Some new reviews from various products I have picked up lately. Mostly horror, but also some others I have used recently. All really fun.
Fear and Faith Horror Rules
A great little miniature skirmish game. The rules are fast, simple and easy to learn on the fly.
Some situations tend to work better than others, such as an attacking zombie horde or a bunch of vampires in a grave yard, but all in all I like it.
I actually plan to try it out in conjunction with other Horror RPGs and see how well they mesh. They game was not designed specifically to do this, but it certainly can be easily adapted to this.
And even to make it perfect there is a list of links of where to get some quality horror minis.
5 out of 5 stars
Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium
Here is my basic problem with Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium.
Why haven't I heard more about it? It is an extremely easy, almost light, game for all sorts of horror. The execution is extremely well thought out and has such an indie charm to it I am a little confused as to why I haven't heard more about it.
Let me go over the book a bit.
The Art and Layout. The art is a mixed batch of photo art, line art and a mix. Instead of looking chaotic it comes together as a whole. It reminds me a bit of the various "investigator notebooks" style layouts that are popular in modern horror games today, only no where near as cluttered. The layout is clean, neat and easy to read. In fact the near "sterileness" only adds to the horror feel to be honest.
Characters. The best part. The characters of Dread are damaged goods. In this respect I am reminded of Kult or other games where the characters start out already in deep trouble. In many ways the characters of Dread are like that of The Matrix. Outside humanity, but fighting for it. It is the extensional fight of WoD or Kult, with the actual fights of Armageddon and the chance of survival of Call of Cthulhu.
Characters do not have a lot of stats. Again this game is light, but there is more than enough here and really the focus of this game is more what you do and not how hard you hit it (though that is pretty important sometimes).
The magic system is likewise as light, but it is not lacking in spells. The guide lines are also pretty simple that making new ones is easy.
Between Magic and Combat is appropriately Exorcisms. I can't recall a game that devoted an entire chapter to this before. Another plus in it's favor.
Combat is also designed to be simple. Interestingly enough you roll to attack and to defend.
A section on role-playing and a quick start round out the first half of the book. The rest is for Directors only.
There are rules sections (not much) but then what follows is a true gem. Page after page of new, completely original demons. Nothing cribbed from the Monster Manual or some moldy document from the Church. Demons, their habits and how to take them down. Honestly worth it for this alone.
The book finishes off with some sample scenarios.
All in all a great game. I can't wait to try it out with a group that would really appreciate it.
Don't get this game if you like a lot of rules or crunch or want to have a number next everything your character can (or can't) do.
Don't get this game if pick up a horror game only to play it like "XXXX" tv show, book or movie. Dread is it's own thing.
Do get it if you like a fast moving game. Do get it is you have tried every other horror game out there and want something new. Do get it if you just want to try something new.
5 out of 5 stars
Devilish Duos: Smoke and Mirrors
Icons
Mutants & Masterminds 3rd Ed
I love well worked up characters for supers games. I love supernatural characters. And I love products that have appeal across games. While this is an Icons product, I see there are M&M versions out as well. That beign said the value here is in the character write-ups and those can be used anywhere.
Smoke and Mirrors are two such characters. Though I have to think it was just a quirk of chance that made them as they are and but a change in the same fates could have made them...well not good, but certainly not villains, though Smoke could have been had she been allowed to live her life. And that is the key here. Not that these are well stated out or the art is good (true on both counts) or even that there nice little paper minis to use (there is and they are a nice touch) but that they are characters I would want to get to know to use.
Actually I want to use them in a horror game. There they would shine.
The Mutants and Masterminds version includes Hero Builder files.
5 out of 5 stars
Toy War
Have kids? Do they love to play with anything from stuffed animals to toy robots or action figures?
Do want to introduce them to the world of RPGs? Well then this might just be the perfect game.
Well, not perfect, but really, really, really good.
Toy War takes so very simple rules (and also teaches kids how to use a ruler) to bring their favorite toys to life. Each toy has a purpose and something it does well. In one session we brought in a baby harp seal (was cute), a toy Dalek (can shoot), a space ship and some D&D dragons. We came up with this idea to rescue some fish and we were off. The adventure is fast and fun. In the end we saved the fish, only to have them eaten by the baby seal.
Depending on your kids this could be a game of structured make believe or even an on-going saga. Or it can be a great diversion for a rain or snowy afternoon.
Worth every penny and then some.
5 out of 5 stars
Supernatural Adventures
Five adventures for Supernatural.
They are actually set up well enough that they could be used with just about any Modern Horror game, but they do have the feel of the show. Not perfect adventures mind you, but certainly well written. My favorite is "Hell Hound on My Trail" since it can be slotted into any ongoing arc with plenty of room to expand it for future use.
