13 True Ways
4 out of 5 rating for 13 True Ways
Good book. Some great classes and info about the setting. The Chaos Mage is amazing, and I never saw a Chaos Mage that made me exited to play it. The multiclass rules are awkward. The Druid is a HUGE disappointment. Huge like it seems it was built by a forum goer who just read the rules and posted a custom class, then some designers tried to salvage it.
Good book. Some great classes and info about the setting. The Chaos Mage is amazing, and I never saw a Chaos Mage that made me exited to play it. The multiclass rules are awkward. The Druid is a HUGE disappointment. Huge like it seems it was built by a forum goer who just read the rules and posted a custom class, then some designers tried to salvage it.
AsakoSoh
Explorer
5 out of 5 rating for 13 True Ways
I remember the 13th Age kickstarter launching and getting some early details and playtest documents from Pelgrane. At that time, I didn’t really have a clear idea what to expect and am generally not a fan of traditional fantasy class/level based games. However, what drew me in were the writers and the more indie elements that were being developed in the game, and also that it was being produced by Pelgrane. For me, over the last few years, the company has not put a foot wrong and the Gumshoe games, particularly Trail of Cthulhu (and the marvellous adventures released for it) has made it almost a certainty that any new release from them will be on my ‘to buy’ list. Hence, I pledged for both the core book and the 13 True Ways kickstarters and this morning downloaded the PDF for the latter.13 True Ways is the fourth release for 13th Age, counting the bestiary and the Free RPG day adventure, and it is superb. It is a 260 page book with beautiful art. I thank my former self for having the wisdom to back the kickstarter. In my head, I thought of it as a book of new classes for players. It is that but so much more. As well as detailing new class options (more later), the book covers the setting in greater depth with some key locations being detailed- Axis, Horizon, Drakkenhall, Court of Stars and Santa Cora. There is a really interesting chapter by Robin Laws on how to use Devils in your 13th Age campaign, with each account of their role in the setting being linked to one of the Icons. A really fun chapter (‘Gamemasters’ Grimoire’) has all sorts of handy ideas to spark an adventure or to be utilised for a session – taverns, artefacts,magic items, flying realms, dungeons, monastic tournaments, and NPCs created by some of the backers. There is a whole chapter on monsters with a particular emphasis on devils, dragons, and elementals.As with the Core book, the new classes seem to effortlessly capture what features are required to make a character that really feels like the class – the Necromancer has to waste away (a positive constitution modifier impairs your spell attacks) and can commune with the spirits of the dead (death priest) or enjoy a cackling soliloquy (with the hope of recharging a daily spell). The Monk can fuel their attacks with Ki, and their martial arts are group into forms with opening, flow and finishing attacks. The authors acknowledge the breadth of representation of Druids in games and convey that too: the Druid can be an elemental spellcaster, a fearsome melee combatant, a healer, a controller of the landscape and terrain, or one who controls beasts or themselves shifts into beast shape to scout or fight. You can build the Druid that fits your conception of the class. I tend to like spellcasters so haven’t read too much on the Commander as yet – the Occultist (only one of these is in existence!) who can bend, warp and truly perceive reality together with the Chaos Mage are also great fun. The latter has a mechanic for random spell casting (with spells divided as attack, defence or icon) and then the player choose to use an at-will/battle or daily spell. Talents bring in extra random effects and when critted the Chaos Mage gets to roll on High Wierdness table with all sorts of cool effects! The book also covers Summoning (a feature for both the Necromancer and the Druid) as well as containing rules for multi-classing.All in all, I am very impressed with 13 True Ways and hugely looking forward to getting my hands on the hard copy. I think I may have to supplement my Tiefling Sorcerer in the 13th Age Organised Play with a Chaos Mage, Monk or Druid. If the 13th Age core book hasn’t (as yet) convinced you, then I’m sure 13 True Ways will – 13th Age generally, and this supplement particularly, make a superb job of making class/level based fantasy RPGing feel fresh, original and exciting yet with some familiar elements. For players who’ve already lost their hearts to 13th Age, this release will just make the passion burn brighter. Highly recommended.
