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Great design, I enjoyed reading it very much!
Also check out the comic at their website (but you're probably coming from there...)
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This setting is awesome. I was hesitant to buy it at first thinking it was a setting for kids, but it's not just for kids. This is one of best Savage Worlds settings ever.
It's basically Agents of Shield (super-powered agents) in an awesome steampunk world full of mysteries and wonders. The characters gain themed powers and edges based on the crystal they choose, but these powers are not permanent. You can change crystals sometimes during your character's career. The crystal also messes with the characters' minds a bit giving them some fun hindrances,
The setting rules are so well designed including the ability to pay a benny for a one-time power stunt using their crystals and fun interlude rules for creating stories of the agents' adventures.
There are so many story possibilities with the variety of different lands, strange creatures, ancient tombs, mad science, floating islands, haunted lands, and the mysterious organization that the agents work for.
I really love this product.
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This whole series is great. Some of the things inspire, a d some of the things I'll probably use just as they are.
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Such a creative and thoughtful setting. The team at Up to Four Players have a great approach to RPGs and it shines through with Crystal Heart. It's also beautiful!
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More 'stuff' for a game is always good. Even better that this stuff is awesome!
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I can't express how much I love this setting. It has so many great rules, especially the take on Interludes, and great ways to play the game. This is by far the best setting in SWADE.
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I absolutely love this setting and the rules that it adds to the game. This is a pure work of art. The comic that goes along with it is great too, but this setting is really what is great.
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This is my absolute favorite Savage Worlds setting - and I have read quite a few of them. The artwork is gorgeous, the setting itself is awesome, unique, but still familiar. The five lands all have different and diverse cultures, which I really like. The crystals themselves are awesome, and I think there are enough of them in the core book, but there are also guidelines for designing your own ones. The savage tales are also cool. I love that the book gives you several different explanations for the world's secrets. It also gives you a plot point campaign and more ideas for other ones. You also get ready-to-play character arhcetypes grouped by lands, and archetypes grouped by team roles. Can't wait to run it. :)
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As one of the first products released for the new Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE) rules, Crystal Heart gave a new spin to the feel of superheroes and postapocalypse. It looks and almost plays like fantasy, but, it has the tech from the Bygone Era to make it feel almost like Steampunk. So, as you can see, it's kind of a difficult game to classify. But, that's part of what makes it so much fun. Aviv and Eran created a great Web comic at uptofourplayers.com. The fact that they decided that, in the conceit of the comic, their friends happened to be using Savage Worlds as the system for their Crystal Heart game setting made introducing new players to the system so much easier.
Then, as they were writing it, SWADE was announced and they immediately shifted gears to make their new setting book for the new rules. This was then followed up by the characters in the comic upgrading to the new SWADE rules. The comic is, of course, still a great way to introduce new players to the system, possibly the best one for it. I tell all my new players to read it. I refer my seasoned players back to it.
And having played the setting with a group of guy friends from work for almost six months, albeit in pre-written adventures (of which there are enough to keep a game group going for about a year or so of weekly play for an hour, especially if you use the pre-release adventure) are enough to last for quite a while.
I would recommend this setting for any age and for any group. It can incorporate the sporadic play-style of children, the trying-to-be-adult style of teens, and adults who want to, sort of, play superheroes. I love the unique spin on the Powers and using only portions of them according to the disposition the crystal, slotted in your hero's chest. It makes you a superhero who can swap florbos crystal and get a different set of superpowers. It is one of the most fun settings, and one of the best setting books out there. Buy it and all its supplementary books too.
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Some lovely art for pocket-money prices. I'd like to see much more! I'm using these in my own VTT games.
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Great story setting! interesting mechanisms :) I really liked the changeing arctypes with the heart powers
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Everyone else has covered the highlights of this excellent product, but I have to mention that you will be hard pressed to find any Savage Worlds product more polished than this one. Only Pinnacle products come close. Other Savage Worlds Licensees should pick this up just to see how it's done. Editing, layout, artwork, and writing - all set the standard by which others will be judged. It really is that good!
I have only two very minor nitpicks:
- No index. It does have an excellent Table of Contents, but I would rather have an Index than a world map on that last page. A map could be offered as a free download. Not a fault at all, just a choice made by the designers, but I do love a good index.
- The pdf is awkward to read through due to the "2 pages in landscape" format. As an example of what I mean, the SWADE pdf is not this way and is very easy to navigate and read through, while Gold & Glory is this way. Again, not a big deal, so five stars all the way!
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A wonderfully unique setting that sort of mashes together low fantasy, pulp and supers to make for some very interesting scenarios. The rich worldbuilding really shines through while giving the GM plenty of space to build upon to make their campaign their own.
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After several emails with the designer in question, I am satisfied that his heart is in the right place and I have no further issues or concerns.
Therefore, I am editing my review:
This is one of the most unique and interesting game settings I have even seen in 40 years of playing RPGs. Even though I don't play Savage Worlds, I knew I had to help Kickstart it.
I have not been disappointed in the product in the slightest.
This product is so good, that I recommend its inclusion on everyones shelves.
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Creator Reply: |
Hey Gregorio, I won't be deleting this review, because I don't think that silencing people helps anyone. I do think there's some misunderstanding somewhere, however, and so I offer to explain myself, hopefully better than I explained myself before. I am assuming you're referring to our post about last year's Ennies; I believe that if given the chance to talk in emails or even voice chat, and not through Facebook's problematic interface, I might be able to present my thoughts in a way that can, I hope, show that there's indeed some miscommunication here. I had no intention of saying the things that you came to understand from my words. If you're willing to give me the chance, you can contact me directly at nnesk1 at gmail.com. |
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The action deck face cards and jokers are fun and beautiful, and the adventure deck cards are clever and funny, as well as fun and beautiful.
Nice work, Aviv!
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