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Dog Town: Core Rules
 
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Dog Town: Core Rules
Publisher: Cold Blooded Games
by Asen G. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/13/2015 03:00:18

It's a great game that's only passed on because...well, the way the rules are explained, while entertaining by itself, isn't entirely clear. You can deal with it - I did on the second reading - but you should really check the examples in some cases. Pros: Great simulation of a perp's life. (Yes, it's simulationistic and not making any excuses about it. I love that). Excellent combat system for the genre. *Atmospheric artwork.

Cons: *Badly needs an editor, and one familiar with RPGs. Well, maybe I'm spotting that need more than most, due to professional habits.

Only thing I'm sorry about: it's not set up in London (probably because most gangster movies aren't, either). London would be an awesome setting, especially because then assault and battery skills are going to be used way more for setting reasons. But that gripe is not enough to knock a star off.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Dog Town: Core Rules
Publisher: Cold Blooded Games
by Jonathon C. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/03/2010 01:39:51

3 stars for me. A person not otherwise interested fictitious criminal activity has nothing here to draw him in.

While revealing the seedy underworld of the world we live in, there is just too much going on. The page count while at first impressive, is filled with a lot of details that the DM running the game would spend more time learning than ever putting into use on the game table. The details of the Life are presented in one liners from a couple big movies, the rest of the work is lists and charts for things that should be worked on during play.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
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Dog Town: Core Rules
Publisher: Cold Blooded Games
by Ron M. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 06/10/2009 12:02:54

Dog Town Core Rulebook  From: Cold Blooded Games Reviewed by: Ron McClung

Dog Town Core Rulebook  is a new RPG Core Rulebook PDF from Cold Blooded Games.

I am not a huge fan of anything that glorifies criminal behavior or gives kids the chance to explore that side of themselves, so going into this I was somewhat negative. From page 5 of the e-book - Dog Town is not a fantasy role playing game featuring supernatural beings, magic or futuristic gadgetry. It is a realistic role playing game dealing with the adult themes of criminal and street sub cultures. It aims to be an authentic portrayal of urban life and criminality in 1970’s New York. Interestingly, the first thing that the author disclaims is not the behavior of criminals depicted in the role-playing but the language used, including racial slurs and sexual orientation slang. I guess the author was more worried about offending someone rather than encouraging criminal behavior. In defense of the author, however, he does state up-front that the role-playing game was inspired by the gangster and street crime movies of the 70s and 80s like Good Fellas, Taxi Driver and Scareface. DISCLAIMER: I first want to make it clear that I do not condone criminal activity of any kind. Secondly, I want to WARN the reader that there is some adult language used in this review that is straight out of the book. I have edited the language out in some places, however, in other places it is required because it is part of the game. This game is not for children and neither is this review.

From page # 5:  “Made it, Ma! Top of the world!” - Cody Jarrett from the classic gangster movie White Heat goes out with a bang.

Content: The setting is late 70s New York City, in a crime ridden ghetto. Players are "anti-heroes trying to profit" from a corrupt world. The background provides a relatively detailed historical account of NYC at the time. Provided is an extensive background of the crime culture of the time along with major names. It goes on to describe the area known as Dog Town - an isolated region on the East River in New York. It is broken down into neighborhoods which are later mapped out in reasonably detailed maps (that look like they were made in something like MS Paint, but they are functional).

Character generation is considerably extensive and detailed. Along with the systems for standard raw attributes, derived attributes, and skills, there are also Criminal Type (class), Special Talents, optional Flaws and Vices, a Criminal History system, and a way to generate connections. The classes are in general terms. There are ten Criminal Types including the Asshole, the Broker, the Heister, the Hustler, the Thug, and the Racketeer. More is explained about Criminal Types below.  

The criminal history is simply a guideline for the criminal's history and includes background information from early childhood to early adulthood. It also supplies lists of typical family names for specific ethnic groups and a general guide for nicknames. The character generations section goes into contacts, hang outs, considerable list of skills, combat values, Power and Respect, Influence, Back Rolls and Warnings as well as arrests and offenses on the criminals rap sheet. 

