Fireborn
Encyclopedia
Fireborn is a cross-genre
role-playing game
incorporating elements of urban fantasy
and high fantasy
.
The game provides a dual-era setting, alternating between London a few years in the future from the present day where the use of magic
has been brought back to the world and a mythic age where dragons, giants, and other races fought against each other and against a mysterious enemy.
These flashbacks take place in the mythic age, the second part of the game setting. This ancient setting is located in the area of the mediterranean sea and includes powerful civilisations like Atlantis
, Kheheb (the predecessor of ancient Egypt), and the courts of the fae. The players (in the shape of dragons) interact with humans, fae, giants, and other creatures and fight against a mysterious enemy called Those who dwell below and the corruption of the world's magical energy (karma).
The dynamic attributes system, with its ability to "shift dice" allows players a much greater control over dice mechanics than usual for roleplaying games, adding tactical choices to dice rolling.
The dual time-period play, where the game is played in both the modern age and a fantasy world, is not only unique, but allows the incorporation of many dramatic elements known from movies (flashbacks, foreshadowing, non-linear timeflow) into gaming.
In addition, Fireborn solves two of the more serious player/character problems that plague most roleplaying groups, by incorporating them into the game. Fireborn characters are all telepathic - players will usually discuss game events around the table even if their characters are not within hearing distance of each other. Fireborn characters are also members of one "brood", a karmically linked group of dragons, which helps to reduce stress and conflict between player characters.
The unique dice mechanics as well as the setting and dual-era play were given positive remarks, while the high number of errors in the rule books were the most common point of criticism, as well as the fact that due to its specific setting and nature, it will not satisfy all players.
The Fireborn community (see links) is still (2009) actively supporting and expanding the game with new legacies, powers, breeds, etc.
The game books are still available in small quantities from the usual booksellers, as well as in electronic form (PDF files) for download from online sources such as DriveThruRPG.
Reviews:
Cross-genre
A cross-genre is a genre in fiction that blends themes and elements from two or more different genres.-Examples:*Action comedy *Comedy-drama or dramedy *Comedy-horror...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
incorporating elements of urban fantasy
Urban fantasy
Urban fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy defined by place; the fantastic narrative has an urban setting. Many urban fantasies are set in contemporary times and contain supernatural elements. However, the stories can take place in historical, modern, or futuristic periods...
and high fantasy
High fantasy
High fantasy or epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel worlds. High fantasy was brought to fruition through the work of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, whose major fantasy works were published in the 1950s...
.
The game provides a dual-era setting, alternating between London a few years in the future from the present day where the use of magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
has been brought back to the world and a mythic age where dragons, giants, and other races fought against each other and against a mysterious enemy.
Setting
The modern part of the game is set in London where in 2001 suddenly magic returned to the world. Strange beasts straight out of myths appeared and society still struggles to come to terms with the fact that from one day to the next the rules of life seemed to have changed. The players take the role of scions, ancient dragons reborn as humans who slowly but surely regain their memories of their former life by so called flashbacks.These flashbacks take place in the mythic age, the second part of the game setting. This ancient setting is located in the area of the mediterranean sea and includes powerful civilisations like Atlantis
Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
, Kheheb (the predecessor of ancient Egypt), and the courts of the fae. The players (in the shape of dragons) interact with humans, fae, giants, and other creatures and fight against a mysterious enemy called Those who dwell below and the corruption of the world's magical energy (karma).
Game mechanics
Players characters have four aspects (Air, Earth, Fire, Water). For all skill tests a player rolls a number of six sided dice equal to the corresponding aspect score. Skills determine a character's ability to move dice from one aspect to another before making a test, allowing greater chance for success at the cost of temporarily lowering another of the character's aspect dice pools - representing focus and concentration being directed towards particular tasks, such as attacking with no regard for your own defence, or concentrating on a task while not paying attention to your surroundingsUnique Features
Fireborn has a number of (fairly) unique features that make it unique enough to have a mention on Wikipedia.The dynamic attributes system, with its ability to "shift dice" allows players a much greater control over dice mechanics than usual for roleplaying games, adding tactical choices to dice rolling.
The dual time-period play, where the game is played in both the modern age and a fantasy world, is not only unique, but allows the incorporation of many dramatic elements known from movies (flashbacks, foreshadowing, non-linear timeflow) into gaming.
In addition, Fireborn solves two of the more serious player/character problems that plague most roleplaying groups, by incorporating them into the game. Fireborn characters are all telepathic - players will usually discuss game events around the table even if their characters are not within hearing distance of each other. Fireborn characters are also members of one "brood", a karmically linked group of dragons, which helps to reduce stress and conflict between player characters.
Reception
The game was reviewed with mostly positive results, though as one reviewer noted "The game isn’t without flaws."The unique dice mechanics as well as the setting and dual-era play were given positive remarks, while the high number of errors in the rule books were the most common point of criticism, as well as the fact that due to its specific setting and nature, it will not satisfy all players.
Current Fate
Fireborn was discontinued by Fantasy Flight Games in 2006 (unconfirmed) due to financial issues with the company and a "focus on core games" (unconfirmed).The Fireborn community (see links) is still (2009) actively supporting and expanding the game with new legacies, powers, breeds, etc.
The game books are still available in small quantities from the usual booksellers, as well as in electronic form (PDF files) for download from online sources such as DriveThruRPG.
External links
- Fantasy Flight Games
- Fireborn Homepage - dead link
- Fireborn Community
Reviews:
- http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10925.phtml
- http://www.amazon.com/Fireborn-Handbook-Fantasy-Flight-Games/dp/1589941853
- http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?filters=0_0_0_10133&manufacturers_id=6