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Iron Heroes: A low magic tabletop game
ajs writes "Monte Cook Presents: Iron Heroes is an advanced role playing rule book, based on Wizards of the Coast's d20 System (the rules that underpin the current edition of Dungeons & Dragons). What's unusual about it is that it presents both a setting and rules for "low magic" fantasy that doesn't sacrifice high adventure to get its gritty action." Read the rest of Aaron's review.
Monte Cook Presents: Iron Heroes
author
Mike Mearls
pages
240
publisher
rating
9
reviewer
Aaron Sherman
ISBN
1-58846-796-1
summary
d20 System variant Player's Handbook
Monte Cook Presents: Iron Heroes (I'm just going to call it Iron Heroes from here on) is published under Cook's imprint, Malhavoc Press, by Sword & Sorcery who are best known for their d20 System rules variants and supplements. Sword & Sorcery, in turn, is owned by White Wolf Publishing, well known for their World of Darkness line of storytelling games. Originally titled "Iron Lore", the title was changed before publication due to legal entanglements. But, enough about the publisher, let's discuss the book.
Mike Mearls, a regular contributor to Dragon Magazine and long-time d20 System author, has a vision, it seems. His Iron Heroes game gives us a window into a world where the fabled dragon-slaying knight doesn't carry a glowing trinket of a sword that solves his problems, but has to rely on his skills and experience. On its own, this would be a serious undertaking, but the goal of Iron Heroes is to balance such a world as closely as possible with the established mechanics, threats and rewards of the d20 System. This is something which I would have considered difficult enough to be impractical before I read Iron Heroes.
The book begins by explaining that inexperienced role players need not apply. This is intended as an advanced rulebook, and those not already familiar with d20 will have everything that they need, but may find the book daunting (this is the only major flaw I've found in the book). If you are aware of the d20 System, you will note that none of the usual d20 classes are there. Instead of the rogue, there is a thief. Instead of barbarian, there is a berserker. These are not capricious name changes, however, since the mechanics of each of these variant classes are quite different from their d20 equivalents. More on why in a bit...
To begin to explore the idea behind Iron Heroes, imagine the iconic fantasy setting that D&D generally presents. Now suppose that you make two changes: there are no overt gods interfering with the daily workings of the world (and hence, no divine magic), and magic itself is a wild and dangerous force, not to be toyed with lightly or without consequences.
These two changes produce a world in which the focus of high fantasy adventure turns from the wizard and the magic sword to the muscle-bound weapon master or the stealthy thief. To compensate for the fact that the characters will not have access to powerful magic, each of the core classes in Iron Heroes is substantially more powerful than their standard d20 counterparts. The base attack bonuses (BAB) increase at a faster pace and feats are gained much more quickly than in the SRD (the official, and freely available d20 System rules).
For the rest of the system, the mechanical differences can be summed up as follows:
Of course, the most glaringly different element of Iron Heroes from d20 is the magic system. Magic is dangerous and unpredictable in Iron Heroes, so while there is an "arcanist" class, their spells are used cautiously and often with consequences. The magic system itself is quite different from d20. An arcanist pulls "mana" from elsewhere and focuses it using a "method". Methods are the mechanical effects of a spell, but the strength and "special effects" (to use a Hero System term) of a spell are determined by the amount of mana used and the player's preference respectively. This makes for a magic system which is much more flexible than in standard d20, but not as free-form as, say, the magic system from White Wolf's Mage. Magic is also quite a bit more limited in Iron Heroes, but I imagine that that will be addressed by later supplements.
The system is not easily combined with an existing campaign, so don't look to Iron Heroes for classes to add to your existing characters or for NPCs to introduce into other games. In a world full of magic items, for example, Iron Heroes combat classes would be far too powerful, and Iron Heroes arcanists would be hobbled by the restrictions on their magic use.
In short: this game marks—for me—what the d20 System and the Open Gaming License are all about. It presents a rich set of mechanics that build in compatible ways on what we already have access to, and gives us new ground to cover in the already well-covered ground of the fantasy role playing industry."
You can purchase Monte Cook Presents: Iron Heroes from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
Monte Cook Presents: Iron Heroes (I'm just going to call it Iron Heroes from here on) is published under Cook's imprint, Malhavoc Press, by Sword & Sorcery who are best known for their d20 System rules variants and supplements. Sword & Sorcery, in turn, is owned by White Wolf Publishing, well known for their World of Darkness line of storytelling games. Originally titled "Iron Lore", the title was changed before publication due to legal entanglements. But, enough about the publisher, let's discuss the book.