"Synchronicity" is good as well and might be my favorite in terms of how it was written.
4 out of 5 stars
BASH! Ultimate Edition
BASH! is a fantastic little game of Super Heroes. Instead of a huge book of powers or effects, BASH instead focuses on "What do you want to do?" and "What kind of hero are you?", Simple, but powerful questions.
The game achieves the near miraculous feat of being simple to use and learn and yet powerful enough to keep you interested and coming back to the game.
The mechanic is kind of an odd one with multipliers (but I think it works for supers) and exploding doubles on 2d6, which I admit I like. It also has a cool FASRIP-looking chart for die results, so it gives it an old school feel (something all old school supers games had were charts, lots of them!). I like that the main Abilities have been reduced to just three; reminiscent of Tri-Stat, but these a Brawn, Agility Mind (BAM!), which appeals to me. Everything after that are skills and powers.
It has it's legions of fans and I can see why.
BASH is a nice alternative to M&M or Icons, both very fine games, but BASH is easier to get going in. Yes, even compared to Icons.
In addition to all of that BASH has a great power leveling system to play everything from Street Level Mystery Men to Cosmic "New Gods".
It's not perfect. BUT just like like the comics would sometimes have huge cross-over events, so can games. If you are happy with your current Supers RPG, great, but maybe the characters fall into a wormhole-spacetimebridge-cosmicsink and end up in a BASH universe. At under 10 bucks it is totally worth it.
I have a quibble with the "Bruce Timm" inspired-art. I am not really sure how they got away with that.
Now mind you, I like the art. I like Supers games to looks like comics or supers cartoons, but this seems a bit odd to me.
No matter. Bottom line. Great game. Great fun. Great Respons...er sorry, Great Price.
If you like supers games then get this.
5 out of 5 stars
Twilight 2000
Twilight 2000 was always one of those classic games of my post-D&D youth. Back then I grabbed anything that wasn't D&D. TW2k was fun, but not a game I ever got into for any length of time.
In today's eyes it seems a bit dated and even maybe a little silly, but this was a big deal in the 80's.
What I like though is using this game as a precursor to the GDW Traveller books of around the same time. Then this game improves in my mind as a link to the Traveller universe. Sure it was not really designed that way when Traveller first came out, but it certainly was the assumption I got.
The game though is still a classic and maybe one day I'll give it a go again. Or maybe as part of a larger Traveller campaign.
4 out of 5 stars
Forbidden Kingdoms: Modern
Forbidden Kingdoms: Modern is a slimmer version of the full FK book. This one uses the D20 Modern rules to cover the heavy lifting and leaves the rest of the book to focus on what is just Forbidden Kingdoms.
The Pulp Era is not one I spend a lot of time playing in, but it certainly tailor made for adventures. You have many of the advantages of a modern society and still have large areas of land that mysterious, unknown and ready for imagination.
Forbidden Kingdoms (any version) is actually one of my more favorite Pulp era games. It is also the game that helped me see the value of D20 Modern.
The background information covers the end of the Victorian age till WWII and has a great overview of history. Not perfect of course, but perfect for a game.
If you like the Pulp era or any of the books that came out then, then this is a great game to have. I am using it for the history sections and the adventure hooks alone.
4 out of 5 stars
Dweomercraft: Lich
Liches are the ultimate bad guy in D&D. All the liches we know, we know by name. Dweomercraft: Lich helps you create those monsters and make them into some more; villains.
At 106 pages (plus additional maps and files) this book is filled with everything you would suspect. There is a chapter on what a Lich is and how to create them. There are discussions on how the different races approach lichdom. Lots of lich-related knowledge is also presented with appropriate DCs. There are plenty of new skills, feats, spells and monsters. Additionally we have undead familiars; for undead wizards natch, and Lich prestige classes. Sure to scare your characters to death.
Most importantly there are Lich NPCs. Something that no book should be without.
I can't help but to compare favorably to the old "Blueprint for a Lich" Dragon article. It would mesh nicely with this book. I also comapre it to the old Mayfair "Lichlords", which this present book is better.
A properly played Lich should be able to stand up to an entire party of characters.
A properly played Lich out of this book should be able to wipe them out.
4 out of 5 stars
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Ghosts of Albion Character sheets
I have been wanting to get this out to you all for some time.
Here is a character sheet you can use for Ghosts of Albion
Get these now and happy adventuring!
Here is a character sheet you can use for Ghosts of Albion
- Eden's Site (just scroll down)
- My Dropbox site
Get these now and happy adventuring!
