How awesome is this?
http://www.theweem.com/2012/02/01/caves-of-chaos-reimagined-by-weem/
HiRes, and otherwise just plain cool maps of the Caves of Chaos.
I am planning on printing these out as soon as I can cause you jest never know when you are going to get that itch to go back to the Keep.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
With Extra Pulp
One genre I enjoy, but never really play much with, is the Pulp era. Now I love the horror that comes from this time, and I watched a lot of movies filmed in and about this time. So I do have a fondness for it. But if I am going to pick up a historical game it will be either the Dark Ages, or the Victorian Age. I tend to overlook the pulps.
I am much the lesser for it I think.
There is something about the pulp era that screams (yes screams is the right word) Adventure! Suspense! Action! Thrills! all with exclamation points too.
Here are some games I have been exploring over the last few years. I have more, but this is a good batch.
THRILLING TALES: Omnibus Edition
I will admit that the Pulp Era is not one I seek out to either read or play games in. I see the appeal and every interaction I have had with the material has been a positive one. Thrilling Tales then is no exception, except for the fact I might actually seek out to play this one more often.
Physically this book is very nice. The layout is clean and easy to read. The art is very evocative of the time and my first thought was the old Universal movies from the same time frame (and movie still from the serials was really nice). That is a very good thing in my mind.
I loved the time line of the 30s.
The game is designed with d20 Modern in mind and I think it is a very good fit. I love the minor changes like renaming the core classes to something more "Pulpy" and addition of the Seduction skill, something I pushed for in other games.
There are a bunch of new advanced classes appropriate to the era. If you have ever seen a movie, serial or read a book from this era then the cast will look very familiar.
The section on weapons and gear is great, and perfect for any pulp-era game, not just a TT one or even just a d20 one. What I liked most about it is it is full photos and illustrations.
This is followed by sections on how to run a Pulp game and a wonderful section on Villains. Again the villains section is great for any game in this era or even a supers game in any era. Besides any game with a Nazi Vampire cult leader as a villain is an instant win in my book!
Speaking of which, all of chapter 8 is devoted to the only human enemy everyone can openly hate and kill without moral repercussions; the Nazis. Not so much a history of the Nazi, but a a history of the Nazi-as-a-boogeyman; the all-Enemy.
The Thugee likewise get a chapter, but I am sure this is due 100% to Temple of Doom.
The book ends with a Random Adventure generator. Which is 100% appropriate to this sort of adventure era. Watch the old serials, it sometimes looks like they were rolling on a similar table while writing the scripts. A bit of tweaking and this could work for any era. Replace Nazi with "Drow" or "Soviets" or "Dark Cabal" and you get the idea.
All in all this is a great game and one that makes me want to play some two fisted pulp adventures!
Forbidden Kingdoms is one of the first d20 Pulp games I ever owned. In many ways it is the yardstick I compare other pulp games to. Sure I had Call of Cthulhu, which is sorta a pulp game, but it is more "Call of Cthulhu" and it's own thing than it is a pulp anymore. Forbidden Kingdoms (either 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.
Forbidden Kingdoms: Babbage Edition
FK is a great pulp-era game based around d20. It was very different than anything else out at the time and just a really fun read. The art is great and the game rules are a solid re-working of the d20 system to fit that Golden Era after Victoria and before WWII.
5 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.
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
Weird Adventures
Weird adventures is, in my mind, a mix of things that usually do not work with me. Pulp era heroics with Fantasy adventure and a sorta-semi-Earth like world. Usually this is enough to turn me off of a game. But here it seems to work well. Very well.
So WA is a Pulp era game. Though not really OUR pulp era, but one on a world very similar to our own. Not WoD similar-but-darker or even D&D world like but not alike. This is our world with some odd distortions. Sorta like the world of a pulp era comic.
We know that the creators of D&D and FRPGs were heavily influenced by the pulps. What if that influence was more heavily felt than say the fantasy ones or the the Tolkien ones. We might end up with some similar to Weird Adventures.
Now this book is designed as a fantasy campaign world. So it is not by itself a playable game, you need other rules in order to play it. The book is written as system neutral, but obviously the prime influence here is older D&D. Both Ascending and Descending ACs are given in the handful of monsters.
