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Arcane Anderia
by Steve B. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 11/17/2022 12:36:30

As a huge fan of the Ars Magica campaign (and a vehement hater of the game system that goes with it), I’ve been waiting for a fresh alternative for that style of play where everything is based around the wizard and their hangers on. I never really expected Chivalry & Sorcery to be that vehicle- since there’s a mass of rules and background for the chivalry aspect and not much on the sorcery side- Arcane Anderia completely turns that imbalance on its head- so much so I will probably try and run a game using that system.

Arcane Anderia is a triumph, it’s smart looking with quality maps and a serious amount of content. If you are thinking of running a wizard focused game then you must seriously consider getting this as everything about it is focused on making a successful wizards based campaign work. A wizard usually belongs to a college, each of which has unique and interesting powers as well as mighty issues and hang-ups that make guild politics serious and potentially deadly. As a referee the two fully fleshed out guild halls and brief details of the guilds within the kingdom of Anderia would be of use to anyone who needs a mage guild mapped out and detailed. It also details “the mortal enemies” of the guild of the Arcane Lore- the Chaos Masters, and other secretive organisations. To top it off there is a fully fleshed out adventure at the back focused on getting the things a mage wants and needs.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Arcane Anderia
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Reedwater
by Dillard R. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 01/21/2019 00:47:33

BLUF: This was written for "Strands of Fate" and uses terminolgy from Spirit of the Century. It is compatible with other versions of Fate if you are willing to work really hard to make it so.

The Reedwater Campaign would work quite well as a fantasy strand for Strands of Fate. The NPCs are well thought out. The sand box is truly full of wonderful ideas and maps. However, don't expect to understand how to use this product at first glance without understanding how Strands of Fate plays. For those of you coming from Fate Core or FAE be prepared to be very confused. To use the magic users in the game you need to understand the magic system presented in Stands of Fate. To use the skills you need to understand the skills from Strands of Fate.

Each NPC has 10 Aspects! (Strands of Fate only has 6 so that seems quite odd). Sticky aspects are referred to something in Spirit of the Century.

I'll give this three stars because it is a good campaign for Strands of Fate, but it will not work straight of the box for other Fate systems.

EDIT: Now I am not sure it will work quite right with Strands of Fate either.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Reedwater
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Reedwater
by Christy B. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 03/07/2018 23:15:57

Excellent quality here from the plot to the characters. I am impressed by the sketches too - the artwork alone is worth the purchase! I enjoy the magical elements, from the fey to the creatures big and small. This is a detailed world that offees much adventure ahead!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Thank you Christy!
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Reedwater
by Steve T. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/29/2017 02:05:51

My first impressions were of a high quality product, interior design is clean and well presented. This has a abundance of crunchy background fluff allowing great potential for a sandbox game. NPC's are well detailed and offer great oppurtunities for repeated inclusion in games. The adventure included in this product is a great introduction to the setting and is easily expanded by a GM to include side treks.

All in all a stunning first product from a new company and offers a historic setting for Fate that seems to be unique and not yet covered.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Reedwater Adventure No1
by Steve B. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/25/2017 19:15:59

Put some effort into it and you can make this a great adventure, if the author had gone the extra mile it would have been awesome.

As I said in my Reedwater review it continues with the theme of a Strands of Fate, Ars Magic styled game. After being mightily impressed by Reedwater Campaign & Adventure I knew I was going to give unrealistic expectations for the first adventure based on the campaign- so of course, I’m disappointed, but it’s so close.

The Good -It looks great, more gorgeous NPC’s that are cool and interesting, the module expands on the Arcane Guild, briefly details a three of other Guilds, and provides the details of the criminals of Ingolstadt.

The not so Good- I wish that the specific encounters were set up to make it clear where the drama was, for example the first encounter “Nobility on the Road” which has three great NPC’s the most prominent NPC is an Archbishop (which obviously could be bad for a mage). On detailed reading, one of the NPC’s could detect lies, do free assessments and his tactics was to tag aspects without mercy while the Archbishop could inflict mental consequences to force sinners to do the right thing. It seemed that we have great characters for a short play but what was needed was some direction, basic acts, and one or two random dramatic events and that encounter could have been magic.

