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View Full Version : The Lowdown on Anima: Beyond Fantasy



Tectorman
2009-03-05, 01:02 PM
I saw the book last Saturday and it intrigued me. I've been glancing through it at Borders a little bit at a time and am still wondering if it would be a good choice to buy.

What I look for in an RPG:

Pre-existing setting that can be easily changed into something else.
I like it when a game comes along and it's already got a backstory and a history, culture, ecology, and other such stuff already laid out. I also like it when it's not a chore but a simple matter to take what already exists and tweak it into something more my style.

Fairness and a lack of trap choices:
A person should be able to take any options that sound right to the character (or monster or villian, etc.) and they should be just as viable as the next list of choices. You should be able to put forth x effort and get y experience points (advancement points, power points, etc.) and they should all add up to the same regardless.

Nothing imposed on personality or roleplaying:
Basically, no alignment mechanics and no dark side points. Consequences for things happening because of character personality should be handled by things in-game responding to the character, not arbitrary mechanics.

Short learning curve and no need for system mastery:
I like to get my "learning how to play the game" done first, then just relax into the character and play. Even if the game has a steep hill to climb, it's fine so long as there won't be a constant list of things being introduced that I also have to get a handle on.


What intrigued me when I looked at the book:

I remember reading somewhere that the classes in the book are replaceable with other classes you can make up yourself and the formula appears to be easy enough to decipher to where I could customize something in short order.

It appeared as though any character could learn to do anything (almost as though it was a classless system).


Based on this, would Anima RPG be a good buy? Find someone to loan me a book and play a quick session before buying? Don't touch it again? Give more information on my tastes; this isn't enough?