Crimson Blades 2 Review

(Yes, I made is review of this game before, but that was a test of CharGen; this is an actual review. Pardon the spelling errors and the length of the review; that is how I review things.)

A while back, I purchased the first edition of Crimson Blades: Crimson Blades Dark Fantasy RPG (core rulebook) and the Crimson Lords Dark Fantasy RPG Supplement. Together, they were a great ruleset, offering a lot of neat rules and ideas. That I found out that there was a new edition in the works, and Simon was nice enough to send me files with a sample of the newer rules and content. Although, largely unchanged in setting, save for a better map, rule-wise, it was way better that what came before. The rules are more consistent and easier to run. I love it!

Originally, the second edition was going to be in a box-set, much like Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea, containing sheets, fold-up map, (possibly) dice and four rule booklets, each dedicated to a content of the game:

Crimson Blades: Characters & Combat
Crimson Scrolls: Sorcery & Summoning
Crimson Lords: Manors & Monsters
Crimson Lands: Legends & Locales

Through reasons beyond his control, he was unable to make that happen, so he published the game in a single book.

"For the honor of Greyskull!!"

(Sorry, it was that sword that made me say that)

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The rules are simple and play like the old Basic/Expert D&D rules, but the game uses d6s exclusively. The game is tailored to play in the sort of fantasy seen with Conan of Cimmeria and Elric of Melniboné.

The biggest change between editions is how it handles dice rolls. In the first edition, what you need to roll was based on how you kick-down and hear though doors: roll a d6, with a set number (e.g. 4+; lower, the better) based on ability score or class ability (respectively). Some tasks (including saves) would be based on ability scores, and would not change through level progression, while other tasks would be based on level, with no consideration to high or low ability. Doing anything "untrained" would require a roll of 6 or more on a single die. The second edition streamline the possess by requiring only 4+ on a single die to succeed, high and low ability adjusting all rolls (from -1 to +2), and granting additional dice (thus increasing ones chances of rolling a successful die) through level progression. This also removes a number of ability-based checks like Strength Feat, Lore Roll, Notice Roll and the like.

One of the biggest hooks that got me into the game in the first place is how it handles Hit Dice. Unlike D&D, Hit Dice is not equal to one's level. Hit Dice in this game determines two things: Hit Point total and attacks per turn. Also unlike D&D, you do not keep a running tally of Hit Points per level. Every time you gain a new level, you re-roll your hit points. If you rolled higher that your old total, record the new score. If it equal to or less, than keep the old total. Although, in the new rules, you'll always get the minimum of one hit point per level, which makes hit point totals per level less stagnate. Hit Dice also features a bonus that is added to hit point rolls, but is only applicable to the current level and has no effect on combat rolls. Your Hit Dice is also the number of attack dice you can roll in a single turn. If you have two or more HD, you can use them on a single enemy, or split them between different opponents. You may convert extra dice for bonuses (for yourself or to aid an ally in combat), in order no hit tougher targets. Heavy weapons on the other hand use only one attack die, but the damage dice rolled is equal to your HD, and it is totaled! What that means is that instead of handling damage dice per attack, each effected by Strength and armor, heavy weapons can dish out more damage, with armor being less effective. Originally, defense was much like AC, where armor effected the opponent's ability to hit. Now, AC — called Defence Class (DC) — is based on DEX, shield-use and level bonuses. Armor now absorbs damage, making it possible to not take any damage.

The effects of this system, compared to D&D, is to prevent high level characters from becoming human pincushions, with the trade off being that high level characters are granted more killing power. If find this option to be way better than D&D, as characters who gain level can quickly cut through mobs and down powerful beasts, instead of being bloated meat-shield, who spend all day hacking at monsters.

Another neat rule is its simple encumbrance system. A thing to note, is that I tend to ignore encumbrance. I handle movement and what a character can carry in the laziest way possible. This "Thing" system is insanely simple, and reminds me of the Stone-based (units of 14 lbs.) encumbrance systems used in some of the newer retro-clones. In this game, weapons, armor and gear are rated as "Things." Most weapons, as well as the shield, count as a "Thing." Armor range for one to four "Things." The clothes on your back, some basic adventuring gear and pocket change all counts as only one Thing, but beyond this, what you are carrying is subject to the DM's discretion. In D&D, the thresholds to how much a character can carry is ether static (Basic/Expert), or requires a separate lists, based on STR score (Advanced). The amount of Things a character can carry are such a low numbers, that STR bonus adjusts them without complication.

