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Review of Dawnfire
This game from the dusty back shelf of another decade is pretty generic fantasy rpg fare; the standard races/ abilities/ classes/ themes are there, just with different names.
The big gimmick in Dawnfire is that it's "a world where magic permeates all; from smallest child to the strongest warrior" (from the rule book back cover).
Dawnfire is a planet with three suns. Two smaller red ones circle about, with a larger yellow one called Hauk, the Flow Sun, dominating the sky. Hauk gives off some cool mojo, a magic energy that shapes and resonates through all things. This energy is called "The Flow", and can be physically felt, seen, and/or manipulated by most intelligent beings on the planet. (In fact, if you can't see or use the Flow at all, you're considered a pathetic loser.)
As we'll see later, this manipulation of the Flow is an important aspect in the Dawnfire game. It's like the use of the Force in Star Wars, only without the royalties being paid to LucasFilms, Inc.
ROLLIN' UP SOME DUDES
OK, the Statistics for Dawnfire characters are:
- Strength
- Agility
- Dexterity
- Endurance
- IQ
- Common Sense
- Perception
- Presence (how others perceive you; charisma)
- Manipulation (how dominating you are over others)
- Luck
PC Stat scores are rolled on 2d10. Your race will adjust these scores, so it's possible to actually start the game with scores between 1 and 25.
Let's talk about races. Your standard fantasy choices are all there, of course: humans, dwarves, gnomes, and elves (called makir in this game) or half elves. For fun, there are also minotaurs, centaurs, aerials (winged people), dracos (weird violent dragon-kin), garin (small, fox-like beings), and trogs (ground-dwelling rock-skinned fungus-eating humanoids.) There are also kair, an ancient race of elves who are very in touch with the Flow. (They're like the Jedi of Dawnfire.)
Each player then picks one of three possible Foci for their guy. Your Focus represents your character class, in a general sort of way. PCs with the Warrior focus are, obviously, good at whompin' opponents. Rogues have plenty of skills, and knowledge in many areas, but haven't mastered any one particular field. PCs having the Shaper focus are best at becoming one with the Flow, manipulating it and casting spells.
AM I BUFF?
Your Focus also determines your starting Life Points and Flow Points. Life Points are hit points, and Flow Points dictate how well you can use the power of Hauk. Warriors get d10 LP, but d4 FP. Shapers get the opposite, d4 LP, but d10 FP. Rogues get a more balaced 2d4 in each.
These dice are rolled at each character level, and added to the PC's previous LP and FP totals. You'll also get extra LP at each level based on your Endurance stat.
SKILLS AND SMARTZ
PCs buy their skills with points. The amount they have to spend at char gen is 1d10, plus any skill bonuses from their IQ score. An IQ score of "5" nets you four extra points, while an IQ of "12" gets you ten points. Smarty-pants with a "20" IQ get 16 bonus skill points.
Skill levels are ranked 1-5. You may buy more than one level in a skill, but it costs you progressively more points. Higher skill levels allow you to not only succeed more often, but to more easily attempt cooler stunts or more complicated feats.
While many skills have simple, concrete mathematical advantages to their levels ("plus one to hit"), some of the skill levels are rather abstractly laid out in vague terms for the referee in the rulebook. For instance, your PC with level 1 fishing skill may - per the description - "catch your goldfish with time and plenty of bait", but at level 5 you "could catch a whale with a stick, some rope, and a lump of bread". The ref has to wing it in regards to the actual applicable level of competence. How is level three fishing different from level two?
Each skill has an individual Base difficulty number, which is modified by any pertinent Statistics your PC may have when using that skill. For example, the Base number for using the woodcarving skill is "12" no matter who's doing the whittling. However, this general Base number will be modified by your PC's specific Dexterity stat. The more dexterous you are, the less chance of you slicing off one of your own thumbs.
Skill checks are made by rolling a d20. Rolling equal to or under the Base number is a success. (A natural 20 always fails, a natural 1 always succeeds.)
The expected plethora of skills is here, like weapon specialization, survival, open locks, forgery, etc., etc. But some feats original to the setting are based around the Flow, and give rise to such skills as Flow mechanics, Flow stealth, and Flow combat. Some skills are race-based. Trogs get such things as rock control, aerials naturally get flight. You get the idea.
As PCs gain XP, they also gain Skill Points that can be used to learn new skills or raise the levels of the ones already possessed.
WHACK!
