Francesca Viganò
Before I review Omega Horizon, I would like to thank its author, Daniel Prisco-Buxbaum, and the publisher, Paleo Gaming, for sending us a digital copy so that we could present it to you. The manual is more than 500 pages long and set in a sci-fi setting in which humanity has spread across the universe to become the dominant race.
If you wanted to buy the game after reading this review, you can find it on the DriveThruRPG site in physical format for about $60 (about €60) and in digital format for about $30 (about €30). The physical plus digital copy bundle is offered at 69.98$, less than 70€.
A Science-Fantasy with Deep Themes
The game’s expectations are decidedly ambitious: we talked about them in our preview a few years ago. Now, at last, we can assess whether they have been fulfilled in this manual of more than 500 pages divided into no less than 15 chapters.
Omega Horizon is a science fiction RPG set in a futuristic galaxy where interstellar empires clash over territory, megacorporations compete for socio-economic dominance, and criminal cabals rule the shadows. From this scenario, players emerge as heroes or villains with epic stories to tell.
We will find in this meaty review (given the size of the volume) whether it was worth waiting five years and whether Omega Horizon will revolutionize the sci-fi genre within the tabletop role-playing game.
The Right Premises to Begin
I’ll start by saying that I was pleasantly surprised to see at the beginning of the manual all the premises that I consider fundamental to propose, especially to those who are not experts in role-playing games.
The first 15 pages of this thick volume are entirely dedicated to setting the mood and explaining how to manage the game. The instructions are not only about the rules of the game, but also serve to manage the group. Session Zero, themes and safety systems are clearly and explicitly discussed. Everything is presented in simple language that is understandable even for the less experienced.
The author has chosen to introduce his majestic work with elements that help one approach any role-playing game, as well as his own.
Paleo Gaming Rules System: Omega Horizon Game Rules
There are only about forty pages in the manual devoted to the rules and character creation. Omega Horizon uses a proprietary rules system called the Paleo Gaming Rules System (PGRS). The PGRS uses the rolls of a six-sided dice pool to determine the outcome of character actions.
Omega Horizon is the first game to use PGRS, but in the author’s plans, there are more in development. These games will be cross-compatible, meaning that you will be able to borrow some or all of the elements of these games to include them in your own Omega Horizon adventures and vice versa.
The dice-rolling system involves special handling. Each throw of the dice is indicated by two numerical values separated by the letter k (an element indicating how many dice to keep). The number preceding the k represents how many dice are rolled, while the number following the k represents how many dice can be retained, adding up their values.
For example, 4k3 represents the roll of four dice, with the results of the three dice with the highest values being retained and added together. If the four dice rolled ended up on 4, 3, 5 and 2, then the player will keep 5, 4 and 3, for a total value of 12. In most cases, as with Skill rolls, this value is compared to a Target Number (TN).
If the combined value of the retained dice is equal to or greater than the TN, the Skill roll is successful. In some cases (such as for damage), instead of rolling against a TN, the combined value of the retained dice will determine the amount of damage inflicted.
The Difficulty of Tests and the Rule of Ten
In Omega Horizon, as we shall see in this review, the target level for solving trials varies from 5 to more than 30. This leads to a very wide range of difficulty in the game.
The subdivision proposed by the manual, according to the author himself, is a kind of guiding plot. It is up to the Game Master to make the challenges easier or more complex. In any case, the manual provides, in Chapter 6, examples of modifiers to the difficulty of the trials. This is a valuable aid for less experienced storytellers.
To avoid rolling buckets of dice, Omega Horizon uses a rule called the Rule of Ten. This means that no dice roll will ever consist of more than ten dice at a time. Should the character retain more than 10 dice, the excess dice will constitute a flat modifier to the roll.
Naturally, the system provides for critical successes, which are obtained when 3 or more 6s are rolled on the dice.
The game rules of Omega Horizon are undoubtedly structured and multifaceted, not trivial to acquire. The manual offers a wide range of additional rules to make the experience complete and rewarding.
Fighting in Omega Horizon
The Omega Horizon universe is a dangerous and often violent place. For this reason, combat is an ever-present threat in the stories told.
Combat is particularly fluid and allows players great flexibility in determining how they want to approach each round. Actions are available using Action Points, and players have a predefined pool of three that can be spent each round.
Movement actions generally cost 1 Action Point, while attacks cost 2 or 3 Action Points, depending on the complexity of the maneuver and the desired result.
Character Creation: 9 Steps…
Omega Horizon offers a certain level of depth at this stage. The manual defines 9 steps for character creation, suggesting in what order they should be addressed. This process involves knowledge of the (vast) setting, which is summarized in this section.
