5 comments about Nobilis: The Game of Sovereign Powers.

1. I've been plaing RPGs for as long as I can remember, and looked forward to the time when my own copy of Nobilis would arrive. I was not disappointed when it did. It's *like* a lot of games, yet is different than all of them. The sheer scale of the setting is amazing; and the prose of the text (along with the great art) makes this more than just a game. I must, and do, highly recommend this to anyone who plays or is interested an RPGs. This is a once-in-a-lifetime masterpiece.

   ...Now if it can only keep with a single publisher for a while so people can find it...




2. I have been playing rpgs since 1975. In that time I've played OD&D (the Three Little Books that started it all), Traveller, RuneQuest, Paranoia, Metamorphosis Alpha, Chivalry & Sorcery, GURPS, Harmaster, Ars Magica, Champions, Golden Heroes, TORG, Castle Falkenstein, Werewolf, Mage, Star Trek, Over the Edge and a host of other games. I got into gaming because of a twin love of storytelling and mythology/folklore. While I have loved and questioned many games, this one has caught my imagination the most. While it would be difficult to put together a game (see below), I have a deep and abiding love for the product and would wish to see it do well.
   
   The game is based on the notion that the PCs are themselves demigods, powerful entities with near absolute control over some aspect of reality. What aspect? Well, it could be traffic. Or it could be guns. Or it could be the colour yellow. Or it could be treachery. Or you could incarnate (as showed up on the maillist) as the Power of Magnificence in the form of a weasel.
   
   Yes, this is an odd game.
   
   Within your sphere of influence, as I say, you have nearly complete power. The problem, of course, is that no one is going to have utter dominance over all matters and, due to various reasons (hey! this is a roleplaying game!) there are many groups and individuals opposed to you and your boss, the greater being who acts as the nearly silent patron of the combined group of PCs.
   
   One of the biggest twists to this game, of course, is that no dice or cards are used as randomizing agents. Instead you have a certain number of points each session you can use to "bid" in an effort to make certain events take place. The GM also has these points, but in the end the feeling is not adversarial, but rather an attempt to create a larger myth, because sometimes the GM would use those points to bid up your efforts (or similar ones). While I am not fully explaining the mechanics here (both for copyright reasons and space limitations), take my word for it that this is the only diceless/cardless system I have ever seen that both works and makes sense.
   
   Now I said this would be a difficult game to put together. Why so? Well, you have to find just the right group of players and just the right GM similtaneously. You have to have players who are less interested in gold, guns, and other objects and more interested in building a larger mythological framework to the game. Equally you have to have a GM who is able to coherently come up with plots where, to use one negative reviewer's comment, an assault on the colour yellow makes sense. I have run a couple short sessions of this game and the group has enjoyed it, been blown away by the possibilities. We have not tried a full campaign yet, but it has been intense fun to date!
   
   I must also give kudus to the "micro-fiction" in this game. Scattered about on the pages are 1-2 paragraph snippets that overflow with ideas, much like the mini-stories from Italo Calvino's "Invisible Cities". One has the devil worried he might not get it right when he has been given the burden of evil in the world, another has two men fighting over flowers, and another recounts the circular nature of all journeys. I found these not only inspirational for this game, but actually serving as "whack to the side of the head" moments for life, other games, and how I did/wanted to view reality.
   
   This game is about as imaginative and provocative as it gets. No, it is not for everyone, but for the right person, this game is perfection itself.



3. NOBILIS is the most radical RPG you're gonna get. Easy to learn rules, fast-paced diceless system (this one really works; if you are a rules-freak you're going to hate it), and you get to play demi-gods!
   
   Of course, the setting is deep and relatively complex, with a mix of Judeo-Christian (Angels & Demons, Heaven & Hell) and Norse mythology (the World Ash, Yggdrasil, giants and a lot more), and many new concepts (two points of view on Earth, a realistic one, "Prosaic", and a faerie-tale one, "Mythic").
   
   Mix it with Sandman, with a little Romeo & Juliet (there's a lot of the "forbidden love" theme; the Nobilis, your characters, aren't allowed to love, but they still retain human emotions...), and a touch of the Neverending Story (actually, many of the rules are explained in-character).
   
