Dawnforge: Crucible of Legend

A surprisingly incredible setting. Very high fantasy, yet I still like it a lot and have drawn on this book and its "cousins" for many ideas that I have incorporated into my games.

The first and foremost thing you need to know about this book: The mechanics are done perfectly for the setting. It's obvious a lot of testing and thought went into hammering out the rules. At the same time, the product is full of the type of original thought that I have come to expect from a Fantasy Flights Game product. Legendary Classes are present, and new mechanics make them even more interesting and balanced.The one caveat about this game setting: This is not a game setting for playerkiller GMs. Never before have I seen a system that is as intent on giving characters so much power. You will simply not believe how powerful characters are by the time they reach tenth level, and characters that make it to epic levels will be truely epic. This is something that is so hard to find in the world of cookie cutter D & D, a campaign setting where you are not the pawns to the history of the world. You are the living history of the world. Take for example the demonstration adventure included with this book. Is it fighting kobolds, or a mindless dungeon crawl? No, it's raiding the caves of two immortals (demi-gods) and trying to make off with their prized artifact level weapons. Welcome to the deep end of the pool, hope you can swim.I give this book a 5 out of 5 simply because the publisher has a history of carrying through with projects, and a lot of the background gaps in this product can be dealt with in future products. So get your sword, little man. It's time to be a hero like no other, and carve yourself out a niche in the history of world.

Most fantasy settings have their lost golden ages. Crumbled ruins and time ravaged wonders of greater civilizations forever buried in the sands of time, past eras of majestic heroes of legend, of grandeur and glory forever lost to the world, remembered only in dusty tomes and old tales. Dawnforge *is* the world of those legends, before the follies and tragedies of its heroes and villains, and time's ravages have rent it to dust. It brings to life an era of epic fantasy, where the players have the opportunity to become those heroes of legend. I would compare it to White Wolf's exalted setting but in a more standard, western mythology and D & D/tolkienesque fantasy trope rather than exotic/eastern influenced fantasy flavor. I would say it is quite well written, another real masterpiece for FFG (whose Midnight setting is also a gem).My only complaints are that the D20 system is not really in my view a comfortable fit for really epic type play, but it's the setting that makes this book wonderful, and it can easily be converted to other systems more suited for epic over-the-top heroic play.

Fantasy Flight Games has done it!The book itself is well put together. The artwork is done well and the material is organized. This is an original setting where the characters "create history". It is an opportunity for players that are tired living in the shadows of the heroes of Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk and other campaign settings to come to the forefront and create the world they are living in, instead of just being a part of it. The concept is very original. I do not want to spoil anything but here is an overview. The world is relatively new and no Gods exist at this time. There are a race of immortals but they have not obtained "Godhood" as most RPG players know it. Conceivably a Player Character (PC) could change that and create the 1st organized religion in this campaign. The races themselves are undiluted versions of what the elves, dwarves, gnomes and halfling were before they evolved into the Tolkienesque ones that most RPG's use. There are also additional races that can be used such as doppelganger, ogre, and minotaur. Another added feature is the legendary class where the PC can develop into a more then Prestige Class character by doing legendary things. The setting is also what I would consider high magic. The magic is raw and untamed much like the rest of the world.My one and only reservation is that it will be GM intensive until more supplements are provided. Much of the information will be guesswork until more supplements are released.I also highly recommend the Midnight campaign setting from this publisher. It is also a unique experience. Think of Midnight as a Lord of the Rings world where the good guys lost.

The world of Dawnforge is a breath of fresh air. This campaign setting offers player characters the chance to become the heroes of legend, rather than being adventurers trying to emulate past greatness.To accomplish this task, Dawnforge has taken a number of steps. First, the world is relatively young, being only about 1,000 years since the first recorded history. Thus, while a few world-shaping events have already happened, the vast majority of them are yet to come. Secondly, there are a number of adventure hooks set up in this core book to lead characters into greatness. Kingdoms on the brink of war, leaders come to power with unknown motives, strange new cults threatening to spread through the land, an unexplored wilderness continent; which country will be the first to lay claim to its vast resources? Or will the native inhabitants and their dragon gods meet foreigners with malice and contempt? All this and more awaits players in Dawnforge.RACESThe player character races have been revamped to add a little extra firepower to help players become truly great heroes. The base races differ slightly from the Player's Handbook, gaining a few added benefits. Also, along with character class progression, the players now can look forward to character race progression. As the character gains levels, not only do they enjoy added class benefits, they also gain new abilities depending on their race. This includes bonus abilities, bonus feats, bonus skills, and even bonus ability points. The player chooses improvements from a list per character race, so it adds another level of customization to the game. Humans aren't left behind, either. They gain added abilities (based on their home area) and progression, also.There are also additional races available: doppleganger, orc, ogre, minotaur, lizardfolk, tiefling, and thinblood (Yuan-ti) are all options for player characters. And the best part is there are no pesky character level adjustments to worry about. All the races are well balanced with the weaker races being boosted up rather than the more powerful races watered down.CLASSESA few new base classes have been added, mainly in point of fact that there are no formal religions in the world. One of these new classes is the Disciple, followers who obtain aid and spells from the Immortals (not gods) whom they worship. Perhaps your character will be the one to advance an immortal's fame and influence and establish the first true religion in the world.The base classes are all allowed and have a spot in the world of Dawnforge.The rest of the book details each area and kingdom and gives history, personalities, locations, and interesting facts about that area. There is even a section on the monsters of Dawnforge, though these are mainly god-like versions of existing monsters (chimera, hydra, medusa, etc.) This is explained as the normal monsters being offspring of the great monsters, very similar to the Birthright method.The writing is well done, for the most part,