I purchased both the hardcover and pdf. It is an "crunchier" system than I have seen in the last year, but am ok with that. I have wanted something similar to Shadowrun for a while and, from my brief read though of the PDF, this seems like it will quench that want. Not that Emergence is like Catalysts inherited world, it has its own story, background, system, and possible faults; again, I am ok with that.

The book in PDF is great, the art definitely comes through. It seems to me the text block areas could have faded into the page more, and in some areas "splash" was added to cover it up. I am the "hands on" type and like the book. Even though the paper quality could be hardier, I like the way it translates onto paper. The text block and image edges are less noticeable, someone may say washed out; to me it does not detract from the end product.

After a play through we'll see if I can come back and add that next star.

I bought the hard copy and PDF. The game concept is good. It is a sensible mix of fantasy and technology, akin to shadowrun meets star gate. The rules are too complex for my tastes with multiple stats and sub stats. Combat takes a really long time to resolve. The art is great but frequently reused. The 3d6 mechanic is great for combat but there is no direct translation of critcals to the skill system. I like the damage track and fixed weapon damages. The character generation system is very indepth. I like racial traits and backgrounds. The PDF is good value but I will probably only use it for the ideas and use something simpler like D100 as the system. The print hard copy is poor quality with washed out art, low cost binding that won't last and pages edges lost in the binding. If you like complex systems with endless character choices and sub stats then this is for you. Avoid POD.

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Emergence Roleplaying Game

Originally posted on www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea everyday!

Product- Emergence Roleplaying Game Producer-3mergent Games System- Emergence RPG Price-~$16 here http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/131828/Emergence-Roleplaying-Game-Core-Rulebook TL;DR- A bit of Hero, Eberron, and Shadowrun all together. 85%

Basics-Man is not alone in the universe, but he's still the worst thing out there. In Emergence, mankind has discovered a stone allowing us to travel to another world, Stargate style. There we meet elves, dwarves, and orcs and begin to treat them poorly leading to a war cumulating in the other races destroying our gate home. Now a portion of mankind lives on this world in relative peace over 100 years later. Players take the role of one of the people in this brave new world which features a combination of magic, technology, and a fusion of the two.

Mechanics or Crunch-HOLY COW THIS IS A CRUNCHY SYSTEM! That is by no means bad. But, if you were looking for Fate or Fiasco levels of rule complexity, then look elsewhere. The book clocks in at over 300 pages, so this system has some serious meat on its bones. Let's go over the highlights: Races-First thing I noticed about this system's mechanics is the way you build your character. It's a standard build point system, but the races are much different. When you create your character, you get four race build points. Each race has abilities that cost between one to three build points, so if you wanted to play a quarter human, quarter dwarf (on my mother's side), quarter elf ( on my father's side), and quarter orc (don't ask), then you can! I think that's pretty cool.

Character Generation-Characters start by selecting a background that will give them default stats, building your race, and then spending 100 build points to make whatever kind of character they want. I always love any system that allows for that much customization, but it does slow down character generation. Also, the BEST part of these build points is build points are the generic points used for experience points. And, post character generation build point spending is exactly equal to during character generation build point spending. I HATE systems that change the rules for that after character generation!

Talents and Combat-Another option that characters have are talents. Talents are like feats that give the character better abilities. You have to meet requirements to buy a talent, but they do give the character that little bit more. Also, the talents are designed like trees with multiple levels for your character to take and specialize in. Talents handle several different aspects of this game ranging from a multiple shots with a bow to magic spells. And, these talents and some action in combat burn stamina. Stamina represents your character being more winded and worn down. You only have so much stamina, so you have to be smart when you use these points. And since your spells use stamina, you have a system that includes "cast till you pass out" mechanics which always makes me happy!

Base Mechanic-This system uses a fairly simple mechanic of 3d6 + ability + skill ranks vs. a static number for most rolls and tests. I love systems that use multiple dice as it makes a nice bell curve, so all numbers have a meaning! I've written about how much I love this before, so I'm pretty happy to see this appear again.

Health and Damage-Something I really love in a RPG is conditions tracks. This game has four different health ranges. As your character is damaged, you lose hit points from the left most track. When on track is empty, you lost some abilities or now have penalties to some actions. This neatly solves the "more than none, ready to run" problem I see all too often in games like Pathfinder and DnD.

Tools, Armor, spells, items, weapons, cybernetic body parts-This game has a lot of toys for the average player to look over. The rules give you options for running just a crazy spell tattooed shaman to being a mostly robotic cyber-knight with a shotgun. The book has a ton of player options ground to cover, but it does it well.

Monsters-Something that kind of annoyed me was the lack of monsters in this book. The back of the book does introduce a few monsters of a few different types as well as comprehensive rules on how to make more. The rules to make your own monsters are well done, but I, as the GM, have to put that much more time into this game ahead of the game. Adding in more monsters would really help this book.

