I am one of those film Geeks that will spend hours watching all the behind the scenes on a brand new DVD before I watch the actual movie that drew my attention in the first place. Ask any good Geek. They will tell you that any amount of time spent learning about their favorite movie, band, or show is time well spent. I was curious if the same could be said for role playing games. Mike Mearls and his follow up book, Mastering Iron Heroes puts that question to the test.
Monte Cook Presents – Mastering Iron Heroes by Mike Mearls
Just a few shorts weeks after GenCon, Mastering Iron Heroes is the follow-up companion book to the near perfect Iron Heroes. Mastering Iron Heroes is one part Dungeon Masters Guide and one part VH1 Behind the Music (or Behind the Screen as the case may be). Mike Mearls has penned a book that attempts to bend and shape the already flexible D20 rule system to the point of nearly becoming a completely different game. His success depends on just how much you wish to use variant rules within your own game, however, more on that later.
Chapter 1 – Abilities
As the opening sentence of chapter one states, ability scores are the backbone of any character. They dictate what kind of character she will become. Mastering Iron Heroes is just the latest in a long line of books in its attempt to create an alternative method to generating scores. While it is true that I put a lot of planning into my stories and plots, there is still one thing in an RPG that I still prefer to be completely random and that is ability scores. As such, I am not a fan of the point based system of ability score generation. However, Mastering Iron Heroes does create some interesting ways to generate score with both points and random chance. Mearls suggests one method that I do plan to use in my next ongoing campaign, that of assigning D6s to each attribute up to a total of 24D6. This allows for some planning on the player’s part but still adds that ever fun element of chance. I also like the option of adding a -1 and a +1 to any given score to reflect a characters chosen path, although I can see the risk of power gaming with this option.
Chapter 2 – Character Traits and the Campaign World
Chapter 2 of Mastering Iron Heroes delves even deeper into the trait driven system that keeps characters alive in the harsh Iron Heroes world. Mearls makes various suggestions at how to use a players input to help create the gaming world. Mearls also presents the DM with ideas on how to limit character Traits that better fit the world the characters interact within. While I am certain many Iron Heroes DMs have already designed some house rules for non-human PCs in Iron Heroes, Mike Mearls does provide a well-thought out sidebar on dealing with just such an issue. The shortest chapter in Master Iron Heroes, chapter 2 honestly felt like it was intended for chapter 6 of Iron Heroes, Roleplaying Iron Heroes Characters.
Chapter 3 – Character Classes
More then simple monsters for your players to fight, but less than complete player character classes, chapter 3 reveals three new villain classes and expanded rules on the DMG NPC classes. The characters in Iron Heroes can certainly deal out the punishment and Mearls has drafted three unique villain classes to test your characters ability to take it. The Demonic Brute, the Dreaded Sorcerer, and the Warleader; each one a potential threat to Iron Heroes characters. Each villain class performs just as their name implies. The Demonic Brute is not one for subtly as it relentlessly attacks the characters with its hellish physical prowess and raw cunning. The Dreaded Sorcerer represents everything the PCs may fear within the low magic world of Iron Heroes. Although they lack the ability to draw upon as many spells as the Arcanist character class, the Dreaded Sorcerer can still unleash arcane hell upon the players and even has the ability to ensnare the mind of weak willed characters. Rounding out the villain classes is the Warleader. While the Demonic Brute deals in physical destruction, the Warleader turns the destruction into an organized art as he commands armies to raze cities and oppress the populace. What I enjoy the most about these villain classes are their ability to be used together to make up one massive foe for characters to combat. It is wholly conceivable for the Dreaded Sorcerer to raise an army of Demon Brutes, who are in turned commanded by a highly charismatic Warleader. The power struggle created allows for multiple adventure ideas for the industrious Dungeon Master.
Rounding out chapter 3 are the NPC classes, the Aristocrat, the Commoner, the Expert, and the Warrior. All these classes are, essentially, better-fleshed versions of the NPC classes as presented in the Dungeon Masters Guide. As a DM, I have always liked the ability to tack on character levels to various monsters; however I like my PCs to stand out a bit so I am more likely to use the NPC classes for my adversaries. As such, it is nice to see these four given a more rounded treatment within Iron Heroes. Some DMs like their players to start as one of the NPC classes before continuing onto their adventuring path. While I understand this point of view and I think it can make for interesting games, I would agree with Mearls’ suggestion of avoiding this style of character creation within an Iron Heroes game. The world of Iron Heroes is very dangerous, the characters help shape and tame that world, and they do need to stick out as special characters. Making them take NPC levels at the beginning lessens their impact.
