Amaranthine – A Review

This is another great game from Machine Age Productions. Despite coming to this game with the expectation of it being rather rules light and being wrong, this game has a lot to offer and a lot to bring to the table.

PROS: The setting is absolutely amazing. The idea of walking around as a closet immortal, only to realize what you are when you run into another immortal, is great fun. The way the Amaranthine remember their past lives makes this game very interesting and very collaborative. I like that. The game also uses a Relationship Wheel mechanic to help track how your Amaranthine feels about the people who are important to him/her. The Relationship wheel is full of narrative interest and is a wonderful tool to know instantly, at a glance, what your character feels about another. The cues it gives you make it so easy to glance at the wheel and run with roleplaying and have the interactions between characters be vibrant and ever-changing. The writing in this book is also top-notch. I especially like the in-character little descriptors for the Maneuvers as they bring a lot of color to the world of the Amaranthine and really make it pop. Amaranthine is also released under the Creative Commons license, so that makes it super easy to share it with your friends and get them excited to play it. And they will get excited. The mechanics provide a tiered complexity so you can choose how much you want them in your game. The mechanics support a narrative style game with minimal dice rolls.

CONS: The book is a bit large, weighing in at 212 pages. Most of the pages are pure text and, while the text is very well written, it can get tiring to read and read, and read. Especially since the mechanics are a bit complex. It took me two reads to wrap my head around them, but once I did, I saw the elegance of the system. I also thought that several of the images were unfinished and really took me out of being immersed in the book. Most of the images look very finished and descriptive, but several were in a loose, watercolor painting style that didn't draw me in.

All in all, I think this is a wonderful game and give it 4-stars! I definitely recommend picking it up and giving it a go with your game group. The game really appears to focuses on inter-character drama and makes it exciting to see what else happened in your character's past. This is a high quality game that you don't want to miss.

Perceptions If you are a gamer like myself. The word “romance” almost instantly turns you off from any RPG game. Commonly, romance is considered a side plot element within stories told around the table top. Don’t let the word “romance” though turn you off of Amaranthine. In fact, this is somewhat misleading. The game is more along the lines of an urban fantasy noir than a romantic adventure game. Although, like most games, adventure is one of the key elements in Amaranthine, it might even beat out the competition in this department, don’t believe me. Buy the game. Another thing that might turn players off is the thought of playing an immortal. Keep in mind though that this game brings to mind series like Highlander, sprinkled with a darker side of Cthulhu mythos. To be honest, who hasn’t wanted to stare into Void, if only for a minute and who hasn’t wanted to play a character that has flashbacks to eons past? In Amaranthine a player can play a character that has witnessed the fall of Rome or even the founding of America. Meaning that in the world of Amaranthine, adventures in the past are just as important as adventures in the present. Pros and Cons Machine Age Production has put together a whimsical dark world that is full of psychological estrangement. The artwork is like stepping into a comic book but at times is rough around the edges. This adds to the flavor of its urban fantasy noir feel. The writing is lyrical with a heavy metal beat. Character creation in Amaranthine, directly affects the game in major ways, not just ability wise but story wise and is quite simple to understand. The toughest part might be reading the chapter on character creation which is laid so even monkey can understand it. If Machine Age Productions ever came up with a name for their system, it should be the fast and loose system because not only can you create the character you want but also the resolution system is fast and loose. My only gripe about Amaranthine and is a minor one, is that the beginning story is riddle with the f word. Machine Age, I realize that this is supposed to be an adult game but even adults get tired of seeing phrases like f&^%, s&*!, god(%^&. I think by using such language, Machine Age really limits their audience and I believe that Amaranthine should be shared with a wider audience, still a mature audience but a wider one. Conclusion Don’t be fool by Amaranthine’s out word appearance. It’s a great game that can be enjoyed by just about anyone. It still may not be for everyone, though, but if you don’t buy Amaranthine for the game, buy Amaranthine for the setting or for the beautiful writing or even for the eye catching art that peppers every page. What’s the worst that could happen you end up with a great RPG setting on your shelf.