SYNOPSIS
Fifth Hour is not a standard fantasy setting. There are none of the staple fantasy races such as elves, dwarves, and orcs. There are eight standard races, and two legendary races. Also, Fifth Hour is not a human-centric setting; humans are the demons of the Fifth Hour setting, and one of the two legendary races. The Fifth Hour setting has a non-European flavor and style.
SETTING HISTORY
"The world has gone through five apocalypses, each marking the beginning of a cosmic Hour lasting 100 generations. Now it is the Fifth Hour, and the world is once again born anew." (p. 8)
Humans from our future, wielding living energy technology, invaded another dimension populated by the second legendary race known as the Dragonlords, who were also technologically advanced. There was a great war which ended in a stalemate. However, the Dragonlords created the basis for the other eight races of the Fifth Hour setting. The technology of both the humans, known as the Yu-Men, and the Dragonlords is so advanced and mysterious that it is considered sorcery by the other races.
THE RACES
The Bai: They are an isolationist race which has their eyes in the palm of their hands, and have excellent vision even though they are color blind.
The Byblos: They are a humanoid race which has the ability to fly due to three pairs of wings. They are least populous race in the Fifth Hour setting.
Half-Dead: This is a unique and peaceful race. One half of their body is alive, while the other half is dead.
The Mechanika: This race attaches mechanical parts to their bodies. They are physically strong, but are addicted to a rare and powerful drug which places then in a stupor.
The Ruah: This is female race of living wood who are unaging. They are fascinated by men. They reproduce themselves through a magical ceremony.
The Sun People: This is an ebony-skinned people who have living fire as their hair. They are religious by nature, and worship the sun.
The Yotun: They are a militaristic people who are blue-skinned giants. They draw their strength from cold and ice. They believe themselves to be superior than all other races.
The Zebru: This race has the shortest lifespan, but the greatest population. They are an anthropomorphic zebra race which has establish a bureaucratic empire.
The Yu-Men: This is one of the two legendary races of the setting, and can only be played with GM permission. They are the humans of our distant future which colonized the dimension of the Fifth Hour setting. They are rarely seen, and universally feared.
The Dragonlords: This is the second legendary race in the Fifth Hour setting, and can only be played with GM permission.. It is a race of anthropomorphic dragons which can fly due to wings. This race is unaging as well.
CHARACTER CREATION
The game mechanics of the Fifth Hour setting are powered by the Signature role-playing game. The focus of the setting is the concept of Destiny. Each character has a destiny, whether good or bad. Characters in the Fifth Hour setting must choose at least one Destiny Trait; the character can have more than one Destiny Trait with the permission of the GM. Five Destiny Traits are given as an example, and the GM is encouraged to create his own Destiny Traits.
A character must also select a Philosophy Trait. There is a list of ten philosophies with a brief description. It is unclear if this is a finite list or if it can be expanded by the GM.
Characters must also select a Tani Trait and a Rahl Trait. Tani is a term unique to this setting, and its rough translation means ones worldview. The term Rahl roughly translates to mean ones heart or spirit. The magnitude of these traits are determined by the GM's choice of Scale (Gritty, Heroic, or Legendary) for a particular campaign set in the Fifth Hour setting.
Finally, the character may have Racial Aspected Traits, and a Cultural Trait. These traits have a default level, but can be adjusted by the player up or down within limits.
SORCERY
Sorcery is divided into Light and Dark Sorcery. Light Sorcery is the ancient technology of the human invaders, and Dark Sorcery is the ancient technology of the Dragonlords. Light Sorcery is characterized as being semi-sentient, and is mostly found in the form of globes. However, Light Sorcery is rare in the setting. Dark Sorcery is the most common sorcery found in the setting, and is the sorcery used to make magic items such as swords, wands, etc.
THE WORLD
The world of Mudh is not a normal earth-like planet. It has an odd shape.
"The World of the Fifth Hour is a rectangular oval (similar in shape to a cold pill), with a dome of sky above, divided into two continents separated by an ocean. The Sun, never setting, circles off-center of the oval. The center of the Sun’s orbit lies roughly between the edge of the Continent of Sol and the left-middle of the Ocean." (p. 29)
THE GOOD
There is a lot of detail regarding the world of Fifth Hour. There is information on plants, animals, drugs, items, customs, languages, metals, music, travel, etc. that are unique to the world of Fifth Hour. There is very detailed information on each race, and their culture, personality, and worldview.
The most detailed information is in regards to the languages of Fifth Hour. The grammar, usage, spelling, word roots, etc. of the Draconic language is very detailed. A system of naming cities and ruins in Draconic is included as well.
It has an index at the end of the PDF.
THE BAD
There are more than a couple of spelling and grammar errors throughout the text. There are several different fonts used at random places throughout the text, and, in addition, there are random font sizes as well. There are no clear chapter markers within the body of the PDF, or the content pages at the start of the PDF.
There is no physical description of the individual races. There is nothing telling the reader how tall a Zebru stands, or how much a Ruah weighs. There is no indication as to how long the unaging races will live, even though some are characterized as short-lived. There are no aging tables to breakdown when a someone passes into the next phase of life.
There are no maps whatsoever. There is no geographical map, nor any map depicting such things as national or political boundaries. The lands of the two continents are described briefly under each racial description, but there are no visual aids to help the reader get a feel for the world's layout.
The author is not noted anywhere in the PDF.
AND THE UGLY
The art is a serious problem. The cover is a close up picture of a piece of wood sticking straight up out of sand. I'm not clear how this picture relates to the setting, nor how it conveys any indication of the tone or mood of the setting. It appears to be a random picture selected as a place marker.
There a handful of real world pictures that are spread thought the text, but mostly in the racial description. These pictures seem to be intended to help convey a feeling for the descriptions. However, almost all of these small pictures are out of focus, which is irritating to the eye.
There is a color image of a typical member of each of the ten races. However, this graphic looks like it was created using one of those free hero builder programs. These images really detract from immersion into physicality of the race.
Finally, the organization of the material is counter-intuitive, and could use some real clean-up. As stated earlier, there are no clear chapters to the material. In addition, the order in which the information is provided detracts from the reading experience. The detailed information on the races presented last in the book, after character generation.
CONCLUSION
Fifth Hour still needs a lot of polishing, but has the potential to become a unique and very rich fantasy setting. Honestly, the current version of the Fifth Hour PDF seems like nothing more than an outline, or the author's crib notes on the setting. There are some new and unique concepts, like the Ruah race and languages, which really help to create a vibrant world. The concepts of tani and rahl are unique, and add a certain mystic to the setting. However, it still needs a lot of development in order to be considered a production quality supplement.