Mike Mearls, a regular contributor to Dragon Magazine and long-time d20 System author, has a vision, it seems. His Iron Heroes game gives us a window into a world where the fabled dragon-slaying knight doesn't carry a glowing trinket of a sword that solves his problems, but has to rely on his skills and experience. On its own, this would be a serious undertaking, but the goal of Iron Heroes is to balance such a world as closely as possible with the established mechanics, threats and rewards of the d20 System. This is something which I would have considered difficult enough to be impractical before I read Iron Heroes.
The book begins by explaining that inexperienced role players need not apply. This is intended as an advanced rulebook, and those not already familiar with d20 will have everything that they need, but may find the book daunting (this is the only major flaw I've found in the book). If you are aware of the d20 System, you will note that none of the usual d20 classes are there. Instead of the rogue, there is a thief. Instead of barbarian, there is a berserker. These are not capricious name changes, however, since the mechanics of each of these variant classes are quite different from their d20 equivalents. More on why in a bit...
To begin to explore the idea behind Iron Heroes, imagine the iconic fantasy setting that D&D generally presents. Now suppose that you make two changes: there are no overt gods interfering with the daily workings of the world (and hence, no divine magic), and magic itself is a wild and dangerous force, not to be toyed with lightly or without consequences.
These two changes produce a world in which the focus of high fantasy adventure turns from the wizard and the magic sword to the muscle-bound weapon master or the stealthy thief. To compensate for the fact that the characters will not have access to powerful magic, each of the core classes in Iron Heroes is substantially more powerful than their standard d20 counterparts. The base attack bonuses (BAB) increase at a faster pace and feats are gained much more quickly than in the SRD (the official, and freely available d20 System rules).
For the rest of the system, the mechanical differences can be summed up as follows:
- Feats are more tree-like, allowing progression and specialization in each feat.
- Skills and other actions can be used in creative ways by players and game masters alike, with a well balanced system for determining difficulty of unusual "stunts" and "challenges".
- Traits, a "variant rule" in standard d20, are a core mechanic in Iron Heroes.
- Since magical healing is rare at best, characters have reserves of hit points that they can make use of between encounters.
- Armor class is replaced by defense and damage reduction. Defense is the active capacity that a character has to avoid a blow. Armor, on the other hand, reduces damage taken by a character, using the standard d20 rules for damage reduction.
Of course, the most glaringly different element of Iron Heroes from d20 is the magic system. Magic is dangerous and unpredictable in Iron Heroes, so while there is an "arcanist" class, their spells are used cautiously and often with consequences. The magic system itself is quite different from d20. An arcanist pulls "mana" from elsewhere and focuses it using a "method". Methods are the mechanical effects of a spell, but the strength and "special effects" (to use a Hero System term) of a spell are determined by the amount of mana used and the player's preference respectively. This makes for a magic system which is much more flexible than in standard d20, but not as free-form as, say, the magic system from White Wolf's Mage. Magic is also quite a bit more limited in Iron Heroes, but I imagine that that will be addressed by later supplements.
The system is not easily combined with an existing campaign, so don't look to Iron Heroes for classes to add to your existing characters or for NPCs to introduce into other games. In a world full of magic items, for example, Iron Heroes combat classes would be far too powerful, and Iron Heroes arcanists would be hobbled by the restrictions on their magic use.
In short: this game marks—for me—what the d20 System and the Open Gaming License are all about. It presents a rich set of mechanics that build in compatible ways on what we already have access to, and gives us new ground to cover in the already well-covered ground of the fantasy role playing industry."
You can purchase Monte Cook Presents: Iron Heroes from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
This was about Iron Heroes, of course, but if you thought my review sounded like something that would interest you, I suggest taking a look at all of Malhavoc's books. Monte Cook has his name on Iron Heroes, but Arcana Evolved is actually his work, and it's equally good, IMHO. They both have their own setting, but AE takes it a bit further. It has some published fiction to give you a sense of the world, its own spell lists (many of the spells being core d20, but some are removed and many are added), and it's more compatible with the core d20 classes than IH is.
This isn't the first such setting. The Harn setting was a low-magic medieval/fantasy setting that really discouraged over-the-top mages. I played in the setting a few times, but found it duller than hell. It's fun to read, though.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
I'm going to strongly recommend nosing around the Internet for these different games. I've found that only the most progressive and free-thinking of game stores stocks anything outside of the old standbys of D20 and White Wolf.
Have a look at http://www.chaosium.com/ and http://www.anvilwerks.com/ for some excellent examples.
Easy Online Role Playing Campaign Management
Most game stores get their stock from distributors, and distributors want to buy in huge lots that will quickly sell. It's a small market, so most games and supplements never show up in a game store. You're going to have to find them online.