Your class options in this game are: Barbarian, Griot, Fighter, Mountebank, Thief, Sorcerer, Wayfarer, and the inhuman Dendrelyssi race. This is not a game about characters turning into virtual demigods, so levels are caped at 10th level for all classes. Also, you cannot multi-class.

Fighters are your basic D&D Fighter, but with the ability to preform the kinds of stunts you'll see in Errol Flynn films. Barbarians are your typical berserkers with survival skills and a reliance on agility than heavy armor. Griot are African-styled Bards. Unlike the standard D&D Bard, a Griot can summon spirits to supplement their knowledge. They also have a lot of political clout. Wayfarers play out like D&D Monks, but are strange runaways with mystic abilities. Thieves are like their D&D equivalent, but are focused towards tomb-robbing and second-story work, and possesses no slight-of-hand ability. That ability goes to Mountebanks, who are like Thieves in many ways, but their skills are based on being con-artists. Where a Thief still uses Dexterity as a Prime Requisite, the Mountebank uses Charisma. Sorcerers are like D&D Magic-Users, but they can use meany types of weapons, and can even wear armor. They also benefit from the new rules governing the summoning of unearthly spirits, but not to the same degree as the Dendrelyssi. The Dendrelyssi are a race of white-skin dark elves. Much like D&D Elves, they are as skilled with a sword, as they are skilled with the mystic arts. Their ability to cast spells is weak compared to Sorcerers, but they are exceptional summoners.

Most of the classes have a special skills akin to Thieves' Abilities. They have between three to six skills. The player sets priorities to each skill. The priorities are set as Primary, Secondary and Teriary. From the start, Primary skills offers the best odds of success, while Teriary skills have the lowest odds. As characters progress in level, the odds improve more rapidly with Primary skills as they grant two dice and give more dice sooner, while Teriary skills start you with one die improve only slightly. Mountebanks and Thieves, who have six skills each, can set two skills for each priority. Wayfarers on the other hand, only have four skills, so they can only place one skill in Primary and in Secondary, with the remaining two in Teriary. Saving throws use the same rule. You have the same set of saves as in 3e D&D, with Fort, Ref and Will. Saves by default advance as Teriary skills, but a favorite save, as determine by class, is treated as a Primary skill.

There are other classes, but they are NPCs only. In this case, they are the Fleshcrafter, Merchant, Royal Redeemer and Witch. Fleshcrafters are Dendrelyssi who are skilled in torture and surgery. Merchants are expert hagglers and travelers. The Royal Redeemer are inquisitors who hunt down Dendrelyssi and their sympathizers. And the Witch has a limited cast spells ability (though her familiar), but can brew potions.

Much like Elric of Melniboné, the game is set to the "eternal balance of order and discord", and as such, you can choose to play as Lawful, Neutral or Chaotic. The book makes good note of each of their strengths and shortcomings, without making any side inherently good or evil. Its mostly about being conservative in your outlook (Lawful), or being recalcitrant (Chaotic).

The spell system in this game is the same as D&D, and does not offer much in new rules or ideas. The rules for summoning are wholly original. Whenever a class gains the ability to summon, the player must determine what kind of spirit the character can summon. The are: Elementals (air, earth, fire and water), Demons (of Combat, Desire, Knowledge, Pain, Possession, Protection and Travel) and Undead (corporeal and non-corporeal). Dendrelyssi and Sorcerers can choose what type of spirit they can summon — if they meet Intelligent requirements — then they must roll to see would type they are able to summon. Some classes, like the Griot, are limited to Undead or Demons of Knowledge, while Merchants can call on Demons of Travel. Intelligent and powerful summoners can even summon the lords of these spirits: Elementals Rules, Demon Lords, Liches or Vampires. Instead of the usual D&D-styled magic items, demons can be installed in objects or even people. Demons of Combat can be placed inside weapons to imbue great power to the welder. Demons of Protection can be placed in armor, doors, locks, chests and any other barriers. These items can be dangerous and fickle to use, but they can be awesomely game-braking in the right hands, and that is not a bad thing.

