Mythic is simply amazing!!! It does EXACTLY what it's meant to. You can create adventure ideas if your stuck, you can play solo, gm-less, create surprises in mid-game, and it truly is compatible with EVERY RPG as long as you know the rules to that game. Honestly, the only down-side to this is that it doesn't have a human mind. Mythic is a great value and if you're looking for a way to simulate a GM, whether it to be played solo or with a group where the usual GM wants to actually play, this will successfully fulfill your needs. I caution you though, having a human GM who comes prepared and knows the rules and scenario like the back of your hand can't be beat by anything. Although Mythic is a very close second. I would go into how it works but previous reviews and the description itself sums it all up so I won't waste your time. All you need to know is that this system DOES work and it's so simple to use that your cat could probably use it as long as you could teach it how to play the RPG game of your choice.

What a great product. Even if you don't use the GM emulator its full of idea's.

Allan

I purchased this item after reading positive comments on the Mythic site, nice and easy to use with a great variety of exotic creatures that can be generated. One of my favourites was for a D&D campaign I am running, a Flatfish that lurks on dungeon ceilings then drops onto its victims and crushes them, at 2+1 hd with Chainmail level of armour its no push over. This would work equally well in a sci-fi setting, at $5.00 its a bargain, go on, treat yourself.

Very original and well produced, Mythic has a different style of roleplaying than many of us are accustomed to. Though there is still someone 'driving' the game, all of the players take a more active role in deciding their own fate. At its core, Mythic is almost a super-evolved form of the old "magic 8-ball" toy - players ask yes/no questions, decide how likely they are to be true, then roll on a very clever table to determine the outcome. The table's results shift as you progress into an adventure, with different events increasing the "chaos factor", which can lead to more extreme results.

This central mechanism is wrapped within a more familiar scene/act structure, and most of the book is dedicated to helping players learn how to best structure the flow of their adventure, and what sort of "questions" work best within the system.

In fairness, I must disclose that I have not yet had the chance to play Mythic as it was intended. I have used the "GM Emulator" (a set of guidelines for playing without a dedicated GM) to good effect in other game contexts, and with an open-minded (and like-minded) group of players I have no doubt that Mythic would provide a sufficient framework for campaigns of fun.

The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is that, although there is an example session transcript, there is not a lot of guidance on settings and creatures. Granted, the rules have mechanisms to generate that stuff during play (and that seems to be the intent of the authors - generate as you go and make the setting your own), but I suspect a group that were not experienced roleplayers would have more of a learning curve for Mythic than for other, more mainstream games.

This is a solid system. Not only that it crosses over into the book writing realm with its GM emulator. I have had this product for several years now. Every now and again it is nice to be a PC and not have to be the GM. This product allows me to do this without feeling guilty. It also has a great deal of breadth in its treatment of plots and narrative thread that you shouldn't ever run out of new ideas.

Its truly genre non specific and should be helpful in Sci Fi or Horror or Steampunk or anything else you can imagine.

The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is a lack of settings.

World vs. Hero is a cinematic, random-draw system where events are listed and then drawn when needed. For the money: if you like to write narrative and you are creative, WVH is worth $7.00 and more! It's a really good approach to story-telling, but game mechanics are vague and limiting in certain genres.

Wow....I am a solo RPGer and this product is fantastic. It got me going into my campaigns and creates fantastic surprises. I easily adapted it into my Supers campaign and plan on using it for a Star Wars/Space style game.

I can't recommend it higher.

I learned about this product on the Song of Blades and Heroes forum. Then I looked for reviews and found so much praise, that I had to check it out. Turns out that it really works for playing RPGs solo; I've just tried it last night with good results -- an interesting story with a couple surprises.

The mechanics of the "emulator" are actually very simple to learn, but I have to wonder how much playtesting was necessary to build them -- as well as the tables (which are few, and ingenious). I mean, there's so much interesting output from them, that it's not like a bunch of random roll tables. The text is clear and well-written, and there are lots of examples.

Even though I still have to try using the emulator for GM-less play with more people, I consider that this title was well worth its price.

I enjoyed this purchase very very much.

These GM emulation rules are quite enjoyable to use. Essentially, you're creating your own random tables of what can happen after a given event. Pretty nifty. Also, they can be used for writers suffering from writers block. Great purchase for anyone looking for thinking outside of their box.

