cjbowser

Chaosium's released Children of the Worm.

They posted the article on yog-sothoth.com, but I think there might be some cross-over interest.

According to the stats on RPGgeek, BRP was played 18 times in the last year. Here and here. This is, of course, only representative of the users who visit rpggeek.com and who log their plays.

Because these are for conventions, the scenarios do have to be more tightly scripted. At home, I like nothing better than creating a sandbox and tossing the players in. At a con, though, I'm limited to a four hour slot and have to make sure that everyone has a good time. I strive to have a discrete beginning, middle, and end that wraps up 75% of the questions generated. I don't want the players feeling like they've accomplished nothing, but I also don't want them feeling like they've wrapped everything up nice and neat. This is for an upcoming campaign called The Red Eye of Azathoth. It was quite possibly the most difficult thing I ever wrote. The original author of the scenario bailed over a year into the project. I had two weeks to create and write a scenario set in Roanoke that would fit smack dab in the middle of the campaign. In other words, I couldn't start it anywhere I wanted or end it anyway I wanted. I had to flow from a previous scenario into a later scenario. All that being said, it turned out pretty good and I had a great time writing it. This is just for personal use. I really like Aces High and Devil's Gulch and want to put them to use. Nope. Neither one of those is the historical project. I'm still working on it. It gets backburnered occasionally so I haven't made as much progress as I'd like. I also want to run a PA game using OpenQuest. It won't be immediately PA, but set after the civilizations have started to recover, but have morphed into very different entities from what they were before the disaster.

I'm working on sessions for an upcoming convention. I'm down for three slots. I'll be running two Call of Cthulhu, one is 1937 Soviet Union and the other is 1587 Roanoke, and one Victoriana. Outside of that, I have a regular Call of Cthulhu group that meets on Sundays. I'm also working on some Wild West campaign ideas to take the place of CoC once it winds down.

So, I have the two Wild West books and thought it might be useful to compare and contrast them. Don't think of this as a full review of either book. Devil's Gulch: Assumes historical setting with options to add "the weird" Details one town with numerous NPCs for play. Not a lot of information on what "The Wild West" as a genre is. Five new character occupations such as Mad Scientist and Medicine Man and chart mapping traditional Wild West occupations to BGB occupations. Handles "triggernometry" through a combination new skills and spot rules. Only new creatures are manitou. Guidelines for creating Native, Chinese, African American characters. Two scenarios, both of which are Weird West. High production values, but somewhat confusing layout. Excellent art. Aces High: Assumes Weird West setting by default Covers the Wild West as a genre, doesn't detail one specific location. Thirty-one occupations, some of which could be handled by BGB occupations. Handles many of the Wild West signature gun techniques as a combination of new skills and spot rules. A very well researched bestiary. Detailed rules and options for creating Native, Chinese, African American characters. As well as outlaws. One scenario, which is Weird West Good production values, solid layout. Good art. In a nutshell, I like them both and am glad I purchased both. Each one has things about it that I like and things that I think the other book did better. I would use the town created in Devil's Gulch as a backdrop for an Aces High campaign. It's interesting in that neither one seems complete without the other.

Just thought I'd give a little update. Things have changed a little bit since the original plan. Instead of focusing on twenty years of history, I'm opening it up to the last fifty years of the century in question. I think that'll open up utility quite a bit. The period was a huge time of change, so to go any wider would make the book even larger. Right now, I'm only at 18519 words. However, I console myself that I took the time off to buy a house, move, go on vacation, help a friend move, and produce some other material for pay. Here's a list of the chapters: 1 - Introduction.doc 2 - Being of the culture in question.doc 3 - Family.doc 4 - The Gentry.doc 5 - table of ranks exampe.doc 6 - The Cities.docx 7 - The Villages.docx 8 - The Military.docx 9 - The Great Something or Other.docx 10 - Organizations.doc 11 - The Church.docx 12 - Folk Belief.docx 13 - Animals.doc 14 - Creatures.doc 15 - Character Creation.doc 16- Money.doc 17- Adventuring.doc 18- Tables.doc None of the chapters are 100% complete yet. Some are very, very close. Well, I guess chapters 5 and 18 are complete, but they just consist of tables so there's not much going on there.

Would you be interested in breaking the set? I already have Openquest, but need The Savage North.

