Ratings for - RPGnet RPG Game Index

Statistics: Nobilis

Core Game Ratings

Rating: 8.28 / Ranking: 3

These ratings are based on 147 ratings with 1.41 average weight and 17 reviews.

This is compared to an index-wide 3.64 average ratings and 1.98 average weight.

This rating earns a medium-high level of trust because of its considerable input.

Ratings + Reviews:

22%

49%

Index Ratings Only:

10%

14%

21%

32%

RPGnet Reviews Only:

24%

76%

Core Game Comments

All User Comments

Rating	User	Comments
10 / 10	zenten	My favourite game ever made. It's a bit to rules heavy for some people, but it really hits my sweet spot, especially third edition.
10 / 10	Rev_Pee_Kitty	I never thought I'd see a system where you can play a godlike being, yet with total balance and ease of use. Even the most complex miracles are easily handled by the rules, and the setting is full of wondrous people, places, and things.
10 / 10	paul_mitchener	The most beautiful RPG book I own.
10 / 10	Emprint	Brilliant writing, entertaining rules and a setting that's detailed without being crowded. Plus examples and/or microfic for virtually everything in the game. Beautiful layout, too.
10 / 10	arthurfallz	A work of poetry in game form. The book is a stunning successor to the Amber tradition, and takes the concept of playing divinities a step further. What truly defines the game, however, is not the raw power in the hands of the Nobilis; rather, it is the style and imagination of the game which gives unprecedented power to both players and GMs alike. I bought the game not for the hype, but rather off a shelf the first time I saw it because of how fascinating it appeared. I was not disappointed.
10 / 10	luc	Beautiful book, beautiful system. The writing style can take a while to get your head around but once you do, it's worth it.
10 / 10	Engelous	Great reading. Some might find it hard to grasp (in terms of "what do I do with it?"), but it's great.
10 / 10	Ars Mysteriorum	This book is gorgeous for its raw concepts and passion. However, I doubt I will ever play it, as its utility as a reference book is abysmal. I still give it a 10 for its beautiful vision. It's that amazing.
10 / 10	Borogove	running on the assumption that a ten is something I both really want to play, and would change nothing about, I think this meets both those criteria, and thus deserves the rating I'm about to give it.
10 / 10	CodexArcanum	A true classic of RPGs, and a defining work in the medium. Nobilis is a game like no other, and features the best production values around. My Great White Book edition is the pride of my RPG collection.
10 / 10	Aetherdyne	Although a somewhat challenging game to run and understand, it is extremely evocative and well written.
10 / 10	Arvaniz	Many things can be said of Nobilis, both good and bad, but it can't be denied it's original.
10 / 10	Esarel	An excellent and entertaining read. Nobilis is a game that is not for everyone. But if it is for you you will love it. The system is extremely elegant.
10 / 10	GrimGent	What can I say? Nob remains one of my favourite RPGs, as well as one of the rare game books that I occasionally browse through for the sake of the prose: granted, it might not be for everyone's tastes, but then, nothing ever is. (And no, it really isn't anywhere near as difficult to comprehend as rumours would have it be.)
10 / 10	Lazarus	Nobilis is one of my favourite games ever. It is a very interesting take on RPGs, being mostly written in a prose-style teaching the rules, rather than textbook style. It is for that reason that some have problems understanding the rules of the game, however.
10 / 10	Nentuaby	Nobilis is easily my favorite RPG of all time. The reasons are numerous: The (diceless) system is simple, comprehensive, and amazingly flexible. The subject matter leads naturally to truly epic roleplaying; it's brought out the best in every gamer I've played it with. The setting is beautifully sketched, with details left wide open for the players to create. Players in general are given a clear, well defined place in world creation, not just the GM. The source book is written in beautiful prose, and is itself a "coffee table worthy" example of artistic design.
10 / 10	Q99	One of the jewels of my collection.
10 / 10	Russell Em	Nobilis is one of those books I come back to over and over not only to play, but to find inspiration for other games. It's a great game, and a lovely idea mine.
10 / 10	yado	It's peerless. Everyone I know who owns this book rereads it just for pleasure—it's that good.
10 / 10	Zounds!	Simply one of the most beautiful and imaginative rpgs ever published, in terms of setting AND system.
9 / 10	ghost-angel	One of the better handlings of conflict resolution in a diceless system I've ever run into.
9 / 10	Nightwalker	This game is incredible. I will never, ever, ever play it due to its depth of concept and a lack of other players willing to do so. That and finding the rules in the book is a bitch. This book is like a treatise on the extreme idea of role playing and what it means though. I keep it and treasure it because of what it represents. Playing a role in the most raw sense of the word.
9 / 10	fifth_child	A beautiful game with beautiful writing. Not nearly as unplayable as it is often claimed to be - though the mechanics are nothing truly inspired, the writing and the concept are enough to make Nobilis a very good game indeed.
9 / 10	Halfjack	This game starts by being BEAUTIFUL. The production is outstanding -- possibly the most legible and beautiful game I've ever owned. It continues by exploring a compelling idea -- playing a god -- in a way that is actually practical. This game can be played. You can play something like Neil Gaiman's Dream. Hats off to its authors for something both beautiful and new.
