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PowerFrame Core Rulebook $10.00
Average Rating:4.9 / 5
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PowerFrame Core Rulebook
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PowerFrame Core Rulebook
Publisher: PowerFrame Games
by Edwin K. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/02/2015 21:35:11

I have not had a chance to play the game yet. I have made characters and read through the rules. This review is from that limited experience.

Character creation is point buy with the same pool of points used for statistics and skills. The are all collectively called Abilities in the game. You then have Attributes, which are figured from different Abilities. We then have Traits, which a character may have or not. Natural attacks and weaknesses all fall into the category of Traits. Last we have Mysticism, which is designed to cover everything from Martial Arts to Spells to Powers. All of these things are balanced by threat. Threat in the game is a measure of how dangerous something is (kind of like levels but much more defined).

Combat is akin to a tactical skirmish game. It can be played without miniatures and maps, but the rules are so elegant that I feel you would be doing yourself a disservice going that rout. The combat chapter is comprehensive enough to cover almost everything that should come up and enough advice is given throughout the book that anything not covered should be easy to adjudicate for a good GM. Tactical maps are based around 30mm hexes equaling 2 meters and all ranges are given in hexes. If you would rather use a one inch grid, it's easy enough to do the math. The standard 1 inch equals 5 feet is close enough to not cause any problems.

An entire chapter is given to world mapping and exploration. This chapter also has multiple hex pages that can be printed and drawn on, even a polyhedral world map reminiscent of the one included in the old World Builder's Guidebook from TSR/WotC. The maps are a great resource. There are several tables for creating settlements. These seem most useful for a fantasy or post apocalyptic setting.

Equipment pretty much covers most of what would be needed and does a better job than a lot of universal systems I've seen.

Races are sparse, only four are in the book, but rules are given to quickly and easily generate your own. I have already imported races from several different RPG's and found it almost too easy to be real.

Next we have adversaries. Once again, the selection is sparse, but rules are given to quickly and easily create new adversaries. This is the next thing I am going to be looking at more in depth, and am actually looking forward to it.

Mysticism is one of the shining chapters in the book. As I stated in character generation, it covers everything from magic to martial arts to powers. I'm actually thinking about lifting it and making it my universal FX system. It is that good.

The last thing I'm going to cover is options. The book is absolutely ridiculous with options. Altering weapons and armor, scaling powered armor to become mecha, scaling vehicles to become space going behemoths and more are all covered.

The only thing the book lacks is a setting, but with the amount of material out there it shouldn't be hard to come up with something. Maybe you have a setting that looks cool but the rules leave something to be desired. Give these rules a run. I don't think you'll be disappointed. If you're interested in creating a setting from scratch, you could do much worse than the advice in this book.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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PowerFrame Core Rulebook
Publisher: PowerFrame Games
by Jacob R. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/10/2015 15:50:51

This is a fantastic game. It harkens back to Super Nintendo RPGs, but it's a lot lighter weight than you'd expect. Very good at customizing everything. Pick it up today. Just know that the name Power Frame doesn't mean that it's a mecha-based RPG, but that it provides a powerful framework for your game.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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PowerFrame Core Rulebook
Publisher: PowerFrame Games
by keith b. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/09/2015 23:49:36

For a 5 start rating I gave I must also say nothing about this game will amaze the RPG world. I gave it 5 starts because it is presented clearly with easy rules to learn and play. enough samples to get a GM running fairly quick but not so much information that I got bogged down with numbers. Not going chapter by chapter I will go into specifics.

The basic rule system is roll a D6 and modified by your ability score. There is a list of Abilities and another separated by physical, mental, social, etc. Abilities start at 0 and can be modified by up to -5 to +5. Your target number is a difficulty number set by the GM or by the roll and ability score of your opponent. Quick, easy, not ground breaking but it works well.

Traits can also modify your abilities, dice rolls or just give your character some more flare. of course some traits will be negative, positive or both. Again similar to other games but it works.

Combat is straight forward. Easy to learn and play. there is enough expanded rules like burning and drowning to cover the basics but not overly done to bog the game down with number crunching and chart searching. there are rules for hit by location. I wouldn't use these myself unless the player was making a called shot but it is there for those that like this option.

Battle maps and world maps are discussed along with rules for using them. Blank copies are there for you to print out and use if you want, Enough information is given if you want to use them but not the game will not be affected too much if you choose not to use them.

The section on Settlements is clearly aimed towards a fantasy setting or post apocalyptic genre. Included here is information on the type of businesses, people and work that might be available. Decent section but not overly done but can be remodeled easily for a more modern or present society.

The gear section covers a lot of mundane equipment, weapons, armour, and vehicles to cover any campaign world from low tech to modern and into the future to cover energy weapons and powered armor. Very nicely presented with modifiers relating to attacking with or defending with items and armors that may be cutting, energy or blunt weapons. Again I wouldn't worry about those numbers unless a player had a trait making a certain style of weapon more or less effective. It is there though for those who want a little more depth to combat or their character.

The only place this game lacks is the sample characters, races, and other NPCs for different worlds. There are enough creatures that you can easily cover most creatures by modifying one presented. A wolf, just change the name to big dog. A dragon by changing its breath weapon you can make frost, acid or lightning dragons. Take away the flight and breath and you have a dinosaur. And how about a little poison snake, big deal right. Add a couple size levels and now you have one as big as a human. with a couple more you have one as big as an elephant. Take a zombie and rename it ghoul or mummy or even skeleton. I am just saying there are plenty of samples covering creatures.

Sadly, Vampires are not represented but by taking a normal character and applying a Drain health spell you have an immediate blood sucker. which brings me to the best part and the reason it gets a 5 star rating. The magic or Mysticism section.

First it is presented clearly what make up a spell and how it can be used in different genres. From fantasy wizards and healers to psionic and Super powers there are many different ways to use spells but each is easy to use and understand. Magic can either be define your spells as you play or by making pre made spells or any combination in between.

The more power you put in a spell the harder it is to cast or the mana it drains. There are plenty of spells to use or get the GM and players designing their own. It is pretty straight forward with plenty of options but not so much that it will bog the game down especially if you have several spells prepared. I can't praise this section enough and if I would borrow the section for any game I was playing. It is worth the price right here for a clean and clear set of magic rules.

You also get a section on how to create new weapons, armors, gear, spells and world settings. It is nicely presented and helps to wrap everything else up into 1 package.

To end this long review it is well worth the purchase and not a whole lot of time learning the rules. It can be used for any rpg style from dark and gritty to light and humorous. Any genre from fantasy to supers to westerns to space to horror to steampunk to spies to.... oh you get the picture.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Thanks Keith, for the very thorough review! I was a bit torn on how many sample races, archetypes, and creatures to include, as I didn\'t want to bloat the book with exhaustive examples that may not be useful for most readers. I am considering writing some supplements, since I have plenty more material to put out there if there\'s demand, so an Adversaries expansion is certainly on the cards! I\'m also happy to help people with ideas and suggestions for original content, via the PowerFrame Games Community on Google Plus. I actually recently put together some Vampire stats for a new campaign. I\'m also glad to hear you liked the Mysticism rules. I had to give the old magic system a complete overhaul to fit it in the book, and I was a little worried that it might be a bit too... well, \"arcane\" for people to actually use!
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