I wanted to have at least one write-up done for you today. But work has been really busy and I crashed last night while watching the Olympics.
So instead here are some links that be helpful till then.
Thread on RPG Net
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?639850-Capes-Cowls-and-Villains-Foul
The Author's Blog
http://capescowlsandvillainsfoul.blogspot.co.uk/
Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/spectrumgames
Website with some freebies
http://www.spectrum-games.com/
Enjoy! I hope to have something more useful soon.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Capes, Cowls and Villains Foul
Capes, Cowls and Villains Foul (CCaVF) is the eagerly anticipated supers/comic book emulation game from Spectrum Games. The same folks that gave Cartoon Action Hour.
I want to start off by saying that this is an attractive book. At 164 pages of full of color it feels like a comic. Since that is what the author aims to emulate I would say it so far is a success.
I think that is a good place to start. What is CCaVF? Well yes it is a supers game, but it is more a comic book emulation game. Meaning it tries to emulate the play-ability of reading a comic book. This sets it apart from the likes of other purely "Supers" games that might be trying to emulate how a super hero could exist in some sort of reality. Instead the assumption here is comic book reality. This would include things like editorial control or even breaking the 4th wall. Both of which are discussed later.
Chapter 0 is our Introduction which helps lay the ground work for what we will be reading. We are told that physics and logic often take a back seat to drama and excitement. So far I feeling that this will be closer to Marvel Heroic Roleplaying than say Villains and Vigilantes (both of which are great games for different styles of play). We are told that this game is about telling exciting stories with your friends. So far this sounds good. We are told next that this game uses the d12. I love that. The d12 is the oft forgotten die stuck between the mighty d20 and the diva that is the d10.
We also learn that CCaVF is a resource-based game. Now my experiences with resource based supers games has been mixed. So lets see what we have here.
Traits are match against other Traits with various Linked traits. Traits can be Primary or Secondary and after they are Used they become less effective. So someone like Superman would have a Primary Trait of Super-Strength with Secondary Traits of Flight and Heat Vision. Following the example in the book the Traits are bolded. Characters are likely to have 5 to 12 traits. Characters can also have Complications and Factoids. Sounds great! Let's get into the design!
Chapter 1 is Character Design. I like the term "Hero Design" myself, but that is cool. Your "Editor" (GM) will determine how many starting points your character will have. Much like the Power Points of M&M or other games. Except you are not buying the trait itself, you are buying what the trait represents. So a Signature Triat vs. a Secondary one or an Auto Defend. There is a handy chart with all the trait types and levels/ratings so you can add up your points quickly.
CCaVF encourages thinking about your character as a whole. So when making your Batman-clone you would not list all his martial arts but would just list Advanced Combat Training or something like that. Superman would have Super-Sonic Flight while the Carol Danvers Captain Marvel would have Hyper-Flight. So where are these traits listed? They are not. Yup. YOU define what the traits mean. So for example I define an Anamchara trait to go with my Willow & Tara characters. This is a Shared Trait, so the points are split up, but I define what it means and what it does. But don't worry the author gives you some ideas to work with.
The neatest thing though has to be the Editorial Control. These are like supercharged hero points or drama points. Editorial Control can be purchased with points, but is more expensive for more powerful characters. The Editor also gets a pool of EC points as well to use for the villains. There are also examples of various ways to regain EC points. Finally you fill out the character with factoids.
The chapter ends with an example of character creation. This is followed by a quick generation card to get you plying right away. Finally a listing of Heroes and Villains.
Chapter 2 is the Rules chapter.Typically rolls are a d12 + some trait. Other times you might need to roll 2 d12s and keep the highest or even 3. The basic idea here is that the action needs to be like that in a comic book. So a bit of time is spent on combat. Now heroes and villains in CCaVF don't have hit points, but they do have Setbacks. Most of the chapter is dedicated to this this idea and some example difficulties are explored. All and all pretty easy.