Combat's pretty straightforward, and each round is broken up into ten segments. For initiative, like all rolls in Dawnfire, you want low numbers. You roll d10, subtract any bonuses from Agility or skills. Lowest roll goes first, followed by everyone else in the order of their initiative roll.
You may, if you're fast, strike more than once in a combat round. Each weapon has a Weapon Speed, which is the number of segments you need to wait after attacking before you may attack again. If your weapon has a low speed, say a club with speed of "2", you may attack every two segments. A big-ass slow weapon, like a voulge with a speed of "11", is only going to get one swing.
The standard target number to hit anybody else is a 10 or lower on a d20. There are modifiers, of course (such as your Defense Rating bonus, a product of your Agility), but you start with an even-steven chance to peg or miss somebody when you swing at them.
IT'S JUST A FLESH WOUND
When your injuries equal 30 minus half your Endurance, you get -1 to all rolls.
When damage reduces you to 30 minus your Endurance, you get -3 to rolls.
When your LP is reduced to zero, you're unconscious.
If your LP ever gets knocked below the negative of your Endurance, you're dead.
FLOWING WITH IT
"For my ally is the Flow, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Flow around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes...
"Oh, crap! No, wait! The Force, that is! My bad, it is!" - Master Yohdah
The Flow plays a big part in Dawnfire. This mystical energy spewed out by the sun Hauk allows any sentient being on the planet Dawnfire to cast spells. Each PC has an allotment of Flow Points, and casting spells uses these up. You regain FP throughout the day no matter what else you do, but regain more when you're resting. The spells one can sling are your basic fantasy rpg dweomers, such as animate object, charm, comprehend languages, teleport, and slow time. Each PC can learn a variety of spells to use as they see fit.
Don't personally know a certain spell, like, oh, I dunno, gender change, but could really find it useful right about now for your buddy's bachelor party? Hey! You can use the game's "Bullshitting rules", which allow you to try to duplicate the effects of any spell on the fly. This costs big FP, but might just save your ass. Or be good for a laugh.
There are some guidelines for creating spells that don't appear on the pre-made lists offered up for quick picks, in case you want to research your own signature sonic belch power or something.
THE REST O' THE BOOK
The remainder of the book is full of a rather standard bestiary of monsters and NPCs that the referee (called the "Fire Lord" in this game) can toss at the PCs. In fact, the Fire Lord has his own section, which lists XP tables for character advancement, and myriad rules for things such as PC age, optional races and Foci, special rules for disabilities, magic items, hints for running adventures, all that sort of thing. There's an entire section devoted to many gods, and by the size of it, religion seems intended to play a big part in the world of Dawnfire, although the section is clearly labeled as optional by the authors.
What's left? Well, take a prompt from the standard fantasy role playing games this one is modeled after, and you'll be off on whatever zany and adventurous quests your Fire Lord has in store for you.
YAY!
The Flow and Bullshit systems allow anyone to fool around with magic. Nice concept. Between the PCs and the NPCs, one never knows when magic is gonna erupt everywhere.
The rules, while being fairly "light" - as in, not overly complex or mathematically involved - are comprehensive. A nice weapons list and range of races creates interesting mixes of genre. A minotaur with nunchaku? Go for it!
MEH
The creatures given in the monster section of the book are pretty common. I mean, goblins, orcs, trolls, giants, cyclops, ogres... there's hardly an original creature to be found. I may as well take the idea of the Flow and slap it into a Dungeons & Dragons game. The result is about the same. There's no race or culture unique to or native to the planet Dawnfire, except the kair, which are really just Flow-attuned elves.
To continue that issue, while the book is complete for character design, there's damn near no campaign background whatsoever. The Fire Lord is pretty much on her own as far as developing the entire world of Dawnfire from scratch. Apparently there was to be a 'world book' published separately, presumably containing a setting, but it never seems to have appeared.
The designers do have a website dedicated to this game, www.dawnfire.com, but there's very little additional content there. They also mention that they're planning further supplements for the game, but have been delayed. Of course, this update was back in 2002, so that is one serious delay.
Well, that about sums it up, lads. I was intrigued by the idea of the Flow, a force that provides constant magic mana that can be tapped into by everyone, and the loose, simple rules system, but there's too much setting detail lacking from Dawnfire for me to recommend it as a complete game. For a group new to roleplaying and not interested in delving into Pathfinder or D&D, this game could have a use as a fantasy rpg-intro tool, but it's not going to hold the attention of veteran gamers and doesn't offer any truly unique ideas or material to elevate it above other, more current fare.
