I hesitated between four and five stars, but the presentation problems are sufficient to knock a star off any book, even one this good. I've posted a fairly extensive review here http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/15/15366.phtml if you want an extended overview. As far as the style of the book, the free download Preview will clarify that better than my or any other review.

I was a fan of 2nd edition Nobilis - out of the RPG:s I've tried, it was the one which had the greatest potential for making weird and fanciful characters, and character creation is one of the things I really enjoy. And Nobilis 3rd edition is, I'm happy to say, more than twice as awesome as its predecessor when it comes to character crafting.

The new Attributes are better than those they replaced, the Estate Properties really helps define what your estate IS, the lifepath system makes you examine your character and give it depth - and above all, Bonds and Afflictions take your character's personality traits and codify them in a way that provides awesome game-mechanical advantages.

Now, this book does have some flaws, the prime one according to me is that it needs MORE STUFF. More example characters, more background story, more Gifts, more Treasures, more gameplay examples - an example session play-through like in 2nd edition would be excellent - more details about Excrucian tactics, more campaign ideas, more example Projects...

HOWEVER, these gaps can be filled in - there's stuff available on the net, like the play-through or rule question threads on the rpg.net forums, or the example characters on nobilis.me (I contributed a page of example Estates there myself, and quite a few example Bonds and Afflictions).

That is to say, what we've got in this Book is - as the title says - The Essentials. Everything else can be added later. (I hope for a volume 2, myself.)

It is still Nobilis. You will love or hate it, there is no middleground. The art is...let's say unconventional for the theme of the book. Maybe it is a chinese thing, but it didn't help the product. But the rules are better organized and many things are clarified.

So, I've been considering whether or not I want to buy this game now. As such, I grabbed this preview. I liked the light tone, amusing and informative footnotes, and everything. It felt much like a Terry Pratchett Novel or the Webcomic Digger, which are both quite good. As a preview, it obviously lacks much more than cursory information on the setting and system, but it gives you enough to get the gist of things. It does include what looks like the full text of the new Lifepath system, which can help you figure out a personality for your character, and the various point costs and basic explanations to mechanically define your character, so it would be possible to build a fairly complete character with just this preview book. To actually play the game, you need the full copy though.

Reading through this, there's definitely enough material here that you should be able to decide whether or not you'll like the game based on this. Me, I've resolved to get it sooner rather than later.

Nobilis 3e is the latest edition of a cult classic, but it's a great game in its own right - by far the best and most playable edition yet. If you liked PLAYING the earlier editions you'll LOVE playing this one. If the previous edition seemed somehow too austere and self-contained to you to imagine using, you should find the new edition positively welcoming. If you valued the Hogshead edition for its style and atmosphere, you'll do best approaching the EOS-Sama edition on its own terms. If you're new to Nobilis, you've picked the right edition.

As a text, Nobilis 3e is lively, inviting and personal. As a set of rules, it's usable, simple, and surprisingly deep. As a revision, it's downright bold. Like previous editions, Nobilis is a diceless, resource-management system. Like previous editions, Nobilis PCs are defined by four attributes.

Two of the four attributes are completely different. I wouldn't expect that radical a rethinking by any designer, especially not of a game that seemed as "finished" as Nobilis. But the changes are excellent. The new Persona attribute is the game's killer app, not least because you can finally turn someone into a frog (if you're the power of Frogs!). Treasure replaces Realm, which will be a relief to every player who ever put points into Realm and then had trouble using it in-game. The conflict system has been completely overhauled, and is a lot of fun now. The Projects system provides a way to pace and resolve player-driven plot lines. The Lifepath character-creation system is first of all a creative prompt for players, but it's also a fantastic generator of player-hooks for the GM.

I've enjoyed playing this edition, beginning in the playtest period and continuing past the end of playtesting because it's just too enjoyable to stop. If you like hidden-reality fantasy - Roger Zelazny; Neil Gaiman; Stephen R. Donaldson; Jack Kirby et al; If you enjoy games ranging from White Wolf to Amber to Over the Edge; If you like armchair philosophy AND a good kung fu flick; if you think game sessions should be able to move freely among comedy, majesty and tragedy; there's a very good chance you're going to like this game.