Chapter 4 – Combat
As expected, chapter four is where the real crunchy material of Mastering Iron Heroes resides. Chapter four of Mastering Iron Heroes is broken up into three smaller sections: zones, terrains, and miscellaneous conditions. Zones are broken into three subsections of their own, condition, event, and action. For the DM that wants to create hyper-realistic e combat scenarios, but lacks the time to create streamlined rules will be happy to see the creation of condition zones. Condition zones create challenges and/or threats to a PC in combat beyond the foe they face. Are your players fighting on a storm tossed ship or are they fighting Demonic Brutes while hanging from a fallen bridge, Temple of Doom style? Mearls has composed the stats and rules for which to generate such a condition. Event zones are similar to condition zones, but only go into effect when an outside source triggers them. For example, your Berserker player just toppled a pillar upon his foes, a great idea until it brings down the entire temple roof. Event zones give the DM the exact conditioners or attack and damage value the falling roof has on everyone involved in the scene. Event zones also provide the foundation for timed effect items within a combat event, such as the Obelisk of Despair, the example item used within Mastering Iron Heroes that requires a Will save every 4 rounds for everyone within range or suffer a -4 to all attack and saves. Action zones allow a DM to create interesting battle settings for his or her players, allowing the combat to be more then character and monster trading blows. Action zones work in a similar fashion to combat stunts as written in Iron Heroes and in a sense they are the same thing. However, action zones are DM created and only go into effect if a character or NPC chooses to use them, such as setting off an avalanche to pummel a marching Orc horde!
Terrain effects allow a DM to create simple modifiers to a combat scenario based upon the location of the fight. While not as extreme as a conditional zone, terrain zones do generate some fun flare during a fight. Mearls has covered just about every form of natural terrain a DM could think of, from snow-capped mountains to a fight in the middle of a city riot. Not limited to combat alone, terrain effects can also have an impact on how well a character tracks their prey, slinks along a pebbled cover path, or deals with frigid weapons and armor, (a real threat in a world lacking magically enhanced equipment). The possibilities are endless for the industrious Dungeon Master who wants to create a dynamic and exciting combat scenario. Image the tension and excitement of running a battle on a storm tossed Galleon, in the middle of a frigid and blinding ice blizzard, while surrounded by a panicked crew that gets in the way of your characters sword arm! Mearls has provided the foundation for such a scenario.
Chapter 5 – Treasure, Rewards, and Experience
Mastering Iron Heroes correctly identifies the danger inherent to all role playing games, particularly those of within the fantasy genre: Kill the bad guy, get the gold, and earn the experience points, repeat until defeated or retired. While most games are not so basic, at their core it is hard to get away from the above foundation. For the DM that wants to ad a little flavor to the simple reward of more wealth and greater power, chapter 5 does present some good ideas. Taking a page from Spiderman, “with great power comes great responsibility”, Mastering Iron Heroes reminds the DM that their player character do not reside within a vacuum and the more wealth one accrues, the more figures of all types will come calling. As the world of Iron Heroes is low on the magical items scale, Mearls writes about other forms of rewards that characters may earn. Lacking great weapons of eldritch power, an Arcanist who rules a vast land may instead grant title and serfs to the characters who helped him in his goals. While having underlings and peasants to work the fields may sound like fun, a devious DM may decide that the noble Arcanist was less than good natured when he bestowed lands and title. The reward a character inherits may become the terror that comes calling in the night. Again, chapter 5 is written well, but I cannot help but wonder if it would have made more sense to include this information within chapter 6 of the core Iron Heroes book.
Chapter 6 – Magic and Magic Items
A point driven repeatedly within Iron Heroes and Mastering Iron Heroes is that lack of magical items the player characters has access. That does not mean that magic does not exist within the Iron Heroes. One could argue that the magic within the Iron Heroes campaign is more potent then your standard D20 fantasy world. Magic is still a raw and wild energy that only the powerful or insane dare wield. Chapter 6 presents the DM with rules and options for introducing magic items into their game. Starting with an expanded explanation of the Use Magic Device skill, chapter 6 explains how magic items can be used in an Iron Heroes campaign. Before a DM gets excited at the prospect of adding dancing swords and Rods of Lordly might, they should remember that the PCs in Iron Heroes are powerful to start with, they were designed to combat any creature without the aid of magic. To help balance this power, most if not all magical items within Iron Heroes come with drawbacks that are worse then your typical negative 1 to rolls for a few rounds. The armor that protects a Hunter PC better then a master Armiger may slowly begin to fuse itself to the wearer’s body, or worse, drain life essence from its wearer as payment. The sword that bites into the ectoplasm flesh of a ghost may carry with it a terrible curse, a curse that dooms its owner to a tragic end as she finds her opponents landing more and more critical hits. A personal favorite is the suggestion that a PC can slowly become addicted to the various potions that populate fantasy games. And why not? If you knew you could increase your strength to monstrous levels with a simple draft, would you not want it again? Would you be willing to betray your friends in order to have just one more drink? Mearls pens some very interesting Wondrous Items that are both a boon and a hindrance to any Iron Heroes characters and sets the tone for any DM who wishes to design their own items. Most of the magical properties found within the standard Dungeon Masters Guide can be found in chapter 6 of Mastering Iron Heroes. However, the reader will notice the chapter lacks the charts for cost in either gold or experience points. I believe this is because the magical items in Iron Heroes are not meant to be bought at the local magic shop, no matter how large the city may be. (In fact, I am certain every town in Iron Heroes lacks Ye Olde Magick Shoppe). The quest to earn or destroy a given magic item, even one that may seem mundane to a hardened fantasy gamer, should be the stuff of high adventure and questing within the world of Iron Heroes.