The first step is to choose which of the four factions our protagonist belongs to. These range from the theocratic, militaristic monarchy of the Sentenium Empire to the Free Colonies, independent species or those from former colonized worlds that have rebelled against one of the other main factions.
Secondly, we must choose our character’s Species. The manual provides as many as 12 species, from Human Beings to Androids to Yezerai, insectoid hunters from a world of perpetual darkness. Each species is extensively described in detail in the third chapter of the manual. In about 40 pages, the text addresses (for each species type): psychology, reproduction, diet, sleep cycle, dominant culture and religion. Attributes and characteristics that can be transformed into numerical game elements are also listed in this section.
The third step serves to define the character’s Career. The fourth chapter lists and describes 19 of them, from the Bureaucrat to the Soldier, via the Infiltrator, Hacker and Scientist. A character’s Career serves as the archetype and defines the main Abilities and Traits, as well as the talent (referred to as the Career Skill) and initial equipment.
… for a Complete Path and a Unique Character
Having completed the initial character skeleton, the next step involves the selection of Advantages and Disadvantages, listed in Chapter 7. In game terms, Advantages represent specialized training, predispositions, experiences or unique skills that grant characters an advantage over their peers. Disadvantages, on the other hand, represent flaws and obstacles that the character must face and try to overcome, or learn to live with.
The fifth step identifies the cybernetic improvements, the generic changes described in detail in Chapter 8.
The sixth and seventh steps are to improve the character’s Skill Groups and traits. In Omega Horizon, Skills are organized in a grouped Skill Tree system. Skill Groups represent a general set of related skills. For example, the Climbing, Jumping and Swimming Skills are all grouped under the Athletic Skill Group. These are listed in Chapters 6 and 5, respectively.
Finally, steps eight and nine serve to improve specific Skills and choose the Token of Destiny, as well as define the character’s final strokes.
Token of Destiny
One of the most interesting mechanics in Omega Horizon is the Token of Destiny. It is a lucky trinket, a family heirloom, a meaningful tattoo, a scar received in a heated battle, or whatever else the player wishes to resonate with their character. Once per game session, the player can tap into the emotional power of his Token of Destiny to defy adversity. It is not unique; it can change throughout the game. Players may replace their Token of Destiny in the course of the narrative if they find something more in tune with their character.
Mechanically, players can choose one of the following five facets:
- Automatically gain success on a failed Skill roll.
- Turn a non-combat Skill roll into a Critical Success.
- Turn an attack roll into a Critical Success.
- Nullify all damage received by the character from the same weapon for that Round.
- Push the GM to help characters on a narrative level in a way that specifically ties in with the character, making their story more relevant.
Space Fights, a Space Opera Feature
In Omega Horizon, vehicle and space combat could not be missing. Exactly like standard combat, these types of fights are also handled in rounds and turns. The ships, therefore, follow the normal rules of combat, but have a few differences:
- Spaceships and vehicles have a crew that acts in concert. For simplicity’s sake, the captain, who for smaller ships is usually the pilot of the vehicle, makes the Initiative roll for the ship, and the entire crew acts on that result.
- There are a number of specific combat actions for ships and vehicles described in Chapter 10. They are summarized in a handy table, with their cost in Action Points.
The chapter details all that is necessary to be able to manage vehicles in this wide-ranging and specialized universe.
Omega Horizon Aesthetics Review
The artwork in Omega Horizon is very varied and of high quality, but not always perfectly homogeneous. Suffice it to say that the illustrations are the work of sixteen artists with different styles, not always perfectly blended.
The text is very dense in the two-column layout, and the pages are mainly light with black text, a detail that makes it readable even if vaguely crowded. The boxes containing in-depth information or examples are instead darker in colour, with contrasting white font. I would have preferred the “justified” text also to evenly fill pages that seem, visually, interrupted.
The illustrations are not always sufficient in number to give the text, which is a lot. However, the use of information boxes, tables and tips is clever and never makes the manual boring to browse through.
Conclusions of the Omega Horizon Review
As is evident from this review, Omega Horizon is an impressive work, certainly not expendable on an impromptu evening. The setting is decidedly vast and makes many of the characteristic elements of space operas its own. More astute readers will certainly find familiar elements in it, which makes the volume somewhat familiar. This is certainly not a flaw, given the sheer number of pages to read.
The game system is functional for the experience you are trying to convey to the players, but undoubtedly, Omega Horizon is a game that takes some time to learn and get to grips with. The Game Master and players must be at least familiar with the basics of the setting to fully appreciate it.
If space opera is your thing and you look forward to travelling the cosmos among alien species and corporations vying for cosmos dominance, then Omega Horizon is a great game to propose to your group.