Noble Knight Games
I am pleased to announce that I have set up the Other Side as an affiliate site to Noble Knight Games.
I don't put up ads here on the Other Side and I have no intention to do so. But Noble Knight has been a very good shop for me in the past (read one such story here) and have been a great source of rare, out of print games.
So by clicking on the link I get a small percentage of the sale. Like an advertising commission. I set up my account for store credit only since I figure anything that this blog generates for me should go back into it. That is, if you buy a game then I should also buy games to review. Since a lot of you are coming here to hear about old games, I figure I should at the very least give you reviews of some of the older books and the means then to find them.
My hope is that this will not interfere with your enjoyment of this blog.
Like with my affiliation with DriveThurRPG and RPGNow I hope to be able to pass on deals to you all.
So by clicking on the link I get a small percentage of the sale. Like an advertising commission. I set up my account for store credit only since I figure anything that this blog generates for me should go back into it. That is, if you buy a game then I should also buy games to review. Since a lot of you are coming here to hear about old games, I figure I should at the very least give you reviews of some of the older books and the means then to find them.
My hope is that this will not interfere with your enjoyment of this blog.
Like with my affiliation with DriveThurRPG and RPGNow I hope to be able to pass on deals to you all.
White Dwarf Wednesday Issue 5
Here we are again for our mid-week delve into the past with White Dwarf. Today I want to discuss issue #5 which came out Feb/March 1978.
Our editorial is another feature ripped from today's blogs, if that is Ian Livingstone had figured out how to read the blogs 30 years before they were published. The editorial deals with the issues of copyrights and how one can play a game in someone else's worlds. He mention Star Wars specifically (ok so he didn't see the future where you can play "D&D Star Wars" thanks to the d20 System), but also the Tolkien estate and TSR's short lived "Battle of the Five Armies" game. Granted the point of view at this time is "hopefully one day we can play in those worlds" which we ended up being able to do. Today the cry is more "this should be in the public domain". An argument for a later post I think.
Lew Pulsipher gives us a nice review of FGU's new game "Chivalry & Sorcery". Actually it is part review, part play report and part advertising to be honest. I am not faulting him on this, on the contrary, I am rather enjoying the open fondness everyone had for the games back then. He likes this game and wants you to try it.
We are treated to a 2-page review/overview of Der Kriegspielers ("The War Gamers") new line 25mm minis. These mins have a strong Middle-Earth feel for them (they had not read the Editorial yet it seems).
More monsters from Don Turnbull in Monsters Mild and Malign. The presentation of the information has not improved any here. The monsters are detailed in the article with their stats inserted where needed. Among the monsters we get this time are the Fuzzy and Steely which actually come from an article from The Dungeoneer about Beholder-like creatures. We have modern monsters like the Gremlin and Cyborg. The Bogy is an interesting beast (and pictured) as something like a three-armed satyr that might be related to the Type III Demon. That one deserves to be worked up a bit more I think. A bunch of other creatures are also mentioned including Imps of various sizes (and Monstermark ratings) and a crawling hand. Of note though is the final entry which mentions that a new feature will be coming with the next issue, The Fiend Factory.
Don Turnbull returns with more on D&D Campaigns where he discusses Alignment, Magic, Treasure and whether or not Players should play more than one Character. Each one of these is interesting in their own right and most of all how none of these have stopped being a point of conversation among D&D players. I think it would be good for the playtesters and authors of D&D.Next to re-read some of these old articles.
Open Box gives us new reviews. Three book from a company named "Little Soldier" are reviewed; Book of Monsters, Book of Demons and Book of Sorcery. Book of Monsters has 100 new monsters, mostly from myth and legend with some "near D&D" like stats. Book of Demons is similar, but also includes the magic and magicians used to deal with these creatures. The Book of Sorcery includes spell fumble rules and more magic items. While the reviewer (Pulsipher) does not care for them (no rating is given) I can't help now but to want them and try to find them! (ETA: I found them!). We also have a review of War of the Ring from FGU which only gets 5/10. Chaosium's (still called "The Chaosium" at this point) "All The World's Monsters" is reviewed. Described as a 110+ page book of 265 monsters for D&D and fantasy RPGs. It was printed on thick stock and featured 3-ring punching long before this was a common feature for some games. There are a lot of good features to this book, but the reviewer (Again Don Turnbull) found it a little lacking, giving it 5 out of 10 and saying that quality was sacrificed for quantity.
A review of Games Day III (Dec 17, 1978) follows. An article on how to get food and water on the Starship Warden for MA.
The news section informs us of the release of the D&D Basic box and that the AD&D Monster Manual is next. Followed soon by the AD&D Player's Handbook and the "AD&D Referee's Guide".