Beyond the core dice mechanics, another major change between edition is the complete removal of Experience Points. The reason for this is that the game is not a dungeon-crawl, nor a hack-n-slash. The goal of this game is to focus on adventure, exploration, mystery, intrigue, drama, politics or anything else that motivates the players beyond just mindless (and eventually boring) killing and looting. In fact, there are no Treasure Types, nor list of random treasure to be fund in this book. The system to rate monsters and encounters by level is still there to help the GM rate the difficulty of an encounter should it get bloody, but is no longer a critical component to the game. Based on how you look at it, this may be a good thing or a bad thing, but to me, it really cuts-down on the time it takes to do a post-game audit.

Weapons are categorized into Weapon Class (Vary Light, Light, Medium and Heavy), and further divided into melee, throwing and range, with example for each. Weapon Class are the same as weapons sizes in Basic D&D, but with different damage dice, or in the case of Heavy, the way you apply damage (although, Medium and Heavy weapons have the same d6 damage dice). Vary Light is basically an unarmed strike or throwing stars/darts (d2 damage die). Armor is categorized into Armor Class (Light, Medium-Light, Medium and Medium-Heavy and Heavy), with each class determining weight (in "Things"), Damage Reduction, Defence Class and penalty to physical actions that requires agility or stealth.

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The game comes with a setting installed called The Crimson Lands. The world was once ruled by a race of amoral, degenerate albino-like elves called the Dendrelyssi, who treated other races, not notably humans, as slaves and lab rats. They are like D&D Drows with their cruel and wicked nature, but they are modeled on the appearance of Elric of Melniboné, with their pale skin, although there eyes are whited-out instead of being pink. They used demons and sorcery to maintain their vast empire. Long ago, their empire crumbed, humans rebelled — eventually forming their own nations — and the ageless Dendrelyssi are barren and slowly dying out. The Crimson Lands is made of around half a dozen small continents, surrounded by several large islands and archipelagos. There are around a dozen of human nations, with the Dendrelyssi largely contains to an small continent to the east. Language is mostly derivative of High Dendrelyssi: the language of Dendrelyssi royalty. As the lands are covered in the ruins of ancient Dendrelyssi cities and temples, there are a lot of strange mysteries and horrors lurking in the shadows, waiting to be uncovered by the greedy and foolish.

Braking from the standard quasi-medieval esthetic overused in most fantasy RPGs, Crimson Blades tries for a greater sense of orientalism that inspired pulp fantasy in the first place. The art chosen for the book (mostly public domain and stock art form Sine Normine Publishing) evokes an oriental esthetic throughout.Save for Goblins and Beastmen, you'll find a lack of Tolkienesque races. You will find some Lovecraftian, along with classical Greek creatures, as well as some iconic D&D monsters with a name-change in the monster list. Much like the 5e monster list, there are a good number of typical human NPC types (Bandits, Cultists, Townfolk, etc.), and vary few Orc-like humanoid adventure fodder. After a while in D&D, all those Goblinoids become the same, so having more human types available is refreshing in any RPG. The one predominant humanoid monster found in the Crimson Lands are the Beastmen. They include a list of minor mutations akin to the Hoards of Hades from the MMII, thus keeping them from looking all the same. In a way, they are like Broo form RuneQuest, but way primitive and beastly. Even with all the added killing-power of high-level character's, there are monsters that surpass the ability of a party of 10th level characters to slay. Like in any RPG, such monsters help keep players on their toes, and when used sparingly, is good to give the players a memorable encounter, without loosing all awe to ease or repetition.

