4 out of 5

Let’s suppose that you’ve never played a tabletop RPG before (like me).  Let’s further suppose you haven’t read online Danger Country comic book (like me).  How, then, does this intro book for a proposed RPG based on said online book come across?

Intriguing, but intimidating.  It’s hard to tell – again, without context – how seriously we’re supposed to take the material, but given Jihanian’s wonderful fantasy prints and association with names / publishers from that scene, we’ll assume this is an honest effort.  But: When I see source books / guides they’re generally more expansive than this – even accepting this as a ‘quick’ start guide, so if it is meant to actually be attempted, the intimidation factor is where to start.  I feel like, within its few pages, Levon gives us a great summary of how this works: Die rolling based on stats to determine outcomes; flow determined by a facilitator, who should work with players to create an enjoyable game-playing experience.  But besides the barest rule that death should be a player decision and a base character set, you kind of feel left out there.  Then, when the last two pages offer up incredibly detailed or just more-complex-than-I-could-make-up-on-the-spot dungeons / villages, it starts to seem like it may be a partial joke…

But the point is, funny or real, my imagination started going when reading about the setting (a world split by a chasm, emeralds stolen by vampires) and seeing Jihanian’s clear-lined interior drawings (taken, in part, I think, from the comic) of the players; I’m interested.  And maybe that just means reading the comic and not trying to see if I could stumble through a game, but either way, I’d say that’s mission accomplished.

Printed with a stiff stock cover with another wonderfully painted fantasy image adorning the front, interiors interestingly printed on yellow paper, which nonetheless feels like a good fit for whatever reason.  This was a supplemental book included free with Study Group Magazine #4.