Chapter 3 is all about Villains. Villains get special treatment in CCaVF. They are created with the same rules that give us heroes, but there is more to them than that. Given the treatment given them here, I think this should be must reading for any superhero RPG player/GM. Heroes are often defined by their villains or rogues gallery. This game did not forget that.
Chapter 4 deals with Options. Things you can do to tweak characters or games. One really nice thing is about how deal with super hero team-ups and what to do when some characters are more powerful than others. There is even a bit on killing (and why it should be avoided) and live action (LARP) supers.
Chapter 5 is a fairly comprehensive example of play. If you normally ignore these please read this one. Many of my questions were answered here. It is a good walk through of how to play the game.
Chapter 6 talks about Issues, or adventures for your new set of heroes and villains. Again there is a lot of good information here for Editors/GMs of any sort of supers game. In particular there is the all important Introductory Issue which brings the team the together. I could not help but think of the team of misfits in the new Justice League Dark while reading this. Fantasy RPG fans should also take note of this chapter since it helps get past that old "you all met in an inn before an adventure".
We end with an Afterword where the author discusses why he made this game. The Appendix has a great glossary, index and cheat sheets for the game.
All in all I am quite pleased with this game. I agree with the author in that I love Supers games, but it is hard to find that perfect game for your group. There have been some great choices that have come out in the last few years, but none are 100% perfect. CCaVF may not 100% perfect either, but it is really damn nice and has a lot of great things going for it.
Up next I'll stat up some characters.
I think that is a good place to start. What is CCaVF? Well yes it is a supers game, but it is more a comic book emulation game. Meaning it tries to emulate the play-ability of reading a comic book. This sets it apart from the likes of other purely "Supers" games that might be trying to emulate how a super hero could exist in some sort of reality. Instead the assumption here is comic book reality. This would include things like editorial control or even breaking the 4th wall. Both of which are discussed later.
Chapter 0 is our Introduction which helps lay the ground work for what we will be reading. We are told that physics and logic often take a back seat to drama and excitement. So far I feeling that this will be closer to Marvel Heroic Roleplaying than say Villains and Vigilantes (both of which are great games for different styles of play). We are told that this game is about telling exciting stories with your friends. So far this sounds good. We are told next that this game uses the d12. I love that. The d12 is the oft forgotten die stuck between the mighty d20 and the diva that is the d10.
We also learn that CCaVF is a resource-based game. Now my experiences with resource based supers games has been mixed. So lets see what we have here.
Traits are match against other Traits with various Linked traits. Traits can be Primary or Secondary and after they are Used they become less effective. So someone like Superman would have a Primary Trait of Super-Strength with Secondary Traits of Flight and Heat Vision. Following the example in the book the Traits are bolded. Characters are likely to have 5 to 12 traits. Characters can also have Complications and Factoids. Sounds great! Let's get into the design!
Chapter 1 is Character Design. I like the term "Hero Design" myself, but that is cool. Your "Editor" (GM) will determine how many starting points your character will have. Much like the Power Points of M&M or other games. Except you are not buying the trait itself, you are buying what the trait represents. So a Signature Triat vs. a Secondary one or an Auto Defend. There is a handy chart with all the trait types and levels/ratings so you can add up your points quickly.
CCaVF encourages thinking about your character as a whole. So when making your Batman-clone you would not list all his martial arts but would just list Advanced Combat Training or something like that. Superman would have Super-Sonic Flight while the Carol Danvers Captain Marvel would have Hyper-Flight. So where are these traits listed? They are not. Yup. YOU define what the traits mean. So for example I define an Anamchara trait to go with my Willow & Tara characters. This is a Shared Trait, so the points are split up, but I define what it means and what it does. But don't worry the author gives you some ideas to work with.
