I'm playing RoA 3: Shadows over Riva right now, but this is the only forum I've found that is addressing this series of games. And since Riva is a refined version of the Star Trail engine, I'm hoping that my questions are directly relevant to players of both games. Most RPG forums where this topic is mentioned simply draw a "huh?!?" :blink:
At any rate, there are some play issues that the manual really doesn't address.
1. When one of your magicians does the wand ritual, it drains a *lot* of his or her AP's. The only way I know of to gain those back is simply to sleep for several days. You can also cast a healing spell on the magician, Rest the Body, Rest the Mind, so that the magician accumulates the AP's quicker, but still you *do* have to sleep it off. That said, is there any penalty for not getting on with the game as quickly as possible? Can you spend days just exploring the town, calling on every residence in the hope of getting that important clue (or an NPC), with impunity?
2. The manual also states that magicians get "house spell" bonuses, which are typically +2-3. But it doesn't state what the plus is! Is it the "to hit" roll? Damage? Reduced Astral Point cost?
This game is, believe it or not, the first RPG I've played since my pen-and-paper days back in the early 1980's. I got the game based on Tom's rave review herein, and also here:
http://www.geocities.com/ataniel/arkreview.htm
I kinda like the way the engine is *not* capable of showing everything the way a modern game would, as the text that pops up when something occurs is very similar to having the DM describe things to you. Makes for an atmospheric game. And the music is beautiful and already I can see that the story is going to be quite involved, which to me is the main reason for playing an RPG. If it's just hack 'n slash, I'd rather play a good wargame. Enough rambling.
Thanks for your thoughts!
Ludo