I remember the 13th Age kickstarter launching and getting some early details and playtest documents from Pelgrane. At that time, I didn’t really have a clear idea what to expect and am generally not a fan of traditional fantasy class/level based games. However, what drew me in were the writers and the more indie elements that were being developed in the game, and also that it was being produced by Pelgrane. For me, over the last few years, the company has not put a foot wrong and the Gumshoe games, particularly Trail of Cthulhu (and the marvellous adventures released for it) has made it almost a certainty that any new release from them will be on my ‘to buy’ list. Hence, I pledged for both the core book and the 13 True Ways kickstarters and this morning downloaded the PDF for the latter.13 True Ways is the fourth release for 13th Age, counting the bestiary and the Free RPG day adventure, and it is superb. It is a 260 page book with beautiful art. I thank my former self for having the wisdom to back the kickstarter. In my head, I thought of it as a book of new classes for players. It is that but so much more. As well as detailing new class options (more later), the book covers the setting in greater depth with some key locations being detailed- Axis, Horizon, Drakkenhall, Court of Stars and Santa Cora. There is a really interesting chapter by Robin Laws on how to use Devils in your 13th Age campaign, with each account of their role in the setting being linked to one of the Icons. A really fun chapter (‘Gamemasters’ Grimoire’) has all sorts of handy ideas to spark an adventure or to be utilised for a session – taverns, artefacts,magic items, flying realms, dungeons, monastic tournaments, and NPCs created by some of the backers. There is a whole chapter on monsters with a particular emphasis on devils, dragons, and elementals.As with the Core book, the new classes seem to effortlessly capture what features are required to make a character that really feels like the class – the Necromancer has to waste away (a positive constitution modifier impairs your spell attacks) and can commune with the spirits of the dead (death priest) or enjoy a cackling soliloquy (with the hope of recharging a daily spell). The Monk can fuel their attacks with Ki, and their martial arts are group into forms with opening, flow and finishing attacks. The authors acknowledge the breadth of representation of Druids in games and convey that too: the Druid can be an elemental spellcaster, a fearsome melee combatant, a healer, a controller of the landscape and terrain, or one who controls beasts or themselves shifts into beast shape to scout or fight. You can build the Druid that fits your conception of the class. I tend to like spellcasters so haven’t read too much on the Commander as yet – the Occultist (only one of these is in existence!) who can bend, warp and truly perceive reality together with the Chaos Mage are also great fun. The latter has a mechanic for random spell casting (with spells divided as attack, defence or icon) and then the player choose to use an at-will/battle or daily spell. Talents bring in extra random effects and when critted the Chaos Mage gets to roll on High Wierdness table with all sorts of cool effects! The book also covers Summoning (a feature for both the Necromancer and the Druid) as well as containing rules for multi-classing.All in all, I am very impressed with 13 True Ways and hugely looking forward to getting my hands on the hard copy. I think I may have to supplement my Tiefling Sorcerer in the 13th Age Organised Play with a Chaos Mage, Monk or Druid. If the 13th Age core book hasn’t (as yet) convinced you, then I’m sure 13 True Ways will – 13th Age generally, and this supplement particularly, make a superb job of making class/level based fantasy RPGing feel fresh, original and exciting yet with some familiar elements. For players who’ve already lost their hearts to 13th Age, this release will just make the passion burn brighter. Highly recommended.
5 out of 5 rating for 13 True Ways
13 True Ways really expands the basic game, not just through six additional classes, but with details on creatures and locations that can be easily incorporated into a 13 Age game. Less useful for stealing ideas for other games than the other 13th Age products though.
13 True Ways really expands the basic game, not just through six additional classes, but with details on creatures and locations that can be easily incorporated into a 13 Age game. Less useful for stealing ideas for other games than the other 13th Age products though.
