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I was eagerly anticipating the release of BESM (Big Eyes, Small Mouth) 3rd Edition. Of course by the time it was released Guardians of Order had gone belly up and the rules were now being released by Arthaus/White Wolf. My anticipation was tinged a little with stress. What had happened to the game I had just recently become very fond of and what was going to happen now? And of course would I be able to convert Willow and Tara to new version given how much fun I had with BESM 2nd Ed Revised?
Well many of fears were put to rest, only to be replaced by new ones (and a couple that just never seemed to go away). I'll detail those all below.
Briefly here are my comments on the system and the book.
The book is very attractive and one of the most colorful RPGs I have seen in a long time. It reminds me of Mutants and Masterminds in terms of color. It is a thick tome, and now sized to fit well on my shelf. The Niko Geyer artwork is great and really captures the feel of the game well. On the other hand I have seen all this artwork before, maybe not in color, but certainly in other editions of this book. Now I understand that money was very tight at GoO and the art is great, so I am willing to cut them some slack here.
The text though also has the same problems. There is text in here that I am now reading for the 5th or 6th time over (BESM 2.0, BESM d20, SAS, SASd20, Tri-Stat core). Some of this text still has the same problems as it always did (Dynamic Powers in particular).
I do like what is new. The analysis of anime, maps of Japan and Tokyo, and the overview of Shôjo anime. The section about the anime multiverse is also rather fun and full of ideas that can be used for any game. Especially as a way to run those pesky crossover sessions.
The new game mechanics are now a Roll-over; 2d6 vs. Target Number. Makes it very much in feel with Unisystem. No Success levels as such, but a very loose difficulty class system similar to many d20 based games. It was reading over these rules in fact that help re-tool my dice mechanic for Unisystem that I have come to call The Chicago Way .
But otherwise it is still mostly the same BESM. We still have our 3 Stats, Body, Mind and Soul. Still have attributes, defects and skills. There are different scalings for the game depending how you want to play it.
Like M&M the powers are all effects based. So if you wanted to make a Pyro Girl for example its not a matter of choosing levels in pyrokenesis, but choosing a particular power and have it act like it. This could be Elemental Control (Fire), Power Flux- Fire or something else.
That gets me to a big issue. Magic.
Magic has always been an issue in BESM. There are basically three magical powers. The first is the easiest. Pick a power and call it magical. No big deal really.
The second is Power Flux, which used to be called magic. The idea here is pay for this at 15 points per level and you get 4 points per level to buy any other power temporarily. For that loss of 11 points per level you gain flexibility. So every power in the book then becomes a spell that your magic using character can use. So lets take the power Invisibility as an example. The power says you become invisible, it does not say how or why. Since its results or effect based then the Invisibility power can come from magic, be a spell cast by Power Flux, or be a cloaking device of a super-science item. Power Flux does not just have to be magic, it can psi powers, super-science, or just about anything else. For people starting out in BESM I say go with Power Flux. This is what I usually do for starting games and my Teen Witch below uses Power Flux.
Then there is Dynamic Power. Dynamic Power used to be Dynamic Sorcery, but the name change didnt help clear anything up. It is bought like Power Flux (including some of the exact same text copied and pasted in). Now the idea here is to be able to replicate all those kewl powerz you see in anime that the characters just seem to think of and they get. The really weird stuff. The trouble is the power as written is ripe for abuse and it is not very clear. Turning to BESM d20 you can get an idea of what it can do there, but none of that is here. So there is no telling what a person with 3 levels in this can do say differently from what someone with 3 levels in Power Flux do.
The BESM d20 version has Dynamic Sorcery (its equivalent) casting D&D type spells with restrictions on how many, which ones and how often. But nothing like that here. IF I am going to use Dynamic Powers I am going to have to figure out a way to convert over the magic in BESM d20 Advanced Magic for some guidelines.
Though I should not *have* to do this I am going to take my cues on proper leveling from BESM d20 Advanced Magic. There Dynamic Sorcery goes to 10, to make life easier I am going to limit it to 5 levels in BESM 3.0 (level 6 is the realm of Gods). This will correspond to 1 BESM 3.0 level equaling 2 BESM d20 levels. Not perfect, but it is a guideline. Similarly Ill say 1 BESM 3.0 level of Dynamic Powers is roughly equal to having 2 levels of Magic/Sorcery. Its not perfect, but it works well enough.
Still though, I am unhappy with this power as written. Its a cool idea, but not as it is now. Ill revisit this when I do the BESM d20 conversions.
