As I mentioned in a couple of previous reviews, the past few years have seen an explosion of independent games and innovative new game systems appearing all over the Fantasy Role-Playing Game market. Gamers have a wide range of choices now between game rules which are detailed and focused on “realism” – if that can be said of anything happening in a made-up fantasy world – to game systems that stress storytelling and role-playing over rules, sometimes to the point of being more of an improvisational game than a role-playing one.
Having such a wide range of choices is a real boon to the gaming community, as each group of gamers can now pick and choose from among dozens of titles to find a system best suited for them, when there used to be only a handful of choices on the market. Coupled with celebrity endorsement from the once “closeted” nerds in Hollywood, this is truly a Renaissance in FRP gaming, and it’s likely to just keep becoming more and more diverse and pioneering.
One such innovative indie fantasy game has been recently released by independent artist Grant Gould. Known for his work on Star Wars: The Clone Wars webcomics for Lucasfilm and creator of “The Wolves of Odin” graphic novella (Amazon link; DeviantArt link), this artist has turned his talents to producing a new fantasy game which offers a light touch on rules so that role-playing and character development can rise to the forefront during play. Blade Raiders offers an innovative new rules system, dubbed the CAST system, and takes players away to a world far removed from your typical swords-and-sorcery setting.
Blade Raiders (PDF Edition)
Blade Raiders is a fantasy role-playing game using the CAST System, both created by Grant Gould. The game book comes complete with everything needed to create characters for the game, including character sheets, rules, talents, and a magic system (based upon runestones), as well as an assortment of equipment to outfit heroes. For the Storyteller (GM), there are rules for character advancement, tips for preparing and running the game, and lists of random encounters. There is also information about the continent of Aveggor (where the heroes begin their careers) , along with important locals, and locations of magically powered runestones, along with NPC groups both friend and foe. Finally, the author includes a short bestiary of monsters found in the world to challenge heroes as they quest through the lands of Aveggor.
Production Quality
The production quality of Blade Raiders is quite good, the author using a comfortable and engaging writing style, and a layout which is easy to use and understand. Sections and sub-sections are easy to pick out on pages with strong bold font choice, and block headers and shaded boxes highlight important information and illustrations.
While there is a well-annotated table of contents, there are sadly no PDF bookmarks, making navigation through the chapters and subsections difficult – particularly when trying to flip back and forth between concepts. However, I should not that there are paragraphs pointing the reader to a particular section or sub-section with page numbers to get additional information. These references are entirely accurate, and using the page search feature took me right to the information. However, those references are not everywhere, and PDF bookmarks would have worked much better to navigate between various concepts and rules.
The artwork in Blade Raiders is really good, and done in a simple black-and-white comic book style which works surprisingly well in a FRPG. The cover and interior art were all created by the author (you can check out more of his work at DeviantArt), as well as the decorative sidebars on odd-numbered pages. My only complaint - and it’s a teensy one - is the lack of colorful illustrations – only the cover and maps are in color. The two maps of Aveggor are also beautifully drawn and showcase the author/artist’s unique style.
Blade Raiders of the Magical Runestones
Blade Raiders is designed with a “rules light/story rich” goal in mind, and the author does a decent job of reaching that goal. Character creation is fast and fairly simple, and the CAST system is used to resolve all conflicts – magical, melee, or social – as well as skill rolls. More on that later…
The rulebook is broken down into eight chapters, each focusing on a different facet of the game. Opening with an Introduction that explains the nature of role-playing (and an invitation for experienced gamers to skip ahead to the good stuff), the author gives a succinct overview of RPGs in about a page. What follows is a guide for both players and Storytellers (GMs) suggesting the order in which they read and utilize the book to play the game. Not surprisingly, the Storyteller has the task to read the book cover to cover, but players are told which chapters are important, and steers them away from the GM material.
The next chapter jumps right into Character Creation, and starts off explaining the character sheet in detail – which is a pretty balanced way to also highlight important parts of the creation process. Incidentally, copies of the character sheet can be downloaded from the official site for those wishing to see it in more detail.
