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Shadows of Esteren: The Creepy Progeny of Gothic Horror & Medieval Fantasy
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<blockquote data-quote="Neuroglyph" data-source="post: 7651874" data-attributes="member: 85633"><p><span style="font-size: 10px">Does gritty and grim <em>Shadows of Esteren</em>, with its dark gothic horror elements, have what it takes to challenge classical High Fantasy fans among RPG players?</span>[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]<span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">I’ve had the opportunity to review a massive amount of Role-Playing Games over the past couple of years for <strong>EN World News</strong>, and the sheer number of RPGs out there keeps me to a pretty tight schedule with only one review per week! There are plenty more games I never get a chance to read and review from all corners of the RPG community, and I daresay there are more than a few “awesome” games that miss their spotlight moment in an <strong>EN World</strong> Review column.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">Case in point, in the early part of this year, I did come across a couple of 2012 RPG releases that had never come across my desk for an <strong>EN World</strong> Review, but seemed noteworthy enough to merit a closer look. One of these games was <strong><em>Shadows of Esteren</em></strong> by <strong>Agate RPG</strong>. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">It was the focus of a massively successful <strong>KICKSTARTER</strong> campaign to translate it from French to English, and then release it to more gamers in the RPG community. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">[align=right]http://www.neuroglyphgames.com/rpgblogs/home/neurogly/public_html/rpgblogs/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/SOE-Universe-Cover.jpg[/align]Currently, <strong>Agate RPG</strong> has released two books, <em>Book-0 Prologue</em> and <em>Book-1 Universe</em>, with the promise of several more books to follow. These first two releases introduce a grim realistic fantasy world which is both magic-light, and has a notable lack of pointy-eared or massively-bearded player races. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">But does gritty and grim <strong><em>Shadows of Esteren</em></strong>, with its dark gothic horror elements, have what it takes to challenge classical High Fantasy fans among RPG players?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong><u>Shadows of Esteren</u></strong></span></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong>Design & Development</strong>: Nelyhann, Frédéric “Tchernopuss” Hubleur, Aldo “Pénombre” Pappacoda, Joëlle “Iris” Deschamp, Ludovic “Elenyl” Monnier-Ragaigne, and Laurent “Nico du deme de Naxos” Duquesne</span> </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong>Illustrations</strong>: Yvan “Gawain” Villeneuve (cover); (interior) Yvan “Gawain” Villeneuve, Olivier “Akae” Sanfilippo, Fred Pinson, Bruno, Revolver, Rémi “Remton” Le Capon, Nelyhann, Nicolas Jamme, and Joël Belin</span> </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong>Publisher</strong>: Agate RPG /Studio 2</span> </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong>Year</strong>: 2012</span> </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong>Media</strong>: PDF (<em>Prologue</em> 80 pages / <em>Universe</em> 290 pages)</span> </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong>Price</strong>: $4.99 for <em>Book-0 Prologue</em> (available from <strong><a href="http://www.rpgnow.com/product/109112/Shadows-of-Esteren---Book-0-Prologue&amp;filters=0_0_0_31813_0?affiliate_id=270466" target="_blank">RPGNow</a></strong>) / $24.99 for <em>Book-1 Universe</em> (also available from <a href="http://www.rpgnow.com/product/109110/Shadows-of-Esteren---Book-1-Universe&amp;filters=0_0_0_31813_0?affiliate_id=270466" target="_blank"><strong>RPGNow</strong></a>). <em>Book-1 Universe</em> in Hardbound $37.63 is available from <strong>Amazon.com</strong></span> </li> </ul><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong><em></em></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong><em>Shadows of Esteren</em></strong> is a gothic-horror medieval fantasy role-playing game published by <strong>Agate RPG</strong> and <strong>Studio 2</strong>, assisted with the collective of authors and illustrators that make up <strong>ForgeSonges</strong>. <em>Book-0 Prologue</em> contains a brief overview of the game setting and mechanics, and includes explanations of character concepts, offering a party of up to six ready-to-play examples. <em>Book-0 Prologue</em> also offers a series of three interconnected adventures, which can be an introduction to the game setting and play. <em>Book-1 Universe</em> offers very detailed information about the Esteren setting, particularly to the lands of <em>Tri-Kazel</em>. Character generation, game mechanics, and spells are also presented in <em>Book-1</em>, along with a <em>Sanity</em> system for characters that have seen too many horrors in the world of Esteren.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong><u>Production Quality</u></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">The production quality of <strong><em>Shadows of Esteren</em></strong> is truly exceptional, with a visually gorgeous presentation, excellent writing, and an easy to read layout. In both books, each page is lavishly designed with a <em>faux</em> tome-parchment look which does not detract from the reading experience. Little imperfections appear from time to time on the parchment edge graphics which enhance the feel of the effect. The pages are glossy and thick, making page flipping quite easy.