   If you think this is mega-monster bashing, forget it... Here you have to socialize to get things done. Your car is not working? Don't use tools, talk to it! Maybe it wants some vacations.
   The Nobilis, these demigod-like characters you play, are extremely hard to kill, and it's useless to do it, because they can (and will) be replaced by their bosses, the Imperators (gods). The same goes for your competing Powers.
   
   So, the style is "If you can't kill them, destroy all they love". That's a worse fate than dying, and there is the dark aspect of the game. The Nobilis have to love secretly, because it's forbidden by Law, and it's a weakness your enemies can exploit.
   
   In other RPGs you worry about the size of the monsters, the spells of the wizards, and the magical weapons of the warriors... in NOBILIS, your character can survive a nuclear blast, but Love can really hurt him!
   
   If you like Sandman, Amber (a kind of predecessor to NOBILIS), Romeo & Juliet and the Neverending Story, this is the one for you.
   
   If you like myths (as opposed to modern-fantasy stories like The Lord of the Rings) where a hero or god (or both) can drink a lake, jump across the Atlantic, hide a mountain in his pocket, or make an ever-shifting labyrinth, this is the one for you.
   
   If you like love stories where personality, virtues and strength of character matters, instead of simple physical beauty, but there are huge obstacles to that love, this is definitely the one for you.
   
   NOBILIS is where RPGs really crossed the boundary between gaming and Art (plus, it's a great looking and HUGE book).



4. I have been playing Roleplaying games for about 8 years now, and for a number of reason my position in them have always been game master, so i have tried quite a few systems and settings in my time. from all of them, nobilis turned out to be the one standing up from the crowd, innovative, beautyfully manufactured, and incredibly easy to learn, this game has held my imagination captive, i recommend everyone who can to try this game, even owning the manual is a pleasure by itself, since it is an interesting read and a beautyfull book to have.
   
   and if you, like I do, love to play roleplaying games, then consider this things about this game:
   
   a)rules setting that stand for the game, not the other way around: the rules itself (and the fact that the system is diceless) are incredibly ease tu learn and implement, all the conflict can be solved by the hollyhock god (the gm) or by the players itself by the clever use of imagination or conversation, something that promotes role play itself.
   b)an appealing setting: mythic and awe inspiring, the situation can go from a totally normal situation, to a mythic struggle of epic proportions, you are part of the universe, and that really shows up in the game.
   c)the very fact that the game itself, leave all the doors open for you to invent everything that you want: you want to invent a power?, A code of ethic?, a WORLD?, be my guest. the book itself give guidelines to, and even promotes that you as a player or game master, grow the setting even bigger by adding your ideas to it, it isn`t in any way a closed system, with rigid rules that leave you no room for cration, on the contrary, is a system that invite to it.
   
   if you are a more action oriented player, and like games that are already made to fit a more static powerplay, then dont buy this game, but if you like a more sophisticated gameplay, and a more innmersive roleplay, then your moral obligation to yourself is to buy this game, you wont regret it.
   
   
   Amaro Cabello (Maria`s son)



5. What is Nobilis?
   
   In short, it's a diceless game playing the middle management of the gods.
   
   In long? Well, that's quite a story. Nobilis is... different. Complicated, you might say. You probably got that impression from the 11" by 11" dimensions. It's probably my only real complaint as of right now. The books was specifically built to be very, very pretty. A coffee table book, if you will. It won't fit on your bookshelf, I promise.
   
   As for the game contained within, the easiest way to turn people off of it is to tell them the first and most prevalent fact about the system: it's diceless. No random whatsoever included. There is a good reason there aren't any dice, though. The Nobilis or Nobles are the PCs in the game. They are humans who were (forcibly and involuntarilly) given a soul-shard of an Imperator (Imperators are like demigods, their soul-shards are litterally charged with divinity. Mankind thinks of Imperators as Angels and Demons). This makes them chief protecter, purveyer, and controller of a particular aspect of reality.
   
   What aspects of reality? Well, pretty much anything. There is a Noble of Computers, Storms, Yellow, Trees, Flight, etc. These are the domains of Nobles. There are even nobles of Humans, Kung-Fu, Pants, Oceans, Betrayal, Waves, Eternity, etc. Pretty much everything. And within their domain, Nobles hold all the cards. And yes, I did mean to site both Oceans and Waves.
   