More Mechanics
The rest is very familiar. The main feature of the system is still the Tri-Stat, or Body, Mind and Soul. All skills, attributes and defects as well combat roles are made with these three in mind. They range up to 12, but cannot go over.
Attributes and Skills convert pretty much as is. BESM 3.0s new mechanic is such that the chances of success for a character is about the same as their Unisystem counter-part. Many of the Attributes are nearly the same as Unisystem with minor name differences; Tough vs. Hard to Kill for example.
BESM 3 Skills are now part of Attributes, but otherwise mostly unchanged. Skill Levels range 1 to 6, with 0 as unskilled or unable to use this skill and 5 representing the human maximum in most cases.
I like BESM. I wish more people did too. Despite it's flaws (and it still has them) it is a great little game. I like what it can offer other games too. The biggest tragedy of BESM 3.0 is it's wasted potential. ArtHaus/White Wolf go it on the death of GoO and promptly did nothing with it. I get it in a way. BESM is not their product, not their line and really not in the same genre of their games. But I think it would have been great if someone had picked it up and expanded it some. Mark and GoO had some great ideas for the future of BESM 3 and it is sad that these will never come to pass. The loss of GoO and BESM is more than the loss of one small company and their game in the industry; it was the lost of something very unique.
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This is a new one to me, but not a new game. I just got it and I like what I see so far. The system is very different that BESM, but it has some good character creation guidelines that I think would work nice with any game. The book is a thin 125+ pages, but that is really all it needs due to it's system and design.
OVA stands for Open Versatile Anime, and it's a pun in Anime circles. It also stands for Original Video Animation. There are the perfunctory introductions for the RPG player, the Anime fan and people in general.
OVA has some artwork from Niko Geyer, the same artist from BESM. This sorta gives OVA the same feel. Going to his blog you can see some of the art in OVA and it is nice.
Character creation is the heart of OVA, and there are some good things here. The character creation has the player starting with a conversation with the Game Master and even other players. This would seem pointless in other games, but important in OVA. It helps with the next steps and helps decide what sort of game will be played. The interesting part here is that the rules encourage players to come up with their character before reading the rules. So the next step is the Concept stage.
Many games have something similar. Here though it is an actual step. Typically this can be something as simple as "magical girl with a flying cat" or "darkly handsome swordmaster with a dark past". In the world of Anime RPGs these are actually very common concepts. Since OVA is an Ability based system (more on this) the concept help define what a character can and can't do.
Abilities and Weakness are the heart and soul of OVA. Abilities (sometimes called Attributes, sort of confusing) combine the various numbers you would normally see in other games. In Unisystem this would be combining Attributes, Skills and Qualities. So things like "Magic", "Weapon" and "Cute" would replace all the other numbers that could be combined to create these; ie Dex + Armed Mayhem for Weapon. This makes for a very focused sort of character, which is exactly what you would expect in an Anime. You can add all sorts of other Abilities as needed. So our Dark Swordmaster can add Hobby (Origami) as a hobby, which would be appropriate.
Weakness are the same, only like Drawbacks, such as "Easy to Anger", "Bizarre Appearance" or "Obsession".
Abilities are ranked from 1 to 5, with 5 being the best of the best. Weaknesses are ranked -1 to -3. Characters should start around 1 or 2 with no abilities at 5. Character creation is matter of agreeing on how many points is the power cap. You can choose 0, so Abilities have to equal Weaknesses, a top point say 20 or so points of Abilities where 5 can be free and 15 are bought with Weakness points. All really easy to be honest.
There are number of sample characters covering a variety of anime tropes. Some have a lot of Attributes and thus a lot of Weaknesses, others have much fewer.
There is a stat block for "Basic Statistics" which includes the concept, age, height and weight and other basic information. It makes for a very simple character sheet that is also surprisingly full of information. There are good number of Abilities and Weaknesses, and what is not here can easily be converted from other sources. Though I could not find anything that was "missing". There are Power Perks and Flaws, which act like Power Feats in M&M.
The system is an easy one, roll dice go for a target number. Combat is similar.
There is a good DM's section and a bunch of sample characters and NPCs, all of which can be used to design other characters or use as NPCs or PCs.
The system is simple and really easy to play. The character creation is similar to another new game I grabbed "Cartoon Action Hour 2". In fact I bet you could easily convert between the two systems without too much trouble. Where CAH2 does not give too many examples of Abilities/Powers, OVA does. You could some of the Abilities in OVA as ideas for CAH2. Sort of defeats the purpose of creating your own as CAH2 suggests, but a good place to start. I also suppose that you could use the abilities from BESM 3 as well. I would bet that you could take any BESM 3 character and convert it to OVA with just a couple of edits on the sheet.