The neatest thing though has to be the Editorial Control. These are like supercharged hero points or drama points. Editorial Control can be purchased with points, but is more expensive for more powerful characters. The Editor also gets a pool of EC points as well to use for the villains. There are also examples of various ways to regain EC points. Finally you fill out the character with factoids.
The chapter ends with an example of character creation. This is followed by a quick generation card to get you plying right away. Finally a listing of Heroes and Villains.
Chapter 2 is the Rules chapter.Typically rolls are a d12 + some trait. Other times you might need to roll 2 d12s and keep the highest or even 3. The basic idea here is that the action needs to be like that in a comic book. So a bit of time is spent on combat. Now heroes and villains in CCaVF don't have hit points, but they do have Setbacks. Most of the chapter is dedicated to this this idea and some example difficulties are explored. All and all pretty easy.
Chapter 3 is all about Villains. Villains get special treatment in CCaVF. They are created with the same rules that give us heroes, but there is more to them than that. Given the treatment given them here, I think this should be must reading for any superhero RPG player/GM. Heroes are often defined by their villains or rogues gallery. This game did not forget that.
Chapter 4 deals with Options. Things you can do to tweak characters or games. One really nice thing is about how deal with super hero team-ups and what to do when some characters are more powerful than others. There is even a bit on killing (and why it should be avoided) and live action (LARP) supers.
Chapter 5 is a fairly comprehensive example of play. If you normally ignore these please read this one. Many of my questions were answered here. It is a good walk through of how to play the game.
Chapter 6 talks about Issues, or adventures for your new set of heroes and villains. Again there is a lot of good information here for Editors/GMs of any sort of supers game. In particular there is the all important Introductory Issue which brings the team the together. I could not help but think of the team of misfits in the new Justice League Dark while reading this. Fantasy RPG fans should also take note of this chapter since it helps get past that old "you all met in an inn before an adventure".
We end with an Afterword where the author discusses why he made this game. The Appendix has a great glossary, index and cheat sheets for the game.
All in all I am quite pleased with this game. I agree with the author in that I love Supers games, but it is hard to find that perfect game for your group. There have been some great choices that have come out in the last few years, but none are 100% perfect. CCaVF may not 100% perfect either, but it is really damn nice and has a lot of great things going for it.
Up next I'll stat up some characters.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Mars
Ever since I read the War of the Worlds and Princess of Mars I have wanted to have a D&D game based on Mars/Barsoom. This was heightened when I later read the Martian Chronicles.
It turns out that the real Mars is far more interesting.
The latest Martian rover Curiosity has landed successfully on the Red Planet. The stated goal of this little robot is to see if Mars was ever capable of supporting life or even had life at one point.
I should not have spell out the ramifications of a positive discovery would have in both science and religion.
Till that happens you can follow Curiosity's Twitter feed. https://twitter.com/MarsCuriosity
And it's official site here: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/
While Curiosity roams the face of the real Mars, you can roam the face of the Mars that never-was with these games.
Mars
Savage Worlds Edition
d20 Edition
Adamant Entertainment distilled some of the best features of the Planetary Romance/Sci-Fantasy genre into their Mars books. The lineage is obviously Edgar Rice Burroughs, with Green, Red and White (Ape) Martians. There is also a fair enough amount of H.G. Wells, but I have a hard time seeing this dying Mars invading Earth. As they advertise this is not the Mars of reality, this is the Mars that never was. This is Barsoom as it were. While not "John Carter of Mars the RPG" it can be played that way. There are even some surprises in the form of the Grey Men of Mars. Hint, they are not the "Greys" of later UFO mythology.
There are plenty of options for characters with an emphasis on high heroism and great feats. Imagine all the adventure of Victorian Times and the Pulp Era with the feel of a Space Opera in a D&D campaign then you get an idea of what Mars can do or be. This all reminds me a bit of the "Dying Earth" genre as well, since Mars is dying. Maybe that invasion of Earth is not too improbable after all.
NOTICE: Adamant Earlier today decided to offer these at half off!
