As a solo-gamer I'm always looking for a way to give my "opponent" more independence. Artificial intelligence would be nice, but I'm a wargaming geek, not a computer nerd. I've heard of the Mythic Game Master Emulator quite a bit on the solo forums, so I finally broke down and bought the .pdf download. I resisted for the longest time, since I was concerned the system would essentially be a pen-and-paper version of the "Magic 8-Ball" toy. Then I paid $22.00 for breakfast with my girlfriend this Sunday and realized, yeah I can afford to spend $6.95 on what may be a helpful product.
The system essentially just assigns a numeric percentage chance score to an event; rolling under this score results in a "yes" answer to a yes or no question asked by the player. For example if you decide that a yes answer to a question should be "very likely", then the score, according to the chart provided in Mythic, is about an 85; so an 85% chance of a yes. The score changes depending on a Chaos Rank. The Chaos Rank also lets you set up scenes, and might change your scenes in ways you don't expect. I think these random events are the best part of the Mythic system, but I would probably generate my own random words vice the 200 options in the book. Most of the book is just examples of how to use this simple, but effective system. My mind wasn't blown as some other internet reviews promised, but the Mythic system presents a nice, codified way of introducing randomness into your game.
The artwork greatly detracts from the book. It sucks. The artwork consists almost entirely of "hot chicks with swords/guns", a lame concept made even lamer by poor execution (the ladies aren't that "hot"). I love the indie look of pen-and-ink line drawings in small press games, and I prefer my artwork a little rough, a la the original AD&D Monster Manual. But when every picture is from some prepubescent boy's fantasy, I can't be bothered.
I recommend this product for roleplayers and solo wargamers despite the dreadful art and the fact that if you've been gaming for a long time, you've probably developed a similar system yourself.
Good review - thanks for that...
ReplyDeleteNo problem! I may have seemed a bit negative because I was so turned off by the art. My opinion on the art stands, but I feel I have to give Mythic's author more credit. He presents "simple" ideas, but at least he put the effort into actually consolidating and publishing them. A very useful product.
ReplyDeleteI have read through it, but I have yet to figure out how to apply it to any potential solo games. It it reminds me a little of matrix gaming, which I am not too fond of.
ReplyDeleteI just finished my first "Scene" of my first solo RPG adventure with it. It works surprisingly well, but just doesn't feel like a real RPG without that social aspect. It's more like a really effective story builder. I'll let you know how it works for solo wargaming when I get back to my miniatures and table...
ReplyDeleteI used it for wargaming and it worked really well. Sometimes it turned the story in a quite unexpected direction.
ReplyDeleteYou may say it's a simply system that brings very few new concepts and solutions, but looking from the other side you can easily see it's a tool that works. I like it when a tool is simple but versatile. This one is.
And about the art.... well... not my kind of thing, too.
Yep, I'm finishing up my second solo RPG adventure and I'm becoming very enthusiastic about the Mythic GME. It's an art not to ask too many questions and to interpret the dice rolls... I'm still learning it.
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