by Demian Katz
WEGS 101: Old Skool Redux (2010)
Published by Gamewick Games
Created by L. Willy Wickman
Editors: Jason Dietel and A. P. Klosky
Project editor: Alyssa Smith
Illustrated by Peter Mullen (cover) and Kennon James (interior)
Additional artwork by McKenna Andrews, Bradley K. McDevitt, M. Orensanz and J. Richmond
106-page perfect bound book and card deck in hang-hole bag.
$25.00
It hasn't been all that long since I reviewed WEGS 101, so I was a little surprised
when the revised edition of the product showed up for review. Given how
much I liked the first edition, I wasn't sure that there was enough room
for improvement to justify a second edition so soon. As often seems to
be the case when I pre-judge WEGS, I was wrong.
The Game, In Brief
If you want a detailed review of the WEGS system, you can read my
earlier review. Mechanically,
very little has changed since then, and all of my earlier comments still
apply. In case you don't want to read all the gory details, it probably
suffices to say that WEGS is a low-fantasy RPG that mixes an
old-school reliance on dice-rolling with more modern streamlined
mechanics, its own distinctive terminology and a sense of humor.
Through heavy use of poker chips and special target numbers for dice
rolls, it brings a certain casino feel to the game table. A convenient
deck of skill and spell cards helps to further streamline play. Though
ideal for one-off convention play, the system is also fine for
campaigns.
So what changed?
Given that the previous edition was a roughly 100-page book and the new
edition is close to the same physical length, you might think the
revision here was minimal. You would be mistaken, however. Perhaps the
biggest change here is the font size – one of my biggest
criticisms of the first edition is that the font was too big, so there
wasn't a whole lot of content. By reducing the font, the new edition
packs a lot more content into the same length. All of the existing
descriptions (Arketypes, races, skills, spells) have been fleshed out
significantly, and this expanded text gives a deeper feel of the game
system and its setting.
Another big change is the organization. The first edition was somewhat
haphazard, introducing concepts left and right and potentially confusing
the reader the first time through. WEGS still has a learning
curve – there are a lot of unfamiliar terms, and it takes a while
to get used to how the game's basic rules apply to all possible
situations – but the new edition presents the material in a more
natural order, allowing concepts to build on one another and offering
cross-references to other sections of the book when necessary. A fair
amount of space is also devoted to guidance on teaching new players and
catching common mistakes. This new approach is such a dramatic
improvement that I'm surprised in retrospect that I didn't complain
about the first edition more when I reviewed it!
It's not just the book that has gotten an overhaul. The accompanying
skill deck has also been completely revised and expanded, with longer
text, a new look, and nice rounded corners. Enough remains the same
that you can still probably continue to get some use out of your first
edition deck if you have one (it never hurts to have a spare on hand),
but this new version is definitely an improvement.
The only change that disappointed me was the removal of the first
edition's "Dwarf Walks Into a Bar" sample adventure. While this has
been replaced with a detailed example of play that serves much the same
purpose, I like it when games include a ready-to-run adventure, and
"Dwarf" was a good one. Still, the fact that several full-length
adventures are available for free download from the Gamewick website
removes some of the sting.
What's new?
In addition to significant changes, the new addition adds a fair amount
of completely new content. While the previous edition mentioned
features forthcoming in something called WEGS Copper, this
edition drops references to the Copper edition and adds some of the
missing features: multi-level skills, character advancement ("rank
bumps"), and mixing and matching character skills ("multi-Arkin'").
Humnz players now have several distinctive cultures to choose from when
building their characters. Non-spellcasting Arketypes get one new skill
each, and one spell ("night site") has been removed and replaced with
something that sounds similar but is in fact completely different
("nightstalkers"). Combat has more explicit rules for common situations
like attacks of opportunity. GM's, or Kreators, have a bestiary of 26
ready-to-run minions and guidelines on Trove to hand out as rewards for
surviving particularly dangerous encounters.
It's important to point out that the new content, while nice, is
actually not the main reason to recommend the new edition. The
additions aren't completely insignificant, but they are a much less
important part of the new edition than its reworking of existing
content. If you are already totally comfortable playing WEGS and
are only interested in brand-new rules, you might actually be
disappointed by WEGS 101 Redux. Most players, however, will
probably appreciate the way the product has improved and grown as a
whole.
What hasn't changed?
As I've already pointed out, the game of WEGS is almost
completely unchanged here from the first edition. That's a good thing
– I would much rather have a better explanation of the same system
than have to worry about changing what I have learned. Much (but not
all) of the artwork is the same as before, but again, this is not a bad
thing. The high (but not totally perfect) standard of copy
editing also deserves continued praise. Of course, an unchanged
WEGS brings with it all the previous caveats: the game won't
appeal to all kinds of gamers, and some of its terminology may grate on
you (I was disappointed to see that "for wegsample" is still being used
here). If you are capable of appreciating the game on its own terms,
though, there is definitely fun to be had here... and since it's good
for one-offs, you really don't have to commit too much if you don't want
to!
Conclusions
This is a surprisingly impressive revision of a surprisingly impressive
product. Without changing the page count, the Gamewick team has managed
to greatly improve the usefulness of their product while adding a few
new features as a bonus. I don't think we'll need a third edition for
some time, though I do look forward to seeing what other products get
added to the WEGS lineup in the years to come!
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