What I like about the book is that these different elements mix and merge so well. Fantasy Adventure and Pulp Adventure seem to be two sides of the same coin. I love the layout and look of this book too. They made to remind the reader of a pulp era magazine and it works well.
The art is fantastic really. The piece with the adventurers in a tomb with a beholder is fantastic.
The monsters were all great. I loved the Hill-billy Giant.
There are somethings though I didn't care for.
While I can see why they did it, I don't like some near-Earths. This is not a deal breaker. I like it for example in most Supers games. I think I would have rather have used it with a real earth.
While it is designed for any game, I would have liked some more crunch. At the very least give me some rules for guns.
I think it would a solid addition to any older D&D or the clones, and even a solid addition to any Pulp Era game.
4 out of 5 stars
Pulp Zombies
A "Zombie world" for the All Flesh Must Be Eaten game. This one focuses on the two-fisted action adventures of the 1930s.
A special emphasis is given on the mystical side of the pulps and of course Nazi Zombies.
Even if you are not a fan of this era, there is a lot of good crunch that you can add to your AFMBE, WitchCraft, Armageddon or Conspiracy X game.
4 out of 5 stars
I am much the lesser for it I think.
There is something about the pulp era that screams (yes screams is the right word) Adventure! Suspense! Action! Thrills! all with exclamation points too.
Here are some games I have been exploring over the last few years. I have more, but this is a good batch.
THRILLING TALES: Omnibus Edition
I will admit that the Pulp Era is not one I seek out to either read or play games in. I see the appeal and every interaction I have had with the material has been a positive one. Thrilling Tales then is no exception, except for the fact I might actually seek out to play this one more often.
Physically this book is very nice. The layout is clean and easy to read. The art is very evocative of the time and my first thought was the old Universal movies from the same time frame (and movie still from the serials was really nice). That is a very good thing in my mind.
I loved the time line of the 30s.
The game is designed with d20 Modern in mind and I think it is a very good fit. I love the minor changes like renaming the core classes to something more "Pulpy" and addition of the Seduction skill, something I pushed for in other games.
There are a bunch of new advanced classes appropriate to the era. If you have ever seen a movie, serial or read a book from this era then the cast will look very familiar.
The section on weapons and gear is great, and perfect for any pulp-era game, not just a TT one or even just a d20 one. What I liked most about it is it is full photos and illustrations.
This is followed by sections on how to run a Pulp game and a wonderful section on Villains. Again the villains section is great for any game in this era or even a supers game in any era. Besides any game with a Nazi Vampire cult leader as a villain is an instant win in my book!
Speaking of which, all of chapter 8 is devoted to the only human enemy everyone can openly hate and kill without moral repercussions; the Nazis. Not so much a history of the Nazi, but a a history of the Nazi-as-a-boogeyman; the all-Enemy.
The Thugee likewise get a chapter, but I am sure this is due 100% to Temple of Doom.
The book ends with a Random Adventure generator. Which is 100% appropriate to this sort of adventure era. Watch the old serials, it sometimes looks like they were rolling on a similar table while writing the scripts. A bit of tweaking and this could work for any era. Replace Nazi with "Drow" or "Soviets" or "Dark Cabal" and you get the idea.
All in all this is a great game and one that makes me want to play some two fisted pulp adventures!
5 out of 5 stars
Forbidden Kingdoms is one of the first d20 Pulp games I ever owned. In many ways it is the yardstick I compare other pulp games to. Sure I had Call of Cthulhu, which is sorta a pulp game, but it is more "Call of Cthulhu" and it's own thing than it is a pulp anymore. Forbidden Kingdoms (either 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.
Forbidden Kingdoms: Babbage Edition
FK is a great pulp-era game based around d20. It was very different than anything else out at the time and just a really fun read. The art is great and the game rules are a solid re-working of the d20 system to fit that Golden Era after Victoria and before WWII.
5 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.
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
Weird Adventures
Weird adventures is, in my mind, a mix of things that usually do not work with me. Pulp era heroics with Fantasy adventure and a sorta-semi-Earth like world. Usually this is enough to turn me off of a game. But here it seems to work well. Very well.
So WA is a Pulp era game. Though not really OUR pulp era, but one on a world very similar to our own. Not WoD similar-but-darker or even D&D world like but not alike. This is our world with some odd distortions. Sorta like the world of a pulp era comic.