After the rules and combat chapters (covered below) is a the Director's (GM's) section, guiding a gamemaster through how to run a Dog Town adventure. Nothing out of the ordinary for this chapter - just guidelines on different styles of running the game. My comment on content - it's enough. There could be more flaws and vices as well as talents, but it works.  

From page # 31: "How do jou like that eh! You fckin Maricon. Jou think you can take me. You need a fckin army to take me. I take you all to f*ckin hell.”

System: The character generation system is a point allocation system where everything costs points. The number of points is based on the style of play - punk, gangster or anti-hero. Attributes development points are differentiated from skill points which are differentiated special talent points. The Atttributes are Bulk, Power, Toughness, Reflexes, Brains, Sense, Control, Style, Experience, and Luck. These are straight values bought by attribute points and can range from -2 to 5. Then there are Derived Attributes (Trauma Resistance, Hurt Modifier, Injury Points, Move Straight Speed, Climbing, Maneuver/Balance, Endurance Short, Long, Reaction Roll, Balls, Discipline Roll, Suss Roll, Know Streets, Coping Roll, and Hostility Rating) - which are derived from the other attributes through a series of equations. For instance, to calculate Injury Points, add power x2, bulk x4 and toughness x4.

At the outset, I was turned off by this initial part of the character generation system. There needs to be a quick reference for all the equations. This did not fair well for the overall system. Equations need to be intuitive and a GM or a player should not have to go book diving for an equation. I feared that this system was also based on equations like this.

The Criminal Type was a little confusing at first. The player can choose one or two types (multi-classing). The Criminal Type does not restrict the player to anything. It simply gives the player 20 extra points to spend on certain skills, special talents and skills which are cheaper than the usual ones. There are also Drags or Flaws and Vices that the player must take at least four of. This is an interesting and imaginative approach to a class system. Something like the d6 system could benefit from an approach like this.  

Special Talents are like d20 feats. As I said before, there could be more of them, but there is enough to make things interesting. The interesting mechanic behind these is that they are divided up into packages and if the player takes them as a package, they are cheaper. Vices and Flaws are rolled randomly, if not chosen from the Criminal type.

The system is called the Split System. It is a table reference system with a 20-sided die (d20) roll. The player must generate a value and cross reference vs. the opposing value (a difficulty or opponents ability value) to determine a value to roll a d20 over. The problem I have relates to my previous worry in character generation - the equations. The values are determined through equations like the ones referenced in character generation. For instance, skill values like Break and Enter are calculated by Reflexes x2 + Sense + Brains. Every skill is different. I have the same problem as I do with the equations in character generation - too many! They should be intuitive or there should be a quick reference somewhere. 

There is an interesting mechanic if a 1 or a 20 is rolled. However, because some of the rules read like a statistic book, I do not understand the rule. From what I can gather, in either case you role a second d20 and count that into your failure or success. However, I am not quite sure how the second roll factors into the failure. Another constant problem I had with reading it was that the rules were not clearly explained, at least to me. There were occasional examples, but they were not any more clear than the rules. It made the game even less attractive.

Another interesting aspect was the Behavior mechanic set up in the game to reflect the extreme in behaviors criminals tend to exhibit. There are three factors in Dog Town to represent this - Suss Roll, Balls, and Discipline. Suss Roll is rolled when a criminal really needs to assess his situation and his chances of success. Of course, this is not a level based system, so there is no way to measure the "challenge rating" of a situation. Therefore, it is really up to the GM whether he wants the player to survive or not - a characteristic of all no-level based systems. Balls is basically the bravery of the player (and sometimes the sanity), and Discipline is the measure of how level-headed the player is.

Another interesting aspect of the game are the rules on running a Racket - the steady income of a criminal. This system provides a detailed system allowing players to create their own business deals and see the results of the deal in games terms. It is based on the character's skill, influence and finesse, and can result in great benefit or disastrous results. There is a rather large list of rackets to choose from.