A Government Is a Body of People, Usually Notably Ungoverned
Don't forget HeroQuest, the latest fantasy RPG set in the extraordinarily detailed world of Glorantha. Wily old veterans may remember RuneQuest, the first Gloranthan RPG (circa 1978 - 1995) and perhaps the closest rival to D&D/AD&D in the early days of role-playing. Others may have tried the A Sharp's Gloranthan computer game King of Dragon Pass.
I'm an old RPGer and I'm playing my first HeroQuest PBEM (play by email) campaign. Frankly I think Glorantha is a blast. Jaded role-players ought to give it a once-over.
Deep in the ocean are treasures beyond compare; but if you seek safety, it is on the shore.
I recently played D&D for the first time in a bazillion years, and it was something of a disappointment. I just wanted to do that first adventure, D&D basic, go down into the dungeon, and find some evil druids in the last room. Instead, we wandered around a town in the Forgotten Realms for a while, worried about boring minutiae ("What colour do you want the stitching in your robes to be?"), and in general had a boring old time.
Sounds like you're a Power Gamer or Buttkicker in group full of Character Actors & Storytellers (if you follow the player types in "Robin's Laws of Gamemastering"). You just have group mismatch. You want action and monster-slaying. They want setting detail and role-playing. They'd probably be just as bored to tears in a game like you want because they'd get no thrill from the same things you like.
I'm personally boggled by the fact that they were playing D&D. D&D (particularly 3.0/3.5) is much more geared towards fast, kick-in-the-door style play than drama. There are other systems that aren't so crunchy and filled with combat-oriented mechanics that would suit them better.
If you want to find some "old-school" play, then look to very young gamers. People don't usually find a taste for Character Actor or Storyteller* style play until they've had exposure to it. Once you get into college aged gamers, you tend to find Power Gamers and Buttkickers crowded out or in a subtle war for control of a group against other player types (and you really don't want to join the latter disfunctional kind of group).
If your local game shop handles coordinating meeting other players, see if they have a way of listing play-style preferences instead of just game preferences. With D&D and White Wolf games, you're going to get a huge grab bag of different people because many people who play those games do so because of popularity or because it's the only games they've ever learned. Such groups are frequently torn between people who want very different things out of gaming or are all centered on some random play-style that may have very little to do with the game title they're playing.
* Note that Storyteller sytle play is all about moving forward a story along a cinematic or plot-driven basis. It has nothing to do with White Wolf's "Storyteller system" which is far more facilitating towards Power Gamers and Character Actors than Storytellers. See Feng Shui for a Storyteller (and Buttkicker) focused game.
(Oh, and just to be on-topic, the idea of a low-magic D20 system game just makes me personally curl up into a ball and shudder. That's just my play preferences, though.)
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
I have a fair amount of experience with it. We did some betatesting for the bestiary book that came out for it and ran an online game through OpenRPG for about 6 months. I've also run a couple of one shots.
1) there are magic items, but they are generally cursed. Like... gives you +1d6 to damage, but you berserk blindly killing everyone around you.
2) the powers of magic items are often rolled into feats.
3) you get more feats. Generally, one every other level. Some classes get more (men at arms defining ability is them getting a feat every other level in addition to the regular feat every other level.. thus they get a feat every level)
4) the skill stunt rules and attack challenge rules are very fun. they really make the system. Nothing you couldn't port over to D&D, but it would be hard to get people to do them due to general lack of skill points (the thief in IH gets 12 skill points per level vs the AD&D rogue at 8). The attack challenges would be easy to port, but no one would do them since AD&D has AC inflation (in IH, you get a base defense bonus, but suffice to say, you can lose it easily and people can then power attack you into oblivion).
5) It is very fun. It can also get old. If you want a light game, I would definitely recommend it. If you want a heavy game, it can work, but is a little harder. If there is something you have a hard time doing in AD&D (for instance, a swashbuckler or an archer type that isn't munched like crazy), IH probably has the fit for you. I felt it was particularly strong in mounted combat, ranged combat, and special maneuvers.
-- Who is the bigger fool? The fool or the fool who follows him? --
"This book is only for rollplayers* with at least three advanced mathematics degrees"
First off, there's no need for anything beyond basic grade-school math in the game, and even that's pretty tame (no long division, even).
Ok, hyperbole aside, this game is really not that complex, but you need to REALLY GET d20 before you even think about looking at it. You need to understand why the feat system is the way that it is, and what it is that you're trading off in terms of progression by removign magic items. You also need to have the combat system pretty well in hand.
