oat-headed Trollocs have overrun the countryside, silent myrddraal stalk the land and the prison that holds an evil as old as time is about to break. Against this rising tide of darkness stands one man, Rand Al-Thor, who must rally the forces of good while trying to hold on to his sanity.
The new Wheel of Time Roleplaying Game throws characters into the middle of Rand's fight, faithfully reproducing Robert Jordon's best-selling fantasy universe. The stand-alone game is based on the "d20" core rules used in Wizards of the Coasts' Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition.
Those familiar with D&D will find the aspects of the game familiar, but they won't need their Player's Handbooks—this is a self-contained, stand-alone offering. As in D&D, there are six attributes associated with each character, which typically range in value from 3 to 18. Most major events in the game—from evading traps to attacking enemies—are resolved with the roll of a 20-sided die. The result is compared against a target number known as a "difficulty class"; if the number is higher than the DC, the task is accomplished, if not, it fails. All characters have skills, which are used for everyday tasks like riding or craftwork, and feats, which give them certain exceptional abilities, like extremely accurate bow shots, or the Dark One's Own Luck.
There are only two races available to players: human and ogier. Humans come from a variety of locales, including everywhere from the heartlands of Andor to the proud ships of the Atha'an Miere. Ogier are a race of eight- to ten-foot-tall humanoids that live for hundreds of years, and normally live apart from humanity in locales called stedding. There are seven classes to choose from, including armsmen, which represent anyone who swings a sword for cause or profit, and nobles, members of the upper class who have the ability to call in powerful favors. Wanderers are roguish individuals with a variety of sneaky abilities, while woodsmen are the rangers of Jordon's universe.
And then there are those who wield the One Power, the mystical energy that permeates the world of The Wheel of Time. The One Power is accessed through the True Source, which is divided into a male half called saidin, and a female half called saidar. Two character classes can wield the One Power: initiates, who were taught how to channel by an established order (such as the Aes Sedai or Asha'men), and wilders, who figured it out on their own. As in the novels, the male half of the One Power has been corrupted by the evil of the Dark One; any male who can channel runs the risk of insanity or worse every time he embraces the Source.
An enviable gaming adaptation
One of the risks in basing The Wheel of Time game on d20 is that rules designed for hack-n-slash D&D could overwhelm Jordon's work. Fortunately, the game's designers were up to the challenge, and successfully engineered d20 to serve a different master.
Some of the changes are subtle. In the books, most of the main characters—Rand al-Thor, Mat Cauthon and all of the Aiel warriors—do not wear armor. To mimic this, the game drops the term "armor class" in favor of "defense." Defense reflects the individual's natural ability to evade danger, is independent of benefits derived from armor and improves with a character's level. It's a small touch, but it shows the designers were serious about fitting d20 to the source material.
Other changes, like those to the magic system, are more extensive. Male and female channelers can make a number of weaves per day based on their level, and modified by certain attributes like Wisdom depending on whether they are initiates or wilders. But this basic game mechanic—used since the
early days of D&D—has a few new twists. Each character has a certain affinity for one of the primal forces: Fire, Earth, Air, Water and Spirit. Weaves based on one of the character's affinities are easier to work, allowing them to cast higher-level weaves earlier, or to cast strong
versions of the weaves they already know. Characters also have the chance to "overchannel," which enables them to make a weave even if they might not have any slots left.
Rules are included for all of the metamagic tricks that Rand al'Thor and the Aes Sedai use, like tying off a weave—which allows a magical effect to continue indefinitely—or forming a circle with several channelers to cast higher-level spells. The end result is a flexible magic system that reproduces the finer aspects of channeling without gutting it to match an arbitrary set of rules. It's a nice break from the standard fare, and something that game masters may want to pull into their D&D campaigns even if they don't intend to venture into The Wheel of Time.
Purists may be disappointed with d20's take on the One Power because it does not separate a character's strength in the Power from one's skill with it. This only becomes truly problematic when dealing with the exceptional characters, such as Aiel Wise Ones who are very shrewd, strong-willed and
intelligent, but don't have much strength in the Power. Having an optional seventh attribute that dealt with Power strength would have solved this problem, but the lack won't be crippling for most campaigns.
One significant omission from the book are the Forsaken, the powerful lords and ladies who pledged their souls to the imprisoned Dark One. Some of the Forsaken are mentioned, but they are not profiled, and it's problematic that the game doesn't have a chapter dedicated to the villains that drove the novels.
The game touches on most of the aspects of the Jordon books that game masters will want, if not always in the amount of detail they'd like. Those who want more will be able to get it when Wizards of the Coast releases the game's companion book, a supermodule called Prophesies of the Dragon.
— Ken
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