Today we are pleased to present you the review of Grimstone, “a tactical combat RPG in an age of guns and muskets”. This is the definition given by the author, Angelos Kyprianos. We would like to thank him and Spiral Lane Production for sending us a digital copy of the game’s basic manual.
Grimstone – Core Rules is available on the Spiral Lane Production in an e-shop physical version for 37.80 euros. If you instead prefer the digital version, you can buy it for just 10 euros. The site makes available, in addition to other Spiral Lane Production products, also free material for all its games. Among which Meteor Tales, which we have already had the opportunity to review.
Grimstone: Volume Review
The protagonist of this review, Grimstone – Core Rules, is a 125-page volume, which immediately impresses with its strong graphic coherence. The ancient page effect is not only reproduced in the texture of the pages; also the illustrations also strongly recall a travel diary. Thanks to the pencils and talent of Charidimos Bitsakakis, accompanied and enriched by stock images.
If the artistic sector is more than capable of the proposed product, unfortunately, we can’t say the same about the layout. The choice of the two columns is impeccable, but the font chosen is not among the most readable; certainly evocative, but not always useful for quick reference. Furthermore, the hierarchy of paragraphs is sometimes confusing. This adds to the explanation of the mechanics that is not always clear, and to rules that are often mentioned before being explained, without references to the pages. Ultimately the manual can be a little difficult to consult. And the compactness of the volume can only partially compensate for this problem.
The Setting
The setting of Grimstone is deliberately light; it simply illustrates the underlying lore of the game world more than anything else. The events take place on the continent of Mea, in the Age of the Wheel. This is the fourth historical cycle of the continent, after the eras of Cold, Light and Turmoil. In a nutshell, the world was populated by Lady Vestia, the goddess of the Moon, and creator of the Verun tribe. Finding themselves living in a hostile and depopulated world, they ended up developing a specific appetite for blood. Inevitably this search for nourishment resulted in cannibalism and therefore conflict.
Only when Vestia called upon Lord Berikan, the god of the Sun, did Mea experience heat. However, the Verun found themselves too unaccustomed to sunlight to tolerate it, to the point of finding it lethal. The Aran, created from the blood of Berikan, immediately became their natural enemies. The children of the sun and the moon were not compatible. Thus, the populations created from here on, despite having a natural affinity for one of the two parents, carried their mixed blood.
Review of Grimstone: the Evolution of Magic and Technology
An era of strong turmoil followed, caused by a series of natural disasters that crossed the entire continent. The Verun entrenched themselves in their fortresses in the northern mountain ranges, creating the current dynasties. The other tribes began to populate cities, mixing. It was then that Lady Vestia’s descendants discovered they had a natural affinity for magic. The tribes descended from Lord Berikan, almost by contrast, became increasingly rooted in religious fanaticism.
As technology progressed, grimstone was discovered. It is a beautiful mineral to look at, initially called a “prism” for its reflective abilities, but highly unstable. It was precisely because of this property, and the accidents that followed, that its use as an aesthetic object was set aside. And it is precisely thanks to it that the alchemists created the first firearms, revolutionizing war and civil technology. In a short time, the grimstone became a fundamental element in the geopolitical rearrangement of Mea.
Tribe and Nationality
Tribe and Nationality are two fundamental parameters in character creation. In particular, the first determines the character’s heritage, his ethnic lineage and his somatic traits. On a mechanical level, it determines the senses and the starting characteristics, and on a series of capabilities called Cultural Legacy. Other Cultural Legacies are then chosen as the character advances.
The Verun are the first tribe to populate Mea. Born before the arrival of light, they had to adapt to feeding on blood and living in the dark. They have adapted to it to the point that the sun kills them. They have a strong affinity with magic: after all, they are a sort of vampire. However, it is worth underlining that in Grimstone all people are considered human. Even the vampirism of the Verun is considered only as an ethnic variant, albeit a very cumbersome one.
The Aram are instead children of the Sun. Created by Lord Berikem, without the blood of the Moon, they are endowed with overflowing vitality. They have an innate propensity for fighting, and this has influenced their entire history. Inevitably they evolved into a culture with a strong war imprint. To this day, in the Age of the Wheel, they are the best fighters on the entire continent.
Review of the Grimstone Game Options
Although descendants of both the Sun and the Moon, the Atheym have always favoured the latter. They come from a strong tradition of shamanism, which is judged by other peoples as paganism. Some have managed to embrace modernity, however most Atheym live in a tradition strongly rooted in nature.
