Green Races

Format: Full Color Cover, B&W Interior, hardcover Page Count: 221 Genre: Campaign Setting Campaign Setting: Elara Developer: Fast Forward Entertainment Publisher: Fast Forward Entertainment Author: Timothy Brown

Product Code: FAF2500

Overall rating:  2/5.

Green Races is a book too trapped in its own hack-slash-kill mentality to realize how great of a game it could have been.  The book teases at a lush, dark world overrun by evil races hell-bent on world domination; only to then cast these races down as mere monsters fighter monsters over old ruins.  It's dungeon crawl after dungeon crawl, with no other goal than to get to the next dungeon crawl.

The primary flaw is the author's assumption that evil and chaos are inevitably entwined, and that a chaotic evil being is incapable of rational thought.  A Chaotic evil being may have no qualms about slaughtering an innocent family, but I would think even chaotic evil has the survival sense not to do so in front of a battalion of paladins.  Players, unfortunately, are told that their leadership is incompetent, their subordinates are either too stupid to follow order or just won't, and even their so-called allies (i.e. fellow party members) may be too dense, stupid, or greedy to be of any real value.  What a way to run a game.

The only way the game makes sense is if the party is all the same race, as all of the races are seemingly incapable of forming any serious alliances and just want to destroy each other.  All characters begin play at the bottom of the food chain as rank one soldiers in their race's army.  Players need to raise in levels to gain more abilities, but they need to raise in rank to gain power and prestige within their race.  There is no clear pattern as to HOW rank is really achieved.  The book says the player gains a rank by single-handedly claiming a dungeon for his race or some similar deed.  So if my adventuring party clears a dungeon, then I kill my fellow adventurers while they sleep, can I take all the credit and gain a rank?  And what if I'm only a 3rd level fighter, can I all the sudden go from rank one to rank three if I clear TWO dungeons and kill TWO parties?  There should be more clarity between the relationship (if any) of level to rank if players need both to succeed amongst their evil brethren.

There are fifteen monstrous races to choose from, but you have to use the Dungeon Master's Guide and the Monster Manual by Wizards of the Coast to convert your race to a player class.  Some races, such as the Dwarven/human crossbred Derro and the dragon blood drinking dragongoblins, are unique to the world and thus not available in the DMG or Monster Manual.  And the writer offers NO information whatsoever on ability modifiers, skills, or any special abilities these races may have so you can effectively create a character.

With the exception of a few spells and a prestige class for each race, the book offers nothing in the way of new magics, items, or ideas for PC's to use.  What it does provide are dozens of dungeons through which to crawl.  Granted, the dungeon maps are nicely done, and the related dungeon information is well thought-out.  Unfortunately, the rest of the art is generic at best, and looks like photocopies of photocopies at worse.  The beautiful full-color cover depicting the land of the Green Races gives way to grey-tone pages with black type.  The lack of contrast is hard on the eyes after a while.

As part of the greater world of Elara, Green Races probably has some value by giving more detailed histories for the enemies of good and some more depth to the evil side of the land.  As a stand-alone campaign setting, it is little more than a collection of random dungeons through which to sate a party's appetite for mindless gaming violence.  Not that I have anything against random hacking now and again, I just don't want to be involved in any game where that's all I can do.

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Originally reviewed for Gaming Frontiers Magazine