Space 1899: Red Sands
This is the Savage Worlds update to the classic Space 1899 series. Like it's fore-bearer this is a game where brave men and women from Earth brave the Ether to travel to a dying Mars or a Venus covered in lush jungles and dinosaurs. Based on the works of Burroughs and Verne this is a space travel game with a twist. There is plenty of room for adventure and the importunity to plant the flag of the British Empire on a new world or even find adventure of your own.
It is the Savage World rules and you need the core rules to play this. It is great fun and it is to date the best reason given to me to play Savage Worlds.
The only downside to this is that there is no conversion notes from the old Space 1899 to the new system.
It turns out that the real Mars is far more interesting.
The latest Martian rover Curiosity has landed successfully on the Red Planet. The stated goal of this little robot is to see if Mars was ever capable of supporting life or even had life at one point.
I should not have spell out the ramifications of a positive discovery would have in both science and religion.
Till that happens you can follow Curiosity's Twitter feed. https://twitter.com/MarsCuriosity
And it's official site here: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/
While Curiosity roams the face of the real Mars, you can roam the face of the Mars that never-was with these games.
Mars
Savage Worlds Edition
d20 Edition
Adamant Entertainment distilled some of the best features of the Planetary Romance/Sci-Fantasy genre into their Mars books. The lineage is obviously Edgar Rice Burroughs, with Green, Red and White (Ape) Martians. There is also a fair enough amount of H.G. Wells, but I have a hard time seeing this dying Mars invading Earth. As they advertise this is not the Mars of reality, this is the Mars that never was. This is Barsoom as it were. While not "John Carter of Mars the RPG" it can be played that way. There are even some surprises in the form of the Grey Men of Mars. Hint, they are not the "Greys" of later UFO mythology.
There are plenty of options for characters with an emphasis on high heroism and great feats. Imagine all the adventure of Victorian Times and the Pulp Era with the feel of a Space Opera in a D&D campaign then you get an idea of what Mars can do or be. This all reminds me a bit of the "Dying Earth" genre as well, since Mars is dying. Maybe that invasion of Earth is not too improbable after all.
NOTICE: Adamant Earlier today decided to offer these at half off!
Space 1899: Red Sands
This is the Savage Worlds update to the classic Space 1899 series. Like it's fore-bearer this is a game where brave men and women from Earth brave the Ether to travel to a dying Mars or a Venus covered in lush jungles and dinosaurs. Based on the works of Burroughs and Verne this is a space travel game with a twist. There is plenty of room for adventure and the importunity to plant the flag of the British Empire on a new world or even find adventure of your own.
It is the Savage World rules and you need the core rules to play this. It is great fun and it is to date the best reason given to me to play Savage Worlds.
The only downside to this is that there is no conversion notes from the old Space 1899 to the new system.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
DriveThruRPG August Sale
Been a bit since we had one of these. But DriveThruRPG is offering 20% off any or all of the following products.
Here is the Coupon Code for this month's 20% off the listed products: TooHot8450
Tailslap Issue 1 [Unicorn Rampant]
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/81174/Tailslap-issue-1?affiliate_id=10748&
Claw/Claw/Bite Issue 18 [Unicorn Rampant]
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/92329/Claw---Claw---Bite-Issue-18?affiliate_id=10748&
Second World Sourcebook [Second World Simulations]
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/19443/The-Second-World-Sourcebook?affiliate_id=10748&
Lore of the Gods [DragonWing Games]
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/28416/Lore-of-the-Gods?affiliate_id=10748&
The Makefactor Base Class [Total Party Kill Games]
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/102842/The-Malefactor-Base-Class?affiliate_id=10748&
The Agency [Realms Publishing]
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/98467/The-Agency?affiliate_id=10748&
DCC #70: Jewels of the Carnifex [Goodman Games]
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/104220/Dungeon-Crawl-Classics-%2370%3A-Jewels-of-the-Carnifex?affiliate_id=10748&
Artists, Artisans, & Workers [Taurus Twelve]
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/85690/Artists%2C-Artisans%2C-%26-Workers?affiliate_id=10748&
Vornheim: The Complete City Kit
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/91110/Vornheim%3A-The-Complete-City-Kit?affiliate_id=10748&
I also have a coupon for $10.00 off an order. I have to figuer out what to give it out.