There are also rules for delegating to non-player characters (NPCs) and measure the loyalty of those NPCs, Boss bonuses, giving orders to flunkies, and putting the competition out of business. There are also rules for laying low, torture and chases. These include an interesting array of classic cars and their stats. There are many other rules relating to the criminal underworld that I could get into, but it would make this review entirely too long. Let it be said then that despite my misgivings on the rules and how they are explained, they are thorough.

However, I do not want to leave out combat. The combat or violence system is very detailed and covers a wide variety of actions. It attempts to make it realistic and break it down into eight essential steps: Balls Test, Reach, Reaction Speed, Combat Mode, Attack Roll, Injury, Stuns, and Blood Loss. There are several charts and lists to refer to in each stage, making combat somewhat complicated. Injury is more than a simple roll to be subtracted from hit points, and I found myself so confused, I did not care anymore.

A nice gem however is that it does detail some fighting styles for hand-to-hand combat like karate, boxing and street fighting. That was kind of cool. Rules on shootouts were also a nice addition, although I found combat so complicated that I had no desire to even look into it. Layout: The PDF looked nice. Art was on par from what I would expect from a PDF. Nothing outstanding, but nothing so horrible that I needed to point it out here. It is a large PDF, but it is reasonable printer friendly. The tables are hard to read (and there are a lot of them) because there is artwork behind them, so those might not look good in printouts. 

 In conclusion, I am sorry to say that I was not overly impressed by Dog Town from beginning to end. The only thing I was remotely impressed with was the thoroughness and detail. It is not a half-*ssed job. However, I simply did not like the premise, did not like the system and did not like the overall game itself. I can tell the authors have a strong passion for gaming and I wholeheartedly encourage that. I assume there is an audience for this game and to them I bid them a good luck with this game. I hope you enjoy. I know I did not. This game is not for children. It uses adult themes and adult language even in the color-quotes from the movies. I would not recommend this to anyone under 18.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
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Dog Town: Core Rules
Publisher: Cold Blooded Games
by Marcus G. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/14/2008 10:01:35

Awesome setting!

Craptacular mechanics!

I use this basic setting outline to run a game in another system. The tone and theme of the setting is very cool and harsh. It is a great motivator for a rough game.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Thank you for your comments. The rules or perhaps how they are explained are not to everyones taste (too complicated, too involved, not explained clearly enough) so you would no doubt prefer Dog Town: Stripped - a much simpler and streamlined character generation and rule set for the setting available as a free download from the Cold Blooded Games website.
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Dog Town: Core Rules
Publisher: Cold Blooded Games
by JD S. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/27/2007 01:14:29

Setting: this has to be one of the most carefully researched settings I have seen. They have accurately captured a time, place, and setting extremely well.

Support material: They do very well; the suypporting detail is excellent. My only complaint is that the maps provided a biut bit hard to read, and might have benifitted from less color. Still, a minor issue.

System: a bit clunky, although less so than d20. The writers work very hard to pull it off.

Overall: very good. Not only useful as a game, but also as support data for modern or horror campaigns.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Dog Town: Core Rules
Publisher: Cold Blooded Games
by Gareth W. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/01/2007 00:00:00

I really enjoyed this book.

There don't appear to be many good modern 'crime' games out there and this fills the gap quite nicely. So, when you get tired of playing a fantasy 'rogue', or a 1920's gangster, this looks like a game that can bring your criminal role play right up to date.

Generating some sample characters and playing out a quick shootout was fast and fun.

The rules overall look adaptable enough to cover most styles/scenarios of play.

Not sure if I'll play it a lot, but I'll certainly play it in between my more traditional fantasy and sci-fi rpg campaigns.
<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Unusual topic, atmosphere, player character 'flaws', critical hits.

