Shard Review

If you don't already know this, Dragon owns a gaming store and gaming is pretty much a part of our everyday life. The bonus to this is that I get to hear about and try out a bunch of new games. The most recent one I've gotten the chance to play is a role playing game called Shard. I have played a ton of different systems over the years, but I think Shard already ranks up there as one of my favorites.

The system is very role-playing oriented which is a wonderful change, although the combat system is well thought out and plays very intuitively once you get the hang of it. The magic system is a big shift from the classic fireball style one, being based in ceremonies and a sort of astral type dream realm, but it really gives people the chance to do what they want without having to worry about specific spells and doesn't seem like it will get overpowered too easily. Everything basically comes down to descriptions, cinematics and dice rolls, pretty much in that order.

By far the biggest differences between Shard and the other games I have played are the characters and the world. It is a truly unique gaming universe and that is something that is hard to find. The characters are called Zoics and are basically anthropomorphic creatures. You won't find people playing dragons though, it's all based on actual living animals so researching your character type is really simple and you don't have to go with a flat template. Character building is a points based system that makes it very easy to get a character with the animal type you like, the skills you want, and some fun advantages and drawbacks to go along with all of it.

The world is simply amazing and unbelievably well thought out. There is a complete history, mythology, and social and political structure. Rather than being the same old castles and knights or sci-fi setting, Dardunah (the world) has more of an Eastern feel and a very distinct class system that is built into character creation. Rather than animals the creatures that inhabit the world are insectoid. All in all it is perfect for a GM with a good imagination to go nuts with.

I love the fact that the system lends itself so well to detailed role playing instead of hack and slash. Not that you can't find things to chop a part if you want to, there's just so much more to it than that.