The book is filled with DM advice that helps adventure go beyond the generic dungeon setting. You'll find find hooks and ideas for running adventures in a wide range of environments (cities, wilderness, seas, old ruins, etc.), and without throwing huge lists of random encounters (although, is a list, but its only takes up a single page). The primary advice is not to railroad the party into a pre-scripted story, as players would just derail such efforts, but to allow the players to determine where they want to go, and to figure out their own way out of a given situation. One of the fun things I enjoy doing, is reading the list of hooks and figuring what book or movie the ideas came form. Some people might find that unoriginal or lacking in creativity, but any DM worth their salt knows how that the best adventures takes liberally form great works of fiction, and the less the players know, the better! I do this a lot. Plus, anyone who casually pitches the idea to incorporate the premise of Alien (1979) in a fantasy game is a winner in my book, because, even with all the clues and foreshadowing, the players will still fall for it. Yes, if they figure it out off the bat, likely avoid it the situation (as they should). But in most cases, they would find out once they are neck-deep into the adventure, and when they do, they go into total panic mode! (Its good to be DM!)

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So yeah, this game does a lot differently. The rules are simple enough to be altered easily. With some changes here are there, you can use the rules for nearly any setting. The setting by itself strays from the same old vanilla fantasy. Which I find strange and funny, as I need an escape like this, for my escapist hobby. Although, I have not had a chance to get the full feel of the game as I have not had the change to house-rule the hell out of the game. I don't always run a game "by the book", so I cant wait to see would I'll add, and what I'll drop. I'm like a grease-monkey with RPGs. To me, tweaking a game engine is high art and a way of life. I know there are rules form Conan (Mongoose Publishing) and 5e D&D that might work well with this game.
Recently, I discovered an old, iconic third-party D&D setting form Judges Guild called The Wilderlands. I quite enjoy the premises of the setting, but their are a number of minor issues I would change about it (and not the odd skin colors; as a Carcosaian fan, I don't mind that much at all). If I was to run a Wilderlands-inspired setting, I would strongly consider run it with this ruleset.

Testing Out Crimson Blades CharGen

For those who don't know, Crimson Blades is an D&D-styled game by Simon Washbourne of Barbarians of Lemuria fame. The rules are simple and uses only d6s — to-hits, hit points, damage, saves, etc. The setting found in Crimson Blades is the Crimson Lands, a dark-fantasy/sword & sorcery world shaped by decadent, dying race of dark elves based on Elric of Melniboné.

Not too long ago, I purchased the Crimson Blades core rulebook and the Crimson Lords rule supplement. Later I found out that the game is going through a major rule overhaul and is going to be divided into four core rulebooks — Crimson Blades, Crimson Scrolls, Crimson Lords and Crimson Lands — for an upcoming box set. The best rule change is the way it streamlined the way you make rolls. In the original rules, you only roll one die, but the target number lowers as your character gains level. For example, the primary skill of a Thief is rated as "3+", or a three or better on a d6 roll. In the new rules, you can gain additional dice during advancement for different rolls, and you only need a 5 or 6 for success. The primary skill of a Thief is now rated as "2D", or two dice rolled to get a 5+ on at least one die. The rules also changed defense form a third edition D&D model (adjusted for d6 rolls) where DEX and armor adjust a single Armor Class score, to a Conan D20-like model with a basic dodge defense score (adjusted by DEX and shield-use), called Defense Class, and Damage Reduction for body armor. There are a number of other changes. All around, this is a greatly improved system, but I would get into the details in an other, fuller review.

Original picture can be found here. (not mine)

Here is what a (revised) Crimson Blades character looks like using my favorite old-school D&D "Iconic" as an example: Morgan Ironwolf. (from Basic D&D, 2nd ed)

In the Basic D&D rulebook, she is a first level Lawful human Fighter. That matches up with what is available in CB.

Using the same Ability scores rolled (no point allocation are used in CB), she has: STR 15, INT 7, WIS 11, DEX 13, CON 14 and CHA 8. The revised Crimson Blades rules use a uniformed adjustment array, and eliminates a number of the derived stats (namely, Feat of Strength, Lore and Notice). The Ability adjustments are: STR +1, INT -1, WIS +0, DEX +0, CON +1 and CHA +0. The adjustments are so spread out compared to Basic, point allocation makes no difference in squeezing-out an extra +1 to STR.

