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Mystic Empyrean Corebook
by Jesse S. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 05/31/2015 01:45:17

Disclaimer - I am a playtester for Level 99 Games (though I did not originally playtest or in any way contribute to this project)

I am going to try and keep this short and sweet. Mystic Empyrean is a steal at $15. A very original system for collaborative world building and storytelling. My largest concern when picking up this pdf was that the system would be interesting, but not very well fleshed on in terms of its rules and how games should be run (like Savage Worlds with just the corebook). Needless to say (points at review score), I was pleasantly surprised by the detail of the content.

Dice-less systems can be more trouble then they are worth, but here the system of the world balance and personal balance using cards or tokens in a bag is clever and works, in my opinion, better then dice. It just feels right in so many ways.

Other then the world balance, the persona traits (kind of like skills/feats/spells) are a noticeable high note. There are plethora of these and the wide range of covered traits allows players to, not only run whole campaigns with immense variety in characters, but also provides one with more then enough examples to build further traits that will work well with those already in place.

On a final and more general note, systematic generation of content is given a lot of detailed attention in ways such as a method for collaborative realm generation, to randomization templates for dungeons and realms based on world balance draws.

All in all it would be worth $15 just to get ideas to use in other systems, though I highly recommend at least giving Mystic Empyrean as a whole a shot as I may have found my next long term system.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Mystic Empyrean Corebook
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Mystic Empyrean Corebook
by Jerry G. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 12/27/2012 21:35:29

LOVE AT FIRST READ, TILL DEATH DO US PART AT FIRST PLAY. For my group it's that good, but it has to fit your group's play style.

Everyone else sums this game up great in there review. Take a peak at the core preview. Also check online there are a couple of actual play's that are recorded.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Mystic Empyrean Corebook
by Josh S. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 04/20/2012 14:53:41

Mystic Empyrean is excellent. As someone who finds themselves being the GM all the time in their play-group, the fact this game is built from the ground up so that everyone is a GM and everyone is a PC is very refreshing and means I have to do a lot less prep-work, while still allowing the campaign to feel original and full of unexpected twists. The generators are brilliant, the Balance is a unique and flavorful means of determining events and resolving actions, and I love that the system awards powers for character development rather than showering the players with abilities and then tasking them with stringing those abilities into a character. The book is a great read, and I can't wait to play-and since set-up is so simple, I don't have to!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Mystic Empyrean Corebook
by Alexander O. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 01/21/2012 09:05:16

Despite the fact that I've never really playtested this thing, after reading it -- I can say it's really not my thing.

And yet, it's a good book. It does a lot of things well. It explains the core premise of the game, it exhaustively covers the setting (written explanations interspersed with lists), it provides examples of gameplay to really illustrate for players and GMs how a game in this off-the-beaten path setting and ruleset might play out. It has good art, nicely laid out pages, well-organized text.

Ultimately though, it's not the kind of game or the kind of premise that I'd be interested in playing in for an extended campaign. However, I'm re-reading it for some way to do a quicker character and campaign progression since the ability to create multiple universes does intrigue me -- just not for very long campaigns really.

I don't know if it's a good game, but it seems to be a well put together RPG corebook for a setting that I wouldn't be interested in running, but maybe I would be interested in playing it for short mini-campaigns.

And for that reason, I give it four stars.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Mystic Empyrean Corebook
by Mark F. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 12/30/2011 15:18:44

I was a supporter of Mystic Empyrean since it was a Kickstarter project and my opinion of it has not changed. Its main draws for me were its unique gameplay elements, but having reviewed the flavor of the world more in detail, I greatly appreciate the world that this game has created.

In Mystic Empyrean, you play as an Eidolon (basically a creature of pure magic) that gains powers based on your personality; for example, if you are prideful like a dragon, you gain powers from and eventually the ability to become a dragon. Your group moves throughout a land ravaged by the Aether trying to find "cornerstones" that restore lands, people, or concepts that the Aether has erased from existence. When a cornerstone is restored, the players get to choose what is introduced, thus allowing for a great deal of control over the world.