I'll ding the book for the following things. I wish there was more GM advice and explicit tools. The lifepaths and Projects system are, truth to tell, awesome GM tools, but they're not quite called out as such. The campaign-prep chapter that Jenna Moran guide; I'd kill for something on that level in Nobilis 3e. The much-debated art is hit-or-miss with me. I'm not part of the manga generation, so a lot of it is just outside my wheelhouse. It does have some nice pieces, and others that aren't to my taste, and some that probably count as bad on their own terms. I care a little about this, but you don't play the art. You play the game. And the game is solid.

At long last, it is here! I have awaited Nobilis 3E for many years now. My copy of the 2E Great White Book holds a precious place upon my shelf, coveted and treasured. When I first heard that a new Nobilis was to come, I was overjoyed, and promised copies to all my friends that they should share my marvel. And now, the time has finally arrived... and I find my feelings, mixed.

For the unfamiliar: Nobilis casts the players as guardians of Creation, mythic lords of concepts and classes of things. One might be "the Power of Fire", with the ability to ignite a forest with a whim, or to ignite the metaphoric fire in a faltering ally's heart. They have been entrusted with these powers by godlike beings known as 'Imperators', the true rulers over these ideas, beings whose death would erase their Estates from Creation entirely. The players must wield their gifts to advance their own personal interests, defend them from the petty whims of other Nobles, and (if they are most unfortunate) to defend Creation from the Lovecraftian horrors who have come from outside to take it all away.

Mechanically, the game has improved immensely since the second edition, and it is truly a brilliant and modern RPG. While many of my gamer friends express hesitation and reservations at the notion of a a diceless RPG ("but how do you know when you fail?!"), the system WORKS spectacularly, utilizing resource management in the stead of dice-based uncertainty. Throw enough power at a problem, and you WILL succeed... but perhaps without the strength to overwhelm your next obstacle.

What distresses me, however, is that I believe the utterly fantastic setting is rather poorly conveyed, which is absolutely tragic for inducting new players. Many of the broad strokes of the setting, it's unique cosmology, the Excrucian War, why the Imperators created Nobilis, are either mentioned in odd places or omitted entirely. I must admit that without my knowledge of 2E, I'd have a very difficult time understanding what I was reading. The emphasis seems instead to be on what Nobilis are capable of, and instances of particular concerns that they might have. This lack of top-down material is a serious problem, and one that results in both a huge loss of points and disappointment... everyone I showed the GWB to 'got it', but I've had much more responses of confusion and uncertainty with this new edition.

Despite these failings, it is still a must have! Just, obtain a copy of the GWB for reference, if you can. I still eagerly await future books in the line (ye gods, an entire Nobilis LINE!) in the hopes that they shall rectify this oversight, and add even more amazing wonders to the setting. :)

I originally stumbled across the Great White Book in my local hobby shop. Although fascinating I was unable to find others to play the game. It has stayed on my shelf for these many years and from time to time I get it down and read it. The text and presentation is beautiful but the system bits always proved a little too elusive for me.

Now with the long awaited 3rd edition I feel I finally understand not only the world of Nobilis but how to actually play the game. The lifepath system helps you create interesting characters that have a real investment in the setting. Our group is very excited to see this finally become available and we will definitely be playing this game soon. If you have not picked up Nobilis before this game is much more accessable than the previous versions. If you have seen the game before but didn't 'get it' I'd look this one over it definitely helped us understand the game better. If you an old hand at Nobilis the lifepath system, mortal components, and projects are well worth checking it out.

Thanks EOS and Jenna we are so excited to get to play your lovely game.

Ok I'm really sorry but this entire game is really poorly put together, there are some good bits and some interesting ideas but then it's followed by a mix of really bad anime stereotypes confused setting background that wasn't fully explained it was more like something you would find for free online rather than a professional RPG that you have to spend quite a bit of money on. Really don't shove a mix of random anime and manga ideas together and hope it makes a good RPG but if you do at least try to make it understandable every bit of character creation is so convoluted and mixed up I still don't know even after making a character and trying to play the game if I've done it right. Finally really its a talk based RPG I'm sorry but you shouldn't have to pay money for this trust me if you and your friends are into RPG's and have any imagination just make up a game based on the description it will be far better and less confusing than this.

