• Mood: pleased
• Music: The Alan Parsons Project - "Games People Play"

Sorcerers of Ur-Turuk RPG, What It Is

I spoke to the Friday night gaming group on Sunday evening and to the members (such as they are) of the Sunday gaming group last night, and have decided to shelve the Capharnaum - The Tales of the Dragon-Marked RPG for some time. The two groups find the math of the dice too convoluted at times and are having problems with the cultural and other aspects of the game. In the meantime, they asked me about a different game that has some of the same game world feel, that they had seen on my shelf and that we'd looked at back when it came out...

Sorcerers of Ur-Turuk.





So what is Sorcerers of Ur-Turuk? Sorcerers of Ur-Turuk is a game of sun, sand and Magic! Take a strong dash of Persian mythology and desert culture. Add in desperate Sword & Sorcery excursions into the burning desert, towering ancient temples and the fear of dark and terrible Gods. Finish it off with group-style play (where every player has multiple characters), a powerful, flexible freeform magic system, and a ruleset based on the classic and proven d6 game system.

The appeal to me of this game is many-fold, but three things stand out for me. First off, I adore Persian mythology and legends and that struck the right chord with me when I first looked at the game, but add to that the sword & sorcery elements of the game and well, sold! Second, the classic West End Games D6 system is one that I always liked, from back in the days of Star Wars and TORG: The Possibility Wars, and the variant that was discussed for this game was one that I thought could work well in the context of this fantasy rpg. Finally, the artwork for this game rulebook is watercolour style, definitely reinforces the feel of the game, and completely sold me on game as if the other two points weren't good enough!

So Friday night, the gaming group will start in on character generation for the Sorcerers of Ur-Turuk RPG of sun, sand and magic. Because the game uses a group style of play, similar to what was found in Ars Magica, they'll each be creating three Minor characters - a soldier, a servant and a specialist - as well as a Major character and a Sorcerer. The players only play one character in any given scene, and don't have to play more than three of their characters in a given adventure, though other considerations come into things as well. In addition, the players will be creating their Vahnam, an association of Surcerers and their friends and employees, as well as the building/complex they all inhabit.

Looking forward to it! :)