The meat of the adventure is a free form series of encounters based in the City of Ingolstadt, while I personally don’t like that format, I felt it really needed some skill challenges (to reveal the true villains), events (such as uncontrollable fires), and plot stress (so that the bad guys could win!) to max it out. I also felt it needed a final encounter to wrap things up.

In conclusion, while I’ve had a good whinge (because I feel that there’s real potential here), it’s still a quality product with bags of interesting NPC’s and at $5 it’s got to be worth it and while it’s on at 99 cents it’s a steal. Finally, if you are suitably impressed with this adventure and you haven’t got hold of Reedwater Campaign & Adventure do yourself a favour and buy it (also I really want to see more from Anderian Designs).



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Reedwater Adventure No1
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Creator Reply:
Thank you for the review, I am glad you liked it and saw the potential in the adventure. To address your not so good points, yes, I could have done all the skill challenges, wrote drama, text boxes for the GM to read out and a set piece final battle. However the logistics of those extra bits mean it would not fit in 38-40 pages, it would have been 100 or more pages and cost $12.99+. As you indicated, what it does do well is it gives the tools to a GM to fashion the ideas, NPC's and encounters into something special he can mould into his own kind of amazing. If people want the full monty adventure and the price tag that goes with the extra pages, I would be happy to provide the extra detail in the adventures. A 150 page full adventure product in a quality hardcover print with lots of background and more mechanics for the encounters and drama. Once again thank you for taking the time to write up you thoughts and experience with the product.
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Reedwater
by Steve B. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/25/2017 14:55:51

So when I look at this I thought wow! The campaign book looks good it's well presented and there's bags of NPCs and adventure ideas. The best way to describe the campaign is a mix of Ars Magica and Strands of Fate it's particularly focused on the local fae and how they interact with the church, wizards and the significant NPCs.

Void Star Games Strands of Fate is mentioned in the open gaming license copyright section, which is a stat based version of Fate (the average Joe has 2 in each stat so conversion to Fate core is easy). It doesn't require Strands of Fate to play, and the only rules knowledge which might confuse is the use of (P) at the end of the occasional aspect which can be invoked for the appropriate circumstances without the expenditure of a fate point.

I love Strands of Fate however it's painfully lacking on campaign material the stuff that's out there all seems to be science fiction. While Ars Magica is much better for source material the available the source books focus on tribunals and the grand scale but lack the small-scale NPCs which brings life into a campaign.

So what does Reedwater bring into this mix; well the clever use of descriptive aspects breathes life to the NPC's. The significant ones have a description, tactics and goals. Also if they have any feats/stunts that are fully described along with the stats of any equipment. I particularly like how many of the NPCs can easily be expanded into their own mini adventure. Also a great deal of effort has been made in conveying the strangeness of the fae and their deadly capricious nature, who appear to be the campaign's main protagonists (and foils). What it doesn't provide is some grand overarching plot where there's a villain behind the scenes who directs everything and as soon as he is dispatched the campaign finishes. It's best that the referee decides on these things and there's plenty of NPCs which could fit that slot.

About 50 pages is devoted to the Arcane Guild (Covenant) of Reedwater and it's strange intrusion into the fae realm (Arcadia). All of the wizards are well detailed and at least one player if not all of them will be playing wizard (Ars Magica style). To top it off there’s a 40 page adventure which gives the referee a flying start to a campaign which can only grow, providing the author produces the 99 cent adventures and the occasional campaign book promised on the back pages.

My advice is that if you're considering running a mediaeval fantasy game in Fate (particularly Strands of Fate) then seriously consider buying this PDF. Also if you have an Ars Magica game based in the Rhine tribunal or the Greater Alps tribunal then it might be worth checking it out, it's a gem of a sourcebook.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Reedwater
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Creator Reply:
Thank you very much for your kind words, I am so glad you enjoyed the product and hope you have many happy days of gaming from it. PDF's are great but the hardcover version is awesome! LOL
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