Review of SORD: The System of Role Development

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First the disclaimer: I freelance for Fractal Dimensions, and have written SORD: Da'akfal, the first worldbook for the System of Role Development.

Then the anti-disclaimer: the above fact means that I know SORD inside-out and backwards, and am thus eminently qualified to review it. :)

Editor's note: Well, given that the biases are clearly stated, that works for us.

Universal game mechanics seem to be very much in vogue in game design these days. This is not entirely surprising, and I imagine this state of affairs to have come about for many of the same reasons as object-oriented coding methods: reusability. Why make a different system from scratch for each new game when you can take a system that you know and merely tweak it into line?

SORD, standing for the System of Role Development, is a new addition to the list of published universal game systems (joining CORPS, FUDGE, Fuzion, GURPS, Silhouette, and others). Like FUDGE, however, SORD has had a long history of existence as a freely available and iteratively improved net publication. I'm a great believer in the value of play-testing, and SORD has certainly had a large amount of that over the years. Also like FUDGE, the net versions of SORD are still freely available - being cheap, I'm all in favor of that, too. But more seriously, it is a good thing to be able to try a sample before you buy the book.

What Do You Get?

For your $17.95 you get a packed 96 page book, one half of which consists of the SORD rules and mechanics, the other half of which is the Robin Hood "mini-setting." Actually, the half-and-half division is not quite accurate, as SORD has its own ideas as to which rules should go where. About half of the Robin Hood mini-setting pages are taken up with the setting skill lists, cultures, professions, armor, weapons, and sample characters. In my mind, this is a logical split -- setting-specific rules and details end up in the settings, while generic rules end up in the first half of the rulebook.

The System

So how does the SORD system work? What makes it different and interesting? You will excuse a little detail on my part here -- I like reviews that give mechanical details.

The basic SORD mechanics are Skill and Attribute-based. Every character is described by numbers given to physical and mental Attributes (Ambition, Health, Prowess, etc), and the capabilities of that character are described by numbers given to Skills (Cooking, Woodworking, etc). Characters do not have ``hit points,'' as damage is taken directly from the current values of Attributes (different Attributes, depending on the location and type of damage. Interestingly enough, SORD classes some types of horror and fear as ``emotional damage.'') Each Skill is linked to an Attribute (for example, the Deception Skill is linked to the Charm Attribute), and the Skill cannot be used at a higher current level than the linked Attribute. So damage to a character selectively and precisely impairs his or her ability to function.

SORD characters have a plethora of secondary values that are derived from Attributes, such as Reaction Rate, Maximum Weight, and so forth. Like Phoenix Command and associated games (Aliens, Living Steel), the weight carried by a character plays an important part in determining several combat-related values (Move Rate, Parry/Avoid). This is realistic (carry a lot of junk, expect to be slow and get hit a lot), but if you didn't like this facet of other games, you may not like it here. I found, however, that it is a simple enough task to make a set of values for each likely weight and just switch back and forth as characters adjust their loads.

SORD makes the claim to be a ``formula-driven'' system, and indeed most character values are calculated by simple formulae. For example, a character's Maximum Weight is calculated by:

Max Weight = (Base Health + Base Prowess) * Height in Inches / 20

In my view, none of the formulae should be intimidating for most people, although one or two might cause problems if you are not careful about the placement of the parentheses. The formulae allow for a good crunchy level of detail in SORD (which is not as hard to use as other crunchy systems like Phoenix Command or RoleMaster), but the best part is that all the number-play occurs outside of game-play. Once you've set up a SORD character, playing the game comes down to single d20 rolls (with a few modifiers) for Skill Checks, Attribute Checks, and ``to-hit'' rolls. For all the detail packed in there, the game plays very fast - the rules don't get in the way of the game session. No big tables of numbers, even.

My one complaint, as a lazy Game Master, would be the one I've been uttering ever since RuneQuest2 - creating NPCs takes time, even with a good understanding of the system. I was reduced to writing software to take some of the load off me, but then I have to write commercial products wherein you cannot skimp on the detail...it all has to be there :) Things should be easier for other Game Masters. After all, people manage with GURPs and RoleMaster, right?

SORD characters are fairly free to progress as the players choose. A few restrictions come from the Culture and Profession, but both can easily be changed. The Culture of a character describes his or her culture or society of origin, and determines which Skills are easily available. The Profession does the same for the character's principal occupation. Unlike ``Classes'' or ``Race'' in other games, both Culture and Profession can change more or less on the whim of the player, provided that in-game circumstances allow it. One downside to this system, I feel, is that some aspects of Professions are not adequately explained.

The SORD combat rules don't quite mesh in appearance with the rest of the system, and in places some important facts are buried in paragraphs of text or only mentioned in the Calculation Glossary on page 89. I will express a bias in these respects - I like combat mechanics to be the same as skill checking mechanics, and I like redundancy in rule writing. That aside, the SORD combat rules work well, and I can't fault that. Combat is fast-paced and conducted in a series of 12-second turns, during which characters can do an awful lot of things. A quick man with a dagger could get in 6 blows in a turn. Armor subtracts from damage, but tends to slow you down and make you easier to hit. Combat is where the crunched-up detail in SORD really comes out and shines - small differences in weapons and abilities show up very clearly between combatants (in the timing and effectiveness of attacks), despite it all being resolved by d20 rolls. One warning for new players - SORD combat is deadly! and fast! A man with an ax will ruin your day in the first few seconds of combat unless you are quick or cradled in a lot of armor. Players should think carefully before exposing their characters to combat.

