Evolved - Part IV (Judge Material)

In Evolved (and all other Crawl Classics games) the gamemaster is referred to as the judge. 

While it's not used throughout the beginning of the Judge section directly addresses the reader in a fun way. The villainous authors address us, their "duly subservient henchmen," the judges. We're given a multitude of excellent advice in various sidebars. The key points I like are let the dice do what they will and "let the rules bend to you, not the other way around." Many gm's (myself included) coddle players and will roll in secret. Make the stakes bigger by doing everything in the open. And don't just give abilities and such, let the players quest for them. It's so much fulfilling to earn something by doing, instead of just gaining levels.

Luck is an important part of Crawl Classics and it's use and the consequences of it are given a few pages. Since luck allows players to modify their actions, understanding it is important. We're also presented with some examples of how it can change, including the "Parker Luck" concept. As someone that loves to play characters that are unlucky for the sake of drama, this is a genre appropriate addition that I absolutely love! Evolved also uses Fortune Token which is similar to luck but can be used to affect others. This idea was cribbed from DCC Dying Earth.

Since Time Travel is in the subtitle of the game, you won't be surprised that there's advice and rules for it. It can be an overwhelming idea, but there is some good advice for making it impactful, including how to not get overwhelmed.

Those of you that know me, know that my all time favorite comic character is Dick Grayson and because of that I have a soft spot for sidekicks. They get their own (one page) chapter and honestly I could see using these rules in any of the Crawl Classics games. Essentially sidekicks are 0-level followers. There are benefits and drawbacks of having one. They are lucky and remind me of DCC halflings. However, if they die they their mentor permanently loses luck and if they are mistreated, players can no longer take a sidekick and all other sidekicks with treat them coldly or even hostile. Sidekicks gain experience (at a slower rate than players) can can gain class levels if they survive.

You won't have any issues populating your Evolved game because the authors went all in with npcs and monsters. We're presented with heroes and villains from both of the games eras. Don't want to focus on those and want to make your own? The game has you covered. There are pages of random charts that allow you to generate npcs, particularly villains, and flesh them out. There is also a random chart that let you modify stats blocks with special properties. A robust bestiary is included. This includes aliens and outsiders (which I'll go more into when I talk about the setting), creatures and people from different eras, and time warped creatures from the future. Honestly this section is pretty useful for any Crawl Classsics game. 

If you're an Evolved judge you don't need to worry. The authors have your back and present you with all the tools an advice you'll need. In my next post I'll talk about the setting of Evolved more.