Working on a 'final' edit of my own game rules, and I have been seeking advice from others. I guess to inspire me (or tell me that I am wasting my time) a friend sent me for Christmas the pdfs of both Trailblazer and Pathfinder. I have looked over both, and am giving a report in this article of Trailblazer.

Trailblazer - I had heard about it, but little more. What I found was slightly interesting text. The math nerd in me found enjoyment in the tables and subject matter. The role-player part of me however felt disgust in the rules. This game takes the 3ed D&D rules, and power-games them. EVERYTHING that I attempted not to do with my rules, Trailblazer does with zeal.

1) I tried to expand skill lists to force wide diversity among characters and assure some weakness so characters would have to work together. Trailblazer compresses the skill list to assure that characters can max out their class skills, basically establishing a 'set' progression for each class.

2) I tried to reduce to-hit bonuses in order to make 'normal' armor classes still realistic. Trailblazer warns

Trailblazer wrote:

damage mitigation (primarily via hit points which can absorb multiple blows) is more important than attack avoidance

I already do this in the 3.5 game that I play. My character often goes into battle without casting armor enhancing spells, as even maxed out the monsters are usually hitting anyway. To have Trailblazer actually considering such a philosophy standard I felt to make a problem in the 3ed game system even worse.

3) I disallowed uber-feats simply because they threw off game balance. Trailblazer considers uber-feats the goal of characters, and those that don't take advantage of them as wimps.

4) I moved back to a more 1ed working of the magic rules. Trailblazer went more to a 'everyone's a sorcerer in some manner' philosophy where some spells are assumed to be ever available.

5) I have always allowed rest breaks whenever a party needed it. I thus read with interest when Trailblazer mentioned the "10 minute work day," as most spellcasters in 3ed, especially divine casters, can only cast spells once a day -- making a rough battle into a "wait for tomorrow before going further" situation. Well, while I allow the party to do normal recuperation right then, Trailblazer has the "10 minute rest." Yep, 10 minutes and everyone can be considered able to go again. Gad, even where I agreed with the problem Trailblazer felt needed solving, they trumped me in making it trivial.

Needless to say, I don't recommend Trailblazer. I will however admit that there are players who will consider Trailblazer a breath of fresh air. The presentation has a clear philosophy, and the writers worked to maintain that their rules supported their view of how the game should be played. If you want a more direct and impersonal style of game, Trailblazer can give it to you.

Wow... Trailblazer seems completely BROKEN!