Evocraft is an rpg for those who love stories and imagination, but delivers that in the form of creating your own world while also playing as player characters to interact and explore said world. Also, it is highly useful for any kind of world building, whether part of or independent from the Evocraft game. I recommend anyone who wants a sandbox-type of experience in a game, or who enjoys creating and storytelling, to try it. Evocraft provides the tools to truely unlock the imagination.

Evocraft is a game with a comprehensive framework for world creation, with explanations to construct a world in detail. You can create a world map and distribute temperatures and rainfalls to create different geographical climes. Then tables are given to generate plants and animals, each with features both mundane and exotic. Cultures can be developed on the roll tables in five Eras: from primitive through medieval and Renaissance, modern and then post-apocalytic. There are extensive notes on blending aspects of an old Era into your new Era. A few layers of spirit-worlds are detailed as well with Nature Spirits, Farlanders, and even more powerful Great Ones on the furthest plane, resembling gods. The "illustrations" are charcoal or ink drawings and patterns evocative of initial, simple cultures, sometimes of a playful nature.

There is a rules system but it is on the simple side involving a dice-pool system. The more six-sided dice, the more chances to be successful (count 5 or 6 as one success), and varying factors and modifiers give you more or fewer dice (roll up to 36 d6's, they say!). This is a little better compared to world-creation games like MICROSCOPE: the fun is derived not only in world and history creation but in actually playing out something in the world setting with fully numerically defined characters. Microscope will play short scenes with described characters but returns to large-scale world creation as soon as the scene's "question" is resolved. Evocraft has fully-rendered characters with skills and numbers for continuous RPG play.

The main book is over 200 pages, and there are 3 Era books 50, 100 and 100 pages each, with a sheet collection for character sheets (3 kinds for different eras) and worksheets. This is extensive material which is heavy on the world-building aspects. The StoryTeller (GM) may opt to use discretion in all the random tables and make judicious choices rather than totally random rolls, to ensure the world makes sense. The StoryTeller may even "subcontract" the design of the world and involve players in the designs.

Evocraft is not as detailed in the rules aspects. If your style of play involves a lot of "crunch" and preoccupation with attack-styles, armor and hit locations, this may not be for you. However, if you want a lighter, story-based rules treatment with your characters confidently placed in a detailed setting with geography, flora, fauna, history, culture and even gradual mutation to a whole different era, Evocraft will satisfy groups who want to collectively create.

I have to say that I agree with another buyer that Evocraft is epic! The rulebooks are a really great resource for worldbuilding and worth buying even if you use it for another RPG. The worldbuilding part is detailed, but not overly complicated. You can go into details or do it with "a broad stroke". In worldbuilding, I am a fan of great details and plausability and Evocraft delivers it. While it could be even more " in depth", Evo would loose appeal for the light touch crowd, so it is a very good compromise between scientific accuracy and usability. The artwork is great in conveying a more primal age.