Swords Of The Serpentine Pdf Download

[Hildegard Lobach]

Swordsof the Serpentine certainly comes with a very illustrious pedigree, both of authors and publisher. Kevin Kulp has created Timewatch - one of the best time-travel TTRPGs out there - while contributing extensively to other RPG properties, and work from his pen is liable to be inventive and highly original. Emily Dresner has written substantially for Steve Jackson Games' In Nomine series, as well as further contributions to Pelgrane titles. Swords of the Serpentine (SotS) certainly lives up to its creators' pedigrees. This is widescreen epic swords and sorcery, very reminiscent of Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar or some of Robert E. Howard's lusher urban adventures. Lush is also the word for the artwork - delicious full-colour spreads which fit the dazzling, bejewelled metropolis of Eversink to a tee. It's possibly the best-looking Pelgrane product I've seen - it's certainly a damn fine one. The city map of Eversink alone is a thing of beauty that deserves to stay on gamers' walls, and in their hearts. (The PDF copy of SotS will be cheaper than the price listed in this review, but I put the print price because I suspect most buyers won't be able to resist the glittering print edition.)

This being Pelgrane, the system is Gumshoe. That's going to be a draw for some and a turnoff for others. What I would say for the latter constituency is that this is Gumshoe completely transformed from its original base, and far less focused on investigation. Investigative Abilities with names like "Ridiculous Luck" and "Scurrilous Rumors" are clearly no way about sleuthing. The SotS version of Gumshoe retains the distinction between free-use-and-point-spend Investigative Abilities, and roll-d6-plus-point-spend General Abilities, but the former as well as the latter are completely rejigged for the swords and sorcery setting. The conflict/combat system is geared for social interaction as much as swords, with Sway as a General Ability to influence allies and adversaries, Grit as a social "armour", and Morale as the social equivalent to hit points. Yes, this is a game where you can spring onto an outcrop and harangue your foes into craven submission by sheer force of personality. That's a considerable advance on basic Gumshoe, to my mind. And then you have Sorcery - a powerful but dangerous discipline fuelled by Corruption, which can warp the world around, you or twist and deform your body with visible stigma, in ways that are bound to attract the Inquisition's attention. Sorcerers are some of the game's most powerful adversaries, and their embrace of Corruption is a major plot motor.

Much more effort than in most other Gumshoe systems has gone into individualizing the player-characters, as part of embedding them in the setting. As well as positioning in fairly familiar iconic archetypes, such as thief or warrior, characters are kitted out with five or so iconic possessions that help define them, as well as a personal "what is best in life?" Conanesque drive. (When I joined in the SotS playtest, I drew up an impoverished son of an ancient noble family who used his flute both to play ancient airs and to cudgel his opponents. I'm determined to give him another outing some day.)

Characters, however, are just part of the scenery in the fascinating setting. This is where most of the labour of love has gone in creating SotS, and much of the re-engineering of the Gumshoe system has been focused on creating play styles and scenes that suit the flamboyant, swashbuckling mood of the setting. With one bound, the authors have consecrated the city of Eversink as one of the canonical RPG settings, comparable with Freeport, Pavis, or Baldur's Gate. Channeling (no pun intended) seven parts Venice to two parts Constantinople and one part Lankhmar, it's as much or more of a personality than any of the key NPCs who inhabit it. No wonder its presiding goddess Denari is physically identified with her city. It's also endlessly productive of dungeons, because the city is constantly sinking, and its inhabitants from paupers to princes build new storeys directly on top of the old, leaving the ancient levels to sink into the depths.

The way that the city's structure and story is woven into the setting and gameplay is illustrated by the Adversaries section. Each major faction in the city is detailed with an army list of commanders and minions, fully statted, so that any run-in with the City Watch or the Church of Denari can be immediately fleshed out with a complete cast of opponents. The corollary is that this is not a wilderness setting: the whole world where Eversink resides is detailed, with plenty of hints as to where you can take your characters for wilderness hex-crawling, but the action is clearly geared to Eversink itself. The spirit of the setting is closer to Early Renaissance with fireballs replacing firearms than medieval knights and castles, although there is some guidance for recreating Eversink as a steampunk setting if you want to shift the technological development needle. Out-of-the-box Eversink is such a rich and stimulating setting, though, that I doubt too many people will bother. In fact, I expect that, as with many Pelgrane products, gamers who aren't enamoured of Gumshoe will buy the book anyway for the superlative setting detail.

