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Ker Nethalas: Into the Midnight Throne
227 pages, Paperback
Published January 24, 2024
6 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 3, 2024
I am always conflicted when I am trying to rate a book that is also a game. So I will try to stay on the book side and how helpful is to the game. So this is not a review on the game Ker Nethalas.
The book is a whopping 226 pages small all in black n white. The writing is easy to read.
There is also art in it a few pictures about the 8 Overseers (the Final Bosses of each domain) and some items here and there along with a 3-4 monster art. That’s it. OK this is not a fully illustrated book but this is OK since it’s a small publisher and I am very happy with what they have provided. So it’s a good point in the art.
The rest of the book is mostly tables that you have to roll to see the outcomes of the game. Simple elegant and efficiently.
The major problem with the book though is that the rules are poorly written with a lot of questions and even if very basic questions. There rules are scattered here and there for most of the questions and this is the reason most of the players that play it have assistant notes of their own or chartflows to figure out what is happening.
There is no chart with the sequence of exploration or combat and with these phases having so many steps it should have been already in the book.
I do not accept the usual answer to these kind of question “It’s a RPG game you are not supposed to take it like a tabletop game and be free and creative”. I want to play the game as it was playtested and with what the designer had in his mind.
There is also no keyword index in the end of the book to be able to find quickly what you are looking for. There is only a index for the tables that you roll on.
The book also comes in soft cover (I believe there is also a hard cover edition) which is a major flaw with this games since you need to have the book open to see the statistics and read while also doing other stuff. For example you need to have the enemies statistics while in combat with it and you have to find a way to keep the book open at the same time.
There is no character sheet in the book. You have to download it from their site.
There is no player aid to help you with.
The story and the setting is really great. There is enough flavour to some of the actions that is also great to read. The dark bleak is there. The exhaustion too. The fear and the insanity is always in the corner.
Overall the setting and the idea is great. The rules are poorly written. The question is if you have the willingness and the time to invest to find out how to play it and then have a great experience. Personally I went with full positive vibes and came out with more questions. Let’s hope for a better future version.
The book is a whopping 226 pages small all in black n white. The writing is easy to read.
There is also art in it a few pictures about the 8 Overseers (the Final Bosses of each domain) and some items here and there along with a 3-4 monster art. That’s it. OK this is not a fully illustrated book but this is OK since it’s a small publisher and I am very happy with what they have provided. So it’s a good point in the art.
The rest of the book is mostly tables that you have to roll to see the outcomes of the game. Simple elegant and efficiently.
The major problem with the book though is that the rules are poorly written with a lot of questions and even if very basic questions. There rules are scattered here and there for most of the questions and this is the reason most of the players that play it have assistant notes of their own or chartflows to figure out what is happening.
There is no chart with the sequence of exploration or combat and with these phases having so many steps it should have been already in the book.
I do not accept the usual answer to these kind of question “It’s a RPG game you are not supposed to take it like a tabletop game and be free and creative”. I want to play the game as it was playtested and with what the designer had in his mind.
There is also no keyword index in the end of the book to be able to find quickly what you are looking for. There is only a index for the tables that you roll on.
The book also comes in soft cover (I believe there is also a hard cover edition) which is a major flaw with this games since you need to have the book open to see the statistics and read while also doing other stuff. For example you need to have the enemies statistics while in combat with it and you have to find a way to keep the book open at the same time.
There is no character sheet in the book. You have to download it from their site.
There is no player aid to help you with.
The story and the setting is really great. There is enough flavour to some of the actions that is also great to read. The dark bleak is there. The exhaustion too. The fear and the insanity is always in the corner.
Overall the setting and the idea is great. The rules are poorly written. The question is if you have the willingness and the time to invest to find out how to play it and then have a great experience. Personally I went with full positive vibes and came out with more questions. Let’s hope for a better future version.
January 4, 2025
Seems at first glance like a great system, reminding me a bit of a d20 system, like 3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons, but different enough that I think, once I delve into the system, will mechanically feel more significant, or at least fairly different beyond first read-through. A successful combat check with the d100 is never guaranteed; for example if my melee skill is 70 and I roll at or under that number, I succeed, but my opponent will also roll a defensive roll to see if they succeed. If we both succeed, whomever rolls higher and closest to their skill is the successor in that roll off.
Damage is also weighted differently: a weapon may “deal d6 damage”, but damage is then compared to a chart to see how much actual damage it deals (on the roll of a 6 on a d6, for example, I only actually deal 2 damage). It’s a very odd word choice that I think could have been re-evaluated with different verbiage — maybe ‘damage potential’ vs. ‘true damage’ or something like that.
I did download a few flow charts online that will help me recall the procedures of exploration and combat, but I think that the rule set is not terribly complex and will be able to be picked up without aids over a short few plays.
All in all, for the average roleplayer, I feel like this is a fairly robust rules set that will keep my mind occupied and not feel wholly mechanical. Exploration looks a bit drab, but we’ll see. This is definitely more of a survival-y murderhobo game that reminds me of the Diablo franchise, and that has me pretty excited to create a character and get started.
Damage is also weighted differently: a weapon may “deal d6 damage”, but damage is then compared to a chart to see how much actual damage it deals (on the roll of a 6 on a d6, for example, I only actually deal 2 damage). It’s a very odd word choice that I think could have been re-evaluated with different verbiage — maybe ‘damage potential’ vs. ‘true damage’ or something like that.
I did download a few flow charts online that will help me recall the procedures of exploration and combat, but I think that the rule set is not terribly complex and will be able to be picked up without aids over a short few plays.
All in all, for the average roleplayer, I feel like this is a fairly robust rules set that will keep my mind occupied and not feel wholly mechanical. Exploration looks a bit drab, but we’ll see. This is definitely more of a survival-y murderhobo game that reminds me of the Diablo franchise, and that has me pretty excited to create a character and get started.
September 24, 2024
Great game. Currently my favorite D100 dungeon crawler. Written rules need an editor.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews