Kingbeast's Lair

-== What is it? ==-

Jadeclaw is an anthropomorphic fantasy role-playing game set in a mystic land with a heavy Asian flavor. It was written by Chuan Lin and published by Sanguine Productions Limited. The Revised Edition of Jadeclaw that I am reviewing was released in June 2006.

Jadeclaw has a color cover and an interior that is a mix of black and white text with colored and black and white artwork. The book is 8.5” x 11” and is 352 pages in length. I am reviewing a hardcover print copy that I bought from my local FLGS. I have not played the game I have only read the book.

-== What I Like ==-

The cover and internal art for Jadeclaw are exceptional. The bright wrap around cover was done by Chris Goodwin and really attracts the eye from across the room. It also imparts the strong Asian theme in the product. The internal artwork was done was done by several different artists and is very well executed. Between each major section are full color comic pages depicting a scene that is relevant in that next section. These comic panels really make the artwork in Jadeclaw move to a new level. Other individual black and white and color pieces in the product do not disappoint. I particularly like Chris Goodwin’s artwork in the Races section. In fact it is difficult to find a piece in the entire book that I think is only marginal.

Jadeclaw has a very Interesting dice mechanic. Players combine dice from applicable skills, stats, or race and rolls them. The dice are not added but instead the highest value on any single dice is taken as the result. For example, my character has a D12 and D10 related to climbing. The GM says the tree is difficulty 2d6. I roll a 3 and 7. The GM rolls 3 and 4. My 7 is higher than the 4 so I climb the tree. Modifiers, or Bonuses as they are called in Jadeclaw, raise the type of dice instead of adding directly to the roll. So if I have a D8 and a D6 these raise to D10 and D8. If you beat a roll by 5 it is called an Overwhelming Success. If you lose a roll by 5 it is called an Overwhelming Failure. If you roll all natural 1’s on your dice it is called a Botch. Combat compares the dice to determine a hit and the effect.

The History section in the book is well done. It fills Jadeclaw with tons of rich hooks that are ripe for GMs and players to utilize. I also really enjoyed the way that they strengthen the mystical Asian fantasy feel that the author is trying to achieve.

Jadeclaw presents a setting called Zhongguo. I liked the fact that coverage of the realm does NOT include tons of detail. There is enough detail on each land to convey the setting but not enough to interfere with any stories that the GM may want to tell. That is a good thing in my book. The cartography is also nicely done. I especially like the Maijing city map.

Appendix 3 of Jadeclaw has a summary of Abnormal Status that is really needed but not all of the entries have page references. It would have been nice if every entry had a page reference.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

As you might guess by my simplification of the dice mechanic Jadeclaw has LOTS of fiddly bits and charts. Almost all of the Tests (i.e. Ambush, Bribery, etc.) have unique outcomes for Botch, Overwhelming Failure, Failure, Success, and Overwhelming Success. During a session the GM would have to either have the book handy or have a set of charts to keep track of what happens on each result.

The wound system in Jadeclaw feels brutal. After only a couple of hits characters have to start rolls to even stay conscious. This is a system where combat can be quick and deadly.

Overall I really wanted combats in Jadeclaw to have more of a fast wuxia feel instead of a slow paced deadly feel. Combat rules are a bit tough even at the basic level and the Advanced Combat options seem like they would REALLY slow things down. I think with an experienced Jadeclaw GM keeping the flow really moving it might not be such of an issue. Coming from a cold read of the product the combat rules seems cumbersome at best.

The book could use some reorganization. I read the entire book from cover to cover and found it quite difficult at times. I would have also appreciated more summary tables at the end of book to prevent constantly looking for tables within the main text. Jadeclaw could also use some usability layout techniques like those found in the Hero System 6th Edition books. Those have printed tabs on the page edges that allow one to easily jump to the section they want to reference. Since Jadeclaw has a lot of color they could even be color coded by section.

The magic system in Jadeclaw is full of tables. You start getting spells on one table. Once you have enough you move to the next table. From there you go to more tables. See where this is going? :} The spell list In Jadeclaw is quite vast as it covers several different types of magic. It is clear that the designer wanted everyone to be able to do cool unique things but I think it goes too far.

The section on the relatively strict social hierarchy in Zhongguo is well written but it could use information on potential roles that the PC may take in the setting. I really think it is critical for a setting to convey the roles a PC can take and their implications. That information was not present.

The provided adventure in Jadeclaw is mediocre. Something that evokes the setting a bit more or hits on crucial points of the social hierarchy might have been better.

The layout used in the book is not bad but the font is small and not real clear. At times I would have to look away and return due to the small size of the font and the difficulty in reading it. Fine…I’m old and wear glasses but so are a lot of my friends. 😉

-== Summary ==-

Even though I mentioned several things that I don’t like about Jadeclaw I think that this is a fun setting that may appeal to some gamers. Many of the same themes used in Jadeclaw are present in my current Spirit Storm campaign. This fact instigated my purchase of the product. If you want anthropomorphic fantasy action and are not afraid of old school crunch you should give Jadeclaw a look.

There is a new version of Ironclaw, a predecessor/sister to Jadeclaw, on DriveThruRPG at this URL that appears to have several rule changes but I do not own a copy of that product. I took a look at the Ironclaw: Preview at this URL and it looks like they may have streamlined the system and used more color coding. Awesome! 😀

You can purchase a copy of Jadeclaw Revised Edition at Noble Knight Games for $34.95 at this URL. They also have original editions at a much cheaper price. Amazon has it here for $39.95.

I give it 5 out of 10 paws.