Nice review, and the game is aptly worth a review...
I have been using the Ritual Magic rules for D&D since 1st Edition Unearthed Arcana, and the Mystara variants were in print... even had my own variants before and since then.
No argument D&D sucks, but it is the base-line everyone is both - more familiar with and completely unknowledgeable of... XD
ANY alternative is worth a look... I was lucky in having more variety in Players and GMs, and never felt swamped with D&D until the 3.0 madness.
Cheers for that! Ive had lots of fantastical ideas but Id like to build up to them and give them a chance to make an impact. Heroes cant be fighting demigods from day 1!
Its a difficult balancing act of giving players enough good stuff to get them hooked but leaving enough in reserve so the campaign has got somewhere to go. But theres no point having great stuff planned if noone sticks around to see it.
I think youre right, I should take a little inspiration from the swords & sourcery books ;)
@Webhead123 I'm planning on getting some gamers together for some BoL action and ideally I would love to kickoff a saga. I'm just wondering if you ever did a BoL campaign or did you mainly play 1-shots?
And if you did a campaign where did you set it / start it? Oh and how much of the world did you flesh out before you let the players in?
Urm... I think that's enough questions for 1 day. Cheers! :)
@gummibako Sadly, I have not had a chance to resume BoL other than 1-shots. I had/have a campaign in mind but haven't gotten to use it yet.
My game used the default "Lemuria" setting. I don't have the map on me but I believe the PCs started out in the city of Satarla. One of the PCs was a noble who's power-hungry uncle was secretly betraying the family to one of the Druid cults. When the PC learned of this and tried to speak out, the uncle had him framed for murder and thrown into the...
cont...Sark's ("Sark" being the Lemurian word for King) dungeon along with his loyal bodyguard, awaiting execution in the arena. They escaped and fled the city into the deadly jungles of Qush and eventually found and halted the ritual of a group of Druids. That's about as far as the game got. The noble was on a quest to try to eventually return to his home, exact justice upon his uncle and reclaim his family's honor.
I didn't do too much fleshing out before hand, just using some...
cont...inspiration from the core book and my having recently read several of the Thongor novels on which the game was based. I actually appreciated that the game leaves the world pretty open for the GM to "make it up as they go" with just enough structure (and the beautiful map) to help out.
I love BoL as well. I suggest you review the other BoL game, Dogs of War, it is a modern day soldier-esque rpg based on the BoL rules. It is very much The A-Team the RPG.
Wow. I was reading some discussions and reviews on forums and googled the game and your video came up. I didn't even know you made one. Well thanks for making it, you made my decision. lol Seems like a fun little fantasy game without getting crazy and complex. And being at 111 pages a easy read too.
I thought your review was very good, and pretty much has me sold on the game. However, I would've liked to have seen some interior art in your review.
BoL Legendary Edition is out, it retools the priest completely,which I think makes it a unique and improved career that enhances role play and characterization.
Yes. Legendary Edition (which is the current version for $12 at DrivethruRPG) expands and revises a number of elements of the original. A new Career, more sample NPCs, streamlining of the armor mechanics, changes to priestly magic as you mention, and some improvements to the Merits/Flaws available. The best part is, since I had bought the original version only a few weeks before the release of LE, I was given a link to download it for free! It's a great game that I hope to revisit in the future.
I recently picked up Barbarians of Lemuria, which is also available in a dead tree version from Cubicle 7 Entertainment. Apart from the obious advantages over your standard high fantasy games that you already mention I also like the slightly tongue-in-cheek approach it takes to the clichés of the genre but wihtout turning it into a silly beer & pretzels game.
the softcover print copy costs about $24.00, by the way.
Nice review, and the game is aptly worth a review...
I have been using the Ritual Magic rules for D&D since 1st Edition Unearthed Arcana, and the Mystara variants were in print... even had my own variants before and since then.
