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Dragon Warriors
Publisher: Serpent King Games
by William [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/13/2023 05:28:47

Upon running this, the feel of combat was very whiffy - attack rolls are often ineffectual, and armor being all or nothing... the option for critical hits is, IMO, something that shouldn't be optional. The PC "races" are fairly typical. The characters are largely competent in field. It's also fairly brutal to low level PCs. For a party of 4, only one player ended with the same character they started with... and the campaign ended in a TPK.
Having borrowed a friend's copies of the original edition, this is mostly a reorganization of the original, and application of existing errata. It's pretty, it's playable, it's combat is simple and brutal, and it's a distinct change of pace from both WFRP and D&D...



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Dragon Warriors
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Classic Traveller Facsimile Edition
Publisher: Game Designers' Workshop (GDW)
by William [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/16/2023 17:35:36

This is literally the 1981 boxed set 3 books in a single volume, plus the errata and clarifications since 1981. The original format was about 5.5×8.5 inches, while this one, when printed, is about 6×9 inches. There are margin markers for errata, and the errata is in the back. If one likes old school gaming, and sci-fi, this is where I started in September 1983. ¶ There is no included setting in the core rules, but some skeletal elements are present due to rules, most especially the world generation. The crew requirements for starships, the lack of Up-Or-Out in military service, the 6 included careers (Navy, Marine, Army, Scout, Merchant, and Other. (I've always read Other as essentially mobsters, drifters, and lowlife, due to the skills they can get).¶ The game has a strong "shotguns & starships" element, shared with IPs such as Firefly and Cowboy Bebop. Only two energy weapons are presented for personal combat: laser carbines and laser pistols. Information travels via ship between systems, and the FTL drive is a fixed duration for up to the drive rating's distance in parsecs.¶ There are rules for starship construction, operation, and combat. There are rules for small tramp freighter trade. There are rules to help you build encounter tables, and building critters for out-of-urban encounters. There are psionics rules, too - but PCs do not start with those abilities.¶ And, yes, in this edition, your character can die in character generation.¶ The POD quality is excellent, too. Just note: The book is white cover, not the usual CT Black.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Classic Traveller Facsimile Edition
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Savage Worlds Deluxe
Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment
by William H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/01/2023 20:18:48

I've owned a set of Savage Worlds since about 2007... I more recently got the Deluxe in some bundle...

I wonder now why I waited. There is a lot to like in the rules; that they're designed for both RPG play and for Tabletop Minis Wargame play means they're not super heavy. That said, they still allow for a good bit of tactical play.

Is it Fast? Moderately, but this is where it loses a little for me - the initiaitve does keep people tuned in, which is a nicety, but it's also got some handling time issues, especially for the first session.

Is it furious? Yeah. Fights don't drag on, especially when PCs have decent firearms... unless the Toughness is high. Then it can feel a bit whiffy... hits are easy, damage varies from easy to really hard...

Is it fun? For me? Sure is!

A month in, using Deluxe and Deadlands Reloaded (SWEX version), and it's easy to handle the NPCs if using figures or paper minis. (I"m using mini-meeples.) Combat is smooth, and while I've seen faster systems, they don't tend to hold the engagement as well.

Hopefully, it speeds up a bit with more experience. Of the multi-setting games I've tried, none felt right for pulp... and Savage Worlds does.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Savage Worlds Deluxe
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Adventures in Rokugan
Publisher: EDGE Studio
by William H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/23/2022 02:16:27

They tried real hard, but missed badly.

It has followed the blanding apprach of races getting no fixed stat bonuses, and mostly just special abilities

The classes are not consistent with the FFG (now Edge) L5R ones; clan schools now mostly require multi-classing.

It feels lazily designed, and more a money grab than a real try at porting Rokugan.

They even made artisans part of the spellcasters...

They left out the stalple campaing type: Magistrates.