Chapter 7 – Campaign Options
The final chapter of Mastering Iron Heroes provides the DM more options for character advancement beyond the standard XP for defeating foes and avoiding traps. Character flaws, while not new to role playing games, are presented in such a way that they can help a player stay true to their character while earning experience points in doing so. While it makes more sense tactically for the Thief to keep his hands in his own pockets, the player who controls a coin obsessed character is acting in character to steal from every loose coin purse he sees. While the player may have gotten his own party into trouble, he also earned himself some extra experience points by acting true to character. Many of the experience points options that Mearls writes about have been used as house rules by many a DM since the first gaming box set was opened in the nations basements. At my own gaming table, I keep track of how players act during the game and how much they contribute to the overall gaming session. Once group XP has been giving out, I distribute individual experience points to each player based on my own judgment (and the comments of the other players) of their role playing. Perhaps this seems heavy handed to some gamers, but I find it works within my group. Why do I bring that up here? Because most of what Mearls suggests in the form of campaign experience options falls into that gray realm of Dungeon Master judgment. I don’t see anything wrong with that. A DM that gives more experience points to players who delve into their character does nothing but raise the level of playing by all involved, including the Dungeon Master. A particularly interesting experience point option presented in chapter 7 is that of earning XP for gold spent. A DM that wishes to run a crime or thieves guild style game may actually find this option better suited as it encourages greed, cunning, and just a tad bit of backstabbing on the players part. A tricky line to walk, but interesting stories all the same. Chapter 7 wraps with the optional inclusion of a metagame effect known as Glory Points. Interestingly, I immediately thought of Force Points from the West End Games version of Star Wars. Glory Points have a massive impact on how a character lives and dies within the world of Iron Heroes. The more a player acts in character, the greater the Glory Points they received. In fact, the greatest point earning comes when a player performs an action in which they know they will lose their lives. The points, however, are not lost when the character takes the final plunge. If they have accrued enough points, the characters may find themselves within the good graces of Valhalla and may return to aid their friends during dire moments. On paper, I am not certain if I like the idea of Glory Points. To me, Iron Heroes is already cinematic and exciting in its action, Glory Points seem to ad an over powered element to the game. I could be wrong, but only multiple game sessions will test my thought. A challenge I accept.
Appendix – Importing Game Material
Mastering Iron Heroes wraps up with options for importing other D20 fantasy games into Iron Heroes. As expected, any martial character from a non Iron Heroes setting is greatly outmatched once imported to Iron Heroes. Mearls, correctly, suggests against players and DMs doing so. Most of the classes within Iron Heroes can be molded to fit the flavor of a Paladin, Ranger, Monk, or Barbarian. The classes that do open themselves up to importing are the spell based classes. While they lack physical power of Iron Heroes PCs, they still present a real danger with their magical energies. With a small increase to their hit dice and spell Difficulty Checks, a wizard, sorcerer, or cleric can pose a great danger to the magically limited Iron Heroes adventurer. I do think it would be interesting to introduce, slowly, the Druid as a new and burgeoning player class. With divine magic all but missing within Iron Heroes, it makes sense that magic from nature is the first divine spark the people discover. Importing weapons and armor is simple; again, Mearls correctly suggests simply using stats similar to the weapons and armor within Iron Heroes and using the rest as flavor. The combat mechanics within Iron Heroes are perfectly balanced and altering them can create a power struggle within the mechanics themselves and in turn alter your game drastically.
Reviewing a book like Mastering Iron Heroes made me wish I had never created a numbers based rating system. As a game book, Mastering Iron Heroes is very well written. It again highlights Mearls ability to incorporate game mechanics with readable prose. However, I couldn’t shake the feeling that much of what was presented within Mastering Iron Heroes would have been better suited within the Iron Heroes core book. Indeed, had the chapters on combat terrain, magic items, and NPC classes been added to Iron Heroes, that book would have been the perfect RPG rulebook it almost was. Don’t get me wrong, Mastering Iron Heroes is a very well written book and for the DM that plans to run a pure Iron Heroes setting game it is necessary. However, to the player or Dungeon Master who is only wishing take certain elements from Iron Heroes and incorporate them into their game, Mastering Iron Heroes may feel a tad redundant. Then again, a player or Dungeon Master who is still on the fence about using Iron Heroes may find that buying Master Iron Heroes presents itself as a far more economical choice for testing many optional combat rules and interesting magical item options. In addition, Mastering Iron Heroes reveals some good insights on how to mold and alter your own D20 game and so may prove valuable to the DM who wants to alter his or her own game.
I give Monte Cook Presents Mastering Iron Heroes 3.5 out of 5 Critical Hits.