Line #116 TabletopGame/SenZar


1	[[quoteright:260:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/senzar_rpg_cover.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:260:Break through the dream barrier if you dare.]]
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4	''[=SenZar=]'' is a very high-powered and HeavyMetal influenced {{tabletop RPG}} which first appeared in the mid-1990s, during the 2nd Edition ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons AD&D]]'' era. It immediately met with controversy due to a botched Usenet advertising effort by the developers and was for a time considered [[https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Worst_RPGs_ever#Previous_title-holders one of the unholy trinity]] of [=RPGs=] along with TabletopGame/WorldOfSynnibarr and TabletopGame/SpawnOfFashan. (Nowadays, however, games like Tabletopgame/{{FATAL}} and Literature/{{Wraeththu}} have eclipsed all three as the "[[WorstWhateverEver worst game EVER]]".)
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6	Aside from the Usenet incident, ''[=SenZar=]'''s main claim to fame is its wholehearted embrace of [[{{Munchkin}} shameless power-gaming]]. From the first page of the main rulebook, player are openly encouraged to make their characters as ludicrously powerful as the rules will allow, kick ass and hoard loot at every possible opportunity, and ultimately [[AGodIsYou ascend to godhood]].
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8	The actual rule system uses d20 rolls over a target number (with the roll increasing to d100 for stats of 20+, which are typically reserved for gods). Characters have a race, a class, and a level like in most D&D clones, but ''unlike'' most D&D clones, the power of spells reaches city-leveling heights (even before godhood), warrior types can be lovingly fleshed out with enough martial arts powers to give most superheroes a run for their money, dozens of exotic materials are available to artifice super-powerful equipment with, players get 'Fate Points' allowing them to edit poor die rolls, and even a first-level character can start with magic items that wouldn't be permitted as major artifacts in a more sane setting.
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10	[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Naturally, the artwork is also high in]] [[FanService cheesecake]].
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12	The setting itself is a fantasy world with hints of a SpaceOpera background. The planet [=SenZar=] was settled in ancient times as a slave world by the intergalactic Death Horde, only for the Dragon -- the LifeStream of [=SenZar=] -- to inspire the slaves to overthrow their Death Horde masters and begin an unending CosmicChessGame between good and evil. Playable races include typical (but 'metalled up') fantasy fare like [[OurElvesAreDifferent Starin]] and [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Khazak]], as well as various {{Beast M\|an}}en, PlantPeople, demonic humanoids, a CaptainErsatz race or two, and a host of others.
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14	----
15	!!This tabletop RPG provides examples of:
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17	* TheAgeless: The Nazar Ethan race, who were a botched attempt by a mad Eternal to make a new race of gods. He failed -- the Nazar Ethans must work to ascend from mortality to godhood like everyone else -- but they remain immune to all forms of aging.
18	* AGodIsYou: The point of the game. Roleplaying and storytelling are all well and good, but the focus is on becoming badass enough to ascend to godhood and play the Dragon's Game.
19	* AliensAreBastards: Especially if they're associated with the Death Horde.
20	* TheAntiGod: Chthon, the Dark Earth Mother. She isn't merely yet another of the evil or jerkass gods running amok on [=SenZar=], she's the EvilCounterpart of [[LifeStream the Dragon]] itself.
21	* TheArchmage: A specific special power that spellcaster characters can take, allowing them to learn spells outside their class's school of magic. If they go far enough in this direction, they can indeed end up as something not unlike this trope.
22	* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: This is how Deific Gods ascend, as they get a plane of their own. This is both a blessing and a curse -- on one hand, the only way to permanently kill a Deific God is to beat them on their own plane, where they will have their full power, the home ground advantage, and any help their pantheon wants to lend them. On the other hand, they can only affect the mortal world with 1 primal point avatars which are ''much'' more fragile than a Material God or an Eternal.
23	* AttackReflector: One of the many, many properties that you can give to a magic item.
24	* AwesomeButImpractical: Many of the highest-level attack spells can fall into this category. Being able to blast everything in a 1,000 foot radius is indeed awesome... and [[TakingYouWithMe potentially suicidal]] in a tight dungeon space.
25	* BackFromTheDead: The Seven Stars, who perished at Lord Valthrustra's hands at the end of the Seventh Age, only to be reborn on Earth, where they regained their memories of godhood. (Then they returned to [=SenZar=] to put Valthrustra in his place and usher in the Eighth Age.)
