Elfs
Sometimes a neat little book comes along and it mostly flies under the radar. There are some creative games that have come out of small companies these days. The internet has really allowed these small guys to survive and find an audience. The games are spread through word of mouth on message boards, through reviews (kind of like this one), and through demos at conventions. These games are probably not going to be the next big thing since they are never going to be that big. It is doubtful that the companies like White Wolf and Wizards and their many fans will ever become aware of these little companies and the games they put out. So many gamers today find one game they like and never leave it to give other things a chance. And that is a damn shame. So, every now and then I like to showcase one of these games. I did it a few months ago with Capes and now I do it with Elfs. And ya, this is not a d20 game for those wondering.
Elfs is a game that takes some of what we take for granted in role playing and says, “Nope, not in this game.” It is a simple game, it is at times an immature game, and it is a fun game. Elfs is done by Adept Press and by Adept Press I mean Ron Edwards. Ron Edwards is the guy behind this game and Sorcerer, another game by him and really good if quite a bit different. The book Elfs comes in a nice small paper back format is really not that expensive. It is a bit under one hundred pages and is black and white. The layout is good; the art is nice and funny at times black and white pieces. But the jewel of the book is the writing.
Elfs is not apologetic about being immature, rude, and disgusting. It is what it is. The Elfs in this game are not the tall, lanky, wisdom bearers of other games. Not here, not in this game. The Elfs here are crude, they are power hungry munchkins. They all suffer from small man syndrome, they want magical items even the ones their friends have. Assuming you can call other Elfs friends as they will turn on each other to get what they want. This is a game where the character will be more about power gaming then the players.
This game has a couple of things going for it that make it fun. The first is playing selfish power gaming characters that act immature, fart, beech, steal, and do a lot of things I am not going to mention here for the heck of it. Of course it does not have to be taken to the extreme that I am implying here. The game has a simple mechanic to it that uses 3d10 and all one needs to do is roll lower then their stats. There are only three stats and each have a neat purpose of how they interact with the game. I will cover that in a moment. But one of the coolest things the game does is separate the character from the player. Sure, one role plays the character in front of them but the game realizes that what the character wants to do and what the player wants to have happen are not always going to be the same thing. The game has rules for that and in fact it is a rather common occurrence in this game. I like that.
Character creation is pretty easy. There are three stats for a character: Spunk, Dumb Luck, and Low Cunning. Spunk starts at a five the others start at zero. One can lower Spunk to increase the others if they choose to. Spunk covers everything the character wants to do. The player rolls the 3d10 and they try to roll under spunk. Dumb luck or Low Cunning can be added to Spunk for certain actions. Dumb Luck applies when the character and player want different outcomes. Low Cunning is added to Spunk when the character does something sneaky or juvenile. We like sneaky and juvenile actions; they are what can really make this game fun. Spunk also serves as a health like score though dieing in this game is a bit difficult in fact if I understand it there was a lack of death rules in the first set of rules. Character start out with some money but gaining money and more importantly spending it is one way to permanently increase a characters abilities. The equipment list is really basic with a few armor, weapons, and things like that. It is important to note that size does matter in this game and anime big ass weapons actually are better in the hands of Elfs. There is some basic magic spells in here and some really cool and funny ways for them to be cast wrong. The book is very entertaining like that.
Now the game is not for everyone as should be evident from the description of the game. Not everyone is going to want to play a “thirteen year old power gaming munchkin: kill, loot, party.” But the game offers what I think is something like pure brilliance. I take you to the sixth chapter “Going over the Edge” (named after the very cool game Over the Edge by Atlas). In this section it describes how the game of Elfs can be used to alter other traditional fantasy Role playing games. They suggest games made before 1987 like D&D, Rolemaster, Palladium Fantasy, and others. It changes the way these old games feel and makes Elfs really useful as when it can be combined with these old games that are just gathering dust in the closet.
Elfs is crude, different, and funny. It has a silly immature attitude to it and that’s great. It is one of those games that I think has to be played at least once. And I am hoping Ron Edwards or someone will be at Gen Con in a booth running demos of it. I know I’ll be hunting for a demo of this there.
