This is a good game. However, it is strongly FKR (Free Kreigspiel Renaissance (or Revolution, if you prefer)). If you do not know what that is, please search the term and research its approach to RPGs. Otherwise, you might be disappointed.
As an FKR game, Urban Wizards of the Mystical Underground (UWMG) is better than many I've read. It uses a single d6 as the randomizer. There are no scores to beat, modifiers or skill bonuses. Players describe their characters and record "three descriptive words about what kind of character you’d like to be" that define their wizards. The player rolls the d6 and the GM uses the character's three words, background and details of the story to interpret the result. The six outcomes are: You’re screwed; Everything’s not fine; It’s worse that you expected; It’s better than you expected; Everything’s fine; You’re golden. Kinda vanilla FKR so far.
Urban Wizards of the Mystical Underground adds value to FKR in two ways: world suggestion and random character generation. If you read the blurb on this games page on DTRPG then you have the gist of the game world: wizards fighting in an unseen world. There may be another paragraph or two, but no details about the world, the unseen world or what lives in either. If you need more than that, you probably are not ready for this game. If you realize that "less is more" and think about the world suggestion, you can easily take it places. It could be cyberpunk, current day, middle ages, far future, Renaissance... You have to fill in the details. I could run UWMG in any of these, but I'd be responsible for all of the details. There are enough prompts to get me thinking, but nothing super-evocative. I don't find fault with this, but some would.
I really like the randommly generated wizards. All wizards in UWMG can use cantrips, "very mundane spells like lighting a candle, moving small objects like a glass or a book, or making a coin disappear." Characters get six spells. For each spell, a player rolls to determine: power ; focus; price; duration. Players name their spells. They roll to determine some character features: non-human; have a secret; standard of living. There are some open questions for players to define their characters, too.
Combining the world suggestions and random character generation is a super fun creative exercise. If you have any theater friends, play this game with them or anyone who can "get into a character's head." It will be a blast.
I think UWMG is a perfect game for first-timers. It takes a GM who realizes that 3-6 tomes of 350+ pages can be a hindrance to roleplaying. If you've read up on the FKR and want to create a world for wizards fighting in an unseen world, this is absolutely worth the $2. Buy it now.
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