I've been playing Nobilis since the 2nd big-white-book edition. And while I'm thrilled to see one of my favorite games returning to the spotlight, there are some serious changes between editions and not all of them are good. The most obvious criticism that many have already made: the art is awful. For a game centered around the existence of beings that control and embody aspects of the very essence of Creation, cute anime cartoons seem grossly inappropriate.

But what of the rules? A lot of the structure present in 2nd edition has gone by the wayside in favor of less rigid, more narrative character/Imperator/Chancel creation. Gone are the Limits, Restrictions, Virtues; replaced instead with Afflictions and a modified version of Bonds, poorly defined and wordy narrative tools that may or may not grant Miracle Points to characters over the course of a session.

A kind of supplemental character creation tool, the Lifepath system, is included in 3rd edition. It's useful in sketching out characters and providing plot points in their background, potentially providing the character with Contacts gleaned from their mortal and mythic lives. Again, however, the results of the Lifepath system have no mechanical effect in game. It's an exclusively narrative exercise.

I'd encourage everyone interested in Nobilis to pick up the 2nd edition. 3rd edition has its merits and its problems. I'll always consider it a supplemental book to the game I love.

I've been playing Nobilis since the 1st edition in the hoary days of yesteryear, and have a long time love of the game with a profound since of its limitations and difficulties.

Every edition of Nobilis has changed the look of the game, and every edition has made it more playable. The difference between first and second editions was massive and all positive. The difference between second and third is less huge, and more mixed.

In terms of the game aspects of Nobilis, Third Edition is almost entirely an improvement. There are better points of integration between levels of play, better balance between stats, a closer power gap between the "types" of the game (which means that its interesting to play across boundaries rather than flatly pointless), and a generally improved sense of "how this actually works as a game." There are new mechanics that help you actually move through a campaign, giving focus and common understanding, and all of them are vast improvements over second edition.

In terms of tone and look, however... I'm not going to say that the look of third edition is bad, but I will say that I hate it. Part of that hatred comes from a distaste for the anime-esque inspirations of the art, and part of it comes from the overly busy layout and occasional pieces of bad fan-art that fill the book.

Part of the issue is that the book clearly isn't targeted at me. Its a funny thing to realize that you're old and out dated, but looking at this book I realize that I am, and that its probably a smart choice to target an audience that's younger, hipper, and into the kind of bishonin-centric crap that I so loathe. There is a big demographic thats often untapped in RPG publishing that none the less role plays, especially online, and I think this book does a good job of marketing itself to those folks. I wish Eos luck getting into that market, but damn do I hate the way the book looks. ;)

My consolation is that I won't be playing the book, I'll be playing the game. And third edition as a game is a clear improvement over previous editions.

"I make meaningless random girly statements while cutesy anime people pickpocket 20$ from the margins".

WTF? Pretentious nonsense. What is this. Wait, lemme guess. "Some people just don't 'get it'."

Far left end of the spectrum from other EOS products. Wow. Clothespin.

The unfortunately long period of waiting since the last edition is finally over, and the 3rd edition of Nobilis has arrived! This is most certainly a cause for celebration, because this edition improves on the last in almost every manner; the rules are far tighter and better explained, the setting and factions within it are incredibly evocative, and the new lifepath method of character creation is a real blast. It's not a complete improvement; while the way the tone has shifted to be more whimsical and wondrous isn't a problem, the art can be almost too childlike at times, and unfortunately some of the pieces are of somewhat low quality. Additionally, some sections feel like they could have done with a lot less art; they mediocre pieces subtract from the truly evocative ones, and the whole layout sometimes feels a little busy.

Even so, this is a game that is a beauty to run and play, and an incredible setting. I heartily recommend it!

3rd edition of Nobilis doesn't change any of the fundamentals of the game, but rearranges the whole very nicely -- which is not to say that there aren't any mechanical or setting changes, just that core of the game remains intact.

Good Stuff:

• Descriptions of Heaven, Hell, Light, and Dark have been adjusted. They aren't incompatible with the old ones, but reflect a different side -- a more playable and more interesting side, I think.