Playable? probably. Worth playing? IMO



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
Adventures in Rokugan
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Warlock! Traitor's Edition
Publisher: Fire Ruby Designs
by William H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/18/2022 23:31:30

My first encounter with this game was references by people looking for the WFRP tone, but with simpler, easier rules. That made me curious.¶

So I bought it in PDF. This is a pre-play review - I've read the rules, but not yet played nor run it. Yet. That said...¶

  • Simpler? Absolutely.
  • Grimdark tone? Yes
  • Ratcatchers with a small but vicious dog? Yep, but worded differently.
  • Dangerous Magic? Yep
  • Characters going insane from combat wounds? Nope.
  • Characters suffering mutations from magic? only minor ones.
  • Characters suffering mutations from exposure to evil beasts? Not really.
  • No lasting damage until all HP are gone? Yes, but they're called Stamina here.¶

The core mechanic is a 1d20+Skill Rating >=20 succeeds. Modifiers may be applied by the GM. There are two attributes, and 32 skills, all of which have a rating. The attributes don't interact with the skills; one's "Stamina" - used as magic points and as hit points (a nice grimdark touch), the other is luck, whcih is a saving throw mechanic, but has limited uses. Advances are earned at GM determined milestones; each is a skill & stamina improvement; only skills in your current career can be raised. Very simple.¶

Given that any attack results in someone taking damage, and armor can only reduce damage to 1 point, not none, it's got a significant amount of "dangerous combat". The magic system has a high rate of mishaps - 1 in 20 castings. Combat overall is very clear, but not all in the same spot; only 4 actions are specified: Move, Melee Attack, Ranged Attack, and (in a different section) Cast a spell. ¶

One of the more novel elements: costs are randomized. There's a nice and short list of what to roll for the costs of various things.¶

Armor is very vague; only three mechanical categories. They're sensible, too. ¶

I like the skill driven mechanic, and that all skills have a score, and so a chance to be used.¶

Career Skills are a great idea, too. while in a given career, you gain a skill with the name of the career at the level of the lowest of the career's skills; when you exit that career, the score is fixed. So, anything that is within scope for a career, but not for its skills, has a default. ¶

Ok, so why only 4/5? I mean, it's clear that I like what I'm seeing... but...

  • This, despite being a revised edition, has some clarity issues. EG: It took me a bit of time to grasp that there is zero starting skill increase from career, only allowance for future advances.
  • Only 4 combat actions (and 1 of them not in the combat chapter)
  • Only one (combined) list of spells; a distinction between priestly and sorcerous magic is made, but the spells are interchangeable as written - steal a priest's scroll, and your wizard can cast it.
  • No Orks? WTF? (Especially since it has Goblins)
  • No direct rules for traits, despite requireing 3 of them per PC.
  • No sanity system. Grimdark is well served by sanity systems.¶

Those are all pretty minor. I do plan to bring this to table. I wonder how many of my negatives are fixed in the compendia...



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Warlock! Traitor's Edition
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Tunnels & Trolls 1st Edition reprint
Publisher: Flying Buffalo
by William H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/09/2021 03:05:16

This is a faithful reprint of the original edition of T&T, the one that broke out in 1975.

To be blunt, I prefer 5th and 5.5 to this edition. I got it to see how different it was from 5th, and it's not terribly so, but it's also got some very singificant differences. Rogues are slightly different. All saves are on Luck. The weapon list is shorter, and the weapon dice are slightly lower.

There's a good reason the game has lasted, and while this has most of that, it's not the 5th ed I love.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Tunnels & Trolls 1st Edition reprint
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Talisman Adventures Fantasy Roleplaying Game
Publisher: Pegasus Press
by William H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/17/2021 22:58:27

This is a delightful game! I've been running twice to thrice a month short (2 hour) sessions for 3½ months, my players' have hit 4th level, and we're having a wonderfully silly time. The game plays fast, plays well, and while tilted in players' favor, isn't obviously so.

The rulebook tone is fairly neutral, but will easily support both serious and humorous playstyles. Now, to be blunt, this is based upon a board game, and embraces the setting therein by making the map a direct morph from the boardgame. It's also a game related to Warhammer, so weapons are very samey... but that's not unrealistic. Yes, it's based upon Talisman: The Magical Quest Game. Don't let that make you turn away, tho', for it's a solid RPG where NPCs have Strength, Crafter, lifepoints, a Threat score, and some special abilities. The ebook is very pretty; there is some errata, but overall it's well written and fairly clear, with great and evocative art.

Key points about the system:

  1. D6 only - but you need either two sizes or two colors.
  2. Skill & Attribute driven mechanics
  3. Player Facing Mechanics - players make almost all the rolls
  4. 7 Ancestries (species), 3 backgrounds each
  5. 10 classes, each providing skills and abilitiees
  6. Robust NPC rules
  7. Simple enough for Theater of the Mind combat, but supports gridded play as well.
  8. Pretty good bestiary.
  9. Tone and art can support a range of tone
  10. Metacurrency: Fate Points. Used for rerolls and/or triggering special abilities, adding an extra die rolled, improving success to Great (but not exceptional)
  11. Weapons list simple
  12. As with Warhammer games, most weapons are pretty generic.
  13. a significant number of magic items, most with good and bad points.

