So despite the release date being in February next year, this one showed up late last week. Having read through it a few times, I think I have a good overall opinion of it.
The games story takes place after the Age of Resistance Season 1 (because the morons at Netflix would rather dump amazing award winning shows like this to produce cheap crap. Some people have no taste). You are one of a number of Gelflings called through one of a number of reasons to the Mystics, who have had a vision of a great calamity of Thra, most likely due to the spread of The Darkening. They have tasked you and your companions to recover a seed from each of the seven great trees that will save Thra from this fate in the long run. Time is short and failure is very much possible.
Game wise, like any RPG, one person is the Game Master (a.k.a GM) who will craft the story of the adventure, while the others create a Gelfling to embark on this epic quest. You can pick from any of the seven Clans, each with their own Clan Trait with each having three additional traits that can be learned (you start with one of these) and yes, with the exception of the Drenchen Clan (who are focused on being underwater), all females have wings and can fly (so long as they aren't carrying a more heavier load). Skills exist as categories with each one having three specialization. So say you pick to learn a Fighting skill, you need to pick one of the specializations, those being Finesse (dexterous combat), Marksmanship (ranged combat) or Ferocity (forceful attacks and heavy weapons). From what I've gathered, you can choose more then one specialization too, so you could learn both Finesse and Marksmanship, though having a more diverse set of skills is more preferred. You start with two Skills already learned. This is then followed by a Flaw (both for story and gameplay elements) and finally The Summons (so what brought you to the Mystics).
So lets take my first character as an example (based on how the book explains it to me):
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Clan: Dousan (spiritual desert clan)
Clan Trait: Dousan (good at finding water and desert survival)
Starting Trait: Dream-etched Tattoos
Starting Skill 1: Scouting - Sneaking Specialization
Starting Skill 2: Agility - Reflexes Speciaslization
Flaw: Timid
The Summons: Amnesia
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So my Gelfling character has sort of wandered into the situation suffering Amnesia and his Timid nature isn't helping his situation. Sneaking and Reflexes are also helpful for enhancing this characters personality. At some point I want to have an air of mystery to this character so that further down the adventure this will be addressed as part of the adventure. Now just need to name him.
Back on topic, for the GM there a basic maps of the locations, including some main points and what Darkening effects may take place (The Darkening can make the campaign harder if you prefer it). There are also a list of various animals/enemies and a few extra bits thrown in. Combat is simple for the most part, though some enemies will be rather challenging. There is a type of NPC Gelfling creator for the GM if they are having a little trouble. Honestly, I've never been a GM, so I am unsure what is useful and what is needed.
As a big Dark Crystal fan, this sort of was a must have for me and overall I was happy with this book. I would have preferred some more detail on things like Gelfling Clans, names, symbols and meanings etc. to help better flesh out characters, but there is enough material out there that GM's and Players can use to enjoy the immersion into the world of Thra.
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