Neuroglyph
First Post
I have been a role-player and gamer now for over three decades now, ever since I chanced to pick up this game called Advanced Dungeons & Dragons back in 1978. And over the years, I’ve played a lot of different RPG systems – D&D (every edition!), GURPS, Traveler, Champions, Paranoia, Runequest, Stormbringer, Call of Cthulhu – and that’s only a few of the games I’ve played through just off the top of my head! And I can honestly say I have fond memories from many of these game systems, as each have something innovative and fun to offer in their own right.
And I even have tried my hand at a few collectible card games over the years, starting with the advent of Magic: The Gathering, of course, and later The Legend of the Five Rings, and even the World of Warcraft CCG. But CCGs have never held the same allure for me as that of a well designed RPG, as I’ve found that fumbling with my deck, or dealing with the minutiae of the card rules, have always managed to catapult me out of any role-playing frame-of-mind I might get into as I am playing it.
But it would appear that the folks over at Ignitus Innovation, Inc. have developed a game system that combines the best elements of role-playing games with the simplicity and ease of playing a collectible card game – creating what they term a card-based role-playing game – called UNTOLD.
UNTOLD: The Game
[Reviewer’s Note: I was provided with the downloadable PDF version of this CBRPG for review purposes, so I cannot discuss the boxed set – although I understand that all the elements of the boxed set are offered in the downloadable PDF – except for the 20-sider!]
Production Quality
The production quality of UNTOLD: The Game is excellent, with a well-designed and easy-to-read primer (ie. rulebook) and some stunning artwork gracing the collectible cards, which are the main “play elements” of the game. The illustrations in the primer and on the cards come from a number of talented artists, and really enhance the overall appeal of the game system.
The PDF version comes with everything needed for play in six files: the primer, a quick play guide, a quick reference card, the UNTOLD starter deck of cards, and two posters showing the character creation information and the battle information from the primer.
On the downside, however, a PDF version of a collectible card game is obviously an “assembly required version”, necessitating that a Game Master and his gaming group print out, cut out, fold and glue their own cards together. So to get started in UNTOLD, the 56 page full-color PDF of the cards to make the starter deck, and at least one copy of the 42 page primer will need to be printed out before play can begin. In addition, there is a full-color four page quick start guide and one page reference card which would be handy to have, not to mention the two 21” x 12” posters. That makes for a considerable amount of printing and some heavy toner usage to get the game up and going, which makes it questionable if the PDF version is really that much of a bargain after all over the retail boxed set.
For those interested, you can download a free version of the UNTOLD primer here.
The Primer
The UNTOLD Primer is a combination player character book and game master guide for creating characters and running a campaign. The process of making a character is said to be fast and simple, using a point system to purchase Race, Aspect, and Power cards which define your character. In fact, character creation is simple enough to be relatively well-explained in about 6 pages of the primer, although it took me a couple read-throughs to grasp the concepts well enough to actually make a character – which is really nothing more than a deck of specifically selected cards!
After the character creation section, there is a substantial section on resolving conflict and challenges which discuss how game play works to do everything from attacking the bad guys to using skills to survive in a harsh environment, and other heroic activities. This section is only about twice as long as the character generation section, and needs to be understood by both players and game masters to run the game itself.
The next two sections are really aimed at game masters, detailing important information such as crafting challenging encounters and a collection of GM tips and advanced rules. Creating encounters is actually relatively simple to do, being based upon available cards and powers in the starter deck, so there is considerably more information needed to handle things like leveling a character with UNTOLD points – which allow then to buy more cards for their deck – and how to set a point limit for a campaign. There are also advanced rules for swapping cards, which is a fundamental process in UNTOLD as a way to use cards in various activities, change out powers, and evolve a character over time.
The creators of UNTOLD have also included battle rules, for simply playing the game like a collectible card game without much role-playing being involved. This can be done with custom built decks representing a single super-heroic (or villainous) individual or representing a whole small army of minions. Admittedly, this section does make one wonder whether UNTOLD was built as a role-playing game designed with a card system, or a collectible card game with role-playing elements tacked on as an after thought.
