Five Torches Deep is a rules-light, D20 system. It requires both players and GM to use their imaginations to interpret the rules and make them their own both before and during play. This is not a game where you find answers to what happens in play so much as it points you in certain directions. For some people this might be a drawback, but I found running it very easy. My players found playing it to be easy, too. They just talked about what they'd like to do in the game based on their character's abilities, I assign a difficulty to it, they rolled their d20 and add the attribute and any proficiences and items they have and that's it. Monster and NPC creation are likewise very easy. The game says that it borrows a lot from OSR and 5E, but I think there is a lot of Dungeon World/PBTA also in the mix as much of the game is based around simple tags for characters and NPCs. Everything is stripped down to the absolute essentials needed and no more. The rest is up to you. Great!
Using this ruleset, I ran my group through the wonderful dungeon, A Litany of Scratches. Among other things, I modified the, in my opinion, too strict death and magic rules and added other house rules to make it more to my liking. Very easy to do. Advantage here, disadvantage there, etc. Everyone in the reviews who is complaining about a rule in the system, there's a simple answer-- don't use it, or modify it! It couldn't be easier.
In short, I think think 5TD is a good system that many will enjoy.
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!] |