 Codex ArcanisPublished by Paradigm ConceptsGame Line: Arcanis (d20 System)
Product Code: PCI 1101
ISBN: 1-931374-04-X
Page Count: 192
Price: $24.99
Reviewed By: Russell Higgins
Codex Arcanis is a core fantasy campaign setting book, with stats for the new edition of Dungeons & Dragons. It crosses many lines into other systems. The setting is definitely not a Middle Ages affair. Instead it has a definite Ancient History feel, paralleling most of the societies of ancient earth history. It also doesn?t follow the traditional hack & slash variety of games. It?s appeal is cerebral, with good/evil being a big gray morass that is first left up to the DM, and then left up to the players to decide whom one should side with. They also twist some of the standard character races. First off, no halflings or half-elves are mentioned. Evidently they are not present on Onara (the continent described in the majority of the material). Dwarves are actually shrunken giants, cursed into a soulless existence until they can redeem themselves. There are several flavors of elves. Once again they stray from the norm and attach an elemental essence to the race. They also introduce 3 new races to the mix of player characters. The ssressen, a lizardmanish race, most ancient of all the races on Onara. They have a matriarchal society and excel at wilderness type duties. Vals (descendents of the Valinor) are the only psionic race in the realm. They are linear descendents of the beings the human gods sent to rescue humanity. They each possess some of the powers past down from their ancestors. Finally, the dark-kin are a cross-breed of the parent race and the infernals who once held the land.
The most intriguing aspect of the book is that it describes not only how each race views one another, but also how each country views itself and the others. While there are unique twists and turns, gods in Arcanis lack Alignment. They could be worshipped by anyone. So if your character meets a cleric following the Death god, he may be chaotic evil, but he is just as likely to be neutral good. Characters no longer have the crutch of alignment to guide their actions as they are left to make their own decisions. And that is truly the best part of the book. It is detailed enough to be a guide, but there are no hard fast truths in Arcanis unless you (DM) want to put them in there.
Aspects I don?t much care for in this book were the styles in which some of the sections on the individual kingdoms were written. A different author wrote each section, and they are written from a point of view of someone living in that kingdom. It?s a unique approach, but sometimes the reader is confused about how certain aspects fit together in the history of Arcanis. There are certain segments that are not spelled out clearly enough but are referenced by other materials. Again this may have been done on purpose to provide playing room for the DM. Also, the artwork is good to very good, but the pictures lack captions and sometimes don?t exactly follow the passages being read. I guess they are open to interpretation. It took me a while to figure out ssressens were lizard and not snake people.
At the back of the book are appendices providing statistics for D&D 3e. They cover individual aspects of the races in 3e terms, introduce several new feats (most are well thought out and very balanced). They go on to introduce a few prestige classes unique to the world of Arcanis. Firearms are covered in the new weapons section, as flintlocks and a few new weapons are introduced. They also provide a smattering of new spells and clerical domains.
Overall this book is well worth the money spent. Especially for the DM who wants to get away from the Middle Ages environment. It keeps the flavor of fantasy and provides an assortment of bells and whistles, but it is an open campaign with just enough information for the DM to get started. It leaves ample room for the DM to put his finishing touches on the realm.
Overall score: 8 out of 10This review has been read 2424 times. |
