Forward... to Adventure! is a fantasy roleplaying game, written by The RPGPundit, that appears to be a combination of ideas and mechanics from both Dungeons & Dragons and Tunnels & Trolls. Though, puzzlingly, T&T is not specifically cited by FtA!'s author, it was clearly one of the major influences. The other, of course, being D&D. Unfortunately, RPGPundit has failed to capture the best elements of either game. There is scant trace of "OSR" D&D's tactical elements, nor of the simplicity and whimsy for which T&T is known.

The author states in the introduction that he intended to write a game which is short, complete and focused on adventure. But the D&D-inspired bits that have been added on are mainly kludge. These things are small when taken individually (an alignment system with accompanying mechanics for one, critical tables for another, and so on...), but when taken together, they bury the simple chassis of T&T in cumbersome aftermarket parts that detract from its performance. Conversely, what has been stripped away has been done so to the game's detriment. For example, T&T's rather large selection of weapons (one of the most fun and meaningful parts of new character generation in that game) has been pared down to a handful of weapon "Categories", effectively leaving a mere 5 weapons for players to choose from! The additional (and IMO unnecessary) additions from D&D hang on the stripped-down T&T framework like an ill-fitting suit of clothes.

While D&D and T&T are both great games, I can't see why I would use this in place of either, and it doesn't really stand on its own.

On the plus side, the game is complete, with full and lengthy spell lists, and even a bestiary. It is illustrated in a style that suits the theme, digitally retouched photos of ren-faire types, from the look of it. A sample adventure would have been nice, but that's just a personal preference. It is obvious that some time and effort was put into this. At 176 pages and $3.60 (the sale price when I bought it), I can't complain. But I really can't recommend it, either. The two stars I have given it are for presentation and completeness, rather than the game itself.

Bottom line: while merging elements from D&D and T&T is an intriguing idea, the author's approach has resulted in a whole that is less than the sum of its parts.

Sure, there are hundreds of "old school D&D...my way!" products out there, but this one really stands out and has its own character. From the character class system to the truly engaging combat system (like tunnels and trolls with some twists...very well done), this game stays focused on its own path, making something very original in the process.

The game just seems so "playable" right from the start. There's even a highly detailed and easy to use random dungeon generator included to get things going right away. That yawning portcullis on the cover isn't just for looks...this game wants you to get on into that labyrinth and show the bad guys what you're made of!

Liked: Unique flavor of rules focused tightly on central "mission' of the game. Rules aren't too long or too complex; every element seems to be balanced just right. Great combat system and random dungeon generator.

Disliked: Not much. Could have used more monsters in the bestiary, maybe. The art is mostly suited to the task, but the style used kind of "falls" down when it comes to certain monsters.

Overall: Great game, 4 stars.

FtA! will doubtless be deemed a "Fantasy Heartbreaker" by many, but this is a book that doesn't apologize for, but rather embraces, its old-school roots. It manages to bring together a lot of elements that seem to be solid design concepts from the history of gaming and cobbles them together to make a cohesive, fairly smooth whole.

The game shares enough in common with D&D that it should be an easy pick-up for players of that game; however, character creation is simplified, as are the overall rules, to provide a rules-light RPG for dungeon crawling, adventuring, etc., without worrying about extensive or timely character generation or having to wait on the research of rules lawyers. The game also bears some resemblance to games like NetHack and ADOM.

Instead of Feats, FtA! uses stunting, which is the use of character skills in combat and other situations to pull off impressive moves, improbable shots, and generally encourage combat to be more creative and descriptive. This simple idea turns out to add a lot of fun and enjoyment to the game, and is one of the biggest selling points, and succeeds where I've seen a lot of more complex ideas fail.

The melee combat rules, where upon the total attack for both sides in combat is added up, and then damage is parceled out by the GM according to common sense, if players have positioned themselves in the thick of combat, or even what works best for cinematics, is another big selling point, and flowed very well in actual play. Groups really need to work together, as "lone wolf" tactics and stupidity can quickly be the death knell of the unwise character.

The magic system is basic, easy to use, and uses an increasing difficulty per conditions, fatigue,and spell failure to limit magic-users.

Monsters are fun, easy to keep track of, and delightfully old-school. Charts in the back you can roll on for magic items and to create dungeons step-by-step add to the fun feel of the game. Charts through the book for things like spell failure, background, etc., often seem a bit random, and add to that delightful, old school feel without making the game clunky. In fact, this game would likely be further enhanced with a book of charts just like these.

For a game the author hopes to one day target novice gamers in South America, FtA! needs some help in terms of presentation before that happens. I'd have liked to seen a bit better flow and layout for the character generation parts, for sure. I was a happy to see a full index, which helped matters, though. The art is typical of Flying Mice products, which you either like or don't.

For a pick-up, rules-light fantasy game, you could do far worse than FtA! There are enough good ideas in here to make this game worth the price of admission.