1) It's a fantasy system based on the One Roll Engine. If prior experience with the ORE has not been your sort of fun, then that guideline also applies.

2) It has detailed rules for consistent combat mechanics that dial from a quite abstracted and functional level all the way to including more detailed rules for such things as Feinting, submission holds, killing someone in such a way that you give a Morale Attack to anyone watching... all sorts of things. These elements are presented consistently within the ORE, and thus can be used within games in any setting - they are not specifically fantasy.

3) An approach to magic which - although the specific examples are contextualised within the setting - can again be lifted out for use within the wider ORE, and which is different from other fantasy magic that I have encountered.

There is also a philosophical discussion of magic in fantasy, and how to adjust it for individual campaign needs - for any game, in any setting. (I've applied some of the ideas to fiction.)

4) Introduces the idea of "Martial Paths" and "Esoteric Disciplines," which are specialised rule-sets purchaseable for combat styles or skills, to the One Roll Engine. These allow for difference in combat without slowing down the combat, and again there are no subsystems with different rules.

These martial arts (and the equivalent for skills of all kinds) are contextualised within the setting, but simply changing the name leads to rules for modern martial arts and weapon forms.

5) There are Company Rules, which allow for a structure around which the players can alter wider dynamics within the world of the game. This can be as abstract as being able to chart the impact of a Shadowrunning team's activities on different Megacorporations - the better to figure out who is bearing a grudge.

Alternatively, it can be specifically grounded in what the party are doing and achieving. Someone on RPG.net gave an example of a university gaming group where the "player group" consisted of thirty people, although only five or so were ever playing at one time. They were all playing sailors crewing one ocean-going trader, which was their Company - meaning that they could keep track of how they were bettering themselves, and where those who weren't playing could still have impact on the world.

This can be applied to what the players want to do. If it is a toolset which doesn't fit the context of the goals the players have, it is not necessary.

6) The setting is detailed and interesting, containing a particularly good bestiary of mystical beasties, and where there aren't 'fantasy races' - just different forms of people, and people who have become Something Else because of how magic works.

The rules are not tied, in my opinion, to the setting. It is something which can be used if it appeals to people. My primary interest was in the ruleset, and I was pleasantly surprised by the setting. YMMV.

Does a Single Roll Completely Define Your Background?

'Entirely define' is not quite accurate. There are One Roll Character Generation tables where your roll provides a framework for character generation. However, there is still a significant amount of choice involved.

For example, there are three charts upon which elements of the roll can be selected. The same result could lead to:

1) Exiled: You are no longer welcome in your home, province or region. Just what did you do that was bad enough for you to be kicked out, but not bad enough to merit summary execution? [Bonuses to Pleading, Dodging and Running.]

2) Mistaken Identity Schenanigans: You were, at some point, embroiled in zany misadventures where someone mistook you for someone else. You still may not know exactly what was going on, but you came out of it okay. [Bonuses to Money, Lying and Stealth.]

3) Raised Wild: Perhaps you were abandoned in the woods as a child, and raised by wolves (or bears, or an ape, whatever). Maybe primitives who have no real language raised you. Whatever it is, you're used to living on the edge. [Bonuses to Hearing, Sight, Endurance, Throwing, etc.]

In all cases, you're invited to create the details yourself, and there's the roll is not pinning you down. You can elect for part of your character background to be (or have been) Tarzan, an exile, or someone from a Victorian farce.

Additionally, there is a traditional point-buy character generation option should you prefer, which is balanced with the One Roll generation option.

The point of the One Roll Character Gen is to give you ideas, and possibly give you a framework to build a character you might not normally have chosen, based on points that appeal to you.

Example: Because you're invited to figure out how the elements you select fit together, I have seen players roll and then check out their options, producing things like:

"Heh, I'm one of the nobility and a pirate? How would that even work? .......That could be brilliant."

It also allows for rapid character generation if someone new wants to join, a circumstance where someone has died, or for a oneshot session.

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bikewrench   | Author | 2009-05-12 23:23:59 Great write up. Thanks Unshaven. The system is fun and easy for newbies as well. Declare; I'm gonna try to jump over the wendigo and stab him in the back, or distract him enough to help my friends. Roll; 8 d10, 2x8 and 2x4! Woot! Resolve; so the 2 eights are my leap, and the 2 fours are 2 killing and a shock to the leg with my gladius! (Is mostly right...)

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