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The Fractal Dimensions Review
SOL (Heraldic Games); $12.95. Designed by Keith W. Sears. Roleplaying
game. 60-page saddle-stitched book. Published 1994 by Heraldic Games,
1013 W. Virginia Ave., Peoria, IL 61604.
Billed as an "omniversal roleplaying system," SOL is exactly that: a system
for designing and running virtually any kind of character in any setting the players desire. SOL (which sounds like an acronym but isn't) is
obviously aimed at an experienced gaming audience; while its rules are clear and concise, the book glosses over the obligatory "What is
roleplaying?" section and foregoes the customary Game Master chapter. Not
that these are bad things. By focusing on one thing -- the system -- and doing it well, SOL shines.
At the core of SOL's system is the concept of "Levels," an abstract unit
used to measure everything from weight to money to a character's Dexterity
score. Levels increase exponentially, allowing characters with super-human
statistics to be on the same scale as mere mortals. (This concept is very similar to the one behind the now-defunct DC Heroes RPG.) Character
creation is point-based and includes the usual selection of skills, powers, advantages and disadvantages. An unusual twist is the inclusion of
"upgrades and downgrades," which allow players to tweak their abilities,
advantages and disadvantages as they see fit. Under this system, players can easily create *exactly* the characters they want to play.
Task resolution is a simple matter of rolling 1D10, adding the
appropriate statistic to the roll, then comparing the total to a difficulty number.
The greater the difference between the two numbers, the more spectacular the success or failure. As with character creation, there is nothing
particularly new or surprising about the task resolution system, but it does the job cleanly and efficiently.
SOL is well-written and easy to understand. The book is laid out neatly
and simply, with quality line art illustrations and several one-page "Stellar Babe" comic strips from Phil
Morrisey. (Exactly what Stellar Babe has to do with SOL is never explained.) SOL does not have an index, but
with only 60 well-designed pages to its name, it doesn't really need one.
Does the world really need one more "generic" roleplaying system?
Probably not, but for those who have looked at the rest and found them lacking, it
certainly wouldn't hurt to check out SOL.
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