Exploring Atlantis 1: Game overview

I don't intend to do much in the way of reviews on this blog. There are plenty of places on the internet to find that sort of thing. You can generally assume that if I'm talking about a game product, I like it. However, I do feel that I should describe the product at least a little so that anyone considering purchasing it might have more to go on than just my enthusiasm for it.

Atlantis: The Second Age is a sword and sorcery RPG currently put out by Khepera Publishing. It is the third edition of a game originally published by Bard Games. The biggest differences between this iteration of the game and previous ones are the lifepath character creation system and the removal of non sword and sorcery type creatures. There are no elves, dwarves, unicorns, or fairies in this version. If neither of those things appeal to you, you might be happier with the second edition of the game, which Khepera currently also has available in pdf form. 

There are a few problems with the game I feel I should address, however. While the overall production value for the pdf is fairly high (as of this writing, the printed version is not available), it shows signs of being "rushed out the door". There are a few more typos than I am comfortable with, and several places where it appears that two different versions of the same information weren't reconciled. As an example, in at least one place in the book, there are references to a Speak Language skill. In other places, the skill is referred to only as Language. This caused some confusion during character creation. There are a few organizational issues. An example of this is the placement of the Racial Attribute maximums almost at the end of the character creation section. It is possible to start a the beginning of the character creation section, get to the end, and realize that you have spent more points on your attributes than allowed.

One other thing to be aware of is the fact that the bestiary section is very small. There is advice on how to create creatures for your game, but if you aren't the type who enjoys doing that, you might be better off waiting for the official Bestiary.  

After indulging in what could be categorized as nit-picking, I will take this opportunity to state again: I like this game, I am happy I purchased it, and I am preparing to run it very soon. In future posts I will discuss what I like about the game in greater detail, and introduce you to the player characters in my game. In the meantime, grandexperiment has a nice variety of posts on Atlantis: The Second Age character creation that I can recommend.