Pelgrane Press released a d20 derivative game called 13th Age, and it has gotten a lot of attention. The first thing you notice with 13th Age is that there is a lot packed into one reasonably-sized book. It has the core rules for the system, of course. It also has all the GM material and a lengthy bestiary. It also contains a lot of information on the setting. The artwork is impressive too, especially the maps.
You need to understand that 13th Age isn't your 3rd edition style d20 game. 13th Age has a lot of elements that seem 4th edition D&D-like, and a lot of changes to simplify the rules, aka the opposite of 3rd edition D&D. I like to think of 13th Age as the way 4th edition D&D should have been done.
Skills aren't skills anymore. They've taken skills and converted them to backgrounds. Instead of taking tens and hundreds of skill points and dividing them into detailed categories, so you choose the background of your character. If you need to make a skill check, you get the ability modifier that is relevant, but you can also get additional points if your background would have exposed your character to doing the same sort of thing before. It incentifies having a better character background.
In addition, there are relationship points that provide a anchoring of the characters into the world. 13th Age does this in their setting by having icons... think of them as somewhere between gods and kings. They are the holders of real power within the world. Your relationship to them and the greater organization is what defines how the world treats you.
I really just love this concept, maybe because I have used it before without linking it to the mechanics. In my last big campaign, major players came into the plot: Elminster, Dragons, Gods, Powerful Wizards, a Lich. The characters had to choose how they were going to support or fight each of those players, giving them context for what they were doing and why.
The nice thing with linking it to the mechanics is that the individual characters can now have different relationships to the bigger powers and even more ambiguous relationships. How many of our best movie moments start with a friendly greeting and the other guys throws an unexpected punch? These kind of uncertainties are great for making a good plot.
The combat mechanics look awesome. Using a 1d10 greatsword? You get to roll a 1d10 per level! Hows that for putting dice in your hand to represent your growing power. Of course, finding and rolling 10d10 can be a challenge, so there are a lot of dice rolling tricks included.
For more looks at 13th Age, Pelgrane has a good list of resources. Unfortunately PDF versions won't be available until September, so it may take a while for gaming groups to get access to the material. However, in the meantime, I am hopeful that I can teach this game and run it mostly through telling the rules and sharing the book at game sessions.
So who wants to play 13th Age with me?
You need to understand that 13th Age isn't your 3rd edition style d20 game. 13th Age has a lot of elements that seem 4th edition D&D-like, and a lot of changes to simplify the rules, aka the opposite of 3rd edition D&D. I like to think of 13th Age as the way 4th edition D&D should have been done.
Skills aren't skills anymore. They've taken skills and converted them to backgrounds. Instead of taking tens and hundreds of skill points and dividing them into detailed categories, so you choose the background of your character. If you need to make a skill check, you get the ability modifier that is relevant, but you can also get additional points if your background would have exposed your character to doing the same sort of thing before. It incentifies having a better character background.
In addition, there are relationship points that provide a anchoring of the characters into the world. 13th Age does this in their setting by having icons... think of them as somewhere between gods and kings. They are the holders of real power within the world. Your relationship to them and the greater organization is what defines how the world treats you.
I really just love this concept, maybe because I have used it before without linking it to the mechanics. In my last big campaign, major players came into the plot: Elminster, Dragons, Gods, Powerful Wizards, a Lich. The characters had to choose how they were going to support or fight each of those players, giving them context for what they were doing and why.
The nice thing with linking it to the mechanics is that the individual characters can now have different relationships to the bigger powers and even more ambiguous relationships. How many of our best movie moments start with a friendly greeting and the other guys throws an unexpected punch? These kind of uncertainties are great for making a good plot.
The combat mechanics look awesome. Using a 1d10 greatsword? You get to roll a 1d10 per level! Hows that for putting dice in your hand to represent your growing power. Of course, finding and rolling 10d10 can be a challenge, so there are a lot of dice rolling tricks included.
For more looks at 13th Age, Pelgrane has a good list of resources. Unfortunately PDF versions won't be available until September, so it may take a while for gaming groups to get access to the material. However, in the meantime, I am hopeful that I can teach this game and run it mostly through telling the rules and sharing the book at game sessions.
So who wants to play 13th Age with me?
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