One of the more interesting aspects of character creation is that heroes have no ability scores! Instead they choose three Talents which they rank in order of their most potent, next most potent, and the least potent Talent. This ranking also generates a +3, +2, and +1 bonus when using those Talents in both combat and non-combat situations. Talents come in both magical and non-magical forms, allowing a player to create a purely magical hero, or a purely non-magical hero, or a hybrid of both. Examples of Talents include Hunter (bonus to ranged combat rolls), Sneak (bonus to stealth-based rolls), Enchanter (one who can tap runestones to enchant persons or items), or Shade (one who can control runestone energy for light and dark powers). All told, there are 13 non-magical and 15 magical Talents, offering a wide range of options for the types of characters which can be created, as well as providing some story elements for players to utilize.
There are no non-human playable races in Blade Raiders, which is another interesting feature of character generation in this game. It does tend to speed up the character generation process, but some gamers might feel that playing only humans might be a bit too restrictive in an FRPG.
Once Talents are chosen, characters are roll for (or are given) a number of Body Resistance Points which are analogous to “hit points”, and choose armor and weapons. Armor generates Armor Resistance Points which can be used to absorb incoming damage, but at the cost of damaging or destroying the armor which then must be repaired, which takes time and money. Add some additional gear and the character is complete – well, except for a name, which I know some gamers can spend a whole evening on the task!
There are skills in the game, but starting characters have none to begin. They must “unlock” skills by trying to perform them and succeeding. Once succeeding in a skill check, the character can log the skill on his or her sheet, and can spend the game’s experience points - called CAPs for Character Advancement Points – to increase in power level. Like Talents, skills have three levels of power which generate a +1 to +3 bonus to rolls, depending on how much CAPs have been spent on them. It keeps character generation fast and simple, and encourages players to try out doing different things in the course of their adventures.
Following Character Creation, there is a chapter devoted to Possessions which is used to arm and outfit the heroes. Money is standard 1 gold = 10 silver system, but there are no lesser or greater monetary units, although gems can be used for barter as well. Starting with 100 gold coins, characters must spend half their money during character creation on armor, weapons, and gear. Storytellers can lower that amount if they choose to make the game more challenging. Possessions includes not only adventuring gear, but also homes, mounts (riding lizards called riptur), hirelings, potions, and other miscellaneous equipment. The author was quite thorough in creating a list of items commonly found in FRPG play, which makes it possible for heroes to be quite different from each other in armor, apparel, and weapons.
Magic is the focus of the next chapter, and details how magic in the world works, as well as what magical powers (not spells) a character can utilize. First off, magic can only be used within the presence of a runestone, which are scattered across the continent. These runestones cannot be moved or taken away, and generate a field around them ranging from tens of miles to hundreds of miles across. Unless a character is in proximity to these runestones, the powers given to them by a magical Talent cannot operate. Close proximity to a runestone not only allows magic use, but actually grants a bonus to power rolls.
There are 15 different magical powers, each one based upon a different magical Talent. Each set of powers follows a theme, such as Mender Powers which heal injuries to the body, and consists of three to five powers usable by any character with the appropriate Talent, as well as two advanced powers which are unlocked by CAPs. Powers are activated by will alone, requiring no words, hand waving, or items to operate. According to the author, this is not the sum total of magical powers in the game: players are encouraged to build their own powers within the theme, and present them to the Storyteller for approval. Storytellers have the final say about the use of a new power in their game, but it does offer a unique way to further customize a hero.
The chapter on Game Rules covers how the CAST System works, which covers all activities whether swinging a sword, activating a power, or trying to use a skill. CAST stands for Chance Advantage Skill Talent, and is based upon a simple premise – roll a d10 (Chance), add in modifiers (Advantage Skill Talent), and if you hit or exceed 10, you are successful and anything less is failure. Players only need one d10 to play Blade Raiders, and from the CAST roll to damage rolls from weapons, they all use just a d10. Weapons and power damage all use a d10 to determine, with weapons ranging from d10-7 to d10+5 for damage, and powers from d10+3 to d10+16, with some powers so potent (such as maelstrom) that the damage is undefined and left up to the Storyteller to narrate. Weapon damage can be increased by enchantments and critical hits, while magical powers can be taken away if the encounter takes place out of range of a runestone, so there is some balance between melee and magic characters.
Combat takes place as does many FRPGs with initiative rolls and an action from each participant, so the details are unnecessary here. But one facet of combat did bother me: the nature of armor in this game.