26	* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: A prominent feature of the Dragon's Game. Every other age or so, the forces of either good or evil will manage to almost utterly dominate [=SenZar=], but it never lasts -- and the conflict between them will never end.
27	* BecauseDestinySaysSo: If you're a [=VoidSpawn=] who survives to godhood, then this is the suit you'll wear.
28	* BelievingTheirOwnLies: The Rellians clearly [[{{Hypocrite}} do not follow the righteous Cause that they pretend to]], but the average Rellian does not seem to be aware of their own hypocrisy at all.
29	* BeyondTheImpossible: The game encourages this approach for when a [=PC=] ascends as a Material God, dying or exploding in a godlike conflagration that ''no one'' could conceivably survive -- only for the omnipotent Dragon to remake the PC as a new Material God.
30	* {{BFS}}: Take a closer look at the cover above. We'll wait.
31	* BlackAndGreyMorality: [=SenZar=] has no shortage of AlwaysChaoticEvil monsters, races, societies, and gods... and [[GoodIsNotNice it can sometimes be hard to tell them apart from the forces of "good"]].
32	* BlackMagic: Necromancy.
33	* BlessedWithSuck: To a certain extent, the game paints all three paths of godhood with this brush. Hooray, you're a god and you have more power than you ever dreamed as a mere mortal! But...
34	** Eternal: Imagine the dregs of 4chan, but with god powers and a universe that rewards them for trolling ''everyone''. Congratulations, you're now one of them.
35	** Deific God: The good news is that you're part of a pantheon, and you can expect their support and guidance. The bad news is that you get dragged into all their problems and their god wars, too. Oh, and your big plan to skyrocket to supreme godhood by amassing hordes of followers? Pretty much everyone on [=SenZar=] who ''wants'' to worship a god already does, and poaching another Deific God's followers is a great way to start yet another god war.
36	** Material God: Good or evil, you are now a playing piece in the Dragon's Game, warring with opposing Material Gods forever. If you do well and things get too unbalanced in your side's favor? You can expect the [=VoidSpawn=] to come restore the balance (at the Dragon's request, no less) by snuffing you out. Oh, and if you ''are'' the [=VoidSpawn=]? Then the entire point of your existence is to preserve the universe's status quo by killing whichever gods the Dragon wants you to -- and you have absolutely no say in the matter.
37	* BountyHunter: The Stalker class.
38	* CatFolk: The Tygor race.
39	* ChainsawGood: Right there on the "improvised weapons" list.
40	* ChurchMilitant: The Rellians and the worshipers of the Dark Earth both qualify.
41	* CombatMedic: The Priest class functions as this. Interestingly, this is true whether the character in question is good ''or'' evil.
42	* CoolSword: Most of the "aggressive" races have one of these as a signature weapon.
43	* CosmicChessGame: The Dragon's Game, played between the forces of good and evil -- and with the Dragon moving things around as needed to keep the "game" going.
44	* CrystalDragonJesus: The Rellians, whose founder preached a code of brotherhood for all the free races, yet spawned a religion that became just another force of oppression and FantasticRacism.
45	* DefectorFromDecadence: Player Dragon Slayers are explicitly not the hypocrites that other Rellians are, but their desire to ''actually'' live by the Cause means they have [[TheOnlyBeliever little place among their fellow believers]].
46	* DeityOfHumanOrigin: Rel, the first Human to ascend as a Deific God. But this [[NiceJobBreakingItHero screwed him up badly]], as he started a brand new pantheon, and thus didn't have the support he needed to deal with all the energy from the masses of Humans who worshiped him. Rel's original mindset of tolerance and unity for all the free races was thus replaced by the xenophobia and bigotry of his Human followers, and the religion Rel started became yet another of [=SenZar=]'s destructive hordes -- with Rel himself backing them up.
47	* DepravedDwarf: The Khobold race may not be full Dark Earth worshipers, but they will do almost anything to hoard magical power, and hold in high regard the Mokarr race (who ''are'' servants of the Dark Earth).
48	* DesignerBabies: The Mokarr race are spawned in vats, but they are too busy worshiping both the Dark Earth and the evil Shadar Lords -- and plotting to dominate the surface world -- to fall prey to CloneAngst.
