D is for Doctor Who

One of my favorite TV shows ever is Doctor Who.
I discovered it back in the 80s on PBS and was hooked.  Of course my dream was always to have a Doctor Who RPG.  There was a Doctor Who by FASA, and I liked it, but I never got a chance to play it much.

Well 2005 rolls around and we got a new Doctor Who on TV! Yeah! and A few years later we also got a new Doctor Who RPG! Double Yeah!  And I got to play-test it!!

And I know I am not the only one excited about it.  Doctor Who related posts are some of my most viewed.

Well there is a new version out and I wanted to let you all know about it.


Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space is a great and worthy game to bear the name of the highly acclaimed "restart" of the Doctor Who series.

Using a simple 2d6 + attribute + stat + mod, roll over target number system, DW:AiTaS though goes beyond what is typically since in RPGs. Talking and Running are preferable to fighting, just like in the show and there many ways to measure success.

The system is really, really simple. In fact once you get the hang of it it "disappears" much like Unisystem does.

The system is similar to Unisystem and even GURPs, but not as "crunchy". This is a game of normal humans and the occasional alien battling foes that out match them, out gun them and out "tech" them. You are going to need to be very clever or lucky (or both!). While this could have fell into the Call of Cthulhu end of the spectrum on hero survival, heroes are expected to survive and even win.

There are two versions of this game out.  The Original or 10th Doctor version and the new 11th Doctor version.

For the 11th Doctor edition what do have?  Well the trade dress and artwork is all from the 11th Doctor/Moffat era.   But if that were all then there would not be much need to buy this.  There is an easy to use "Read This First" file, all the important stuff in two pages.  There are characters from the Matt Smith run, so The Doctor, River, Amy and Rory. All the new monsters (and the old faves) like the Atraxi, Cybermen, New Paradigm Daleks, and the Silurians. In fact there is quite a bit of "new stuff" that feel this is much more of an update than a simple re-edit and design.

Note: If you have the 10th Doctor version then C7 has the files you need for free.

Now the game is supposed to be played with 2 6-sided dice (2d6 in RPG parlance), but I have this cool 12 sided die with clock faces instead of numbers that is so perfect for Doctor Who that I can't not use it!  Plus as many Who fans know, the d12 is important to Who history.

I have done some character write-ups for Doctor Who: AiTaS, check them out.

• Madame Vastra and Jenny: Everyone's favorite katana wielding, Victorian lesbian Silurian/Humans consulting detectives/warriors for hire.
• And Count Dracula
• And something special later on today!

Dave Chapman did a fantastic job with this game. Not just the writing, but the whole concept.  I love it. I only wish *I* had been the one to do it!

C is for Cthulhu by Gaslight

What do you get if you mix the horror of H.P. Lovecraft with the Gothic Horror tradition of the Victorian age? You get today's C post, Cthulhu by Gaslight.

I love Victorian era games.  They are my favorite actually.  Cthulhu by Gaslight has always been one of those rare hard to find treasures.  Whether or not you play it as a gothic game, a period horror game, a darkly inspired Sherlock Holmes meets Dracula game, or as a Call of Cthulhu game there is something here for all sorts of horror game fans.  It is the chocolate peanut butter cup of horror games; two great tastes that taste great together.

The book is divided up in terms of creating your Victorian age character, the Victorian world, Strange Britain, Gaslight Adventures and an a very nice Appendix on Victorian literature and some handouts.

The Victorian Age Character chapter is typical of a Call of Cthulhu game. Skills and professions are discussed. Some familiarity with Call of Cthulhu is helpful here since this book assumes you have a copy of Call of Cthulhu.  Te times assumed here are 1890 to 1900.  No discussion on Victorian Age characters is complete, or really can even begin without a discussion on social class, which we get during character occupations. This section is expanded over the 2nd Edition with inclusion of common terms from the age.

The Victorian World covers the world of the British Empire including it's place in the world, a time line of important dates and biographies of important people from the time.  My favorite part is the locations in and around London.  This chapter is well researched and great for any Victorian era RPG.

Strange Britain is a great overview of the occult scene in Britain in the 1890s.  Lodges, Fortean events, and a gazetteer of strange sites in the British isles. All of these are great for all sorts of games.  The Cthulhu mythos portion comes later and has some new ideas for old monsters, both mythos monsters and classic ones from the British Isles. The chapter continues with some fictional characters from the time.  Though one might want to figure out how some authors can appear with their fiction creations.  My favorite part though is the Martian Invasion.  H.G. Wells meets H. P. Lovecraft.  Some Victorian adventure campaigns are then discussed.

Gaslight Adventures helps Keepers (Game Masters) with some ready to run adventures; "Night of the Jackals" and "The Burnt Man".

The Appendix is full of great information about various sources of information on Victorian England, Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper and Britain in general.  Though if I have a quibble it is that the sources are a bit dated, nothing for example from the last few years.

All in all the 3rd edition is a great update of this great game.

You can buy Cthulhu by Gaslight from Noble Knight Games or DriveThruRPG for older editions and DriveThruRPG for the new 3rd ed.

The "New" Conan movie

Hey all.  Quick one.

I am over at Jason Vey's blog talking about the newest Conan movie.  Anyone else see this?  Come by and let me know what you thought.

http://overpricedpopcorn.blogspot.com/2012/03/review-marcus-nispels-conan-barbarian.html

B is for Basic Clones

I was going to do Bunnies and Burrows today, but I wanted to stick a little closer to my home turf for this one.
BTW if you like, check out Bunnies and Burrows. It really is a classic and a piece of RPG history.

But today I want to talk about Basic Clones.
In the OSR (Old School Renascence) a Basic Clone is a game that emulates the rules of Basic D&D, or about the time frame of 1978 to 1984.  I talked about the D&D Basic Game last year and ACKS yesterday.  In fact I talk so much about it here it has it's own label, Basic.

