The sea is a harsh mistress that pulls at a man's soul. Those who are brave enough or crazy enough to make their lives by sailing them are always in a struggle. It's a fight between reaching the next port and settling deep into Davy Jones's Locker. Settling in either place means you have a story to tell about how you got there.
From Hell's Heartis a new role-playing game (RPG) released by Gallant Knight Games and designed by Alan Bahr that guides players through creating a story during the Age of Sail—a time of wooden ships and iron men.
I was given a copy of From Hell's Heart for review purposes and found out a little from Alan about his inspiration for his game.
From Hell's Heartis designed for three or more players without a game master (GM). The players create the story instead of participating in a pre-planned adventure. Games take about three hours to play. Minimal supplies are needed to play.
Setting and Goal
Tall ships sail the seas. They are either merchants or military. Each ship has a purpose why they are out on the deep blue and every one of them has the ultimate goal of making it to port. The game defines the overall goal of the players is to overcome the Ruinous Sea, maintain order, and return to port.
The story is created by players taking turns setting the scene and narrating. There are tools provided so players can alter the story as it builds and provide direction as the Ruinous Sea rises in confrontation.
Characters
As a group, you first decide on three items: are you a warship or merchant ship, with an experienced or fresh crew, and are you starting or coming to the end of your voyage? The answer to these questions influences your ship and crew.
Players take on roles of the sailors on the ship. You can play anyone onboard. Each character has a set of Virtues. Players apply scores to their list of Virtues. They also provide the personality of their character.
The group finalizes the scores of the ship and give it a name and nationality.
Controls
A simple set of counters, some six-sided dice, and notes are used during game play. The counters are moved from one container to another or to players as challenges in the story are presented and dealt with. One container is for the party and the other is Ruinous Sea. As the Ruinous Sea builds, it has potential to damage the ship and harm the crew. Too much damage and the ship sinks. That is how we ended up.
When a player attempts to do something to direct the story, they make a check based on the Virtue that applies to determine success or failure. It then is up to them to describe the outcome. To add a "Yes, and...", "No, but...", or ""Isn't it true..." statement into the game the counters are moved. This is a good way of providing tension and excitement to the story.
Notes are also kept for determining the number of scenes a player has controlled. When a predetermined number of scenes has been reached the player is able to conclude the story.
Inspiration for From Hell's Heart
It is clear this is a work of passion. Alan Bahr gave an author's note with the game to talk about his attraction to the sea. In other conversations he mentioned that he was looking at artwork that is in the public domain and came across the wonderful works that are in the book. The pictures inspired him to create this game. The game concept was present in the works he was looking at and he became the medium to provide the words to the pictures.
Overall
From Hell's Heartis a great game for a group with a few free hours for playing. It is quick to learn and easy to set up. Most people know of sea stories or can quickly relate to the struggles. Everyone is soon a part of the story.
Players who have played high narrative RPGs will appreciate the mechanics used in From Hell's Heart. The streamlined system for supporting a story works great. The simplicity of the mechanics used makes this a game that can be introduced to a group and quickly played. The entire rulebook is only about 40 pages long.
When first playing a game that is based in such strong narrative and narration there might be some slow play. As players become used to the idea having more control, the story picks up and becomes richer in the telling. If you are used to playing RPGs designed with more strategy elements and GM control, you may want to give this more than one attempt.
In the end of the book it mentions the rules text is to be considered public domain, which is exciting for our group. This design lends itself well to other settings.
From Hell's Heartis now a game that will be readily available for our group.
You can get From Hell's Heart on DrivethruRPG (link).
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