Ratings for - RPGnet RPG Game Index

Statistics: Unknown Armies

Core Game Ratings

Rating: 8.11 / Ranking: 6

These ratings are based on 176 ratings with 1.46 average weight and 16 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:

12%

18%

22%

36%

Index Ratings Only:

15%

14%

17%

38%

RPGnet Reviews Only:

25%

31%

Content Ratings

This game has contents. The following charts show the composite ratings for these contents which make up some of the overall rating of this product (though they are not depicted in the product composite chart, above).

Pinfeathers Composite:

13%

36%

13%

Core Game Comments

All User Comments

Rating	User	Comments
10 / 10	Wratts	Unknown Armies is all about the post-modern, gritty, and weird occult, and it does these things better than any other game to date, using a lean and mean d100 mechanic and an elegant character system. To top it all off, the whole book is fantastic, combining both excellent writing and great visuals. This game is a milestone in RPG history.
10 / 10	Sleeper	I love the way the setting takes all those crusty old magical traditions, chucks them out the window, and then watches with hungry eyes as they splatter on the blood-soaked pavement. But the best parts? 1. Power fucks you up. 2. All this crap in the world? We did it. Humans are the real goddamn monsters.
10 / 10	Engelous	Unknown Armies, in my opinion, is the best-written roleplaying game, and one of the best-designed ones. I recommend it to everyone who loves Modern Fantasy, but doesn't want cliches.
10 / 10	Ars Mysteriorum	One of the finest games ever created.
10 / 10	Matthias Wasser	Every time you read this book completely, Greg Stolze gains the ability to take over your body for one day.
10 / 10	J. E. Bennett	Hugely inspirational.
10 / 10	Aegypto	A textbook example of a game perfectly meeting its stated design themes and goals. Solid mechanics, a truly mindblowing setting, and some of the best writing to be found in the gaming field.
10 / 10	Caudex	The darkly humorous horror game I'd always wanted, without realising it.
10 / 10	CodexArcanum	An amazing book, one of the best RPGs ever written. Out of print now, but well worth looking for.
10 / 10	DrFaust	Too awesome. Every page of second edition drips with style and plot ideas.
10 / 10	Fludd
10 / 10	Jim DelRosso	Nifty rules, a thought- and action-provoking setting, and excellent writing. Also gave me one of the greatest campaigns of I've ever been involved in. This game rocks the house.
10 / 10	Lazarus	When I read Unknown Armies, 2nd edition, I was just astounded at the game. It is very elegant, awesome looking, and very different. One of the best horror/weird games ever.
10 / 10	Menchi	Simply the best game published to date. It hits every mark that is required of a classic - excellent writing, game design and setting.
10 / 10	Myca	This game is absolutely perfect for what it's trying to do. The mechanics back up the concept, the concepts are cool. I'm absolutely burning to play.
10 / 10	Nightwalker	A piece of gaming art. Not for those who love their crunch, but if you want a horror conspiracy in the modern world, this is most definitely it.
10 / 10	novander	It's everything a modern rpg should be - brutal, dirty, dark and clever. It's the girl you don't introduce to your parents.
10 / 10	ParadoxDruid	The system deserves endless praise, and is coupled to a beautifully creepy and evocative setting. One of the easiest games to just "pick up and play", and an all-around excellent game.
10 / 10	PaulTucker	Sublime and shocking to think it's the end of the line for UA.
10 / 10	Sprue Rubbles	It completely turned how I thought of rpgs upside down, of what can be possible.
10 / 10	ssheftall	One of the best RPG's for playing "modern mages" and one of the best RPG's of all time. Simple and fun. Doesn't get better than that.
10 / 10	TomTitTot	Interesting setting and a fantastic system make this one of the best games I have been fortunate enough to encounter.
10 / 10	Zounds!	Genuinely brilliant.
9 / 10	Calculon	Immensely readable and twisted.
9 / 10	bartkusa	The book should be respected for its phenomenal writing. Pages drip with the fat drippings from perverse modern magic. Also, the system does some remarkable things with percentile dice.
9 / 10	cj.23	One of the very finest rpgs I have seen, it uses an innovative variant of the BRP system, and has fine rules and excellent writing throughout. Mature themes. Highly recommended
9 / 10	Flibbertigibbet	Very cool and orginal setting, but I found it very challenging to GM.
9 / 10	JoÃ£o.Mariano	Post-modernist Magick done in your face with prose by Greg Stolze? Buy it.. Now.. Or it will buy you!
9 / 10	LucitasBastardChilde	This game really stays true to its original concept and has mechanics and player options to match. Also very readable. Stolze and Tynes have outdone themselves on this one.
9 / 10	MylesC	Excellent game, improved by the second edition. Has a very specific take on modern magic though, which might not appeal to everyone.
9 / 10	Uruush	Definitely one of the better games of its kind. Nice layout and artwork too. Great reading and inspiration for similar types of games even if you can't find players specifically for UA.
8 / 10	Lxndr	The system is mostly simple enough to be invisible, and the setting is sketchy and creepy enough to inspire with the details they give.
8 / 10	Geburah	Unknown Armies was one of my most enjoyable RPG reads, alternately spooky, funny and downright weird. I find the system entertaining, with its "make your own" skills and funky percentile dice tricks. It also does an excellent job of handling the psychological side of things with its Madness Meters. I love the whole concept of Avatarhood, but unfortunately many of the Magick schools leave me cold...
8 / 10	Harlekin	Unispired Skill System, great personlity trait system and interesting magic system. A game for reading more than for playing.
8 / 10	Mozart	All of the usual praise applies in full with the caveat that the setting assumptions might be something of an aquired taste, albeit one well worth acquiring.
8 / 10	Opportunity Knox	A great, well thought out game and a system which presents a really good way of dealing with madness and violence
8 / 10	SJBenoist	Genius work. As a read, it is a 10. Eccentricity and difficulty of use in actual play cost it a few points.
8 / 10	Skiorht	One of the best written RPGs ever. The rules and setting are a near-perfect match, and the Madness Meters are among my top 10 rules ever. Unfortunately the game is too American in theme for me to run.
8 / 10	Tom B	Very well done system and an very interesting concept. Very innovative mechanic for tracking sanity.
7 / 10	TrippyHippy	A halfway house between Call of Cthulhu and the World of Darkness games, without ever really fully establishing it's own identity in my view. Still, the system is probably the best engine for playing a Tarantino-esque storyline without any difficulty at all. And, regardless of anything else, it is supported by some excellent weird scenarios and writing.
7 / 10	walkerp	Modern occult is not really my preferred genre and I found a bit of a whiff factor with the percentile dice for skills. But the madness meters are amazing roleplaying guides. When you look at a UA character sheet, you know the character. This is inspired, dark, engaging stuff.
7 / 10	Aaron Smith	A fantastic rules light system, with an utterly flawless madness system. A character with full motivations and feelings on an index card.
7 / 10	JDCorley	Fairly good, an innovative system and a bizarre and interesting setting...it could benefit strongly from better and more specific campaign design guidelines.
7 / 10	Pierce Inverarity	Sorry, but Unknown Armies just tries too hard.
7 / 10	Zachary The First	Pretty darn good. A little too quirky for me to rate it higher.
6 / 10	Ben Lehman	A really interesting setting that struggles with a bit of a "kitchen-sink" problem and an whiff-tastic die mechanic that stops play whenever you have to make a roll. On the average, it's pretty good.
5 / 10	Flexi	Crammed full of daft occult conspiracy theories. Rambling, seedy and too self consciously cool for my tastes. A product of it's time.
5 / 10	Simple Man	Great style, great substance, paired with slightly flawed rules. A bit of a problem in the "Now what do I do with it?" territory.
5 / 10	Thanuir	Based on a total of one AP: The rules are more in the way, the setting is mediocre. Playing more would be likely to produce a better rating, I presume.
3 / 10	Sangrolu	Unknown Armies is a longstanding darling at RPGnet... and the one that I consider least deserving of the title. System-wise, it's another adopter of the droll and haphazard "roll your own trait" convention. Setting wise, it seems more someone's pet philosophy than a setting, and it brings us such wince-worthy tripe as "pornomancy." Puhlease.
0 / 10	Doc Halloween	I have read some of it and sounds interesting. I have not played it either. I can not rate it at this time.
0 / 10	Yokiboy	Great read, actually Unknown Armies is a fantastic read, but the game is very conflicted about how to use it to tell a great story. The gamemaster secion is awful, full of old crap that doesn't help in creating a story as a group at all. If you want heavy sim play, or are willing to disregard most of the game's advice, I am quite certain you can run a good game of Unknown Armies.