Like you said, the Irish and Scots had the means to travel back and forth between the two islands, go to to Europe -- even as far as Byzantium. They even braved open waters to reach Iceland. Hmm... since Worlds of Cthulhu folded, maybe I should offer that Iceland article up for free... There's St. Columban's Boat Song. While not heavy in detail and fact, it does evoke some nice imagery. It's also an obvious religious allegory, but does indicate the Irish knew a thing or two of boats. Irish whaling, on other hand, consisted of keeping an eye out for beached whales.

I feel a compulsion to vote for hit locations. You just can't have Arthurian fantasy with One more thing to bear in mind is that Pendragon 5.1 is coming out soon from Nocturnals. I see that as another reason to focus less on the Arthurian mythos aspects and more on an Early Medieval Britain sourcebook/campaign/whathaveyou. If you do have plans to sell the book, even if the money is donated to charity, I'd start opening a line of communication to Chaosium. Even if you plan on giving it away free and clear, I'd still open a line to Chaosium. If you do that now, before you ever get started, they might be willing to host the finished freebie on their website and help it reach an even wider audience. As for licensing, I'd look into it. BRP is not OGL, but Chaosium has made efforts to make a license affordable. There's a sample contract in the downloads sections. As you can see the licensing is very cheap, especially for PDF products.

OK. It sounds like there's a lively debate going on here. Allow me to jump in. If I were to do a supplement like this, I'd take the lead set forth by Simon on his very enjoyable Merrie England. The book would not be about Arthur. Instead it would be a look at a version of Late Antiquity/Early Medieval* Britain and environs. "Arthur" could be present. Even better, the various people that some "scholars" think might have been Arthur are all included. Allow the gamers to decide which one to include. Focus on the culture, beliefs, and society of the tribes at the time. *If it really were a "dark ages", would you be able to reference the sources that you do? Yes, literature and knowledge was lost, but not to the extent to create the dark ages that some very early scholars posited. Sorry -- my graduate degree in Late Antiquity/Early Medieval Europe had to kick in there for a second. Good luck with your project.

Like Rust says, ask Chaosium. Send an email to dustin@chaosium.com and he'll be able to either answer your questions or guide you to someone who can.

RedBrick is also working on a 3rd edition of Fading Suns that will have a revamped, more "modern" system.

What about an expanded version of the Gatewarden universe that Nick created for Outpost 19? If he had the time and desire to expand it, it sounds like there might be an audience.

If I could develop any sci-fi setting into an RPG I'd go with the Galactic Empire created by Asimov in his expanded Foundation series. There's a lot of "history" to play with there, and I'm not sure exactly when I'd set it. Perhaps during the Mule's consolidation of the Union of Worlds when it's still unknown that Trantor is the Second Foundation.

Here's a review.

This primarily based on my experiences at conventions and other gamer type gatherings. It has very little traction around here, at least not publicly. A lot of people don't know what it is, or they think it's Call of Cthulhu. If you set up a BRP game at a con around here, expect it to not make. Set up a Call of Cthulhu game and you'll have twenty people for six slots. I've had better luck filling Mythic Russia games than BRP, and Mythic Russia is a niche game. I think part of the issue stems from the name. If you're not familiar with Basic Roleplaying, what are you going to think when you see the name in a convention book? Is it a system, a concept, or what the guy running the game hopes to get out of the players? At the last gaming convention I couldn't get people to stick around for a BRP game. I don't think it's a part of being not being the cult of the new, either. There are four popular "games" around here. If you put out feelers looking for people to play a regular game of D&D, Indie, Savage Worlds, or retro (Osric, Harn, Labyrinth Lord, etc.), you'll get players. If you're talking about in a convention setting, you can add Call of Cthulhu to the list. If I walk into my FLGS, I see the four "games" I mentioned above, along with World of Darkness and Fantasy Flight Games products. I don't see Basic Roleplaying or Call of Cthulhu. Based on the increasing release schedule, it seems like Chaosium is trying to get product out the door. The licensees are working at it, too. I hope the Cubicle-7 backing of Alephtar helps them get their product on more shelves. If it's any consolation, I'm starting up a game of Solomon Kane soon. I can proselytize until I'm blue in the face, or go where the gamers are.

Welcome, Travis! I'm in NC as well. The Piedmont Triad to be specific. What part are you in?

Before Chaosium ever started doing PDFs on their own site, they gave some books to drivethru to scan and put online. I guess nobody's bothered to give drivethru the updated PDFs. That's also why you'll see PDFs on drivethru that you don't see on Chaosium.com.

The PDF on drivethrurpg is of bad quality. They scanned a copy of the physical book. Chaosium's version of the PDF was made from the digital files so it's of higher quality.