Armor does not make it harder for a character to be hit, but it does absorb damage (armor resistance points) so that damage does not hit the hero and remove body resistance points. Healing is fairly easy in Blade Raiders, with 1 BRP coming back every four game hours, or magically from a power, or by taking a healing rest (10 hours for 10 BRPs once per day). Armor on the other hand are one shot items, effectively ruined once they have absorbed the damage from an attack. Armor is piecemeal, so a hero can decide to take a hit to his gauntlet and helm, ticking off the requisite damage to save his hide. But armor can only be repaired with time and money, or with appropriate tools, making armor pieces worthless in a few hits. History tells us that even Bronze Age armor far outlasts the person inside it, and could take quite a beating before being scrapped. Hey, I know it’s a fantasy game and all, but when something like this ablative armor comes into play, it’s illogic tends to be so jarring – at least to me – that it spoils the rules.
Successful combats, skill usage, and quests can garner CAPs, which are fully detailed in the Character Advancement chapter. CAPs take the place of the experience point/level mechanic, and are doled out in 1s and 2s to players throughout the session, or at the end of the session. Attendance, good behavior, excellent role-playing, or a achieving an amazing feat during play are all reasons to be rewarded CAPs. CAPs can be spent for a variety of permanent perks and benefits, or for immediate use during play to grant temporary bonuses or healing. Unlocking magical powers, new skill levels, or gaining permanent damage bonuses with a weapon type are just some of the uses of CAPs. To keep heroes alive, CAPs can also be used to increase a die roll total or healing BRPs instantly during play, which can clearly be quite handy in a pinch. I rather like this system overall, even though it is a bit subjective, as it frees players from worrying about the leveling table, and makes “experience points” more useful in advancing the character.
The next chapter, Storytellers, focuses on advice to GMs on how to run and manage a campaign in Blade Raiders. In addition to tips on running adventures and game management, Storytellers also are given resources such as random encounter tables, as well as a consolidated price list of items found in the game world.
The final chapter concerns itself with The World of Blade Raiders, and contains the history, maps, and gazetteer of the northwestern quarter of the continent of Aveggor. The northwestern quadrant of the continent is some 700 miles across, with a variety of terrain types, settlements, castles, and locales to explore. The designer provides two maps, with the second showing the zones of magic generated by the runestones.
Important NPC groups and NPCs are discussed here as well, as heroes might find themselves allying with or the enemy of certain factions in the lands. There is also a bestiary provided here, with more than a score of strange and dangerous monsters to be encountered during adventures. Many of the monsters have familiar forms, but unfamiliar names, such as a grizzlok which is actually a grizzly bear. Other creatures such as gulns and garr droks have decidedly alien looks to them, and don’t seem to have any reference to common fantsy elements. So don’t expect elves, dwarves, or fairy folk in Blade Raiders either. The overall feel of the world is almost more alien than fantasy, and some FRPG players might feel completely out of touch without common tropes from fairy tales, medieval mythical lore, and Tolkien-esque references.
Overall Score: 3.75 out of 5.0
Conclusions
For the most part I really liked Blade Raiders as a new approach to a fantasy role-playing game, and I feel that many of the mechanics and game play elements are fresh and innovative. I am more and more becoming a big fan of “rules light” systems, and I think the character generation and advancement systems off players quite a few options to make unique characters, and empower Storytellers (GMs) to make true judges of play and balance.
But there were some quirks I found off-putting, such as all human player-characters, armor ablation, and a world that feels more Barsoom than Middle-Earth or Hyboria. Steering clear of utilizing too many fantasy tropes or altering them in new ways are great innovations, but tossing most of them out can leave FRPG players without the touchstones of content that draw them to a game.
But if you’re looking for a new role-playing experience, and want rules that are easy to deal with and easy to play with, than Blade Raiders might be a good choice to consider for your gaming group. And given the content as a Players Book, Gamemaster Guide, and Setting Sourcebook all in one, it is quite reasonable priced for such a complete ready-to-play product.
So until next review… I wish you Happy Gaming!
Editor’s Note: This Reviewer received a complimentary copy of the product in PDF format from which the review was written.
Grade Card (Ratings 1 to 5)
Having such a wide range of choices is a real boon to the gaming community, as each group of gamers can now pick and choose from among dozens of titles to find a system best suited for them, when there used to be only a handful of choices on the market. Coupled with celebrity endorsement from the once “closeted” nerds in Hollywood, this is truly a Renaissance in FRP gaming, and it’s likely to just keep becoming more and more diverse and pioneering.