The core mechanic is a 3d6 roll, using one of them being different in color or size, being called the kismet die. The fate die showing 6 gets you a bonus, showing a 1 a side effect or complication. You get to modify the roll by an aspect (comparable to attributes in other games) if you are skilled. The sum of the 3 dice (plus aspect if skilled, and situational modifiers, if any) is compared to the target number, for equal or greater than it. Quaflity of success is by tuples: a matched pair in the roll is a Great Success, and triple is an Extraordinary Success.

In combat, the quality of success matters heavily. Players go in any desired order, picking their opponents. If that opponent can attack back, they do so, and so the player's attack resolves the turn for both. Opponents who were not attacked go at end of round. NPCs don't roll to hit. If they're attacked, the player's success level on attacking determines if the NPC hits. If the NPC wasn't attacked, the player rolls a defense. This lends itself really well to Theater of the Mind play, while not being a problem at all for gridded play. (I've used both with no issues.) If the player fails, they take full damage; a simple success, they do full and take half; Great Success is take none and do full, and Exceptional Success is as Great, but with a bonus.

The various special abilities have 5 kinds of triggers... kismet die shows a 6, kismet die shows a 1, spend a fate point, always on, or a specific condition thematic for the ability.

Advantage: spending fate, having certain special abilities, or particular circumstances can grant a 4th die... the kismet die and 2 of the 3 others are read, player's choice. Sometimes, it's the highest, sometimes, it's the one that gives a tuple so that one can claim a better success.

Note that the key element of NPC's is the threat rating; that's essentially the target to hit them and the difficulty of avoiding their attacks; this makes adding new ones pretty straight forward. Pick a strength, a craft, a life point total, and a threat around 10+Strength or 10+Craft, and add some special abiliteies.

The rules provide robust handling for, and a long list of, NPCs as followers and as stangers. There are a good number of magic items, many of which are taken from the board game. The spells, likewise, will be familiar to the players of the board game.

Advancement is actually a bit quicker than I expected, with our two hour sessions generating 2-4 XP, and the few 4 hour ones being 4-7 XP. Leveling up costs 6+current level XP be spent. Extra XP can be spent on followers. Treat your followers well, or they can and will go away. They also get XP for coming into use in the session.

My group opted for silly; I could easily run this on serious fantasy mode, but if youo want to slow down just adjust the needed XP.

Bottom Line: Solid game, fun take on the setting, well executed.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Talisman Adventures Fantasy Roleplaying Game
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ALBEDO: PLATINUM CATALYST + STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY [Legacy]
Publisher: Sanguine Productions
by William H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/29/2019 03:45:41
Disclaimer:

I'm a fan of the setting and of the other Albedo game... so my expectations are built around that.

The Sanguine Game

The system is largely the same as the other games by Sanguine. They use skill driven rolls, multiple sets of standard polyhedrals needed, and attributes as a pool of bonuses. Their unusual mechanics make this game a hard sell for many on a mechanical basis. They do have a good variety of types, and some others can be ported in from the other games.

The Sanguine Approach to the Setting

Sanguine chose to take an "Active Duty EDF Officer" approach, and an "Active Wartime" approach. This is somewhat different than the prior game, and not quite the take most players I have managed to get to play in the setting liked. That said, it's not a totally wild hair, either - the cold war in the comics between the EDF and the ILR was bound to boil over again, and that's where they took it. There is no support for civilian PC's, but it's not hard to add it. The game is focused on small unit military actions, most likely against the ILR. (Independent Lapine Republic - yes, Rabbits are the bad-guys.) It's well suited for such games, and reads very much like a minitures combat ruleset. The lack of space ship rules is also a problem - I was hoping there would be ship rules, but there are not, unlike the older game; the main characters in the comics are space forces officers...

The PDF itself

The PDF version is the full text of both books, in what looks to be OEF for the core, and scanned and OCR for the second. There are no bookmarks, no covers, and no hotlinking. Usable, searchable, but not to the standard I've come to expect from the industry. Further, it's a single PDF of both volumes, not a bundle.

The price

Given that the Magenta game is essentially the same mechanics , with Mr. Gallachi's IP removed, and is "Pay what you want," $15 seems a bit steep. Value for money? iffy.