• Persona and Treasure replace Spirit and Realm. This is an excellent change. Spirit and Real were always a bit bland, whereas Persona and Treasure are full of flavour.

• I absolutely adore new Bonds and Afflictions, and Chancel and Estate Properties, and the way they work with the rest of the mechanics. This is the way it should always have been. Want your character to "always win"? Can do. Want your character to "be known by name to everyone he meets". Can do. Great, great stuff.

• Destiny and Projects system replaces character advancement rules, and also provides a robust seeming way to handle proper Noble projects like "free all souls from Hell". This rocks.

• Mechanics for Mortal actions and Imperial Miracles -- a substantive improvement over the old "mortals don't really matter, and Imperators are hand-waved". (Imperial Miracles aren't completely out of PC reach, either.)

• I like that it is written for players more than HGs. I like that it makes the game approachable. The majesty still lurks in the flores, but the main text is more driven by energy! and whimsy. You get the feeling "WOW! I MUST PLAY THIS AT ONCE!" not the "Oh, awasome. I must think about this and then I may be worthy of running a humble game. Maybe"

Mixed Bag:

• Some of the art is great, some I don't like at all. Tastes will wary. Some of the things I didn't like at first are growing on me, though.

• Zu. I like the concept, but a tiny bit more detail would have been nice. ProTip: http://imago.hitherby.com/?attachment_id=3089

• Minimal number of examples makes the book quick and easy to read, but a few more things could have used an example, but none of these things are show-stoppers. Maybe we'll get a webified FAQ down the road.

What I didn't like or missed:

• No Chancel Properties for Locust Court. Dionyl left out almost completely.

• Imperator creation could have used more detail.

Overall, I give it 9 points out of 10 -- or 5 stars in this case.

For the first time since 2006, the Nobilis RPG returns to print in a third edition. The new full-color book is quite a change from the over-the-top elegance of the second edition, but it's colorful and has quite a few amazing pieces of art. The new rules replace Realm and Spirit with Persona and Treasure, two new attributes that provide greater granularity to a Power's embodiment of their Estate.

Taken as a whole, the new edition of Nobilis is a rousing success for fans of the gameline and an excellent starting point for players who have wanted access to the game for years but were unable to find it.

I have no idea whether this review will ever see the light of day, since this is related to the PDF copy of Nobilis that I got when I managed to snag approximately copy #90 from the limited-edition run that was sold for the author's birthday.

This product contains 80% of all you require for true happiness!

For the other 20%, you will need a physical copy.

Nobilis 3. It's nearly as much better than Nobilis 2 as Nobilis 2 is better than the lack of Nobilis in the world. It seems to have addressed (and elegantly!) the problems that I've heard other people had with Nobilis, and spends time discussing things like 'so who -are- nobles?' and 'so what do they -do-?' The system contains a bunch of what I would call next-generation tech if I were talking about consumer electronics or software, rather than an RPG.

The layout of this full-colour three-hundred-plus-page PDF is good, easy to read and everything; the art is attractive but less so than in the previous edition, ranging from 'comparable to Nobilis 2' to 'decent fanart' in quality. There is a good and useful table of contents and a more than serviceable index, both of which are sources of joy to anyone who's ever had to look anything up in a White Wolf book (or, if I'm being honest, Nobilis 2nd edition).

The book is approachable in the same way that a lot of those little pamphlet-style roleplaying games from indie publishers try to be approachable. It is not written with the assumption that you know how to play roleplaying games. But at the same time it manages not to be patronising.

I would have bought the book even if it didn't contain a roleplaying game. There is a strong authorial tone to this book which is absent in most RPG manuals, which gives the whole thing a strong 'this is an IC document' feel to it. I think this is great; I have been a fan of Dr. Moran's writing style since I was first referred to Hitherby Dragons many years ago. If there were someone out there who disliked the writing style, I think they'd have a great deal of trouble with the... no, I just can't do it. I can't criticise this book. There's nothing bad about it. If you are wondering whether you should buy this book, rather than picking up a second-hand copy of the previous edition: you should buy this book. You will get your money's worth.