Here is the Coupon Code for this month's 20% off the listed products: TooHot8450
Tailslap Issue 1 [Unicorn Rampant]
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/81174/Tailslap-issue-1?affiliate_id=10748&
Claw/Claw/Bite Issue 18 [Unicorn Rampant]
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/92329/Claw---Claw---Bite-Issue-18?affiliate_id=10748&
Second World Sourcebook [Second World Simulations]
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/19443/The-Second-World-Sourcebook?affiliate_id=10748&
Lore of the Gods [DragonWing Games]
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/28416/Lore-of-the-Gods?affiliate_id=10748&
The Makefactor Base Class [Total Party Kill Games]
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/102842/The-Malefactor-Base-Class?affiliate_id=10748&
The Agency [Realms Publishing]
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/98467/The-Agency?affiliate_id=10748&
DCC #70: Jewels of the Carnifex [Goodman Games]
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/104220/Dungeon-Crawl-Classics-%2370%3A-Jewels-of-the-Carnifex?affiliate_id=10748&
Artists, Artisans, & Workers [Taurus Twelve]
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/85690/Artists%2C-Artisans%2C-%26-Workers?affiliate_id=10748&
Vornheim: The Complete City Kit
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/91110/Vornheim%3A-The-Complete-City-Kit?affiliate_id=10748&
I also have a coupon for $10.00 off an order. I have to figuer out what to give it out.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Zatannurday: Team-ups
But I'd like to see her in more team ups with other supers.
Here she is with Raven, pairing up with her dad Zatara, with other DC Women, with Black Canary, and a couple times (here at least) with Scarlet Witch (here and here).
So here are some other team ups with Zee! Enjoy!
Friday, August 3, 2012
Gen Con 2012
It dawned on the other day that I am in no way shape or form ready for Gen Con 2012 yet.
Hotel was booked back in January, badges bought, games registered for.Google calendar updated.
But I am not mentally ready. I am not running anything this year officially, maybe something for my kids. Most likely the continuation of theForgotten Temple of Tharizdun.
I plan to pick some things up at the OSR booth, but there are not many purchases I want to make this year to be honest.
Who is going to the Best Four Days in Gaming?
What are your plans?
Hotel was booked back in January, badges bought, games registered for.Google calendar updated.
But I am not mentally ready. I am not running anything this year officially, maybe something for my kids. Most likely the continuation of theForgotten Temple of Tharizdun.
I plan to pick some things up at the OSR booth, but there are not many purchases I want to make this year to be honest.
Who is going to the Best Four Days in Gaming?
What are your plans?
Thursday, August 2, 2012
The Complete B/X Adventurer
I got my copy of the Complete B/X Adventurer in the mail about a week or two ago.
What do I think of it?
Well, it certainly lives up to it's hype and to it's predecessor the B/X Companion (BXC). Though there is no emotional investment on this one for me. I waited for the B/X Companion for almost 30 years. I waited for this one for only about a year or less.
I am going to make comparisons of it to B/X Companion AND to the old Bard Games "Compleat Adventurer" series (Adventurer, Spellcaster, Alchemist). I think both comparisons are fair. The first is obvious, but the second I want to explain. It is obvious in the construction that this book owes a lot to those previous books. The author, Jonathan Becker, acknowledges this in his Introduction. I did the same with the first book on Witches I ever wrote back in 1999, so I might be predisposed to like this.
There is also a feel to this book that reminds me of the later Bard Games books, The Arcanum and the Atlantis series.
