WEGS 101: Wickedly Errant Game System
From: Gamewick Games
Reviewed by: Ron McClung
WEGS 101: Wickedly Errant Game System is a new role playing game system Core book from Gamewick Games.
I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Wickman at MACE 2007. He flew down from his home in New Jersey to demo his game system. He seemed very passionate about his game, willing to run every session and then some, so I was glad to have him on our schedule.
From the back cover : “WEGS 101 is the intro to the sword-n-sorcery adventure game system, WEGS – The Wickedly Errant Game System.”
WEGS 101: Wickedly Errant Game System also known as WEGS 101: Old Skool, is the first rulebook in the WEGS series. It basically is the starting point for those that want to get into the game. It is a streamlined product with all the basics of the WEGS system contained within. Traditionally, it is the rulebook used in convention games or demo games. The game claims to be simple and easy to play with a fast character generation. With that in mind, I set out to review this game.
To start with, WEGS is not your typical role playing game system. This book takes you right into it with its own terminology and unique mechanics. The system is based on percentile dice and two 6-sided dice. There are basically three types of rolls – Stat%, Odd% and CR%. Stat% is a percentile roll vs. a character’s Stat or ability score. Odd% is a percentile vs. one’s skill level. A skill level can be between 1 and 4, with each level having its own set percentage. For example, Level 1 is 11% and level 4 is 77%. The final type of roll is the CR% – the Cold Roll. This is perhaps the most interesting and the most challenging type of roll to adapt to for most gamers. It involves rolling 2d6 first to determine the percentage one must roll against and then rolling a percentile roll. Very interesting.
In many cases, the number rolled also means something. WEGS has interesting mechanics behind critical or Wicked successes and failures. This is fairly standard in most games, but it goes beyond that with something called Good Shots and Bad Shots. These occur when certain numbers are rolled. For instance, Bad Shots occur when there is a zero in the 1s place of the die – i.e. 10, 20, 30, 40, etc. There are specific simple rules surrounding what happens with them.
There are also other gaming constructs such as spell points (Spoints), Level Dice, and Spupping. Spoints are the most significant item as they are used to cast spells and and change dice rolls. It recommends that the players use poker chips to keep up with their Spoints.
From the back cover : “WEGS is a game designed for rapid play.”
At the core of any RPG is the character, and in this game they are called Arks (short for Arketypes). The character in a WEGS game is far more simple than something like d20 or other RPGs, supporting the notion that this game is designed for fast play. The first thing a character chooses is his base Arketype from the list of 4 available. These are similar to classes but far more simple. They are Warrior, Ranger, Trickster, and Skolar. They define some basic information about the character, including Arena and Primary Stat. Some base Arketypes have special options, like Skolar allows you to choose from Sage or Mage.
Rolling Stats involves first the INI scores which are their initial scores. Racial factors are brought in when the player chooses a race. They are Dwarves, Elves, Goblins, Gnobbits and Humnz (humans). For each Stat, a player rolls 2d6 and 2d10 and adds them all together, re-rolling 1s. There are six total Stats – Prowess, Ruggedness, Stealth, Ingenuity, Grace and Sanity. All are fairly self explanatory. Following this, each Stat is Ranked or allocated a number from 10 to 30. The player can assign three 10s, two 20s and one 30 to a Stat. Usually, the 30 is assigned to the Primary stat of the Ark. In the end, the Total Stat is the Rank plus the INI rolled.
Once the Stats are calculated, the characters Strengths are calculated, and they are the Warrior, Ranger, Move, Spell Points and Insanity. These are derived directly for the Total Stat they pertain to. Following this, the Ark’s Vitals are calculated – Woulds, Spoints, Phew!, and Invulnerability. Wounds are self explanatory. Spoints were explained earlier and are calculated from either Ingenuity or Grace. Phew! Points are used when the player is down to zero wounds and needs to carry on just a little longer. They help avoid the consequences of NDE – Near Death Experiences. Invulnerability is the characters defense rating and is composed of two parts – Stealth and Armor.
Skills is an area that is brushed over fairly lightly in WEG 101. In the more complete version of the game, WEGS Copper, skills are more detailed. In WEGS 101, there is a base set of skills an Ark has and they are all treated to be at the highest level – level 4. In Copper, a character can buy skills. Spells and Skills are treated similarly. Mages and Sages have a fixed set of Spells to choose from. For convenience in demo or convention games, the fine people of Gamewick Games supply a deck of cards that represent the skill actions, combat actions and spells that any given class can perform. Again this is meant for speed of play, but in the more complete version there is more flexibility. Attack Forms are special skill uses specific to a class. Like Trickster Stealth Attack or Warrior Attack Form Invulnerability, these actions are options and also have cards in the deck representing combat options each class can take.
In combat, there are 7 actions – Move, Ready, Attack, Aim, Fire, Cast and Blast – and a player can only perform one per turn or Inning. In this simplified version, the Ready and Attack (Warrior specific actions) or Aim and Fire (Ranger specific actions) are the combat actions one can take. I can only assume in the more complete version that the game allows for the Ranger Read and Attack in case he can not Aim and Fire or visa versa. I am not sure I am a fan of the fixed actions for classes. By the same token, Cast and Blast are magic-using specific actions.
Task resolution, as indicated, use percentile dice. Bonuses and penalties are in terms of percentile as well. Percentile seems to have a strong following, primarily because of its wide bell-curve probability. I can understand its appeal. The system provides many options to modify your chances, including Spupping (with Spoints) and Attacks Forms.
Another interesting aspect is the way it deals with death. The system can be fairly deadly, so death is dealt with a little more often than in your run-of-the-mill RPG. The system supplies a mechanic for when a character reaches less than zero wounds. It is called Near Death Experience or NDE. They can be avoided with Phew! points. Every time the character takes damage that pushes him below zero, he can make this test to avoid dying (or sepnd Phew! points). If he keeps taking damage, however, eventually he will die. There are consequences, however, of successfully avoiding death with an NDE. The character begins to stack up Insanity points.
In conclusion, without a doubt, the WEGS system is a unique system. It has its own terms to adapt to and a definite different feel that sets it apart. The author works really hard to make the game fun and interesting, as well as intuitive and fast. This is a game for those that like the odds and like the randomness of dice. This is not a game for those that believe that the dice are out to get them. This book is a no-frills role playing game system, with the basics in character creation, skill use, and combat all rolled up in a small booklet. There are more books slated for productions, but this book is where you start. It is fast paced and easy to play once you adapt to some of the unique mechanics and terms. It can be pretty deadly, but it can be heroic at the same time.
This is a good little independent role-playing game. It has some unique concepts and original ideas. The author really works hard to make it fun, easy and fast to play. The people I watched play it seem to really enjoy it. If you are on the east coast, be on the look out for WEGS at a convention near you because he says he plans to run games in all the original 13 colonies.
For more details on Gamewick Games and their new Role Playing Game system Core book “WEGS 101: Wickedly Errant Game System” check them out at their website http://www.gamewick.com.
WEGS 101: Wickedly Errant Game System
From: Gamewick Games
Type of Game: Role Playing Game system Core book
Written by: L. Willy Wickman
Design and Layoutby: Karen Knorr
Art by: Kennon James
Number of Pages: 102
Game Components Included: 1 soft cover booklet
Retail Price: $ 25.00 (US)
Item Number: GW0101
Website: www.gamewick.com
Reviewed by: Ron McClung