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">The writing style is very engaging, particularly in <em>Book-1 Universe</em>, where concepts and background information are imparted by NPCs or taken from in-setting manuscripts. <em>Book-0 Prologue</em> is more of a matter-of-fact in style, but still a good read. Special information and notes are imparted in boxes with a parchment color and texture different than the page so that it stands out.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">For navigation, there is a decent table of contents, as well as indices in both books. <em>Book-1 Universe</em> also sports a glossary of terms with page number references. Regretfully, I did not have the PDFs for review purposes –I had the physical copies instead – and so I do not know if there are bookmarks for quick paging.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">But it is the artwork which makes <strong><em>Shadows of Esteren</em></strong> truly outstanding. The cover art is eerie and foreboding, setting the reader up for the horror theme of the game. And the interior art is both amazing and plentiful, and it feels like nearly every page has another original illustration. The artwork definitely enhances the reading experience, and almost all images were related to the content on the page.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong><u></u></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong><u></u></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong><u>“…a gritty, realistic world”</u></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong><em></em></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong><em>Shadows of Esteren</em></strong> is a role-playing game which aspires to be a multi-media experience. In addition to the core game books being published, with two out and four more on the way, <strong><em>Shadows of Esteren</em></strong> offers a collection of themed music to play at sessions, and eventually, a video game. The game also has an <a href="http://www.esteren.org/shadows_of_esteren/" target="_blank"><strong>official website</strong></a> for press releases and a forum. Samples of the theme music can be found on the <a href="https://myspace.com/esteren" target="_blank">composer’s <strong>MySpace</strong> page</a>.</span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">The main elements to keep in mind for the <strong><em>Shadows of Esteren</em></strong> is that the world is grim and dangerous, filled with horror, and magic is more supernatural, in that it is rare, powerful, and scary. There are no elves or dwarves or halflings, there are no magic-users casting spells every time the party gets into a bad scrape, and there are no <em>points of light</em>. The world of Esteren is just that dangerous. It is a world not unlike the one depicted in George R. R. Martin’s <em>Songs of Ice and Fire</em> series, with races and cultures of men living in a dark medieval setting, and encountering supernatural forces now and then – with predictably disastrous results.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">As a setting, Esteren draws from many European Dark Ages influences. The <em>Tri-Kazel</em> lands, which are the focus of the campaign setting, have a significant Celtic feel for its art and culture. Beyond the sea is a place called merely the Continent, whose immigrants invaded and warred with the peoples in <em>Tri-Kazel</em>. Religion is a major impetus in the setting as well, with a monotheistic religion called <em>The Temple</em>, coming along with immigrants from the Continent, which has opposed the native <em>Demorth</em><em>én</em> – a religion not unlike Druidism. The historical parallels are blurred a bit, but clearly present.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">There is also a somewhat Steampunk-Fantasy element present in the <em>Magientists</em> – artificers who harvest a magical essence called <em>Flux</em> to work wonders and invent magical devices.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><em>Book-1 Universe</em> is the core rulebook and sourcebook for Shadows of Esteren. <em>Book-0 Prologue</em> is a handy supplement to have, but not entirely necessary to play the game. <em>Book-1 Universe</em> is divided into for hefty chapters, with a number of sub-sections relating to the main topic.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">The first chapter deals with the peninsula of <em>Tri-Kazel</em>, relating history both ancient and recent, as well as the geography of the lands. There are also sections focusing on the major nations of Tri-Kazel: the Kingdom of <em>Taol-Kaer</em>, a city-state called <em>Osta-Baille</em>, the Temple dominated theocracy of <em>Gwidre</em>, and <em>Reizh</em> which is a land strongly influenced by the Continent and the Magientists. The authors go into great detail about these lands and their history, as well as politics and society. And the knowledge of the world is imparted by way of NPCs in world holding discourse, or from texts and manuscripts of Esteren. This method of writing is rather engaging, and makes a story-quilt of the content, rather than a list of historical and political facts.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">The cartography of Tri-Kazel is detailed here as well, and the map of these lands is truly gorgeous. I should note that the setting is quite small compared to other fantasy settings, with the entire map of the peninsula comprising only about 250 miles by 250 miles in size. There are advantages to having an “intimate” setting, such as allowing the players to integrate themselves into such a world. There is also a detailed gazetteer describing many features and strange locales on the peninsula of Tri-Kazel.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">One important sub-section in this chapter was the discussion of the <em>Feond</em> (pl. <em>Feondas</em>) who are the “bad guys” of the setting, and these are creatures of horror, pure and simple. They are monsters which might resemble animals, plants, or people, but are comprised of earth, stone, flesh, or vegetation – and sometimes all of that put together. They can sometimes appear as hybrids of multiple creatures put together, and are terrifying to behold. Utterly alien, evil, and murderous, the <em>Feondas</em> are a constant threat to Tri-Kazel life, and to the inhabitants of the Continent.