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tallpaul's review
5.0
Luka Rejec's Longwinter campaign setting was a breath of fresh air on a cold winter's morning. The setting feels robust - full of history and exploration. It can easily be used as a full on campaign setting or as a mini winter setting which could last from 4 or so sessions depending on the paths players take.
I was pleasently surprised by this campaign. It was not on my radar at all and I've had it for over a year now (and I had the beta before that... Oops).
There are 2 books. The referee book gives all the behinde the screen details. The other reads like a visitor's guide to the area for both players and DM. I'm pretty sure you'd want both books for the full picture.
There is a great survival, almost Doomsday clock-esque, mechanic that drives the players forward. My favorite is the use of playing cards to generate location option. Player decisions matter a lot in Longwinter. Best if all, each location clearly telegraphs the risks and rewards so the decisions made aren't based entirely on luck. This should create good discussions between players as they weigh their options.
I'd really like to run this one someday. I'm not sure which system would work best for it, though I think it's pretty flexible. The visitors guide book provides rules for inventory, dealing with the cold, and rest/recovery are provided along with DC levels 1-20, so some sort of d20 system would probably work best.
I was pleasently surprised by this campaign. It was not on my radar at all and I've had it for over a year now (and I had the beta before that... Oops).
There are 2 books. The referee book gives all the behinde the screen details. The other reads like a visitor's guide to the area for both players and DM. I'm pretty sure you'd want both books for the full picture.
There is a great survival, almost Doomsday clock-esque, mechanic that drives the players forward. My favorite is the use of playing cards to generate location option. Player decisions matter a lot in Longwinter. Best if all, each location clearly telegraphs the risks and rewards so the decisions made aren't based entirely on luck. This should create good discussions between players as they weigh their options.
I'd really like to run this one someday. I'm not sure which system would work best for it, though I think it's pretty flexible. The visitors guide book provides rules for inventory, dealing with the cold, and rest/recovery are provided along with DC levels 1-20, so some sort of d20 system would probably work best.
cybergoths's review
5.0
I finally got time to sit down and read through both parts of Luka Rejec's Longwinter setting and I'm glad I did. Split across two pristine perfect bound books, I was almost afraid to handle it because it reminded me of freshly fallen snow that you didn't want to disturb. That snow has bursts of glorious colour, where Luka's pen and ink style illustrations capture the essence of the setting. The first book is the Visitor's Book (104-pages), a gazetteer of the Barony of Brezim, a high valleyed alpine setting. The second book is the Referee's book (114-pages), which provides details of the factions, encounters and the metaplot that the characters will hopefully endure and break free from.
The Longwinter Referee's Book opens up the truth of what is going on in the Barony of Brezim. The high mountains were settled with the blessing of the local goddess, Winterwhite, and certain pacts were entered into. Pacts that are about to be broken and bring a terrible ending upon the Barony should they not be met. A winter will fall that's colder and darker than any seen in living memory. A goddesses' wrath is a terrible thing.
The book opens by explaining the meta-plot, using some fiction to illustrate the key elements. The factions are revisited, their potential fates described with guidance on elements that will happen should they gain advantage and also how setbacks will affect them.
There are new maps for the Barony, showing the coming of winter over November, December and Janurary, detailing the spread of the snow and ice and the impact upon travel.
The guidance suggests a longer-form campaign where the characters arrive towards the end of summer and start to encounter signs and portents that all is not well. However, there's also guidance on how to run a shorter form game. If you chose to start in January, you'll be deep into survival horror. Each month has tables for events, weather and encounters. The amount of fuel, food and the kind of protective clothing that the characters have will become increasingly critical as Fimbulwinter descends.
It is likely that the characters will want to flee; indeed, this is the most likely route for them to survive as discovering anything about the pact that has been broken will be challenging, and restoring it even more so, as it relies on a dark ritual. Escape may be the only sensible solution, and there is a procedurally generated method to do this.
A card deck is used to represent the different terrain types; forest, icefields, rivers and mountains. They have linked challenges and characters that can be encountered. These are flavourful nutshells that provide great hooks for encounters. They replace the normal encounter system once escape is planned. A successful escape can only be made once the characters have collected either 3 of a kind or 4 in a row. Alternatively, you could just plumb them for encounters and ideas and run a more traditional style game as the characters struggle to escape. The book ends with some useful guidance on how to deal with the aftermath of an escape, and to judge how well it has gone.
The Longwinter Referee's Book opens up the truth of what is going on in the Barony of Brezim. The high mountains were settled with the blessing of the local goddess, Winterwhite, and certain pacts were entered into. Pacts that are about to be broken and bring a terrible ending upon the Barony should they not be met. A winter will fall that's colder and darker than any seen in living memory. A goddesses' wrath is a terrible thing.
The book opens by explaining the meta-plot, using some fiction to illustrate the key elements. The factions are revisited, their potential fates described with guidance on elements that will happen should they gain advantage and also how setbacks will affect them.
There are new maps for the Barony, showing the coming of winter over November, December and Janurary, detailing the spread of the snow and ice and the impact upon travel.
The guidance suggests a longer-form campaign where the characters arrive towards the end of summer and start to encounter signs and portents that all is not well. However, there's also guidance on how to run a shorter form game. If you chose to start in January, you'll be deep into survival horror. Each month has tables for events, weather and encounters. The amount of fuel, food and the kind of protective clothing that the characters have will become increasingly critical as Fimbulwinter descends.
It is likely that the characters will want to flee; indeed, this is the most likely route for them to survive as discovering anything about the pact that has been broken will be challenging, and restoring it even more so, as it relies on a dark ritual. Escape may be the only sensible solution, and there is a procedurally generated method to do this.
A card deck is used to represent the different terrain types; forest, icefields, rivers and mountains. They have linked challenges and characters that can be encountered. These are flavourful nutshells that provide great hooks for encounters. They replace the normal encounter system once escape is planned. A successful escape can only be made once the characters have collected either 3 of a kind or 4 in a row. Alternatively, you could just plumb them for encounters and ideas and run a more traditional style game as the characters struggle to escape. The book ends with some useful guidance on how to deal with the aftermath of an escape, and to judge how well it has gone.
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