There is no shortage of fantasy RPGs. While one look at the market proves a severe drop after D&D 5th Edition & Pathfinder, it never ceases to amaze how many smaller companies are churning out interesting (non-D&D, fantasy) products on a yearly basis. Let’s take a look at one. Sertorius is a fantasy and high magic RPG, by indie veteran Bedrock Games. Players will likely create Sertori, inheritors of an ancient and deceased ogre deity’s spirit. Sertori wield powerful emotionally driven magic, which if incanted foolishly cause the character to be overwhelmed with primal energy. If abused, the effect potentially leads to madness, physical affliction, and eventual (unwanted) transformation to an entity/creature known as the Grim. In the words of Sir John Dalberg: “… absolute power corrupts absolutely…”
While player characters start out near demigods, Sertorius has a couple of balance points in regards to character progression. The possibilities this RPG will likely take is pointedly emphasized in the Game Master’s section, and while admittedly this is section I usually breeze through, the fact that the creators have put in the work and have thoroughly play tested this content before finishing print, is obvious (and welcome).
Sertorius comes with a complete setting, the world of Gamandria. The fantasy elements of the setting have some distinguishing characteristics, but for the most part don’t venture too far from the proverbial Tolkien inspired path. At the same time, there is certainly a number of interesting and fun nuggets especially in regards to culture. Such as, sailors of the world consider a halfling aboard a sailing ship good luck, dwarves often where a faceplate in battle because their god commands them not to kill and ogres established the first major civilization.
Sertorius utilizes the Network System, which is skill based. Most checks involve players rolling a number of d10s equal to their characters rank against a target number set by the GM. In the instance a check is made without rank, two d10s are rolled; with the lowest total taken as the result. Crunch-wise, it’s a simple system.
The PDF features full color treatment of (excellent hex maps) the world of Gamandria, with the bulk of the writing in standard double column format. With a hyperlinked Table of Contents, plenty of easy to comprehend tables, and most of the setting info in alphabetical order you’ll not find a better organized or more user friendly PDF. Greyscale illustrations by Jackie Musto are in high detailed vector graphics and well done.
Sertorius offers a complete RPG as well as a rich and interesting fantasy setting. It’s astoundingly well written and is a total beast at nearly 500 pages. The premise, in which characters are essentially demigods, carries a similar feel to that of Exalted, but (and especially in regards to the direction of Exalted 3rd Edition, which I got a peak at last weekend) Sertorius is d10s down a much better conceived, written, and balanced RPG. In the least, it’s certainly worth a look.
Disclosure: This review includes affiliate links. Sertorius was provided free of charge for the purpose of this review.