This is an amazing good storytelling game. It is very easy to learn and play with a deck of cards. The system is very clever and strategic and the adventures the players generate are very exciting. It also has rules to import your adventures from your favourite campaign setting and it is so esy to do it! There are many fresh ideas here about storytelling. The official site (www.worldvshero.com) has a great support with new ideas. It is one of the best storytelling games ever created.

Fiore's work is a masterpiece! The reading was quick, all information was concise and the examples really helped a lot.

After re-reading the author's solo session reports on the book's Y! Group I was able to fully understand how the mechanics worked... and I'm eager to be able to try a tale of my own soon.

By the way, World vs. Hero is the first storytelling game that made me really think of it as a game. and not as a simple storytelling activity. On a critical view I should not call it a game (there's no way to lose, unless you consider a failed story as a loss), but the way all turns and rounds are played really shines, making the whole process interesting and exciting! While I read the book, I was jotting down mental notes on my own conflicts list for a dozen places and such, warming up my mind for a future game.

The Good:

Presentation is excellent. World vs. Hero (WvH) is written clearly and concisely, the examples are lengthy and illustrative. The artwork is a notch above the indy press norm -- not perfect art, but the author (John Fiore) cleverly writes examples so that they match up with the artwork, making the best with what's available. Word Mill Games did a good job with the PDF production, and Fiore also gets kudos for being an active member in the community, and in actively continuing WvH development on his web site.

The Bad:

Without giving away everything, after world & hero creation, the World player generates a certain number of encounters in advance: A deck of playing cards then determines what encounters the World player can use to challenge the Hero player and the intensity of the challenge (in a storytelling fashion); the cards in turn determine how the Hero player can respond (using generally conviction/wisdom, intelligence/magic, agility or fighting prowess) to the World player's challenges, and the intensity of the response. There's more to it, but that's really the core mechanic, and most of the game.

Perhaps I was expecting more Mythic RPG-like elements, or a higher level of evolution based on the high-quality storytelling games already out there. I think the WvH card-based storytelling gameplay mechanic is overly simple: The World player describes what happens based on an encounter, the Hero player describes the response. The only random element are the cards available to be played (determining which encounters the World player can choose to draw upon, and that the Hero player can choose to respond). If one player doesn't like the narration of the other, they can veto: with the stage of the game (early, middle or late) is a factor in which player should prevail in a narration challenge.

Here's what I think would WvH needs:

(1) Integration with Mythic RPG's GM Emulator as part of the basic game for solo play. The author is working this out on his site, it would've been a nice element in the basic product. Alongside solo play/Mythic integration should be variant gameplay that lets the World player generate encounter challenges randomly that the World player can run with, to make it more of a 2-player pickup game.

(2) Some sort of randomizer that throws occasional curve balls at each player in turn, the same way Mythic generates Altered Scenes, Interrupts and random events. Keep everyone on their storytelling toes.

(3) A conflict resolution system that lets players challenge each others' story elements in creative ways. A bidding system that lets players bid to take control of (e.g., randomly introduced) story elements. Possibly a subsystem to determine the outcomes of possible conflicts (instead of narrating what happens, somehow dice out the challenge).

(4) Some sort of tracked metrics throughout the game that let one player or another make sacrifices and cede topics, and then use this "karma" for greater leverage at some other point in the game.

The Verdict:

I think the game is nicely presented and it's definitely playable. I'm a harsh critic because I keep an eye on The Forge (Indie RPGs) on and off, and already own some powerful storytelling games -- Ben Lehman's brilliant Polaris, Seth Ben-Ezra's Dirty Secrets, and of course Tom Pigeon's Mythic RPG. These are just plain stronger products than WvH is in its present form. I don't see myself using this game as it is, I think it needs lots more structure and more mechanics -- ie., levers for each player to pull in their struggle -- than the core mechanic currently offers. Hence two stars -- it's not outright bad, but I had higher expectations and do feel let down.

I’ll start off by saying that the really great reviews written here were the primary reason I purchased this product in the first place. Thank you to everyone who contributed, and for what it’s worth I’d like to throw my own two cents into the ring.

Like most of the reviewer’s here, I was not disappointed with my purchase of Mythic (GM Emulator) and most recently, Mythic Variations. I’ve already used it to run myself through solo scenarios using Mutants and Masterminds, AD&D 2nd edition, and the Hearts and Souls superhero rpg.

Even better, it has allowed me to easily run and even participate (!) with my gaming group in our current M&M campaign. Much to our surprise and delight, it really has created some great gaming sessions with an absolute minimum of prep time. Were even planning on using Mayfair’s long out of print D.C. Hero’s game with Mythic for a one nighter.