OVA certainly feels like the spiritual successor to BESM. There is a lot of similarity in feel and purpose. While BESM is crunchier than OVA, OVA is more flexible. The powers are fairly well defined and easy to use/grasp.
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Great piece and exactly what I needed when I needed it for a price I could not say no to.
The image is a good size, and really, really good.
Will be getting more of these soon.
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So what can I say about Eldritch Skies?
Let's go basic. Certainly there is the feel of Aliens here more than say Avatar. One thing though for certain, this is not Star Trek, Star Wars or anything like that. Though to be fair, Trek did have a story by Robert Bloch and it was very Lovecraftian in tone. Also if that is what you want (SW or ST) then the rules will support that. This book is Lovecraft as SciFi (dark SciFi to be sure), but not so much as horror.
Chapter 1 deals with the recent history and the present day, 2030. The history of the world here is slightly different. Think of it as if all those Lovecraft stories were true and humanity found a way to start using some of that alien tech/magic to get to the stars. There is a history and the changes start out subtle till we get to the 90s. We get to the present day and now we are stepping out into the reaches of space and we find wonders and horrors.
Chapter 2 is Character Creation and Chapter 3 is Game Rules. The game system is Cinematic Unisystem. The same system that powers my own Ghosts of Albion and other games like Army of Darkness, Buffy and Angel. So if you are familiar with those games then you will be familiar how this one works too.
Like other CineUnisystem games there are three "levels" of characters, Civilians, Operatives and Veterans. Unlike other CineUnisystem this game uses the Secondary Attribute Speed, from Classic Unisystem.
For Qualities and Drawbacks there are all the expected ones, Fast Reaction Time, Nerves of Steel, etc. But there are also a lot of "Ab-Human" abilities, such as Deep One Hybrid and Sorcery (it is not the same as Buffy's) and some augmentations.
The rules are same as other Cine Unisystem games with some additions to support the game, ie lots of gear.
Chapter 4 is Arcane Secrets including the secrets of hyperspace. Not just how to travel, but the biggest issue of the hyperspace madness. This is the keystone of the game. What separates this from other Unisystem games and it from other Mythos games.
Chapter 5 deals with the Realms of the Mythos. These are the worlds known to humankind. This also includes the psychic Dream Realms. This is a very cool chapter that had to be a lot of fun to write. Tons of new worlds ready for you to use and have adventures on.
Chapter Six: Eldritch Threats and Wonders: The monsters and creatures of the settings. Includes the mythos creatures, humans and ab-humans. If you have any passing interest in mythos monsters or expanding your CineUnisystem games with more creatures, then this chapter is worth the price of the book alone. Yes, you can play it as is. Or use it in your Buffy, Army of Darkness or Ghosts of Albion games.
Chapter Seven is the Director's section on how to run a game. This includes setting the tone and what to do.
The Appendix has rules for using the Classic Unisystem and a bunch of tables for your ease. No character sheet though.
I think one of the troubles about playing games like D&D and even to a degree Call of Cthulhu is we have tended to categorize the mythos creatures as well, Mythos Creatures. They often times are "Stated up" as gods or some other similar sort of being. We tend to forget that while humans may have worshiped them in cults most were not in fact gods at all. Powerful alien beings yes, but not so much gods. Looking at them again as aliens is a deft move and this change of the point of view makes this book less Buffy-doing-Aliens and more Armageddon/ConspiracyX-doing-Event-Horizon.
What I really, really like about this is it treats the Mythos Creatures as aliens and magic as advanced science. The Thing is a good example of Lovecraft as SciFi story.
Also this book remembers that Lovecraft's stories were also not all about tentacle monsters and evisceration. Sure we have the Mi-Go, but this more about the madness that lies between the stars. Honestly to get a better feel of what you can do here, take the Sam Rockwell movie Moon and assume there are outside alien influences on the whole thing. We never see the aliens, except for maybe when Sam's character sees a Mi-Go with a brain tube at the very end.
I mentioned the playtest files because I'll admit I was not initially a fan of this game when I first read it. But I was focusing on the crunch rather than the fluff. The Unisystem parts were (and are) fine. But since it's release I have grown to like it more for both the crunch and the fluff.
If you like SciFi, Lovecraft, the Mythos or Unisystem, or all the above, then this is a great game to get.
