Reign is one of those systems that I was hoping might turn out to be the perfect RPG. Because that's what I'm looking for, and I'm sure it must exist, but none of the previous contenders weren't quite it. The previous contender was Burning Wheel, which I'd heard a lot of good stuff about, and the way Beliefs work is really great, and a big part of what I'm looking for. Only the rest of the system was extremely fiddly with excessive amounts of detail in some places (the enormous skill list) but fantastic bits in other places (lifepaths), but also some gaping holes (anything in between Fight and Bloody Versus).

Reign is next on my radar, and some stuff I read about it makes it sound it might be almost perfect. The dice system is unique and really interesting, but ultimately I fear it might be a bit gimmicky. You roll a dice pool of d10s, and all dice that come up with the same number form a set. You can roll multiple sets, and for each action you declared (which could be more than one), you pick one of your sets. The number of dice in the set is its width, the number on the dice is the height. Getting two different dimensions out of a single roll is a really cool idea. The problem is that the system tends to use these two dimensions for more than two things, which can have weird results.

For example, hits to your legs are easier to parry than hits to your head. I think that's the big one to me. Another one is that quick attacks that go first, also do more damage. I have less issue with that, but with 4 effects mapped to the two dimensions of the roll, I do wonder if two rolls wouldn't have made more sense.

Something I really love about it is that, unlike Burning Wheel, this system is intentionally a toolbox, meant to be tinkered with. Lots of optional rules and suggestions how to adapt it. These seem to be 5 chapters on combat; not sure if they're all the same system or alternatives, but clearly you can start easy and add detail as required.

#ttrpg #reignrpg #burningwheel