Also, the Rava are of mixed descent but related to the Moon. Nomads by nature, embody all the classic stereotypes of gypsy peoples. Unseen by the most orthodox populations, yet at the same time, they are omnipresent wherever there is an urban agglomeration. Equipped with marked sociability, a respectable magical tradition and a particularly elaborate folklore, they are traffickers of secrets by vocation. Both regarding the most arcane secrets and those born in the darkest alleys.
The Lyva, a tribe of mixed blood but closer to sun worship, are a direct people and not accustomed to frills of any kind. To the point of often being considered rude and quite simple to read. The most civilized peoples consider their rural society backward, but cannot deny its great value in battle. The Lyva have feral traits, which in the light of the moon transform them into true werewolves due to an ancient curse of Lady Vestia. They, like the Verun, are considered fully human.
The Sinkta, like the Lyva, are of mixed blood and worshipers of Lord Beriken. They are the most versatile and adaptable of people, which has led them to make the most of the grimstone. As a consequence, they underwent a rapid process of industrialization. In many ways, the versatility of this tribe, also from the point of view of game mechanics, makes them very similar to the concept of “human” in other fantasy role-playing games.
Creating Your Character
After the character’s Tribe of origin, the player must choose his Nationality. In mechanical terms the impact is less than that of the Tribe, allowing only the spoken language to be selected. However, it leaves a greater imprint on the interpretation, determining the entire cultural substratum to which the character refers. A very important element, given the tactical nature of the game, will be to understand whether he grew up using traditional weapons or firearms.
As mentioned, Attributes are assigned with fixed values based on the Tribe. Body, Instinct and Mind: each of these can have a Low, Average, High or Remarkable value. When you want to make a Skill check, the value of the associated Attribute determines the number of dice to roll. The pool is made up of ten-sided dice, from a minimum of 1 to a maximum of 4. Customization of Attribute values outside of the tribal standard is minimal. However, it can be expanded with “Niches” (specializations that improve the Attribute check when rolled for a specific Skill).
Review of Grimstone: Actions
Furthermore, the Attributes also determine a series of fixed values. In the case of the Body, combat effectiveness in melee and thrown weapons. It also determines the ability to resist damage and tolerate it. The number of Reactions the character can make outside of his turn, his movement and his Reflexes depend on Instinct. The latter is an original mechanic that allows you to defend yourself actively. Each type of attack has its own predetermined Veolocity: a character can only defend himself if he matches it or exceeds it with his Reflexes.
The resistance to mental attacks and the number of selectable Variations derive from the Mind score; the latter are particular abilities that allow you to have advantages on certain actions or perform new ones. Moreover the Mind score is particularly useful because it also determines the experience multiplier.
Experience in Grimstone is earned through combat or training. This is consistent with a game with a strong tactical imprint. Progress then takes place on a sort of open class progression: at each level, it is specified what type of advantage the player can select. You can improve an Attribute, choose a new Variation, a new Niche, a combat feat or a Cultural Ability. A system that works, but creating a mechanic that accelerates the progression of some PCs rather than others is a “risky” idea. In this, Grimstone proves to be linked to a role-playing mentality that must be made clear before starting to play, to avoid subsequent disappointments.
The Combat
Since it is a game that wants to promote a tactical approach, the mechanics of Grimstone are strongly oriented towards combat. During “free” play, Skills are used based on their Attributes. In the clash, instead, Domains are used. These are essentially additional features, purely aimed at combat.
Traditional Weapons, Unarmed Combat, Advanced Weapons, Magic and Science. Each of these gives access to specific Maneuvers; these are Domination actions that can be used during a fight. Some maneuvers are free, and available to all characters; others, however, can only be acquired by advancing in the Domain itself. Like Characteristics, Domains also have a specific progression that determines the number of d10s rolled. Untrained, Starting, Basic, Expert, Master: from 1 to 5.
The number of the relevant Variations regulates progress in the Domains. Focusing on Variations of the same Domain will improve its level, making actions more effective. On the other hand, variations of multiple Domains will bring greater versatility to the character. It’s about the specialization dilemma. In this case, the construction is free, and choosing the exchange rate between the two poles is at the complete discretion of the player.
Review of the Mechanics of Grimstone
It can be said that the card is divided in half between normal actions and combat ones. This is certainly a major complication. The idea of using a set of features dedicated to combat is interesting and functional. The problem is having created separate mechanics for managing the two parts. And the result is unfortunately unnecessarily complex. With a little labor limae everything could have easily been harmonized. By smoothing out these aspects, Grimstone would have gained a lot in elegance and practicality.
