Appearance
The game is sold as a nice little two-book set. It isn't conventional RPG size, but instead comes in two small, earthtone, trade paperback-sized volumes with a little wheel graphic emblazoned on the front cover. One book contains the character creation rules, and the other has the remainder of the game rules. I liked the unconventional format; it makes the book stand out from its peers. They resemble little textbooks, or perhaps religious books (as someone on a discussion list mentioned). Overall, the outside appearance is very classy.
Unfortunately, a lot of the interior art is pretty weak. There isn't much, but I found myself wishing that there was even less. The overall design of the book is art-light with an attractive page-border graphic that spruces up the general appearance of the book. Because of the small page size and the graphical treatment at the edges, I didn't miss the seemingly obligatory cheesy fantasy art that typically populates role-playing game books. When they did show, I found them distracting and annoying, especially due to the low quality.
Layout
The two-book format was a refreshing change. They books are conveniently sized, you could even read them on a train or a bus without embarrassment (if you tend to be embarrassed about your hobby), and they would fit conveniently into just about any bag or briefcase you typically carry around. I had some difficulty finding a table at one point, but it is sensibly laid out for the most part. The general level of editing and design on the book is comfortably professional, and there are indices and reference lists for the important topics. I had little difficulty navigating through the rules in the books. The author's tone is a bit chatty for a role-playing manual, and he does have a tendency to get preachy, but this didn't strike me as a weakness, more like personality in the text.
Character Creation
The rules are split into two sections, a general rulebook, and the "Character Burner" for creating characters. Both books are not long and are an enjoyable read. The character generation rules are definitely the major strength of the system. The game uses a lifepath system, reminiscent of Traveller from the 80s in some ways, but quite versatile. One chooses various careers from the tables, each of which grants points that are later spent on skills, traits (a sort of merits and flaws set, although even the flaws cost points rather than granting more for character generation), and attributes. Each path takes a certain amount of time, and this will determine the age of the character by the end. I have found that the system helps generate extremely robust characters, with lots of role-playing hooks enhancing playability. Characters generated on this system seem like real people, and you can become quite attached to a character just through the process of constructing one.
Of course, character creation by this method is time-intensive. This appeals to my own preferences in role-playing, but it may not be for everyone. There are no random elements to the creation process-everything is driven by age and experience, right down to the attributes. Regardless, I found the system quite versatile, enabling players to make characters both standard and diverse. Rangers, rogues, and fighters can be built, but so can blacksmiths, village elders, and noble ladies.
Characters all have a set of beliefs and instincts, crowning touches that really bring a sense of individuality and personality to the numbers on the paper. When finishing a character, one chooses up to three beliefs, basic ideals by which the character interacts with the world. Examples from my own group ranged from "Fortune favors the bold" to "They will track me down." These beliefs shape the basic way a character is played, and serve as an excellent guideline to the player when portraying the character in the group. Instincts serve a slightly different, more metagame purpose (but they do help to resolve some perennial GM-player wrangles): an instinct is something the character will always do, whether or not the player mentions it during play. This can cover things like a ranger always gleaning his arrows, or a snake-phobic character always checking his bedding for serpents. This way, the player can assume some actions that the GM must then consider when determining outcomes.
The game contains three non-human races and rules for character creation. The dwarves, elves, and orcs covered in the Character Burner have a very Tolkienesque feel, and are quite appropriate to a game wishing to emulate Middle Earth. I must admit I discarded these races for my own, but the read through on these indicated the same strong design sensibility that the rest of the Character Burner shares.
The Burning Wheel
The main rulebook is sensibly laid out as well, with the various rules constituting short chapters within it. The game is a dice pool system, using a handful of six-sided dice to determine the outcome of various actions. This mechanic, again, is very simple, and easy to implement in play without a lot of difficulty. There are a few more exceptions to the various rules than I personally prefer (simple is better is my general motto), but the base mechanic is easy to understand and works in roughly the same way for everything.
Combat is a bit more complex, utilizing a scripting mechanic in which all combatants map out their actions for an entire round (called an "exchange" in Burning Wheel). There is a nod to changing one's actions mid-round, but it is costly. The main drawback with this system is a strong guessing element. A key to winning is scripting an unopposed strike, but since all of the combatants are in effect bidding blind, there is more than a bit of the rock-paper-scissors element to the resolution. Intelligent strategy can still be applied, but if you guess wrong, you can pay big time.
This brings me to the actual attack and damage mechanic. To hit rolls are standard skill tests against the requisite weapon skill. The damage of each weapon is rated on a three-tier scale based in large part on the wielder's strength (Power as it is called in BW). A simple success on the test delivers an Incidental wound, but more successes bump the damage to a Mark or Superb wound. These are then applied to the victim, and if he is not killed outright (easily possible with a Superb shot), he will suffer die modifier penalties or lose dice on his skill tests. The three-tiered damage system might seem simplistic, but it does make the results of combat easy to determine. I think the effects of strength on damage are a bit over-emphasized, but all in all this is a reasonable mechanic. There are some problems with this system when it comes to missile weapons, the effects of which are too randomized for my taste. A better relationship between to hit and damage would be preferable. As it stands, the difference between Incidental, Mark, and Superb damage is based solely on the completely random result of a single 6-sided die, with each damage range covered by 1/3 of the chances (1-2 = Incidental, 3-4 = Mark, 5-6 = Superb).
In actual play, this combat system simulates an excellent air of real fighting. The characters seem to be actually fighting for their lives, and I like how it turns out. Clever strategies are essential to success in combat, and just standing and hacking at an opponent is a sure way to be killed. This is a definite success in my book, and the flavor of combat definitely appeals.
The rules for advancing skills and attributes are dependent on the use of said skills or attributes, and players mark down increments as they use their skills during the course of play. Interestingly, in most instances success or failure is not a criterion for gaining a mark: even if you fail, you still learn something. In play, however, this process is a bit annoying and is difficult to implement without significant, disruptive metagame discussion. This might go more smoothly as I get used to the system, but I found it distracting. This is an aspect I would seriously consider altering.
The last topic I will cover in this section regards rules for more advanced creatures and characters, called "Grey" and "White" rankings. All starting characters, with only a few possible exceptions, will begin within the "Black" range, the range of normal human beings. Supernatural creatures are considered "White", and heroic characters and extremely tough monsters will fall in the "Grey" range. This concept is a bit confusing, and seems to be the source of most of the debate on the game's web site. The higher levels of stats and skills represented by this progression of colors can simulate large, dangerous creatures well, but has a potentially unbalancing effect on the game for players like myself that prefer lower-level campaigns. The relationship of all of these colors is also confusing, and the rules could use some clarification here.
The Burning Wheel rules are simple and the underlying concepts are sound. The implementation is a bit erratic, and there are aspects that could stand improvement. Still, the game is far and away better than most offerings on the market, and benefits from a tight design and good playtesting.
Recommendation
This is not a game for beginning roleplayers, but for hobby veterans it is an excellent addition to the library. The game works well in actual play, and I highly recommend adapting the character creation system to other games at the very least. This game is enjoyable and plays quickly. It has a few flaws here and there, but it employs the dice pool concept quite well and has a gritty, rough combat feel. The Burning Wheel is a solid fantasy roleplay offering and at $15.00 for the two-book set, the price can't be beat.
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