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Legendlore Core Rulebook $19.99
Average Rating:4.2 / 5
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Legendlore Core Rulebook
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Legendlore Core Rulebook
Publisher: Onyx Path Publishing
by Dan D. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/05/2022 17:21:57

This Legendlore Core Rulebook exceeded my expectations. I bought it because, as a teenager 35 years ago, I had really loved the obscure black & white, 1987 comic book on which this game is based, called "The Realm." It was about a handful of modern American college freshmen who are magically transported to a D&D-like fantasy world. Its influences were obvious, even then: the 1980s D&D cartoon primarily, along with some Tolkien, Star Wars, and zombie films. I was thrilled and shocked that this game gave this obscure IP new life in 2022 for a modern audience! Thank you!

After I read this rulebook (I bought the hardcover), I re-read the original comics before writing this review. I would say that the following sentence, quoted from the Introduction on page 11, perfectly summarizes this work. "The Legendlore role-playing game presents a diverse and includive world based on the Legendlore comics." It's a perfect summary because: (1) I was genuinely amazed and impressed by how much detail from the comic books made it into this book, but (2) the phrase "based on" is also critical: the authors also add interpolated and extrapolated characters and history and details and weave it into the setting information - so there's more here than just the comics (more on this below), and (3) there is a very heavy emphasis in this book on diversity and inclusion - that is referenced explicitly on the back cover, and in the Introduction. This aspect is reflected in the text, the artwork, and in a preponderance of the newly added characters. I think it's accurate/approrpriate that, in this quoted sentence, the diversity and inclusion is mentioned first, before the comic book source material.

I have given this book 4 stars instead of 5 stars, despite really liking it, for these 2 reasons: (1) several of the concepts the authors added to the setting, which weren't in the comic books, I didn't personally like, including the notion that artifcats from modern Earth (called "Strange Things" in the game) were littered all over the game world (things like cars, radios, and microwave ovens) and the idea that famous/legendary places from real Earth had been transported to the game world (called "Lost Places" in the game), including the Temple of Zeus and the Library at Alexandria, and (2) this book didn't contain the game stats for the primary villain in the comic books, Darkoth, the 'Darth Vader' of this world, despite him being mentioned and pictured on 19 different pages by my quick count (nor were any of the heroes from the comic book stat'ed out), though the book does include game stats for many other monsters, races and demons from the comics. These stats were probably what I personally wanted most from this game book.

Is this game book for you? In addition to the above, I would, lastly, suggest that you consider your own views on playing yourself as a PC. As I read this rulebook, the primary focus of this game, even incrementally over the details of the licensed setting, is that players are intended to 'play themselves.'



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Legendlore Core Rulebook
Publisher: Onyx Path Publishing
by A customer [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/15/2021 08:44:03

Overall, I really like this book. There is almost enough to work with here and it feels like it's mostly successful. The genre is one that is not often addressed in RPGs and it makes a solid attempt at doing so. I like the variety of new races and some of the new subclasses are things I would really love to play.

That being said, I wish there was more guidance on how to start a game. This is a genre where the transition from concept through character creation to first session is incredibly important and more than a little complicated to get right. The Session Zero section, while it covers the importance of everyone's comfort at the table along with safety tools, is lacking in other advice about getting the game going. Fifth Edition characters are relatively competent, even at early levels, so there's some mild disconnect in figuring out what the PCs should be skilled at and when. The book spends a lot of time emphasizing that Crossing can make you into an envisioned You, but spends very little time with advice for the GM on what that actually looks like. For that, it misses out on a five star rating from me.

So definitely check it out, but be prepared to put extra thought into what your opening sessions look like.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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