   But all is not well in a Noble's life. There is a great war raging on in the cosmos, between all the denizens of reality (mainly Imperators) and creatures from Outside reality (called Excrucians) who want to destroy reality. They see it as inperfection. It's like we planted our weed in their garden. And they really want to pluck that weed. But that weed is our existence.
   
   The aspects of reality can't survive without divine beings in contact with that reality, you see, and the Imperators need someone to hold shop while they fight in the cosmos. So they are basically forced to give up their great powers while the Nobilis are forced to hold on to them.
   
   Now the fun part comes in: Nobilis are humans granted great power. Yes, they get a tad corrupt by it (naturally) or see themselves as superheroes needing great responsibility (naturally). It's up to the players to decide. Moral decisions = nifty.
   
   The bad news: The Imperators can't stop all the Excrucians. Some break through the front lines, or at least parts of them break through, and create Decievers. Decievers are like anti-Nobilis. Excrucians are like anti-Imperators. Every once in a while, an entire Excrucian breaks through. Bad news all around.
   
   Now, outright warfare is NOT preferred. It's much easier to hurt a Nobilis by damaging what he is the Noble of than actually physically confronting him. Most Nobilis can take a bullet and not even be phased. Some can take a tac-nuke. Some are outright immortal. So how do you kill the Nobilis of Computers? Set off a massive computer virus. Start a propaganda campaign against computers. Do something that changes the aspect of Computers (for the worse) and you injure a Noble.
   
   If a Nobilis fails, his aspect of reality is lost. In fact, it never was.
   
   If all the Nobilis fail, reality dies, no matter how strong the Imperators are.
   
   "Why would Nobilis work together?" you might ask. Well, Imperators have more than one domain to dish out. So what happens when one player is the Noble of Guns, one is the Noble of Purple, and one is the Noble of Rock? Lsjunil, the Imperator of Guns, Purple, and Rock is born. They are all family, in fact, if you get down to it, they are all partially the same individual. They are all partially Lsjunil. They pretty much have to work together, even if they all have different motivations.
   
   And to be a lone Noble is to invite a Deciever to strike at that weakness.
   
   Anyway, that's the bare-bones of it. There's a whole lot more, but most are turned off by one or more of the above. It's written really well, by the way.
   
   Oh, I never answered the question as to why it was diceless. When we talk about things like divinity and miracles, leaving things to chance seems to be demeaning the divine.
   
   Is this entire review 100% true? Not entirely. Nobilis has a lot to do with what you make of it, rather than what it allows you to make of it. Some interpretations were made by this reviewer (like on the Execrucian's motivations) that are really up in the air as far as the text is concerned.
   
   But this should be enough of a picture so that you can see whether or not you will like Nobilis.

1 comments about Car Wars Compendium.

1. The ultimate compilation of Car Wars material. This book features vehicular combat of all types (with the noteable exception of tank combat and submarine combat). Types of vehicles included are (but not limited to): motorcycles, compact cars, station wagons, pickups, vans, three wheelers, boats up to yacht sized, and helicopters. Design rules are included to make your own vehicles. Combat is done on a scale of one inch equals 15 feet with one second turns. All vehicles come with weapons and armor. Types of weapons include anything from machine guns to missiles to flamethrowers to lasers. Scenarios include anything from highway combats between two cars to helicopter attacks on other vechicles to arena combats (demolition derby with weapons). This games was one of the first designs to come out of Steve Jackson Games in 1981 or 82.

1 comments about Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?.

1. This is my review for Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego? Part II, by John Peel, illustrated by Paul Vaccarello, and John Nez. This is a You Are The Detective Series book. In this marvelously educational book, Carmen Sandiego and her gang are traveling back in time, once again. This book is a 10-star book, because of its educational value, and it's very entertaining. I simply loved it because of its detailed information. It's so detailed, that I could almost SEE what was happening! I also really enjoyed chatting with historical people, and learning about them. It's pretty funny, too. It's pretty rare to find a really educational, entertaining, and funny book, like this one. Reading this book is different than reading a regular book. To read it, you turn to indicated numbers, look at suspect profiles, and record stuff like Travel Points, clues, etc. I think that the author, John Peel, was very imaginative in what the people had to say, do, and their personalities, and that made it even more fun to read! I really, really liked it because I was the star, that means you would be. You would also choose who to question, where to go, and who to arrest. The book was really exciting. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes mystery, adventure, and history. I loved it, mainly because of the learning, and I hope that if you buy it, you will like it, too. Thanks for your attention. I hope thst you liked my review, and, maybe, even considered buying the book.