Update 2019

I noticed recently that the PDF was updated last year. The issue with the poor scan of Structural Integrity has been remedied, but it's still not bookmarked. The cover scan allows for having it printed by OBS, so dead tree is now available. I am disappointed that they didn't add bookmarks at least for the chapter level.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
ALBEDO: PLATINUM CATALYST + STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY [Legacy]
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Land of OG
Publisher: Ulisses Spiele
by William H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/23/2019 00:16:38

The concept is great. Roleplay cavemen in a prehistory that never was.

The art is thematic and well suited to the game. Some of it is clearly part of the parody element... The Healthy Caveman Class is illustrated with a drawing that is evocative of Richard Simmons in his prime. (Kids, look him up.)

The original layout is nicely done, with a "small press, late 90's to early 2000's" feel, but a few minor issues with not makeing clear section vs subsection header text (subsection header is in the 1st paragraph of the subsection; section header is a line to itself).

The mechanics are the parody element... The rules are playable, they are intelligible, but they seem to be very much OSR-style Early D&D adapted. It is a delightful read, even if one doesn't play it. GIven the mechanics, if one likes Early D&D type mechanics,

The mechanics use 6 attributes, on a 1-18 scale, with 1d6 per attribute, and a second die for your class' prime attribute. Attributes are Strength, Brains, Speed, Banging, Health, Grunting. Classes are Strong, Smart, Fast, Banging, Healthy, and Grunting. There's a 9 point "Attitude" parody of AD&D alignment. Each attribute has several scores, each class has several scores. These interact to provide various resolutions. They are simple, easily understood, but given the 20 statistics, this seems a bit overtaken.

The Big Thematic Rule is that players may only use words off the word list when playing. And not even all of them. There's a small oversight here, in that the characters can only understand those words they know, but since the words known by others will be used, the player has to remember to ignore words they don't know. Still, this restriction makes the game.

Combat is done using d6's, roll low. Attacker gets attack dice from attributes and weapon, loses some for target's defense (from attributes and gear), keeping at least 1 no matter how high the defense, and rolls for hit numbers per die based upon class and level of attacker. Each success is 1 point of damage.

The PDF layout is letter-sized landscape with the original's digest (half-letter) portrait putting two facing pages on one sheet-side... a suboptimal choice. It not only makes printing it into a booklet near impossible, but also makes readability on phones, typical 4-7" e-Ink readers, and small tablets. It's fine on a laptop screen, but any good PDF reader (even before 2004, when I originally got this PDF) could display 2 digest pages at a time and could do booklet printing or 2-up printing.

For many years, I've avoided writing this review... in part, because I love the concept (having written a game about similar subject matter in a far more serious tone), and in part because I didn't want to be harsh on what was clearly meant to be fun. Truth is, I find the concept great, but the rules suboptimal for my range of enjoyed playstyles.

Around 2008, I got the Og: Unearthed edition. It is mechanically almost entirely different... cleaner, simpler... but retains the word list. In all fairness, if one likes Old-School mechanics, this will work; if one wants more focused storygame type simpler mechanics, go for Unearthed, instead.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Land of OG
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Consent in Gaming
Publisher: Monte Cook Games
by William H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/16/2019 03:43:58

This product makes several assumptions explicit that are toxic to good communication of what is and is not in bounds; it becomes garbage the moment it states,

  • It doesn’t matter why consent wasn’t given.
  • Nobody has to explain why they’re not consenting.
  • There may not be a reason why they’re not consenting.

At that point, it's setting people up for things sliding into areas that are tangential but adjacent to the things off limits.

For example, if I mark real world religion, but don't explain why, it's entirely possible that a fantasy parody that the GM doesn't realize is parodying a real world religion is in fact even MORE offensive to me.

Consent, or non-consent, is not a matter for non-discussion; why someone isn't consenting is important, because, unlike the sexual fetish scene, which this seems liberally plagiarized from, the triggers are not black-and-white, and it's very easy to cross lines unintentionally, while this advises as if it is.