In all three cases the books provide additional classes, spells and magic with additional rules that can be added with little effort to your game. We saw something similar from the official D&D books in the Unearthed Arcana books.
But getting on with the review proper.
The physical book is now perfect bound, not stapled, and it comes in at 62 pages. The cover doesn't try to invoke any other old-school product I am aware of, but I could be wrong. This is a good thing really since it should have it's own identity. BXC very much wanted to invoke the images of the old Basic and Expert sets.
Table of Contents is on a page, not the inside cover.
Now on to the meat. We get a nice introduction from Jonathan Becker about how the book should be used. It does indicate compatibility with Labyrinth Lord, LoftFP and Swords & Wizardry. Though I don't see the compatibility licenses those products require. I hope that is not an issue, but something that the author should look into. Also this is not an OGL product, so no license and no OGC. May not matter to you. In terms of buying. I supposed if someone wanted to use some of this material in say an adventure that was broadly compatible Becker would give his permission (and he has said as much if I recall correctly). For me I like to operate in the safe harbor of the OGL. But this doesn't detract my opinion from the book at all.
First up we have charts on random head gear. While this section is very good, it feels completely random. Not in terms of the tables, but why does the book lead off with this? I would have made this an appendix or part of a later chapter. Oddly enough the class table does not include any of the new classes in this book. Move this to the back in future printings I say. This follows with class exceptional traits. Also very cool. This one would belong here, but I would have put it after all the new classes. Again, this does not have all the new classes listed. Sure use the sub-class idea with Witches as a type of Magic-User. Follwing this firearms. Again move to equipment. I might not ever use this, but my son wants too (he read the book before I did).
Next up are all the classes. These are the gems of the book in my eye. The classes get about a page each. So this will be nice to print out the PDF pages and re-org as needed. The classes are Acrobat, Archer, Barbarian, Bard, Beastmaster, Bounty Hunter, Centaur, Duelist, Gnome, Mountebank, Mystic, Ogre-Kin, Scout, Summoner, Tattoo Mage, Witch, and Witch Hunter.
The classes are about what you would expect if you have been in this game for a number of years, but they have their twists. The gnome, centaur and ogre-kin are obviously race-classes in the Basic/Expert style. The Summoner is really cool. You summon creatures to do your magic for you. So part demonologist, part Pokemon trainer! (ok ok) only really awesome about it. It is one of the neatest takes I have seen on this ill-used fantasy archetype. I will discuss the witch and the witch-hunter in detail in a bit.
This is followed by all the new spells that these classes need. It's a good amount, taking up the remaining 20 pages of the book. The spells are of a good sort and there are a lot of them here.
The art is good and similar in style to BXC, sharing a couple of the same artists. Each class gets an art piece (another similarity to the Bard Compleat books) but the spells doesn't get much if any. That is too bad since the art is generally very good.
My Thoughts
Again I think I would have put some the beginning material in the back to focus on the classes more.
But I really enjoy all these classes and I think that for my kids old-school AD&D game I would let them choose from this as a possible source. I can see my youngest wanting to play an Acrobat and my oldest a Bounty Hunter. I would some tips I have written in the past about converting "Basic" classes to "Advanced" ones, but honestly there is not much here I would change.
Another thought is that most of these classes are stated out to 14th level. This makes them perfect, obviously, for pure Basic/Expert style D&D. But there is something else they would work well with, ACKS.
In fact I have mentioned before how well BXC would work in extending ACKS. Well now you can use the TCBXA as an add on to ACKS. These two games have different purposes in life, but they fit together rather nicely, and this gives you some new classes to play around with till ACKS Player's Companion is out.
NOW all we need is Jonathan to give us a B/X Companion boxed set. It can include the B/X Companion, the CBXA, and a brand new module. I think that would be great!