The first comic for White Dwarf is featured. A full page comic called Kalgar.
Treasure Chest gives us some neat magic items. The Rainbow Sword for charming (based on an item in the Led Zeppelin movie The Song Remains the Same) and two waters, the Waters of Beguilement and the Waters of Enchantment.
The "Asbury System" of awarding experience points based on PC level is presented by Brian Asbury. It reminds me of the charts in the 3.x DMG of awarding experience to characters based on CR. The only thing this is missing is a way to tie it in to Monstermark.
Letters continues with more Monstermark clarifications and how to separate player interaction from character interaction.
One gets the feel here that White Dwarf is becoming something more now. Gone are the silly classes and weapons. The art is taking a notch up and the regular features are in getting into place. It comapres well to others of it's kind at the time, but I feel the writing is getting better, the analysis is more in-depth. At one year old WD is getting ready to be the fantastic RPG magazine I knew it to be.
Want to read more of this issue? Get it from Noble Knight Games. White Dwarf #5.
Our editorial is another feature ripped from today's blogs, if that is Ian Livingstone had figured out how to read the blogs 30 years before they were published. The editorial deals with the issues of copyrights and how one can play a game in someone else's worlds. He mention Star Wars specifically (ok so he didn't see the future where you can play "D&D Star Wars" thanks to the d20 System), but also the Tolkien estate and TSR's short lived "Battle of the Five Armies" game. Granted the point of view at this time is "hopefully one day we can play in those worlds" which we ended up being able to do. Today the cry is more "this should be in the public domain". An argument for a later post I think.
Lew Pulsipher gives us a nice review of FGU's new game "Chivalry & Sorcery". Actually it is part review, part play report and part advertising to be honest. I am not faulting him on this, on the contrary, I am rather enjoying the open fondness everyone had for the games back then. He likes this game and wants you to try it.
We are treated to a 2-page review/overview of Der Kriegspielers ("The War Gamers") new line 25mm minis. These mins have a strong Middle-Earth feel for them (they had not read the Editorial yet it seems).
More monsters from Don Turnbull in Monsters Mild and Malign. The presentation of the information has not improved any here. The monsters are detailed in the article with their stats inserted where needed. Among the monsters we get this time are the Fuzzy and Steely which actually come from an article from The Dungeoneer about Beholder-like creatures. We have modern monsters like the Gremlin and Cyborg. The Bogy is an interesting beast (and pictured) as something like a three-armed satyr that might be related to the Type III Demon. That one deserves to be worked up a bit more I think. A bunch of other creatures are also mentioned including Imps of various sizes (and Monstermark ratings) and a crawling hand. Of note though is the final entry which mentions that a new feature will be coming with the next issue, The Fiend Factory.
Don Turnbull returns with more on D&D Campaigns where he discusses Alignment, Magic, Treasure and whether or not Players should play more than one Character. Each one of these is interesting in their own right and most of all how none of these have stopped being a point of conversation among D&D players. I think it would be good for the playtesters and authors of D&D.Next to re-read some of these old articles.
Open Box gives us new reviews. Three book from a company named "Little Soldier" are reviewed; Book of Monsters, Book of Demons and Book of Sorcery. Book of Monsters has 100 new monsters, mostly from myth and legend with some "near D&D" like stats. Book of Demons is similar, but also includes the magic and magicians used to deal with these creatures. The Book of Sorcery includes spell fumble rules and more magic items. While the reviewer (Pulsipher) does not care for them (no rating is given) I can't help now but to want them and try to find them! (ETA: I found them!). We also have a review of War of the Ring from FGU which only gets 5/10. Chaosium's (still called "The Chaosium" at this point) "All The World's Monsters" is reviewed. Described as a 110+ page book of 265 monsters for D&D and fantasy RPGs. It was printed on thick stock and featured 3-ring punching long before this was a common feature for some games. There are a lot of good features to this book, but the reviewer (Again Don Turnbull) found it a little lacking, giving it 5 out of 10 and saying that quality was sacrificed for quantity.
A review of Games Day III (Dec 17, 1978) follows. An article on how to get food and water on the Starship Warden for MA.
The news section informs us of the release of the D&D Basic box and that the AD&D Monster Manual is next. Followed soon by the AD&D Player's Handbook and the "AD&D Referee's Guide".
The first comic for White Dwarf is featured. A full page comic called Kalgar.
Treasure Chest gives us some neat magic items. The Rainbow Sword for charming (based on an item in the Led Zeppelin movie The Song Remains the Same) and two waters, the Waters of Beguilement and the Waters of Enchantment.