Finally, the UNTOLD primer discusses the setting, called the Shattered Serenity, which is designed specifically for the CBRPG system. The Shattered Serenity consist of three realities – a post-apocalyptic Earth setting, a high fantasy magic-based setting, and a high-tech machine world setting – which have been brought together in a trans-dimensional cataclysm with mixed them together. It should be noted that fans of the recent D&D 4E version of the Gamma World setting might find the Shattered Serenity a bit familiar, but not quite so tongue-in-cheek.
The official UNTOLD website has even more information about the Shattered World setting, and here is a link in the PDF of the primer to go and learn more about it.
The Game
UNTOLD as a role-playing game is actually quite innovative, from a design point-of-view. Not only is it relatively easy to learn, it also seems pretty easy to teach, which would make it ideal for attracting new players. In fact, one of the most unusual innovations is the lack of character sheets! The deck you create for your character becomes your “character sheet”, and everything you need to know about your hero, in game terms, is right there in the palm of your hand. This also means that there is no need for player character books to bog the game down – all information needed to resolve combats, skill challenges, and other events are on the cards.
Another innovation is the lack of money, character equipment lists, or other minutiae which require record keeping. If your character has a real big gun, he has unlimited ammo and can carry it with him – no worries about encumbrance here! Much like a character in a movie, the UNTOLD character has everything he needs to be the hero without worrying about rations, torches, or where her arrows are coming from.
These and other innovations make UNTOLD a purely “game-ist” gaming experience. It frees up considerable amounts of game time which might be spent on record keeping and rule checking to be spent purely on role-playing endeavors.
That said, a strong “game-ist” experience can also rub some role-players the wrong way. For instance, many D&D 3.5 players made a strong complaint about 4E taking Dungeons & Dragons away from a “simulationist” structure into a realm that was too “game-ist”, and it made them gravitate toward Pathfinder instead. This has UNTOLD making D&D 4E looking like a wargame, by comparison! In fact, UNTOLD has an almost TOON–like quality to the way the characters operate – in other words, if you can rationalize your character having it, you have it! And the nature of character creation is fairly unstructured, requiring considerable role-playing skills to devise a reasonable character, which might make the game confusing or even frustrating for neophyte role-players.
And finally, while the creators claim that UNTOLD’s CBRPG system can be “retrofitted” into almost any setting, the cards seem to lend themselves only to the Shattered Serenity setting. It seems like it would require a considerable effort on a game master’s part to fit the UNTOLD system into a Dark Sun campaign, or into a space-opera setting like 2300AD. Not impossible, mind you, but it would take some doing.
Overall Grade: A-
Conclusions
As I wrote this review, I could not help but keep pondering the “which came first” question – is this a collectible card game with a role-playing outgrowth, or a role-playing game with a really unique card-based resolution system in it?
In conclusion, I realized that the answer didn’t really matter: the CBRPG system works, and has some pretty nice innovations in it to make it one of the most unique role-playing games I’ve read in a while. Combining a setting which allows for fantasy, hard sci-fi, and post-apocalyptic adventures is not necessarily original, but it does provide a wide-open all genre inclusiveness which has a strong appeal for many game masters and players these days.
And although the nature of a collectible card game based system might strike a sour chord with some role-players, the designers make plenty of assurances in the primer that a gaming group need no more that the starter deck to enjoy the game.
So for many gaming groups, UNTOLD’s innovations might be exactly what they have been looking for in an RPG – fast-paced, simple rules, portable, scalable, and diverse enough to make their role-playing time well spent. Although somewhat lacking in setting, UNTOLD does open up new vistas for game masters to develop on their own – and booster packs to add more plot and content to the game, if desired.
And as price goes, UNTOLD offers a lot of role-playing for considerably less than most other source book dependent game systems out there – and that’s a great thing in almost any economy.
So until next review… I wish you Happy Gaming!