A Strength score of 15 means a +1 to melee damage, "Things" carried, grappling, throwing, breaking down doors, pulling/lifting/dragging heavy objects, etc.

A Dexterity score of 13 means no adjustments to rolling to hit, Defense Class, or Reflex saves.

A Constitution score of 14 means a +1 to Hit Points or Fortitude saves.

A Intelligence score of 7 means a -1 to figuring out problems, and is granted no additional languages. She is unable to cast spells or summon.

A Wisdom score of 11 means no adjustments to Willpower saves or to notice things.

A Charisma score of 8 means no adjustments to influence people, and she has up to 4 loyal hirelings.

As a Fighter, she meets the 9+ STR class requirement.

She has the option to choose Fort or Ref as her primary save, and chooses Fortitude. At first level, normal saves are only one die (1D), while a primary save uses two dice (2D). Her saves are: Fort 2D+1, Ref 1D and Will 1D.

Her Hit Dice is "1d6(+2)" at first level, meaning that she rolls one die for attacks-per-round and Hit Points with the the bonus applied to the later. With CON, her Hit Point roll is 1d6+3. As a 5 was rolled in the book, she gets 8 Hit Points.

She gets no Defense Class bonus form DEX or class. The base Defense Class score is 3.

She can use any weapon or armor, including shields. Her Armour Training allows her to ignore DC penalties for wearing medium-heavy or heavy armor. She can choose one type of weapon to be her Favored Weapon, which grains an extra Hit Die to attacks and Fighter Stunt rolls while wielding her preferred weapon. As she starts with a sword as her primary weapon, her Favored Weapon is (normal) Swords. She is also capable of preforming special actions in combat, like disarming foes, cutting rope with an arrow, unblousing a woman with the sword-tip and the like with a Fighter Stunt roll. It is equal to her Hit Die plus STR or DEX. (In her case, STR.)

The revised Crimson Blades rules dropped Experience Points in favor of Adventure quotas. As she is a fresh character, her (total completed) Adventures is marked as 0, with only one Adventure needed to reach second level.

As noted, her Alignment is Lawful. Unlike Basic D&D, Alignment is not about morality, but an adherence to order, balance or discord on a social and cosmic level. In her case, "Law implies honor, trustworthiness, obedience to authority, and reliability. On the downside, lawfulness can include closed-mindedness, reactionary adherence to tradition, judgmentalness, and a lack of adaptability. Those who consciously promote lawfulness say that only lawful behavior creates a society in which people can depend on each other and make the right decisions in full confidence that others will act as they should."

I ran into a problem were the cost of mail armor and the bow are much more than what is printed in Basic D&D and goes beyond her original budget of 110 gold pieces, so I added the end result. Silvered weapons are not apart of the CB equipment lists, so it was dropped. I added some additional equipment to round-out her gear. Here is her inventory:

• Mail armor
• Shield
• Sword
• Bow
• Quiver of 20 arrows
• Average cloths
• Backpack
• Bedroll
• Bottle of wine
• Leather flask
• Hemp rope, 50'
• Pole, 10'
• Sack
• Iron spikes, x12
• Torches, x6
• Trail rations, 7 days
• 2gp

Her mail armor can absorb 3 points of damage, per hit, and her shield raiser her Defense Class by one, making it 4.

With her sword, her attack roll is 2D, with a damage die of 1D+1. And with her bow, her attack roll is 1D, with a damage die of 1D.

With all her armor, weapons and gear, she counts as having 7 "Things" — an abstract system of encumbrance. (Her cloths and gear counts as one thing.)

Her above average Strength pushes her encumbrance to allow her to carry 6 things and not effect her rate of movement, but since it is one over, her speed is reduced to 9 yards a round.

Lets use assume that she is from Dralucia, a fairly wealthy and well-connected nation that make a great starting point in the Crimson Lands. Her primary language is Dralucian, and since reading & writing counts as a language in itself, she is illiterate.

