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The Beginning: So what is this Mythweaver setting, anyway? The text is fairly to the point. The universe was created through a split between the Good goddess of Light and Creation, Yavalla, and the Evil god Bael the Destroyer. Between their divine realms lies the mortal world of Aeroth. Over several ages the race of Man became dominant and prospered, but as they did they became arrogant and even jealous of Yavalla, finally storming her realm and slaying the goddess. “This made a lot of people very angry and is widely considered a bad move.”
This book is set ten years after that “Great Reckoning,” after the backlash from the death of Yavalla swept over the entire universe and unmade much of Aeroth, and the players are cast in the role of heroes who are trying to protect the people and preserve the remnants of civilization even as Bael prepares to take advantage to seize the world once and for all.
Part One: Mechanics states that the game uses “the progressive die system.” A player uses only one die to add to a given trait for an action. However, like D&D, Mythweaver: Reckoning (or Reckoning) uses a level system, the twist here being that the higher your level, the larger your action die is. A PC starts at 1d6, eventually going up to 1d20. Page 3 has a brief table showing the rating range of the levels, the die used by each level range, the Rank Modifier (RM) that is added to certain magical rolls, and the 'benchmark' rating for a certain point. For instance, '0 level' characters are called Menials, use only d4 for a Rank Die, and have no Rank bonuses. A character of level 3 to 5 is called an Adept, uses a d8 and an RM of 2 (step up from the PC starting level of Apprentice, with RM 1 and Rank Die of d6). And so on. Usually your trait or skill ratings can be no higher than your level. For instance a level 10 character has a rank die of d10. If his 'might' score is 7, any strength-based test is done with d10+7 (rank die plus trait).
In Reckoning, there are four physical and four mental traits. You have Dexterity (DEX), Might (MGT), Prowess (PWS, or 'physical acuity and precision' when using or dodging melee and thrown weapons) and Stamina (STA) for Physical. You have Aspect (ASP), Intuition (INT), Reason (REA) and Willpower (WIL) for Mental, where Intuition is used for perception and initiative rolls, Willpower is resistance to taunts and intimidation, and Aspect is a measure of how good or evil you are, the latter being limited to a rank equal to RM, so a beginning hero cannot have more than ASP 1 or -1; having an ASP of 0 makes one a neutral, and can be healed by light magic but would be harmed by darkness spells. Being a negative ASP makes one an 'evil anti-hero' and means that one can use and apply shadow magic but is harmed by light powers. Likewise REA is applied when using fire and frost magic and WIL is used for stone and storm, but in those latter cases there isn't an association with alignment or status.
After this there is a short but very informative list of game concepts and how they work. For instance most numbers are rolled as “Difficulty Target” of the target's level +5 (a level 7 lock is DT 12 to pick). In most cases that is a “static resist” or unopposed roll. Opposed rolls are called “dynamic resist” so that in combat the attacker rolls against the defender's combat roll and if the defender rolls better the attack misses.
Then you get Part Two: Combat. Reckoning assumes combat turns of 3 rounds or 90 segments. However the initiative count goes down, starting from 60 (the start of the second round going into the first) so your initiative roll is added to 60 for your first initiative pass. Your weapon's “delay” (speed factor) is subtracted from that roll to determine when you make your second strike, so that for example a character with a weapon delay of 11 who rolls a 17 on initiative (on rank die + INT) starts with an initiative count of 77 (17 + 60) then goes again on 66, 55, and so on until 11, when he has run out of actions until the next turn. “Surprise” in this game simply means the surprisers get automatic initiative of 90 on their targets. Characters who tie for initiative normally go by DEX order but if DEX is tied they can end up acting simultaneously (at least on the first initiative pass and possibly afterward depending on whether weapon delays coincide). “Minor actions” like switching weapons have a default delay of 3.
It is next mentioned that movement and area attacks are measured in terms of 'units' where in the prior section a unit is described as 10' square. As in most D20 games, bonuses are applied to the action roll, while penalties are applied as an increase to DT. Thus as in D20 games, you need to roll high. As in nearly all games, there's a health stat/hit point equivalent, but it isn't mentioned here how many health points a PC usually starts with. It is stated that at -12 health you have to make a STA roll at DT 12 to avoid death, and a character naturally recovers his STA per hour in health.