RichGreen
Adventurer
5 out of 5 rating for 13 True Ways
13 True Ways is a bit like an Arduin Grimoire for 13th Age and that's not a bad thing. The book is something of a miscellany, packed with new classes, city write ups, monsters, NPCs, inns, monastic tournaments and more. As with the 13th Age Bestiary, nothing is written in stone – instead, the GM is presented with lots of different ideas and options and encouraged to pick the best one for his or her campaign. It's an interesting approach and makes for a very entertaining read that gets your creative juices flowing. Great stuff!
13 True Ways is a bit like an Arduin Grimoire for 13th Age and that's not a bad thing. The book is something of a miscellany, packed with new classes, city write ups, monsters, NPCs, inns, monastic tournaments and more. As with the 13th Age Bestiary, nothing is written in stone – instead, the GM is presented with lots of different ideas and options and encouraged to pick the best one for his or her campaign. It's an interesting approach and makes for a very entertaining read that gets your creative juices flowing. Great stuff!
5 out of 5 rating for 13 True Ways
Let's just get this out of the way: While you don't strictly need this book to play 13th Age, you absolutely want it. Why? Because it is a brilliant expansion onto the core rules. True Ways adds new monsters, new magic items, new classes, multiclassing rules, and a selection of other material that you can use to enhance your campaign. The Multiclassing rules are essentially 4th Editions "hybrid" rules, and function well enough, though the asymmetrical nature of 13th Age classes make some combinations awkward. The big draw are the new classes, all of which are immensely flavorful, and go a step beyond the basic rules introduced in the core book. Each class has its own flavor, and some (like Chaos Mage and Occultist), really push at the edges of what the system can do in fun and creative ways. If you want to play 13th Age but can only afford one book, definitely make it this one. You won't regret it.
Let's just get this out of the way: While you don't strictly need this book to play 13th Age, you absolutely want it. Why? Because it is a brilliant expansion onto the core rules. True Ways adds new monsters, new magic items, new classes, multiclassing rules, and a selection of other material that you can use to enhance your campaign. The Multiclassing rules are essentially 4th Editions "hybrid" rules, and function well enough, though the asymmetrical nature of 13th Age classes make some combinations awkward. The big draw are the new classes, all of which are immensely flavorful, and go a step beyond the basic rules introduced in the core book. Each class has its own flavor, and some (like Chaos Mage and Occultist), really push at the edges of what the system can do in fun and creative ways. If you want to play 13th Age but can only afford one book, definitely make it this one. You won't regret it.
stefam
First Post
5 out of 5 rating for 13 True Ways
This book is all over the lace... In a good way. The monsters are a great addition, the new classes are well thought out, original in execution, and play well with one possible exception (chaos Mage - I'm looking at you). It's nice to see the 13th Age system evolve and get the benefits of more creatures, classes, and settings without having to wait for 3 or 4 targeted books to come out.I really got this book for the Monk, but the Occultist is really what my group latched on to. We're all patiently waiting for our Chaos Mage to get eaten though as the class seems way too complicated to run and leaves our player constantly flipping pages to find what effect he's causing or spell he's casting.Monsters are great and setting info is just enough to get a feel for the different locales.Al in all, another solid production.
This book is all over the lace... In a good way. The monsters are a great addition, the new classes are well thought out, original in execution, and play well with one possible exception (chaos Mage - I'm looking at you). It's nice to see the 13th Age system evolve and get the benefits of more creatures, classes, and settings without having to wait for 3 or 4 targeted books to come out.I really got this book for the Monk, but the Occultist is really what my group latched on to. We're all patiently waiting for our Chaos Mage to get eaten though as the class seems way too complicated to run and leaves our player constantly flipping pages to find what effect he's causing or spell he's casting.Monsters are great and setting info is just enough to get a feel for the different locales.Al in all, another solid production.
