Grimm

[tsadkiel]

I just picked it up about two hours ago and I like it much more than I expected I would. I had some quibbles with the classes based on the previews (they seemed more teenager-oriented than kid-oriented) but looking at the full six levels, I'm pleased, especially after reminding myself that these aren't real kids, they're stereotypical kids. Still not wild about the class names though; Jock and Nerd are too Breakfast Club for me, but I'll deal.

The rules are flexible enough to handle a variety of Kid-Lit settings; the book could handle Narnia, Neverland, my beloved Oz books, or even Harry Potter without much trouble.

The actual Fairy Tale characters presented are kind of a mixed bag; I loved their take on Cinderella, Little Bo Peep, Jack, and the Dwarfs. I'm kind of meh on Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel. But (with the possible exception of Humpty Dumpty) none of the characters are essential to the setting. Different interpretations could easily be swapped in. Considering the nature of the world, they could even coexist with the book versions.

The thing that really won me over, though, was the GMing advice, of all things. The notion of famous characters as failed heroic precursors is just cool.

 

[olethros]

I'm definetly using this as a side-game in the near future.
Excellent product.

 

[rvaughn_ffg]

they're stereotypical kids. Still not wild about the class names though; Jock and Nerd are too Breakfast Club for me, but I'll deal.

We wanted people to be absolutely clear that this was not deep dark psyche roleplaying a la Little Fears, but more of a fun (if dark and, ahem, grim) romp through a world that, to be honest, was pretty twisted before we got our hands on it! So one way of getting the players into the mode, and hopefully adding to the enjoyment, is to give them iconic kids to work with. That makes it easy to jump right into Goonies/D&D cartoon/Monster Squad mode. But as always, tweak away to your heart's content.

Just as a head's up, we have some bonus web material available:
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/hrdownloads.html

 

[tsadkiel]

We wanted people to be absolutely clear that this was not deep dark psyche roleplaying a la Little Fears, but more of a fun (if dark and, ahem, grim) romp through a world that, to be honest, was pretty twisted before we got our hands on it!

And it's a good vibe to go for. Having lived with the book for a while, I'm liking it even more. The whole "spend imagination points for limited narrative control" bit is a brilliant way to reflect the way things happen in fairy tales.

EDIT - I actually work with kids in my day job, so that's why those two class names ring a little false with me - I have yet to hear anyone referred to as a Jock, though Nerd does crop up from time to time. The archetypes themselves certainly apply, though.

 

[tetsujin28]

This really strikes me as something better done with BESM or FUDGE. d20 just seems too rules intensive. But the supplement certainly seems cool, and what a great cover!

 

[Labmonkey-XL]

I really want to check this out. Thanks for the info.

 

[Krieg]

I have yet to hear anyone referred to as a Jock, though Nerd does crop up from time to time.

"Jock" doesn't really come into the lexicon until Jr High & High school.

 

[Sketchpad]

I just got this and I'm quite impressed. The wife and I are actually working on some new creatures of the land ... and we've been thinking about either advanced classes or prestige classes ... anyone else thinking on this wavelength?