49	* DiminishingReturnsForBalance: A feature of the XP system, as the gamemaster is encouraged to cut XP awards for encounters that are too "easy" for a party's current power level.
50	* DraconicHumanoid: The Drakkan race.
51	* ElementalCrafting: Taken to an extreme, as with most other things in this game.
52	* EliteMooks: The Black Dragon guard, Mokarr death squads, the Demonian race as a whole.
53	* EvilIsNotAToy: The Necromancy school of magic centers around summoning and binding increasingly powerful demonic (or undead) entities. [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Woe unto the Necromancer who blows their roll for the second part of that.]]
54	* FailedASpotCheck: Often a precursor to getting one-shotted by an Assassin, Mystic Assassin, Harlequin, or Witch Hunter.
55	* TheFairFolk: The Sidhe race has a touch of this trope.
56	* FantasticFightingStyle: More than any other D&D clone, ''[=SenZar=]'' emphasized SupernaturalMartialArts, with the "noble" Shy'r and "evil" Black Wyrm styles (and all their respective moves) occupying a prominent place in the rules. [[spoiler:The third edition would have added the Human-centric Way of the Wolf, the Gladiator-only style Way of the Ring, and the Gargoyle race's White Raven style.]]
57	* FantasticNuke: High-level magic in general, and the Black Hole spell from Astromancy in particular.
58	* FantasticRacism: A common theme in the game, particularly concerning races aligned with the Dark Earth -- and the (Human supremacist) Rellians.
59	* GeneralFailure: Rel. Just... Rel. Probably no one in the entire history of this whole testosterone-drenched setting has pulled a worse boner than saving the world from the least subtle JerkassGods of all time and ascending as a god himself in the process, only to get turned into a rabid avatar of judgement and human supremacy ''by the sheer will of his own idiot followers'', thus empowering his now-psychotic priests for ''even worse'' genocides than the world-wrecking ReligionOfEvil that he saved everyone from in the first place.
60	* GodsNeedPrayerBadly: ''Deific Gods'' do not actually need the prayers of mortals to exist, but they are the only type of god who gain anything from it.
61	* HealingFactor: Aside from healing magic, several of the non-Human races have a healing factor in the form of "basal" (slow) regeneration.
62	* {{Hell}}: Generally known as "the Pit". It's the domain of Chthon and the Demon Lords who serve her.
63	* HornedHumanoid: Demonians and Taurans.
64	* HornyVikings: The Akir race are an entire species of this.
65	* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: More than once, Humans -- both mortal and immortal -- have caused more harm to [=SenZar=] than all the soul-eating forces of the Dark Earth.
66	* HumansByAnyOtherName: Oddly averted here, as almost all the standard Tolkien races ''but'' humans got renamed.
67	* HumanSacrifice: And not just Humans, too. All Deific Gods gain power from the prayers and consecrated altars of their worshipers, but ''evil'' Deific Gods can (and will) also accept the sacrifice of sentient beings, absorbing the victim's Power Points.
68	* IKnowYourTrueName: One perk of Necromancy is the power to extract a victim's true name and use it to make them do absolutely whatever you want (if only once).
69	* InterspeciesRomance:
70	** The Tauran race has this as an inborn feature, as they can only reproduce by [[OnlyYouCanRepopulateMyRace mating with Humans]] -- much to the unspeakable disgust of the [[FantasticRacism Rellians]]. In fairness to the Taurans, both male and female Taurans are fiercely protective of their Human mates, and treat them with the utmost care.
71	** The Akir race have their origin in frost giants who mated with pre-First Age Humans. Modern Akir also have no qualms about populating their harems by abducting women from other races (particularly the Azaar), although ''that'' is anything but "romantic".
72	* JerkassGods: ''[=SenZar=]'' offers too many examples of this trope to count (potentially including jerkass [=PCs=] who ascend to godhood), but the prize for ''most'' jerkassness goes to the Eternals, the only type of gods who actually gain (even more) power for being jerkasses -- pranking, manipulating, tasteless, holy war-starting jerkasses.
73	* KarmaMeter: Your score in whatever codes you've burdened your character with.
74	* KnightTemplar: The Rellians and their crusading Dragon Slayers, particularly in the Fifth and Sixth Ages.
