Browsing through Kickstarter projects to find out what’s coming to market, I came across Meteor Tales, a pen&paper RPG that, in its preview material, promises a unique and realistic combat system. Many promise, this time will it be true? Curious to have an answer, we contacted the author, Angelos Kyprianos, who kindly gave us a digital preview to allow us to take a look.
Meteor Tales is a project that has been carried out for 20 years. Behind him there are only two persons: the author and the illustrator, Charidimos Bitsakakis. The continuous improvements have led to the genesis of the second edition, which now through crowdfunding tries to achieve better graphics, more content and other accessories. In addition to the Kickstarter page you can also take a look at the dedicated site.
The promises of Meteor Tales in preview
Meteor Tales promises many differences from some features typical of many known RPGs. There are no hit points and combat has a high risk of lethality that requires tactics and careful management of resources. In fact, every creature has the same degree of vulnerability and the progression of abilities increases the possibility to defend oneself and avoid damage but not the resistance to it.
Character creation is multifaceted and takes every aspect into consideration in order to create unique and non-stereotypical (in races or classes) creatures. Advancement depends on what you practice and is not based on gaining experience. Magic has a new and different approach with the presence of schools of magic that are characterized by their own, autonomous mini-systems. The main element of the system is the Stamina, which represents the exchange currency to be able to carry equipment, perform actions and cast spells. There are also mechanics that favor interpretation.
Are the promises kept?
Considering that this is a preview, I have not yet carefully studied the 400 pages of the basic manual of Meteor Tales, but I wanted to try to understand if the promises I have described above are kept.
Character creation occupies nearly 120 pages and is described as a sacred ritual that must take the right amount of time. It is not completely free from stereotypes or classes, but it offers a lot of freedom. There is a lot of random results in some parts, which gives a slightly retro feel, considering the current trend of trying to create characters as balanced as possible, especially in numbers and bonuses. The progression of each aspect of the character is independent and linked to its use or training.
Combat really tries to be realistic and dangerous. The time is divided in seconds and the combatants act every X seconds. The damage has different levels, which can lead to consequences and even instant death; even the type of damage has different consequences. Damage locations are also obtained through the dice for greater accuracy. Some pledges of the Kickstarter also comprehend anatomical dice that show parts of the body instead of the numbers on the various faces.
Magic really takes a lot of the manual and is effectively differentiated into a lot of schools, aspects and facets.
Focus: Stamina
Stamina is truly a central element. Each action has a cost in Stamina which also depends on the weight carried, but only the weight of combat tools or easily accessible objects is counted, while backpacks or other items are not considered. An understandable arbitrary choice, on the one hand it brings fatigue and objects back into the mechanics of the actions, on the other it sounds a bit strange to calculate 5kg of armor but not a backpack maybe full of stuff. But it is the normal task of a game author trying to decide where to apply realism and where to suspend it, in order to make everything playable and the rules not too… heavy.
What else I discovered browsing Meteor Tales in preview
I was delighted to browse eleven races which, although they include the classic elf and dwarf, have some interesting variations regarding giants, snakes and nature. Very original the kind of humans that self inflicts pain to strengthen themselves or the half-ghosts, beings already dead, still material but with strong connections with the afterlife.
I found many numerical variables, which makes this game very dependent on the outcome of the dice. It is not a virtue or a defect, simply a characteristic. Usually this type of game gets clear opinions: either you really like it or you really don’t like it.
The structure of the manual did not fully convince me. The regulatory part would need to be more user-friendly to facilitate learning and consulting the system. Furthermore, on a nice volume of 400 pages, compared to over 100 beautiful pages of bestiary, dedicating only 13 pages to the setting is a choice that I did not understand. Either you omit it and create a manual that only covers the system, or you provide more information about the setting.
Arts and layout
As you can guess from this preview, Meteor Tales gives me the impression of a very substantial project with few frills. On the other hand, it is the work of two people, who have developed a 400-page manual as well as other supplements. Both art and layout share the same judgment. It is a simple, essential, but well done job. There are 20 years of work behind it and I understand the will to publish something of quality. Obviously not the quality of a publishing house or a large and ambitious production team. But self-love and passion for the project lead the authors to do their best to create something appreciable and enjoyable.
This dense content and the precise but always the same layout make it a bit difficult to orient yourself on 400 pages, complicating the search a little and weighing down the reading.
The Kickstarter offer
Digital PDF edition costs €20, the paper version €35 (€ 50 with hard cover). With €75 a squared map and an introductory adventure entitled Pages of Dyran are also added. By spending €100 you will discover the game world through a map and two supplements concerning the Kingdom of Lothen and the Trident Empire. There are additional pledge levels that offer additional elements such as miniatures, anatomical dice, soundtrack and much more.
There is no trace of stretch goals and the offer is very simple, but equally clear. Also this aspect is a confirm of a very substantial project, which relies little on advertising, on appearing, on attracting and spreading. The contents are instead many, ready and defined. It remains to be seen if, even in the absence of an intense marketing, Meteor Tales will attract enough supporters to become an established reality and spread its promises of uniqueness and realism.
