Anime

Picture this - a war among the gods, one thousand years ago. Thousands of dragons and lesser gods fought in the mother of all battles, and in the process the very lay of the land was altered. When the dust settled, only Marfa, Goddess of Creation, and Kardis, Goddess of Destruction, still lived. The world's largest continent, Alecroft, had been shattered, and a new island lay to its South. It came to be known as Lodoss, which means "accursed land."

Today, Lodoss is populated by humans, elves, and dwarves, and it has its share of dungeons, dragons, enchanted forests, clerics, knights, wizards, and kingdoms large and small. All of Lodoss is in great peril, though, as the monstrous armies of the nation of Marmo head for its shores, bent on conquest.

Sound familiar? It just might. Record of Lodoss War was created by Japanese roleplayers who wanted to capture the feeling of gaming Western fantasy gaming, no less - in anime. They did a great job, too, which isn't surprising considering that the series is actually based on a game. ROLW carries with it a lot of the feel of AD&D, Dragonlance, and Tolkien's Middle-Earth samurai need not apply.

From the beginning, you can see the series' foundation in gaming; the main characters form what any fantasy roleplayer would agree is a wellbalanced party. There's Etoh, a human cleric; Ghim, a dwarven warrior; Woodchuck, a human thief, Parn, a human knight; Deedlit, an elven warrior/mage; and Slayn, a human mage. Eventually the heroes team up with Shiris, a human warrior, and her partner Orson - a berserker.

Together, these adventurers will be the architects of Lodoss' salvation. Their task is nothing less than the defense of their homeland against the inhuman armies fielded by the nation of Marmo (which bears more than a little resemblance to Mordor). Before the heroes find rest, they will battle dragons, explore ancient dwarven dungeons, and see the deaths of king and peasant alike.

OK, so the series isn't breaking any new ground. The scenarios, character classes and races are all familiar. For example, elves and dwarves don't get along. Clerics can heat people. Evil armies ate seeking magical artifacts, and dragons are raining fire on cities. You've seen it all before - but you've never seen it quite like this. The series is full of scenes that made me say, "Yeah. That's how.it should happen!" Watching ROLW actually inspired me to get back to work on my own fantasy campaign, which had been languishing in my file cabinet for some months.

I'd recommend ROLW without hesitation to any fantasy fan, even people who profess a dislike for anime. It will be especially alluring to those with a background in fantasy roleplaying - and you might even find it improves your game some.

Record of Lodoss War - The RPG

I recently acquired the Record of Lodoss War RPG (volume 1) from Books Nippan. In all honesty, if you don't read some Japanese, you won't get much out of it. I should also warn you that this isn't a big, glossy color art book. It is in fact rather light on illustrations, and those it does have are black and white sketches. If you're looking for a ROLW art book, keep hunting. They've been out of print for some time, I understand.

Fortunately, I have picked up enough Japanese to muddle my way through the RPG. I though I'd let SHADIS readers in on what the state-of-the-art in Japanese RPGs is like.

The game is class-based, with warriors, priests, scouts, knights, shamen, sorcerers, and wizards available. Each is only allowed to use certain weapons, of course, and combat-oriented classes have more hit points. Spellcasting characters receive spell points to use when casting spells from the lists provided. Hit points and damage work similarly to AD&D. The available races are human, elf, half-elf, and dwarf. The book also includes sample adventures and advice on setting up a campaign, as well as the mandatory equipment, monster, and spell lists.

While it all looked nice, I didn't see anything that made me want to abandon my Englishlanguage systems. In fact, much of the ROLW RPG is obviously derived from AD&D and its ilk. You may as well stick with the original. I do quite like the Lodoss setting, though, and I'm planning on adapting it to TSR's new "Saga" rules system, which fits it well. Perhaps we'll be able to bring you more on that in a future issue.

The Characters

The adventurers in Record of Lodoss War are a diverse group, brought together by fate. Their destiny is to follow in the footsteps of a previous band of heroes, who were Lodoss' salvation in an age long past. As the series progresses, Pam changes from a clumsy lad into a courageous, if headstrong knight. His adventuring career began when one day he fought off several goblins who were attacking a woman from his village. He was in over his head until Etch appeared and joined the fray.

Together, they drove off the goblin scouts, but unfortunately the goblins later launched a full-scale attack on their village. Afterwards the villagers accused Pam of stirring up trouble, and he was kicked out under the pretext of being "elected" as the town's representative abroad. His mission - to find out the cause of the increased goblin activity in the area. Pam is the main character in Record of

Etch and Pam originally came from the same village. Etch returned for a visit after spending four years studying to be a priest of Falis. As he returned to the village, he came across Pam in combat with several goblins. After their surprising reunion (and Pam's exile from the village) Etch decided to accompany Pam on his quest. He's handy with his omate mace, but prefers to be a healer rather than a warrior.

Soft-spoken and serious, Slayn is a sorcerer of tremendous power. Throughout the series, he accomplishes feats ranging from simple steep spells to erecting a magical shield to protect the party from dragonfire. His oddly-shaped staff seems to be some sort of spell focus, as he frequently uses it while casting. He also possesses a keen magical intuition, and instinctively knows when strong sorcery is used nearby. Slayn has been close friends with Ghim. the dwarf for years.

Ghim is a stout dwarven warrior. His personal quest is discovering what has happened to the woman he loves, Leylia. Leylia, a priestess of Falis, nursed him back to health after a serious mining accident, but was subsequently kidnapped by someone with mysterious motives. Ghim has resolved to find her, and Slayn decided to accompany him rather than let him undertake such a task alone. Ghim and Slayn happen to pass through Pam and Etoh's village during the goblin attack, and two groups join up.

In direct contrast to the gruff dwarf, Deedlit the elf is compassionate and light-hearted though she's not above trading insults with Ghim. She possesses a good mix of nature magic and combat skills, and has characteristic elven stealth, agility and intuition. Throughout the story, she and Pam become closer and closer.

Wood (as he usually goes by) is the prototypical rogue. The other characters actually rescue him from prison when the city they're in is attacked by Marmo forces. Wood's defining characteristics are his dexterity, his love of gold, and his propensity to look for a good time. He is also a smart-aleck, and is the first to complain when things aren't going well.