75	* KungFuWizard: The Harlequin, Mystic Warrior, Mystic Assassin, and Witch Hunter classes all have access to both a SupernaturalMartialArts package and a school of magic. And if none of those options are attractive, any player can also dual-class and take any martial arts class with any spellcasting class.
76	* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: ''[=SenZar=]'' arguably features this trope twice over: Linear Warriors against Quadratic Martial Artists, and then either of the former are linear against Quadratic Spellcasters. Plain warriors are outclassed by the bonuses that martial artist classes get (particularly involving the Focus discipline), and the gap only increases as they go up in level. Most spellcasters, on the other hand, will ultimately learn spells that can annihilate an entire city in ''one combat round''... and that's ''before'' they ascend as a god.
77	* TheLoonie: The flaw "Total Stupidity" not only turns your character into The Loonie, it gives you bonus Fate Points for it.
78	* MagicKnight: The Avenger, Battlemage, Dragon Slayer, Moon Knight, Outlander, and Sentinel classes all combine primary combat skills with a school of magic.
79	* MagikarpPower: Spellcasters are like this at the start. At level 1, unless you exploit the Status power to start with magic items that increase your Power Point total, you'll be out of mojo after casting one spell that whacks one target. At level 20, you can annihilate a city block every combat round without breaking a sweat.
80	* MassiveRaceSelection: The main rulebook offers almost two dozen playable races.
81	* MedievalStasis: [=SenZar=] has been inhabited by the civilized races for untold thousands of years, but is still mostly a fantasy world.
82	* MightyGlacier: The bovine Tauran race defaults to this. Their starting Strength can be one point shy of the maximum Strength allowed for mortals, but their Speed and Dexterity are nothing to write home about.
83	* MonsterClown: The Harlequin class is a MagicalClown version of this -- lunatic assassins who are trained in enchantment magic and performance art, and who specialize in ''breaking'' their targets before killing them.
84	* {{Munchkin}}: Unlike nearly all other tabletop [=RPGs=], ''[=SenZar=]'' openly encourages players to make their characters as powerful as the rules will allow.
85	* {{Mutants}}: Whenever ''[=SenZar=]'' mentions "mutants", it means mutants in purely the SuperHero comic book sense.
86	* {{Necromancer}}: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Necromancer class]], here and accounted for.
87	* NoCampaignForTheWicked: Averted, as players have the option to start with the evil Dark Earth and/or Anti-Life codes -- and without the usual "only for advanced players" disclaimers that high fantasy games often have for playing evil alignments.
88	* NoPointsForNeutrality: Played brutally straight. Committing to "good" codes (Good Earth/The Cause) or "evil" codes (Dark Earth/Anti-Life) can award players up to 40 more Fate Points to build their characters -- but there are no neutral codes.
89	* OurDragonsAreDifferent: The Dragon is [[LifeStream really not a dragon]] in either the eastern or western sense. (Although more familiar dragons also exist on [=SenZar=].)
90	* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: [=SenZar=]'s dwarves may be called the Khazak, but they're stout, they're short, they live deep underground, they're great engineers and weaponsmiths, and they generally care little about the politics of the surface world.
91	* OurElvesAreDifferent: Starin ([=SenZar=] elves) are smarter, more perceptive, more magically talented, and more inclined to goodness than Humans.
92	* OurGargoylesRock: Gargoyles are yet another of [=SenZar=]'s many races. Interestingly, they adhere to the ''traditional'' DarkIsNotEvil depiction of gargoyles, being mostly benevolent and pacifistic.
93	* OurMinotaursAreDifferent: The Tauran race, who are {{Mighty Glacier}}s and [[MarsNeedsWomen require human mates in order to reproduce]].
94	* ThePaladin: The Dragon Slayer class, who combine combat skills with divine magic, are the holy knights of the Rellian faith.
95	* PersonOfMassDestruction: The average spellcaster, by roughly 10th level or so.
96	* PhysicalGod: Material Gods, Eternals, and -- to a lesser extent -- the avatars of Deific Gods.
97	* PlantPerson: The K'ryl race. Technically, given their origin (like most of the playable races) as former slaves of the Death Horde who were brought to [=SenZar=] from elsewhere, these guys are PlantAliens, too.