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><em></em></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><em>Lifestyle</em> is discussed in amazing detail in the second chapter, spanning almost fifty pages of content in <em>Book-1 Universe</em>. The chapter is divided into sub-sections describing customs, crafting, food and famines, giving a run-down of daily life from birth to death for the inhabitants of Tri-Kazel. The authors also discuss architecture of various communities, as well as delve into the differences between the various societies of the nations. Currency and trade is explored here, although the barter system is the common currency in most of the peninsula. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">The coinage is not the typical gold/silver/copper, but triangular coins called daols – azure, flame, and frost – named for the patterns on them. Finally, the arts are discussed in all their forms from music to painting. But there is a particular emphasis on Bards in society, who act as lore-seekers and keepers, diplomats, and adventurers. Bards are one of the character archetypes in the game, and the authors make a good case for a highly appealing persona for a player who has the gift of a silver tongue.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">The third chapter in <em>Book-1 Universe</em> proceeds to explain various factions in the world in greater detail. In many respects, this is actually a focus on the other archetypes for characters, like the Bard. The nature of Demorthén, The Temple, and Magientists are unpacked and examined, giving players and the Leader (GM) insights into how they are played, how they interact with the world, and various sub-cultures of these groups. Additional archetypes introduced are Varigals and Hilderen Knights – the first reminded me of a cross between Tolkien’s Rangers and the Pony Express, while the Hilderen were rather like Crusader Knights. This chapter ends with some Rumors in the world about strange occurrences, supernatural forces, and groups – all rich fodder for potential adventures or a campaign.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">But there are also no classes or levels in Shadows of Esteren, offering players a chance to craft the character they want to play, guided by a general archetype or profession. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">The final chapter goes into the game system itself, including character creation, mechanics for combat and skill resolution, the three magical systems (Demorthén, The Temple, and Magientists), and the sanity system. Yes, your character can be presented with horrors so awful that they can have a psychotic break just like in <strong><em>CoC</em></strong>.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">The character creation and skill system have some really unique elements, but at its heart is still a resolution system of a <em>die roll + ability + skill level</em> meeting or exceeding a target number representing difficulty, except a d10 is used instead of d20. Target numbers range from 8 (easy) to 35 (superhuman). That said, there are some very cool character mechanics at work here that are worth noting.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">Rather than ability scores, characters have <em>Ways</em>. Ways range from 1 to 5, and define a character by their <em>Combativeness</em>, <em>Creativity</em>, <em>Empathy</em>, <em>Reason</em>, and <em>Conviction</em>. But the most interesting part about Ways is that they are both a positive and negative quality to them. So a character with a high <em>Reason</em> Way might be considered ingenious and focused, but they will also be over-cautious or prone to abstraction. The Ways are linked to various skills, but they also provide a role-playing definition for the character’s personality and habits. As a third of one’s experience points come from playing in character, Ways also provide a measure for the rest of the party and the Leader to determine who at the table is “roll-playing” instead of “role-playing”.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">The skill system is also very interesting, in that it allows characters to advance in a main skill to a competent level, and then branch off into disciplines where they can excel to mastery. As an example, there is a <em>Combativeness</em> skill called <em>Feats</em>, which allow a character to perform acts of amazing physical prowess. So a character can utilize Feats for a roll in general, but might have made <em>Acrobatics</em> their discipline, and have a higher skill level at that than their <em>Feat</em> skill level.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">Overall, the character generation system is quite thorough, concentrating more on creating the persona than minutiae of scores and figured characteristics. There are a good deal of role-playing related decisions to make during the process, such as professions, origins, and age – the latter actually matters, as it gives a skill bonus, but comes with a negative quality called a <em>setback</em>. All these, with the addition of traits from the Ways score, can allow players to create a character with a real personality right from the start.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">Gear and goods for sale is also discussed in this section, including costs for services. Hazards which might befall a character or party, such as diseases and poisons, have their own sections as part of the overall game play.