mechanical benefits, at least so long as the GM is paying attention.
Example:
Heshreth, because of his tragic past, believes in non-violent solutions to problems whenever possible. I decide a good Virtue for him is Compassion – he really feels for other living beings. On the other hand, his entire youth was spent pretending to practice magic around his tribe so Deception comes naturally to him. I write that down as his Vice.
A Homeland Quality encourages the player to have and actively make use of ties to their home. This is a wonderful addition sorely lacking in many other games, and encourages players to take an active interest in where their character is from and what’s waiting for them back at home.
Example:
Scata, a North Eastern realm of dark forests and bogs, was home to my character and his tribe. I can use my Scata +2 Quality for knowledge of the area, the customs of the people who dwell there, or perhaps even the best way to slay creatures of dark and foul magic – particularly common to Scata.
Example:
The Phlogistonic Symposium is an island college specializing in Thaumaturgy and a great choice for Heshreth. It’s remote and those that attend are there to learn magic, so he’s unlikely to encounter the sorts of cultural problems he would in the middle of civilization. On the downside he’ll have to go there to study magic if I want to advance his magical arts, so the game will need a good bit of downtime every so often.
As mentioned above, Qualities are player defined (with GM input) so there’s no firm list of what’s available. This is really great in two ways. First, it resolves the balance problems that exist in many systems. Most characters are pretty close together in capability. Second, it lets the player have exactly the character they want. Unlike other versions of PDQ, Questers puts a limit on trained Qualities at character creation. The game reasons that most characters are just starting out in the world and don’t have extensive training. Thus, no Quality that requires training can be higher than Good +2 at character creation.
In addition to normal Qualities, some supernatural Qualities are Arcane Qualities. This could reflect spellcasting, a dragon’s fire breath, or anything else. These Qualities are marked with a star (*) and may have special rules applied to them (such is the case with Thaumaturgy, presented later in the book). Arcane Qualities cost an extra Quality Rank to buy, so the first one just gets you in the door.
Example:
Heshreth is skilled in Light Magic which includes illusions, light blasts, and similar powers. This is definitely an Arcane Quality so spending a Quality Rank on it lets me start with Light Magic +0 – basically I’m just buying the ability to use this magic. I take another Quality, Mundane Magic +2, to reflect Heshreth’s abilities with sleight of hand, smoke, and other tricks. Sometimes he might even use those abilities with his real magic in order to get an edge on other magic users! Since these are Qualities that require extensive training I can’t spend more than the one rank on them at character creation, though my GM could waive this.
Since he was in more than a few brawls growing up I assign Heshreth Brawling +2. Even among Orcs he’s huge, so I assign Hulking Might +2. For my last Quality Rank I buy I Am Not A Monster +2 to reflect how different he is from other Orcs. For Heshreth’s Weakness I choose Afraid Of The Dark -2 on a whim, a nice complement to his Light magic.
My final character looks like this:
Heshreth, Orcish Light Wizard
Virtue: Compassion Vice: Deception.
Light Magic* +0, Mundane Magic +2, Brawling +2, Hulking Might +2, I Am Not A Monster +2, Orc +2, Scata +2, Orc -2, Afraid Of The Dark -2.
Conflicts are resolved in Questers either through straight rolling to beat a target number or opposed rolls, as mentioned above. Fortune points are spent for simple bonuses and excellent play description may also incur a bonus. During a conflict where characters are opposing one another, such as combat or a political debate, the opposed rolls will result in either Failure Ranks or Damage Ranks applied to the loser equal to the difference. These Ranks directly reduce one or more Qualities until they become Poor -2. The difference between the two is that Failure Ranks heal after the conflict is over while Damage Ranks may linger. Once all of a character’s Qualities are reduced to Poor -2 and a single additional Damage or Failure Rank is applied the character Zeroes Out – they’re not dead, but they have definitely lost this conflict.