One interesting quirk in SORD combat is that the chance to hit depends on your Attributes, while the damage done depends on your Skill with the weapon in hand. Another interesting and important quirk is that the defending player chooses which Attributes are damaged by a blow - this really forces players to think in a theatrical manner about what is happening to their characters. The way damage affects a character in SORD gives a far better feel for what has happened and how the character feels than do the mechanics of many other more detailed systems.

An inconsistency that bothers me about the SORD combat rules concerns the way in which weapon damage is calculated. Part of the damage stems from the skill of the attacker, while part comes from the weight and length of the weapon. This latter part causes problems here and there. For example, firearms cannot be constructed well with the rules as they stand. Stabbing weapons also get short shrift. Space prohibits me from describing why this is so, but take a look and you will see what I mean.

The SORD experience system is interesting. As characters gain experience points (called STEPs), Attributes are the only values that directly increase. Skills are increased in level by spending Lore, and Lore is gained more for the passing of game-time than for increases in experience. This systems allows players a great deal of freedom in developing their characters. The only restrictions come from the in-game teachers and resources that are available due to Culture or Profession, and difficultly inherent in learning certain Skills. All Skills are given Lore Base values, which determine how much Lore must be spent to learn the Skill to a set level. A downside to the experience system is that while it is easy to determine the ongoing experience, Lore, and advancement of an established character, determining the experience and Lore for a new character has all sorts of pitfalls. I'd recommend just going with Game Master fiat and setting the initial amount of experience to a le! vel appropriate to the campaign, and save the age-related method given on page 23 for non-adventuring NPCs.

The Robin Hood Mini-Setting

The Robin Hood mini-setting is a short look at 11th or 12th Century England. It takes a deliberately realistic approach, emphasizing the harshness of life for the poor and oppressed, and the difficulty of even surviving the elements in early Medieval society. Robin Hood and his ``merry men'' are presented simultaneously as real people, heroes, and icons for social change. The setting has a very ``un-Hollywood'' air to it. The fairly linear introductory adventure, provided after an outline of the times and feel of the mini-setting, is a bit of a let-down. It doesn't really maintain the feel of the mini-setting, but we Game Masters can't complain about a lack of other source material, now, can we?

What the mini-setting does show well are the setting-specific rules that did not end up in the first half of the book. Eleven pages of sample characters are provided (which is good for the aforementioned lazy Game Masters such as myself), both PC and NPC. The character formats are compressed, and a lot of information is packed into each one. Cultural and Professional templates are provided for the major societies and ``adventuring'' professions of the period, but it is a sparse list. Fortunately, expanding by example is a trivial exercise, and I'm glad the space went to the sample characters rather than the Cultures and Professions. Writing the Squire and Craftsman Professions was easy and the matter of a few minutes, for example. I have found that the Cultural skill lists given on page 67 were far too restrictive - they need to be longer so that characters can spend all of their Cultural Lore.

Another portion of the setting-specific rules are the weapon and armor lists. Period weapons and armor are given suggested values. I would quibble with some of them, especially the last ten or so entries on the armor table, but most are fine. What is lacking is a system for constructing new armors - you are left something in the dark when it comes to determining the Armor# value. I'm guessing it's a multiple of Design Strength for the armor material, with a few other modifiers due to flexibility. That said, the weight determination and Bulk% mechanics are nice. Big bulky plate armor leads to those slow fights wherein knights wear each other down with heavy blows.

The last, and largest, part of the mini-setting rules is the extensive Skill list. In addition to being essential to the Robin Hood setting, the Skill list will provide a good base for the list in any low-fantasy setting. My one complaint about Skills in SORD is that there are too many combat-oriented and character-value-altering Skills, many of which seem to do similar things. The division between combat and non-combat Skills seems artificial at times, as most combat Skills have accompanying limitations that are not suffered by other Skills.

A Look at the Free Version

Located on the Fractal Dimensions web site. The files are gzipped ASCII text, so you will have to find a gunzip tool to deal with that. Some good ones are available for download as freeware if you go looking via a good search engine.

The free online version of SORD is very densely written, and doesn't hold a candle to the commercial version for clarity. ASCII text is not the best medium for good layouts, after all. However, most of the rules are there in the same form. The only big difference (and this does make a difference when using free online settings with the commercial version) is in the calculation of the Cultural STEP Rate. Be aware of that.

The online version does contain a useful bonus - rules for a magic system that were not included in the commerical version because they are setting-specific. I have it on good authority that a newer and clearer version of the online SORD rules is in the works.

In addition to the online SORD rules, there are several settings available at the Fractal Dimensions web site: Ethaerios, a fantasy setting complete with a very large skill and spell list, Quasar, a science fiction setting, and the Arthurian Avalon setting. The latter is best described as science-fantasy in the Moorcock vein. All are interesting, and each contains addition rules (such as starship construction and combat in Quasar) that may be useful for your own settings.

Conclusion

For 96 pages, SORD manages to give you a lot of interesting mechanics to chew over and a setting to go with it all. If you have net access, you can immediately find a whole plethora of other supporting material and settings for free, which makes cheapskates like me happy. For my money, despite some small annoyances and odd quirks, SORD has the capacity to do the universal game system thing in a mechanically better fashion than either GURPS or RoleMaster, the two other detailed-rules universal systems. Even if you don't intend to use SORD as is, there are just too many good rules ideas there not to take a look at either the free or commercial versions. I know I've pillaged half a dozen ideas for other games already...

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)