Pyramid Review
Enemy Gods: A Little Game Of Big Powers
Published by Wicked Dead Brewing Company
Written by John Wick
60-page 5.5"×8.5" spiral-bound softcover; $12
0.8 MEG PDF Document; $6Games in which you play gods or beings of that degree of power are nothing new, including Pantheon and Other Roleplaying Games, Nobilis, Primal Order, and ARIA: Canticle of the Monomyth. The newest entry to this little pantheon of titles is Enemy Gods: A Little Game Of Big Powers, an RPG in which a player not only takes on the role of a god, but a hero as well. Designed by John Wick (responsible for Legend of the Five Rings, 7th Sea, and Orkworld), this is a game of heroic fantasy in the mold of Ancient Greece, and the works of Michael Moorcock and Robert E. Howard. Mere mortals are capable of doing great things, but only with the divine favor of the deity or deities that they worship.
In game terms this concept is deftly executed by having each hero empowering the gods through his Devotions. In turn, the gods can grant their faithful the ability to perform amazing, even heroic feats, as well as Blessings and Miracles. Yet beware a god's wrath, as he can curse or smite a wayward hero, perhaps for not showing enough deference, or for the hero relying too much upon his own abilities, or just because. gods are like that.
Thus a player has to create two characters -- his god and his hero. Gods can be assigned by the GM, randomly or by design, either from the pantheon described in the first of Enemy gods . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: September 23, 2005
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