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">Advancement is a experience-points-to-improve-X system. Skills and other character features are increased over time, and with training (spending points).</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">I also found the spell systems in <strong><em>Shadows of Esteren</em></strong> to be pretty cool, offering considerable diversity between the three disciplines. The Demorthén and those devoted to The Temple use a spell point system based upon certain Ways scores, and make a difficulty test to determine if the power or effect transpires – or fails. The effects they create by either summoning natural spirits or by channeling their deity’s power into miracles vary in area or targets effected and power level, which in turn requires more difficult target numbers and expense of spells points (called <em>Rindath</em> and <em>Exaltation</em>, respectively). The Magientists employ the use of artifacts, which are powered by Flux – a substance made of distilled and refined magical energy. They can extract Flux from a variety of raw materials, ranging from rocks and soil to living beings. Artifacts include items such as <em>Energetic Gauntlets</em> to deliver damage by electrical shock and <em>Vision Glasses</em> to see microscopically or grant night vision.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">Sanity is a major factor in <em><strong>Shadows of Esteren</strong></em>, and can be just as dangerous to a character’s existence as a Feondas’ teeth. Certain horrific monsters or when presented with terrible events of slaughter or destruction can affect a character’s sanity inflicting <em>mental trauma</em> on them unless they succeed in a resistance test. Over time, this can lead to mental scarring, phobias, or even mental disorders. However, a natural roll of 10 on the die during a sanity test grants the character <em>mental hardening</em>, which increases their ability to resist future horrors. There are some great details on various emotional and psychological ailments in this section, and it feels well thought out and complete.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">One thing that is glaringly absent is a Leader (GM) chapter in <em>Book-1 Universe</em>. There is scant information on running a campaign scattered throughout chapter four, but there is nothing about building an adventure or running a session. Further, there is no bestiary or monster manual of any kind, leaving Leaders in the dark about creating animals, NPC enemies, or Feondas as threats against the heroes.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">But actually, that’s where <em>Book-0 Prologue</em> is an awfully handy accessory to accompany <em>Book-1 Universe</em>. While it does not have a monster manual, <em>Book-0</em> has three successive adventures with an interlocking meta-story, giving Leaders a good idea how adventures and encounters might be built. And along with those adventures – <em>Loch Varn, Poison,</em> and <em>Red Fall</em> – there are encounters and some creatures and NPCs from which a Leader might extrapolate how to build their own encounters and threats. While not ideal, it is something that can make the whole thing work so that the rich setting of <strong><em>Shadows of Esteren</em></strong> has someplace to go!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">Other books to be released for the Shadows of Esteren setting include:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><em></em></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><em>Book-2 Travels</em> – which will give even more details of the setting and a bigger map. The <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1176616619/shadows-of-esteren-a-medieval-horror-rpg-travels" target="_blank"><strong>KICKSTARTER</strong></a> for this book was launched yesterday, by the way.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><em></em></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><em>The Monastery of Tuath</em> – a supplement dealing with aspects of The Temple, as well as an adventure setting.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><em></em></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><em>Book-3 The Official Campaign</em> – a campaign arc</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><em></em></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><em>Book-4 Secrets</em> – delves into the “backstage” of the campaign setting with shocking revelations for the Leader to drop onto the unsuspecting characters</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">Overall Score: <strong>4.0</strong> <em>out of</em> <strong>5.0</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong><u></u></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong><u></u></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong><u>Final Conclusions</u></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">In the end, I can find myself forgiving <strong>Agate RPG</strong> for neglecting Leaders needs in <strong><em>Shadows of Esteren</em></strong> - because the rest of the game is just so mind-blowingly awesome! Although some of the game mechanics are similar to other RPGs I’ve played, there are a lot of new concepts put together in a very cool and very exciting ways. The character generation is fairly simple, but very in-depth, and the magic system has reasonable limits and amazing potential. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">The game is role-play intensive, rewarding good players who keep in character with extra experience, but also has a flexible combat and skill resolution system that is fairly fast and easy. And the setting of Esteren is both vibrant and dark, wondrous and horrifying – a great mix of medieval fantasy, gothic horror, and maybe a few Cthulhu-esque tentacles thrown in for good measure.