Mechanical Dream by Steam Logic is best described as a "Dark Industrial Fantasy" RPG. The game is set in an intricate and unique setting that has been created from scratch. The setting is a weird world that possesses two different ecological scales, one of which is where the ten humanoid races of this world live and where the game takes place. The sky is lit by an oscillating object called "the Pendulum". Reality is tenuous, and when the light of the pendulum is far, the Dream starts taking over and complicating things. The known world is surrounded by a dark Jell-O-like substance, the sofe. Life depends on an energy called eflow; most living organisms must absorb eflow once every five days through a fruit called orpee. This stricture makes a life of leisure very unlikely in the world of Mechanical Dream, and the distribution of orpee to the workers is one of the biggest priorities of the central government.
The environment involves a strange blend of technologies of all levels, from primitive to advanced. Technology often takes an organic form and is sometimes hard to distinguish from organic life. The world is covered with mile-high trees, called Kioux, into which cities are built. These cities are comprised of platforms, with the rich living in the highest platforms, in the highest luxury and technological comfort, while the poor live in slums, the worst of which sprawl between the gigantic roots of the Kioux.
Here is an example of the races found in this world, which contains no humans or any race seen anywhere previously.
The Odwoanes are simple beings with almost no will of their own who obey any order. They are also an extremely mimetic species who can easily reproduce any action that they witness.
The Gnaths live in constant pain because of the way their body deals with eflow. Most of their early life is taken up by learning how to deal with the excruciating pain. Even as adults, they keep themselves extremely busy to keep their minds off the pain. Unsurprisingly, their constant escapist toiling made them the prominent organizers of society and government.
The Nayans are members of an extremely sociable, charismatic race. They are often instrumental to society's cohesion thanks to their interpersonal skills. They must be careful not to succumb to their overwhelming urge to sacrifice themselves for others.
Player characters are most often a special kind of being called Echoes. These exceptional individuals can use eflow to wield extraordinary powers. Examples of Echoes are the Mind Chemist, who can enter other's minds and explore them, the Overlord, whose goal is to command and control society, and the Awakener, whose mission is to help the world's conscience evolve and grow.
The system uses all the variously sided dice. The type of dice used for different skills and talents represents how good a character is at this skill. The combat system uses combat pools in a way where each character decides how to divide its pool into the multiple aspects that represent combat at the beginning of a round. The bigger a combat pool, the more active a character can be. For instance, a character with eight dice in its combat pool can use three for initiative, three to dodge and two for the attack action. If other actions are taken during the round, a certain number of dice need to be sacrificed. This system promotes a very graphic perception of strategy.
Unfortunately, this book is weak in the pedagogical approach and requires substantial effort on the part of the reader to assimilate the system. The information is not organized in the most efficient way and it is difficult to get a clear general picture of the system. It seems that this situation will be rectified thanks to an upcoming supplement. While the graphic components of the book are outstanding, with amazing art and color plates, there are passages that are quite poorly written. This is this Steam Logic's first book, and the positive qualities of this product outweigh the weaker elements.