Player control is one of the key aspects of gameplay for Mystic Empyrean, since it takes the unique route of having no fixed gamemaster; each player takes turns acting as the GM for a round or encounter, while each other player gets an action. This cycling action emphasizes player interaction as it removes the possibility of one player dominating the play time. With no fixed GM, this also makes the world much more interesting since each player can create elements for the world that can be unlocked by new cornerstones. The rules to handle group participation and the creation of new content are both extensive enough to not be confusing as well as general enough to not be limiting.

I must also comment on the interesting core mechanic of the game: elements. Mystic Empyrean focuses on roleplaying, so each ability gives a general description of what it can do; for example, the first level of the "Dragonlike" ability reads "Scales and neck frills adorn the Eidolon's flesh, making him tougher and more resilient to the elements. He is taller and stronger than average, and may also develop claws and a tail, depending on the exact manifestations of the trait." This basically means that the player gains a claw and/or tail attack at minimum. If you choose to roleplay it intelligently, however, you could choose to use the cosmetic changes to your body to intimidate NPCs who fear dragons or charm those that idolize them - the focus is on the roleplaying, not the hard statistics. How challenges are resolved with these generalized powers involves the elements: each action corresponds to a certain element and each realm has a proportion of elements available to draw from. When you take an action, you draw from the realm's pool of elements and see how close your draw was to the intended element - the closer it is to the one you wanted, the better the result.

An example of an attack: Let's say that a Dragonlike Eidolon makes an frontal attack. This action is tied into the Fire element, so the player draws a card. If s/he draws a fire or Anima (automatic success) something great happens - like a critical blow that defeats the enemy and affects his allies; if s/he draws an Air or Light (which are one step away), then it is somewhat successful - the enemy is hit, but could still be ready to fight; if s/he draws an Electricity or Darkness (two steps away), then it is a failure, but nothing really bad comes of it - you miss; if s/he draws a Stone, Water, or Aether (auto-fail) then something terrible happens - you get hit in response. The results are determined for story effect by the current GM. It is important to note that since each realm has a different set of elements, actions will have a different probability for success in different areas; for example, a peaceful realm with low Fire elements won't allow many direct attacks to succeed. This makes the players think more.

The game allows for a lot of customization of characters and realms, differing campaign types (combat, puzzle, or social), and is general enough for you to create even more abilities, items, etc. on your own (a community-driven forum also promises for opportunities to share your own ideas with the rest of us). Even if you don't feel like creating your own abilities, the book gives plenty of examples (90 powers, 100+ various items, etc. in the base book).

The one hiccup that may ruin the game is if you have a bad group: it would be easy for a rivalry to cause major problems. Of course, if you have a good group, then this game should turn out fantastically.

Final Summary: If you have a good group that can be creative and roleplay well, I know of no better roleplaying system that provides the elegance and fun that this game allows for.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Infinity Dungeon: Peril Without End
by Thomas B. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 12/10/2011 23:50:27

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: This 68 page PDF include the Infinity Dungeon game, as well as the Legendary Guys RPG. The Infinity Dungeon game is really as much of a geeky party game as it is an RPG. You select one of the premade character archetypes, then venture through an insane dungeon, and both the archetype and the dungeon is randomly determined. Basically, you have the party's archetypes' powers, equipment, drawbacks and random items that you use to formulate a plan to solve each "room". The players all vote on whether the plan is good or bad, and that determines the target number you need to roll on a d20. If you fail, then you are horribly killed in the attempt and the next player has to figure it out.

Character types include Dwarves, Matadors, Railroad Conductors, Opera Singers, Superheroes and Imposter Dark Wizards. The dungeon consists of rooms such as the Spider Chasm, the Glass Bridge, the Quiet Room, the Explosive Hedgehog and the Meat Grinder.

