Post by Malcadon on Sept 25, 2018 6:13:38 GMT -5
By the creator of the legendary sword & sorcery game Barbarians of Lemuria, Simon Washbourne, Crimson Blades 2 is a dark fantasy, sword & sorcery game inspired by Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné saga.
The system initially used the Swords & Wizardry system in its first irritation, but after some feedback and playthroughs, the system is way more streamline and easier to run. One of the key improvements is they way dice are rolled when resolving a task. In the old way, you had to roll a number equal or higher on a singe d6. The number is ether based on one's attribute range, or one's class and level. It was a rally messy system. In the revised version, rolling was streamline to: roll a d6 equal or higher than 5, adjusted by a related attribute. As you gain level, you gain more dice for class-related skills and saves. The extra dice improves your odds as only one die is needed to succeed.
For me, what makes this system great is how it handles combat. Namely Hit Dice. Unlike D&D, the amount of dice you need to roll for hit points is not the same as one's level. At 10th level, a Sorcerer would has 3 dice, a Thief has 4, and a Fighter 6. Like with Swords & Wizardry, you have to re-roll you HP, only changing with a higher roll. The beauty of this game is the way you use HD as the number of dice rolled in combat. That is, with a high-level fighting character, you can allocate HD to multiple enemies, or drop it all down on one big enemy! On top of that, two-handed weapons can by used to make a power-attack where you make a single attack with all dice, and you roll an equal amount of damage dice all at once, only counting armor reduction once, allowing you to cut-down a large monster or a heavily armored foe in one fell swoop. You would not believe how this speeds-up combat at higher levels!!
The combat system is simple and gives a lot of room for creative freewheeling of the action.
Encumbrance is actually usable, reducing items and bulk goods into "things". A sword is a "thing." A shield is a "thing." Armor is two are more "things". Your clothing, a few coins and some personal effects is a "thing." You can carry about a dozen "things" before you are too weighed down to move.
Alignment is based on Law vs Chaos, and makes it a point to note how both extremes can make for really bad people.
The class options are: Barbarian, Fighter, Griot, Thief, Mountebank, Sorcerer, Wayfarer, and Dendrelyssi.
The Barbarian is your mix of Conan and the Beast Master. The Fighter is the best warrior in the game, and can preform combat stunts. The Griot (long-O; silent-T) is an African-styled Bard, with the ability to communicate with the dead or demons of knowledge to supplement their lore. The Thief is like the D&D Thief/Rogue, but without the ability to pick pockets, being more of a tomb-robber and burglar. That is where the Mountebank comes in. The Mountebank is a con-artist, seducer and charlatan. (And one of the best classes to role-play with.) The Sorcerer is you creepy Conan-styled scheming conjurer. On top of spellcasting, they can also do a bit of summoning. The Wayfarer is basically a D&D monk re-imagined as a quasi-mystic hobo with a highly acrobatic fighting style and an unyielding drive to find someone or something. And the Dendrelyssi (don't even ask me how it pronounced) is a race of pale, degenerate elf-like people. They are semi-good fighters and magic-users, but they are the best summoners in the game. While based on Elric, the Dendrelyssi behave like the D&D Drow (the wicked demon-worshiper type—not the moody dual-welding ranger type).
Magic takes on two forms: Spells and Summoning.
Spells are no different than with D&D (to which I'm not a fan of). Much of the spells are missing or nerfed in keeping with the sword & sorcery genre. Summoning is what I like! You have three options is summoning: Demons, Elementals and the Undead. With Elemental summoning, you can call fourth a small elemental creature (gnome, salamander, sylph, undine) to do you biding. The Undead are spite between psychical (ghouls, zombies, etc.) and non-corporal (ghosts, wraiths, etc.). And Demons vary greatly by type. A Demon of Combat can be bound to a weapon, making it the only type of magic weapon available in the game. (I absolutely love this!) A Demon of Protection can be bound to a shield, suit of armor, or a door or gate. A Demon of Knowledge is a sage of information and forbidden knowledge. A Demon of Travel looks like a flying creature or object that will carry you to anywhere you want, even to other worlds and dimensions. A Demon of Desire is basically a plaything for lonely (and foolish) Sorcerers. A Demon of Possession can only inhabit a mortal body, using it to it its own ends, or the command of the summoner. And a Demon of Pain is... well... a skin-flayed Cenobite from Hellraiser. ("We have such sights to show you." 
)
)The setting is the Crimson Lands.
The Crimson Lands was once a place where the Dendrelyssi ruled, with humanity enslaved. They ruled through fear and sorcery. They are now a dying race, corrupted by magic and unable to produce children. Eventually, humanity fought back, gaining their freedom. Unable to maintain their empire abroad, they retreated to their homeland to languish in stagnation and debauchery. Although the are Lawful by nature, they deal with demons in order to control the chaos.
Humanity is made up of a many of tribes, city-states and kingdoms. The most predominant civilization is Krand. They are also the closest to the Dendrelyssi homeland. They suffered the most by the Dendrelyssi, and through the Royal Redeemers, actively hunt down Dendrelyssi, Dendrelyssi sympathizers, witches and sorcerers though a bloody inquisition. Dralucia the twin kingdom is rued by twin kings. They are an economic and naval powerhouse. Mortylla is a barren wasteland that was the product of a powerful summoning ritual gone horribly wrong! Its power is more due to its sorcerers than my military or economic might. The land is ruled by the high-priests of demon-worshiping cults. Torquendor is a nation of wealth and extravagances, who idolize the Dendrelyssi. (They happen to live the farthest out from the Dendrelyssi homeland.) Most of the other nations are the home of barbarians and nomads.
Simon added enough detail to each location as a starting point. GMs are encouraged to add or change the setting as she or he sees fit.
While the game is based on D&D, the adventures are not based on dungeon crawls. The game encourages adventures in the wilderness, out at sea, in the streets and back allies, at the royal courts, and yes, even in crypts and tombs. In fact, this game rejects large heaps of gold and experience points as the prime mover for adventure. Advancement is based on the amount of adventures played.
Most of the art used in the book are "art pack" stock images you can buy at RPGNow and DiveThruRPG. What Simon did differently was forgo the usual over-used medieval-themed images and gone instead for "Orientalism", which was popular back in the Pule-Era of fantasy. It it, you'll find a mix of African, Middle-Eastern and Asian themed art. I personally find this to be a breath of fresh air.