Part Three: Talents defines talents as “learned abilities” that come in three categories, being arms talents (for combat), magic talents and skills talents (other stuff). Talents are defined as primary or secondary, the difference being that primary talents have ranks (like skills in other games) and secondary talents are all-or-nothing abilities that you either have or you don't. In many cases these abilities are limited by one's level; for example arms talents are limited to either double your level or the maximum bonus by talent so that if one is an “apprentice of armor” (at level 1) your maximum protection from armor is +2.
This section is the one with the main magic rules. When you throw a spell at a target you roll your level die + REA against the target's level die + REA or against a DT vs. a static target. Each spell type requires a different focus/material component for use. It is even possible to come up with “wondrous and unique” spontaneous spells, with various modifiers applied for area effect, damage and so forth. For instance creating a direct damage spell that has a range of 3 units away is +1 to the DT, each 4 units of area effect is +4 DT, and each point of damage is +1, so making a spell with 3 unit range, 2 units area and +5 damage is 14 DT; because of the benchmark is within the 13-16 range it is considered an expert-rank spell and thus requires expert rank with that particular magic type. There are certain detect/counterspell/elemental summoning effects that are considered universal for all schools of magic.
There are six forms of magic, in three opposed pairs: flame and frost, light and shadow, stone and storm. One cannot wield both flame and frost, for instance. Each has mental associations in addition to their elemental effects. Flame is considered the power of insight while frost is considered the force of oppression or control. Again, light and shadow are much like “good vs. evil” and can be used to buff or heal, but only beings on their “side” (again, neutrals are harmed by shadow and healed by light, even if they can't actually use light powers). There are also illusion and travel magics as minor schools limited to no more than expert rank. Secondary magic talents allow for extra spontaneous effects, quickening spells, alchemy or “spellbinder” (item enchantment).
Finally you have the skill talents, of which there are only five: Burglary (pick locks), Influence (NPC interaction), Lore (general knowledge), Nature (nature knowledge) and Stealth. Secondary talents are Poison Use, Mending (first aid), Smith and Valuables (i.e. appraisal of goods).
Part Four: Gear and Equipment gives costs according to the level/rank formula. Any given level 3 item, for instance, is 5 gold, so a shield +3 or most +3 weapons are 5 gold. Armor suits are two levels higher, so if level 5 is 25 gold on the chart, a suit of armor +3 is 25 gold. Certain gear (like bedrolls, waterskin, etc.) are already considered bought and are no charge to a starting character.
Part Five: Building a Hero gets to the actual character creation process. In Step 1, you come up with a character concept. In Step 2 you pick from one of seven races: The “Chosen” Humans, Bloodstone Trolls, Dawn Elves, Dusk Elves, Forge Gnomes, Unshackled Dwarves and Winter Goblins. Humans start with ASP 0 and other traits at 2, but get 8 discretionary points. Other races can have stats ranging from 1 to 5 but get only 2 discretionary points. Each race also has its own benefits; for example Humans can add their RM to hero point rolls to increase a die result. Dwarves can add RM to health rolls. Most races besides Humans are also linked to a particular element of magic- naturally the Dawn and Dusk Elves are linked to light and shadow respectively. In Step 3 you pick an Archetype (broad class) from Myrmidon (warrior), Mystic, Savant and Seeker. The latter two are generalists but the Savant also has minor magic training. Each Archetype gets 4 points of trait bonuses, all get a bonus talent point at levels 3,7 and 12, and each gets other trait points depending on type: The Myrmidon gets no magic talents but focuses on arms (10 ranks over time) with a few points for skills. The Savant splits points evenly between arms, magic and skills. At Step 4 you allocate trait points; again, each race starts with a certain number of trait points, most of which are assigned in the case of non-Humans, the end result being that each race gets 26 total trait points.
At Step 5, you select a Favored Trait, meaning that with this trait you get to use the next higher rank die (so d8 at level 1). At Step 6 you receive one Perk or roll it on a D10 table, which could be anything from “Living Focus” (you channel magic directly in one of your schools, and so do not require a material focus) to Toughness (add RM to STA resist rolls). At Step 7 you purchase talents. At Step 8 you get weapons and gear, which are the free adventuring gear listed above, along with one +1 padded leather armor, one +1 weapon, and 1d6 in gold; characters who use magic talents or burglary will need to buy foci or thieves' tools with their starting gold. At Step 9 you determine the character's total armor value, as well as his health/hit points: At first level you roll level die + STA and at each level thereafter you roll another such die +STA. At Step 10 you come up with your appearance (based on race), at Step 11 you give the PC a name, and at Step 12 you come up with a background.