Mechanics Summary-The rules might be thick, but the base idea is a quick one that you can learn in 10 minutes. This book is crunchier then a box of broken glass, but that doesn't make the system bad. Don't get his one if you want Fate levels of rules, but if you want a very solid rules system that give you a lot of room to build and play, get this game. 4.5/5

Theme or Fluff-This book has a lot of stories in it. A world where man has only existed for less than 150 years and where he's the bad guy from the start is an interesting place to start a setting. Each race and their cities get a bit of a section in the opening chapter of the book. This system is most definitely a mix between the dragonpunk of Eberron and the cyberpunk of Shadowrun. I would have liked a few more story ideas as the world and its different environs are well described, but not as many ideas are given to the GM to start the game. It's not hard to make up your own ideas, but giving a jump start to the GM is always appreciated. 4.25/5

Execution-I liked this book, but it does shave its flaws with the two main ones being recycled art and "textbook problem". The book does recycle a lot of its art. I know the company is a smaller one, but the same few art assets are reused several times throughout the book. Again, it's not the worst thing, but it always annoys me a little. The much bigger problem is the "text book problem." This book has a LOT of ground to cover providing rules ranging from spells to shotguns powered by magic as well as introducing a whole new setting. The opening chapter reads just like an atlas/guide book giving all kinds of important stats and short introductions to each section of the world. The rules sections are dominated by two column pages of black text on a blue/white background. Those pages tend to drag on a bit as there are several of them in a row. The pages do introduce several important things, but page after page of the same layout does get a bet daunting to read. More tables for rules and color art would really help this book be that much better. It's just that dense! 4/5

Summary-This is a good book if you like crunch. The world itself is nothing to sneeze at, but I would like some more example problems to face to help me design adventures for my players to go on. However, the mechanics of the rules are amazingly well done, and I think the mechanics are the star of this book. It has a lot of the things that really make me happy when I read a rules set. To really make this game a grand slam, I'd like a small book on threats to the world, a GM screen to keep all the mechanics straight, and a monster book to give me some foes to throw at the PCs in a hurry. But even without those tools, this is a great game that reminds me of other great systems like Shadowrun, 3.5e Eberron, and the Hero System. 85%

Discloser- I was provided a review copy of this game. I have not been paid or compensated in any other way.

Emergence provides a vibrant, interesting world populated by numerous races and groups as the stage for your adventures. Incredible attention to detail has gone into every aspect of this world. Giving every area its own flavor to experience and challenges to meet helps players immerse themselves in the world and find a place for their characters within it, both during and after character gen. Players have a wide range of options for making interesting characters. In Emergence, backstories are not mere bits of fluff that may or may not have anything to do with a character's actual build - a character's background is an integral part of character creation, having real mechanical impact on play in addition to fleshing out the narrative. This approach, combined with the detail-rich presentation of the campaign world, motivates players to think through their character's origins, development, and goals. To match the fantasy/sci-fi/modern genre blend of the world itself, Emergence offers myriad possibilities to the player for creating a huge variety of character builds. While the background provides the base for the character mechanically and narratively, the skills, talents, and equipment all provide options for both specialization and diversification, as the player desires. The dice system was designed with ease and speed in mind. There are not multiple types of dice to track, roll, or interpret. There are no ever-expanding dice pools that become cumbersomely large as your character advances. There is one statistically reliable dice roll that makes unusually successful or unsuccessful rolls just that – unusual. In many games, critical successes or failures are no rarer than any other die result. Because this is not the case in Emergence, they take on greater importance and feel more special when they do happen. Emergence is an all-around unique game – the setting, the character options, and the dice system. It’s a welcome and refreshing change from the other systems I have seen. So, try something new. If you like fun, chances are you’ll like Emergence.

This is a very cool game! The genre merge of Sci-Fi/Fantasy is the most seamless I’ve seen so far in any game. The world and its inhabitants are well presented and multidimensional. Character creation is very robust while not being too complicated or a chore to work through. You can easily build out your characters race, skills and talents without having to jump around the book.

Combat and skills are all resolved with 3d6 which is great; it really helps move things along quickly. Couple that with a “Crit and Fumble” system based on 1’s and 6’s that really gives the GM opportunities to interpret rolls and explain outcomes without having to send the roll to the lab and wait for the results, looking at you Edge of the Empire.

The 3d6 system also allows for less complicated interactions with Players assisting each other in resolving skill checks. Need help pulling the incinerator door shut to whack that pesky Orc? No problem! Your team mate can assist you by rolling a 3d6 and you can replace one of your die for theirs! Fiery orc incoming! But in all seriousness it’s a really great easy-to-use system.

Lastly, the talents, which are basically tiered feats. The talents are broken up individually by type such as “Gunfighting” or “Invocation” and then tiered ranging from 1 (being above average) to 5 (being near-god-like) each tier containing 3 talents. These talents interact more or less with your stamina pool, which is kind of like Mana in a video game (my opinion). The execution and maintenance of talents draws from this pool during the turn, and then stamina regenerates a certain amount at the beginning of every turn based on your build. It’s really cool because unlike in other game where you just use the feat, here with the associated cost and limited resources you really feel the success and failures more. It can create a resource balancing act because other actions that aren’t talents also leverage Stamina, it adds another fun and interesting layer.

All in all it’s a great game; you should definitely check it out if you’re looking for something fresh that won’t disappoint.