9 / 10	Jim DelRosso	While the physical book is a woork of art in and of itself, the game within is a fascinating take on playing the godlike. While I was initially a doubter in dicelessness, this game brought me around.
9 / 10	Lxndr	Excellent book, almost the perfect amount of art, a setting that pulls you deeper the more you read, and an object-oriented universe where each player is in charge of a small bit.
9 / 10	Menchi	A great concept and system. Let down by overly torrid prose which seems to be part of an in-joke that most readers will not get.
9 / 10	mwynen	Fantastic game, very innovative, but a little heavy on the OOC talking due to the unique rules.
8 / 10	Calculon	Great to read. I'd love to play it one day.
8 / 10	Chocobo	I like the book itself, and the writing is great. Rules light is not really my thing and I probably won't play the game but it is a good read.
8 / 10	cj.23	A very good game, but the rules are buried in the prose, whose style may not suit all. When it works (the prose)its superb, though in places overwritten. If I could have ever found the relevant rules when I neede them in play this may well become my favourite game ever. Innovative diceless system, incredible character and home (chancel) design, facinating mythic setting. You should own this game, but marred by difficult layout - the triumph of style over clarity.
8 / 10	eruditus	This is one of the cleanest designs I had seen in a long time (when it was purchased). And it's value is increased by being THE gamer's coffee table book in it's second edition.
8 / 10	Sage Genesis	Highly original in both system and setting. However, may be somewhat difficult to actualy play as it requires a drastic departure from the traditional RPG mindset. Well worth it for those who try.
7 / 10	DrFaust	Amusing, but its ability to be easily understood and played is hampered by the obtuse and florid prose.
7 / 10	iago	It's a tough nut to crack -- and at times I think the mechanics could be more targeted at producing certain genre-reinforcing effects -- but it's so evocative. For flavor and atmosphere, few games deliver like Nobilis.
7 / 10	Uruush	This would likely rate higher if I could find people to play it with. Great atmosphere, design, and mechanics, but some of the prose is pretty bad.
6 / 10	TrippyHippy	Despite a jarring shift in art direction, the 3rd edition of this game provides a decent amount of support for creating fleshed out and entirely unique characters in an epically magical setting. The diceless system is certainly functional and you can't really imagine using any other system. However, I suspect that most people buy this for the whimsical, creative writing rather than to game with - I found reading it is akin to listening to an early Pink Floyd record (the one with the cow on the cover).
6 / 10	thadrine	Eh, it was ok. Interesting setting and flavor, but the rules were rather bad.
6 / 10	El Bob	A wonderful concept and setting. A great diceless system that suffers from some serious organization and clarity issues. Might be a 7 -- I'll say 6.
6 / 10	DDogwood	Different, but too weird for most people. I have only met a handful of people who would be interested in playing it (and I'm not one of them).
6 / 10	Flibbertigibbet	The Proust of the RPG World. Beautiful, lyrical, but somewhat incomprehensible and full of highly personal symbolism. I found this book beautiful but also somehow creepy and unappealing. Most people, I think, just can't understand it. Not so much an RPG as a journey.
5 / 10	MutieMoe	A beautiful game of high consept fantasy, but I personally just do not get it. One of the few games where I have raised hands up in surrender and did not find anything exactly wrong with it either, just not my cup of tea.
5 / 10	Nomad4life	Seems pretty, but I'm just not sure what to do with it. Very difficult to find other players interested in this game.
5 / 10	Simple Man	Utterly torn. Brilliant system, like the prose. Layout and book dimensions (in Hogshead version) could use some work. Also, the fact that it turns most off with the size and prose just kills the game for me. I can't even bear to look at it.
3 / 10	Levi	While a very pretty book with an interesting style, the system and playstyle of the game are organized badly, making this fairly simple game very difficult to learn.
2 / 10	mordrid3141	Played this last year at Gen Con....not really a game, would have had more fun just drawing things out of a hat.
2 / 10	howandwhy99	Hardly worth reading.
1 / 10	Zachary The First	An pretty book rendered worthless by near-incomprehensible, horrid prose and poorly-defined rules. Great for gamers wanting to RPG the Voynich Manuscript. I am not sure how this ended up at the top of the RPGnet Index, except to posit that apparently RPGnet hipsters are completely divorced from the reality of roleplaying.
1 / 10	BlueSun	Funky concept, but unplayable
1 / 10	Inamoena Tempora	Interesting concept, great production values, utterly unplayable with anything approaching "normal" players, and rendered nearly incomprehensible by mixing the rules info into the setting fluff. Also could use some more solid GM advice, since it's pretty unclear what a Nobilis is supposed to do, and how the game is supposed to be run.
0 / 10	JDCorley	I contributed in a modest way to this book, so I am not rating it. I will say in a comment, though, that I found it to be incredibly versatile and interesting, a new take on high-powered gaming that hadn't been seen since Amber Diceless, another classic.