Once you do, this is not that bad. There's a feat-tree, and there's an armor-base damage-mitigation system. It's really not that bad. Yes, it's combat-focused; that's the point to the book, I imagine. Yes, it also has some complex feat progressions, but for the most part, they're easy to understand if you look at how normal d20 feats and normal d20 magic items interact. For example, the Two-Weapon Combat feat has a progression that's intended for rogues. It adds extra dice of sneak attack damage at higher levels. You get the same thing in raw d20, but you get it through magic, not feats.
Above all, you have to treat the rules as a framework, not the game itself. You learn them and then forget them, letting the game itself guide your actions as the game master, not the rules.
I can answer this easily, and go beyond your question.
You have 10 classes in Iron Heroes. One, the arcanist, is special and wierd, because it's a magic user. It is actually statted out seperate from the other classes. The other nine are the meat of Iron Heroes: the fighting classes!
First comes the archer. This class is for all ranged weapons, be they bows, slings, or daggers. They gain a number of abilities that rely on you spending time aiming at your target. While any class can be decent at ranged, archer is required to truly master it.
Second is the armiger. This is the tank class, who specializes in wearing heavy armor and making it look good. He gradually gains the ability to wear the heaviest armor effortlessly, while wearing down his opponents.
Third is the berserker. Screaming as he rushes headlong into battle, the berserker is fueled by fury. He has the standard ability to make himself stronger through anger, but also has many other abilities that are about battle rage and being the biggest, strongest motherfucker around.
Fourth is the executioner. Cool, collected, and deadly, the executioner places his blade precisely and cripples his opponents. This class gains full Sneak Attack and a number of abilities related to crippling the opponent.
Fifth is the harrier. This class is the essence of speed - the lightly armored, supremely mobile fighter who vaults over her enemy's weapons. Their abilities are focused around dodging and movement.
Sixth is the hunter, though this class would perhaps be better named Commander. A capable ranger-analogue by himself, the hunter excels at making sure that his team performs at their best.
Seventh is the man-at-arms. This is the simplest class, but also the most versatile. His only class ability is feats. Lots of them. Also, some of his feats are 'Wildcard'. Rather than selecting this feat once and being stuck with it forever, he can re-select it every day, thus tailoring his abilities to the situation at hand.
Eighth is the thief. This isn't exactly equivalent to the D&D rogue, but it's close. One of the least combat-worthy classes, the thief specializes in skills, skills, sneak attack, and skills. He has the best access to the Social feats of all, and accumulates a number of aliases to help him do his shadow-work without being caught.
Finally, the weapon master. An expert in one weapon, the weapon master learns a number of tricks specifically for his weapon. He is a duelist, most of the time.
That's the basic overview. The review left out a lot of very cool stuff, such as the Mastery Ratings that each class has that determine when you can pick up certain types of feats.
Most importantly, it left out the idea of tokens. Seven of the ten classes utilize tokens to balance their abilities. You build them up by acting out the class archetype in battle. The archer, for example, builds tokens by spending actions aiming. The hunter gains a number of tokens automatically from his study of battlefield tactics, and can earn more by studying the field. You then spend these tokens to use your abilities. This mechanic allows the class abilities to be balanced per encounter, rather than per day like many D&D abilities. As long as you still have HP left in your body, you can continue to fight and use all of your abilities all day, without running into some arbitrary limit and having to rest for the day.
Finally, the best part of Iron Heroes is the community! http://p222.ezboard.com/fokayyourturnfrm36 This is the official Monte Cook Iron Heroes message board, filled with people who love the game and love developing new things for it. Best of all, it is full of errata and clarifications to make playing the game as smooth as possible.
