As with many games and game products one always has to ask does product X live up to the hype that the game companies have put behind it again and again? When 50 Fathoms was coming out for Savage Worlds I was skeptical. I already own a full copy of 7th Sea, and while the world of 50 Fathoms may be unique, why bother picking up yet another pirate era game? How much better can it be than the game that is pretty well established as the swashbuckling RPG? After long discussions on the Pinnacle boards, there were a lot of accolades of this book and it’s revolutionary “plot point” system. A lot of talk about how you can run a 50 Fathoms campaign with little to no prep, and yet allow the players the ability to go through a completely proactive experience. It sounds too good to be true. However to be fair so did Savage Worlds, The supposedly Fast Furious and Fun rules that run this game (and are required to run 50 Fathoms) and yes, Savage Worlds does deliver what it promises. So how about 50 Fathoms? Does it deliver? In one word- YES!
Wrapped in a simple 144 page hardcover book, with a somewhat simplistic cover design (my only real gripe to the look of the product,) is a treasure trove of world information and rules that will allow you to run an incredible campaign on the high seas. First off, let’s start with the product’s package. The book’s artwork is very nice, all black and white working within a line between comic and fine art. And while yes this book lacks the color plates and glossy layouts of many of the d20 products, but much like the text of the books it’s an excellent example of getting the message across without spending much time (if any) on fluff.
Now to the text itself, split into three major sections the book is extremely well organized And while again much more could have been put in this book to up the page count (and presumably the product’s value) This product gives you everything you need to run the campaign no more, no less. The first section (known as the player’s section) starts with a capsule explanation of the kinds of characters you may wish to play as well as the myriad of races available to the players. Including Atani (Winged Humanoids) Human (nothing new here) Masaquani (an Iconic race that is very similar to humans, that tend to look either very lithe or stocky) Grael (Massive yet slow witted Walrus men) Doreen (a lonely race of once hunted dolphin like people) Kehenna (The race that almost hunted the Doreen into extinction, a violent fish race) Half Ugaks (a half breed race between humanoids and the savage Ugaks of the Savage Lands of Toroth Ka (more on them later)) Kraken (a race of squid like sorcerers) and Scurrilians (an Ornery race of crab like race of creatures). Also included is an extensive new list of Edges and Hindrances that all go really well with the world. The next part of the Player’s section is what really shines. In comparison to 7th sea, which spent much of the two core volumes explaining the world of Theah, 50 Fathom’s seems much more interested in the actual day to day processes of transporting cargo and high piracy, to this end they have an incredible matrix to allow you to Figure out how much you can make just simply shipping cargo (or stealing it) and trading with the right people! The main map of Caribdus (the world of 50 Fathoms) is divided into a grid allowing you to easily figure out distances depending on the speed of the ship you are on, complete rules for fatigue and cabin fever make simply running cargo a fun game in and of itself. However they did not stop there of course. The final part of the player’s guide is a brief gazetteer of the world of Caribdus complete with major locals and attitudes. To be fair this section would be enough to easily try out the world (and is on sale for about $7 at RPGNOW.com)
The Next section is the GM’s Section which gives the GM much of the real meat of the world and the meta-plot that runs through the game, explaining the origin of the flood that plunged Caribdus and the nation of Ograpog into the torrent of water and fear that it now knows, also how humans came to find their way to the mystic world of Caribdus. Since there are no plans for a deluge of 50 Fathoms complete guides to everything, Shane and company took a very interesting route here, your players ARE the metaplot of the game (which leads us into section 3 of the book!)
. It will be up to your characters to eventually confront the evil Sea hags in time, and it will be up to them to change the face of Caribdus forever. This is where the book really shines, all player go through one starting module (maiden voyage), and from there they are given hints about the metaplot, and it is up to them whether they wish to follow up or not. As they do they will be put through subsequent plot point modules (dubbed savage tales) which will lead them to the eventual saving of this dying world. However players can take their own sweet time, and are not slaves to following the plot immediately, this means that the GM can put his own spins on the game without ruining the focus of the game. These savage tales take almost nothing to set up and as long as you can keep a book mark on where you are on the metaplot you can continue the game with less set up than most RPGs. Some of these Savage tales take place in order of story, others take place during random encounters allowing your characters to remain completely proactive in a somewhat scripted campaign.
Currently my players have played through 2 of the savage tales in the 3 weeks we have played and are debating about following up the next lead on their quest, as a GM I have never found an Easier game to set up and run, between the wonderfully simple system of Savage Worlds and the amazingly rich world of 50 Fathoms I found a game that can be prepped in less time than it takes to set up most decent wargames, and plays like a dream, and to top it off once we’re done It wouldn’t take much to play again and guarantee a completely different experience (making the book more than a simple use once module campaign!) That all being said, and with all respect to 7th sea (which will probably continue to collect dust on my shelf) this game more than lives up to it’s hype, it’s an instant classic!
Review Summary