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">While it is a definite annoyance to have to buy Book-0 along with Book-1 to get a template for adventure and encounter development, as well as monster design, the PDF price is more than reason for all that you get from the contents. Definitely worth taking a look at if you want to take your heroic fantasy to places dark and shadowy…</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong>Author’s Note</strong>: This Reviewer received a complimentary copy of the products from which the review was written.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong><u></u></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong><u></u></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong><u>Grade Card (Ratings 1 to 5)</u></strong></span></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong>Presentation</strong>: 4.75</span> </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 10px">- <strong>Design</strong>: 5.0 (Gorgeous book; fantastic writing; a great overall read)</span> </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 10px">- <strong>Illustrations</strong>: 4.5 (Creepy cover and lush interior art; excellent cartography of Tri-Kazel)</span> </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong>Content</strong>: 3.75</span> </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 10px">- <strong>Crunch</strong>: 3.5 (Solid rules; innovative character gen and magic; “wherefore art thy MONSTERS?”)</span> </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 10px">- <strong>Fluff</strong>: 4.0 (Fluff aplenty; rich world and cultures; need more Feondas lore if they are the baddies!)</span> </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong>Value</strong>: 3.5 (Awesome price on a mostly complete game; at least <em>Book-0</em> is a cheap buy to add to the cost of <em>Book-1</em>)</span> </li> </ul><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong>Endnote</strong>: A KICKSTARTER for <em>Book-2 Travels</em> for <strong><em>Shadows of Esteren</em></strong> was just launched yesterday, and was completely funded in just a single day! <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1176616619/shadows-of-esteren-a-medieval-horror-rpg-travels" target="_blank"><strong>Click here to check out the KICKSTARTER</strong></a>. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Neuroglyph, post: 7651874, member: 85633"] [SIZE=2]Does gritty and grim [I]Shadows of Esteren[/I], with its dark gothic horror elements, have what it takes to challenge classical High Fantasy fans among RPG players?[/SIZE][PRBREAK][/PRBREAK][SIZE=2] I’ve had the opportunity to review a massive amount of Role-Playing Games over the past couple of years for [B]EN World News[/B], and the sheer number of RPGs out there keeps me to a pretty tight schedule with only one review per week! There are plenty more games I never get a chance to read and review from all corners of the RPG community, and I daresay there are more than a few “awesome” games that miss their spotlight moment in an [B]EN World[/B] Review column. Case in point, in the early part of this year, I did come across a couple of 2012 RPG releases that had never come across my desk for an [B]EN World[/B] Review, but seemed noteworthy enough to merit a closer look. One of these games was [B][I]Shadows of Esteren[/I][/B] by [B]Agate RPG[/B]. It was the focus of a massively successful [B]KICKSTARTER[/B] campaign to translate it from French to English, and then release it to more gamers in the RPG community. [align=right]http://www.neuroglyphgames.com/rpgblogs/home/neurogly/public_html/rpgblogs/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/SOE-Universe-Cover.jpg[/align]Currently, [B]Agate RPG[/B] has released two books, [I]Book-0 Prologue[/I] and [I]Book-1 Universe[/I], with the promise of several more books to follow. These first two releases introduce a grim realistic fantasy world which is both magic-light, and has a notable lack of pointy-eared or massively-bearded player races. But does gritty and grim [B][I]Shadows of Esteren[/I][/B], with its dark gothic horror elements, have what it takes to challenge classical High Fantasy fans among RPG players? [B][U]Shadows of Esteren[/U][/B][/SIZE] [LIST] [*][SIZE=2][B]Design & Development[/B]: Nelyhann, Frédéric “Tchernopuss” Hubleur, Aldo “Pénombre” Pappacoda, Joëlle “Iris” Deschamp, Ludovic “Elenyl” Monnier-Ragaigne, and Laurent “Nico du deme de Naxos” Duquesne[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=2][B]Illustrations[/B]: Yvan “Gawain” Villeneuve (cover); (interior) Yvan “Gawain” Villeneuve, Olivier “Akae” Sanfilippo, Fred Pinson, Bruno, Revolver, Rémi “Remton” Le Capon, Nelyhann, Nicolas Jamme, and Joël Belin[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=2][B]Publisher[/B]: Agate RPG /Studio 2[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=2][B]Year[/B]: 2012[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=2][B]Media[/B]: PDF ([I]Prologue[/I] 80 pages / [I]Universe[/I] 290 pages)[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=2][B]Price[/B]: $4.99 for [I]Book-0 Prologue[/I] (available from [B][URL="http://www.rpgnow.com/product/109112/Shadows-of-Esteren---Book-0-Prologue&filters=0_0_0_31813_0?affiliate_id=270466"]RPGNow[/URL][/B]) / $24.99 for [I]Book-1 Universe[/I] (also available from [URL="http://www.rpgnow.com/product/109110/Shadows-of-Esteren---Book-1-Universe&filters=0_0_0_31813_0?affiliate_id=270466"][B]RPGNow[/B][/URL]). [I]Book-1 Universe[/I] in Hardbound $37.63 is available from [B]Amazon.com[/B][/SIZE] [/LIST] [SIZE=2][B][I] Shadows of Esteren[/I][/B] is a gothic-horror medieval fantasy role-playing game published by [B]Agate RPG[/B] and [B]Studio 2[/B], assisted with the collective of authors and illustrators that make up [B]ForgeSonges[/B]. [I]Book-0 Prologue[/I] contains a brief overview of the game setting and mechanics, and includes explanations of character concepts, offering a party of up to six ready-to-play examples. [I]Book-0 Prologue[/I] also offers a series of three interconnected