Space-ships and long-shadowed spears.
This is not a review, this is a "talk about a game that has some review-like qualities."
You have to credit Michael Fiegel and Jerry Grayson. They took something like "Greeks in Spaaaaace!" and turned it into a wonderful RPG, Hellas.
Of course the Hellenes aren't actually Greeks. But the authors try to capture the essence of Greek culture and mythology somewhere between the history of the Peloponnesian War and the fiction of the Trojan War.
Eons ago the Hellenes fled their home system. Many stayed in a group, the Spartans and the Atlanteans each headed in a different directions. What would follow is centuries of expansion and conflict, amongs the Hellene tribes and amongst the races they encountered ... the Amazorans, monstrous Goregons, the communal-insect mimic Myrmidons, the winged Nephelai, the three-eyed Kyklopes, and the tentacled robotic-suit-wearing Zintar. They are all available as player races.
Superluminal travel crosses the wine-dark sea of the extra-dimensional Panthalassa, or slip-space, where electro-magnetic sails pull star-ships along strange currents.
Each character dedicates himself to one of the Twelve, the ancient spirits that guided the Hellenes, or choses to follow none and forge their own path, as they seek Glory, the real reward of the game.
Charge an enemy, naked but for your weapons? Gain glory. Gain enough Glory and your god rewards you. Gain too much glory and your god may pluck you up and place you among its most treasured servants. Or in the case of at least one god, consider you a threat to it's dominance ... and come fight you for the it's title! Even those who worship none are reqrded for their glory, although at a slower pace. And even they, if they accumulate too much glory, can be "whisked off by the Universe" ... and head off to take their rightful seat amongst the gods in the Olympus Cluster.
Each character has specific goals. You don't want to rescue your sister. You want to rescue your sister from the Space Pirate Iolas. Accomplishing each goal brings accelerated Glory and experience.
What I like about the game is it's scope. Despite the space-faring and alien races, this is a game about heroism, and intrigue. And the occasional stabbing.
Mechanically, the game applies positive (your stats and skills) modifiers and negative modifiers (any obstacles, including the stats and skills of your opponent) to a d20 roll. A result of less than 1 is a critical failure, 6+ is a partial success, an 11+ is a success, and a 20+ is a critical success.
Am I running it? I don't know. It's certainly "in contention" right now, as are a half-dozen other games.
Doug.
You have to credit Michael Fiegel and Jerry Grayson. They took something like "Greeks in Spaaaaace!" and turned it into a wonderful RPG, Hellas.
Of course the Hellenes aren't actually Greeks. But the authors try to capture the essence of Greek culture and mythology somewhere between the history of the Peloponnesian War and the fiction of the Trojan War.
Eons ago the Hellenes fled their home system. Many stayed in a group, the Spartans and the Atlanteans each headed in a different directions. What would follow is centuries of expansion and conflict, amongs the Hellene tribes and amongst the races they encountered ... the Amazorans, monstrous Goregons, the communal-insect mimic Myrmidons, the winged Nephelai, the three-eyed Kyklopes, and the tentacled robotic-suit-wearing Zintar. They are all available as player races.
Superluminal travel crosses the wine-dark sea of the extra-dimensional Panthalassa, or slip-space, where electro-magnetic sails pull star-ships along strange currents.
Each character dedicates himself to one of the Twelve, the ancient spirits that guided the Hellenes, or choses to follow none and forge their own path, as they seek Glory, the real reward of the game.
Charge an enemy, naked but for your weapons? Gain glory. Gain enough Glory and your god rewards you. Gain too much glory and your god may pluck you up and place you among its most treasured servants. Or in the case of at least one god, consider you a threat to it's dominance ... and come fight you for the it's title! Even those who worship none are reqrded for their glory, although at a slower pace. And even they, if they accumulate too much glory, can be "whisked off by the Universe" ... and head off to take their rightful seat amongst the gods in the Olympus Cluster.
Each character has specific goals. You don't want to rescue your sister. You want to rescue your sister from the Space Pirate Iolas. Accomplishing each goal brings accelerated Glory and experience.
What I like about the game is it's scope. Despite the space-faring and alien races, this is a game about heroism, and intrigue. And the occasional stabbing.
Mechanically, the game applies positive (your stats and skills) modifiers and negative modifiers (any obstacles, including the stats and skills of your opponent) to a d20 roll. A result of less than 1 is a critical failure, 6+ is a partial success, an 11+ is a success, and a 20+ is a critical success.
Am I running it? I don't know. It's certainly "in contention" right now, as are a half-dozen other games.
Doug.