Core Game Reviews

All RPGnet Reviews

[ Link 1 Possible Reviews ]

Rating	User	Summary
4 + 5	Mike Sullivan	Nobilis. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	Kevin Maginn	Nobilis. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	Alexander Williams	Nobilis. [ Read Review ]
4 + 5	Carl L. Congdon	Nobilis. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	Kevin Maginn	Nobilis. It's bigger, brighter, and more beautiful in every possible way. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	Chrysoula Tzavelas	Nobilis. An extrordinary game about modern mythology and magic. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	E. Burns	Nobilis. A game of tremendous beauty, tremendous ambition and tremendous scope. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	Carl L. Congdon	Nobilis. The deep end of the RPG pool. Not for casual gamers, new gamers or people put off by high concept. But a high-water mark for the industry, bordering on being a classic in it's own right. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	Robotech_Master	Nobilis. Ambitious in scope, astounding in its setting, and very classy in its layout, Nobilis provides an astonishing amount of value as a book, object d'art, and game. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	Joshua Symonds	Nobilis. Nobilis 2nd Edition is a work of art and a masterpiece, required reading for any ambitious storyteller who wants to add remarkable depth and remarkable quality to their games. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	William Timmins	Nobilis. A rather sudden chance to run Nobilis, with entertaining and enjoyable results. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	Ulf Houe	Nobilis. A truely amazing game. Of myth and of horror. Of beauty and of corruption. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	Gary N. Mengle	Nobilis. I'm sold. This is a great game, and is absolutely unique among RPGs. Make it your next purchase. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	Brand_Robins	Nobilis. YANR, but a playtested one. 12 sessions up, 12 sessions down, and this is what I think of the game after having seen the elephant. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	Menchi	Nobilis. While not necessarily the game for everyone, this is simply perfect. There is no other way to describe this game. [ Read Review ]
5 + 4	Ben Lehman	Nobilis. This is my Nobilis review. There are many like it but this one is mine. [ Read Review ]
3 + 5	CJNeum	Nobilis: The Essentials (Volume 1: Field Guide to the Powers). Diceless role-playing in an evocative "hidden fantasy" setting that handles cosmic levels of PC power remarkably well. [ Read Review ]