Burning Wheel
So I just sat down and read through most of the Burning Wheel core rulebook (a hefty 600 pages). One of my readers has suggested that I post public thoughts about various RPG systems and, since I seem to be running out of adventure seeds, that seemed a good way to get this thing moving again.
Quick thoughts:
- I really like the system.
- This is a system that really gets the classic Tolkien races and makes them interesting.
- This system is certainly not for everyone.
Much more below the cut.
So, I sat down the with Burning Wheel book with basically no preconceptions. A friend had told me that she remembered playing in a short game a while ago in which nothing much happened. My brother had told me that he had heard good things about the combat system. And a quick flip through had revealed that it uses a Life Path system like Mechwarrior (which is bonus points in my book).
The first thing that I noticed is that the book is well written. Maybe that's a result of it being more the work on one guy than some other RPG books, which are written by a team. Whatever the cause, the book was pleasant to read, which is why I devoted a whole evening to reading through most of it start to finish.
The core system is simple, but has some interesting complications. You role D6s and a 4+ is a success. You need so many successes to complete a task. Some circumstances allow you to roll another die for every 6 you roll and some circumstances allow you to succeed on a 3+ or (very rarely) on a 2+. Because dice succeed half the time, target numbers of successes can be fairly close in size to the dice pools, which only very rarely exceed 10 (so, no Exalted fist-fulls of dice here). While I'm a fan of rolling large numbers of many-sided dice, I think the Burning Wheel system is a good mix of simple with the possibility for interesting complications.
One thing the system does is that it makes it pretty clear what tasks you have no chance of success at on your own. If you have a 4 in, say, Ratiquette, and you are trying to impress the Rat Queen (requires 5 successes), you will fail every time. You would have to have either a related skill with transferable knowledge, friends to help you out (finally a game with a good system for cooperative actions!), or special heroic character points to spend. Of course, if you did succeed, you would get a good bump towards increasing your Ratiquette skill to the next level.
Which brings me to my next topic, the character advancement system. All character advancement is achieved by doing. PCs either learn from what they do during the adventure or they train in downtime. It's a nice system, although I'm not sure it could compete with the classic joy one gets at leveling up and suddenly being better at everything.
Leaving the mechanics aside (except for the combat mechanics, which I'll get back to), I really liked the way Burning Wheel does character building. As I mentioned before, I'm a big fan of life path systems, and this one has a good deal of variety and freedom. I feel a lot of RPG characters tend to spring into the world fully formed at level 1, and Burning Wheel demands that you know where your character was born and what they did growing up. Certain life paths demand that you take certain traits, so every person who works as a Court Lawyer will be Rhetorical and know the skill Etiquette and every Ratcatcher will be Diseased. So you can't just take life paths for one skill and get away with it, all the choices end up meaning something.
Also, some of the Orc life paths have awesome names. For example "He Whose Skin Is like Winter Night, Whose Mere Presence Causes Those Beneath Him to Shiver in Terror and Cower Beneath His Wicked Blade."
Now, in addition to a history all characters start with Beliefs and Instincts. Beliefs are a mix of philosophical ideas, religious faiths, and character goals. I think it does a better job of capturing what makes a character tick than the White Wolf Nature/Demeanor system. The sample character I put together has a short term goal, a long term goal, and a general adage about life as his three beliefs. Burning Wheel also stresses that Beliefs can and should change as goals are met and faith is tested. Interactions involving Beliefs tend to produce hero points for the PC, which can be spent later on key rolls or saving a dying character from death.
Instincts are more mechanical. Often they take the form of pre-programed character actions ("I always scout ahead when traveling with a group" "I draw my sword at the first sign of trouble"). These can, and should carry mechanical benefits, giving the jumpy sword drawer an advantage at the beginning of a fight, for example. I also like the idea that Instincts can serve as insurance for the player vs. the GM (so, jumpy sword guy can't be captured before drawing his sword, for example).
A lot of systems have struggled with trying to find ways to force players to make characters that are reasonable people with connections to the world and the story. I think Burning Wheel has hit the nail on the head in this regard. It's still possible to build a completely flat or generic character, sure, but I think the system does a good job at prodding people to be more creative.
I also really enjoyed how Burning Wheel portrays the classic Tolkien fantasy races. Elves, Dwarves, and Orcs aren't just humans who look different, get a few skill bonuses, and can see in the dark. All of the non-human races are driven by a special emotional trait. For Elves this is the Grief that they experience as eternal beings seeing the world decay around them. Dwarves get Greed, a supernatural lust for material wealth, which can drive them mad with desire. Orcs get Hatred, a deep grudge against the cruel world that made them miserable. All of these traits can drive magical abilities (Humans get access to Faith which can do likewise), but increasing them to 10 leaves the character unplayable (Dwarves go mad and shut themselves in their hoard with their treasures, Elves either waste away or wander into the West, and Orcs go berserk), so there's an interesting balance between wanting to power up a character and risking them.
On the topic of balance, the races aren't balanced. They're not really supposed to be, which I'm actually fine with. The book does contain advice for mixed parties, which can even things out, and only giving humans Sorcery and Faith (and guns) helps to keep everyone from playing an Elf.
So, those are my first thoughts on Burning Wheel. I'm really liking it (I've already ordered two of the supplements and may subject my brother and his friends to a game in the next month or so). I would recommend checking it out. The attractive core rulebook sets you back about $25, which is rather nice in the world of pricy RPG books. You can also get the core mechanics as a free PDF here.
Also, dear readers, let me know what you think of this review. I have a lot of thoughts about RPG systems and if people like reading things like this, I'll write more.
Oh, right, the combat mechanics. I was going to talk about that too. Hmmm. Come back later, I'll do it then.