Aldarc
Legend
Which I haven't, but that's still FAR TOO finicky for my tastes.
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The Dark Eye ?
- Thread starter atanakar
- Start date
aramis erak
Legend
I've got the English version in PDF... the translation is kind of wordy and plodding, but it's attempting to be clear. I've not read the whole thing yet.
I'm actually in a Dark Eye campaign right now. We started about 3 months ago, and I have to say I have really been enjoying the game. One of the hallmarks of The Dark Eye is the setting of Aventuria. It is pretty robust with maps/regions/etc. and gives you the opportunity to play in a diverse number of campaigns and still remain in The Dark Eye world.
When I first read the rules, I was slightly concerned rolling 3 d20's might be too cumbersome for skill checks, but as we've played the game, it is running smoothly. Combat, if using a weapon, is still resolved by rolling a single d20. The way the system is set up, rolling low is what you want to do in The Dark Eye. 1's are your friends!
But that's just a topical mechanical glimpse of what The Dark Eye accomplishes. There is so much more, and as I learn more, I become more enamored with the game. As a little background, I am definitely an older gamer. I've been around since D&D launched. I've played every version of D&D, Pathfinder, Star Wars RPGs, Star Frontiers, Alternity, geez, there's probably more. I was a backer for The Dark Eye when they rolled it out a few years ago because the setting sounded interesting. I'm ashamed to say that after I received it, it sat on a shelf until my brother asked "what's this?" a couple of years ago.
The thing I like most about The Dark Eye right now (and I do understand this is a narrower subset of the game) is that it feels like it has a good balance and magic doesn't seem to break the game (now remember, we've only been playing a few months). When I played/GM'd D&D or Pathfinder, the Wizards would walk in and mow everything down. When I played Star Wars, the Jedi hero would walk in at outclass everyone.
I'm playing a Mage in The Dark Eye. I have a set number of Arcane Energy points to start with. I can cast any of my spells (which use my Arcane points) as long as I have the points to spend. I'm going to put some numbers with this just to give you a feel. My character has 32 Arcane Energy points. My go-to spell is Archofaxius (which fires out a jet of ore, pummeling my foe...hehe) costs 8 points. If I'm wielding my Staff, then it's reduced by 1 point, but you get the picture. I can only use this spell about 4 times before I'm out of points. Resting for 6 hours will only net me a recovery of 1d6 Arcane Energy Points assuming I was uninterrupted. As a mage, you really have to think about your Arcane budget. When do you want to use the spells? When do you have to use the spells?! Etc. And the recovery does not restore everything after one night of rest. It seems to clamp down on over-powered wonkiness and gives a different feel for the game.
Now let's look at casting the spell and how it's resolved. I have put a large number of AP's (adventure points used to customize your character the way you want) into Archofaxius. I have a Skill Rating of 10. When I cast the spell to see if it's successful, I do have to roll 3d20 and compare them to my characteristics. For Archofaxius, I roll against Courage, Sagacity, and Charisma. My Courage is a 14. My Sagacity is a 15 (I just raised it to a 15 after earning Adventure Points for wrapping up an adventure arc...still excited!). My Charisma is a 14. Now, when I roll the check on 3d20, Each d20 is associated with one characteristic. I am trying to roll below my characteristic to see if I'm successful. If I am above my characteristic, I can actually use points from my Skill Rating to be successful. The number of Skill Rating points you have left over determines your Quality Level, or how effective you were at casting the spell. This may seem crazy, but it's actually smoother than you would expect.
I cast my spell. I roll a 12 against my Courage, a 15 against my Sagacity, and a 16 against my Charisma. Since the 12 is below my Courage of 14, I'm good there. Since a 15 is equal to my Sagacity of 15, I'm good there. Where I run into a problem, is I rolled a 16 against my Charisma of 14. Instead of just failing, I can spend 2 of my Skill Rating 10 points to "buy down" the 16 to a 14 to be successful. That leaves me 8 points left over from my Skill Rating. Those 8 points determine my Quality Level (QL). A higher QL has more drastic results in game.
So The Dark Eye allows you not only to "cast" a spell, but the spell becomes more effective based upon your dice rolls and your Skill Rating. For us, it has been running remarkably smooth.
There's so much more to discuss about it (advantages, disadvantages, etc.) but I'll leave it there, so as not to bore you. I do recommend you give it a read, though. Aaaaand...as it turns out, you can get the Core Rulebook in PDF on DriveThruRPG for Pay What You Want during this Covid outbreak (hope you're staying safe). Just as an aside though - Archofaxius is from the Magic of Aventuria book, and it's fun!
When I first read the rules, I was slightly concerned rolling 3 d20's might be too cumbersome for skill checks, but as we've played the game, it is running smoothly. Combat, if using a weapon, is still resolved by rolling a single d20. The way the system is set up, rolling low is what you want to do in The Dark Eye. 1's are your friends!