One such innovative indie fantasy game has been recently released by independent artist Grant Gould. Known for his work on Star Wars: The Clone Wars webcomics for Lucasfilm and creator of “The Wolves of Odin” graphic novella (Amazon link; DeviantArt link), this artist has turned his talents to producing a new fantasy game which offers a light touch on rules so that role-playing and character development can rise to the forefront during play. Blade Raiders offers an innovative new rules system, dubbed the CAST system, and takes players away to a world far removed from your typical swords-and-sorcery setting.
Blade Raiders (PDF Edition)
- Designer/Publisher: Grant Gould
- Additional Design: Matthew Goodmanson
- Illustrations: Grant Gould
- Year: 2013
- Media: PDF (130 pages)
- Price: $15.00 (PDF available from the official web site)
Blade Raiders is a fantasy role-playing game using the CAST System, both created by Grant Gould. The game book comes complete with everything needed to create characters for the game, including character sheets, rules, talents, and a magic system (based upon runestones), as well as an assortment of equipment to outfit heroes. For the Storyteller (GM), there are rules for character advancement, tips for preparing and running the game, and lists of random encounters. There is also information about the continent of Aveggor (where the heroes begin their careers) , along with important locals, and locations of magically powered runestones, along with NPC groups both friend and foe. Finally, the author includes a short bestiary of monsters found in the world to challenge heroes as they quest through the lands of Aveggor.
Production Quality
The production quality of Blade Raiders is quite good, the author using a comfortable and engaging writing style, and a layout which is easy to use and understand. Sections and sub-sections are easy to pick out on pages with strong bold font choice, and block headers and shaded boxes highlight important information and illustrations.
While there is a well-annotated table of contents, there are sadly no PDF bookmarks, making navigation through the chapters and subsections difficult – particularly when trying to flip back and forth between concepts. However, I should not that there are paragraphs pointing the reader to a particular section or sub-section with page numbers to get additional information. These references are entirely accurate, and using the page search feature took me right to the information. However, those references are not everywhere, and PDF bookmarks would have worked much better to navigate between various concepts and rules.
The artwork in Blade Raiders is really good, and done in a simple black-and-white comic book style which works surprisingly well in a FRPG. The cover and interior art were all created by the author (you can check out more of his work at DeviantArt), as well as the decorative sidebars on odd-numbered pages. My only complaint - and it’s a teensy one - is the lack of colorful illustrations – only the cover and maps are in color. The two maps of Aveggor are also beautifully drawn and showcase the author/artist’s unique style.
Blade Raiders of the Magical Runestones
Blade Raiders is designed with a “rules light/story rich” goal in mind, and the author does a decent job of reaching that goal. Character creation is fast and fairly simple, and the CAST system is used to resolve all conflicts – magical, melee, or social – as well as skill rolls. More on that later…
The rulebook is broken down into eight chapters, each focusing on a different facet of the game. Opening with an Introduction that explains the nature of role-playing (and an invitation for experienced gamers to skip ahead to the good stuff), the author gives a succinct overview of RPGs in about a page. What follows is a guide for both players and Storytellers (GMs) suggesting the order in which they read and utilize the book to play the game. Not surprisingly, the Storyteller has the task to read the book cover to cover, but players are told which chapters are important, and steers them away from the GM material.
The next chapter jumps right into Character Creation, and starts off explaining the character sheet in detail – which is a pretty balanced way to also highlight important parts of the creation process. Incidentally, copies of the character sheet can be downloaded from the official site for those wishing to see it in more detail.
One of the more interesting aspects of character creation is that heroes have no ability scores! Instead they choose three Talents which they rank in order of their most potent, next most potent, and the least potent Talent. This ranking also generates a +3, +2, and +1 bonus when using those Talents in both combat and non-combat situations. Talents come in both magical and non-magical forms, allowing a player to create a purely magical hero, or a purely non-magical hero, or a hybrid of both. Examples of Talents include Hunter (bonus to ranged combat rolls), Sneak (bonus to stealth-based rolls), Enchanter (one who can tap runestones to enchant persons or items), or Shade (one who can control runestone energy for light and dark powers). All told, there are 13 non-magical and 15 magical Talents, offering a wide range of options for the types of characters which can be created, as well as providing some story elements for players to utilize. There are no non-human playable races in Blade Raiders, which is another interesting feature of character generation in this game. It does tend to speed up the character generation process, but some gamers might feel that playing only humans might be a bit too restrictive in an FRPG.
