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By MICHAEL ERB www.newsandsentinel.com
PARKERSBURG — In the Free City of Cadwallon, fortunes are made, lives are lost and history plays out among the masses.
‘‘Cadwallon: The Free City’’ players handbook is an introduction to roleplaying in Rackham’s world of Confrontation, a world torn apart by war and supernatural forces. The city of Cadwallon, Jewel of Lanever, becomes a haven for those seeking to escape the war, but also a place of strife and intrigue.
In the game, players have been tasked as members of the Free League, a militia of sorts whose job it is to protect the city and its people... often from themselves. Players can choose a race — Human, Goblin, Orc, Elf, Ogre, Dwarf and the dog-like Wolfen. Characters also take on different professions, which give them different skill sets and in some cases access to spells or spell-like abilities.
My favorite part of the game, though, is the use of Attitudes. A character’s Attitude reflects both their outlook on life and their abilities, influencing both how they act and the profession they are apt to pursue. A character with a high Pugnacity is a bit of a brawler, and more likely to think with his fists than his head. A character dominant in Sleight would instead work better from the shadows and use superior skill to outmatch an opponent.
There are also dominant attitudes for different areas of the city, so someone who has a high Discipline rating might do well in the more militaristic areas of town. It is a neat twist on the traditional strength, dexterity, intelligence and charisma attributes most games favor.
The book devotes a lot of space to describing each of the city sectors. Because of this, Cadwallon feels like a living city with a long and storied history, and it has all of the challenges a place of refuge would face. Racial tension, disease, sanitation, politics and dangers from outside the city walls challenge Cadwallon every day.
Add in the magical nature of the setting, and you have problems with alchemical potions fouling the drinking water, spells gone awry, the dead rising to walk again and a host of baddies literally crawling out of the sewers.
There are tons of story hooks throughout the description of the city, and the book even goes so far as to give players special colloquial phrases or words for each major section, which again adds immensely to the flavor of the setting.
Cadwallon is a beautiful and brutal setting. The artwork is excellent, a combination of lithographic-like sketches, beautifully painted illustrations and photographs of painted Rackham miniatures. It is definitely intended for a more adult audience, with some fairly graphic depictions of violence. Still, every bit of artwork seems to fit with the setting and the overall theme of the book, and it is one of the most painstakingly and beautifully illustrated roleplaying books I have seen in a long time.
Rackham is a French company, and the game has been translated into English. As a result, some portions of the book may take a few readings to understand. The translation isn’t bad, but there are places where it is obvious the author and translator struggled to convey the meaning of a sentence, rather than just the words. It is more of an annoyance than anything, and certainly doesn’t detract from the fun of the game itself.
You do not need to be familiar with Rackham’s miniatures games to play ‘‘Cadwallon.’’ In fact, you don’t even need miniatures to play the game. But the more familiar you are with the setting and Rackham’s other games, the more you will get out of the player’s handbook. And since ‘‘Cadwallon’’ is a ‘‘tactical roleplaying game’’ the more you use miniatures, the more the rules work together and make sense. Even using chits or cardboard characters will allow you to maximize your character’s options when it comes to combat, so long as you have a general idea of where your character is facing and what their basic size would be.
This isn’t a game for the novice player. If you are looking for an introduction to roleplaying games, you would be better off starting with something more simple. However, if you are looking for an interesting setting with a dark, brooding theme that uses miniatures, ‘‘Cadwallon’’ would be an excellent choice. The setting also could be adapted to other game systems if desired, though I would recommend you check out the game’s use of Attitudes, which I found to be a lot of fun.
Along with the players handbook, Rackham also puts out a series of Reversible Gaming Tiles, large cardboard maps that are grided for use with miniatures. The tiles can be flipped to show different locations or the same location but during the day or night. The cool thing about the tiles is they depict actual sections of Cadwallon, places either in the city or below the city your characters can explore.
They have both inside illustrations for buildings and rooftop illustrations, so your characters can brawl in the local tavern or swordfight across rooftops. Many of the tiles also can be combined to form even larger maps for bigger battles or more complex areas to explore. If you are planning to play ‘‘Cadwallon,’’ or any miniatures game, the gaming tiles are a great investment and one I would happily recommend.
For more information on ‘‘Cadwallon,’’ the Reversible Gaming Tiles, or any of Rackham’s games or products, visit www.rackham.com. For more game reviews and discussion, visit my Web log at http://merb101.livejournal.com.
Contact Michael Erb at merb101@gmail.com.