The "Asbury System" of awarding experience points based on PC level is presented by Brian Asbury. It reminds me of the charts in the 3.x DMG of awarding experience to characters based on CR. The only thing this is missing is a way to tie it in to Monstermark.
Letters continues with more Monstermark clarifications and how to separate player interaction from character interaction.
One gets the feel here that White Dwarf is becoming something more now. Gone are the silly classes and weapons. The art is taking a notch up and the regular features are in getting into place. It comapres well to others of it's kind at the time, but I feel the writing is getting better, the analysis is more in-depth. At one year old WD is getting ready to be the fantastic RPG magazine I knew it to be.
Want to read more of this issue? Get it from Noble Knight Games. White Dwarf #5.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Have a cookie
I swear I need to stop reading message boards.
Let me ask you.
If a company produces a product you don't like, let's say a type of cookie, and then they come out with a new cookie that they are very excited an happy about. You don't care cause you only eat home made cookies or maybe you don't like cookies at all, maybe you like cake. But I don't like cake. I like cookies.
So in the end does it really matter what the company does? You can eat your home made cookies or your cake or nothing and I can enjoy my cookies how ever I get them. Right?
Ok now substitute "Cookies" for any game of your choice.
Now can you see why I have a headache?
Ugh.
By the way please buy my new cookies. They are shaped liked ghosts but taste like English Shortbread.
;)
Let me ask you.
If a company produces a product you don't like, let's say a type of cookie, and then they come out with a new cookie that they are very excited an happy about. You don't care cause you only eat home made cookies or maybe you don't like cookies at all, maybe you like cake. But I don't like cake. I like cookies.
So in the end does it really matter what the company does? You can eat your home made cookies or your cake or nothing and I can enjoy my cookies how ever I get them. Right?
Ok now substitute "Cookies" for any game of your choice.
Now can you see why I have a headache?
Ugh.
By the way please buy my new cookies. They are shaped liked ghosts but taste like English Shortbread.
;)
Monday, February 6, 2012
More updates
Not much going on today for a blog post. Just a bunch of random updates.
Digital Orc is trying to organize an Old-School/Grognard blogger meet-up.
His site has a sign-up sheet.
http://www.digitalorc.blogspot.com/
Tim Knight of "I Rather Be Killing Monsters" has posted about About.Me a social media link tool with free business cards. Here are our links, Tim Knight and mine.
Ever wonder what would happen in an alternate world if Tara and Warren got together and instead of him killing her, they got pregnant and had the Anti-Christ? Of course you have. And the answer lies in Amber Benson and Adam Busch's indie movie, Reverse Parthenogenesis.
http://io9.com/5881586/buffys-tara-and-warren-are-finally-having-an-evil-baby-together
Ok, well not really Tara and Warren. But (then) real life couple Amber and Adam.
This should be pretty funny. A lot of people don't know this but Adam Busch (whom I have never heard anyone say or have a bad word about) is pretty damn funny.
Hopefully a real post soon. Kinda in a haze right now.
Digital Orc is trying to organize an Old-School/Grognard blogger meet-up.
His site has a sign-up sheet.
http://www.digitalorc.blogspot.com/
Tim Knight of "I Rather Be Killing Monsters" has posted about About.Me a social media link tool with free business cards. Here are our links, Tim Knight and mine.
Ever wonder what would happen in an alternate world if Tara and Warren got together and instead of him killing her, they got pregnant and had the Anti-Christ? Of course you have. And the answer lies in Amber Benson and Adam Busch's indie movie, Reverse Parthenogenesis.
http://io9.com/5881586/buffys-tara-and-warren-are-finally-having-an-evil-baby-together
Ok, well not really Tara and Warren. But (then) real life couple Amber and Adam.
This should be pretty funny. A lot of people don't know this but Adam Busch (whom I have never heard anyone say or have a bad word about) is pretty damn funny.
Hopefully a real post soon. Kinda in a haze right now.
Gen Con updates
Gen Con badges bought.
Hotel booked. More expensive than last year, but not undo-able.
The big issue this year is my Ghosts of Albion game.
As in I am not going to be running any.
I might do a pick up game, that I would announce here.
It basically boils down to me not having enough time to work out a new adventure. That and my kids are older and they want to play in more games with their dad.
So this year I am looking forward to playing more and trying out a bunch of new games.
Hotel booked. More expensive than last year, but not undo-able.
The big issue this year is my Ghosts of Albion game.
As in I am not going to be running any.
I might do a pick up game, that I would announce here.
It basically boils down to me not having enough time to work out a new adventure. That and my kids are older and they want to play in more games with their dad.
So this year I am looking forward to playing more and trying out a bunch of new games.
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