Dustin's blog posts at Chaosium.com have indicated that Chaosium had to source new cover art, pushing the project back.

Oh... and it's FREE! It's by Troy "In Search of the Trollslayer" Wilhelmson. You can download it here.

In Search of the Troll Slayer bills itself as a beer & pretzels dungeon dive filled with monsters, traps, and, of course, a dungeon. How well does it live up to its claim? Well. Very well. If you're looking for a Basic Roleplaying (BRP) fantasy dungeon crawl, look no further. This 48 page module supplies at least one, if not two, sessions of roleplaying fun. It also claims to be first in a series, but I don't know if there will be subsequent modules or not. Troll Slayer is completely self-contained. Game Masters can add plot hooks very easily with the material provided, but nothing essential is omitted for inclusion in a later book. Since this is an adventure, I'll try to avoid spoilers in case some players stumble upon this review. I like to think that I've grown as a role player since my earliest days with the hobby. Now I'm into motivation, plot development, narrative structure, all that stuff. Back in the 80s, I wanted to pick up a sword, kill things, and take the loot. Troll Slayer reminded me of why it's sometimes fun, and even cathartic to run around with a mace and smack trolls around. The adventurers are in search of the Troll Slayer, a legendary spear said to forged by the gods. Several options are provided to get the players involved, as are six pre-generated characters playing to all the fantasy stereotypes. There's a dwarven fighter, an elven magic user, and elven hunter, and some humans. The scenario, however, isn't tied to those characters. If you want to take your own PCs into the dungeon, several different plot hooks are included to get them roped into the hunt for the spear. The setting makes few references to the outside world, so it's easy for Game Masters to drop this dungeon into their own world without upsetting things. There are no references to complex political agendas or powerful nations that a GM will have to try to shoehorn into his world. The story is driven forward by the players' interactions with the dungeons and the denizens within. There isn't that much room for branching. Kick open a door, kill something, repeat. And in this scenario, that methodology is executed flawlessly. There's even a riddle for the adventures to tackle. There are two maps provided, one for the dungeon and one for the swamp surrounding the dungeon. Both maps use a square = 5 feet scale and are very clear and easy to use. Some of the antagonists, and there are many, are new creatures. An appendix includes information and stats for the four new creatures introduced, Shellbacks, Cave Kraken, Harpies, and Living Statues. Three of the four new creatures are self-explanatory. Shellbacks, however, are something new. They�re anthropomorphic tortoises that rule the dungeon with an iron claw. The rest of the monsters in the dungeon, such as ghouls, spirits, and a rather nasty demon are from the BRP corebook, but their stats are repeated in Troll Slayer for ease of reference. The book itself is available in both PDF and print format. It has a very clean, uncluttered layout and typos are kept to a minimum. Nothing really glaring jumped out at me. The artwork is a different story. It's phenomenal, especially the shellback on page 12 and the demon on page 33. When I ran my group through this module, we had five players and randomly distributed the pre-generated characters around the table. We got lucky in that the extra character was a warrior. The thief character and magic-using character possess skills that are almost necessary to the successful completion of the adventure, especially the magic-user. The book (and website copy) tells you up front that a magic-user is a necessity so I don't see this requirement as a flaw. It's not as though you can get of the way through the module, reach an area where a sorcerer would be handy and complain that you weren't told beforehand. My group completed the dungeon in a pair of three hour sessions. There is no clear-cut narrative break to take advantage of, so once they cleared a room we just called it quits for the evening. We then resumed our journey during our next session. The players didn't find the dungeon impossible, but it was a challenge and they had to fight for every inch of territory. I didn't scale back on the monsters or the traps when I ran it. There were no deaths, but there were several very tense moments where players wondered whether or not their characters would pull through. When the scenario was over and the Troll Slayer safely in the party's hands, the players all commented on how much fun they had running and slashing their way through the dungeon. I take that as a sign that Chaosium has a winner on their hands.