Example:
Heshreth is defending a tavernkeeper from an evil Dark Elf. He attacks the Dark Elf with his mighty fist. Brawling is appropriate here, but so is Hulking Might. As it happens, Orcs are taught to fight Elves from an early age so even the Orc Quality is appropriate. When multiple Qualities all apply they stack, giving Heshreth a base value of 2d6+6 here to pummel the Elf. Assuming the player is being lazy (so no bonus for description) and isn’t spending Fortune points then no additional modifiers apply. As it happens the Elf has Elf (Elves are trained to fight Orcs) +2 and Quick On His Feet +2 for a total of 2d6 + 4. I roll an 8 on the dice for a total of a 14, while the Dark Elf ends up with a total of 9. Heshreth inflicts 5 damage Ranks on the Dark Elf. If the only Qualities the Dark Elf had were Elf and Quick On His Feet then he’s in trouble – Quick will go from +2 to 0 to -2 to absorb 2 of the ranks and Elf will do the same. With 1 Rank left and all his Qualities at Poor -2 the Elf Zeroes. The Dark Elf is in bad shape, laid out on the floor after a single might blow from Heshreth!
When a player first assigns a Damage or Failure Rank a Story Hook based on the Quality that Rank is assigned to may be generated at the GM’s discretion. The general idea here is that the player will decrease the Quality they value least – either it has been getting less attention, seems less useful, or just isn’t appropriate here. By spinning a Story Hook off of this the GM can constantly make all of the character’s Qualities worthwhile. That’s a pretty awesome mechanic, especially for GMs that have trouble making sure every player is involved in the narrative.
The other rules here are all about as simple. Often the GM will run multiple adversaries, especially if they’re “henchmen” or “minions”, as a single entity – possibly even giving them a Quality like Strength in Numbers +4. Equipment can provide temporary bonuses, allow the character to do something he couldn’t otherwise do, or just be window dressing. Initiative, ‘leveling up’, and other general information is all included.
Where Questers is really breaking the PDQ mold, however, is in the introduction of three new approaches to Magic. Magic generally is much more clearly defined here than in some other versions of PDQ, with the potential magical effects clearly defined by a table based on the character’s competency. Magic also fatigues or otherwise penalizes a character for its use. I don’t care for this personally, as I believe the Qualities are just a measure of that one thing’s effectiveness and that the player has already paid for the flexibility by giving up another rank, but those who want stronger guidelines for magic will be pleased.
Divine magic involves worshipping a deity, be it one of the setting gods or something else. It comes along with a pool of points called Favor. Characters gain Favor by following the dictates of their god and being a good priest. They lose Favor through spell casting (giving up Favor to cast magic) and through doing things that conflict with their god’s desires.
Thaumaturgy requires physical items that relate to the ultimate goal of the magic in order for spells to be cast. Thaumaturges, the closest the book offers to classic hermetic mages, also suffer Wild Magic problems when the dice roll snake eyes. Mysticism is also included, but it’s less of an approach to magic and more of a justification for extraordinary powers like super strength or leaping. A brief discussion of magic items rounds out the mechanical portion of the product.
Setting
13 pages of generic fantasy setting are included with Questers. It’s unlikely that you’ll end up using this setting. There’s nothing new or compelling here, and there are a lot of other resources to draw on. Nevertheless, if you want a skeletal setting so you can get down to roleplaying without worrying about all the details then this is a fine choice. A selection of gods, locations, and organizations are included to get you started and they’re fairly comprehensive, offering something to fill all the classic roles
However, the 10 pages of example characters and creatures will be valuable to just about everyone. The characters show off how to make your own and can serve as instant NPCs while the creatures cover all the basics without you needing to build your own. My only complaint here is the humorous spin given to some creatures. The Were-Platypus probably won’t see use in many games and the space would have been better used for the classic Werewolf.
Game Master’s Notes
The GM tips here are good but pretty straightforward – if you’ve read an RPG before you’ve probably seen advice like this. A very short, simple included adventure shows off how to use traps and other elements of fantasy adventures to good effect and I’m glad it’s here. All the useful tables are reprinted for ease of reference, which is very convenient.
My Take
Questers presents a fine interpretation of PDQ for anyone wanting to run a classic quasi-medieval fantasy game. If you’re playing D&D but want a change of system this is a good option. Unfortunately, I just can’t get excited about this game. I’ve already been exposed to PDQ, and the biggest change here is a magic system that doesn’t work well for me (not that it’s mechanically flawed, just not my preference). The setting is extremely vanilla – so much so I’ll have forgotten the whole thing tomorrow. I know it’s meant to be, so that it’s easily identifiable and can run a lot of games, but given the few number of pages devoted to it I don’t see it benefiting many consumers. The humor elements just don’t work for me and result in wasted space.
If you’ve never been exposed to PDQ and want a rules light approach to fantasy roleplaying then I highly recommend Questers. If, however, you already own PDQ in one of its incarnations and aren’t particularly interested in fantasy then give this one a pass.
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