Philip Francis
First Post
4 out of 5 rating for 13 True Ways
This is a true miscellany and as a result everyone seems to take something different away from it (which almost certainly means that the book is getting enough right). The main draw are the new classes as they include the Druid and Monk which were the obvious 'traditional' classes omitted from the core book. It is fair to say that all of the classes do a good job of being interesting and different in their own right and none of them would be indispensable. The new classes are generally more complex to play or understand than the core classes. A case in point - the Chaos Mage is simple to play as you just need a copy of the book to reference against this turns random effect, but understanding how the Daily Spell rule is modified for this class isn't that easy.
After the classes the book presents rules on multi-classing. This I found interesting more for how it helps highlight what I see as the core strength of 13th Age; the customisability of all the classes. Fundamentally I doubt I will ever use these rules and I haven't had my players hammering at the door to access them either. The rules appear to have a high up front cost in terms of time needed to work through some of the intricacies on Talents and Abilities but after that it looks as though the future levelling should be fairly smooth. Given that most characters already have a broad range of fun stuff they can do and many have at least one talent where they can borrow or access another classes spell or talent pool, the rules appear intended for groups that absolutely have to have a half-elf fighter / mage to feel complete!
The rest of the book is aimed more at the GM and as is becoming the norm for 13th Age products meets a high bar for providing inspiration. The chapter on cities and courts is perfect in this regard and the frustration is that Pelgrane haven't revisited this format for other key locations in the Dragon Empire. The chapter on Devils I ignored for a while as 'just a monster chapter' but actually the way Robin D Laws has differentiated Devils from the Demons in the core book along with extensive notes on Icon influence makes them a great focus for a campaign (just not my current one as I have the Diabolist as the main antagonist). The additional monsters are worthwhile but Bestiary 1 is better in this regard and the NPCs didn't really work for me as I prefer to 'roll my own' but the layout for them is useful for helping you workshop your own ideas into a more interesting shape.
Overall you would be well advised to invest in this if you are running a campaign and it may well serve as useful inspiration for other F20 settings.
This is a true miscellany and as a result everyone seems to take something different away from it (which almost certainly means that the book is getting enough right). The main draw are the new classes as they include the Druid and Monk which were the obvious 'traditional' classes omitted from the core book. It is fair to say that all of the classes do a good job of being interesting and different in their own right and none of them would be indispensable. The new classes are generally more complex to play or understand than the core classes. A case in point - the Chaos Mage is simple to play as you just need a copy of the book to reference against this turns random effect, but understanding how the Daily Spell rule is modified for this class isn't that easy.
After the classes the book presents rules on multi-classing. This I found interesting more for how it helps highlight what I see as the core strength of 13th Age; the customisability of all the classes. Fundamentally I doubt I will ever use these rules and I haven't had my players hammering at the door to access them either. The rules appear to have a high up front cost in terms of time needed to work through some of the intricacies on Talents and Abilities but after that it looks as though the future levelling should be fairly smooth. Given that most characters already have a broad range of fun stuff they can do and many have at least one talent where they can borrow or access another classes spell or talent pool, the rules appear intended for groups that absolutely have to have a half-elf fighter / mage to feel complete!
The rest of the book is aimed more at the GM and as is becoming the norm for 13th Age products meets a high bar for providing inspiration. The chapter on cities and courts is perfect in this regard and the frustration is that Pelgrane haven't revisited this format for other key locations in the Dragon Empire. The chapter on Devils I ignored for a while as 'just a monster chapter' but actually the way Robin D Laws has differentiated Devils from the Demons in the core book along with extensive notes on Icon influence makes them a great focus for a campaign (just not my current one as I have the Diabolist as the main antagonist). The additional monsters are worthwhile but Bestiary 1 is better in this regard and the NPCs didn't really work for me as I prefer to 'roll my own' but the layout for them is useful for helping you workshop your own ideas into a more interesting shape.
Overall you would be well advised to invest in this if you are running a campaign and it may well serve as useful inspiration for other F20 settings.