5 comments about Pro Football Prospectus 2005 : Statistics, Analysis, and Insight for the Information Age.

1. This book breaks it down ... nice insight into the micro management of individual players which in turn effect the teams success. The stats don't lie! If you are looking for a deeper truth to the meaning of your football team and not the "vanilla everyday" editorials we all read that does not look below the surface. Example: your team give up way to many TDs... is it a horrible secondary (as you would first believe), or is it a BAD pass rush?? Then this book is for you!



2. I always buy the Baseball Prospectus and was hoping that the Football version was similar. It provides new insights to Football and is a very interesting read for Football fans. Also great information for Fantasy Football players.



3. Any avid football fan will want to have Profootball Prospectus 2005: Statistics, Analysis, And Insight For The Information Age. From team and player ratings which correct for situation and opponent to a statistical set of tools to compare players and teams, exclusive predictions from pros, and essays on past seasons, Profootball Prospectus is packed with charts of facts and insights on players and teams. A 'must' for any with more than a casual interest in football.



4. Well, I have to say, they did their homework. A lot of what they say is really on target. The book is full of statistics, but also is funny. I found, however, that the inside jokes got old after a while and got in the way of analysis a bit too much. Also, some of the predictions are not exactly correct. For example, they predicted that Detroit Lions running back Kevin Jones would be the best running back in football this year. So far, he has underperformed, with only like 2.4 yards per carry. Overall, this is a solid NFL book, but I won't necessarily use it in my fantasy draft exclusively, like I did this year (they predicted Eli Manning would be mediocre, but so far, he has been excellent and keeps getting better).



5. In spite of its militaristic nature, pro football is sorely lacking in publicly available statistics - especially from a historical perspective. Baseball is king in stat land, but even basketball is doing a better job - and thinkers like Dean Oliver and John Hollinger are providing philosophical breakthroughs. Sadly, Football Prospectus fails where its baseball and basketball versions succeed; in providing us new insight into evaluating individual players and teams. The book is not a pure failure, but one would think that the authors would come up with more original data (and fresher perspectives) than they have. As an alternative, I recommend the timeless HIDDEN GAME OF FOOTBALL.

1 comments about Where in America's Past Is Carmen Sandiego? (You Are the Detective.).

1. This is my review for Where In America's Past Is Carmen Sandiego? You Are The Detective Series, by John Peel, Illustrated by Paul Vaccarello. This is definetly a five-star book, that I highly recommend! It's so entertaining, that I've read it over again, many, many times! This time around, Carmen Sandiego, and her elusive gang are sneaking through American History, and have already taken 4 priceless treasures. In this book, there are 4 mystery-adventure games for you to play. How you play them: First, you choose what item you want to go after, first, out of: Old New York City, Robert E. Lee's Horse Traveler, Benjamin Franklin's Bifocals, and The Apollo 8 Space Capsule that orbited the Moon! Then, turn to the indicated page number. Example: Say you first went after The Apollo 8 Space Capsule. The number would be: 133. Well, there aren't 133 pages in the book. But, on each page there are several numbers. So, you'd find the number 133, not the page. Read on, until you have choices. You could either question people, or go to a new destination. First, question people. There are 3 people that you can question. {You don't have to question all 3 if you don't want or need to!} As usual, turn to the number indicated. Once you know where you're going, next, go to your new place, and time period, by turning to the indicated number. Do the questioning, and traveling, repeatedly, until you have only one option: Question 1 of 3 people. Now, you have to be careful. The thief is nearby, with the loot. Question whoever you like, until you find a list of addresses for all of Carmen's sneaky gang. Then, choose your thief. {By the way, you should have recieved clues about what your suspect looks like. Then, you should have recorded all of your clues on the Score Card, and what treasure you're returning, how many travel points you have, That means put down 1 point for each move you make. and who you think you're suspect is.} Then, choose which one of Carmen's gang is your suspect, and turn to the page that's indicated. At the end of the case, add up all of your travel points, and check the final number against the Scoring Chart in the back of the book. This wonderful book comes with 8 suspect cards, 8 Map Cards, 4 Stolen Object Cards, and 4 Bookmark/ Scorecards. I love this book, and recommend it to anyone who loves mystery, and adventure! Enjoy! I hope that you liked my review, and, maybe, even considered buying the product!