The Witch
Ok, I have to play special attention to the witch. Not just because it is a witch class, but because it is different than the other spell using classes. For starters the witch can cast in groups to cast higher level spells. That is a nice feature really and something very much in tune with the archetypal witch. The witch is the class in the book that is stated up all the way to 36th level AND built to gain powers to that point, also something I rather like. Why? Because a 36th level witch is the only class that can cast 10th level spells. Yup. This one goes to 10!
Crafting spells. The witch does not memorize a spell, but she does have a limit on how many she knows. The witch needs both a high intelligence (to know the spell) and a high wisdom (to learn and scribe it down in the first place). So a first level witch with a high Intelligence knows 1+Int mod 1st level spells. She can also scribe spells of 1st level + how ever many extra levels equal to her Wisdom mod. I like it. It is a nice quick way to know what can be done. In fact I would like to use that for clerics since gods should know ahead of time what spells their flock need and then they just give them to the cleric at that time.
For the witch though I would reverse it. Intelligence to write or scribe the spell and Widsom to know how many they can cast. Witches are often called the "Craft of the Wise" afterall. But all in all I like it.
10th level witch spells are nothing at all to sneeze at. This is a powerful witch class.
The 10th level spells are a nice solution to the "Coven spells"/"Powerful magic" vs independent witches. I can't see too many witch covens in groups. Maybe two or three at a time. With what JB has done here is given us a way to have powerful magics in groups at lower levels and keep those same magics out of the hands of solitary witches till much later. This then does not make them a more attractive solution over Wizards/Magic Users.
Witchhunters
If you are going to have witches then you should have witchhunters. The ones here are fairly straight forward but they have some nice features. I like that they get magic, but not as spells but powers. Sure you could do a multi-classed Cleric-Ranger, but this is B/X not 3.x. I'd like to give this witchhunter a spin sometime.
Bottom Line
If you enjoyed BXC or even Basic/Expert or other Old School play then this is a great buy. If you enjoy old school play but are sticking with your clone of choice then I still say get this. Look at the class list above and decide if any of those sound interesting to you.
I like it and I recommend it.
I'll stat up a witch after a bit and compare her to other OSR witches.
Well, it certainly lives up to it's hype and to it's predecessor the B/X Companion (BXC). Though there is no emotional investment on this one for me. I waited for the B/X Companion for almost 30 years. I waited for this one for only about a year or less.
I am going to make comparisons of it to B/X Companion AND to the old Bard Games "Compleat Adventurer" series (Adventurer, Spellcaster, Alchemist). I think both comparisons are fair. The first is obvious, but the second I want to explain. It is obvious in the construction that this book owes a lot to those previous books. The author, Jonathan Becker, acknowledges this in his Introduction. I did the same with the first book on Witches I ever wrote back in 1999, so I might be predisposed to like this.
There is also a feel to this book that reminds me of the later Bard Games books, The Arcanum and the Atlantis series.
In all three cases the books provide additional classes, spells and magic with additional rules that can be added with little effort to your game. We saw something similar from the official D&D books in the Unearthed Arcana books.
But getting on with the review proper.
The physical book is now perfect bound, not stapled, and it comes in at 62 pages. The cover doesn't try to invoke any other old-school product I am aware of, but I could be wrong. This is a good thing really since it should have it's own identity. BXC very much wanted to invoke the images of the old Basic and Expert sets.
Table of Contents is on a page, not the inside cover.
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| Ready to play! |
First up we have charts on random head gear. While this section is very good, it feels completely random. Not in terms of the tables, but why does the book lead off with this? I would have made this an appendix or part of a later chapter. Oddly enough the class table does not include any of the new classes in this book. Move this to the back in future printings I say. This follows with class exceptional traits. Also very cool. This one would belong here, but I would have put it after all the new classes. Again, this does not have all the new classes listed. Sure use the sub-class idea with Witches as a type of Magic-User. Follwing this firearms. Again move to equipment. I might not ever use this, but my son wants too (he read the book before I did).