No argument D&D sucks, but it is the base-line everyone is both - more familiar with and completely unknowledgeable of... XD
ANY alternative is worth a look... I was lucky in having more variety in Players and GMs, and never felt swamped with D&D until the 3.0 madness.
thespiritcoyote 2 months ago
Thanks for the review, I've bought and am now printing the Legendary Edition
azirk83 10 months ago
Cheers for that! Ive had lots of fantastical ideas but Id like to build up to them and give them a chance to make an impact. Heroes cant be fighting demigods from day 1!
Its a difficult balancing act of giving players enough good stuff to get them hooked but leaving enough in reserve so the campaign has got somewhere to go. But theres no point having great stuff planned if noone sticks around to see it.
I think youre right, I should take a little inspiration from the swords & sourcery books ;)
gummibako 11 months ago
@Webhead123 I'm planning on getting some gamers together for some BoL action and ideally I would love to kickoff a saga. I'm just wondering if you ever did a BoL campaign or did you mainly play 1-shots?
And if you did a campaign where did you set it / start it? Oh and how much of the world did you flesh out before you let the players in?
Urm... I think that's enough questions for 1 day. Cheers! :)
gummibako 11 months ago
@gummibako Sadly, I have not had a chance to resume BoL other than 1-shots. I had/have a campaign in mind but haven't gotten to use it yet.
My game used the default "Lemuria" setting. I don't have the map on me but I believe the PCs started out in the city of Satarla. One of the PCs was a noble who's power-hungry uncle was secretly betraying the family to one of the Druid cults. When the PC learned of this and tried to speak out, the uncle had him framed for murder and thrown into the...
Webhead123 11 months ago
cont...Sark's ("Sark" being the Lemurian word for King) dungeon along with his loyal bodyguard, awaiting execution in the arena. They escaped and fled the city into the deadly jungles of Qush and eventually found and halted the ritual of a group of Druids. That's about as far as the game got. The noble was on a quest to try to eventually return to his home, exact justice upon his uncle and reclaim his family's honor.
I didn't do too much fleshing out before hand, just using some...
Webhead123 11 months ago
cont...inspiration from the core book and my having recently read several of the Thongor novels on which the game was based. I actually appreciated that the game leaves the world pretty open for the GM to "make it up as they go" with just enough structure (and the beautiful map) to help out.
Webhead123 11 months ago
I love BoL as well. I suggest you review the other BoL game, Dogs of War, it is a modern day soldier-esque rpg based on the BoL rules. It is very much The A-Team the RPG.
daddystabz 1 year ago
Wow. I was reading some discussions and reviews on forums and googled the game and your video came up. I didn't even know you made one. Well thanks for making it, you made my decision. lol Seems like a fun little fantasy game without getting crazy and complex. And being at 111 pages a easy read too.
scullkrusher 1 year ago
Hey- I have a game that I'd like to see you review- how do I let you know about it?
epochrpg 1 year ago
You can just send me a private message with your suggestions if you like and I'll respond to let you know and/or discuss it further.
Thanks.
Webhead123 1 year ago
I thought your review was very good, and pretty much has me sold on the game. However, I would've liked to have seen some interior art in your review.
Clamshellninja 2 years ago
Very informative review. Keep up the good work.
vomitbrown1 2 years ago
BoL Legendary Edition is out, it retools the priest completely,which I think makes it a unique and improved career that enhances role play and characterization.
BlackDouglas1000 2 years ago
Yes. Legendary Edition (which is the current version for $12 at DrivethruRPG) expands and revises a number of elements of the original. A new Career, more sample NPCs, streamlining of the armor mechanics, changes to priestly magic as you mention, and some improvements to the Merits/Flaws available. The best part is, since I had bought the original version only a few weeks before the release of LE, I was given a link to download it for free! It's a great game that I hope to revisit in the future.
Webhead123 2 years ago
Sweet.
DeTzardis 2 years ago
nuce !
Number1GamerAsh 2 years ago
I recently picked up Barbarians of Lemuria, which is also available in a dead tree version from Cubicle 7 Entertainment. Apart from the obious advantages over your standard high fantasy games that you already mention I also like the slightly tongue-in-cheek approach it takes to the clichés of the genre but wihtout turning it into a silly beer & pretzels game.
the softcover print copy costs about $24.00, by the way.
VoraxTranstellaris 2 years ago