Let’s use some knives! For the Swashbuckler!
If you throw enough, you will hit! Each attack after the first with a knife adds -1 DR cumulatively, and each second increases the critical range by 1. This continues between rounds, only ending when the combat ends.
Thoughts?
Product– Academia Arcana RPG
System– DCC RPG
Producer– Dragon Peak Publishing
Price– Free Quick Start here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/445345/academia-arcana-rpg-quickstart-dungeon-crawl-classics-dcc
TL; DR– A good game with a strange system. 97%
Basics: You’re a wizard, Harry! Academia Arcana RPG is a DCC expansion where the characters are students at a wizard school. What problems can you solve as you attempt to get a passing grade?
Mechanics or Crunch: This book expands the DCC world, but only up to level 5. The classes are basic wizard, wizard thief, familiar, and even a magical girl. Characters get backgrounds, build covens, and all the basic parts of the Harry Potter books. It works well. You do not get a funnel in this game, but the crunch of every Harry Potter book is here. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– DCC is a solid choice and a misstep for this book. The DCC mechanics are executed well, and all the pieces are here. I love what’s in this book in terms of theme. But you don’t have Dumbledore throw 4d4 students into the forbidden forest and have 2d3 return. The game is missing some of the strangeness that makes DCC DCC. What’s here is solid, but it misses the funk that makes DCC DCC. 4.5/5
Execution: This is pure DCC 3rd party in the best way. You have spells, abilities, a world, and more all built into this book. The book is modern RPG-ready with hyperlinks, art, and an easy-to-read flow. This book is well put together. 5/5
Summary: I liked Harry Potter when I was a kid, and I love DCC. This is a good combination of the two. I do miss the gonzo of standard DCC. That is the one part I don’t love about this system. But if you want a rules-light RPG, then DCC is the thing to choose. I do like all the other pieces here, and the fact that magical girl transformation enters the RPG is a solid, fun addition. Academia Arcana RPG is a good, semi-strange addition to the DCC line-up that I am glad I kickstarted. 97%
I have an idea for a new condition.
You just are not paying attention. The distracted condition always includes a value. You take a status penalty equal to this value to all your checks, saves, AC, and DCs. Unless specified otherwise, at the end of each of your turns, the value of your distracted condition decreases by 1.
We’re gonna build on this one in the next few weeks.
Thoughts?
LISTEN TO YE GODS! A spell for the Zealot!
You speak with the force of God! Reduce the DC of all social checks by -2 for 1 hour.
Thoughts?
Let’s make that a bit easier
Cantrip
Traditions arcane, occult
Targets Self
Trigger You are subject to an attack
You quickly brace for impact as the blow hits you. You gain damage resistance to all damage from that attack equal to your total level. You are then temporarily immune to this spell for 1 hour.
Thoughts?
You can’t see me… A spell for the Sorcerer!
You move the light around you. Test SPIRIT DR12 and you become invisible for :.
I.2 rounds II. 2d3 round III.3d4 rounds
Thoughts?
Why not learn more?
Cleric
You have continued to train in your religion. Increase your training level in your religion, and gain training in the lore of your religion and the lore of a religion that is anathema to your religion. If you already have lore in either of those religions, gain training in the lore of anything you choose.
Thoughts?
Product– Ink Ribbon
System– Ink Ribbon
Producer– Old Oak Games
Price– Free Quick Start here https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/old-oak-games/ink-ribbon-a-survival-horror-tabletop-rpg
TL; DR- So awesome I wonder if it’s legal. 100%
Basics: 4 Itchy tasty… Ink Ribbon is a love letter to old school Resident Evil. You play survivors in not Raccoon City as a pharmacy giant has a lab failure and the whole town is full of zombies or worse! Let’s break this down
Base Mechanics– This game is a d6 dice pool game with different target numbers. Simple targets are a 2. Hard targets are a 6. When you do something, you take a number of dice equal to an attribute and a number equal to your skill level in the thing you are doing, learn your target number, and roll! If you get at least one die equal to the target number, you succeed. Extra successes can be banked or even reduce your stress.
Advantages and disadvantages– Advantages and disadvantages represent times when you have good or bad circumstances for an attempt. You get +1 die for each advantage, and you get one less die for each disadvantage. Then you roll as normal.
Adrenaline– Adrenaline is the control the characters have. You have adrenaline points, and you can spend them before a roll to double your dice pool, or you can spend them after to reroll failures.
Stress and Horror- It wouldn’t be zombie horror without stressing out characters and the horror of it all. Stress represents strain on the characters. Stress measures how bad things are. For each point of stress, reduce your dice pool by one. Stress rises and falls as story events happen. Stress can even cause a panic roll. Here you experience a panic attack, and it might get better or a whole lot worse! Horror measures the story’s progress and crazy effects. It affects your search results. When the movie first starts and the horror is at 1, the characters find items that help, but nothing crazy. When the horror hits the fan at 5, the movie characters find rocket launchers and more! Horror affects how much good the characters have and what they find as the game continues.
Combat and damage– Combat is easy. The GM rolls a die, and either the players or monsters go first. Then it’s one character on a side till all characters go. When you attack, the mechanics are the same as the base mechanics. Every character and monster has a defense, which is the TN for the attack roll. You can use additional successes for additional damage added to your base weapon’s damage. Then the target subtracts armor from that damage. Damage first affects the target’s toughness. Then damage spills into an ECG tracker. As damage flows into the ECG, the target gets more stress and adrenaline. Go too low, and you die!
Ok, now the review .
Mechanics or Crunch: This game feels like Shadowrun and DnD had a baby. It’s a dice pool system with different target DCs. It’s fast and easy, but it’s got enough to build on that I am intrigued. I like what I see and enjoy how quick this one is. Solid, fast fun. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– I played RE on a PlayStation before it was called a PS One. This brings back memories from long ago. I love the games, and this honestly feels like less of an homage and more of a copy in some solid, fun, good ways. Honestly, I a surprised by how close this game gets to Resident Evil without copyright strikes. But, I love RE, so I love this one as well. 5/5
Execution: It’s free. That’s the first thing that I need to say, so check out the quick start. From there, you see this is an absolute labor of love. The game has four pregens, maps, a full four-hour adventure in a police station, and handouts. This is everything I want to see in a quickstart for money, but IT’S FREE! I honestly want to run this before the Kickstarter ends. It’s that well put together. 5/5
Summary: I entered the world of survival horror long ago. This quickstart has everything I want to take away and bring to the tabletop. It’s solid, quick gameplay. It has all the pieces I remember from long ago and from modern Resident Evil games. It’s well put together. This is just a solid product that is 100% free to try. I love what this is, and I can’t wait for more. 100%
Let the sea drink of you! A spell for the Sorcerer!
You pull life from a target. You may spend your action and test SPIRIT DR12 to deal damage to 1 target and heal yourself for the same amount.
Fumble: Reduces your health and heals the target.
It ignores armor and deals: I.1d4 II.2d4 III.3d4
Thoughts?