adventures, which can be an introduction to the game setting and play. [I]Book-1 Universe[/I] offers very detailed information about the Esteren setting, particularly to the lands of [I]Tri-Kazel[/I]. Character generation, game mechanics, and spells are also presented in [I]Book-1[/I], along with a [I]Sanity[/I] system for characters that have seen too many horrors in the world of Esteren. [B][U]Production Quality[/U][/B] The production quality of [B][I]Shadows of Esteren[/I][/B] is truly exceptional, with a visually gorgeous presentation, excellent writing, and an easy to read layout. In both books, each page is lavishly designed with a [I]faux[/I] tome-parchment look which does not detract from the reading experience. Little imperfections appear from time to time on the parchment edge graphics which enhance the feel of the effect. The pages are glossy and thick, making page flipping quite easy. The writing style is very engaging, particularly in [I]Book-1 Universe[/I], where concepts and background information are imparted by NPCs or taken from in-setting manuscripts. [I]Book-0 Prologue[/I] is more of a matter-of-fact in style, but still a good read. Special information and notes are imparted in boxes with a parchment color and texture different than the page so that it stands out. For navigation, there is a decent table of contents, as well as indices in both books. [I]Book-1 Universe[/I] also sports a glossary of terms with page number references. Regretfully, I did not have the PDFs for review purposes –I had the physical copies instead – and so I do not know if there are bookmarks for quick paging. But it is the artwork which makes [B][I]Shadows of Esteren[/I][/B] truly outstanding. The cover art is eerie and foreboding, setting the reader up for the horror theme of the game. And the interior art is both amazing and plentiful, and it feels like nearly every page has another original illustration. The artwork definitely enhances the reading experience, and almost all images were related to the content on the page. [B][U] “…a gritty, realistic world”[/U][/B] [B][I] Shadows of Esteren[/I][/B] is a role-playing game which aspires to be a multi-media experience. In addition to the core game books being published, with two out and four more on the way, [B][I]Shadows of Esteren[/I][/B] offers a collection of themed music to play at sessions, and eventually, a video game. The game also has an [URL="http://www.esteren.org/shadows_of_esteren/"][B]official website[/B][/URL] for press releases and a forum. Samples of the theme music can be found on the [URL="https://myspace.com/esteren"]composer’s [B]MySpace[/B] page[/URL]. The main elements to keep in mind for the [B][I]Shadows of Esteren[/I][/B] is that the world is grim and dangerous, filled with horror, and magic is more supernatural, in that it is rare, powerful, and scary. There are no elves or dwarves or halflings, there are no magic-users casting spells every time the party gets into a bad scrape, and there are no [I]points of light[/I]. The world of Esteren is just that dangerous. It is a world not unlike the one depicted in George R. R. Martin’s [I]Songs of Ice and Fire[/I] series, with races and cultures of men living in a dark medieval setting, and encountering supernatural forces now and then – with predictably disastrous results. As a setting, Esteren draws from many European Dark Ages influences. The [I]Tri-Kazel[/I] lands, which are the focus of the campaign setting, have a significant Celtic feel for its art and culture. Beyond the sea is a place called merely the Continent, whose immigrants invaded and warred with the peoples in [I]Tri-Kazel[/I]. Religion is a major impetus in the setting as well, with a monotheistic religion called [I]The Temple[/I], coming along with immigrants from the Continent, which has opposed the native [I]Demorth[/I][I]én[/I] – a religion not unlike Druidism. The historical parallels are blurred a bit, but clearly present. There is also a somewhat Steampunk-Fantasy element present in the [I]Magientists[/I] – artificers who harvest a magical essence called [I]Flux[/I] to work wonders and invent magical devices. [I]Book-1 Universe[/I] is the core rulebook and sourcebook for Shadows of Esteren. [I]Book-0 Prologue[/I] is a handy supplement to have, but not entirely necessary to play the game. [I]Book-1 Universe[/I] is divided into for hefty chapters, with a number of sub-sections relating to the main topic. The first chapter deals with the peninsula of [I]Tri-Kazel[/I], relating history both ancient and recent, as well as the geography of the lands. There are also sections focusing on the major nations of Tri-Kazel: the Kingdom of [I]Taol-Kaer[/I], a city-state called [I]Osta-Baille[/I], the Temple dominated theocracy of [I]Gwidre[/I], and [I]Reizh[/I] which is a land strongly influenced by the Continent and the Magientists. The authors go into great detail about these lands and their history, as well as politics and society. And the knowledge of the world is imparted by way of NPCs in world holding discourse, or from texts and manuscripts of Esteren. This method of writing is rather engaging, and makes a story-quilt of the content, rather than a list of historical and political facts. The cartography of Tri-Kazel is detailed here as well, and the map of these lands is truly gorgeous. I should note that the setting is quite small compared to other fantasy settings, with the entire map of the peninsula comprising only about 250 miles by 250 miles in size. There are advantages to having an “intimate” setting, such as allowing the players to integrate themselves into such a world. There is also a detailed gazetteer describing many features and strange locales on the peninsula of Tri-Kazel. One important sub-section in this chapter was the discussion of the [I]Feond[/I] (pl. [I]Feondas[/I]) who are the “bad guys” of the setting, and these are creatures of horror, pure and simple. They are