Ashes to Ashes is a 177 page monograph setting for Chaosium's Deluxe BRP rule set, released last year. It's a post-apocalyptic dark fantasy role-playing setting with darkly humorous underpinnings. It is available in both print and downloadable PDF format from Chaosium's website. A few brick and mortar vendors, particularly in the UK carry the monograph line, but they are few and far between. For those unfamiliar with Chaosium's implementation of monographs; a monograph is a longer work where everything: art, content, editing, and layout is done by the author. Chaosium gives the work a cover and a product number, prints a small batch and sells them exclusively through their website. They do not enter the distribution market. For full disclosure, the PDF copy I received was complimentary from the author. I have not seen the print version. The book The book is divided into 14 chapters, each of which I'll deal with separately. There will be some mild spoilers. The layout is clean throughout, and as far as monographs go, very typo free. I wasn't keeping an active eye out for typos, but did spot 10. That's very good for monographs, many of which are littered with typos. It is straightforward two column text with artwork sprinkled throughout. One part of the author's style which I like, but others may not is the POV shift from third to second person periodically. In my opinion, it helps set the tone for the world, helping bring the chaos and disorder to life. The author never shifts POV in the middle of a section, so it is not disorienting in that respect. One thing I didn't care for was the outline method chosen by the author. New sections were prefaced by either a number or letter, and underlined. For example, the introduction starts with a. Welcome(?) to the World. While I understand the utility, I find it breaks the flow of the text. The art shines, however. The author chose to go with artwork publically accessible from the Library of Congress. Most are fitting, but not your typical fantasy art. For example, the photo of atomic bomb exploding with the caption The Abjuration from Eight Miles Away at first seems out of place, but then the sudden realization of the author's use of dark humor settles in and the picture becomes entirely fitting. As you go through the book and look at the artwork and think about what is presented in the text, each picture becomes increasingly relevant. The maps are hex based, reminiscent of many wargames. While functional, I would have preferred line drawn maps. I think that would have fit with the post-apocalyptic fantasy theme, but given the limitations of monographs (i.e. the author doesn't know anyone who can create line maps) he's forced to use the tools available to him. Since the maps are functional, but just not to my liking, I can't ding the author. At least he included maps. Introduction In the introduction, the author sets forth the goals he had in mind when he wrote Ashes to Ashes. He set out to create a very specific type of role-playing environment, Ashes, to Ashes is a role-playing-heavy, philosophy-heavy, conflict-heavy type of game that would be best enjoyed by serious-minded folk. The author tried to create a world where the players' choices would come down to something more than just a few rolls of the dice. If the PLAYERS are arguing among themselves not about what they can do, but whether they should do anything, then you have the hang of Ashes, to Ashes. The introduction offers a high level overview of the game world that GMs might want to photocopy and hand to their players so they can have some grounding in the setting. It also sets the tone for the post-apocalyptic nature of the setting. Even the destruction of the world involved a major moral and philosophical decision. The World has been broken, broken as a desperate sacrifice to save humanity against the invading demons. 100 years have passed, and it's still quite broken. The remnants of a mighty, high fantasy civilization litter the World, but civilization is no longer mighty. History This section describes the relatively typical idyllic high fantasy world that preceded the downfall. A wise man succumbed to his pride and entered a Faustian bargain and released an army of effectively immortal demons into the world. In his pride, however, he did not see the downside of this bargain and suffered for it. To get revenge against his immortal demon cohorts, he set in motion the abjuration, a world shattering event that not only destroyed most of civilization, but it severed the links between various magical realms, ending the role of magic in the world, and prevents more demons from entering the world. This history is engaging reading. It has all the elements of a tragedy. Heroes and common men sacrifice themselves to save a world that had already doomed itself. As the author notes, this is not information for the players to learn outright. It's been 100 years since the abjuration, and most communities are isolated, so many of the lessons of the lessons that could have been learned are lost to time. As the players progress through the world, they might peel back the layers of the world and learn what happened. The Present This chapter details the power structure as it exists 100 years after the abjuration. In a nutshell, The World is still broken. The weather is, by and large, still berserk and unpredictable, making a peaceful living (and even survival) difficult. The World is still largely depopulated, having only recovered in isolated areas, with vast stretches of ruin lying between habitable areas. Huge mountain ranges and vast deserts make contact between regions rare and dangerous. Demons rule the world, but there are only a few hundred left, and they are no longer immortal. They are susceptible to steel and magic, and work hard to keep those things out of the hands of potentially dangerous humans. They rarely risk exposing themselves, preferring to rule through intermediaries. A