Grade Card
And I even have tried my hand at a few collectible card games over the years, starting with the advent of Magic: The Gathering, of course, and later The Legend of the Five Rings, and even the World of Warcraft CCG. But CCGs have never held the same allure for me as that of a well designed RPG, as I’ve found that fumbling with my deck, or dealing with the minutiae of the card rules, have always managed to catapult me out of any role-playing frame-of-mind I might get into as I am playing it.
But it would appear that the folks over at Ignitus Innovation, Inc. have developed a game system that combines the best elements of role-playing games with the simplicity and ease of playing a collectible card game – creating what they term a card-based role-playing game – called UNTOLD.
UNTOLD: The Game
- Designers: Nathan Ellsworth & Brannon Hollingsworth
- Graphic Design: Brannon Hall
- Publisher: Ignitus Innovation, Inc.
- Year: 2010
- Media: PDF version (or Boxed Card Set)
- Retail Cost: $9.95 from RPGNow.com (or $29.95 retail)
[Reviewer’s Note: I was provided with the downloadable PDF version of this CBRPG for review purposes, so I cannot discuss the boxed set – although I understand that all the elements of the boxed set are offered in the downloadable PDF – except for the 20-sider!]
Production Quality
The production quality of UNTOLD: The Game is excellent, with a well-designed and easy-to-read primer (ie. rulebook) and some stunning artwork gracing the collectible cards, which are the main “play elements” of the game. The illustrations in the primer and on the cards come from a number of talented artists, and really enhance the overall appeal of the game system.
The PDF version comes with everything needed for play in six files: the primer, a quick play guide, a quick reference card, the UNTOLD starter deck of cards, and two posters showing the character creation information and the battle information from the primer.
On the downside, however, a PDF version of a collectible card game is obviously an “assembly required version”, necessitating that a Game Master and his gaming group print out, cut out, fold and glue their own cards together. So to get started in UNTOLD, the 56 page full-color PDF of the cards to make the starter deck, and at least one copy of the 42 page primer will need to be printed out before play can begin. In addition, there is a full-color four page quick start guide and one page reference card which would be handy to have, not to mention the two 21” x 12” posters. That makes for a considerable amount of printing and some heavy toner usage to get the game up and going, which makes it questionable if the PDF version is really that much of a bargain after all over the retail boxed set.
For those interested, you can download a free version of the UNTOLD primer here.
The Primer
The UNTOLD Primer is a combination player character book and game master guide for creating characters and running a campaign. The process of making a character is said to be fast and simple, using a point system to purchase Race, Aspect, and Power cards which define your character. In fact, character creation is simple enough to be relatively well-explained in about 6 pages of the primer, although it took me a couple read-throughs to grasp the concepts well enough to actually make a character – which is really nothing more than a deck of specifically selected cards!
After the character creation section, there is a substantial section on resolving conflict and challenges which discuss how game play works to do everything from attacking the bad guys to using skills to survive in a harsh environment, and other heroic activities. This section is only about twice as long as the character generation section, and needs to be understood by both players and game masters to run the game itself.
The next two sections are really aimed at game masters, detailing important information such as crafting challenging encounters and a collection of GM tips and advanced rules. Creating encounters is actually relatively simple to do, being based upon available cards and powers in the starter deck, so there is considerably more information needed to handle things like leveling a character with UNTOLD points – which allow then to buy more cards for their deck – and how to set a point limit for a campaign. There are also advanced rules for swapping cards, which is a fundamental process in UNTOLD as a way to use cards in various activities, change out powers, and evolve a character over time.
The creators of UNTOLD have also included battle rules, for simply playing the game like a collectible card game without much role-playing being involved. This can be done with custom built decks representing a single super-heroic (or villainous) individual or representing a whole small army of minions. Admittedly, this section does make one wonder whether UNTOLD was built as a role-playing game designed with a card system, or a collectible card game with role-playing elements tacked on as an after thought.
