Darwin's World Review

[Tetsubo]

Well, I officially have the best girlfriend ever. She bought me a copy of Darwin's World for my birthday! It arrived on Monday via the US Postal Service. I was rather impressed that RPG.com got it to me so quickly. My girlfriend only ordered it
on last Friday night.

Now about the game:

THIS RPG ROCKS!

This is the PA game I have always been looking for. And I own over a dozen different systems. Take the absolutely best aspects of Gamma World, toss in the more realist and slightly grim aspects of Aftermath or Morrow Project and add the D20 rules system. I lost sleep today just lying in bed playing with character concepts in my head. I hear that there will be other books printed for the DW
setting, I'm hoping it's soon. The game needs "monsters" and mutant flora and fauna for challenges and background flavor. But that's my only complaint.

Without a doubt the best dollar value in a PA game I've ever seen. Go! Run! Buy a copy!

 

[Darrin Drader]

I agree. The people at RPG Objects have done a great job with this! Of course being the gene splicing mad scientist that I am, I'm using a hybrid system between this and the recently published Omega World.

To expand upon the favorable review, I like the art and the humor present throughout the book; things like the mutant carrying a Stop sign for a shield, and the funky old style looking robot (or just a guy in equally funky looking armor) on page 86, and all the fececious ads that appear. I like the fact that the excellent covers from the previously released PDF's were used as the front and back covers.

Overall, aside from a couple of grammatical blunders, which no one is immune to, I think they did a wonderful job.

 

[Vigilance]

Tetsubo, as a fan and GM of DW myself, if you need monsters NOW (and who doesnt?) you might want to check out Terrors of the Twisted Earth, a monster manual for Darwin's World, available in pdf form at www.rpgnow.com

There's also an upcoming book about robots coming out soon (mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm) insane evil robots.

 

[Tetsubo]

Thank you for the suggestion Vigilance. But I prefer paper publications. It's a quirk. It just doesn't seem like a real game supplement unless it's professionally printed and bound. This might be because I am also a collector.

That and at the moment the only gaming i'm doing is a 3E FR campaign.

I am looking forward to future DW books.

 

[Vigilance]

NP Tetsubo

Just trying to help

I love the Terrors pdf myself... wanted to let you know where you could go if you needed monsters *now*

 

[PosterBoy]

Thank you for the suggestion Vigilance. But I prefer paper publications. It's a quirk. It just doesn't seem like a real game supplement unless it's professionally printed and bound. This might be because I am also a collector.

That and at the moment the only gaming i'm doing is a 3E FR campaign.

I am looking forward to future DW books.

"Terrors of The Twisted Earth" and "Metal Gods" should see print in December.

 

[Mr Fidgit]

OK, now i'm REALLY curious!

i've read that DW has been compared to Fallout. all i remember about that game (or was it Fallout II?), that EVERY encounter was deadly, you had to find lost technology to save the whole world (or at least your village), and everyone you met was a rat-bastard. is DW this dark, or is it as fluffy as an insane mutant duck with a speech impediment? (an old Gamma World PC, in a played-for-laughs game)

 

[Tetsubo]

The following is based of off the printed version. I haven't really looked at the PDF versions.

DW is a fairly dark setting. The ecosystem has been severely damaged by nuclear, biological and chemical warfare. The human species has divided into those that are pure strain and genetically clean and those that are mutants. Fertility and potency are considered advantges within the game and you must spend a Feat to have either. The background is a slightly altered timeline from our own, diverging at the end of WW II. PC's can be a pure strain or one of three types of mutants. Each mutant has both positive and negative mutations.

There are slight modifications to the Core rules to reflect a post-Fall setting. But none are severe and I feel could easily be absorbed on the fly. There are new Core Classes, PrC, Skills and Feats.

One nice aspect is that each character has a specific background. Reflecting their life prior to beginning adventuring. Be it a Feral living in the wastelands or a Hedonist living in a sheltered subterranean community unaware that the Fall has taken place.

The game also has a nice selection of technology available to the PC's as "treasure". With the required rules modifications to use them.

There is a very high signal to noise ratio with this game.

As PosterBoy has said there are two new books heading to the printers in December. I'm looking forward to purchasing them. One will cover robots and the other the non-human life of the Twisted Earth.

As I haven't played Fallout I can't tell you have it plays in comparison. But it is much more serious than Gamma World though humor has not been completely removed. I'm a major GW fan, I own all the versions of the game and am only missing the GammaRauders supplement. DW is the version of GW I have always wanted. True the core rules don't have humanoid animal races. But if you really needs those it would be rather easy to "port" those into the game. And I'm not sure what the Terrors of the Twisted Earth book will contain. Heck, most any PC race could be brought into the DW setting. As long as you remove any "magical" abilities and create a plausible background.

Hope this helps. DW was the best birthday gift I got this year.

 

[Mr Fidgit]

thanks Tetsubo. and happy birthday!