I got the impression the game designer enjoyed making this game.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Nothing - except perhaps the bad language scattered throught the book. The language fits the setting, but, unlike most of my RPGs, I won't be letting my kids read this book.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Dog Town: Core Rules
Publisher: Cold Blooded Games
by Michael S. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/13/2006 00:00:00

These are a great set of street-level gangster rules. The system is easy to learn and easy to run. My local group has played a number of different gangster rules, and these are the grittiest and most violent among them. If you want to play real dirtbags, Dog Town is the system you want.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The system and rules text captures the flavor of street-level crime.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The page count is quite high, and while I hate to complain about getting TOO much for my money, it did take me quite some time to actually work my way through it all.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Dog Town: Core Rules
Publisher: Cold Blooded Games
by matthew h. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/22/2005 00:00:00

a fantastic idea pursued with alot of energy that still manages to fall somewhat flat.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The setting, the idea.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The game system is not well presented - it is not clear and suffers from sufficient examples. A very difficult game system to get ones head around - not because of they system itself, but because of the presentation.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Disappointed<br>



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Thank you for your comments. Dog Town is written in street speak and flavor text which makes it in my opinion an interesting read. I agree however that the lack of succinct dryness in the text does make it more difficult to extract a quick explanation of the rules. To do this you might want to make use of the quick reference sheets at the back of the book which compact the information into an easier digestible form. Cold Blooded Games have also some free downloads on the website that speed up character generation and make it easier to create throwaway punks. Also if there is anything I can do to clear up any ambiguities for you I will be happy to correspond with you via email. As if you enjoy the setting and idea it will be a shame for this issue to ruin the game for you.
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Dog Town: Core Rules
Publisher: Cold Blooded Games
by Dain L. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/26/2005 00:00:00

Dog Town will take you to the seamy underbelly of society, into a world of criminals and junkies, pimps and wiseguys. The game is set in a 'fictionalized' 70's era New York City, in the same fashion that the Grand Theft Auto games are set in 'fictionalized' versions of real times and places. The game fully supports it's uncompromisingly amoral view of it's world and setting. This is not for the squeamish.

The rules are extensive, with plenty of crunchy details in the character stats, the weapon and vehicle stats, and the combat system. Beware; combat is DEADLY in this game! Characters who live violent lives will live short lives, unless they play it smart. Never get into a fair fight! Stealth, surprise, overwhelming firepower, and the ability to lie, cheat, and steal you way out of a situation are paramount.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The style of the text and the artwork pull you into the seedy underworld portrayed in the game. The production quality is excellent in almost every respect. <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: This book is the CORE rules, as advertised. Most of the setting details are in subsequent volumes. You will not be able to run a campaign of Dog Town 'out of the box' without investing in some of the other Dog Town products. The rules system is a bit complex for my taste, but it does have call-out boxes showins simplifications GMs can use. <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Dog Town: Core Rules
Publisher: Cold Blooded Games
by Pistolero B. C. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/11/2005 00:00:00

I's very happy with de game. No bullshit, its a cool game true to the genre. Play anythin' from pimp to dealer, heister etc.. ese, with rules to back it up, not yet another d20 dope. Everythin' is covered, from character creation, to how to set up your own operation, goin' on a crime spree, muggin' peoples, copin' horse, prowling da mean streets of Dog Town in your Gran Torino. That's 295 pages of fun all along. Life's sure a bitch in Dog Town. Chill.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: I loved the theme (crime/gangster) in mid to late 70s NY-ti was about time somebody filled in this niche-and with its own system. The character templates are excellent, the style is brilliant, you don't get bored reading the rules, you actually enjoy doin' it! Character skills, drags, etc.. are excellent too. There's nearly a rule for anything criminal in the game, brilliant.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The game lacks examples (for instance, in the character creation), sometimes the character creation and even the 'split system' rules get confusing, and more examples to clear out any doubt would have been good (and would avoid reading the same lines several times to understand, or go find an example n pages later). Some illustrations are very good, but I'm a bit disappointed they are more generic than truly 70s, the artists could have made some more effort to do a 70s feeling in their art. Although the proposed background is a criminal hitting the streets and trying to make a hundred grand in 90 days, maybe some more options could have been developped for GM who don't want to exploit this idea but use the game differently. On the other hand, this can be corrected with a little effort from the GM and could be done in future supplements.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Thank you for your comments. I wish to explain the 100k in 90 days thing is by no means the be and end all of the game. It is merely a proposition, a default motivation serving as an easy handle and focus for players and director. Go with it or just use it as a jumping off point for whatever you want to get into. The game is meant to realistically facilitate the playing out of stories from all the great crime books and films like No Beast So Fierce, Reservoir Dogs and Heat. It just so happens that the thing that ties all these stories together is rapid and illegal appropriation of large amounts of cash.
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Dog Town: Core Rules
Publisher: Cold Blooded Games
by Jeremy S. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/20/2005 00:00:00