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I am not a huge fan of the older Mongoose books. There are number of issues of classes all over over the place, odd editing and art that runs the gambit. This book is not any different. The witch class is pretty typical of the time (early days of the d20 boom). There is a wide variety of Prestige classes, which is nice, but not all of them are usable. The book tends to be full of a lot cliches. Though the ones that are good (Occultist, Puppet Mistress) are very good. There is a good section on new uses for skills including telling fortunes and a good section of feats. There are new spells and new magic items, as expected, but the coolest thing might be the Places of Power. Some Times of Power ends the book (also a good section).
The added material adds quite a bit to the overall quality of this book.
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This book gives us a Faery Witch and Shaman class. There is some natural overlap between the two. In addition there are also 3 new prestige classes and 22 new feats. There are a fair number of new magic items and a lot of new spells. There are also quite a few new monsters that are likely to exist in the same worlds as witches and shamans. The classes seem a bit overpowered for straight d20 ones, but might make good Pathfinder classes. The feats and spells are mixed bag. I have seen similar sorts of feats and spells in other books, some better, some worse. But for the price, this is a good deal. I am not a huge fan of the art, but it is not bad.
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Presents a witch class for the 3.x d20 game. It is different enough from the Pathfinder or DMG versions of the witch class to merit it's own product. There are some new feats and spells. All 20 levels are presented as well as some "High Witchcraft" alternate levels.
Some good ideas here and not bad for the price.
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An adventure and an new class. When I first got this years ago, but long after I had moved away from AD&D 2nd ed, I was not that impressed. Now looking back at it, it has a certain charm and it does better than my memory of it. The Witch class is a sub-class of Magic-User, but the experience for each level is much lower that I have seen for other witches. There are plenty of new spells and in true old-school fashion some classes and monsters are completely immune to the witch's power/spells.
In addition to all of this there is a marsh that is the home to many evil witches. I might need to update this one for my own uses. Given how JG used to write the adventures it can be converted to a lot of systems with ease.
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Pre-generated archetypes for AFMBE, but usable in any Eden Unisystem game. Players can use these as starting points for characters. Zombie/Game Masters can use them as pre-gens, NPCs or anything they set their mind too. Over 30 archetypes in each book plus new qualities and drawbacks.
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Pre-generated archetypes for AFMBE, but usable in any Eden Unisystem game. Players can use these as starting points for characters. Zombie/Game Masters can use them as pre-gens, NPCs or anything they set their mind too. Over 30 archetypes in each book plus new qualities and drawbacks.
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Part Monster Manual, part scholarly overview of the myths of the world. Full of creatures including some I had never heard of (and that is saying something!) A must have for any of the Dead Worlds or any of Eden's other games. If you are a Zombie Master then you need this book. If you play horror games then is one of the best works on various zombies you can buy.
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a collection of smaller "Dead Worlds" that don't have enough material for their own books. Great for a starting idea, fleshing out an game of your own or adding to one of the other Dead Worlds from the other books. Since it is also 100% compatible with Eden's other games, they can be added to those as well.
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One of the Living is something akin to a "Players Handbook" for AFMBE. The focus is more on new skills, qualities and drawbacks for the characters; not so much for the zombies. Though there is plenty of Zombie Master only information. In particular is how to run long campaigns instead of the one shots that AFMBE are really good at. A must have for any AFMBE fan.
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I'll admit I am not a fan of pirates. I enjoy the recent round of pirate movies, but that is the exception rather than the rule. What makes this book so good is that pirates and zombie just seem to go together well. And while I may not be a fan of pirates I am a fan of ghost ships crewed by zombies. So I use this in a modern WitchCraft game instead. The ship to ship battle rules are great and provide an extra layer when using them with All Tomorrow's Zombies. The voodoo in this book is a short hand version of the Vodun from WitchCraft, but still nice to have.
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Dungeons and Zombies brings D&D to the Classic Unisystem fold. There are rules for using more WitchCraft like magic in your AFMBE game. This book covers all the tropes including many new races such as elves, dwarves, halflings and orcs. High Fantast, Low Fantasy. King Arthur and Lord of the Rings-style play. Combine it with WitchCraft to get a full range of magical abilities. Combine with Terra Primate for tons of new adventure ideas and races. Combine with Enter the Zombie for more Far East fantasy. And of course use the AFMBE-Revised appendix to converst any d20 information you need. Far more flexible than most d20 based fantasy games. Really well written and one of my favorite Dead World books from Eden.
I'd give this one 6 stars if I could.
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