The Legendary Guys is really just a very basic fighting game, with player defined attibutes (like Over the Edge or FATE), and dice depending on the points spent. The last man standing gets the win (each attack, attributes are rolled against each other, with the higher rolling pC inflicting damage to the lower rolling PC).

WHAT WORKS: It seems like it would be some good, "beer and pretzels" style fun in a goofy, over the top way. A Vampire, a Tycoon, a Reporter, a Ninja and You stomping through a dungeon? And if a character is horribly killed, you just roll up a new one for the next room? Definitely not to be taken seriously, but a group could get some laughs out of this. However...

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: The difficulty number is based on the number of party members who approve of a plan. However, there is no penalty for going along with, or going against, a plan...other than making it harder for the active character to pass the room. Basically, there is no reason for the group to ever not back every plan...a pretty huge oversight.

CONCLUSION: Infinity Dungeon seems to have so much promise, but it's either a) lacking a crucial element (reason for players to not back plans) or b) it has a huge error in the writing because I read it a couple of times and if it was there, it was far from clear. One little addition to tweak this and I would give it a strong recommendation for those who want a change of pace in their gaming some weekend, and the Legendary Guys minigame is a nice, goofy, narrative fighting game, although it also has a flaw: The rules state each attribute can only be used once, but there is no provision for a PC running out of attributes. I assume they would flee, but it isn't made clear. Lastly, Infinity Dungeon is also available on the iTunes app store, though I have not tried out the App version yet.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Infinity Dungeon: Peril Without End
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Mystic Empyrean Preview Game
by Michael S. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 06/27/2011 12:15:57

This one of those games that I can't stop thinking about. Mystic Empyrean has an amazing, and quite unique, resolution system, though it has been held back for the final product. The game is meant to be played diceless, with custom cards that show how your character evolves AND how the world reacts.

Unfortunately , we don't really see that in this preview game. The dice system provided works well, however. In response to the previous review, the target number you are to role is 11 - the world's rating. Therefore,if your player want to pickpocket a guard successfully, and if Darkness is a world balance of 4, your player only needs to roll a seven or more. It's a good system, though, once again, only a substitute until the real system is fully developed and then released.

There is much going for Mystic, mainly the fact that the world is like one, giant character sheet your entire group is building together. Every action you and your party does affects not only yourself, but the world around you, changing the "balance". not only that, but there is not one GM - Mystic is the first I ever saw that gave a perfect way for everyone to be a GM at one point, and for everyone to bring something different to the table.

It truly is an amazing game Talton, Jr. has created, and I honestly cannot wait until I see the final product. Mystic Empyrean is a great game for hardcore and casual players, as well as new roleplayers and experienced ones. Overall, if I had the chance to play only one rpg for the rest of my life, this would be it. 5/5



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Mystic Empyrean Preview Game
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Mystic Empyrean Preview Game
by Adam S. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 02/19/2011 10:28:58

Having done plenty of homebrews and unpublished games I understand how difficult it is to put things into production. That being said, this preview is phenomenal and stunning. The art work is out of this world and the picture perfect layout feeds those hungry eyes in this day of lazy producers. The system itself is very interesting and one that everyone should look at. It involves using d10's and a d20 to determine skill adequacy. It is very easy to see where this system drew influence, drawing mostly from Exalted and Dungeons and Dragons in system similarities. One of my few problems with this book, which may be fixed in the full version, is the fact that it never tells you how to determine your target number for skills. It makes it seem as though the person functioning as GM must come up with a number off the top of their heads. This constant shuffling of calling out target numbers is mentally exhausting and wore out it's welcome fast. My suggestion would be to put in more tables to illustrate game rules because it is easier for a customer to understand the system if they do not have to peruse the seemingly endless amount of paragraphs. Other than that this is a great system that I loved playing. I recommend this to every single person to play at least once and I know I will be eagerly awaiting the full version, hopefully at a discount (hint hint).

Adam Sawyer Lead Publisher, Stillstead Publishing



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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