Adventure awaits! Take your next step out of the ordinary with the new edition of the HackMaster fantasy roleplaying game! Play as a dwarf, elf, halfling, or human, and take the role of a fighter, thief, mage, or cleric, in an epic saga filled with danger and endless excitement. The HackMaster Basic rulebook has everything you need to start playing, with easy-to-read rules for new players and information for GameMasters—including descriptions of over 75 monsters - all with that award-winning, classic HackMaster feel.
The original HackMaster game was designed as a parody of contemporary role-playing, inspired by the games played by the characters in the popular Knights of the Dinner Table comics. Even then many gamers saw through the obligatory silliness to a sound ruleset in its own right, and with the advent of HackMaster Basic the game has grown up, to leave aside parody and present a game which is fun to play in itself. Fret not, though - if you do enjoy parody and a bit of silliness along with your fantasy, it's still here! So is the 'luck panel' for rubbing dice on (which never worked with mine, but your experience may differ!)
After some apposite opening remarks setting the context, we begin with Quickstart Rules for those straining at the leash to get playing. It is a simple and straightforward process with the options at each stage explained clearly. Although it will help if at least one person there has some idea of what they are doing, following the process through should enable players new to this game (or indeed role-playing itself) to create a basic character ready for play.
The rest of the book takes you through far more detailed material on both creation and playing of characters, plus an entire chapter on dice...
In summation, HackMaster has grown up, shed the more overt parody descending into silliness aspects of earlier books (well, perhaps not where dice are concerned!) and now presents a mature and balanced ruleset for those who want the best of 'old school' gaming blended with true role-playing. Even if you dismissed it out of hand before, it is well worth a look in this incarnation.
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