# Review of Paleomythic, RPG of Stone and Sorcery



## univoxs (Mar 19, 2020)

Both this game and Romance of the Perilous Lands are new beautiful games from Osprey. I hope they do well because I want to see what Osprey does next.


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## John R Davis (Mar 19, 2020)

ROTPL is very very good. We also have copies of Paleo so hope that is as good


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## Bluenose (Mar 19, 2020)

univoxs said:


> Both this game and Romance of the Perilous Lands are new beautiful games from Osprey. I hope they do well because I want to see what Osprey does next.




There are three more listed on Amazon as future products - a wuxia game, one that looks like near-future SF, and one set in the bronze age. I'm happy with both the existing ones, though I think we're more likely to play Paleolithic that RoPL as Pendragon fills the 'Arthurian' niche well for us.


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## Lancelot (Mar 20, 2020)

Picked up a copy on a whim, and didn't regret it. The two things that impressed me most about Paleomythic are...

1) The production quality. The artwork is stunning; full-color, evocative of the setting, and every piece as good as the cover or example included in the article. This is Tier 1 art, which is unsurprising given Osprey's normal standards in that area for their hundreds (thousands?) of military-related books. It's a beautifully-bound hardback with quality paper. And the size of the book makes it perfect for reading-for-pleasure. It's a 200+ page book, but the folio size makes it seem deceptively compact. Great for reading on the bus or in the park.

2) The self-contained nature. Paleomythic is a PH with multiple classes and sub-classes and "feats"... and a combat/adventuring system for DMs... and a campaign setting... and a huge list of gear with a basic crafting system... and a rich pantheon... and tables to build your own settlements and NPCs... and a description of a Shadowfell-like alternate dimension... and a full bestiary... and an introductory module... and an appendix for adapting to other settings (more "real world", more "fantastic", more "bronze age"). Romance of the Perilous Lands (book 2 in the Osprey series) is also quite nice, but doesn't feature an introductory module or crafting system or build-your-own tables. It _does_ have a more fleshed-out magic system and bestiary (and is more "crunchy" in general), but Paleomythic simply has a little bit of everything.

As a matter of interest, the book very much reminds me of the CRPG/Survival game called _Conan: Exiles_. It gives the sense of starting out with a loincloth, and gathering wood and flint to make spears. Traveling to remote settlements, while avoiding attacks from crocodiles, hyenas and cannibals. Finding mysterious sites where cultists of barbaric deities conduct human sacrifices in their name. Inhaling strange herbs and finding yourself dreamwalking amidst ancestral spirits. Even the description of the campaign setting (Mu) is similar to the layout of _Conan: Exiles_ - frozen wastes to the north, deserts to the south, hills and forests to the west, steaming swamps to the east. There are elements of Paleomythic which would better model some of Conan's stories than the actual Conan RPG from Modiphius, IMHO.


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## Stacie GmrGrl (Mar 20, 2020)

This game is very good. One of the better surprises to have come out in a long time.


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## SpaceOtter (Mar 20, 2020)

It really is an elegant, inspiring game. It's the RPG I never knew I wanted and definitely the best game I've come across in over a year.


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## Aldarc (Mar 20, 2020)

I'm definitely intrigued. I can already see how I could create a potential game setting using a mix of Paleomythic, Primeval Thule, and possibly something like Numenera. I kinda like, for example, the idea of paleolithic humans living in the shadow of ruins of prior civilizations of either more conventional fantasy peoples (e.g., elves, dwarves, etc.) or even science-fiction peoples, with humans dealing with crashed space ships, stranded alien cultures, and the like.


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## Theo R Cwithin (Mar 20, 2020)

I've been looking for a good "stone age" game for a very long time, and this one finally sounds like it hits every specific point I've been wanting. I think I'll be getting this one.
Thanks to all for the great review _and_ helpful comments!


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## univoxs (Mar 21, 2020)

Theo R Cwithin said:


> I've been looking for a good "stone age" game for a very long time, and this one finally sounds like it hits every specific point I've been wanting. I think I'll be getting this one.
> Thanks to all for the great review _and_ helpful comments!




Not to take anything away from this Osprey game but ZineQuest 2 Produced such a game. The Bone Age - Weird School RPG [Zine Quest]


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## unnatural 20 (Mar 21, 2020)

Thank you. This sounds right up my alley. I can't seem to find where the hardback is cheaper than the pdf though.


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## Aldarc (Mar 21, 2020)

You know what? I'm gonna tag @Hussar and @S'mon because I know that they had Primeval Thule games and this may be of interest to them as well, if they have not seen this already.

Due to this thread, I grabbed a pdf copy of Paleomythic yesterday. I'm fairly impressed by the implied setting of Ancient Mu. When you read the talents "Serpents" and "Soul Eater" you get hints of older civilizations that have now collapsed and dark threats that their existence could hint at. For example, are characters with the 'Serpents' talent the descendants of a Yuan-ti like society or are they the people alongside the 'Snake Charmers' who may one day become the Yuan-ti?