monsters which might resemble animals, plants, or people, but are comprised of earth, stone, flesh, or vegetation – and sometimes all of that put together. They can sometimes appear as hybrids of multiple creatures put together, and are terrifying to behold. Utterly alien, evil, and murderous, the [I]Feondas[/I] are a constant threat to Tri-Kazel life, and to the inhabitants of the Continent. [I] Lifestyle[/I] is discussed in amazing detail in the second chapter, spanning almost fifty pages of content in [I]Book-1 Universe[/I]. The chapter is divided into sub-sections describing customs, crafting, food and famines, giving a run-down of daily life from birth to death for the inhabitants of Tri-Kazel. The authors also discuss architecture of various communities, as well as delve into the differences between the various societies of the nations. Currency and trade is explored here, although the barter system is the common currency in most of the peninsula. The coinage is not the typical gold/silver/copper, but triangular coins called daols – azure, flame, and frost – named for the patterns on them. Finally, the arts are discussed in all their forms from music to painting. But there is a particular emphasis on Bards in society, who act as lore-seekers and keepers, diplomats, and adventurers. Bards are one of the character archetypes in the game, and the authors make a good case for a highly appealing persona for a player who has the gift of a silver tongue. The third chapter in [I]Book-1 Universe[/I] proceeds to explain various factions in the world in greater detail. In many respects, this is actually a focus on the other archetypes for characters, like the Bard. The nature of Demorthén, The Temple, and Magientists are unpacked and examined, giving players and the Leader (GM) insights into how they are played, how they interact with the world, and various sub-cultures of these groups. Additional archetypes introduced are Varigals and Hilderen Knights – the first reminded me of a cross between Tolkien’s Rangers and the Pony Express, while the Hilderen were rather like Crusader Knights. This chapter ends with some Rumors in the world about strange occurrences, supernatural forces, and groups – all rich fodder for potential adventures or a campaign. But there are also no classes or levels in Shadows of Esteren, offering players a chance to craft the character they want to play, guided by a general archetype or profession. The final chapter goes into the game system itself, including character creation, mechanics for combat and skill resolution, the three magical systems (Demorthén, The Temple, and Magientists), and the sanity system. Yes, your character can be presented with horrors so awful that they can have a psychotic break just like in [B][I]CoC[/I][/B]. The character creation and skill system have some really unique elements, but at its heart is still a resolution system of a [I]die roll + ability + skill level[/I] meeting or exceeding a target number representing difficulty, except a d10 is used instead of d20. Target numbers range from 8 (easy) to 35 (superhuman). That said, there are some very cool character mechanics at work here that are worth noting. Rather than ability scores, characters have [I]Ways[/I]. Ways range from 1 to 5, and define a character by their [I]Combativeness[/I], [I]Creativity[/I], [I]Empathy[/I], [I]Reason[/I], and [I]Conviction[/I]. But the most interesting part about Ways is that they are both a positive and negative quality to them. So a character with a high [I]Reason[/I] Way might be considered ingenious and focused, but they will also be over-cautious or prone to abstraction. The Ways are linked to various skills, but they also provide a role-playing definition for the character’s personality and habits. As a third of one’s experience points come from playing in character, Ways also provide a measure for the rest of the party and the Leader to determine who at the table is “roll-playing” instead of “role-playing”. The skill system is also very interesting, in that it allows characters to advance in a main skill to a competent level, and then branch off into disciplines where they can excel to mastery. As an example, there is a [I]Combativeness[/I] skill called [I]Feats[/I], which allow a character to perform acts of amazing physical prowess. So a character can utilize Feats for a roll in general, but might have made [I]Acrobatics[/I] their discipline, and have a higher skill level at that than their [I]Feat[/I] skill level. Overall, the character generation system is quite thorough, concentrating more on creating the persona than minutiae of scores and figured characteristics. There are a good deal of role-playing related decisions to make during the process, such as professions, origins, and age – the latter actually matters, as it gives a skill bonus, but comes with a negative quality called a [I]setback[/I]. All these, with the addition of traits from the Ways score, can allow players to create a character with a real personality right from the start. Gear and goods for sale is also discussed in this section, including costs for services. Hazards which might befall a character or party, such as diseases and poisons, have their own sections as part of the overall game play. Advancement is a experience-points-to-improve-X system. Skills and other character features are increased over time, and with training (spending points). I also found the spell systems in [B][I]Shadows of Esteren[/I][/B] to be pretty cool, offering considerable diversity between the three disciplines. The Demorthén and those devoted to The Temple use a spell point system based upon certain Ways scores, and make a difficulty test to determine if the power or effect transpires – or fails. The effects they create by either summoning natural spirits or by channeling their deity’s power into miracles vary in area or targets effected and power level, which in turn