Goto [ Index ]

In Short

The Good: The setting has a very unique feel to it and offers a play experience that encourages imaginative roleplay. The supporting fiction is just plain cool and sure to inspire readers. The core book offers plenty of tools and examples to make certain it is all complete in one book.

The Bad: After reading the fiction what I really wanted to play was one of the god-beings, but the game wants me to play a just-starting-out Angelion who doesn't even have a shadow of the power or ability highlighted by the fiction. This left me a little disappointed with the game until I let it sit for a few days, and may disappoint some other readers.

The Physical Thing

The editing, formatting, table of contents, and index all come together to create an easy to read and reference product.

The Ideas

Under the Cover

This wonderful introduction is from the perspective of Lyra Kingsway, one of the humans-become-gods who created the current world. You see, LSoE takes place in the far future of our world. Humanity continues to advance technologically while making war with itself. Eventually one man, perhaps a visionary or a madman, decides to end it. A scientist, he first invented a machine that would deconstruct the brain and transfer the electrical impulses into golden spheres. This Immortality Machine, as it was known, allowed him to turn his family, the Kingsways, into gods. This family then used their new abilities to control politicians, unleash doomsday weapons, and in short order destroy the world.

After the death of humanity and most of the creatures dwelling on Earth they set about their new work. Terraforming machines were constructed, new plants and animals were generated from genetic stockpiles, and eventually new humans were grown and seeded. To these humans the Kingsways were the servants of a true God. They ruled directly at first, and then indirectly in the form of portents and whispered words. For a very, very long time they grew a paradise on Earth.

The Kingsways lived under rules set out by their father, one of which is that they may not love humans. They may care for them, but an actual relationship was out of the question. One Kingsway, Corvus, could not abide by this. He eventually fell in love, nurtured a family, and even set about making his wife an immortal Angelion (at this point many other Angelions existed, in service to one family member or another). His father learned of this and killed his wife, his family, and everything he held dear. Corvus withdrew into himself… and secretly built an army of horror to destroy his father, his family, and this world that they cared so much for. The great war that followed marked an end to this era.

Some Kingsways died. Some went mad, fled, or were imprisoned. By the end Corvus was a clear victor in many respects, and is currently the most powerful of all the family members. His horrific creations and captured Angelions (for when he captures the physical machine that holds the Angelion’s being they have little choice but to serve him) scour the Earth. The only real hope the world holds comes from Lyra Kingsway who, before her tower fell and she was lost, relayed the true history of the world to her Angelions and bid them to flee.

Now, the players take on the role of relatively young Angelions who have just recently seen the horror of this war. They’re on their own, with no one pulling the strings, and have a world in chaos to protect, reshape, or explore as they will.

Chapter 2 Game Mechanics - 21 pages.

LSoE utilizes the Ascent system, which incorporates d6, d10, and d20 dice in a novel way. As with many other systems, characters roll a pool of dice (based on Stat + Mastery + Modifier) against a set goal number. What makes Ascent a little different is that players can upgrade their dice in order to increase their chance of hitting higher target numbers. A few examples: 6d6 can be traded in for a 1d10, 15d6 can be traded in for 10d10, 11d6 can be traded in for 1d20, and 15d6 can be traded in for 5d20.

Rolling more small dice increase your chance of hitting small target numbers, rolling a few higher value dice makes it possible to hit high target numbers. In addition to all of this dice can “spill.” When any die comes up showing its maximum value (such as a 6 on a d6) that player may roll a die of the next higher type for free (which may not spill). So, rolling a bit pool of d6s can still result in hitting goal numbers as high as 8. For every 3 points a character beats a goal number by they may include an additional effect, such as a special combat maneuver or increasing the potency of a created potion.

Speaking of created potions, LSoE provides a good bit of detail into both creating items and building up communities. This is a wonderful touch to the game because in the default setting there’s not a lot of civilization left after the war between the Kingsways. If you enjoy playing artificers, community builders, and creators then the setting and rules support here will work well for you.

Chapter 3 When All Hell Breaks Loose - 49 pages.

Predominantly a combat chapter, here LSoE maintains a formulaic approach that will be instantly familiar to gamers. Roll initiative, make an attack (using opposed rolls), and if that’s successful then determine damage With specific rules for three dimensional combat involving gravitational displacement fields, this is a very detailed and complete combat system that includes stacked armor, weapons ranging from daggers to death rays, and a moderate amount of minutiae that’s generally intuitive

The more interesting part of the chapter for me is information on how the ‘magic’ system works. Magic is, of course, super technology that manipulates gravity and electromagnetism to generate incredible effects. On the one hand, the system is pretty flexible. Charts for size/weight, number of targets, effect tweaks, and similar results allow players to easily create unique effects on the fly. These effects, however, are based on a set list of powers unique to gravity, electromagnetism, and a combination of the two. Gravity, for example, allows for a lot of telekinesis sorts of effects. Electromagnetism encompasses light, so it also handles illusions, lasers, and similar effects. Together the two can wreak an extremely wide range of destruction on the world. The major limiting factor is the power of a given device being employed. Many of the ancient machines that allow for manipulation of these fundamental forces are small and limited in their application.

