I've written about Powers & Perils before, so I won't repeat myself here. I will, however, share this advertisement for it that I remember seeing in several gaming magazines in the mid-80s.
I've written about Powers & Perils before, so I won't repeat myself here. I will, however, share this advertisement for it that I remember seeing in several gaming magazines in the mid-80s.
Lol. They sure suckered a lot of us with that marketing and great box art. What a freaking nightmare of a game system it was. Instant shelf queen.
ReplyDelete"Shelf queen" is a term I don't believe I've ever heard, but I like it.
DeleteI guess I stole it from the world of guitars. A "case queen" or "closet queen" is something that looks great but spends most of the time in the case/closet and never gets much, if any, play time because it's got no "mojo".
DeleteSame goes for a bunch of RPGs I've bought over the years.
"Hanger queen" and "garage queen" are probably the ultimate sources of the idiom, meaning an aircraft or motor vehicle that might look good but spends most of its time being serviced because it runs like hell.
DeleteI distinctly recall a magazine article (Fantasy Gamer, maybe) addressing accusations of some of that artwork having been traced from Frazetta's work.
BC Rich Warlock comes to mind.
Deletehttps://mesmerizedbysirens.blogspot.com/2012/06/powers-perils-vanquishing-ad-some-main.html
DeleteThe game itself was about five years behind the times in terms of design. However, I remember the County Mordara scenario/sandbox that was included in the base game as being pretty good. I especially liked the timeline that showed what events were scheduled to happen should the players fail to prevent them.
ReplyDeleteYes, CM was good and the setting supplement was well done too.
DeleteI agree that the game system is a mess, but I've stolen a few things from it (monsters, mostly). Also, the "Perilous Lands" setting is pretty nice.
DeleteI think this game played better than it read, if I remember correctly
ReplyDeleteNot IME. This thing was a dog. You can still find a few diehards who'll insist its awesome, but practically speaking its main purpose for existing is to make Lords of Creation and Tales From the Floating Vagabond look better by comparison.
DeleteI seriously wonder how many persons who denigrates this game have really spent some time trying to make heads and tails of it or if they just serve out their sentence. Nowadays it is a redundant cliché to describe this game as "unplayable, unfathomable", etc...I am really fed up with it. The criticism that surround this old game would be acceptable provided someone tried to learn the rules inside and gave it a try before. Otherwise, a suspension of judgement is the most honest and decorous approach. On my part, i can say that after learning all the minutiae of the rules (and it is true, this is NOT a game for the faint of heart) i spent some of the most memorable rpg session of my life with my group of players for several years. This was our game of choice. If you revel in games such as Rolemaster or Chivalry & Sorcery and like extreme details, you will like Powers & Perils. The fame it has is largely undeserved, but i suspect in 2024 only a few have the patience, stamina and will to study rules of byzantine complexity. It is easier to repeat what other have said without checking personally.
DeleteI entirely agree with the spirit of your final statement. Also I think it is fantastic that your gaming group enjoyed this set as your main weapon. Everything about D&D (guilty: I just call it all D&D) is about exploration, imagination and storytelling memories. No two gaming groups in history have hit Kobold Cave A the same way. That is the beauty of it. And jazz.
DeleteBut: for most things in life, we just don't have time to get beyond a 1st, 2nd and maybe, maybe a 3rd impression. I abhor quick-cut-judgments as well, but for most things, you just don't have time for deep digestion. Is it fun? Is it understandable? Can six people embrace the rules enough to make it all sing, or are we going to spend 45 minutes arguing over the rules' engagement of whether a tinderspark can light a dwarf beard on fire?
I have tried to read Walden a thousand times. It is literature. But I just don't get it.
Nearly everything that is memorable is generally fairly simple. Back in Black, The Marriage of Figaro, The Andy Griffith Show. You can hum them. It isn't fancy. Yes, a purist will immortalize Stairway to Heaven as a complicated but legendary tune. Hotel California. Comfortably Numb. Straight No Chaser. Agreed. I think they are the exceptions.
It would be great to have the luxury of time to fully review and digest something before judging it. I wish I had it! I wish we all did. Maybe when the kids finally get out of our house.
I had a copy of this, along with Perilous Lands. I recently sold both. There are many RPG-related things I regret getting rid of; this is not among them.
ReplyDeleteApparently, more than a year of research, development, and play-testing didn't save them from misspelling "exhilaration"!
ReplyDeleteLove the axe swinging dwarf, though
; )
“Hi everybody! I’m Jimbo, the lizard king. I’ll be your guide in the world of Powers & Perils. These are my friends- ‘Mesmer Matt’, the modern dance dwarf ‘Stretch’, and my best friend ‘Naked Ben.’ Wave hello Ben.”
ReplyDelete*waves
Delete'88/'89
DeleteI still think that Perilous Lands is one of the best Sword & Sorcery fantasy rpg campaign settings ever published. It combines the best Gygaxian trends of fiddly military details with Howardian mythical historical cultural analogues and cool weird locations. It nicely combines the humanocentric S&S style setting with High Fantasy, Pagan with pseudo-Christian default fantasy, and historical with mythical fantasy. I've run several campaigns in the setting using dufferent game systems, and there are just so many great campaign and adventure locales and situations it is hard to choose. It's got something for everyone.
ReplyDeletehttps://mesmerizedbysirens.blogspot.com/2012/03/celebrating-death-of-ad.html
DeleteThe game system now, that's something else. It has some serious issues, but there are also bits that are brilliant. I need to dig the set out. Maybe it would be worth going over and firing up the blog again just to talk about this game and the Perilous Lands...
ReplyDeletehttps://mesmerizedbysirens.blogspot.com/2012/03/powers-perils-by-richard-snider-review.html
Delete