Author Topic: Ironclaw: who else has played it?  (Read 1573 times)

Offline snakeman830

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Ironclaw: who else has played it?
« on: November 22, 2011, 02:36:19 PM »
This past weekend, I learned about and played the Ironclaw RPG for the first time.  I was lucky enough to have my first game be run by one of the game's writers and having a second one be a player (the fact that the two still had arguments over the rules amused me, but they still came to agreed conclusions very quickly).  I bought the book for it (and got a free sketch from a third developer), but I don't really have anyone to play with.

As a bit of background on the game, Ironclaw is an anthropomorphic fantasy RPG set on a continent not too different from early 1600's Europe (addition of magic aside).  It's the first RPG I've found that completely lacks Humans and the like, instead everyone plays an anthropomorphic animal.  I was impressed by how no species was decidedly better than any other (some may be better at certian roles, such as horses making better tanks than monkeys, but the difference is very slight even then).  Likewise, no career has definite advantages over the others.

Given the advancement system, eventually any character can do anything in the game if they so choose (save things that are limited by species, such as wolves being unable to fly).  It's also set up so that you can become extremely good at specific things or you can branch out and become more versatile.  Either way will reward you with a useful character.  For example, I got handed a pre-generated deer burglar, but he was set to make a strong, mobile dual-wielding melee beast rather than the typical thief you would expect.

While I didn't make a character, it only takes about 10 minutes to do everything mechanical, and most of that is selecting gifts.  It is very simple and rather intuitive, which I applaud.

For what it's worth, That Guy With The Glasses gave Ironclaw a very strong "A" grade.  While my experience thus far has been minimal, it appears to be a fantastic system at first glance with no gamebreaking abilities at all (that said, adventures do have to be planned out with the different species in mind; a river is no obstacle for a bat or raven and not much of one for an otter).  Sadly, the books aren't distributed by Diamond Books, so you can basically only get it at conventions (like I did) or online.

Anyone else have any experience with the game?
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