Philip Francis
First Post
4 out of 5 rating for 13 True Ways
This is a true miscellany and as a result everyone seems to take something different away from it (which almost certainly means that the book is getting enough right). The main draw are the new classes as they include the Druid and Monk which were the obvious 'traditional' classes omitted from the core book. It is fair to say that all of the classes do a good job of being interesting and different in their own right and none of them would be indispensable. The new classes are generally more complex to play or understand than the core classes. A case in point - the Chaos Mage is simple to play as you just need a copy of the book to reference against this turns random effect, but understanding how the Daily Spell rule is modified for this class isn't that easy.
After the classes the book presents rules on multi-classing. This I found interesting more for how it helps highlight what I see as the core strength of 13th Age; the customisability of all the classes. Fundamentally I doubt I will ever use these rules and I haven't had my players hammering at the door to access them either. The rules appear to have a high up front cost in terms of time needed to work through some of the intricacies on Talents and Abilities but after that it looks as though the future levelling should be fairly smooth. Given that most characters already have a broad range of fun stuff they can do and many have at least one talent where they can borrow or access another classes spell or talent pool, the rules appear intended for groups that absolutely have to have a half-elf fighter / mage to feel complete!
The rest of the book is aimed more at the GM and as is becoming the norm for 13th Age products meets a high bar for providing inspiration. The chapter on cities and courts is perfect in this regard and the frustration is that Pelgrane haven't revisited this format for other key locations in the Dragon Empire. The chapter on Devils I ignored for a while as 'just a monster chapter' but actually the way Robin D Laws has differentiated Devils from the Demons in the core book along with extensive notes on Icon influence makes them a great focus for a campaign (just not my current one as I have the Diabolist as the main antagonist). The additional monsters are worthwhile but Bestiary 1 is better in this regard and the NPCs didn't really work for me as I prefer to 'roll my own' but the layout for them is useful for helping you workshop your own ideas into a more interesting shape.
Overall you would be well advised to invest in this if you are running a campaign and it may well serve as useful inspiration for other F20 settings.
This is a true miscellany and as a result everyone seems to take something different away from it (which almost certainly means that the book is getting enough right). The main draw are the new classes as they include the Druid and Monk which were the obvious 'traditional' classes omitted from the core book. It is fair to say that all of the classes do a good job of being interesting and different in their own right and none of them would be indispensable. The new classes are generally more complex to play or understand than the core classes. A case in point - the Chaos Mage is simple to play as you just need a copy of the book to reference against this turns random effect, but understanding how the Daily Spell rule is modified for this class isn't that easy.
After the classes the book presents rules on multi-classing. This I found interesting more for how it helps highlight what I see as the core strength of 13th Age; the customisability of all the classes. Fundamentally I doubt I will ever use these rules and I haven't had my players hammering at the door to access them either. The rules appear to have a high up front cost in terms of time needed to work through some of the intricacies on Talents and Abilities but after that it looks as though the future levelling should be fairly smooth. Given that most characters already have a broad range of fun stuff they can do and many have at least one talent where they can borrow or access another classes spell or talent pool, the rules appear intended for groups that absolutely have to have a half-elf fighter / mage to feel complete!
The rest of the book is aimed more at the GM and as is becoming the norm for 13th Age products meets a high bar for providing inspiration. The chapter on cities and courts is perfect in this regard and the frustration is that Pelgrane haven't revisited this format for other key locations in the Dragon Empire. The chapter on Devils I ignored for a while as 'just a monster chapter' but actually the way Robin D Laws has differentiated Devils from the Demons in the core book along with extensive notes on Icon influence makes them a great focus for a campaign (just not my current one as I have the Diabolist as the main antagonist). The additional monsters are worthwhile but Bestiary 1 is better in this regard and the NPCs didn't really work for me as I prefer to 'roll my own' but the layout for them is useful for helping you workshop your own ideas into a more interesting shape.
Overall you would be well advised to invest in this if you are running a campaign and it may well serve as useful inspiration for other F20 settings.