GM learns a lot about demons, their methodology, their organization, and their flaws in this chapter. Since demons are the main adversaries in this broken world, the author provides a lot of details for making them unique. Although limited in number, the demons work hard to control the human population to ensure the survival of both, since demons need humans to breed. The World The World deals with how humanity is managing to survive in a world that's been stripped of its resources and every day is a struggle. Although the section is called The World it only details one continent in the world. The remaining continents are not covered in Ashes to Ashes. One of the more interesting aspects explored in this chapter is how people are dealing with the transition from a high magic world where magic was everywhere to a low magic world where someone who uses magic might be mistaken for a demon and run out of town on a spear. As an example, magic used to provide light, allowing for work to proceed almost around the clock. Now, fires provide the light, so darkness is a time for sleep and fear. The world is now an iron-age society. Steel is very rare and most population centers survive on subsistence. A very brief outline of the major regions of the world is presented here. More detail on each area mentioned here as well as more regions is available in the gazetteer. BRP Rules Variations Here the author outlines the optional rules from the Deluxe BRP book that are suitable for the world of Ashes to Ashes. There are no great changes to the BRP ruleset. It's still percentile based and skills are tied to occupation. However, there are changes to the number of skill points allocated to characters, especially if you choose to play a magic user, referred to in this setting as an adept. Most players receive 200 plus INTx10 skill points. Adepts receive 100 plus INTx10. If the adept chooses to have a wild talent, he receives 150 plus INTx10 skill points. In other words, it costs 100 skill points to be an adept and 50 to have access to a wild talent, which will be discussed later. The author tweaks the available skills, as well as starting values for those skills, to better suit the setting. It also adds the Survival and Religion skill, both of which are important to the setting. The only races available to players are humans and Halflings. Dwarves were driven underground into secluded communities cut off from the world by the abjuration. Elves, tied to nature, were either killed or driven insane by the abjuration. Ashes to Ashes has an abstracted wealth system where a character's wealth rating determines what type of gear he has. The system is vague, and could do with more fleshing out, because there is little information on how to perform a transaction. It mentions that horde of coins is more useful for studding leather armor than it is for buying something, but it doesn't provide me enough details on how to buy or barter something when the need arises. Given the nature of the world, magical items that are mundane in a typical fantasy setting are very rare here. The wealth section then concludes with information and tables on the various weapons and armor available in the setting. BRP Rules Variations - Magic Magic is rare, difficult to study, and greatly feared. As one of the headings states, b. Magic and How to Acquire It (Or, How to Make Everyone Hate and Fear You). Aptitude for magic in this setting in innate; either a character has it at creation or he doesn't. This section includes information on how magic users are viewed by the populations of the world, both human and demon. Despite the fear and lack of knowledge, an adept is not a hopeless character, the world was once highly magical, and somewhere in the rubble are the great libraries and magical academies of the days before the abjuration. The magic system is complex, but there are tables and examples to help readers understand the system. Rather than cover every aspect of the magic system, I'll cover the basics. Spells cost Magic Points to cast, but unlike base BRP, there is not an individual skill for each spell. To quote the author, That implies too much organization and predictability. Magic here is fractured and wild. Spell casting is controlled by the POW attribute and skill points invested in an aptitude such as healing or fire which relate to broad categories of spells. These points are used to determine the adjusted POW used to cast spells. Success in spell-casting is determined by a modified POW check. The Adept checks his (adjusted) POW x3 vs. the MPs needed for the spell x10 on the Resistance Table. If the Adept wins, the MPs are expended and the spell goes off. If it fails, the MPs are still expended and Bad Things Happen. This system seems to work well for the setting, creating a sense of suspense and mystery every time and adept tries to cast a spell. There is a detailed discussion and table of potential modifiers to help GMs work through the system quickly. The Bad Things happen to the adept. If an adept fails his roll, he suffers HP damage. If an adept tries too powerful a spell by expending numerous magic points, it's possible a failed spell will kill him. The magic chapter also conatains the Lost Arts. These are hidden mysteries that adepts can delve into as they progress in power. Some of the lost arts include Terrible Presence, whereby an adept physically radiates magic. He can use this ability to intimidate enemies, but it also causes penalties to social rolls where the adept wants to be viewed as a nice, unassuming guy. Another Lost Art is Dreaming, the adept can have visions of the world and what might come. Listed as a Lost Art, but seemingly out of place, are Wild Talents. Any character can spend 50 skill points at character creation to have a Wild Talent. Those 50 points are why character creation indicates a Wild Talent character has 150 skill points instead of 200. A Wild Talent only has one aptitude, but is better