We know that the creators of D&D and FRPGs were heavily influenced by the pulps. What if that influence was more heavily felt than say the fantasy ones or the the Tolkien ones. We might end up with some similar to Weird Adventures.
Now this book is designed as a fantasy campaign world. So it is not by itself a playable game, you need other rules in order to play it. The book is written as system neutral, but obviously the prime influence here is older D&D. Both Ascending and Descending ACs are given in the handful of monsters.
What I like about the book is that these different elements mix and merge so well. Fantasy Adventure and Pulp Adventure seem to be two sides of the same coin. I love the layout and look of this book too. They made to remind the reader of a pulp era magazine and it works well.
The art is fantastic really. The piece with the adventurers in a tomb with a beholder is fantastic.
The monsters were all great. I loved the Hill-billy Giant.
There are somethings though I didn't care for.
While I can see why they did it, I don't like some near-Earths. This is not a deal breaker. I like it for example in most Supers games. I think I would have rather have used it with a real earth.
While it is designed for any game, I would have liked some more crunch. At the very least give me some rules for guns.
I think it would a solid addition to any older D&D or the clones, and even a solid addition to any Pulp Era game.
4 out of 5 stars
Pulp Zombies
A "Zombie world" for the All Flesh Must Be Eaten game. This one focuses on the two-fisted action adventures of the 1930s.
A special emphasis is given on the mystical side of the pulps and of course Nazi Zombies.
Even if you are not a fan of this era, there is a lot of good crunch that you can add to your AFMBE, WitchCraft, Armageddon or Conspiracy X game.
4 out of 5 stars
What do we know about D&D5 so far?
Here are a couple of links.
http://critical-hits.com/2012/02/03/initial-impressions-of-the-new-dd/
and this massive overview from ENWorld.
http://www.enworld.org/index.php?page=dnd5e
Again they are looking more for a "style" of play rather than out and out compatibility.
I am expecting it all to built on a 3.x base, in a presentation similar to that of the 4e Essentials line.
The core races and classes, with lots of add-ons to get more classes, monsters and skirmish battles.
I do expect skills and feats in the first sets of core books, but as kinda optional rules (like 2nd ed had for skills).
Otherwise the progress is moving along as I'd expect it too.
I am hoping to see some play-test games at Gen Con.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Zatannurday: Steampunk Zatanna
Long time readers know I Am a fan of the Victorian era and in particular Victorian horror. I am not though a Steampunk fan per se. It is cool. I get the appeal, but if I am wearing my Victorian costume I am going to carry a cane, not a nerf gun I spray painted.
That all being said I am a huge fan of the these Gaslight Justice League figures over at Sillof's website.
http://sillof.com/C-Gaslight.htm. I was a big fan of "Gotham by Gaslight" and Wonder Woman: Amazonia and would loved to have seen more. I felt his figures were a great look for the Victorian Justice League.
If you have never seen his custom figures then you need too. Now. Especially his re-imaged Star Wars as an old Japanese Samurai movie.
But you notice something missing? Yup! Where is Zatanna?!
Well she was hanging out on Deviant Art!
I love how she looks. Very classy, like you would expect the daughter of a world renowned magician be. Of course her secret is she really know magic.
Given the high weirdness of both the Victorian age and mixing the JL, I thought it was only proper to stat her up for Ghosts of Albion. Given her power level in the comics Zatanna (in any reality) should be one of the more powerful magicians in the game.
Zatanna (1887)
Zatanna Zatara is the daughter of the late Giovanni Zatara, renowned illusionist, prestidigitator and expert on all subjects occult. Having spent her entire life in her father's show it was natural that Miss Zatanna would continue that occupation after her father's untimely demise.
What is not generally well known is that Zatanna also inherited her father's magic and mantle to protect the world from magical beings that would attempt to do humanity harm.
