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Old 05-03-2011, 06:54 AM   #6
Mercator
 
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia
Default Re: I am intrigued by Aquelarre (rpg from Spain)

Azel,

I've played and GMd Aquelarre (First Edition, the one from the 90s) a few times. I don't have it with me ATM, but I think I remember enough for a review.

Overally, it's a simple but pretty good game. The mechanics are BRP-based and, while not being particularly remarkable, do their job well. There is the nifty detail of splitting Dexterity into separate characteristics: one for fine hand coordination and another for overall agility and reflexes, which I like a lot and miss almost everywhere else. There are two special characteristics, RATionality and IRRationality, which fulfill a role similar to SAN in CoC: Specifically, IRR goes up whenever you learn or cast magic (which in turn demands a high IRR score), are in contact with the supernatural for a long time, etc. The sum of both is fixed, so increasing one decreases the other; when your IRR reaches 100 (I think), you become a NPC and abandon the game.

I wouldn't call the setting "extensively researched", at least in the core book --it's quite short after all. There is information on the five kingdoms in the 1350s Iberian Peninsula, along with descriptions of the main social classes and professions: enough to give interesting backgrounds and plot hooks for most conceivable characters, and no more. Regarding the mythology, it reflects actual Medieval European beliefs a lot more faithfully than the sanitized, PC interpretations that you see in other games, specially those from the US (no offense intended to US game designers, but European players do perceive the difference). This is, if you are repulsed by the mention of bodily functions, sex or disease in a RPG, maybe you shouldn't be playing. We used to play Ars Magica --which we like a lot, but whose background is too made-up for our taste-- with an Aquelarresque (what a word!) setting, and it was a blast.

The magic system consists of spell lists sorted by levels according to their in-game potential. This could have been very cliche and cheesy, but here it works because the level mechanics are very low-key and don't allow for much munchkinism, and because spells are rare, mysterious rituals that require time, energy and exotic ingredients --evil eye charms, love potions, divination rituals...-- instead of monster-killing tactical weapons. Therefore, magic-wielding players are less concerned with optimizing their characters for maximum killing potential and more with playing along. I don't remember any spell requiring mutilated babies; the most "hardcore" ingredients are stuff like menstrual blood and ISTR a human heart for one of the highest-level, never-seen-in-game spells; if you can handle that, you'll be fine.

I like Aquelarre. The rules, while not inspiring, are simple, easy to learn and don't get in the way; and the setting is a superficial but essentially correct rendition of the age it is set in. If you have access to a Spanish-speaking GM, I highly recommend you give it a try.

I hope this was useful,

M.
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Conversion of the supernatural skills in the Basic Set to Powers.

Last edited by Mercator; 05-03-2011 at 07:47 AM. Reason: Rearranged the text more logically.
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