98	* PointBuildSystem: [=SenZar=] characters are built by spending Fate Points rather than rolling dice; one feature that helped the game stand out from D&D and most other class/level games.
99	* PowerNullifier: Known as "pulsing" effects.
100	* PowerOfRock: Spellsingers, who are spellcasters as well as the ultimate musicians.
101	* PowersThatBe: The Dragon, which is the LifeStream of [=SenZar=], is about as mysterious and abstract as it gets. However, the Dragon's EvilCounterpart -- Chthon, the Dark Earth Mother -- does not qualify for this trope. (''She'' is only too happy to meddle in the affairs of gods and even mortals who give her an opening.)
102	* PredatorPastiche: The Golgothan race, who are [[{{Film/Predator}} Predators]] with the serial numbers filed off.
103	* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: The Silestion race embodies this trope more than any other race.
104	* QuirkyBard: The Spellsinger class, who in this game are actually full spellcasters with their own school of magic.
105	* RatedMForManly: If you're not interested in becoming a god and kicking as much ass as possible along the way, this isn't the game for you.
106	* ReligionIsMagic: Divine magic, and to a slightly lesser extent Necromancy and Witchcraft.
107	* ReligionOfEvil: Anything to do with the Dark Earth. At least the Rellians ''pretend'' to be the good guys.
108	* RoofHopping: How the "Thieves' Highway" in Zengara works. In certain areas, the city streets are so crowded (or so well-guarded) that it's faster (and safer) to hop across the rooftops.
109	* ScienceFantasy: With more emphasis on the "fantasy" side of the scale (at least at mortal levels).
110	* ShoutOut: The list of pop culture and heavy metal references in this game (particularly among the spell list) is too vast to catalog here.
111	* SoulCuttingBlade: Any blade forged from Shadar Steel can destroy souls as a default property.
112	* SquishyWizard: Averted. No school of magic is hindered by even the heaviest armor, and HitPoints are based solely on your character's Constitution stat and CharacterLevel.
113	* {{Stripperific}}: If the main rulebook's illustrations are anything to judge by, lady adventurers on [=SenZar=] are almost [[WorldOfBuxom universally buxom and scantily-clad]]. (Though, in fairness, there's a good share of ''[[WorldOfMuscleMen beefcake]]'' on display, too.)
114	* TakeThat: Though it didn't name names, the foreword of ''[=SenZar=]'s'' first edition was not very subtle about the developers' disdain for D&D.
115	* TalkingIsAFreeAction: The game both averts and lampshades this. You can yell at your enemies for free (albeit possibly causing them to make a Karma roll to resist going aggro on you), but you can also spend an action to attempt an intimidating Presence attack (debuffing your target if it works).
116	* TalkingWeapon: Skurge, the supreme artifact sword. It has unique powers for killing gods and can only be wielded by a [=VoidSpawn=]. It's also the [[EvilWeapon physical manifestation of Lord Valthrustra's son]], so it constantly talks to its wielder in a hateful (and crassly immature) manner in order to drive them insane.
117	* TechnoWizard: The Alchemist and Sorcerer classes both flirt with this trope to varying extents.
118	* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: When it comes to going below 0 HP in ''[=SenZar=]'', there is "[[CombatResuscitation down but not dead]]", there is "[[CriticalExistenceFailure dead but resurrection is still on the table]]", and then there is "[[ChunkySalsaRule pulped beyond any hope of revival]]". (There's also getting soul-snuffed, which [[DeaderThanDead kills you beyond resurrection no matter how much HP you have left]], but that's a different matter.)
119	* TooDumbToLive: If you take the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Total Stupidity]] karmic manifestation, you are obligated to play this way in the most obnoxious manner possible.
120	* WingedHumanoid: Drakkan, Gargoyles, and Solarr.
121	* WizardClassic: The Wizard class, of course. Although you can still wear armor and even dual-class with a more physical combat-oriented class if you want.
122	* WolfMan: The G'rru race, although they are not actually werewolves.
123	* WorldOfBadass: After reading through the game's monster manual, one reviewer jokingly wondered if every living thing on [=SenZar=] was, by sheer coincidence, an ultimate killing machine. (It was funny because it's almost true.)
124	* WreathedInFlames: One of the higher-level disciplines of the Shy'R fighting style results in this -- to the woe of anyone who hits you.
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Context TabletopGame / SenZar