Godlike

Format: color Cover, B&W Interior, hardcover Page Count: 352 Genre: sourcebook Campaign Setting: Alternate History WWII Developer: Pagan Publishing Publisher: Hobgoblin Press Authors: Dennis Detwiller and Greg Stolze  Product Code: HBG1000

Overall score:  2/5

It is WW2.  Nazi Germany has expanded its reign of terror throughout Europe with the help of individuals with paranormal powers that defy the laws of man and God.  But these individuals do not go unchecked, for on the side of freedom are those with amazing talents of their own.  Individuals willing to fight and die for their families, beliefs, and their country.  Welcome to the roleplaying game GODLIKE.

I wanted to like this game.  I really did.  Unfortunately, you have to be Godlike to fully understand the game system.  First, the primary system is not D20, its d10.  Gamers familiar with the White Wolf games such as Vampire: The Masquerade (or most recently Demon: The Fallen) understand the dice pool system.  Characters have X number of dice to roll depending on their attributes and skills.  The storyteller sets a difficulty for success from 1 to 10.  The more successes you roll, the more complete your success is.

But then the creators felt the need to present D20 rules, in of all places the appendix, for those looking for rules more compatible with The Game (the book's not-so-veiled reference to the traditional Wizards of the Coast system).  And this is where Godlike is anything but.  In its attempt to embrace the best of the d10, d20, and the tri-stat system, Godlike becomes messy and convoluted.

Characters have six base stat scores:  Body, Coordination, Sense, Brains, Command, and Cool.  A rank of 1 is below average, a 2 is average, and 5 is the highest.  Players automatically start with one point in each stat.  Then you get six additional points to spend between the stats.  That's not much.  You either end up with a dead-average character or an individual with one or two really good stats and several below average ones.

You get 20 points to spend on skills, but no skill can be higher than its related Stat.  So if you want a swim skill of 2, you need a body stat of 2.  Designing a sniper with a rifle of 4?  You need a Coordination of 4 as well (which means at least two other stats are a 1).

The stats, skills, and combat rules are explained in part two.  Part three explains character creation.  Yes, we learn how to run combat before we design our character.  Part four explains the special talents that set the Godlike apart from mortal men and women.  At least, it appears to be an explanation, but I got lost when they started talking about hard dice and wiggle dice and how to purchase them (apparently they provide automatic successes somehow).  Talents and the special dice are purchases out of a point pool assigned by the storyteller based on the level of game he wants to run, much like the tri-stat system used by Guardians of Order.

Parts five and six are actually the best parts of the book, as they provide the details of the Godlike setting from 1938 to 1945.  The timeline is nicely done to include important figures among those who possess Talents and their place in the world.  If it wasn't for the price tag, I might suggest getting the book just for the information in these two chapters and then using D20 Modern to create a similar game.

Godlike's cause is not helped by its bland design.  It is poorly illustrated with what looks like generic clip art and black and white war photos.  I fear the binding would not hold up to frequent use.  My reviewer's copy is already showing signs of wear.

Hardcore gamers with experience in different game systems may find Godlike entertaining once they wade through the rules.  The game does nothing, however, for new gamers or gamers who only play the d20 system.  While the story has the potential for an exciting and dynamic game, its designers were so intent on not being like The Game that they destroyed the system entirely.  I would be very interested in seeing this storyline redone under traditional d20 system rules.  Both the game and the gaming community would be well served if this happened.

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Originally reviewed for Gaming Frontiers Magazine

This review can also be seen at epinions.com