No comments about Alien Races 2: Aslan, K'Kree, and Other Races Rimward of the Imperium (GURPS Traveller).

2 comments about Jedi Academy Sourcebook (Star Wars).

1. Book leaves some information that you would like to know out but otherwise gives good information about ships used and the Jedi Knights trained in the book's.



2. I'm running a game right now where the character wants to go to Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy. This book told me what I needed to know about the academy, and also gave me some other stuff I wanted (such as new force powers).

No comments about The Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego? Book (Carmen Discovery Series).

3 comments about Character Record Folio: A Character Sheet D20 Compaign Play.

1. I absolutely love this item. Yes, you can print out a D&D character sheet for free online, or copy the one from the book, but if you really want to develop your character, this is the way to go.

   The format is easy to read, and you have plenty of space to fit all your feats, languages, and especially items, separated into magical and non-magical. Ample areas to insert stats for familiars/cohorts/paladin warhorse etc. are also nice. There is also an area to log highlights of your adventures, and to add contacts your character has made - very handy for remembering all the names of people you've come across.

   To expedite looking up stats for the character, I recommend removing the cover (easy to do, it's just stapled on) and putting it into a clear report cover (which you can get cheap from any office supply store). You can then easily stick post-it notes to the plastic for current hps, treasure gained, notes, etc.

   This product has been updated to v3.5 compatibility, though I haven't found it on Amazon.com.




2. This is the best character record-keeper I've found so far, apart from the personalized, made-at-home variety. Of course, if you have the time to type up your very own complete and thorough character sheet, you wouldn't be looking to buy one on-line, right?

   Of the kind that require money to change hands, this is the best. You can keep track of your characters progress by levels, very handy for those times when you drop a level, there's a section for equipment, spells, feats, abilities, skill, all nicely laid out so that you can not only write in the bare facts but have rooms for things like spell descriptions, location of items and the like. The sections for cohorts, familiars, mounts, followers, contacts and places you've visited are also handy, enabling you to flesh out your character's world all within the tidy pages of one little volume.

   My qualms with this item are few, but here they are. First of all, there's no section for turning undead. It seems a minor exclusions, but it would've been a fairly slim box to include and would have been indispensable for the divine spellcaster. Likewise, arcane spellcasters can write out just about everything for their character except the saving throw type for their spells. It's nice to be able to have the spell name, level, description and saving throw DC all in one neat row, but unless you've memorized if a Will save negates, or a Fortitude save halves, you're still going to have to look up to spell, so no time is gained.

   Still, I've used four of these so far and definitely plan on using more. A wise and useful investment.




3. This is a great product. I have tried many of the aftermarket character sheets, and this is by far the best one. It contains just about all of the information you may need, as well as, a lot of stuff you don't. The inside cover even contains some basic statistics that are helpful to PC's, similar to the way the DM screen provides statistics to the DM. The paper is a nice heavy stock, which is key for all of the erasing that is done during leveling. Perhaps one of the most fun sections is in the back where you can track your achievments from toughest monster slain to number of times you saved the world.
   
   That being said, there are a couple of ommissions. The turning check ommission is a big one, as every party has a healer, and almost all of them are clerics. Another odd omission is is the lack of a Grapple box. The current 3.5 character sheets have one, so why not this? Odd.
   
   Despite these small oversites, I would still give this a 5 because it improves on the standard character sheet in so many ways. If you play D&D at all, definitely make this a priority puchase.

1 comments about Dragonstar: Galactic Races.

1. Dragonstar is a science fantasy setting that is more sci-fi than fantasy. While it can be considered a critter book in some respects, every critter in here is intended to be made available to PCs. Many of the monsters here are their own creations revamped for hard core sci-fi that is tweaked with a touch of magic. Ever wanted to play a futuristic blob that can think for itself? Get this book. Ever wanted to play the futuristic version of a skeleton warrior? Again you want this book. A lot of interesting races are available in here. Players will find new challenges and options for their characters. GMs will find great potential for new and interesting NPCs to spring on their unsuspecting players. If you've just gotten into Dragonstar or are just looking for something new and weird to infect your campaign, consider this book. For all the options it gives, it's worth the price.