Finally, the UNTOLD primer discusses the setting, called the Shattered Serenity, which is designed specifically for the CBRPG system. The Shattered Serenity consist of three realities – a post-apocalyptic Earth setting, a high fantasy magic-based setting, and a high-tech machine world setting – which have been brought together in a trans-dimensional cataclysm with mixed them together. It should be noted that fans of the recent D&D 4E version of the Gamma World setting might find the Shattered Serenity a bit familiar, but not quite so tongue-in-cheek.
The official UNTOLD website has even more information about the Shattered World setting, and here is a link in the PDF of the primer to go and learn more about it.
The Game
UNTOLD as a role-playing game is actually quite innovative, from a design point-of-view. Not only is it relatively easy to learn, it also seems pretty easy to teach, which would make it ideal for attracting new players. In fact, one of the most unusual innovations is the lack of character sheets! The deck you create for your character becomes your “character sheet”, and everything you need to know about your hero, in game terms, is right there in the palm of your hand. This also means that there is no need for player character books to bog the game down – all information needed to resolve combats, skill challenges, and other events are on the cards.
Another innovation is the lack of money, character equipment lists, or other minutiae which require record keeping. If your character has a real big gun, he has unlimited ammo and can carry it with him – no worries about encumbrance here! Much like a character in a movie, the UNTOLD character has everything he needs to be the hero without worrying about rations, torches, or where her arrows are coming from.
These and other innovations make UNTOLD a purely “game-ist” gaming experience. It frees up considerable amounts of game time which might be spent on record keeping and rule checking to be spent purely on role-playing endeavors.
That said, a strong “game-ist” experience can also rub some role-players the wrong way. For instance, many D&D 3.5 players made a strong complaint about 4E taking Dungeons & Dragons away from a “simulationist” structure into a realm that was too “game-ist”, and it made them gravitate toward Pathfinder instead. This has UNTOLD making D&D 4E looking like a wargame, by comparison! In fact, UNTOLD has an almost TOON–like quality to the way the characters operate – in other words, if you can rationalize your character having it, you have it! And the nature of character creation is fairly unstructured, requiring considerable role-playing skills to devise a reasonable character, which might make the game confusing or even frustrating for neophyte role-players.
And finally, while the creators claim that UNTOLD’s CBRPG system can be “retrofitted” into almost any setting, the cards seem to lend themselves only to the Shattered Serenity setting. It seems like it would require a considerable effort on a game master’s part to fit the UNTOLD system into a Dark Sun campaign, or into a space-opera setting like 2300AD. Not impossible, mind you, but it would take some doing.
Overall Grade: A-
Conclusions
As I wrote this review, I could not help but keep pondering the “which came first” question – is this a collectible card game with a role-playing outgrowth, or a role-playing game with a really unique card-based resolution system in it?
In conclusion, I realized that the answer didn’t really matter: the CBRPG system works, and has some pretty nice innovations in it to make it one of the most unique role-playing games I’ve read in a while. Combining a setting which allows for fantasy, hard sci-fi, and post-apocalyptic adventures is not necessarily original, but it does provide a wide-open all genre inclusiveness which has a strong appeal for many game masters and players these days.
And although the nature of a collectible card game based system might strike a sour chord with some role-players, the designers make plenty of assurances in the primer that a gaming group need no more that the starter deck to enjoy the game.
So for many gaming groups, UNTOLD’s innovations might be exactly what they have been looking for in an RPG – fast-paced, simple rules, portable, scalable, and diverse enough to make their role-playing time well spent. Although somewhat lacking in setting, UNTOLD does open up new vistas for game masters to develop on their own – and booster packs to add more plot and content to the game, if desired.
And as price goes, UNTOLD offers a lot of role-playing for considerably less than most other source book dependent game systems out there – and that’s a great thing in almost any economy.
So until next review… I wish you Happy Gaming!
Grade Card
- Presentation: A-
- - Design: A
- - Illustrations: A
- Content: B+
- - Crunch: B+
- - Fluff: B
- Value: A-
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