Once Talents are chosen, characters are roll for (or are given) a number of Body Resistance Points which are analogous to “hit points”, and choose armor and weapons. Armor generates Armor Resistance Points which can be used to absorb incoming damage, but at the cost of damaging or destroying the armor which then must be repaired, which takes time and money. Add some additional gear and the character is complete – well, except for a name, which I know some gamers can spend a whole evening on the task!
There are skills in the game, but starting characters have none to begin. They must “unlock” skills by trying to perform them and succeeding. Once succeeding in a skill check, the character can log the skill on his or her sheet, and can spend the game’s experience points - called CAPs for Character Advancement Points – to increase in power level. Like Talents, skills have three levels of power which generate a +1 to +3 bonus to rolls, depending on how much CAPs have been spent on them. It keeps character generation fast and simple, and encourages players to try out doing different things in the course of their adventures.
Following Character Creation, there is a chapter devoted to Possessions which is used to arm and outfit the heroes. Money is standard 1 gold = 10 silver system, but there are no lesser or greater monetary units, although gems can be used for barter as well. Starting with 100 gold coins, characters must spend half their money during character creation on armor, weapons, and gear. Storytellers can lower that amount if they choose to make the game more challenging. Possessions includes not only adventuring gear, but also homes, mounts (riding lizards called riptur), hirelings, potions, and other miscellaneous equipment. The author was quite thorough in creating a list of items commonly found in FRPG play, which makes it possible for heroes to be quite different from each other in armor, apparel, and weapons.
Magic is the focus of the next chapter, and details how magic in the world works, as well as what magical powers (not spells) a character can utilize. First off, magic can only be used within the presence of a runestone, which are scattered across the continent. These runestones cannot be moved or taken away, and generate a field around them ranging from tens of miles to hundreds of miles across. Unless a character is in proximity to these runestones, the powers given to them by a magical Talent cannot operate. Close proximity to a runestone not only allows magic use, but actually grants a bonus to power rolls.
There are 15 different magical powers, each one based upon a different magical Talent. Each set of powers follows a theme, such as Mender Powers which heal injuries to the body, and consists of three to five powers usable by any character with the appropriate Talent, as well as two advanced powers which are unlocked by CAPs. Powers are activated by will alone, requiring no words, hand waving, or items to operate. According to the author, this is not the sum total of magical powers in the game: players are encouraged to build their own powers within the theme, and present them to the Storyteller for approval. Storytellers have the final say about the use of a new power in their game, but it does offer a unique way to further customize a hero.
The chapter on Game Rules covers how the CAST System works, which covers all activities whether swinging a sword, activating a power, or trying to use a skill. CAST stands for Chance Advantage Skill Talent, and is based upon a simple premise – roll a d10 (Chance), add in modifiers (Advantage Skill Talent), and if you hit or exceed 10, you are successful and anything less is failure. Players only need one d10 to play Blade Raiders, and from the CAST roll to damage rolls from weapons, they all use just a d10. Weapons and power damage all use a d10 to determine, with weapons ranging from d10-7 to d10+5 for damage, and powers from d10+3 to d10+16, with some powers so potent (such as maelstrom) that the damage is undefined and left up to the Storyteller to narrate. Weapon damage can be increased by enchantments and critical hits, while magical powers can be taken away if the encounter takes place out of range of a runestone, so there is some balance between melee and magic characters.
Combat takes place as does many FRPGs with initiative rolls and an action from each participant, so the details are unnecessary here. But one facet of combat did bother me: the nature of armor in this game.
Armor does not make it harder for a character to be hit, but it does absorb damage (armor resistance points) so that damage does not hit the hero and remove body resistance points. Healing is fairly easy in Blade Raiders, with 1 BRP coming back every four game hours, or magically from a power, or by taking a healing rest (10 hours for 10 BRPs once per day). Armor on the other hand are one shot items, effectively ruined once they have absorbed the damage from an attack. Armor is piecemeal, so a hero can decide to take a hit to his gauntlet and helm, ticking off the requisite damage to save his hide. But armor can only be repaired with time and money, or with appropriate tools, making armor pieces worthless in a few hits. History tells us that even Bronze Age armor far outlasts the person inside it, and could take quite a beating before being scrapped. Hey, I know it’s a fantasy game and all, but when something like this ablative armor comes into play, it’s illogic tends to be so jarring – at least to me – that it spoils the rules.