Tom has done a really, really great job with this product. Being the only GM of our group, it sometimes becomes disappointing that I cannot relax and just participate as a player. The time investment to make a scenario memorable does become exhausting at times.

Mythic has changed all that for me. Now, I can participate too and enjoy the results and surprises that occur along with everyone else. I’m really looking forward to what Tom and Word Mill Press produce in the future. Mythic is definitely worth the price!

Excellent supplement to Mythic. Adds background and genre-specific flavour. Good value for money.

I purchased the bundle Mythic RPG and Mythic Variations because I was intrigued by the GM Emulator for solo gaming. Solo play that's not based on choose-your-own adventure? That's worth checking out.

To boil it all down, Mythic RPG is a generic RPG system for storytelling – the GM Emulator for running games fits on just one page, consisting of a Fate Chart (to ask questions and receive yes/no answers), a Focus Table (to put a direction on something unexpected that happens), and two Event Tables (to better define something unexpected that happens). Mythic also presents rules for free form and point-based character creation, combat, and suggestions for keeping track of everything – NPCs, plot threads, and even procedures like skill checks once they've been established in the game. There are also brief sections on world-building, character advancement and converting other RPGs to Mythic. Mythic Variations mainly focuses on running games in different types of genres (mystery, horror, epic, of your own making etc.), each of which tweaks the Focus Table and brings in some additional rules changes to encourage the desired effect.

Of all the parts of Mythic, the GM Emulator is the core value here, which the author supports with crisp and clear writing and extensive examples. The Fate Chart also doubles up for opposed rolls, which looks as if it would fit cleanly into Mythic character creation and combat. For me, these sections fall flat. Point-based characters suffer under a clunky, generic 7-stat system with free-form strengths and weaknesses, plus abilities (skills) tacked on bearing no relationship to attributes. A storytelling game like Mythic should have thought differently about PCs, building them around concepts and motivations. For example (though I don't own the game), I think WotC's Everway did PC creation for storytelling right. The Fate Table can double up for simple opposed rolls (e.g., “did I beat my opponent?”), but for combat, it's a boat anchor. i.e.: Pull together and compare stats on the chart, roll to see who goes next. Pull together the stats, consult the chart again, roll to see if you hit; pull together the stats, consult the chart yet again, roll to see if the opponent is wounded. Various factors might shift the rows and columns depending on the rolls, guaranteeing that it's a new table lookup each time. I do like the designer's concept of dropping initiative in favor of free-flow combat. But I find the combat system as it stands unplayable.

I gave the game a lengthy, multi-session solo whirl with the GM Emulator and the great Savage Worlds system, turning loose a pulp street-level superhero named “Grayslade” in Boston. To date, Grayslade still hasn't managed to track down his nemesis, Zombie Master. Instead, he ended up on the trail of art thieves, questioning his way through the seedy underworld of the city... he finally tracked down, stalked and cornered a crime boss who was “in the know”, finding out that the theft was financed by terrorists to distract the police from their real target: Just as the crime boss dropped this revelation, the terrorists' bomb shook downtown Boston. [...] Grayslade did end up finding the artwork (but it had been intentionally destroyed after the theft. It had been soaking in a full tub of water in an abandoned apartment); helped apprehend the terrorists (who had holed up in a TV station to broadcast their strange demands); and was sent to the hospital at least twice. There are also numerous other threads that have yet to be closed. These were good solo sessions from a storytelling standpoint. But what you read is what you get: Using the GM Emulator is like writing the story as it happens, and it doesn't compare to live pen-and-paper sessions.

The Final verdict: $12.90 for the Mythic Bundle – even with lots of stuff I'll never use, the PDFs are a good value at little more than the cost of a movie ticket or a restaurant meal. I've gotten a couple days' worth of rainy-day entertainment out of this bundle, and am not done with it yet, so it was well worth the cost for me. If you're interested but on a really tight budget, buy the GM Emulator, combine it with your favorite RPG, and skip the rest of Mythic. To its credit, the GM Emulator doesn't just do “yes/no”, it can also throw in unexpected surprises. The author also deserves credit for his detailed presentation of how to use the GM Emulator most effectively. But even at its best, solo play with the GM Emulator is more like a writing aid than a real-life RPG session. Also notable is that even though the layout is good, some of the artwork in the Mythic RPG is not just downright bad but inappropriate -- and the book would have been better off without it (Mythic Variations' artwork is decent). In my book, it's a middling 3 stars...