A lot of the talents do an excellent job of not only evoking paleo-societies but also the Sword & Sorcery genre. But at the same time, the art also depicts both "stone age" cavemen, but also highly advanced paleolithic societies that seemed inspired by North and South American aboriginal cultures.

I could also see using Paleomythic for an Empire of the Petal Throne / Tekumel or even a Dark Sun style setting.


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## Charles Dunwoody (Mar 21, 2020)

unnatural 20 said:


> Thank you. This sounds right up my alley. I can't seem to find where the hardback is cheaper than the pdf though.




24.50 PDF: Paleomythic: A Roleplaying Game of Stone and Sorcery - Osprey Publishing | DriveThruRPG.com

Currently the hardcover is pennies more. It was pennies less when I bought it:


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## SpaceOtter (Mar 22, 2020)

Folks can find a bunch of resources for Paleomythic HERE


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## Charles Dunwoody (Mar 22, 2020)

delete


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## Arilyn (Mar 24, 2020)

Thanks for the review. We just received our copy and it looks great. Made some characters and can't wait to try out the game. Very elegant design, with tons of flavour.


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## Aldarc (Mar 25, 2020)

I'm not sure when I'll get around to playing the game, so please let me know, @Arilyn, how it goes.


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## Arilyn (Mar 25, 2020)

Aldarc said:


> I'm not sure when I'll get around to playing the game, so please let me know, @Arilyn, how it goes.



My husband wants to GM it, just for me, during the shut in, so I'll let you know how it goes, if we get to it.


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## Fireball36 (Mar 26, 2020)

It seems to me that success doesn't come by that often if it all hinges on you rolling a six without an offsetting one.  In Shadowrun you roll a lot of dice and fives AND sixes contribute to the success of your attempt.  In a lot of games, I can get a feel for my chances of a successful roll.  I have no idea from the review above on how many dice an average fighter would roll to hit and thus their chances to hit an average opponent.  If anyone can shed some light on this, I would appreciate it.


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## Aldarc (Mar 26, 2020)

Then let's build a character! Kul the Average Fighter

In Paleomythic the number of traits and talents you have varies depending on what you choose at the beginning:

1 Talent and 5 Traits
2 Talents and 4 Traits
3 Talents and 3 Traits
You can also pick up a maximum of two additional traits if you pick a flaw for each additional trait. So let's say that we pick 3 Talents, 3 Traits + 2 Traits + 2 Flaws. Assuming you are healthy and no relevant flaws, you get a number of dice to your rolls equal to your number of Traits. This means that we will have at least 5 dice except on rolls that involve our flaws.

What traits would we like for Kul, our average Stone & Sorcery Fighter? We can choose 5 traits, but we must pick 2 flaws. So for Traits, how about _Brave_ (facing foes and fighting in melee), _Strong_ (physical strength), _Resilient _(resisting pain and disease), _Dexterous_ (slight of hand, delicate work) and _Wilful_ (they're a stubborn bastard). But now we need to pick 2 Flaws: _Careless_ (the corresponding flaw to Guileful trait) and _Clumsy_ (corresponding flaw to Agile trait).

At this point, what do these traits mean? On a typical roll, we will roll 5 dice. On a roll involving one of our 5 Traits, such as Brave when we fight with weapons, we will roll 6 dice. Kul gets a bonus dice to the roll if their task involves a Trait they possess.

So how about Talents, because Talents can occasionally provide bonus dice or benefits, as will be the case for our character. Let's pick an obvious Talent first: _Warrior_. With the Warrior talent a PC gains an additional attack with melee weapons for each of the two following traits they may have: _Strong_ and _Dexterous_, which Kul selected. So Kul can make three melee attacks (if these traits aren't damaged). Kul naturally wants to be a _Barbarian_ too. This talent causes his melee weapon hits to inflict an additional wound. Then Kul decides to lean into this more heavily and picks the talent _Savage_. With the Savage talent he gains a bonus Resilient die when resisting illness and disease. Plus, when he's damaged in melee, he can roll a 1d6 'savage die': on a 6, the damage is avoided; however, on a 1, Kul is fatigued and can't use this ability in combat again.

So Kul the Average Stone & Sorcery Fighter when fighting with his melee weapon will roll 5 dice (for his 5 traits) plus 1 bonus die for Brave. But he gets to make 3 melee attacks on his turn and he will inflict a bonus wound with each hit.

I hope that helps.


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## Fireball36 (Mar 27, 2020)

Thank you for the detailed explanation, Aldarc!   Rolling five or six dice gives a decent chance of getting at least one six then. And with additional attacks that adds even more chances to hit. I appreciate the help.


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## Aldarc (Mar 27, 2020)

If the threshold for success still feels too low, you could always tweak it. You could say, for example, that 6 is a full success, and then allow 5 to be a success with a complication.


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