Zatanna Zatara
Very Experienced Master
Life Points 50
Drama Points 10
Attributes
Strength 2
Dexterity 4
Constitution 3
Intelligence 4
Perception 5
Willpower 6
Qualities
Attractiveness +3
Charisma
Contacts (the Justice League) 4
Contacts (Supernatural) 5
Hard to Kill 2
Fast Reaction Time
Magic 10 (Homo Magi race)
Magical Family
Nerves of Steel
Occult Library (Amazing)
Resources 8
Situational Awareness
Supernatural Senses (the Sight)
Status 3 (lowered due to profession and gender)
Drawbacks
Adversaries (Lots) 5
Honorable (Minimal)
Mental Problems (Fear of Commitment)
Minority (Woman)
Obligation (mundane humans, Important)
Secret 1 (really uses magic)
Useful Information
Initiative +
Actions 1/2
Observation 1d10 + 11
Fear +
Skills
Armed Mayhem 1
Art 6 (stage performance)
Athletics 2
Crime 1
Drive / Ride 1
Engineering 2
Fisticuffs 2
Influence 6
Knowledge 7
Languages 6 (English, Italian, Latin, Greek, Egyptian, Backwards talk)
Marksmanship 3
Notice 5
Occultism 9
Physician 2
Wild Card
Combat
You can see more of his Victorian super ladies here: http://doonboy.deviantart.com/gallery/33431300
Can't wait to have her run across Madame Vastra and Jenny!
That all being said I am a huge fan of the these Gaslight Justice League figures over at Sillof's website.
http://sillof.com/C-Gaslight.htm. I was a big fan of "Gotham by Gaslight" and Wonder Woman: Amazonia and would loved to have seen more. I felt his figures were a great look for the Victorian Justice League.
If you have never seen his custom figures then you need too. Now. Especially his re-imaged Star Wars as an old Japanese Samurai movie.
But you notice something missing? Yup! Where is Zatanna?!
Well she was hanging out on Deviant Art!
I love how she looks. Very classy, like you would expect the daughter of a world renowned magician be. Of course her secret is she really know magic.
Given the high weirdness of both the Victorian age and mixing the JL, I thought it was only proper to stat her up for Ghosts of Albion. Given her power level in the comics Zatanna (in any reality) should be one of the more powerful magicians in the game.
Zatanna (1887)
Zatanna Zatara is the daughter of the late Giovanni Zatara, renowned illusionist, prestidigitator and expert on all subjects occult. Having spent her entire life in her father's show it was natural that Miss Zatanna would continue that occupation after her father's untimely demise.
What is not generally well known is that Zatanna also inherited her father's magic and mantle to protect the world from magical beings that would attempt to do humanity harm.
Zatanna Zatara
Very Experienced Master
http://my.deviantart.com/messages/#/d3hsevs |
Life Points 50
Drama Points 10
Attributes
Strength 2
Dexterity 4
Constitution 3
Intelligence 4
Perception 5
Willpower 6
Qualities
Attractiveness +3
Charisma
Contacts (the Justice League) 4
Contacts (Supernatural) 5
Hard to Kill 2
Fast Reaction Time
Magic 10 (Homo Magi race)
Magical Family
Nerves of Steel
Occult Library (Amazing)
Resources 8
Situational Awareness
Supernatural Senses (the Sight)
Status 3 (lowered due to profession and gender)
Drawbacks
Adversaries (Lots) 5
Honorable (Minimal)
Mental Problems (Fear of Commitment)
Minority (Woman)
Obligation (mundane humans, Important)
Secret 1 (really uses magic)
Useful Information
Initiative +
Actions 1/2
Observation 1d10 + 11
Fear +
Skills
Armed Mayhem 1
Art 6 (stage performance)
Athletics 2
Crime 1
Drive / Ride 1
Engineering 2
Fisticuffs 2
Influence 6
Knowledge 7
Languages 6 (English, Italian, Latin, Greek, Egyptian, Backwards talk)
Marksmanship 3
Notice 5
Occultism 9
Physician 2
Wild Card
Combat
Maneuver | Bonus | Damage | Notes |
Dodge / Parry | +6 | - | Defense Action |
Grapple | +6 | - | Defense Action |
Punch | +6 | 4 | Bash |
Magic | +25 | per spell | Must speak backwards |
- Deflect | +25 | Special | Deflects spell 45 degrees |
You can see more of his Victorian super ladies here: http://doonboy.deviantart.com/gallery/33431300
Can't wait to have her run across Madame Vastra and Jenny!
Friday, February 10, 2012
ACKS B/XC Or How I commit heresy with Adventurer Conqueror King
I just picked up Adventurer Conqueror King last night and sat down to read it just a bit ago.
