Barbarians of Lemuria (Legendary Edition) Review

This is an indie game that has a decent size following. It's most appealing aspects are its setting, magic system and career system. Not that those are the only things to like about it but they're what sets it apart from most systems. This isn't a typical fantasy game however. This is geared towards a "swords and sorcery" style of play. Magic is less refined. Civilization is very basic. Monsters are mostly giant reptiles and birds. Mammals are sparse in Lemuria, including horses. The characters are more heroic because of who they are rather than the events they get involved in. The setting itself is less "romantic" than your typical high fantasy setting. The setting it comes with does give a hint of sci-fi because the world is set way after an apocalypse. So there maybe some ancient technology from the past the that people now wouldn't understand. The setting it comes with can come off as bland but that's the point. It's just to start you off and the group builds onto it.

For it being a small book at 110 pages it really is a full game that could last at least a few sessions. So if you're wanting a quick simple game that requires less dedication this would most likely work for you. It's a throwback to the old style where games had simple systems that were unique for each game, whereas today most games use a standard rules system like D20, Savage Worlds, BRP and so on. So yes you'll have to learn a new system but it's not a big deal to pick up because it's so easy.

Character creation is simple. Each character has four attributes. Strength, agility, mind, and appeal. Each player has 4 points to put into them. None can be higher than 3 and one can be dropped to a -1 to raise another by one point. Don't worry about having a 0 score in something. It doesn't mean you suck in that attribute it just means you're average. So overall each character is going to be above average in someways. Going along the lines of how bad-ass characters are in a s&s setting. Next are abilities. Brawl, melee, ranged and defense. Same rules as attributes so no surprises here. Characteristics are determined by what each player wants. Later in character creation careers, boons, and flaws can impact these so don't worry too much. Just put some notes how you want your character to be. Lifeblood is character health. It starts at 10 for everyone and increases a point for each point in strength. If it drops to 0 that doesn't mean dead, it just means unconscious. Don't let it fall in the negatives though or your character will eventually die.

Careers is where you add some back story to your stat block of a character. Think of them almost like classes if that helps but they are different. Each person chooses 4 and they act as skill sets. A barbarian career is going to give that character the knowledge of how to fight, hunt, and survive but they won't get anything in crafting, reading, or social. A noble career would be helpful in social gatherings, getting money, and maybe even playing politics if needed. There's 26 careers to choose from and players and GM could make up your own. When four are chosen put points in them just like the rules with attributes but a career can't have fewer points than 0. After careers are determined then characters origins, boons, and flaws are determined. Boons are positive bonuses and flaws are hindrances. They can be physical or psychological. When they come into play roll 3d6. For a boon drop the lowest, and a flaw drop the highest. So it's much easier or harder to succeed or fail. In the rules these are determined by where your character came from but they don't have to be. They're just a general guideline to go with.

The system is easy. Right out of the book it says
• Roll 2d6
• Add the relevant attribute
• Add any relevant combat abilities (if fighting)
• Add any relevant career (if not fighting)
• Add any modifiers
If the result equals or exceeds 9, your character succeeds. If the result is lower than 9, you fail.
A natural 12 (i.e. two sixes) on the dice is always a success.
A natural 2 (i.e. two ones) on the dice is always a failure.

Remember the target number for a success is 9. Depending on the difficulty of a roll a negative modifier could be given by the GM. So if a dice roll resulted in a 9 but a -2 modifier were applied it would still be a failure. This is where using boosts from careers, attributes, abilities, and boons come in handy so overcoming a negative modifier is easier. Combat is simple and fast. "Rabble" are just filler enemies that only take a hit to defeat. NPCs and villains are treated more like regular characters though NPCs are weaker. There are optional combat moves to keep it fresh. Weapons give a bonus modifier to attacks and range. Armor absorbs damage your character takes if hit but reduces agility so they can't doge as well. Nothing wrong with how things work, no surprises. Overall, simple and fluid. Lots of action can take place so it's not vanilla each time which can sometimes happen in a simple system. Also if a failure happens, depending on how bad it is, a GM can have some fun. It might be more fun to put a PC in an awkward and frightening situation rather than just killing them.

Characters can also get hero points for helping out, player gives a good story idea, or solving some puzzle. They're used to increase the power behind a success or lessen the effect of a failure. They can also be used to re-roll, lessen the damage of a wound, defy death, and so on. Something good will always happen in a characters favor as long as it's not too crazy. If a player is asking for a bit much I suggest raising the price of whatever it is they're asking for (2 or 3 points instead of just 1) rather than saying flat out no. GMs and players should be reasonable. Use these wisely but do use them. The game is much better that way.

When a quest is completed characters are rewarded with loot. The more creative and fun the loot is spent the better. Sure it could be spent on supplies but it's a good idea to party like heroes. After all supplies in the book don't have prices so it's vague how much they cost. If the party is good with the locals they'll be thankful and give them supplies in hopes they may help them out more. They better loot is spent the more advancement points characters are rewarded. These can be used to boost attributes, abilities, careers, boons, or drop a flaw, etc. Again anything good that will benefit a character as they grow.

Magic is really cool. It's an open magic system. Rather than casting spells from a book and expecting the same results, magic is random and ritualistic. Anyone with the magic career gets 10 magic points. The bigger the spell is (rated in magnitudes) the more magic points the spell will require. To reduce the requirements a ritual of some sort must be done. This can be gathering sacred stones, herbs, carving runes, fasting, self mutilation, up to animal and human sacrifice. The higher magnitude a spell the more extreme the requirements. Also the higher magnitude a spell is the harder it is to reach the target number of 9 because the caster will suffer a higher negative penalty on their roll. I like this because it's more creative and contrary to people saying it takes longer than just casting a spell, in practice it's not. It's quicker than what you would think.

There's a lot more to this game but these are the basics. I really enjoy this game because it gives a much different feeling than the average fantasy setting and system does. I like how it's a throwback without being as weird as some games from back then could be. It can be bought here (PDF), here (print), and free resources, including a free older version can be found here.