However, the mechanics for rolling the dice remain the same. You roll a number of d10s determined by your level in the Attribute or Domain and add the results. Once the modifiers given by advantages or obstacles have been added, the result is compared with a difficulty threshold established by the master. In the case of opposing actions, like all combat ones, the difficulty is instead given by a defensive roll. The difference between the attack roll and the latter also determines the damage dealt by the attack. In the case of a successful attack, the location must then be rolled, determining both the point of the wounded body and the general damage suffered by the target. Depending on the damage accumulated, various penalties are incurred.
There is a whole series of further options and manoeuvres. The idea itself is very interesting, especially for how it allows you to manage the “physics”, i.e. the scenic elements present in the clash. Obstacles, distances and positions become living elements of the action. At this point in the review, it is important to point out that Grimstone must be played with a squared map. This not only allows you to make the most of the mechanics, but it becomes simply essential. Even better if enriched with three-dimensional elements.
Too Cumbersome Calculations
The problem with this mechanic is the underlying mathematics. Each test becomes a small expression, especially when playing characters who have accumulated a certain experience. Adding and subtracting too many times slows down the game significantly. We almost arrive at a structure close to wargames which could be “too much”, not being Grimstone a wargame. More modern dice pool systems would have been more intuitive and would have made the experience smoother.
Furthermore, the game presents a whole series of further factors that enhance its tactical component. An example is the area in which the character’s perception is activated (Grid Awareness). Or the management of slot equipment, a method that recalls some video games. Adding all these elements, Grimstone turns out to be cumbersome; at least more than the experience he wants to convey would require.
The initiative system may raise doubts. Each round lasts 10 seconds, and a die roll allows you to establish when the character will act during this time. However, the two characters can’t act at the same time. The action speed system only determines whether the target can react to it, not how many times it can attack in a turn. The result is identical to that of a traditional initiative roll: the only difference is the more complex management of the turn.
Review of Magic in Grimstone
In Grimstone magic is a primarily combat-oriented tool. It also has supportive uses but is of lesser weight and is always tactically oriented. By default, a character with the Magic Domain has access to its raw form only. This allows you to launch magical attacks, erect barriers, influence enemies and cast some support spells in their most basic form.
Grimoires, on the other hand, allow you to differentiate spells. Each Grimoire has its theme: elemental, psychic, animistic, necromantic and so on. This allows you to modify the spell not only in an aesthetic sense but also by adding new effects to those of raw magic. The various Grimoires are described in the equipment section, together with the generic one and, obviously, the armour and weapons. The choice to include the katana is particular even though there is no real population inspired by the Far East.
Game Management
The advice reserved for the master for managing the game is rather generic. It must be said that there is a certain consistency in this: the game is strongly focused on clashes, more complex experiences in social interaction and the unravelling of dense plots are deliberately secondary elements. The manual is mainly spent on managing recovery times and possible random encounters, depending on whether the characters are in a region considered dangerous or not.
There is a conclusion to everything with a short bestiary. Very short actually: it contains the statistics of a wolf, a bear, a spirit and a demon. This content depended on the Kickstarter campaign that launched the game; it could have been better modular options to vary the creatures present simply and quickly.
Final Considerations of the Review of Grimstone
Grimstone starts from a difficult assumption: developing a game with a strong tactical imprint in an era in which this type of approach is quite rare. This is a courageous attempt, which certainly finds some excellent ideas from the author. How the scenic elements are used to make the combat three-dimensional is brilliant and the juxtaposition of the character’s reflexes with the speed of the attack immediately gives a great touch of realism to everything.
However, the game finds itself paying a lot of issues. The excessive amount of calculations at the table slows down a game which in itself, having to take into account every tactical aspect, would not be immediate. Managing two different sets of features could be very interesting; however, having developed options to manage differently makes the card excessively cumbersome. In general, excessive simulationism risks taking away the brilliance that the gaming experience could guarantee.
Grimstone is a game that would greatly benefit from a second phase of testing. This would allow us to streamline some mechanics and modernize the approach; some elements (such as a characteristic that influences the experience received) are traditions that, if abandoned, would also benefit works of this type. Grimstone is a game that offers an interesting approach to the tactical grid; if you love role-playing games with a strong strategic component, moving around the squared map and calculating actions as well as interpreting them, you will certainly appreciate some interesting ideas.
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