My review of "Cadwallon: The Free City" was published in today's News and Sentinel. This game review was a long time coming as the book and system were a little complex and took me longer to cover. In the end, though, I'm pretty proud of my review, and am submitting it to several roleplaying games Web sites.

Though the review didn't go into a lot of detail about the system behind the game, with RPGs that is going to be more difficult, because generally speaking they have more rules and more variables than your average card or board game. Still, I think my review gives people a good idea of why they might or might not want to check out Cadwallon. This is definitely a more complex game mechanically speaking, and the setting is for a much more mature audience. Still, the book is beautiful, and I can't wait to do more with the rules and setting.

One thing I couldn't fit into the review was how much the game reminded me of the old Planescape setting for Dungeons & Dragons, which remains among my all-time favorite campaign settings. Though Cadwallon is a bit more earth-bound of a city, it shares several of the same characteristics as The Cage. Both are very fantastic settings, but at the same time grim and gritty. Both contain very interesting characters and distinctive locations. I thought Cadwallon's use of Attitudes in its different city sectors was a lot like Planescape's use of alignments. Simply knowing the dominant philosophy behind a neighborhood's inhabitants can generate a number of roleplaying opportunities and story hooks.

Since the page on NewsandSentinel.com will cycle out after this week, and since I'm not sure exactly where the review will end up on the net, I am reposting the review here on my blog. Feel free to check it out.

" 'Cadwallon' a beautiful, brutal roleplaying game"

By MICHAEL ERB
Staff Writer
The Parkersburg News and Sentinel