Weapons of the Gods Mini Review

[OddHat]

Weapons of the Gods mini-review.

 

I picked this book up at GenCon on the recommendation of Michael Surbrook, HERO Games guru and author of Ninja Hero and the excellent Asian Bestiaries (I & II). Weapons of the Gods itself is a hefty tome by R. Sean Borgstrom & Brad Elliot, based on the comic series by Tony Wong. A 382 page hard back on glossy paper and filled with Tony Wong’s art, the book looks good. It’s designed to be used with the Wuxia Action System.

 

The rules system is fairly simple and direct, and seems to do what it’s meant to well enough. As I haven’t had time to play-test it, I’ll just say that the task resolution seems to lend itself well to fairly fluid and extremely cinematic combat, in the style of the original comic and over the top Wuxia martial arts movies. Without going outside of their system, using this to simulate wild martial arts films like Kung Fu Cult Master or Storm Riders would be no problem, though the “Wulin Sage” (Game Master) would have to stretch a bit to cover films like A Chinese Odyssey or Heroic Trio. A HERO GM using this book for inspiration while using the HERO system for the mechanics would not have that problem. And now, on the subject of inspiration, we get to where this book really shines.

 

The book is packed with short fiction carrying the flavor of classic Chinese folk tales and wuxia. I enjoyed the heck out of these stories, and would recommend them on their own merits. The fact that they also worked well for their intended purpose (helping readers wrap their heads around the rules and “Shen Zhou”, the games Chinese Historical Fantasy setting) is a nice bonus.

 

The rules systems themselves cover what you’d expect (character creation, combat, weapons, magic, chi based Martial Arts Super Powers) and a bit more, including some interesting and detailed rules on relationships and social status that have a lot of potential for helping players and GMs to fully immerse themselves in the setting. These rules are astragal enough to the setting I’d consider using them for games set in Shen Zhou even if I were to swap out the rest of the mechanics for another system.

 

On the down side, the lack of a bibliography and index bugged me. The book isn’t hard to navigate, with a solid table of contents and clear presentation, but jumping back and forth to the exact item you’re searching for will take more time than it should. Without a bibliography, the Wulin Sage ? Game Master is going to have to go to a bit more trouble than should be the case to further customize and flesh out his game.

 

So, final verdict, I enjoyed this product a great deal. My players will almost certainly head out into Shen Zhou at some point, and I think they’ll enjoy the trip. However, I will be using HERO for the mechanics, not because of any flaws in the Wuxia action system, but to take advantage of HERO’s tighter level of fine tuning and in order to introduce additional game elements. For HERO GMs, this makes a worthwhile supplement.

[UltraRob]

Re: Weapons of the Gods Mini Review

 

Make sure you visit the EOS website and download "Auspicious Beginnings", perhaps one of the best intro adventures to a game ever written.

 

I have actually run the game (and the module) as-is, and I found it fun to run and play once you get your head wrapped around a few ideas. One thing to consider if you run it is that PCs are REALLY durable, they're not meant to die unless they really screw up. They can get really screwed up, but won't die often, and a fight between major characters can take a while. Characters are meant to retreat long before they actually die.

 

WotG's "followers" rules however are inspired and very well done, I've run games with PC's versus 20 thugs or more and had it fly by in a cinematic flash. The LORE system also works well, but requires a lot of GM planning.

 

Overall, a good game, but like you, I still prefer HERO.

 

Rob

[OddHat]

Re: Weapons of the Gods Mini Review

 

Make sure you visit the EOS website and download "Auspicious Beginnings", perhaps one of the best intro adventures to a game ever written.

 

I have actually run the game (and the module) as-is, and I found it fun to run and play once you get your head wrapped around a few ideas. One thing to consider if you run it is that PCs are REALLY durable, they're not meant to die unless they really screw up. They can get really screwed up, but won't die often, and a fight between major characters can take a while. Characters are meant to retreat long before they actually die.

 

WotG's "followers" rules however are inspired and very well done, I've run games with PC's versus 20 thugs or more and had it fly by in a cinematic flash. The LORE system also works well, but requires a lot of GM planning.

 

Overall, a good game, but like you, I still prefer HERO.

 

Rob

Thanks, I'll check out the module.

 

The characters looked appropriately tough, and the system looks like the one used in Godlike. I think it should port very well to HERO without losing flavor.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: Weapons of the Gods Mini Review

 

This game looked pretty interesting. I'll have to check it out some time.

 

Along similar lines, did any of you at GenCon happen to check out Qin: the Warring States?

[OddHat]

Re: Weapons of the Gods Mini Review

 

This game looked pretty interesting. I'll have to check it out some time.

 

Looking through again, this is definitely a modified version of the engine Godlike used.

 

I really like the setting. If you've ever wanted a more complete world for your Ninja Hero games, or wanted to mix Ninja Hero and Fantasy Hero, this works well.

 

Along similar lines, did any of you at GenCon happen to check out Qin: the Warring States?

 

Didn't get the chance.

[BlackSword]

Re: Weapons of the Gods Mini Review

 

Along similar lines' date=' did any of you at GenCon happen to check out Qin: the Warring States?[/quote']

Its sitting at home half-read.

 

Unfortunataly I am a slow reader and have been busy since GenCon so haven't gotten through the entire book yet. What I have read I have liked so far. Once I get through it and re-read combat I will probably run a game for my sunday group.

[BlackSword]

Re: Weapons of the Gods Mini Review

 

Random thought on this, though I haven't gotten very far through Weapons of the Gods, as for Qin, it would be fairly straightforward to call Qi = Force Points, and Taos = Force Powers and make a wuxia Jedi game. After the prequels it has to the potential to make Jedi fun again. A few things would have to be added (Force Push, Choke, etc), but I think I have an idea for if I ever do a Star Wars game.

[BlackSword]

Re: Weapons of the Gods Mini Review

 

Along similar lines' date=' did any of you at GenCon happen to check out Qin: the Warring States?[/quote']

I finished reading Qin: The Warring States about a month ago, its good. Its very good. The amount of information they provide is just right (for me). There is enough detail to give a feel for the time and make each of the Warring states unique, but not so much information that it becomes a textbook on Chinese history. The combat system looks quick and easy, which is perfect for the fast paced game. I have used the rules for mooks in my current Adventure! game and everyone likes that method so far and it goes quickly. Overall it reads like it will be fast and can get the feel of the movies such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero. It does provide some information for the supernatural creatures that live in ancient China which will be an interesting addition to a historical setting. I am looking forward to running it, just need to time to work on the adventure and time to get a group together to play the game.

 

My only two complaints: They only provide special manuveurs up to level 4 and explicitly state that levels go to level 6 (from viewing their website I see there is a supplement that will extend the range to level 6). And two, I haven't seen the printed book available since GenCon, so I am lucky enough to have it, but my friend cannot get a copy. Because of this delay I am concerned about when they plan to print the supplement.