at exploiting it than a normal adept. Unfortunately, the risks of taking damage are higher. Sample magic items, which can be used to modify the POW roll are included after the Lost Arts. The chapter is rounded out by two sample adepts. Both are ready-made NPCs and showcase the versatility of the system. Religion and the Circle This brief chapter outlines the one religion that is prevalent in the world. Not surprisingly, it's not what the characters hope it is. Inhabitants of the World Most of the space here is dedicated to demons. The author is careful to point out that demons in Ashes to Ashes are not the demons of games such as D&D. In terms of game mechanics, there are no fantasy monsters other than demons. Some demons may look like a dragon, or a imp, or minotaur, but at their core, they are all demons and have the same abilities and limitations as every other demon. I think this interpretation adds flavor to the world and provides the GM with a great deal of flexibility. In the worldview of the inhabitants, everything evil and wrong is the product of demons, but no too demons are the same. Maybe even the character's neighbor is a demon. He can't be too careful. Halflings and their very secretive way of life are also covered. Dwarves and elves also receive a small amount of space. The last race mentioned is the Overseers, who are soulless demon/human or demon/dwarf hybrids that are the backbone of the demon army and serve as a way to control the majority of the peasants. Organizations This chapter outlines four guilds that characters can join. The Heroes of Old are a traditional demon slaying group of heroes. The Paired are healers who travel the world with a life mate, offering healing for a price. The Coursers are brave souls who wander to where they're most needed. The final presented group is the Brotherhood of the Raven, which is a secret society that tries to restore knowledge and learning to pre-abjuration levels. Sample NPCs are provided for each group. Gazetteer This is the largest section of the book. It is a detailed overview of the continent presented in Ashes to Ashes. If a GM wants to set his campaign in the author's world, he has more than enough material to work with. The regions are all well thought out and provide a diverse selection of geographies. There's a desert, a blasted wasteland, a seemingly verdant park, and even the remnants of a few great cities. There are numerous hex based maps to help GMs and players visualize the world. Points of Emphasis for Roleplaying The author stresses some of the key points of Ashes to Ashes in this section. Primary among them all is conflict. Not just physical combat, but moral conflict as well. The players should be confronted with difficult decisions for their characters to make; nothing should be black and white. The author also encourages GMs to stress the poverty and scarcity of the world compared to other fantasy worlds. Each character should find his own personal Hell in the world of Ashes to Ashes and strive to escape it. The world is destroyed, distrust is fomented by the demons of the world, and the cow the next farm over just died. The characters have to decide who they're going to help and how. This section is a nice touch. It allows the author to spell out exactly how he envisions his world without breaking the narrative he already established in the previous sections describing the world. If you like the material, but don't necessarily agree with the author's vision for it, simply forget this chapter ever existed. Scenarios There are two introductory scenarios included, The Lord of Nothing and The Redoubt. I have not had the chance to play the scenarios yet, but I want to. The Lord of Nothing is a morality play where the characters have to decide whether or not a local warlord who is provided for the people, but also working them to the brink of death is a boon or bane to the community. The Redoubt takes place at an ancient fortress where the great wizards of yore brought down the abjuration. It is more of a traditional fantasy scenario complete with massive dungeon and powerful dragon, but not without its own moral issues. Some Noteworthy Demons A who's who of demons, this chapter includes statistics and detailed personality notes for six demons - the major adversaries in Ashes to Ashes. Each description should provide an enterprising GM with enough scenario seeds to run a campaign or two. Index The book has a useful index that allows a GM to find most of the pertinent information quickly. Coupled with a detailed Table of Contents at the beginning of the book, it's easier to find material in this monograph than it is in many professionally produced RPGs. Commentary Was the author successful in his stated goal to create a philosophically heavy and conflict heavy RPG? I think so. Ashes to Ashes is all about surviving in a world that thrived, sowed the seeds of its own destruction, and is now trying to claw its way back. The allegorical nature of the book, at least as I see it, is a nice touch. If the seven deadly sins of Roman Catholicism are not the underpinnings of the various bad guys in the world, I'd be surprised. For example the man who destroyed the world was a victim of his own pride - he thought he was the best in the world, and would break the world to prove it. Content wise the book is rock-solid and even if you don't plan on using the setting, it is still full of excellent ideas to lift for your own setting. Or it might serve as a guide for introducing a more layered, realistic fantasy setting to your players. Almost every page is full of plot ideas and seeds I could lift for other systems. Presentation wise, the book could use a little work. This is more a matter of my own taste. The spartan layout does get the job done. Since Ashes to Ashes only covers one continent in the world, hopefully the author will produce more works further expanding the world.

Fine! I'll just take my dice and go home!