We received a copy of the Relics manual and the related tarot deck from Tin Star Games to write this review. Personally, I was one of the 511 backers of the Kickstarter campaign, buying the digital version. It is therefore a product that I not only knew of, but that I had already had an appreciation. I had not yet had the opportunity to examine it thoroughly, however, and this was the perfect opportunity. If you are interested in buying it, the price is $60 at Indie Press Revolution.
Relics – A Game of Angels is a modern urban fantasy RPG that vasts players into the role of fallen angels, trapped on Earth, the gates of Heaven closed, and God gone. Myriads of powerful and confused supernatural beings abandoned in the midst of conflict with demons.
Let’s start with the name and the author
Why was Relics chosen as the title? Because powerful celestial items are scattered through human history, and the cold war between light and dark has turned into a mad arms race. Control the Relics and you control the world – but first, you must find them.
Relics’ author is Steve Dee, he is a 42 year-old dog trainer from Sydney who, as you can imagine, has a passion for role playing. Relics game design is all his doing. For the graphics part, he collaborated with Matt Roberts, graphic designer for all Tin Star Games works. Throughout the manual, Steve exposes himself by giving explanations of some choices or even finding a pretext to mention his profession. He manages to do so in a conversational tone and without being intrusive.
Relics and its influences
A roleplaying game is almost always the result of new ideas and many influences and elements that, consciously or unconsciously, the authors have accumulated over the years. The main sources of inspiration here are the films The Prophecy, Dogma, and Wings of Desire.
To these films we obviously add the roleplaying curriculum of Steve Dee. To quote his own words “if I hadn’t played In Nomine (1997 Angels & Demons RPG based on an earlier French product, In Nomine Satanis/Magna Veritas) twenty years ago, Relics might not have been created”. Steve started writing it while working for White Wolf and you can see the influence in the graphics and layout, which are very reminiscent of old editions of some World of Darkness games, most notably Vampire: The Masquerade. For the investigative part, Steve said he sees similarities with the various The Call of Cthulhu products, but he also mentioned Warhammer, Paranoia, Underground, Blue Planet and Starchildren.
On similarities and differences, Steve expresses a very interesting concept that I think can be very useful in a game:
I think this can be a very good thing in a game: the familiar gives people things to hang on to. And it allows me to introduce unfamiliar things. The places where my angels differ and the things my game does that others don’t.
Steve Dee
Where Relics is among the games of Christian mythology
What are the characteristic elements of Relics? There aren’t many angel and demon-themed RPGs, especially if you compare this genre with the top trends, from classic fantasy down. Each game tends to give its own version, to focus on a particular aspect set at the center of the game, enhanced by the system.
The fundamental focus of Relics is on mystery, horror and action. The mystery comes from the hunt for relics, the horror from the brutality that demons and humans have committed to get them or through them; so the action arises from the conflict that is created between the angels and their antagonists. Philosophical and eschatological questions about the purpose and meaning of existence unite everything. Finally, the aspect of the angels’ lives are central, their memories as millennial beings, their isolation, and the confusion of being out of place and at war, In particular. What will they be willing to do? How far will they go?
The author in an interview also stated:
RPGs can also be about really big ideas and ask big questions, and delve into political and philosophical issues. Relics is fundamentally a philosophical work.
Steve Dee
Relics was designed as a stand-alone product rather than a series of publications, a single quality manual containing everything you need to play. It was created to generate stories with content and concepts aimed at a mature audience.
The world of Relics
The setting created for Relics is very similar to the Real World. It has very precise rules to support playing these very special angel characters, however. To limit such mythologically powerful creatures and add a touch of both challenge and humor to playing them, what they can and cannot do are precisely defined – and the restrictions are many.
The cosmogony is well explained, as are all the references behind the stories, powers, angelic choirs and other game details. There are also interesting backstories for the narrator’s use. I don’t want to spoil anything, but they can make the game even more interesting or add to the sense of mystery. The reality, its creation, and the motivations behind the actions of God and the angels are interesting and not at all obvious.
Considering that we are talking about a manual of over 300 pages in which the explanation of the game mechanics does not take much space, how substantial the world, society, history, antagonists and the management of the narration are becomes pretty obvious. A large portion is also dedicated (rightly and effectively) to the angels’ powers and in particular to the eponymous Relics.
