Iron Kingdoms Character Guide

WoTC is running in fear

Overall score:

I'll admit it, as those who have read my previous reviews know, I’m a setting freak. I have an unhealthy obsession with history and cultures in our own world, and it transfers to other things I do, such as RPGs. And yet I’ve never really found a setting book that satisfies my needs, and I doubt I ever will. Maybe I’m just masochistic in my constant reading of RPG books that have little thought or originality in them. Which is why I’m practically speechless when it comes to Full Metal Fantasy, Volume One: Iron Kingdoms Character Guide by Privateer Press, it’s flat out the best RPG setting I’ve ever read, and a D20 book at that.

The gist of the Iron Kingdoms is that it’s an equal blend of magic and technology, thus the name Full Metal Fantasy, where you have your traditional wizards and warriors fighting along side gunslingers and technophiles. Privateer managed not only to pull off a believable setting, as far as magic and goblins can be, but balanced the two competing sources of power in the game. The world actually feels more Victorian then fantasy.

Since the game is D20 it follows all the standard character creation guidelines, you’ll find plenty of new classes in the book such as the pistol mage, or my favorite, the bodger (the MacGuyver of the setting). You’ll find most of your familiar races here too, Humans, Dwarfs, Elves, Goblins, and Trolls, yet most have a different spin on them then your average fantasy setting. Humans actually have different racial bonuses depending on where they are from. Elves are a xenophobic people who are slowing dying because they’re immortality was removed from them. Dwarves don’t always wear beards (ok so it’s not a huge change game play wise). Trolls are a tribal shamanistic people reminisced of Native Americans, while Goblins (called Gobbers) fill the roll of about every other “small” person that you find in fantasy. From reading a review you generally cannot fully appreciate the importance on how racial relations work in game settings, but it’s sufficient to say that Privateer created a world where racial tensions are real and multi-leveled.

Technology is a hodge-podge of stem engines, clockworks, and magic. While there is technology that doesn’t rely on magic, mostly mundane and simpler versions of magic items, the vast majority of those presented in the book are a mingling of both. While this isn’t a bad thing, it is disappointing for those, such as myself, that were looking for a pure alternative to using magic. To be able to make many things adventurers would find useful you need to be a magic using class, so while the finished products are different the means of creating them are more or less the same. I don’t see much point in having a magic version of an item and a technology version if the only person who can make them are the same classes; however, adding the magic element to the tech does allow for easy balancing of the rules and explaining how Victorian age technology can equal magic. That being said there are means, though not as powerful or easy to make, to make pure mechaincal equivalant of some items. Instead of makeing a magical flame thrower (ie wand of burning hands) one could make a flame thrower, though it would do less damage and require a lot of fule to power.

Magic changes somewhat in Iron Kingdoms too. Nothing extreme, but there are lots of spells that aren’t available to the setting (anything dealing with the planes, including the Ethereal place) or their effects have been slightly changed. Necromancy has been changed too: Privateer has truly made it a dark art in Iron Kingdoms. As you cast spells that are Necromantic in nature the caster has a chance of suffering ill effects. While in normal circumstances none of these would be considered life threatening, they fit very well into the setting. Such as a taint of evil that others can detect on the necromancer.

Next to Technology and Magic the most influential thing in the Iron Kingdoms is religion, though the books tries to argue otherwise. There are only five gods in Iron Kingdoms, and they don’t get along. The authors put a lot into making religion mean something in the setting; so actually choosing a patron god actually means something to the game besides domains. Since the gods don’t get along, neither do most of their followers. There are some unique twists to divine magic too, most not advantageous to players. There are limits on how many hit points a cleric can heal in a day, rules (and punishments) for healing members of a different faith, and the removal of almost all the raise dead spells from the game. I had mixed feelings when I first read the resurrection rules; on one hand they’re very strict, yet on the other they add a lot of flavor to the setting as well as a challenge to the world. Basically all there is to bring back the dead is the raise dead spell (ninth level now) and reincarnate (seventh level). There’s less then 10% chance a priest will ever cast any on a dead comrade, and if they do there’s usually very bad repercussions. Of course, a GM could always ignore any of these rules, but if played right they add lots of flavor to the setting.

The book itself is beautifully done; it’s hard back with great artwork. Actually, the art in the book is all good, there were no editors who decided to throw in doodles they made to save money, and the only down side it it’s black and white. It’s a shame that the quality of the art cannot be seen it their original color. There are all sorts of charts and diagrams as well, though not many maps. The lack of a large map is the only major negative to the book; actually there are very few maps with and all have little detail at all. The only way to currently get one is to by Lock & Load: Iron Kingdoms Character Primer, which is an out of print, outdated book (this one replaced it). The next book that Privateer is planning on releasing is a world guide that one would assume will have a detailed map, though there is no release date for said book.

Iron Kingdoms Character guide is a book that puts anything Wizards has ever done to shame, Privateer Press raised the bar for RPG settings that might cause others to not even try to match. When asking yourself if yourself if you should own this book, just think of this; Privateer listed everyone who worked on this book in the front with Bios. That shows how much care went into this product.

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Written by Spriggan on October 26th, 2004