Successful combats, skill usage, and quests can garner CAPs, which are fully detailed in the Character Advancement chapter. CAPs take the place of the experience point/level mechanic, and are doled out in 1s and 2s to players throughout the session, or at the end of the session. Attendance, good behavior, excellent role-playing, or a achieving an amazing feat during play are all reasons to be rewarded CAPs. CAPs can be spent for a variety of permanent perks and benefits, or for immediate use during play to grant temporary bonuses or healing. Unlocking magical powers, new skill levels, or gaining permanent damage bonuses with a weapon type are just some of the uses of CAPs. To keep heroes alive, CAPs can also be used to increase a die roll total or healing BRPs instantly during play, which can clearly be quite handy in a pinch. I rather like this system overall, even though it is a bit subjective, as it frees players from worrying about the leveling table, and makes “experience points” more useful in advancing the character.
The next chapter, Storytellers, focuses on advice to GMs on how to run and manage a campaign in Blade Raiders. In addition to tips on running adventures and game management, Storytellers also are given resources such as random encounter tables, as well as a consolidated price list of items found in the game world.
The final chapter concerns itself with The World of Blade Raiders, and contains the history, maps, and gazetteer of the northwestern quarter of the continent of Aveggor. The northwestern quadrant of the continent is some 700 miles across, with a variety of terrain types, settlements, castles, and locales to explore. The designer provides two maps, with the second showing the zones of magic generated by the runestones.
Important NPC groups and NPCs are discussed here as well, as heroes might find themselves allying with or the enemy of certain factions in the lands. There is also a bestiary provided here, with more than a score of strange and dangerous monsters to be encountered during adventures. Many of the monsters have familiar forms, but unfamiliar names, such as a grizzlok which is actually a grizzly bear. Other creatures such as gulns and garr droks have decidedly alien looks to them, and don’t seem to have any reference to common fantsy elements. So don’t expect elves, dwarves, or fairy folk in Blade Raiders either. The overall feel of the world is almost more alien than fantasy, and some FRPG players might feel completely out of touch without common tropes from fairy tales, medieval mythical lore, and Tolkien-esque references.
Overall Score: 3.75 out of 5.0
Conclusions
For the most part I really liked Blade Raiders as a new approach to a fantasy role-playing game, and I feel that many of the mechanics and game play elements are fresh and innovative. I am more and more becoming a big fan of “rules light” systems, and I think the character generation and advancement systems off players quite a few options to make unique characters, and empower Storytellers (GMs) to make true judges of play and balance.
But there were some quirks I found off-putting, such as all human player-characters, armor ablation, and a world that feels more Barsoom than Middle-Earth or Hyboria. Steering clear of utilizing too many fantasy tropes or altering them in new ways are great innovations, but tossing most of them out can leave FRPG players without the touchstones of content that draw them to a game.
But if you’re looking for a new role-playing experience, and want rules that are easy to deal with and easy to play with, than Blade Raiders might be a good choice to consider for your gaming group. And given the content as a Players Book, Gamemaster Guide, and Setting Sourcebook all in one, it is quite reasonable priced for such a complete ready-to-play product.
So until next review… I wish you Happy Gaming!
Editor’s Note: This Reviewer received a complimentary copy of the product in PDF format from which the review was written.
Grade Card (Ratings 1 to 5)
- Presentation: 3.75
- - Design: 3.5 (Very good writing and layout; bookmarks would have made the PDF much easier to read)
- - Illustrations: 4.0 (Excellent illustrations and graphics; pretty maps; but a bit of color would be nice)
- Content: 3.5
- - Crunch: 3.5 (Solid rule system; rules light/roleplay rich; a few quirks like ablative armor were puzzling)
- - Fluff: 3.5 (Imaginative and unique world setting; 15 pages of history and gazetteer a little lacking)
- Value: 4.0 (Very cool system; complete and ready to play; good price overall)
