Fate Worlds Volume 2 Worlds in Shadows Review

So, this is my review of the second Fate Worlds book, Worlds in Shadow.  Again it needs to be stated that I am listing them from my least to most favorite. They are all good settings and I would play any of them willingly.

Crimeworld by John Rogers

I was excited about this one, mostly due to watching all over Leverage recently. I love that show and this kind of game is one I have wanted to play for a while (I really should actually play the Leverage game). Saying that, I had a harder time getting through it than I had imagined. I think mostly because it became quite technical about the cons and such that it just did not flow as freely as I wanted it too.

Saying that, great examples on the different components of the con/heists. It really did have a cool feel of a thieving gang and it would be a lot of fun to be a part of it.

Also, love the examples at the end of the different types of cons that could be run in the game. There were quite a few of them, actually.

Court Ship by J.R. Blackwell

Maybe the most unique setting of all. Versailles in 1754. Which means you are dealing with the Court of Louis XV, but then add political intrigue, invading aliens, and a supernatural aspect and you have a lot to take in.

That by itself is a bit insane.

But it does give you a lot of directions to play. Especially depending on how long the game is going to be. You get tips on how to run a one shot, all the way up to a campaign setting. I like that as you can play a completely different type of game depending on how you go about it.

The secret aspect is another way to really increase the drama. Everyone has secrets Do you reveal your secret to someone? Are you going to try to discover other peoples? Just adds a bit more to the experience.

Camelot Trigger by Rob Wieland

King Arthur meets big stompy robots!

Rob Wieland really came up with a cool idea here. Who doesn’t know the story of King Arthur and his knights? Hell, if for no other reason than Monty Python. J

Oh and you get to fight in a huge kick ass robot!

He did a good job of giving you background on the solar system and the different factions involved in the game. With all of the different options you can have with your own mech, there is A LOT of customization available to you. Making your own Armour and having your own heraldry. It is a cool starting point to get you going in the game.

Timeworks by Mark Diaz Truman

From the get go, this was an interesting read. Mostly due to the training video/transcripts way of describing the world of time traveling mercs. I like that parts were redacted and you could not read all of it, it just did such a great job of selling how hush hush this was supposed to be.

The shadowmen also seem cool. As someone that runs the game you can just add them to amp up the drama at any time.

The idea that major changes are much harder than a small change makes sense. I mean if you are trying to stop a war or something, it SHOULD be difficult.  The Timeline stress was always something that I found to be a cool thing. There should be consequences when you fail.

This was fun to read.

The Ellis Affair by Lisa Steele

A mystery!

This is another that I was excited about, mostly due to the fact that I love a good mystery. Yes, there are robots, time travel, and other things…but using Fate mechanics in this kind of setting was something I was really excited to read.

I also like that it is detailed and each step laid out for you. There are pre-generated characters, but you can obviously make your own if need be.  But either way the story is set up in a structured way that give the person running the game a lot of options. I also like at the end how it gives you tips on how to make a good mystery.

No Exit by Shohana Kessock

My other favorite one coming out of the Kickstarter.

I love psychological horror and again, I have wanted to see how it would work in the Fate Core system. Shohana Kessock did a really good job of setting up the Complex. Each character comes into the game with their own reason for being there, and their own issues with life.

The use of the Clarity skill is cool as it allows you to see past the illusions created by the Complex. The idea of it messing with you (and everyone else there) is a cool idea and it knows which buttons to push on each person staying there. Can you escape? Do you even want too? There is so much you can play with to increase the tension.

I like that is a simple thing. You wake up one day realizing things are not right and have to get out. Simple, but very difficult to achieve.

Overall

An odd mix of settings in this book. But the one thing that the Fate Core KS did was bring about A LOT of different settings in order to give you as many different experiences as you can get.