This section also has miscellaneous rules, including the concept of hero points. You may spend a hero point to roll your level die as a boost to a given die action, and you can also spend one to recover a level die worth of health points. However, you also need to save hero points to advance in level, at the rate of x10 the next level in hero points- thus going to 2nd level costs 20 hero points. Advancing in level of course means that your maximum traits, RM, etc. can increase; you also get to boost one trait by 1 point and depending on your archetype may get a talent rank in a certain category. You can also get a companion at 2nd level, spending 1 hero point for a 1st level companion and using x1 hero points to boost his level up to your level minus your RM (if you're level 7 and your RM is 3, your companion can be no more than level 4). You can spend your hero points to help companions, the only time you can spend them for someone else.
Part Six: Running the Game as Mythweaver is the GM's advice chapter. It defines an adventure as a series of challenges linked together by a common story, location or goal, and a “challenge” as any obstacle the heroes have to overcome. Using the rank/difficulty system it is fairly easy to create different obstacles in a story and determine their difficulties. These include such things as traps. It also includes the factor of “temptation” for heroes with negative ASP, where an opportunity to do the easy thing must be resisted with a WIL roll at a difficulty of the ASP (number) +5. Likewise it is possible to get bonuses to a roll by role-playing out the action.
This chapter also contains rules for random treasure generation, and for hero point experience award (each character gets the same award and a monster worth X number of hero points awards that to each PC in the group, unlike D&D where XP for a given encounter are divided). In addition to tables for random magic items, there is a sidebar for attuned items that are made specifically for one hero. In addition to the fact that no one else can use that item, its bonuses go up in level as the hero does, which is important considering how everything in this game including gear is limited by the level and rank modifier.
Part Seven: Setting focuses on an ark that the goddess Yavalla had one of her followers commission to save the hamlet of Mistledawn. When the Great Reckoning occurred the magic of the ark saved the inhabitants until it settled in the new realm of Del Anon. Aeron, who built the ark, has made it the center of a new “Mistledawn Keep” that is intended to be the center of efforts to reclaim civilization.
Into the Vault: An Introductory Adventure is the book's sample adventure/dungeon. A human sculptor finds a secret doorway to a vault in some ruins and asks the heroes to investigate. The layout is simple and to the point, so that each section is listed as a challenge, with any relevant complications, monsters, difficulty numbers, etc. all laid out in a few paragraphs each.
Adventure Design is an appendix giving the Mythweaver advice on how tropes of fantasy adventure work, in terms of the broad categories of Dungeon Crawls, Social Intrigues and Wilderness Treks, including very important advice on the drawbacks of each and a top ten list of reasons to use each of these elements.
Appendix: Bestiary is self-explanatory. After general traits you get a few lists including Animus ('objects and plants imbued with a rudimentary form of sentience'), Awakened (good) and Darken (evil) Beasts. After this you have a page of Quick Reference Tables and even a one page Index.
SUMMARY
I was quite pleasantly surprised by Mythweaver: Reckoning. Of course, the author comped me the copy, but the PDF is only $3 on DriveThruRPG, and the supplemental books are of similar price, so this is a pretty cheap core “book.” But for that, from what I see, the game is, for its small size and price, fairly complete and usable. Moreover the text has a great economy of information, so that in introducing game concepts the game also easily explains how the rules for those concepts work, so that even though character creation is fairly deep inside the book, by the time the reader gets to it, he should already have a good handle on how making a character works.
Mythweaver: Reckoning only counts as a “fantasy heartbreaker” if you're expecting it to be more than it is. It doesn't have the sophistication of D&D or major production RPGs. But if you want something on the level of a “pick-up game” that can be easily grasped and still has some depth to it, it's well worth picking up.
Style: 3
You don't expect much style from something this cheap, and you don't get it. It's a PDF, and art is rather minimal.
Substance: 4
On the other hand, Mythweaver: Reckoning is both easy to read and very usable for the small scale it's on.
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