Core Game Reviews

All RPGnet Reviews

[ Link Reviews ]

Rating	User	Summary
5 + 3	Adam Schroeder	Unknown Armies First Edition. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	Josh Harrison	Unknown Armies First Edition. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	Derek Guder	Unknown Armies First Edition. [ Read Review ]
4 + 5	Michael Daisey	Unknown Armies First Edition. [ Read Review ]
3 + 3	James Maliszewski	Unknown Armies First Edition. [ Read Review ]
4 + 5	John Fiala	Unknown Armies First Edition. [ Read Review ]
4 + 5	Carl L. Congdon	Unknown Armies First Edition. [ Read Review ]
4 + 4	Chris French	Unknown Armies First Edition. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	Joe Iglesias	Unknown Armies First Edition. [ Read Review ]
2 + 5	Forest White	Unknown Armies First Edition. This is one of the most well thought out occult genres to hit the gaming community ever. It's a shame that it is the primary reference for the game. [ Read Review ]
4 + 5	Daigotsu Max	Unknown Armies First Edition. Unknown Armies is an interesting take on modern occultism and horror, although it could use some fleshing out. [ Read Review ]
4 + 4	Funksaw	Unknown Armies Second Edition. It’s a little Ars Magica, a little Cthulhu, a little Illuminati, and a whole lot of those fevered dreams that keep you up at night when you’re running 103.5 Faherenheit and you just finished off two cans of Beefaroni and a bowl of Lucky Charms right befor [ Read Review ]
4 + 5	Robert Calder	Unknown Armies Second Edition. Simply put, I cannot recommend this game highly enough. Even if you just buy it for a good read, my humble opinion is that you will have received your money’s worth. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	Dan Bayn	Unknown Armies Second Edition. A quality product, refined and expanded. Worth the money for old and new fans alike. [ Read Review ]
5 + 5	Menchi	Unknown Armies Second Edition. Ever wondered what David Lynch's films were on about? Unknown Armies may hide the answer... An engaging, well written book that manages to be player-friendly for both new and experienced gamers without wasting a single page! [ Read Review ]
4 + 4	Mechante_Anemone	Unknown Armies Second Edition. A superb setting or source of inspiration for modern occult, horror, and gonzo adventure, married to a sometimes innovative though overall tame system. [ Read Review ]