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Saturday, February 20, 2016

Fields of Forsaken: A Review

Every now and again, we discover a product and it leaves a real impression on us.  A few weeks back, we picked up Pamphlet I: Fields of Forsaken, by +Thaumiel Nerub and D-oom Products, and now we're gonna review it for you!  So without delay...

Pamphlet I: Fields of Forsaken is a neat little (16-page) pdf available on Drive-Thru and its affiliates.  It offers an afterlife setting for RPGs, because while death is something to be avoided, characters will sometimes stumble into the afterlife, and this should be dark, gloomy, and surreal - almost dreamlike - as compared to the mortal realm, and D-oom nails it! 

EMOTIONAL GEOGRAPHY 

Most game settings read like a geographical text sprinkled with numerous charts and tables.  But Fields of the Forsaken presents its imagined world through an almost poetic fashion more at home in a book of modern verse or a horror story.  This is perfect for a dark afterlife where departed souls may fall astray...



Building emotion is a constant challenge for GMs, and the ethereal realms are especially affected here.  The afterlife, more than anything else, is a place fashioned from the very stuff of mortal emotion, and Fields of Forsaken does an excellent job depicting this world on its own terms; a place of despair.

DARK PRODUCTION

Production is equally gloomy, with a dark, chunky typeset and equally enigmatic illuminations that beg more questions than they answer, all while suggesting the afterlife they depict.

Good GMs are always looking for non-gaming inspirations, and Fields of Forsaken represents an attempt to offer one...

Those faithless who die end up in the
endless Fields. In the middle of the void,
where ever you venture, The Church
stands inviting. But no one can enter,
until the time of judgement...

Overall, it reads like a guided tour through a dark and gloomy landscape where the faithless wander eternally!

THE (OUR) FINAL JUDGEMENT

Although, presumably, intended for a horror RPG, this is equally suited for sword and sorcery.  Crossing the veil should be a disorienting experience, especially when you go without the blessing of a patron deity, and this smart book leaves its mark...

Modern poetry?  Narration?  Or an adventure setting?  This offering is pay what you want, and well worth dropping a bit to support!  

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