Your Cart is Empty
Review By Boggsimus of Boggsimus Games
Introduction To Rhune
It is no secret that I am a huge fanboy when it comes to anything with the steampunk genre tacked on to it. I have spent countless hours cruising through Facebook, Pinterest, and Reddit in search of awe-inspiring content for my roleplaying campaigns.
After some extensive searching, I found a .PDF on Drivethru RPG for a campaign setting called Rhune: Dawn of Twilight. At this point in time, the download was a primer of the campaign guide, which was still in development, in addition to some race and class guides. I downloaded everything I could get my hands on and went to Staples to have my new babies printed out.
This only caused a great hunger for more Rhune, which prompted me to seek out the designer on Facebook to get some information from him; I needed to know more about the setting and when the book would be available in print.
While talking with Rhune's creator, Jaye Sonia, I realized that we had very similar approaches and tastes with our tabletop gaming. This solidified the fact that Rhune was going to be a game close to my heart!
Delving into Rhune: Dawn of Twilight
Okay, so we've established that steampunk is something close to my heart. In addition to loving steampunk, I am a HUGE fan of Marvel's Thor, which stemmed from my fondness of Norse mythology. Rhune takes steampunk and fuses it with Norse mythogical flavoring, creating a new genre: Stormpunk. That's right, when you enter the realms of Rhune, you are playing in a setting of dwarves, aelves, giants, mechanical monstrosities, and gods!
Rhune: Dawn of Twilight is a Pathfinder compatible tabletop roleplaying game, meaning you can introduce its concepts and rules into your existing pathfinder games or run games entirety in the world of Rhune!
Rhune has incredible alternate and optional rules that can be used across many different d20 based settings. I personally love the changes to the iconic Paladin in Rhune, which you'll have to check out when you snag a book! There's definitely a lot of room for in depth character customization in the book, that's for sure!
Paizointroduced Pathfinder to the Gunslingerin Ultimate Combat, which added an extra spin to games. Rhune picks up the slack of tech and builds a world where engineering and arcane are common place! You can have a pistol wielding aelf campaigning next to a spell-slinging automaton!
What really grips me about Rhune is the immersiveness and depth of its worlds. When you read through its pages, everything makes cohesive sense, like you could actually travel to its worlds.
The locations of the realms are fleshed out in addition to the various races; You can feel the tonal differences in societal structures and grasp the difference in each culture's reasons for their views.
Playing Rhune: Dawn of Twilight
Since Rhune is in fact a tabletop roleplaying game, you'll need a character sheet, which you can download them from Storm Bunny Studios' site or copy one from the back of the book. Next, you'll need a set of polyhedral dice (which can be found here), a pencil, and scratch paper for note keeping.
Since Rhune is compatible with the Pathfinder roleplaying system, I recommend also having Pathfinder's Core Rulebook to accompany the creation and gaming process. The great thing about Pathfindercompatible products is the versatility that can be found when using different rules options and books.
There are so many different Pathfinder books that customizing a character to fit a specific idea shouldn't be a problem. I've created whole characters based around a feat that I found interesting. If you scroll through Rhune, I guarantee you'll find something that appeals to you.
Because Rhune is a campaign guide, the Game Master will be using the book a lot as it's a trove of resources. It's because of this, that I recommend each player picks up a copy of the book, which could be the hardcover print copy or the .PDF version. Having a personal copy allows you to read through the book to familiarize yourself with the world and its lore. Doing this always makes playing a character in a completely new setting an easier experience.
The Book
From a design standpoint, the book is solid. Its layout makes it easy to read in addition to being visually appealing. Being a former design student and an artist allows me to look at designs and layouts with different eyes. I do have to say, I am incredibly impressed with the art throughout the book.
If I didn't know better, I would say Storm Bunny Studios is a large firm such as Paizo. Their production and direction of design give it a large appeal.
Conclusion
Rhuneoffers an array of new worlds and their denizens, a rich and full history, races that immerse you into the setting, a spin on the popular steampunk genre, and a new approach at the Pathfinder role-playing system! It truly is the real deal and I'm beyond psyched to play it!
It appeals to new players and veteran gamers alike! And that's what I love to focus on: games that bring people together for the best experiences they can have!
Meet The Author
Boggsimus of Boggsimus Games
Review of Rhune - Dawn of Twilight by Storm Bunny Studios
