Picked this up a while back, partly for the subject matter and partly for the rule system. The book starts with a media history of Zorro across print, film, stage productions, toys, and video games. Next is the obligatory welcome to RPGs and the basics of the D6 system.
Following that is character creation, covering 2 whole pages (templates to follow later on). One highlight is a defense number. You multiply your Perception and Agility D6 total by 5, so 3D+2 would be 15.
Chapter 3 focuses on playing the game and general rules. It also goes more into the Attributes, Skills, and Difficulty Number (from very easy [5] to very difficult [30]). As per usual with the D6 system, the more d6 you have to roll, the better (and more difficult things) you can do. Each attribute includes 4 skills (which can be added to or changed with GM approval), and attributes include: Agility, Knowledge, and Charm.
The GM Section is next. A standout item in this section is that in addition to Hero Points (which act as XP and can be used to better attributes and skills) is Suspicion Points. In the game, you play as a member of Zorro’s Legion, which is your secret identity. Other times you play as your alter ego which is one of the templates mentioned a little further in. Each of your identities will likely have different outlooks (a la Clark Kent/Superman or Bruce Wayne/Batman) so that most won’t tie the two ‘people’ together. However, when the public acts differently from “normal” or more like their secret persona, they get a Suspicion Point. A 2D6 roll that is lower than how many Suspicion Points has exposes them. There are, of course, a couple ways to reduce Suspicion Points and keep the secret identity secret.
Equipment and Bestiary chapters are next, allowing a variety of weapons and creatures.
Following that is the chapter with character templates. There are 15 in total, including: Brash Soldado, Sniveling Dona/Don, Nervous Bandit, and Scheming Scholar. They include starting attribute die codes, equipment, and even suggested skills, though the character can be customized to taste. Enemy combatants is the next chapter and is made up of different NPCs to include in your sessions.
The next 2 chapters, “The World of Zorro” and “Adventures in Alto California” flesh out the setting and include several adventure seeds, which are broken down into a couple episodes. The next chapter introduces the more important NPCs of the world, such as: Don Alejandro de la Vega, Diego de la Vega, Don Ignacio Torres, and others. Also included are more adventure seeds.
The Chapter “Adventures Elsewhere” flesh out New Spain and Baja California and more adventure seeds. There is a solo adventure so you can play as Zorro and familiarize yourself with the system.
Lastly there are 2 full length adventures included. “The Black Widow” and “The Steam Train Out of Hell.” They are put together in a slightly loose fashion with broader strokes, but give enough to cover most situations while still keeping a linear story. My thought on this is it’s a good game if you want something a little more serialistic and fun, while still being able to stay a little serious with the story. It would be in rotation for me more as a “Let’s take a session or two break from what we’ve been playing and play something a little different.” With all the adventure ideas in the book, it would be easy to sit down and play fairly quickly.