And finally, here is her card:

Comic Review: Sandra and Woo

Awhile ago, I stumbled across a cute little webcomic about a girl and a talking Raccoon. It is hard to pin down why I like it so. On the surface, it looks like a simple newspaper comic strip, but it is surprisingly smart. It is not as mindlessly goofy as most, and it also avoids taking itself too seriously - even hitting itself on the forth-wall when it dose. Quite often, it brings-up some obscure little tidbit that the authors notes in the annotations. It tends jumps around with the focused character and story-arcs, but not in a way where the cast feels cluttered, nor the plots get confusing. Changes like those help keep the comic fresh.

There are many authors who reads the feedback and answers questions or address criticisms, but this pair - Oliver Knörzer and Powree - sometimes snaps back at criticisms in clever ways. For example, someone excused the comic for being too simple or not being smart enough. They replied with a comic in the form of an elaborate puzzle and challenged the readers to solve it. I don't think anyone could salve it fully. They also like to engage in clever fake-outs.

The strips are safe-for-work, the characters are mostly eccentric, it sometimes deal with tweenage (11-12ish) drama (fitting-in, young love, puberty, etc.) without it feeling like some brain-dead tween show, and much of he humor is nerdy.

Although some might get turned-off by "anime" styled art, this comic seems to freely mix western and eastern styles to where its hard to noticed. (Oddly enough, '80s cartoons did the same blending of styles, and yet, no one seems to notice.) One odd thing I have with tho look of Sandra, is that she looks so much like Penny Gadget (from Inspector Gadget), that the young, accented voice of Cree Summers (who voiced Penny back in the day) sometimes bleed into her voice as I'm reading her dialog in my head. XP

So here is Sandra and Woo. So enjoy!

Comic Review: Nevermind the Gap

When it comes to comic books, I like the odd and obscure. Unless it is cleaver and character driven, I generally avoid superhero comics. Instead, I tend to focus on offbeat stuff most comic book shops would throw in the bargain bins or among the "underground" shelf. Although, the internet is a great place to find offbeat comics. There are countless websites devoted for any aspiring comic artist/writer to throw their creations out in the digital world! Most people would not think too much of their work, some others would be put off them, while an unknown number of people would deeply enjoy them for whatever reason.

Nevermind the Gap is something I quite enjoy. It is about a girl and technician who live on a small, futuristic town. As a sci-fi, it likes to boast the high-tech toys, and tries to tackle social issues. In this world, people live among androids. Their CPUs are built on quantum computing, so they are complex enough to allow for human emotion. Throughout the story, you see how the robotic people develop, interact with their fleshy neighbors, and deal with robotic mortality. One of may favorite toys they have, is a cloth that can turn invisible and can appear as other clothing. (As a role-player, that would go great in a style-obsess cyberpunk setting.)

Beyond the sci-fi themes, much of the story is about romance. This comic is vary sexual! It deals with nudity in a casual way, but I don't see that as offensive, nor pornographic (in fact, I take offense to people calling casual nudity "pornographic"). It also deals with sex in a casual way - which is vary much pornographic. =P

Don't get my wrong. I do not like in-your-face smut, and I will get annoyed if a story is nothing but mindless fucking! Porn on the internet is like dirt you get on your shoes: it can be found everywhere, and you'll find a lot of it even while just strolling. And yet, this web comic somehow stays tasteful, and even funny at times. While a porno uses a "plot" to motivate otherwise normal (relatively speaking) people to fuck like tomorrow will never come, the sex in this comic is used to serve the story, and it is not the main focus of it.

The artistry of the characters are nice, in a semi-manga style. (The artist originally wanted to make them look cartoony, but had second thoughts, which was a good choice.) The backgrounds are not the best, but that is a major handicap for the artist. At times, you really have to keep an eye out for little details or read the author's annotations, as you might read the next page with no idea with what just happened. The pacing is slow, and the comic has a fairly good run (350+ pages). As much as I liked to story, I felt disappointed by the ending. Overall, I was quite hooked, but your miles will vary.

I could pour-out more texts about how good or bad the comic is, but I think I said enough for people to make-up their own minds about it. So if you like a smart and romantic sci-fi, and not bothered by nudity and sex, then check it out.


Say tuned for my next comic review, where I review a web comic that is smart and romantic, without being sexual.