Iron Kingdoms: Character Guide

[Cynical Cat]

This book is the equivalent of the Player's Handbook for the Iron Kingdoms setting, which is also the setting of their War Machine and Hordes miniature games. It's a nice looking, 400 page hardback with nice black and white interior illustrations. The setting is what the publishers refer to as "full metal fantasy", essentially steam punk & sorcery.

Content: The game uses D&D rules with a few variations. It details every playable race, including goblins, ogruns, and trollkin. The last two are well designed +1 Level Adjustment races. The book then details the changes to the standard classes (mostly minor) and then introduces three new classes: Gun Mage (hybrid caster), Arcane Mechanik (hybrid caster), and Fell Caller (trollkin fighter with fearsome magical bellows). Prestige classes are discussed next, including the Battle Chaplain, Pistolier, Rifleman, and Warcaster.

New feats (some of which are quite nice) and skills come next, followed by gear which is big chapter. Not only are there new weapons, but firearms and mechanical devices as well. As is typical, warrior types do benefit the most from introduction of new weapons and firearms, but there are items that will benefit rogues and mages as well.

Then we get a huge chapter on religion, which is a very big deal in the Iron Kingodoms. The number of gods is small, but the conflict between them is not. Menoth is an intolerant, authoritarian creator god and in a state of conflict with pretty much every other religion, his followers are zealous, and the High Scrutator (head of the executioners and torturers) has always been the hierarch of the Protectorate of Menoth. Add in the good and evil gods and the schisms and we have plenty of opportunities for religious violence.

Next is the chapter on magic. The Iron Kingdoms have fewer spellcasters than the average D&D world and have additional restrictions as well. Planar travel is out, teleportation carries an extra hazard as well, necromancy has additional risks, and summoning is at best questionable. Wizardry is new to humans and in backwards places they still burn sorcerers.

Priests are also under a number of restrictions. As well as the ones that affect mages there are restrictions on healing and raise dead is a 9th level spell that most religions are reluctant to cast and that's before the possibility of nasty side effects are considered. New spells and alchemical substances are also detailed, including a number of alchemical healing substances.

Mechaniks, the art of merging science and sorcery is next. Magic item creation is especially costly in the Iron Kingdoms and the practice of Mechanika has arisen to address this. Essentially magic items are created in several discrete, comparatively easy to create components and linked together. The moderately complex process is well detailed and includes helpful examples. There are some draw backs to mechanikal devices (the complications of charges and recharging for example) and it works better for some items (armor and weapons) than others (wonderous items, ring, and amulet equivalents have additional drawbacks and wands, rods, and staffs are only desirable as mechanikal versions because they boning they receive under the modified creation rules is even worse). The section includes steamjacks and warjacks, the steam powered robots controlled a magical brain.

Pros: Lots of nice illustrations, clear explanations, and good setting details

Cons: The world book is separate, but a short summary of world history would have been nice. Also lacking is which of the new weapons are added to class lists that don't say all simple or all simple and all martial weapons. My inner munchkin is also able to detect that some organizations and gods which offer special feats or rituals are better than others. The scions of the dark goddess Thamar, for example, have by far the best mage special powers and if you want some paladin like abilities her brother Morrow is a superior choice. The same goes for the various organizations. Considering how integral religious strife is to the setting, it would have been better if such adventurer friendly abilities hadn't been so narrowly concentrated to specific gods or orders.

Overall: You want some steampunk with your D&D and a world with some substance, this is for you.