At its core, Passages is a d20 game. I’ll write this review with the presumption of at least a general knowledge of that system.

In practice, Passages merrily slaughters some of the sacred cows of d20, resulting in a d20-based game that I’d happily play without reservation but that might end up turning off hardcore d20 fans.

Some of the changes have been seen before, such as the removal of classes, races, and levels, although the combination of all three does make the game stand out from the pack. Some of the more radical changes are ones I’ve been begging to see for years, such as making combat an actual skill rather than a level-based creature of its own, not to mention making Dexterity rather than Strength the governing attribute of that skill.

The system uniformly relies on a roll of a d20 + skill bonus + sub-skill bonus + attribute modifier + other modifiers. Target numbers (called “Difficulty Class,” or “DC”) determine task difficulty, and the difference between the total for the task check and the DC serves as the “spread” – the degree of success or failure. I’m almost always in favor of such mechanics for the drama they add, particularly in a game that includes any degree of swashbuckling. As a game that includes the likes of the Scarlet Pimpernel, I’d say this one qualifies.


Character Creation

Culture and Caste

As I said, Passages doesn’t use classes or races (in the fantasy species sense); however, players do assign their characters a culture (Arab, Asian, Easterner, Frontiersman, Native, or Westerner) and a social caste (Slave, Serf/Servant, Freeman, Bourgeois, Noble, or Royal). By default, these only affect the characters’ outlooks on life and the way they interact with the world, although the GM optionally may grant small culture- and/or caste-appropriate skill bonuses.

Attributes

All of the standard d20 attributes are here: Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX), Constitution (CON), Intelligence (INT), Wisdom (WIS), and Charisma (CHA), on a human scale of 1-20. Also as in standard d20, each level has an associated modifier, starting at 0 for attributes of 10-11 and going up or down by 1 for every 2 attribute levels above or below that range (i.e., an attribute of 16 has a bonus of +3). Unlike standard d20, Passages exclusively uses point allocation rather than random generation. Scores start at 3, and players get 60 points to adjust them. This means that an even expenditure across the board will yield a uniformly above-average character (13/+1) and that a character can have a couple of attributes at 20 for the price of a single slightly below-average score (20/20/10/10/10/8). In short, you’re looking at fairly capable heroes, but Batman/Captain America/Doc Savage-types will require optional higher starting point scores.

Hit Points

Speaking of capability, characters get starting Hit Points equal to 10 + double their CON bonus. Note that I said “bonus” – CON penalties don’t count. On the other hand, Hit Points don’t increase automatically; instead, this requires the purchase of the appropriate Advantage (see below). This makes combat fairly deadly, which may not be to every player’s taste. The game does offer help for high mortality rates, however – more on that in just a moment.

Skills

Players get 10 + their characters’ Intelligence bonus in points to apply to skills; again, an attribute penalty doesn’t affect this total. The game offers 19 broad skills with three sub-skills each (the exception being Knowledge, which has any number of sub-skills). For example, Survival is a Wisdom-based skill that covers the sub-skills of Navigate, Track, and Wilderness Training. A one-point expenditure yields 1 skill point or 2 sub-skill points, giving a nice balance between generalizing and specializing.

Advantages/Disadvantages

Characters start with 20 “creative energy points” to spend on advantages and can pick up a few more by taking disadvantages. Some of these are pretty bland but useful, such as extra hit points or skill points.

A great many define combat ability, from weapon proficiency to specific combat maneuvers. Some of these I really like – especially those that let characters shift around the attributes used to attack or determine damage – but the specificity of others make me wish for more specific combat skills. For example, making a sniper involves a lot more than making the character a better shot – that would just be an increase in the Combat skill or the Attack sub-skill, which would make the character better at attacking across the board. No, the character would need Weapon Proficiency to use a firearm effectively, Ranged Far Shot to reduce range penalties, Combat Specialization to do more damage with a firearm, Combat Sneak Attack to do more damage from surprise, Combat Precision to reduce the value of a target’s concealment, and so on. That’s a lot of page-flipping in the advantages section just to keep track of how good a shot the character is.