Next up are all the classes. These are the gems of the book in my eye. The classes get about a page each. So this will be nice to print out the PDF pages and re-org as needed. The classes are Acrobat, Archer, Barbarian, Bard, Beastmaster, Bounty Hunter, Centaur, Duelist, Gnome, Mountebank, Mystic, Ogre-Kin, Scout, Summoner, Tattoo Mage, Witch, and Witch Hunter.
The classes are about what you would expect if you have been in this game for a number of years, but they have their twists. The gnome, centaur and ogre-kin are obviously race-classes in the Basic/Expert style. The Summoner is really cool. You summon creatures to do your magic for you. So part demonologist, part Pokemon trainer! (ok ok) only really awesome about it. It is one of the neatest takes I have seen on this ill-used fantasy archetype. I will discuss the witch and the witch-hunter in detail in a bit.
This is followed by all the new spells that these classes need. It's a good amount, taking up the remaining 20 pages of the book. The spells are of a good sort and there are a lot of them here.
The art is good and similar in style to BXC, sharing a couple of the same artists. Each class gets an art piece (another similarity to the Bard Compleat books) but the spells doesn't get much if any. That is too bad since the art is generally very good.
My Thoughts
Again I think I would have put some the beginning material in the back to focus on the classes more.
But I really enjoy all these classes and I think that for my kids old-school AD&D game I would let them choose from this as a possible source. I can see my youngest wanting to play an Acrobat and my oldest a Bounty Hunter. I would some tips I have written in the past about converting "Basic" classes to "Advanced" ones, but honestly there is not much here I would change.
Another thought is that most of these classes are stated out to 14th level. This makes them perfect, obviously, for pure Basic/Expert style D&D. But there is something else they would work well with, ACKS.
In fact I have mentioned before how well BXC would work in extending ACKS. Well now you can use the TCBXA as an add on to ACKS. These two games have different purposes in life, but they fit together rather nicely, and this gives you some new classes to play around with till ACKS Player's Companion is out.
NOW all we need is Jonathan to give us a B/X Companion boxed set. It can include the B/X Companion, the CBXA, and a brand new module. I think that would be great!
The Witch
Crafting spells. The witch does not memorize a spell, but she does have a limit on how many she knows. The witch needs both a high intelligence (to know the spell) and a high wisdom (to learn and scribe it down in the first place). So a first level witch with a high Intelligence knows 1+Int mod 1st level spells. She can also scribe spells of 1st level + how ever many extra levels equal to her Wisdom mod. I like it. It is a nice quick way to know what can be done. In fact I would like to use that for clerics since gods should know ahead of time what spells their flock need and then they just give them to the cleric at that time.
For the witch though I would reverse it. Intelligence to write or scribe the spell and Widsom to know how many they can cast. Witches are often called the "Craft of the Wise" afterall. But all in all I like it.
10th level witch spells are nothing at all to sneeze at. This is a powerful witch class.
The 10th level spells are a nice solution to the "Coven spells"/"Powerful magic" vs independent witches. I can't see too many witch covens in groups. Maybe two or three at a time. With what JB has done here is given us a way to have powerful magics in groups at lower levels and keep those same magics out of the hands of solitary witches till much later. This then does not make them a more attractive solution over Wizards/Magic Users.
Witchhunters
If you are going to have witches then you should have witchhunters. The ones here are fairly straight forward but they have some nice features. I like that they get magic, but not as spells but powers. Sure you could do a multi-classed Cleric-Ranger, but this is B/X not 3.x. I'd like to give this witchhunter a spin sometime.
Bottom Line
If you enjoyed BXC or even Basic/Expert or other Old School play then this is a great buy. If you enjoy old school play but are sticking with your clone of choice then I still say get this. Look at the class list above and decide if any of those sound interesting to you.
I like it and I recommend it.
I'll stat up a witch after a bit and compare her to other OSR witches.
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