D&D Basic was always my favorite system for quick and fast play.  D&D Basic has been long out of print and usually can only be found at places like Noble Knight Games or Ebay. So I was thrilled when the Basic clones began to come out.

Basic Fantasy is one of my favorites.  It is a simple game that covers the Basic D&D feel, but incorporates ideas from the later Advanced D&D game. Namely is splits up race (elf, human, dwarf) and class (fighter, cleric, magic-user).  In other words it was D&D like how I used to play Basic D&D anyway.  It is flexible, easy to use and totally free.

Labyrinth Lord is the biggest and arguably the most popular Basic clone.  It is closer to Basic D&D than BFRPG is, but for me it lacks a little of the charm.  Not to say that LL isn't great, it is and both lovingly sits on my shelf.

Dark Dungeons is another Basic clone aimed at emulating the old Rules Cyclopedia.  It is a good effort but feels a bit off to me.  Can't quite figure out why though.

Last year I also talked about the Companion rules. When the B/X version of Basic came out we were promised a book called the Companion rules that would take characters from 14th level to 36th level.  We did get one, but is was part of the BECMI version of Basic and thus not 100% compatible and you would have to be a HUGE D&D geek like me to even care about the differences. Or you have to be these guys, since they wrote their own.

B/X Blackrazor came out with his B/X Companion which I have talked about extensively here and is currently sold out. But it is a great book.

Another book is called the Companion Expansion by Barrataria Games.  It didn't get the same level of hype as the B/X Companion, but it covers much of the same ground.  I have not looked at them together to see how they cover similar topics, but they seem very compatible.  You can get the PDF of Companion Expansion for free at DriveThruRPG and a print copy for 16 bucks at Lulu.

My love for Basic D&D and the Basic clones is what prompted me to make my new witch book, The Witch, for Basic Era Games.  Look for that later this month!

A is for Adventurer Conqueror King System

Welcome to the April A to Z blogging Challenge for 2012.
My name is Tim Brannan and this is my blog, The Other Side.  This month I am going to review Role Playing Games.  I am going to give you my opinions, overviews, reviews and maybe even some fluff or crunch.

For my "A" post I want to talk about Adventurer Conqueror King System.

ACKS (as it is also known) is what is known as a "Retro Clone", that is it takes a modern rule system (the d20 SRD) and make it emulate an older game.  In this case Basic/Expert era (1980-1982) D&D.  I discussed Basic D&D during last years A to Z challenge.

ACKS though is more than that.  Part of the game's premise is it has a definite beginning and end.  In game play characters are limited to 14th level.

Unlike other "Basic" retro-clones (like Basic Fantasy or Labyrinth Lord), ACKS also uses a skill system and complete rules for running and maintaining a kingdom of your own. Typically these kind of rules have shown up in later "Companion" rules.

Depsite the fact that there is nothing here I haven't seen before, I really like ACKS.  My son has been playing in a weekly ACKS game and I helped contribute to the Witch class in the upcoming Player's Companion.

Speaking of witches, my own witch classes from "The Basic Witch" and "Eldritch Witchery" are compatible with the ACKS witch.  You can use the same spells, traditions and magic with all three.  In fact having all three gives you a more complete class.

I have spoken about ACKS before here and here, but the one thing I haven't mentioned is that of the recent batch of retro-clones, ACKS is the best looking one.

Player's Companion promises to be very interesting and hopefully it will take the game to new areas.

Follow my posts for more games!

A to Z Challenge

Tomorrow begins the April A to Z blogging challenge.




This year I am doing it not just once, but twice.
I have signed up my other blog, The Freedom of Nonbelief, to the challenge as well.
I felt that my other blog could also gain from the exposure and it would help me collect my thoughts some on what I think that blog should be about.
So please join me over there as I go through the A to Z of atheism, skepticism and free thought.

Here at the Other Side, I am going to be doing the A to Z of RPGs. I am going to pick a game for each letter and talk about it. I am though having trouble with the letter I. I am thinking I should do In Nomine, but not sure yet.

I am open to suggestions!

If you are coming here from the Challenge, then please leave a link back to your own blog.

Zatannurday: Marvel Heroic Roleplaying

Continuing my exploration of the new Marvel Heroic Roleplaying game. So here is everyone's favorite Sorceress Supreme, it's Saturday it must be Zatanna!

We worked this the same night as Justice.  Again, I am happy with this build and see it as a nice compliment to the DCA/M&M3 stats.   Both have a place in my world.

Name: Zatanna
ID: Zatanna Zatara (public)

Affiliations: Solo d10, Buddy d8, Team d6 (Zee is not a team player, but she has teamed up with John Constantine, Hawkman and Batman)

Distinctions:
Most Power Magician in the World (she is. And all the supernatural baddies know it too)
Celebrity in the Spotlight (Everyone knows who she is and she likes that)
Shades of Grey (Zee sees more grey than most Supers, even ones in the Marvel-verse)

Power Sets
Magic/Sorcery d12
Magical Spells d12, Blast d10, Senses (magical) d10, Teleport d10
Limit: Must be spoken backwards
SFX: Tantric Healing (can reduce stress)
SFX: Area Attack

Specialties 
Mystic d10 (pretty much knows it all)
Cosmic d10
Menace d8
Psych d8

Milestones
"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"
1xp You uncover some plot that is magical in nature.
3xp You discover some new magical tome or artifact.
10xp You defeat the main villain without magic.

Daddy Issues
1xp You meet someone from your father's past.
3xp You take trauma from one of your father's old enemies or friends.
10 xp You must send your father's soul back to the afterlife to defeat the bad guy.