by Demian Katz
Dice Rule! (2010)
Published by Gamewick Games
Created by L. Willy Wickman
Editors: Jason Dietel and A. P. Klosky
Project editor: Alyssa Smith
Cover illustration and chapter openers by Kennon James
Interior artwork by Tony Steele and Brian Thomas
Additional artwork by McKenna Andrews, M. Orensanz, J. Richmond and Andy Thomas
72-page large-format perfect bound book.
$18.00
There comes a time in a successful product's life when its fans demand
more, and its publishers need to decide what to deliver. All too often,
especially in the early days of role-playing, this meant a new rulebook
filled with expanded rules that unbalanced the system, overcomplicated
gameplay and did little to actually improve anything. Fortunately, in
Dice Rule!, WEGS delivers an advanced rulebook that gives
fans something new to chew on without corrupting the core rules.
Indeed, this is one of the most unique approaches to advanced rules I've
seen; while there are a couple of brand new concepts here, most of the
book is devoted to a commentary on the core rules and a set of
suggestions on how to apply the basic system to special circumstances.
WEGS Revisited
As discussed in my earlier reviews of WEGS 101 Old Skool
and WEGS 101
Old Skool Redux, WEGS offers a unique take on role-playing by
blending old-school dice-heavy gaming with a certain casino sensibility,
all without creating a system so heavy as to be burdensome. As the
title of this book states, dice are intended to rule the game, but not
to the point that the system overwhelms the adventure. Some of the
intricacies of the system may take a while to learn, but the WEGS
philosophy is that if you're tempted to hunt through the rulebook for a
specific detail in the middle of a fight, you're doing it wrong –
you're better off just rolling some dice and letting them decide!
Players are free to refine their understanding of the system as they
gain experience in using it, and GMs (called Kreators) are encouraged to
bend and break the rules as needed to provide entertaining gameplay.
For players who have been experimenting with WEGS for a while,
Dice Rule! is a useful read for at least two reasons. First of
all, it reiterates most of the main rules; while it couldn't be used as
a replacement for Old Skool, it makes good follow-up reading
since it improves understanding of the system by restating core concepts
in slightly different words. It never hurts to re-read a game's rules
after you are actually familiar with playing it, but it can be dull to
return to the same manual a second time; here is a chance to mix things
up a bit! Secondly, in addition to simply restating the rules, the book
spends a lot of time commenting on them. You'll learn more about
why the system works in addition to the how. You'll get a
better idea about where and when to apply special rules and where the
system is most sensitive to being unbalanced by an overzealous Keeper.
You'll even find a handful of strategy tips useful for successful play!
By the same token, Dice Rule! is really not meant for new
players. If you liked Old Skool but haven't actually played it
yet, you're probably not ready for this book. While the book's
redundancy with the main rules does serve a purpose, it is harder to
appreciate if you read them back-to-back. The commentary on the system
is easier to appreciate if you have a feel for how the system actually
works. Most importantly, the new rules on display here add challenge
and complexity to the game and should not be introduced until everyone
is comfortable.
Content
Dice Rule! is divided into nine chapters, each focusing on a
different aspect of WEGS play, starting from the game's basic
flow and special dice rolls and building up to a discussion of tactics
and campaign-building. Along the way, you'll find lots of little tips
and suggestions – things like new ways to tweak familiar dice
rules or creative uses for players' Spoints. There are also some
significant expansions of mechanics just hinted at in Old Skool
(character growth, insanity, multi-class characters) and some entirely
new concepts (point rewards for good role-playing that can be spent like
Spoints, more detailed tactical options in combat, rules for designing
new skills).
Perhaps the biggest single addition to the game is the full chapter on
running a game, which introduces three different formulas for building a
WEGS adventure: wave play (fast-paced, one-off play with fast
character advancement), chapter play (longer-term play with a built-in
trilogy structure) and campaign play (extended gaming, stringing
together multiple chapter-play stories). For each of these play styles,
loose formulas are provided to help build an exciting story progression
and to grow the characters along the way. As with the simple way
WEGS handles Minions for the convenience of the Keeper, these
semi-formal guidelines provide useful parameters for building adventures
without constraining creativity.
Presentation
Once again, Gamewick Games has done a very professional job. While the
somewhat tongue-in-cheek WEGS style can be a little jarring at
times (particularly when my pet peeve phrase, "for wegsample," is used),
the book is almost entirely free of unintentional errors. The artwork
is more varied than in past books, but it is of consistently good
quality. It is also worth noting that this is a much larger book than
the main rules – although the page count is lower, the pages are
twice as big, packing a lot of information into their two-column layout.
On the negative side, I didn't feel that the overall organization of
the book was quite as intuitive as WEGS 101 Old Skool
Redux, and the way it abruptly ends without conclusions was slightly
jarring. Fortunately, these minor organizational issues aren't
critical, especially considering the fact that the book is designed for
people who already have a full understanding of the system it describes.
Conclusions
You can disappoint yourself if you go into Dice Rule! expecting
it to be something it is not. Apart from the play style guidelines and
a few new mechanics, it doesn't wildly change the rules of the game.
You won't find any new monsters or treasures, nor will you find specific
adventure ideas outside of a few examples of play. None of these things
are the point of the book; it is really designed to empower you to use
the existing WEGS rules in a smarter, more creative, more
satisfying way. If you feel you are already doing just fine on your
own, perhaps you don't need this book. However, if you like the system
and want to gain a deeper understanding of why it works and how you can
manipulate it, Dice Rule! may be just the manifesto you need.
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