Chapter 12 discusses the unique rules for this setting: Dominion.
#GODS OF THE FALL CYPHER SYSTEM PDF PLUS#
It is, in fact, (along with Predation) the model we are using at Angel’s Citadel to build for Hope’s Horizon.Ĭhapter 11 contains two new Racial Descriptors, six new thematic Descriptors (that fit with the theme of Gods and Domains and morality), and a list of thematically appropriate Foci from the core Cypher Rulebook plus four new foci specifically for this setting. While this is not only handy to save time, it is also a great example of one way to look at doing so for your own custom Cypher System games. The character types follow in Chaper 10, and here Bruce has already used the type flavoring mechanic presented in the core rules to adjust the base types to fit the setting. Chapter 9 discusses the unique concerns behind GMing player characters who are Deities (or perhaps, Deity in embryo). Because it was written some time ago, the book refers to the original Cypher System Rulebook rules, rather than the Revised Cypher System Rulebook, although, you can and should use the latter. Part 3 dives into the rules of Gods of the Fall. There is plenty of room for a GM, even an avid worldbuilder, to breathe, and that, to me, is one of the hallmarks of good product now. Very much like other setting portions in other Monte Cook Games offerings (such as Numenera), there is just enough detail here to give you a feel for both a particular place and the differences between locations to get a GM started without being so descriptive as to feel encyclopedic in its cannon. With seventy pages of setting, covering both the Nightland, a foreboding, dangerous territory, and that under the sun, the Ruinscape and the Verge, Gods of the Fall spans a vast spectrum of cultures, lifestyles, and potential adventure types. It is one of the many reasons I enjoy his work. That is in my mind, very much a credit to Bruce Cordell’s ability to craft worlds that cause people to feel. And I don’t often say things like that about a roleplaying setting. “This would be an interesting setting to play a character in.” Reading this setting, however, I wanted to be that hero. Most of the time, when I read setting information in a roleplaying book, my interest is “abstract” or perhaps “third-person”. It simply cries out for heroes as it is crushed under a corrupt and inhumane regime. Corso in particular has a desperate, gritty feel to it as-described.
And in place of hope, what has arisen is rampant human self-interest and cruelty. The bulk of the world is a people without hope. The second chapter is a brief piece of fiction to add some flavor as you dive into the second part of the book, with details the setting.Įleantar is, in point of fact, a remarkably grim and dark setting. Part 1 of this sourcebook gives a fairly lengthy introduction to the world of Eleantar, where Gods of the Fall takes place, inclusive of many of the things you would expect to find in a typical fantasy worldbook for a tabletop roleplaying game (brief setting immersion of player characters, history, geography, magic overview, language, religion, etc…). I STILL have not actually played this game, but it’s pretty high on my to-do list when I get some breathing room. When I finally got around to reading it, I found, what in my mind, is a grittier, raw-er version of Exalted, which instantly appealed to me. I ended up buying Invisible Sun after over a year of that…). I didn’t really know anything about it at the time, but after looking at it on the Monte Cook site I placed it in my Wishlist for later determination (That’s something I often do – let purchases percolate for a while if I’m on the fence. There was a channel for Gods of the Fall and as I was poking around the server, I found my way in there. To me, the Storyteller system wanted to be a narrative game, but it still felt saddled with too many rules.įast forward to about a year and a half ago when I first joined the Cypher Unlimited Discord. When I first encountered Exalted, it felt very much like what I enjoyed about Æon except, like the former, I could never really get excited about the rule system. Having never been much of a fan of their “horror” games (the exceptions being Mage and Hunter), I had, however picked up Æon (prior to it being renamed Trinity after the whole Viacom/MTV lawsuit against White Wolf in 1997 – I still have the original special edition of that book before the stickers they sent retailers to “fix” the issue) and enjoyed some of the depth of setting concepts. It was years ago that I first ran into White Wolf’s Exalted. YES!” Unless they’re a Knight of Reconciliation, of course… When someone asks you if you’re a god… you.