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Message: <blockquote data-quote="EP" data-source="post: 4716068" data-attributes="member: 41744">THE AWAKENINGFirst off, I liked the concept.  Stephen King writes the 4400.  I have always loved using lost memories and a sense of entering a new, unexplored world to invite players to a new game – it puts them on equal footing with their characters.  With that, I was curious to see how the system would  work.The SystemPercentile dice can always make for a powerful sounding RPG.  “Don’t worry, I have +40 when jumping!”  Locking them into 10% intervals takes away from it in the long run, but it is a safer way to start.  As time goes on, expand the rules by working in 5% increments as the truth unfolds and their powers unlock.    I was a bit confused by using playing cards for initiative, but I understand the idea of introducing chaos to the fight.    Actions threw me off at first and I wasn’t too sure about them.  After a second pass (while writing this critique, as it were), I’ve come to like them a lot more.  Having a sense of unlimited actions, each harder to achieve as you strive to do more and more, is quite empowering and it would be interesting to see how it plays out at the table.  I wonder if altering the cumulative penalty for additional actions should go -10%, -20%, -40%, -70%, etc.    Health points sounds misleading for what is achieved here – stamina points or something similar would sound better and clearly indicate its role in the game, particularly when players first start.  Love the wounds.  I use them in my d20 homebrew.    Improving skills works as well and grants a personal touch to the characters as a way to look at improved scores and remember how they came to pass.  Once again, this would be something requiring extensive playtesting to ensure appropriate power at higher “levels.”  Even to include natural 01s and 02s for automatic skill improvement would work as well.MagicThey’re brief, they’re simple, and they’re expandable.  It works.  Nothing singularly powerful that all characters will rush towards it and the limit of only one power allows the players to form an appropriate group.  The powers are similar to roles in 4e but much more functional.The Prophecy“The prophecy has not been fully recorded…” seems far too vague for me.  It almost comes across as a last minute sneak thrown in by the publisher without the design team knowing it.  There isn’t even any sense of vision for good or evil and it can easily be ignored by GMs and especially players.The Ruined CityPluralizing this requirement is a good way to expand the impact of your drama and it’s nice to see Canada getting screwed in a psychic apocalypse (for which all Canadians, such as myself, just like to see a little recognition… no matter how we get it).An Ever-Present ThreatThis one never needs a name, just a presence.  It comes across in the text and the format of the rules and major focus of the game.  While I did find the prophecy was weak, creating a presence is better established by being vague because tension comes in the unknown.  It’s the prophecy and point-of-origin (or the point-of-destination many post-apocalyptic stories have) giving it guidance to motivate the players into action as they learn the rules, characters, and intricacies of the game.OverallIt’s a good start and can easily be expanded into something fun to play.  Quick to start with room to grow for any die-hard fans.  And a larger role for any Chris Carter-level prophecies and conspiracies.</blockquote>

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