Powers and Perils has a second edition
Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2017 6:51 pm
So my own Stormbringer review - and, in particular, my criticism that Stormbringer doesn't allow much in the way of creativity with your heroes - caused me to look up the rules to another game of my childhood, and I discover that Powers and Perils has a new edition somehow.
Powers and Perils is the most influential game you've never heard of. You have heard of Arduin, which was more influential, but Powers and Perils was the favorite RPG of such luminaries as these guys: http://www.illwinter.com/about.html , and heavily influenced games such as Champions (yes, even though Champions came out first) and Shadowrun.
So, as a kid, I could never convince Frank to give this game a try.
http://www.powersandperils.org/
But it has a second edition that basically, fixes nothing:
http://www.powersandperils.org/books/ver6/PnPv2.pdf
Elves no longer get to be demigods just by rolling a height greater than 6' (boo! hiss!), and women still have an int penalty (yes, really. Women get a Willpower bonus - because they're stubborn - so it balances out.)
Now, it was that last part that Frank, even as a teenager, just couldn't look past - and it hasn't aged well.
Anyway, the new edition deserves a drunken review in it's insane entirety, but I should finish Stormbringer first. Anyone want to do double-duty on this one? Make sure you can get through the character generation rules before you volunteer, though.
Powers and Perils is the most influential game you've never heard of. You have heard of Arduin, which was more influential, but Powers and Perils was the favorite RPG of such luminaries as these guys: http://www.illwinter.com/about.html , and heavily influenced games such as Champions (yes, even though Champions came out first) and Shadowrun.
So, as a kid, I could never convince Frank to give this game a try.
http://www.powersandperils.org/
But it has a second edition that basically, fixes nothing:
http://www.powersandperils.org/books/ver6/PnPv2.pdf
Elves no longer get to be demigods just by rolling a height greater than 6' (boo! hiss!), and women still have an int penalty (yes, really. Women get a Willpower bonus - because they're stubborn - so it balances out.)
Now, it was that last part that Frank, even as a teenager, just couldn't look past - and it hasn't aged well.
Anyway, the new edition deserves a drunken review in it's insane entirety, but I should finish Stormbringer first. Anyone want to do double-duty on this one? Make sure you can get through the character generation rules before you volunteer, though.