I like it. It is a solid Retro-clone, near-clone and actually does a better job than some of the other "core rules" clones on the market now. I will get a proper review out later.
One of the things that people are drawing attention to is the fact that this is an "End Game" system. Characters grow, mature and then move out of the dungeon into rulerships of their own. It is not unique in that respect, it is in fact often compared to Mentzer BECMI but the comparison can also be made of it and D&D4. All three have end games and all three have rules for how those end games can play out.
ACKS though caps most progress at 14th level.
This of course got me thinking. At a hard stop of 14th level...it makes B/X Companion a perfect "expansion" kit! Yeah, yeah I know, I am totally violating the spirit and intent of the game. Won't be the first time or the last time.
I did some quick checks and while things don't line up perfectly, they are damn close. Obviously pulling from the same source material.
Both rulesets deal with the idea of creating a life outside of the dungeon, the oft-sited "now you can play like Conan!" Well Conan can retire, I have characters and a multi-plane universe to explore!
Others though have mentioned that it meshes nicely with Labyrinth Lord. I have not checked that out for myself yet.
Is ACKS worth it at $10? I don't know yet. It is nice. The art is great. AND this might be the most important one, of all the clones out right now (S&W, LL, BFRPG, DD, LotFP, S&S) this is the only one I feel is good for a new player; one that has never played an RPG before. The rest assume some level of knowledge. No surprise, they were written by gamers for gamers. ACKS I feel was written by gamers for non-gamers or even near-gamers. Gamers too, but I think we have demonstrated that we will buy anything.
So who is up for an ACKS + B/X Companion campaign?
I like it. It is a solid Retro-clone, near-clone and actually does a better job than some of the other "core rules" clones on the market now. I will get a proper review out later.
One of the things that people are drawing attention to is the fact that this is an "End Game" system. Characters grow, mature and then move out of the dungeon into rulerships of their own. It is not unique in that respect, it is in fact often compared to Mentzer BECMI but the comparison can also be made of it and D&D4. All three have end games and all three have rules for how those end games can play out.
ACKS though caps most progress at 14th level.
This of course got me thinking. At a hard stop of 14th level...it makes B/X Companion a perfect "expansion" kit! Yeah, yeah I know, I am totally violating the spirit and intent of the game. Won't be the first time or the last time.
I did some quick checks and while things don't line up perfectly, they are damn close. Obviously pulling from the same source material.
Both rulesets deal with the idea of creating a life outside of the dungeon, the oft-sited "now you can play like Conan!" Well Conan can retire, I have characters and a multi-plane universe to explore!
Others though have mentioned that it meshes nicely with Labyrinth Lord. I have not checked that out for myself yet.
Is ACKS worth it at $10? I don't know yet. It is nice. The art is great. AND this might be the most important one, of all the clones out right now (S&W, LL, BFRPG, DD, LotFP, S&S) this is the only one I feel is good for a new player; one that has never played an RPG before. The rest assume some level of knowledge. No surprise, they were written by gamers for gamers. ACKS I feel was written by gamers for non-gamers or even near-gamers. Gamers too, but I think we have demonstrated that we will buy anything.
So who is up for an ACKS + B/X Companion campaign?
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Ghosts of Albion on Sale at DTRPG
Ghosts of Albion is on sale at DriveThruRPG for their "Geek Love Rules" Valentines Day special.
Included in this sale are some other products I have talked about or have used in the past.
Angel RPG (companion to Buffy and compatible with Ghosts of Albion)
Byron Falls (OMG Drama bomb! high school kids with supernatural powers, and a fun game.)
Devilish Duos: Strange Attractors
Infernal Romance at Moon Temple (AE)
Instant Antagonist: The Selfish Succubus (reviewed in the past)
King Arthur Pendragon: Edition 5.1
MILFS: Monsters I’d Like to F*** (Cardstock Characters™) (you know you want to click on this one)
Sexcraft: A Little Game with a Lot of Sex (includes the Sexcraft Witch)
Sisters of Rapture, OGL Edition and Pathfinder Edition
Smallville Roleplaying Game
Smallville High School Yearbook
I have to admit I am a little surprised not to see Blue Rose on the list.
Reviews
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
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
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