I play Iron Heroes regularly now, having switched over from regular D&D in the fall. In short, Iron Heroes is fantastic! The lack of magic everywhere makes for a game that feels more like Conan or Willow as far as cinematic action goes. Someone asked about classes... The classes are not divided among social roles anymore either; they are divided up among combat styles. Off the top of my head, there is an Archer, Armiger (gets huge bonuses in heavy armor, acts as a tank), Berserker, Executioner (assassin-like character), Harrier (speed, moving through combat, and dodging), Hunter, Man at Arms, Weapon Master (specializes in a single weapon and kicks ass with it), Thief (great at diplomacy and manipulation), and an optional Arcanist class (which is much weaker than a standard "mage," but much more flexible in terms of spell effects). I think I may have left one or two out, but basically you can play any type of hero you want using this system without being bound by "Bards all sing songs" and "Fighters all wear plate and swing swords." The characters get really powerful on their own, without the need for powerful magic items and spells to buff them up. So the players in my game have not been fighting eachother over who gets the best treasure. It makes the game a lot more about adventuring than about the reward at the end of the adventure. It's allowed me to create a more story-driven than reward-driven game for my players. As for magic, it's there, but very weak. The arcanist can shape spells to the area, shape, and range that he wants. You can also cast more spells than in standard D&D, and more powerful spells... but if you cast a spell that is too difficult for you, you risk taking abilit damage. The main game mechanic is based on "tokens" that the PCs get, which allow them to do more powerful things. If you play WoW, think of this like a Warrior's rage. Archers get tokens for spending time aiming, berserkers gain tokens whenever they get hit or when a friend takes damage, armigers get tokens for using their armor well, thieves can get manipulation tokens against NPCs... all these tokens replace the extra power that magic items once gave to PCs, and it gives the PCs more control over the special moves that they can do. The system also changes combat to become more cinematic by inventing ways to combine skill checks into combat. So if you want to run up the huge ogre's club to stab him in the face, you can... if you want to use a knife to slide down a tapestry and avoid falling damage, you can... stuff like that, that you've seen in the movies. So players get a lot more into combat as well. I was really getting jaded from playing the same old D&D, and then countless d20 custom rules just to keep the game from getting stale. IH has really changed the scene by putting the game back in the hands of the characters and not the gear that they carry around. I hope this answers some of the questions you guys posted about the system. I'll check again tonight for more answers.
matthewmeyer.net
Actually, I have never played D&D, or any such games. I have watched others play, but never bothered to play it myself. And as for my parents, they have been dead for decades, and thus no longer own a house with a basement.
Cyric Zndovzny at your service.
That's great and all, but Iron Heroes wasn't written by Monte Cook. So this is kind of off topic.
You don't have to settle for the Microsoft of roleplaying.
Bad, false example.
d20 is a copylefted version of D&D, which makes things like SpyCraft, Iron Heroes, the World of Warcraft RPG, Mutants and Masterminds, and a slew of others possible, without a single dollar ever being paid to Wizards of the Coast.
d20 is the Linux of Roleplaying, not the Microsoft.
Independent RPGs fo' life, yo!
San Francisco, of all places. Considering the large number of high-tech firms in that region, I thought that there would be a greater degree of tolerance towards such games. But perhaps its proximity to Hollywood and L.A. has some effect, too.
The comments were towards the culture itself, not towards the service of the store clerks, or anything of that sort. I believe one of the comments was along the lines of "limp-wristed nerd faggots playing their Torture and Dragons". I remember that particular one because of the homophobia it displayed, along with a complete lack of understanding regarding the gaming culture itself (mislabelling the game as "Torture and Dragons").
Cyric Zndovzny at your service.
The most carpul tunnel-inducing game I ever played was Shadowrun (though I'm sure others can name worse).
Aftermath! back in early 1980s (don't ask me how old I am) used a system combining a d20 to hit (including many complicated modifiers), a d100 for hit location, and variable damage dice. Armor reduced damage after damage was calculated, and the amount of damage prevented by a particular type of armor could vary depending on the type of damage inflicted (projectile, bashing, etc.).
It was a ludicrously complicated game, and combat between four or five PCs and a half-dozen opponents could easily take an hour to complete. Still, we loved it. Then again, we had more time than we knew what to do with. To think that I could have been learning the piano or playing on the football team or actually working on my homework during all those hours that were consumeed by battles between the grim survivors of the apocalypse and their mutant enemies.
As for elegant RPG systems, the second and third editions of RuneQuest win, hands-down in my book. RQ was attribute and skills-based. Everything, including magic, had skill percentages attached. Becoming better at skills became more difficult as you improved, so building up a truly powerful character took real effort. There were no feats or talents, but RQ's simplicity encouraged more role-playing and less power gaming. It also encouraged you to be careful with combat, because even the most powerful character could be taken out with a couple of lucky shots.
These original RQ rules served as the basis for the Call of Cthulhu rules, and a host of other games (like Stormbringer!) which have since faded into the same obscurity that long ago enveloped Aftermath! I play d20 games now, primarily because my gaming friends and I only get to play about four times a year, and we decided to standardize on one set of rules that would apply to a variety of genres. Still, the use of PC classes to define characters seems limiting to me, and the hit die mechanics of combat make for (in my opinion) an artificial distinction between weak characters and godlike characters. In all of the best fantasy and sci-fi fiction, even the most powerful character can be taken down by a lucky or inspired but weaker character. That just doesn't happen in d20, which leads to more wargaming/power gaming, and less roleplaying.
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