I'm in two minds about this game - because I'm torn between less than total love of the original Gumshoe system, and total besottedness with the city of Eversink and Kevin Kulp's scintillating reinvention. I'd flail around finding half a dozen other systems to wedge Eversink into just because it is so damn intoxicating. How you make that choice is up to you, but in any case, buy the damn game. Eversink awaits, and the Goddess Denari will reward you for your pecuniary tribute, the mercenary jade. PDF Store: Buy This Item from DriveThruRPGHelp support RPGnet by purchasing this item through DriveThruRPG.

Swords of the Serpentine (SotS) is set in the City-State of Eversink. Built on a river delta (e.g. swamp) over 1,000 years ago, the city is literally sinking into the wet, swampy soil. They buildings sink, on average, about 8 centimetres a year, meaning the first floor becomes the basement after fifty years. The other defining feature of Eversink is its canals. Think of Venice at its Renaissance heights.

Within the City are several different factions. Players can be allies or enemies of these factions. Allies can be called upon to help your investigation. Enemies can throw problems that make your investigation harder. Even without being a full ally or enemy, your actions in the city can help or spoil the plans of various factions. This will build Favor or Grudges that you can spend for smaller boons and burdens.

Pick a Profession based upon how, at a high level, your character views the world and is viewed by the world. Do not worry over-much about the profession-specific skills. Besides running out of skill points, there is no limitation to what skills you can pick.

There are gods and goddesses in this world. They are real and give power. The Investigative Ability Prophecy (Sorcery) is almost explicitly divine (e.g. divination) in its origin. Another one is Ridiculous Luck (Thief). While it could be coincidence, a person of faith calls it divine intervention.

This same rule applies, with some limitations addressed further below, to the use of Sorcery. Jumping up to the edge of the roof can be described as using your minor magical abilities. However, it is still an Athletics test.

The example given in the book is: Young, Fiery, Loyal, Never Forgives a Betrayal. These are traits that anyone observing your character for 30 minutes is likely going to pick up or learn about them. These traits can lead to positive and negative experiences.

If this is your first time reading about the Gumshoe system, I have an entire article explaining it. In short, Investigative Abilities always work. If a scene has a core clue in it (information necessary for your characters to solve the mystery and/or to go to a new scene) and you have the right ability to obtain it, then you get it automatically.

In must Gumshoe settings, Investigative Abilities are classified as Academic, Social, or Technical. In SotS, they are instead classified as Social or Professional, which each Profession having its own list. The number of Investigative Build Points each character receives is based upon the number of regular playersL

Next, you get 3 Investigative Build Points that can only be spent on Allies (2) and Enemies (1). These are in addition to the Build Points already spent on the other abilities. You can spend your Allies points on the same or two different factions. You can even spend your Enemy point on an Ally faction. That just means there are elements within that faction that love and hate you.

These Alliances and Enemies are permanent for your character. As an Investigative Ability, using the Alliance allows you to get core clues because of your training in the Thieves Guilds or a bureaucrat in the Triskadane you once told you something important that you just now remember. The Enemy Ability can work in a similar way. You spend so much of your time thinking about your Enemy Faction that you can tell when their agents have been in a scene.

As mentioned above, these are different than the Favors and Grudges. Favors and Grudges are temporary points gained based upon actions taken during an adventure. They can be spent to make life easier or harder for a Hero, but once spent they are gone. They do not refresh (regenerate) like your permanent Allies and Enemies Ranks.

All characters get 30 points to assign to General Abilities. These are different than Investigative Abilities because they have a chance to fail. Whenever such a chance arises, the Game Master will call for a test of a General Ability.

The player rolls a single d6. They can spend however many Pool Points they have available in that General Ability. Each point spent adds a +1 to the die roll. Most tests have a Target Number of 3 or 4. This means spending 2 or 3 points usually guarantees success. But those points refresh slowly, if at all.

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