requires more difficult target numbers and expense of spells points (called [I]Rindath[/I] and [I]Exaltation[/I], respectively). The Magientists employ the use of artifacts, which are powered by Flux – a substance made of distilled and refined magical energy. They can extract Flux from a variety of raw materials, ranging from rocks and soil to living beings. Artifacts include items such as [I]Energetic Gauntlets[/I] to deliver damage by electrical shock and [I]Vision Glasses[/I] to see microscopically or grant night vision. Sanity is a major factor in [I][B]Shadows of Esteren[/B][/I], and can be just as dangerous to a character’s existence as a Feondas’ teeth. Certain horrific monsters or when presented with terrible events of slaughter or destruction can affect a character’s sanity inflicting [I]mental trauma[/I] on them unless they succeed in a resistance test. Over time, this can lead to mental scarring, phobias, or even mental disorders. However, a natural roll of 10 on the die during a sanity test grants the character [I]mental hardening[/I], which increases their ability to resist future horrors. There are some great details on various emotional and psychological ailments in this section, and it feels well thought out and complete. One thing that is glaringly absent is a Leader (GM) chapter in [I]Book-1 Universe[/I]. There is scant information on running a campaign scattered throughout chapter four, but there is nothing about building an adventure or running a session. Further, there is no bestiary or monster manual of any kind, leaving Leaders in the dark about creating animals, NPC enemies, or Feondas as threats against the heroes. But actually, that’s where [I]Book-0 Prologue[/I] is an awfully handy accessory to accompany [I]Book-1 Universe[/I]. While it does not have a monster manual, [I]Book-0[/I] has three successive adventures with an interlocking meta-story, giving Leaders a good idea how adventures and encounters might be built. And along with those adventures – [I]Loch Varn, Poison,[/I] and [I]Red Fall[/I] – there are encounters and some creatures and NPCs from which a Leader might extrapolate how to build their own encounters and threats. While not ideal, it is something that can make the whole thing work so that the rich setting of [B][I]Shadows of Esteren[/I][/B] has someplace to go! Other books to be released for the Shadows of Esteren setting include: [I] Book-2 Travels[/I] – which will give even more details of the setting and a bigger map. The [URL="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1176616619/shadows-of-esteren-a-medieval-horror-rpg-travels"][B]KICKSTARTER[/B][/URL] for this book was launched yesterday, by the way. [I] The Monastery of Tuath[/I] – a supplement dealing with aspects of The Temple, as well as an adventure setting. [I] Book-3 The Official Campaign[/I] – a campaign arc [I] Book-4 Secrets[/I] – delves into the “backstage” of the campaign setting with shocking revelations for the Leader to drop onto the unsuspecting characters Overall Score: [B]4.0[/B] [I]out of[/I] [B]5.0[/B] [B][U] Final Conclusions[/U][/B] In the end, I can find myself forgiving [B]Agate RPG[/B] for neglecting Leaders needs in [B][I]Shadows of Esteren[/I][/B] - because the rest of the game is just so mind-blowingly awesome! Although some of the game mechanics are similar to other RPGs I’ve played, there are a lot of new concepts put together in a very cool and very exciting ways. The character generation is fairly simple, but very in-depth, and the magic system has reasonable limits and amazing potential. The game is role-play intensive, rewarding good players who keep in character with extra experience, but also has a flexible combat and skill resolution system that is fairly fast and easy. And the setting of Esteren is both vibrant and dark, wondrous and horrifying – a great mix of medieval fantasy, gothic horror, and maybe a few Cthulhu-esque tentacles thrown in for good measure. While it is a definite annoyance to have to buy Book-0 along with Book-1 to get a template for adventure and encounter development, as well as monster design, the PDF price is more than reason for all that you get from the contents. Definitely worth taking a look at if you want to take your heroic fantasy to places dark and shadowy… [B] Author’s Note[/B]: This Reviewer received a complimentary copy of the products from which the review was written. [B][U] Grade Card (Ratings 1 to 5)[/U][/B][/SIZE] [LIST] [*][SIZE=2][B]Presentation[/B]: 4.75[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=2]- [B]Design[/B]: 5.0 (Gorgeous book; fantastic writing; a great overall read)[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=2]- [B]Illustrations[/B]: 4.5 (Creepy cover and lush interior art; excellent cartography of Tri-Kazel)[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=2][B]Content[/B]: 3.75[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=2]- [B]Crunch[/B]: 3.5 (Solid rules; innovative character gen and magic; “wherefore art thy MONSTERS?”)[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=2]- [B]Fluff[/B]: 4.0 (Fluff aplenty; rich world and cultures; need more Feondas lore if they are the baddies!)[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=2][B]Value[/B]: 3.5 (Awesome price on a mostly complete game; at least [I]Book-0[/I] is a cheap buy to add to the cost of [I]Book-1[/I])[/SIZE] [/LIST] [SIZE=2] [B]Endnote[/B]: A KICKSTARTER for [I]Book-2 Travels[/I] for [B][I]Shadows of Esteren[/I][/B] was just launched yesterday, and was completely funded in just a single day! [URL="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1176616619/shadows-of-esteren-a-medieval-horror-rpg-travels"][B]Click here to check out the KICKSTARTER[/B][/URL]. [/SIZE] [/QUOTE]
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Shadows of Esteren: The Creepy Progeny of Gothic Horror & Medieval Fantasy
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