Rhune—The Stormpunk Character Primer (PFRPG) PDF

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Originally released under "Jaye's Games" in 2010, the Stormpunk Character Primer is the official character creation guide for gamers interested in exploring the campaign setting, Rhune: Dawn of Twilight.

Inside, players and GMs will find 6 chapters (53 pages) containing information on:

  • Some of Rhune's unique races, including the Glitterfane and the Clockwork Elves.
  • A look at the Æssinyr, Rhune's very own pantheon of gods
  • A discussion about technology in the setting, with stats for firearms!
  • A brief discussion about some of Rhune's more prominent factions.
  • Beautifully illustrated by Darren Calvert, Nicole Cardiff, Julie Dillon, Jonathan Roberts and Hugo Solis!

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Norse myth meets Steampunk + Tech vs. (nature) Magic à la Arcanum = WIN

5/5

This pdf is 53 pages long, 1 page front cover, 2 pages editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page dedication, 1 page SRD and 1 page back cover, leaving a total of 46 pages of content, so let's check this out!

I've been wanting to do this particular review for a long time, but got derailed time and time again. I've first heard about the setting of Rhûne on the GMS magazine podcast when I only recently got to make the acquaintance of GMS' Paco Garcia Jaen and ever since, have been scouring the internet for signs of a kickstarter, the worldbook etc. - why?

Well, the world of Rhûne is interesting to say the least in that its genre simply hasn't been covered - the term coined is Stormpunk, which is essentially a blend of Norse myth and steampunk, of the topic of technology vs. magic and racial tensions, of destiny vs. free will. Ragnarök is looming at the horizon of Rhûne and tensions are brewing high between the conservative Ælves (+2 Dex and COn, -2 Cha, 25 ft. base speed, darkvision, +2 to survival and Knowledge (Nature), unlimited pass without trace in forests and agelessness in forests and 5 minor spell-like abilities for those of Wis 11+) and the dwarves and more progressive elements of the world. Other new races are the Aryndai (+2 STr, +2 Con, -2 Cha, darkvision, +4 to stealth at night, improved ability to influence spiders and the ability to change into giant spiders), a race of spider-affine shape-changers, the clockwork elves (+2 to Dex and Int, -2 to Con), low-light vision, +4 to all craft skills, +2 to Knowledge (Clockworks) and disable device and +2 to spellcraft to identify clockwork devices and perception and a penalty when casting from druid and ranger spell-lists - having passed the clockwork gates and activated the indomitable Ragnarök clock, they are a race both driven and tragic. The final new race covered in this book are the Glitterfane: Redeemed goblins, now beautiful and fey-like in appearance, these beings get +2 to Dex and Wis, -2 to Con, are small, slow, can fly at 15 ft., get +2 to saves vs illusion and +1 to the Dc of their ones, gain +3 to heal and improved healing and, if their wis exceeds 11, can cast 4 different spells as spell-like abilities. Age, height and weight-tables for all the races in Rhûne are provided as well.

A total of 12 firearms, all with their respective, unique artworks are also provided, though it should be mentioned that some have Str-requisites to properly use. The role of all classes in Rhûne is also discussed in explicit detail, as is the specific nature of planar travel to the 9 worlds and the concept of the so-called elder runes, all of which provide a prophetic clue and significance. Short write-ups of the different factions at odds in the setting are covered as well as the pantheon of Rhûne, which consist of the 7 Æssinyr, old gods and goddesses and the so-called thrall-lords, evil demigods that got changed by the great beyond (add possible dark tapestry-influence here) and now seek to usurp the power of the old lords and ladies - cool concept, especially when recycling the Norse mythology/adapting it would also have been a distinct option. I'm glad that author Jaye Sonia didn't, since OD's Midgard already does a tremendously good job of using Germanic/Scandinavian mythology. Even cooler, the gods all get their own banners/holy symbols depicted in their respective write-ups.

Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are very good, though not perfect: I noticed a minor glitch here and there like a racial ability not bold. etc. Layout adheres to a two-column standard and is in full color. And here I take a sharp break to comment on the artworks: They are awesome. All the artworks herein are to my knowledge original pieces. Each race gets its own artwork. The weapons get their own artwork. The cartography is done by "Lords of the Maps" Jonathan Roberts of Fantastic Maps/A Song of Fire and Ice-fame. Wow, just wow. To see such quality artwork in a free primer is awesome indeed and makes me even more excited about the setting. The pdf has ext5ensive nested bookmarks for ease of navigation. Now, if you've read this far, you've taken a look at the respective races and perhaps noticed that the racial modifiers/abilities seem a bit different and peculiar and indeed: The races feel a bit on the powerful side. However, the fluff and harsh cultural distinctions between factions and ethnicities point towards soft balancing factors like availability, prejudice etc., thus I can't yet comment on the final balancing.

I'll make no big secret out of this: I love Rhûne. Reading this primer was one of the rare cases of jamais-vu I've had these days and provided me with enjoyment and anticipation beyond any scope I expected to get from this pdf. Better yet, where the setting could have been content with just meshing two genres and be done with it, it only takes the broadest of concepts, blends them and creates something wholly original from the results by expanding ideas and twisting them. My only concern at this point is that author Jaye Sonia should take the utmost care to get the crunchy bits right (hint to some of the crunch-gods out there: Care to take a look?)- the fluff definitely is awesome. Also, I really hope that UM and UC get their support in the final version of the campaign setting since the primer was created prior to the release of the two books and I think that magi and gunslinger fit very well into the setting. Now all of this being said, I strongly urge you to download this free primer, read it and enjoy the cool, imaginative world presented herein and hope for a release of the whole setting "when it's done". Especially for a free pdf, this is a blast and might provide prospective DMs with some peculiar ideas indeed. My final verdict will thus be 5 stars + endzeitgeist seal of approval.

Endzeitgeist out.


Contributor

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Now available—and hey, it's FREE!

Dark Archive

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Liz Courts wrote:
Now available—and hey, it's FREE!

Well free is the magic word, well one of the magic words anyways. Anyways, I will check it out.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

And reviewed here, on DTRPG and sent to GMS magazine. I urge anyone who reads this to give this primer a chance - the book is beautiful and the setting innovative and for free, you can't do much wrong by dling it, can you?

Cheers!


I really really want this setting badly. The robotic lore reminds me of Too Human (great game and setting), and everything screams out to be one of the best Steampunkish settings outside of the Iron Kingdoms.


You and me, Leopold, you and me...

Dark Archive

Thanks for the review!

Dark Archive

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Leopold, we're working hard to get more Rhune: Dawn of Twilight out to the public. We plan to release several products this year, so please keep an eye peeled!

Dark Archive

http://paizo.com/products/btpy9m8o?Rhune-Dawn-of-Twilight-Campaign-Guide

We've come a long way.

Wow.

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