The engine of Relics: the Fugue System
Task resolution is simple: the player turns over a card. Results of six or less are failures. The cards from seven to ten, the court cards and the remainder of the major arcana determine a partial success, that is, a short-lived success or with consequences. Favorable or unfavorable circumstances allow you to flip more than one card and choose the better or worst card respectively. If a figure of the minor arcana comes up, it indicates a complete success. The Devil of the major arcana represents a critical failure, the World a critical success. If you draw the card from among the greater arcana that corresponds to your character, you can perform a Miracle. Complex tests are resolved by playing a hand of blackjack between the narrator and the player.
There are also several options among the game mechanics, the most interesting of which suggests interpreting the result of drawing the major arcana as a starting point for the result of the test. There are also alternatives for playing with dice or with standard card decks. The basic mechanics are light and devoted to narration, but the options provided to adapt them to your preferences are really quite varied.
Fugue System: character creation
The Fugue System was created by James Wallis and was first used in the role-playing game Alas Vegas. It is something of the same point of view one gets as part of the audience of a new TV show. The characters start the game by exiting a tomb near a horrific version of Las Vegas. The players know nothing about the angels they are playing and are looking for answers.
In fact, more of character creation is accomplished during play than beforehand. Revealing angel abilities through the narration of Memories related to the abilities themselves in the moment, during play, is an interesting approach, too. Who wouldn’t want to say to be the one who taught Hippocrates medicine?
Ten Things to Know About Relics
These are the main points enhanced and explained in the manual.
1. The Bible got most of it wrong
2. Strangers in a strange land
3. You can’t go home again
4. Fallen angels filled the world with magical items
5. An arms race has begun
6. Thou shalt steal
7. Angels are a product of all they remember
8. The path is unclear
9. Everyone wants you dead
10. You can’t trust anyone
Art and layout
Relics is a nice manual of 300+ black & white pages with a hard cover in color. The layout is well done; the textual subdivisions seem practical, and both the text boxes and the tables are inserted in a careful and rational way. I’m getting farsighted, but I would still have opted for a slightly larger and easier to read font, otherwise. Some pages seem a bit dense with tightly packed sentences, lacking any variation or breaks for the benefit of readers. This is not an issue in the digital version when using an adequate screen-size.
The manual is accompanied by cards: it is a deck with the major and minor arcana of the tarot. They are black and white images in the same style as the manual. The number cards are also illustrated. The subjects are varied and interesting and it is pleasant to browse and play with them. They are a coherent and well crafted addition that helps create the right feeling at the gaming table.
The graphics make good use of the black & white standard imposed on the manual, a precise editorial choice enhanced by images that are evocative of the noir atmosphere of the author’s world. Sometimes the black and white format can be a bit boring, but the images are generally pleasant. In particular, I enjoyed recognizing many famous persons among the characters drawn. Some of the illustrations in the manual are taken from the Relics deck of cards, re-used and re-purposed several times. The repetitiveness is noticeable, but it is used with an even hand to avoid overexposure.
Final Considerations
I found Relics to be a well-structured game, written with care. Steve knows where to be detailed and where to remain vague. The work is precise in communicating the concepts of the world and the angels, but still allows freedom in the management of many aspects of play. We are talking about a game more based on storytelling with a cinematic and/or serial television atmosphere, so the angels’ powers quite often are not explained, only examples given to illustrate the level of power discussed, leaving management in the hands of the narrator.
On the other hand, there is a commitment to maintaining tone and the feel of the setting. Character creation, for example, uses particular terms and names that are suggestive and evocative. Creating characters during the game may not satisfy all palates but, like all things new, can be interesting to try.
The text boxes and the prefaces of the chapters are full of insights. It isn’t necessarily a game for those new to the hobby, and requires commitment on the part of both narrator and players in preparation in order to fully enjoy. A clear and well-written guide is provided for the narrator, however, it uses a looser approach due to the angels’ extreme flexibility. It certainly does its best to provide a deeper approach, focusing its attention on interpretation and the mature and philosophically stimulating content.
For those wishing to get a more precise idea, there is a Pay What You Want offering for a Quickstart on DrivethruRPG. If you’re interested you can also join the mailing list of Relics.