But that's just a topical mechanical glimpse of what The Dark Eye accomplishes. There is so much more, and as I learn more, I become more enamored with the game. As a little background, I am definitely an older gamer. I've been around since D&D launched. I've played every version of D&D, Pathfinder, Star Wars RPGs, Star Frontiers, Alternity, geez, there's probably more. I was a backer for The Dark Eye when they rolled it out a few years ago because the setting sounded interesting. I'm ashamed to say that after I received it, it sat on a shelf until my brother asked "what's this?" a couple of years ago.
The thing I like most about The Dark Eye right now (and I do understand this is a narrower subset of the game) is that it feels like it has a good balance and magic doesn't seem to break the game (now remember, we've only been playing a few months). When I played/GM'd D&D or Pathfinder, the Wizards would walk in and mow everything down. When I played Star Wars, the Jedi hero would walk in at outclass everyone.
I'm playing a Mage in The Dark Eye. I have a set number of Arcane Energy points to start with. I can cast any of my spells (which use my Arcane points) as long as I have the points to spend. I'm going to put some numbers with this just to give you a feel. My character has 32 Arcane Energy points. My go-to spell is Archofaxius (which fires out a jet of ore, pummeling my foe...hehe) costs 8 points. If I'm wielding my Staff, then it's reduced by 1 point, but you get the picture. I can only use this spell about 4 times before I'm out of points. Resting for 6 hours will only net me a recovery of 1d6 Arcane Energy Points assuming I was uninterrupted. As a mage, you really have to think about your Arcane budget. When do you want to use the spells? When do you have to use the spells?! Etc. And the recovery does not restore everything after one night of rest. It seems to clamp down on over-powered wonkiness and gives a different feel for the game.
Now let's look at casting the spell and how it's resolved. I have put a large number of AP's (adventure points used to customize your character the way you want) into Archofaxius. I have a Skill Rating of 10. When I cast the spell to see if it's successful, I do have to roll 3d20 and compare them to my characteristics. For Archofaxius, I roll against Courage, Sagacity, and Charisma. My Courage is a 14. My Sagacity is a 15 (I just raised it to a 15 after earning Adventure Points for wrapping up an adventure arc...still excited!). My Charisma is a 14. Now, when I roll the check on 3d20, Each d20 is associated with one characteristic. I am trying to roll below my characteristic to see if I'm successful. If I am above my characteristic, I can actually use points from my Skill Rating to be successful. The number of Skill Rating points you have left over determines your Quality Level, or how effective you were at casting the spell. This may seem crazy, but it's actually smoother than you would expect.
I cast my spell. I roll a 12 against my Courage, a 15 against my Sagacity, and a 16 against my Charisma. Since the 12 is below my Courage of 14, I'm good there. Since a 15 is equal to my Sagacity of 15, I'm good there. Where I run into a problem, is I rolled a 16 against my Charisma of 14. Instead of just failing, I can spend 2 of my Skill Rating 10 points to "buy down" the 16 to a 14 to be successful. That leaves me 8 points left over from my Skill Rating. Those 8 points determine my Quality Level (QL). A higher QL has more drastic results in game.
So The Dark Eye allows you not only to "cast" a spell, but the spell becomes more effective based upon your dice rolls and your Skill Rating. For us, it has been running remarkably smooth.
There's so much more to discuss about it (advantages, disadvantages, etc.) but I'll leave it there, so as not to bore you. I do recommend you give it a read, though. Aaaaand...as it turns out, you can get the Core Rulebook in PDF on DriveThruRPG for Pay What You Want during this Covid outbreak (hope you're staying safe). Just as an aside though - Archofaxius is from the Magic of Aventuria book, and it's fun!
Fine, despite the enormous shadow cast by the idea of rolling 3d20, I'll check it out. Far be it for me to tell thousands of European gamers that they're out to lunch without at least giving the rules a read. I'll read the rules and then tell them that.
thom_likes_gaming
Explorer
The Dark Eye was in fact the first RPG I played, back when. That was first edition, so more akin to OD&D in terms of rules complexity.
It's key selling point to me over the years has always been it's setting, but that may well be fueled mostly by my familiarity with it - I could probably still point of most major landmarks on a map and describe the more prominent nations.
It seems like every edition got more and more complex, though 5th is said to have not followed that trend too much, maybe even streamlined in certain aspects. I couldn't say, I never played 5th.
I can certainly recommend checking out the quick start, it's really not a bad game, and the way magic feels is different enough from D&D to be interesting.
Also, the folks behind TDE are really nice people (ok, that's aimed at Ulisses Germany, don't know anyone from the US side of things. And disclaimer, I've done some freelancing work for Ulisses, so I might well be biased
)
It's key selling point to me over the years has always been it's setting, but that may well be fueled mostly by my familiarity with it - I could probably still point of most major landmarks on a map and describe the more prominent nations.
It seems like every edition got more and more complex, though 5th is said to have not followed that trend too much, maybe even streamlined in certain aspects. I couldn't say, I never played 5th.
I can certainly recommend checking out the quick start, it's really not a bad game, and the way magic feels is different enough from D&D to be interesting.
Also, the folks behind TDE are really nice people (ok, that's aimed at Ulisses Germany, don't know anyone from the US side of things. And disclaimer, I've done some freelancing work for Ulisses, so I might well be biased
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