On the whole I really enjoy the combat and ‘magic’ systems employed here. The combat system is very traditional and a little crunchy, but I find it well-formed and am pleased to see it has a variety of optional rules and the potential to easily be tweaked. I do like that it has at least a moderate level of lethality – appropriate for a game where bodies are a little more like favorite clothes. The magic system, while simple and perhaps a little underdeveloped, is clever and fills my mind with ideas. Just working out ways to manipulate gravity and electromagnetism to do Crazy Thing #7 is fun for me, though I wish there was a superior option for tapping into these forces without relying on artifacts.

Chapter 4 A Legend Is Born - 99 pages.

Character creation is a little clunky. Different archetypes and options can result in a moderate disparity in power level. Not everyone needs to be an Angelion – one of the energy orb beings – but for the life of me I don’t know why not. Playing a monster or a robot (two other options) could be fun, but the game is really setup to span a long period of time and encourages game play in such a way that being an Angelion seems like a natural choice. I would have some reservations about even allowing the other options in a game I ran, especially since it’s entirely possible for an Angelion to have a special body genetically engineered.

The character archetypes include:

Dagonheir - Angelions who have retained their faith in God and hunt down unbelievers. Powerful leader/warrior.

Syba - An Angelion who has rediscovered his human desires and now rules over a community. Schemer/sinner.

Phantoma - Wandering Angelions on personal quests to find themselves. Loner/monk.

Fell Prince - Angelions who serve the evil Lord Ravencross and set about hunting their kin and subjugating the world around them. Tormented hero / bad guy.

Archfiend - Genetically engineered beasts and monstrosities.

Rogue Golem - Wandering AI in robotic shells.

Awakened - Basically a ‘heroic mortal.’ A human generally aware of the lies of his existence. Mortals are also an option for those that desire it.

Each option includes a large pool of points (between 500 and 100) that can be spent on specific abilities unique to that option.

Example: I want to build a merchant prince. Someone who, with nothing but their wits and tongue, can build a fortune out of a single coin in a week’s time. Because of that I choose Syba – one of the 500 point Angelion options and the one most focused on wealth.

After choosing character type players are asked to purchase Mental Attributes for their character. Intelligence, Temperance, and Presence, for Angelions, all tend to be much higher than human average. No doubt this is due to their minds being electronic now. Physical Attributes are, of course, entirely determined by the body the Angelion currently controls.

It’s also worth mentioning here a special attribute called Celerity. Celerity allows a character to multitask and control multiple bodies at once. When they aren’t doing so they can instead apply Celerity as a substantial bonus to other actions. Celerity is absolutely the power stat of LSoE and it’s hard to imagine a player not desiring to increase it as soon as possible.

Example: To start out I have 100 points to spend on my Angelion’s mental attributes. These points are applied to a table such that higher stats cost substantially more points. I choose to buy Intelligence 8 (40) Temperance 7 (30) and Presence 7 (30). Each of these is substantially above average, by human terms, and a score of 8 is actually the maximum for a human.

Cardinal Nature reflects who the character is at their core. Sun Cardinals believe in virtue and order, Dawns believe in virtue and chaos, Moons believe in taint and order, and Dusk believe in taint and chaos. Nature serves as a sort of check on roleplaying by providing opportunities for bonus XP and suffering, depending on whether the nature is being followed or opposed.

Example: I’m going with the Sun Cardinal for this character. He’s a merchant prince, but he uses his money for community building. The people that work for him come first, and he finds ways to create work environments that are pleasant while still making a fortune.

Most characters start the game with one Weakness (and more if they desire it). This is a mental weakness, since bodies are more temporary for Angelions, and involves classics like love, fear, and madness. This is entirely a roleplaying flaw and there’s little in the way of game mechanics to enforce it.

Example: I go with Lurking Madness, specifically that the character believes there is an extensive conspiracy perpetuated by the supposedly ‘dead’ Kingsways. He doesn’t know exactly what their planning, but he often sees their actions behind even the most mundane events.

Masteries are fun and another area of the game where some Amber influence can clearly be felt. Wisdom, War, Domination, Deceit, and Passions are the five Masteries. Players choose one to be their best, or Major, and another to be their weakest. Masteries each have a rating and, to an extent, serve as supremely broad Skills (with most tasks resolved with a dice pool composed of Attribute + Mastery). Additionally, each Mastery has a variety of special powers attached to it that can be purchased from the character’s mastery point pool.

Example: I decide to go with Mastery of Domination as my primary, thanks to its various wealth-earning sub-abilities. Mastery of Deceit will be my flawed Mastery, as I’m trying to avoid a thief-like character. For being a Syba I receive a free +2 to War and Wisdom and the Wisdom special power “Lore: Kingdoms of Life” which is a sort of specialized herbalism. Masteries are purchased in the same way as attributes. I have 70 points to spend, different Mastery ratings cost different amounts and range from +1 to +10. I may also buy the special powers for 10 points each. I decide to start with Domination at +4 (30), Wisdom at +4 (10), War at +3 (5), Passions at +1 (5), and Deceit at 0. This leaves me 20 points for special abilities, so I purchase Golden Aura and Amass Wealth. Golden Aura doubles all income from my Realm, and Amass Wealth allows me to make a GN 15 task every Interim chapter (during downtime) to further double or triple my income.