A sizable minority of advantages include supernatural abilities for passengers or unearthly characters, like wings, invisibility, and superhuman attribute levels. On the odd side are several advantages that boost the character’s abilities while in a different world from their own – a nice option for otherwise “mundane” passengers who want to be able to kick some ass off-world, in the tradition of John Carter of Mars.

While the section offers plenty of magical abilities, readers may be dismayed to find a complete lack of a magic system for spellcasting. The authors have stated on several occasions that such powers are not the focus of the game, but I suspect that such literary notables as Merlin and the Wicked Witch of the West might contest that assertion. (Yes, I did say the book includes sample stats for a wizard, but the character simply has an arbitrarily-created spell attack.)

Plot Points

Finally, characters start with one plot point that they may spend to alter the circumstances of one scene to their benefit. Given the lethality of combat, that’s going to be a failsafe device to prevent character death more often than not; however, characters can purchase more plot points with the Additional Plot Point advantage, and GMs can award plot points for good roleplaying as well. For GMs and players who prefer a less narrative variant of this mechanic, the system offers the option of spending plot points to retroactively alter the outcome of any roll (by the character or not) by +20 or -20. I’m all for using either option or both, although I’d be tempted to start characters off with a few more plot points just to be on the safe side. (What can I say? I like over-the-top action. And also, I’m a big softy.)

Archetypes

For those in a hurry to get started – or for GMs in need of a quick NPC – the book provides a very nice sampling of ready-made archetypal characters:

• Abbas Ibn Abdullah, Persian Prince
• Colonel Reginald Hobgottom, Retired War Hero
• Dash Campbell, Freelance Adventurer
• Jadyn, Fortune-Telling Gypsy
• Mama Ducatte, Island Mystic
• Jeannine Marceau, Lady of High Society
• Professor Helmut von Hervangund, Eccentric Scientist
• Shung Wei, Philosopher-Poet
• Zhilandlo, African Chieftan

Combat

Complications from advantages aside, combat in the game is a simple enough matter. After determining whether the sides are aware of each other, the GM calls for Combat (Initiative) rolls. Barring the required advantage, characters normally get only one attack per round, which can take the form of a Combat (Attack) roll or a Grapple (Grab) roll, contested by a Combat (Defend) roll or a Grapple (Escape) roll, respectively. Thankfully, the system leaves some special moves outside of the context of the advantage system, such as full defenses, charges, trips, and knockout blows.

The spread between the rolls determines the base damage, which may be increased or decreased by weapon and armor modifiers. (Yes, armor reduces damage rather than making the character harder to hit.) Perhaps in deference to the low number of hit points involved, the majority of melee weapons have negative damage modifiers – an unarmed attack is -7 on the low end, while a great swords sits on the high end at +2. (This is before any Strength modifiers, of course.) On the other hand, guns are pretty brutal. Unsurprisingly, the Derringer is the baby of the bunch with a -2 damage, but a decent rifle will dish out a whopping +8.

The system makes some additional allowances for the low hit point levels as well. For example, it distinguishes between lethal and non-lethal damage – the latter is tracked against the character’s CON rather than his hit points, and when the non-lethal damage exceeds the CON score, the character must make a CON roll against the total non-lethal damage done. On a success, he’s dazed for a round; on a failure, he’s out for a number of rounds equal to the spread. Also, while NPCs suffer from damage penalties applied at the GM’s discretion and drop dead at 0 hit points, PCs suffer no damage penalties at all and are only dying at 0 hit points or below, allowing time for stabilization. And a particularly generous optional rule treats traveling in the Book Without End something like astral travel or jacking into a cybernet, with characters leaving their real bodies back on Earth and having a chance to return to them unharmed in the event of off-world death. I think that last one reduces some of the sense of “actual” exploration involved in the default setting, but it’s a nice option.