Search
Review of Crown of Kings
 Goto [ Index ] |
The campaign is a relatively direct adaptation of the original books. It has been some time since I played these, and I therefore don't remember all of the details clearly, but it felt very true to the old plot. It also features many of the original illustrations by John Blanche.
If you can get players on board for the quest, they can have a lot of fun on the journey, which will last for quite a few hours. They have to travel across the Shamutanti Hills (basically a sequence of villages and somewhat random encounters, generally magically-tinged. They must then cross the Jabaji River at the strange city of Kharé. From there, they trek across the Baklands, chasing down evil serpents. If they make it through all of that, there remains the mountains and the evil Archmage's citadel.
A faithful adaptation may appeal to those who want to re-live the gamebooks or who don't mind being railroaded. It does not work so well for those who want a more engaging and free-form experience. There are several problems with the information available, the logic of the quest, and the plot, given that this is basically a dungeon crawl overground. Some spoilers follow. In the Shamutanti Hills, some villages are unnamed, probably because they were unnamed in the original book. It is never clear why the players would seek to go through a dangerous city when they could just go around it. The spell to open the city gates and exit made sense as a gamebook device; it doesn't make sense in a role-playing game. It also isn't clear why the players cannot leave by another method. The Baklands works relatively well, but it would be better if the serpents chased the players rather than the other way around. The citadel is somewhat silly: random merchants, a group of rebels, and a concluding twist that seemed clever in the book but players will see through quickly. Characters either have no name, no backstory, and no rational reason to be where they are, or very long backstories that players are likely never to hear. Some aspects grate: the assumption that everyone is white unless you are told otherwise (as you are with a village of headhunters), and the lack of female NPCs.
Overall, the campaign offers some solid entertainment. AFF is a quick-and-simple system that provides just enough to make it a good game, but does not bury players in dice rolls. It is easy to fudge one's way to fun. The system and the campaign have that epic heroic feel, but in a low fantasy world, with engaging quirky touches. It is a shame that more was not done to tweak the original material, or to create a sourcebook element for more open adventuring in a very distinctive creation. Perhaps that wasn't possible because of licensing or time constraints.