Rating:
[1 of 5 Stars!]
Consent in Gaming
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Sword & Planet
Publisher: Raphael Lima
by William H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/10/2018 02:06:29

The rules system needs examples of character gen and the task modes (Knowledge, knowledge in career, advantage, disadvantage), and needs more setting generation to be worth while. The one setting table (arrival via) is a good start, and adding enough additional tables to provide a good hook with at least three components, for example, type of world, type of and number of primary cultures, and primary conflict type would round it out to a useful tool for those quick and casual - by giving a little bit more, it makes it easier to grab the game and go. There is promise, but as it is, it's not enough to be inspirational, and the mechanics math is workable, but not to my taste.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
Sword & Planet
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The One Ring - Journeys and Maps
Publisher: Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd.
by William H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/13/2016 19:07:49

The product is, primarily about the maps. The maps, however, are at 1/8th the usual-for-Cubicle7 linear resolution, making half the product of VERY limited utility. The pixelation was noticeable at 100% view in acrobat, unlike other products in the line. Worse, this was an intentional crippling by the company, so as "to prevent competition" with the hardcopy product... (according to Jon Hodgeson, of C7.) In short, the text isn't worth $14.95 even dead tree, and the maps are almost worthless at the included resolution. Being a PDF-Only purchaser, my advice to others like me: Don't. You can find better resolution unofficial maps done by fans already online. (Comparing the 200% view with other products in the line, I had to hit 1600% to get similar pixelation.)



Rating:
[1 of 5 Stars!]
The One Ring - Journeys and Maps
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Creator Reply:
From the product description: \"These PDF maps are intended for reference on your computer or e-reading device of choice. They are not intended for home printing - these maps are available in print as part of the Journeys and Map print edition.\" Here is the response to your complaint about the maps resolution from our forums: \"The resolution of the maps in the PDF edition of Journeys and Maps was a deliberate decision, and we flag it up on the Drivethru/RPGnow page. Which of course you may not have read if you got the PDFs free as part of a pre-order. Where maps appear as supporting material in other supplements - take for example Rivendell - we have endeavoured to make them as high resolution as we can. Supplying those at pretty much any size won\'t compete with sales of the physical supplement. Because the maps in Journeys and Maps form a majority component of the supplement, we have scaled the PDF versions for on-screen usage. And they work very well for that purpose. However they aren\'t suited to commercial third-party printing. We\'ll be completely transparent - we want you to buy the physical maps from us, rather than us providing material that copy shops can profit from. If there is a demonstrable problem using screen-resolution maps as part of the PDF product we\'ll certainly look into addressing it.\" If the maps included in this set don\'t meet suitable standards for on-screen use we will happily replace the files with larger versions.
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T2000 v1 Twilight: 2000
Publisher: Game Designers' Workshop (GDW)
by William H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/07/2014 02:08:00

1st Ed T2K - a wonderful, if a bit convoluted, character generation. It provides a bit of backstory (tho' less than Traveller), and gives percentile skills, and provide the appropriate competencies. I originally got this in dead tree back in 1984... and I loved it. It had some convoluted rules for armor and gunfire interaction, but it gave a real feel for the combats. And it made combat undesirable yet fun. The art is mostly pencils derived from army stock photos, and the gear is pretty much bog-standard 1980's issue. (They got the early 90's gear dead on - but by 2000, it was well outdated.) The setting makes a great "what if", but many of the assumptions are now quite wrong. Game needs 4d6 and 2d10. Note that mechanically, this is a precursor to the later GDW House System, but is not part of that system. If you ignore the background, this game can be used for any mid 90's US Army actions one cares to play, and with some careful attention, back to the 'Nam war.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
T2000 v1  Twilight: 2000
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Cat (Revised & Expanded)
Publisher: John Wick Presents
by William H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/24/2011 21:11:09

Revised? Expanded? Uhm... only kinda. It's not really all that revised (several obvious typos survived), and the expansions are recovery of magic points, how to run it for kids, and some advice on setting it in other settings. The new layout is not as good as the old (but the fancy font is more relevant, and less used), has almost exclusively silhouette art that gives LESS sense of the theme, and does not even answer questions that have been raised over the years. The examples are no longer readily set off, there's a sidebar of good info that got lost, and in general, 1E looks better (but required me doing brutality inside the file to make it print as a booklet), and given only one short paragraph of rules difference... Recommend: Pass. The only GOOD point is the inclusion of an ePup.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
Cat (Revised & Expanded)
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CT-G03a Azhanti High Lightning Original Draft Drawing
Publisher: Far Future Enterprises - Traveller
by William H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/30/2011 03:32:46

A really cool freebie, the original sketches from which the later deck plans were done. Not useful in game, but a wonderful peek at the process behind the game.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
CT-G03a Azhanti High Lightning Original Draft Drawing
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