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Review of Atlantis: The Second Age
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I realize and know that there are other reviews of this wonderful game and while all of them are good, not many seem to focus on what I believe is the core of what Atlantis brings to the table that not many other rpgs do and that's giving the players the real focus of making changes in the world. This game focuses on the adventure, no, the Journey, the Heroes will go on. It gives the players the tools to achieve Greatness, if they are willing to take it... and that's what this game delivers on.
As we take a gander through this world of Atlantis: the Second Age, a world of sword & sorcery fantasy, epic adventure, Heroes that are Destined to accomplish amazing feats that will stand the test of time and cause the heroes to be remembered for hundreds (or possibly thousands) of years to come OR face their Fate and succumb to the eternal abyss of nothingness as their Fate catches up with them before they fulfilled their Destiny... we shall embark on a most amazing adventure through this new fantasy role playing game delivered upon us by the wonderful folks of Khepera Publishing (they have also delivered to us the great Hellas and Godsend Agenda rpgs) and see if, in the end, this is a game for you. But beware the dreams of the elder beings, slumbering in the depths of the earths crust, subtly revealing hidden truths of darkness and twisted nightmares and the eternal chaos they can create and watch out for the magicians of the world that can take their unwoven pieces of dream and make them reality.
All character's made in this game are front loaded with power... instead of starting as a weakling that can barely fend off giant rats, you are a Hero. What you do, where you go, and how you act all matters and no matter what you do your reputation will precede you. This game uses a very good Renown system to fuel this drive towards what you choose as your Destiny. Instead of using a regular xp system that the GM dolls out at the end of every session or adventure, Atlantis is designed where your character's get Renown after every encounter, always propelling your character forward if you perform heroic deeds, or lowering your Renown if you perform cowardly deeds... running away from the incoming Hydra might be the wiser decision, but the tale of you running away from the danger and causing many innocents (or lesser powered individuals) to die will be told far and wide and faster than you can fly.
There are Nine Chapters to this tome of Atlantis that comprise its 368 full color pages...
~ One is the Twelve Revelations: A question and answer section that tells you what's what about the game, and this is something that all designers and writers of rpg's should take a lesson from.~ Two is the Hero's Journey: Character generation. This game uses a life path system to make your character, giving you background to begin your story and helping you on your path to making the world yours... if you can survive it.
~ Three is Magic: here the four Traditions (Sorcery, Dark Magic, Animism, and Witchcraft) of the magical world are described and how magic is used by the fledgling Heroes that want to tap into this otherworldly cosmic energy. But nothing I can say can explain the Magic of the Atlantean world better than the writer of the game himself which I will quote here from his forum post.
" Magic is like smoking cigarettes.
The different traditions are like different brands of cigarettes.
I may smoke Kool menthols; you smoke a pack of GPCs regular with a filter. Both are bad for you but we all have a preferred brand.
Don’t think for one minute that one type of magic is better or less otherworldly than another. All are the same thing previewed through different beliefs.
All magic corrupts and that’s why people, even other magic users, shun practitioners. Something about them sets your nerves on edge, makes your teeth hurt, or loosens your bowels when you’re in their vicinity.
Throw out the notion that some magic is good while other magic is bad. There is not a Glinda the Good Witch walking on air and sparkling with fairy dust. Magic is more like Medea slitting sibling’s throats and casting them overboard to get a little extra power to cast a spell. In ATLANTIS magic is like holding a cup filled with plutonium and sipping from a crazy straw. These people just aint right." ~ Jerry D. Grayson (I hope he doesn't mind me quoting him).
~ Four is Gods and gaining powers from them.
~ Five is Equipment and all purpose and important gear.
~ Six is Rules: Ahh we finally get to how to play the game. According to this book the rules are pretty simple and straight forward IMO. Every action you take, no matter what you try and do, gets resolved on the same chart. You must state your Intent, than the GM will determine a modifier, you roll a d20 and apply the modifier to your roll and then look on the chart. You will either Critically Fail, Fail, Get a Partial Success, Full Success or a Critical Success. That's it.
~ Seven if the Game Master section: Advice on how to run the game and help the players to either achieve their greatness or deliver them to their fates but either way it's Always up the the Players.
~ Eight provides the secrets to some of the creatures, monsters and demons of the world and how best to utilize them as well as the guidelines for creating your own to populate the world.
~ Nine delves into the history of Atlantis itself and describes the lands of Atlantis to some fair detail as well as ends with a synopsis of the rest of the world.
Everything about this book shines, and that's both metaphorical and literal. The book is shiny, full color, glossy paper and it's utilization of color throughout is second to none. It has more depth to it (dare I say substance) than many other games. It provides the tools to create a Hero, not a wimp, and it thrusts that Hero into a world that will evolved and change around that Hero.
Part of the design of Atlantis: the Second Age is that, unlike most other rpgs that have a brief introduction and an eternal middle with no ending, the characters of this game are meant to have a Beginning, a Middle, and an End and your characters will have an End. The Renown system used is the central concept of this. If your Renown reaches a certain point and you have more Great Works than Fate points than you have reached the point that you can achieve your Destiny but if you have fewer Great Works than Fate points you have failed your Destiny. This also is designed to be a three book game (this core rule book, the Geographica, and the Theragraphica which is on Kickstarter now and is the ultimate Atlantean bestiary and who doesn't like more beats to throw at the player characters).
If you have what it takes to create a Hero and propel him/her on his or her Journey to achieve Destiny than don't hesitate to get this game.