Flesh, Bone, and Steel – or body creation – is next on the plate. There is a large variety of interesting bodies to choose from, but players can easily build their own. Tinkering with the system I was easily able to build deadly butterflies, dragons, and whatever else I fancied at the time – which was great fun. At its core this is a simple point based “buy stats buy special powers” sort of a system.

Example: As tempting as a vampire cat or giant venomous snake is, for this character I just want a plain human body. Acid spit is tempting too, but instead I spend my points to give him above average physical stats and beauty. A generally fine body for someone wanting to build and nurture a community.

Characters also receive a varying number of points to spend on artifacts, communities, and money. Depending on the character this could range from ancient firearms to merchant port towns to even a giant, secluded vault filled with gold bricks. The ability to buy communities and sanctums is part of the fun of LSoE and emphasizes the time spanning, empire building aspects of the game.

Example: I have 100 points to spend on possessions and immediately choose to buy a small city for 50 points. My city, Blue Mist, is a port town actively building extensive trade routes with far off cities. For 5 points I purchase a plain, ordinary house for my character to dwell in. He’s very frugal and funnels his money back into his merchant empire. While artifacts are very, very tempting I decide to put my remaining 45 points into Income, which equals 5k per point spent per Interim Chapter. This means that, before city income, I will be receiving 225,000 Mints every chapter. With my powers and city income my total earnings per interim range from 226,000 and 678,000 Mints. A merchant empire indeed!

Players last spend a few discretionary points in a merits/flaws sort of way. Good memory, night vision, and a few special powers may be selected to further emphasize a character’s uniqueness.

Example: I’ve got 40 points to spend on general traits and Syba-specific traits. I buy Fast Learner for 5 points, which gives me 1 bonus experience point during the Interim Chapter. Secret Watchers, for 20 points, means that the people who live in my city keep watch over my home and report strangers/secrets to me. I imagine my character being the merchant lord who serves the community – he’s not the mayor, but everyone trusts and respects him. They don’t want anything to happen to the guy who is paying their salary! Finally, I purchase Hidden Realm. This means that my Realm is out of the way – in this case I think Blue Mist won’t just be a port town but an island town. It’s setup in an extremely advantageous area, economically, but the constant mists of the waters ward away ships that do not know the secret ways.

That’s it – character creation done! How do I swordfight? Physical Attribute + War. How do I solve a puzzle? Intelligence + Wisdom. How do I summon storms to destroy my enemy’s stronghold? Use a really awesome artifact!

Chapter 5 Items Of Power - 77 pages.

Speaking of really awesome artifacts, here we have 77 pages of them and they’re well done. While some are nothing more than handguns and laser rifles, a lot have a very unique, setting appropriate feel to them. I think the bottom line for most artifacts is that they’re extremely powerful, that few powerful people possess more than 1 or 2 artifacts, and that with the right piece of equipment you can easily trounce an otherwise superior foe in battle.

While there are some rules for building your own, the vast majority of information here revolves around example artifacts found within the setting. Many of these have a special, unique feel to them such that there’s only one (or a very few) in the entire world. This makes ‘magical’ items special in a way most RPGs can’t manage anymore, and made reading through the equipment chapter especially enjoyable for me.

Character creation of these and other artifacts receives more than a little attention. Just as my example character above is an empire builder, many characters may take on the role of artificers. Ingredients, time requirements, and other elements of item creation can be found here. Whether you want to build potions, guns, or dragons, LSoE gives you the tools to do it.

Chapter 6 Behind The Veil - 36 pages.

This is the grand, traditional GM chapter. It serves both as a resource for advice and for discussion of a few specific rules. On the advice front I find it to be a little sub-par. The author clearly has a specific idea of what sorts of GMing he approves of and what sort of campaign he prefers. On the other hand, a large variety of plot hooks, a few example characters, and a discussion of LSoE specific issues (such as the aging of different bodies) is very helpful.

Anguish points are used to (substantially) punish a character for going against their Nature and can only be removed through good roleplaying. This is one of several bits of rules/GM advice that makes me a little uncomfortable – it’s very judgmental of how a player should play their character and smacks of the bad side of an alignment system. Systems for gaining notoriety and using White and Black “Trumps” (Fate/Hero/Drama points) also receive some attention.

Chapter 7 The Second Age - 129 pages.

A complete map of the world, details on different areas of the world, discussion of the Kingsways, a detailed timeline, religion, locations of note, and everything else you would expect out of a setting chapter is found here. I really enjoyed reading it, both as a work of science fiction and as inspiration for roleplaying, and I hope the author continues to develop it. The already powerful, unique mood of LSoE is driven home in this final chapter, thanks to the continuing use of otherworldly art and places once familiar but now so very different.

My Take

Help support RPGnet by purchasing this item through DriveThruRPG.