I have been playing scumbags in RPGs since 1989. Being a criminal character, while fun, was never treated well with the materials available (be it AD&D 2nd Ed with the Complete Thief, Cyberpunk 2020, Ninjas and Superspies, more recent d20 materials, or GURPS). There is a tone that the system itself needs to allow.

Dog Town, with its system and setting have created the atmosphere that the others lacked. It has style, it has greed, and it has vices and the way that crap drags you down work in great.

Plus, it outshines Cyberpunk 2020 with its grim and grittiness. You get shot, you're screwed. It is more realistic than GURPS, yet easier to play at the same time.

It is also possible to "port" to other settings should you so desire. While it was written with the criminal "thief wars" in mind, it could be used for any other setting that you want the same grim feeling. Yeah, yeah, it isn't designed with the supernatural in mind, but it wouldn't necessarily be ruined by adding it in, either.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: A game designed for the villain character in mind. It's great.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Dog Town: Core Rules
Publisher: Cold Blooded Games
by Carl M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/25/2005 00:00:00

A pure crime game with much originality set in 1970?s New York, players are recently paroled criminals hell bent on getting their hands on $100,000 dollars within 90 days to be in on a deal that could set them up for life.

Dog Town is the real deal, a hardcore crime game that doesn?t pull it?s punches. It models itself on classic gangster films such as Goodfella?s, Donnie Brasco and Scarface and if you like those type of films you won?t be disappointed in this book because it is a very thorough treatment of the genre written in an engaging street style that perfectly suits the subject matter, bringing the violence, greed and treachery of the ghetto to life. Though if you are sensitive about swearing and graphic descriptions of violence then this product and probably the aforementioned films won?t be for you. However as a devotee of all things gangster I thought the book rocked.

First off there is a chapter dedicated to setting the scene and explaining the ethos of the game. This is nicely done with some real life examples of New York Gangsters from the time, appropriate movie quotes and some really atmospheric art of car chases and bathtub dismemberment. (Yes I did say that). Next in this section are maps the nine neighbourhoods that comprise Dog Town. These are digitally produced and very detailed. They are not very artistic like traditionally drawn maps, but serve the function of providing both an overview of the streets and detail of building interiors.

The Creating A Criminal chapter deserves a special mention as it is packed full of goodies. It uses a kind of unisystem design with three levels of criminal, worthless Punk, cool Gangster and awesome Anti-Hero and associated levels of character development points to spread around 10 core attributes, which are Bulk, Power, Toughness, Reflexes, Sense, Brains, Control, Style, Experience and Luck. These then produce through combinations some neat derived attributes with my favourite being a criminal?s hostility rating, which is a measure of how much he p***es people off and how many enemies he starts the game with. Other interesting features are the ten criminal types, which are beautifully depicted in a realistic non-stylised way. You can play an Asshole, Broker, Runner, Thief, Pimp Heister, Thug, Hustler, Dealer and Racketeer or a combination of two of these types. Each type gets 20 points to spend on particular attributes, special talents, skills and specializations that the criminal would more likely have. There is a wide variety of criminal orientated skills which are added onto bases made up of different combinations of attributes. This can take a bit of time to complete working through the list of skills, but once it is done it produces an ability rating from ?10 to 25, which in future is all that needs to be referred to. The quick reference sheets at the back of the book simplify this to eight bases, which makes things easier for generating throwaway mooks. Other features include a way of generating criminal contacts, a criminal history, a name and rating a criminal?s influence and notoriety.

