Pyramid Review
Blue Rose: The Roleplaying Game of Romantic Fantasy
Published by Green Ronin Publishing
Designed by Jeremy Crawford, Dawn Elliot, Steve Kenson, & John Snead
Cover by Stephanie Pui-Min Law
Illustrated by Elaine "Lilith" Bettocci, Elizabeth Danforth, Eliza Gauger, Jonathan Kirtz, Stephanie Pui-Min Law, Leo Lingas, Jennifer Meyer, & Lisa Wood
Cartography by Phillip Lienau
224-page b&w softcover; $29.95
Blue Rose marks the d20 System's entry of the into a genre of kinder, gentler, even more feminine RPGs currently occupied by Hearts, Swords, Flowers and Cat the RPG. Inspired by the novels of Diane Duane, Mercedes Lackey, and Robin McKinley, this is the roleplaying game of romantic fantasy, a sub-genre that places the emphasis upon relationships, entanglements, love, and romance, rather than monster slaying, epic quests, or saving the world from some great evil. Except that it is not a d20 System RPG.
Taking its cue from the publisher's highly acclaimed Mutants & Masterminds the designers of Blue Rose go several steps further in taking a filleting knife to the meat of the d20 System. The result is that this OGL title is powered by the new True20 system, which retains the d20 System's salient features -- such as the d20 roll plus modifiers mechanic, and the feats -- but simplifies their use and application. One result has been that the True20 system has been spun off and released as a stand-alone product, True20 Adventure Roleplaying.
The setting for Blue Rose is Aldea, a young . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: April 14, 2006
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