This will be my last post
covering the contents of the Perilous
Journeys rule book; now I can concentrate on providing resources for the
game. I have discussed the sections
covering character creation, professions, guilds, terminology, and other topics
in previous posts. That leaves only four
sections that I have not covered: Gameplay, Appendix A: Advanced Combat,
Appendix B: Creating and Modifying Professions, and Appendix D: Monster
List.
The Gameplay section covers
all of the rules that basically tie everything else together. Some of the topics include what the numbers
mean, combat, movement, experience points and application, carrying capacity,
encumbrance, and saving throws. These
sections are written just as clearly as the rest of the rules so everything can
be easily implemented in play. Also
included in this section are optional rules such as Fate Points and Reputation.
Appendix A: Advanced Combat,
similar to the guild rules, is a short section that has a larger impact than
its size. The simplest way to explain
this section is that if you use it in your game then the warrior type
characters will have something more to do than just swing an axe, sword, etc.
every round of combat. The rules
describe a simple system of special moves that can be learned and used in
combat. Of course, the more skilled your
character is in combat the more moves they can learn; any character can learn
them, though. It just makes sense for
the warrior types to be more capable in this area. The use of these special moves is regulated
by an Endurance Pool. An example of a
special ability is presented below.
Disarm Endurance: 6
The PC is able to attack a target
is such a way as to cause the target to drop his weapon. The target is allowed a save vs. Speed to
avoid dropping the weapon.
The Advanced Combat section ends
with a section covering Advanced Magic.
Rules are presented in this part to explain spellweaving and spell
weaving. Spell Weaving is producing an
effect by mixing two or more spells together.
Spell Failure in Perilous Journeys could mean one of two things; the
spell could fizzle out with the caster still using the Mana or an additional
effect like double Mana loss, loss of memory, the spell’s effect is reverse, or
more.
Appendix B: Creating and Modifying Professions discusses some guidelines for when a player desires to play
a character type not covered in the rules.
The gist of this section is that it makes more sense to modify an
existing part of the game to accommodate the player rather than making unnecessary
additions. That really makes a lot of
sense if you think about it. In essence,
what is the difference between a Paladin and a Cavalier, a Thief and a Bandit,
or any other similar professions? If it
can be simulated by swapping out one or two abilities then it should be,
right? I like this approach and I wish
that some of the older games would take a similar approach instead of just
adding an endless barrage or new material. That does not mean the rules
disallow creating completely new professions at all. The rules simply encourage that you ensure
any new additions are truly unique and can not be handled by simply swapping a
single ability or two.
The final section I have not
covered, Appendix D: Monster List, provides statistics for 43 monsters;
that number is deceptively small because several of the monsters have multiple
sub-entries to illustrate the difference between common variety, leader,
etc. The entry on Dragonkind alone
provides enough information for 45 different types when you take into account
size, color (for Drakes), and element (for Dragons). In addition to the Dragonkind category there
are also categories for Humanoids (covering PC races, goblins, orcs, etc.),
Spirits and Undead (covering ghouls, lich, skeleton, etc.), Netherbeings
(covering demons, devils, oni, etc.), Large Monsters (covering ogres, giants,
and trolls), and Insects and Animals (covering bear, snakes, tiger, etc.). The entries typically cover the attributes,
description, number encountered, combat, and treasure. The only omissions I could see in the monster
entries are monsters from classical myth such as centaurs, Minotaur, hydra,
medusa, etc. On the other hand, it is
kind of refreshing not to see the same old monsters fleshed out for yet again
fantasy game and I believe the Minotaur and medusa are both unique anyway. The best way to deal with those two monsters
might be in an adventure that showcases them and their background as part of
the story.
Final Thoughts
I should have completed this read through of the
Perilous Journeys rules a long time ago but I got side tracked. I am glad that I picked it back up and
continued on because I continue to be impressed by the rules. They are easy to understand and put to use. The rules accomplish the same things that
many other games do but they accomplish it in far less pages and that is a good
thing. I hate giving a numerical rating
to anything like this and this is not a
review but I would definitely rate it as an “A” effort. There is a lot to like in this slim volume
and I look forward to seeing what comes about in the second edition. I was given a sneak preview of some of the
stuff and all I am going to say is that it looks like it just keeps getting
better. If you are interested in a new
set of fantasy rules I highly recommend picking up Perilous Journeys.