The next chapter is called Doin A Lil Somin and is devoted to explaining the Split System

I particularly liked the Split System because it is both complex and simple at the same time. Use it fully with all its options and charts and it is complex, use the shortcuts and alternatives given and it is quick and straightforward with most actions resolved on one dice roll. This is done by taking into account the opponents ability when forming a ratio on a d20. Dead even then it will be a 10 vs. 10 split with the need to get over a 10. If your character is 2 points better than the opponent the split becomes an 8 vs. 12 with the need to get over 8. The chapter goes into great depth explaining typical criminal behaviour like running rackets, playing cards, high speed driving, getting questioned by the cops and breaking into things. Suffice to say it is comprehensive allowing you to work out pretty much anything a criminal might get into from going on the lam to putting in a fix with a lawyer to bribe a judge.

Thug Life is the hand to hand combat chapter and gives the player a lot of options. It?s a good combat engine in that it can be reduced to a few simple rolls or expanded into something with a lot to it. I liked the action point system used to resolve initiative and actions with the tactical decision on how to use those points, quick small attacks or large point costing homicidal ones.

The system encourages the use of tactics like hitting first and sneak attacks because it is very deadly and unforgiving (like a real street fight) with every successful hit a type of critical, not all serious but all carrying some effects like knock backs, blooded loss and stun tests. These are compiled in several weapon injury charts and are very well done if you like graphic gore in your combat. My favourite has got to be the street fighting chart with all its dirty debilitating eye gouges and testicle wrenching. If you don?t like injury charts then I guess then you could just use the injury values from the roll, but it is a big part of the book. Perhaps if there is another edition a simple subtract hit point version could be included to save looking at the charts.

Shootouts deal with gunplay and does it in the same comprehensive manner, with lists and stats of guns from the time, plenty of .38 revolvers and no 10mm semi?s. The system seems accurate in that under the right circumstances a well-placed .22 bullet will kill though in 95% of cases it won?t. I like weapon damage in systems to be variable and realistic like this and not fixed like a constant 1d4 against something like 40 hits. Again there are some fun charts with the multiple gunshot ones being particularly nasty. To save time these charts take three shots as a burst so it is possible to take guys out with some cool injury combinations. The rest of the chapter is concerned with planting bombs, hit and runs, fire and involuntary falls off high buildings.

Lastly there is the ubiquitous GM?s chapter or The Director?s Chair as it is called in Dog Town. This does the job quite well with rundowns of types of games such as asset management, traditional story line and free form play, where the player lives the day to day life of the criminal meeting his associates, avoiding his enemies and sussing out scores. I liked this aspect of the game, it has a sort of grand theft auto style feel to it in that you are encouraged to wander through the neighbourhoods interacting with people and finding things to do, or typically as it is steal. The chapter then goes onto explain the kind of headaches that the GM could throw at the players when there is a lull in the action, which was useful and more than fight four muggers. A minor criticism of this chapter would be that there could be a little more on how to actually run and set up games with players and how to deal with problems if they arise.

At the end of the chapter there is the player?s rap sheet and five quick reference sheets, which break attribute bases, skills and combat down into an easier bullet point format. What I would have liked included is a one page mook character sheet using the eight base attributes to work the skills.

Play

A concept underpinning the game as I understand it, is that criminals like their real life counterparts are deeply flawed people mostly destined for jail or bottom of a shallow grave. Doomed movie gangsters like Frank White from King Of New York, Carlito Brigante from Carlito?s Way and Tony Montana from Scarface. Unless the criminal pumps in some points to have a high self-control he is going to have some vices like those guys, which can cause the criminal some serious problems, and be a blast to play. I ran a game with two friends of mine who played petty heisters, two Irish brothers from Jefferson Heights (a neighbourhood in the game) with a penchant for hard drinking and heavy gambling. Their compulsions soon got them into a heap of trouble and they had to resort to holding up a Mob run card game to repay their debts, which created a whole new set of problems and some interesting plot lines. The two of them also went in for the good gangster vigilante slant to the game, which encourages and rewards player criminals for beating up child molesters and old lady purse snatchers with the respect of the community.

<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Dog Town has a cool vibe about it, some killer art, a great system and is serious fun to play for the price.

<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Not Much.

<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Thanks for the comment I'm really pleased that you are enjoying the game. Your idea of having a one page quickie rap sheet using the general skill bases is a cracking idea. I've created one and its now free for download along with some cool wallpapers on the company site www.coldbloodedgames.com. Jonathan Ridd Cold Blooded Games
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Dog Town: Core Rules
Publisher: Cold Blooded Games
by John K. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/12/2005 00:00:00

This is truly a unique and trendsetting game ? both from the standpoint of the setting and the comprehensive way in which the system is integrated with it. Dog Town won?t be for everyone, but if you like true roleplaying ? and the idea of a gritty, ultra-violent, ultra-realistic take on urban streetlife in the seventies - then this is for you.

Set on the streets of a fictional New York City ghetto of the seventies, the game, as the intro states, is inspired by movies like Scarface, SuperFly, Carlito?s Way, Goodfellas, Shaft, Death Wish, and Taxi Driver (and I would add the obvious Dog Day Afternoon and Midnight Cowboy), along with recent computer titles like Kingpin and Grand Theft Auto, and true-crime biographies like Murder Machine and Pimp. Don?t expect heroic fantasy, unkillable characters with superhuman abilities, or, in fact, your character to survive (or at least remain unmaimed) for very long. These characters, like their real-life counterparts, live day-to-day.

Reflecting the setting, there are ten basic character archetypes: the A**Hole [the language in the game is colorful, realistic, and adult], the Broker, the Dealer, the Heister, the Hustler, the Pimp, the Thug, the Thief, the Runner, and the Racketeer. (Characters can embody two archetypes.)

The real key to the game is the way the system models the genre. It?s not a rules-light system ? there are 10 attributes (with values ranging from -2 to 5, with 0 being average) and 10 derived attributes ? but it's not complex, and the attribues are all crucial to modeling the various physical and mental aspects (many combat- or at least confrontation?related) of a violent, street-smart character. Attributes are used to derive a target number between 1 and 20, resolved using a single 20-sided die roll.

The combat is ultra-realistic ? with essentially every hit being a critical that is described in excruciating anatomic detail by the charts for various types of attacks (Stab and Slash, Blunt Trauma, Chopping, Boxing, Street Fighting, Wrestling, and Karate). You?ve seen charts like these added on to fantasy games ? but here they are part and parcel of the setting. If your character takes a hit in a fight, you will know it, and he will have to live (if he?s lucky) with the effects of it.

The only reason I can?t give the game perfect marks across the board right now is because of the production shortcomings and the price ? which I think is a bit high for a pdf-published game. However, there is nothing else like this anywhere out there, so the money is well spent regardless. <br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Unique tone and perspective that really brings to life the setting and rejuvenates the roleplaying genre. Straightforward system that is completely integrated with the setting and style of play. Very comprehensive and well-interrelated rules that really bring the setting to life. PDF is bookmarked. Author already provided an update.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: No print-only version. Provided version is definitely not suitable for efficient printing (but pdf owners get a discount on the POD version). Much of the artwork is only so-so. Layout is pedestrian. No Index. System isn't difficult, but explanation is a bit abstruse at times. There is a very detailed map of Dog Town included (including building interiors), but it was done in a paint program and is rather garish and difficult to decipher.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
A belated thanks for the comment, I'm glad you liked the game. The book has now been re-edited and now includes several quick reference sheets for GM and player convenience. Jonathan Ridd Cold Blooded Games
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