Author: fineyoungmisanthrope

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pumpkin Spice Quickstart

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Product– Pumpkin Spice Quickstart

System- Pumpkin Spice

Producer– Acheron Games

Price– free here https://www.acheron.it/en/pumpkin-spice-a-magically-cozy-rpg-info/ 

TL; DR– Want to run a coffee shop in a wholesome Shadowrun world? 100%

Basics– It will be ok.  Pumpkin Spice isn’t the normal RPG I play.  The world is not on fire.  The galaxy is at peace, and the only thing that really needs doing is prepping tomorrow’s donuts.  Maybe a coffee machine is on the fritz, but you can fix that.  Pumpkin Spice is about working at a magic coffee shop that preserves the magic font at its center.  It’s not high stakes action.  It’s not about stress.  It’s Animal Crossing meets Shadowrun.  There is magic.  There is a mystery, and there is a light noon rush.  Let’s break it down.

Base mechanics-  This is a d6 system, but not how you think.  Each face of the d6 is a different type of magic ranging from authority to imagination.  When an action requires it, you roll dice equal to the type of magic you want, and hope to get that result.  If you get one of those you hope for, like needing authority, a 1 on a d6, to deal with an angry customer, you hope to get at least one 1.  You get it, you get what you want.  You don’t, it might work out, but it’s less favorable.

Magic types and abilities- when you make a check, you have a trait you are tied to.  If you roll the trait you are tied to, you can spend one magic to change it to any result.  You can also work in reverse.  Change any face into one you are tied to.  But, there is only so much magic in the shop.  The shop has 10 magic.  When it gets to zero, it might dry up!  As your goal is to preserve the magic of the shop, that’s bad!

Ok, let’s discuss it.

Mechanics or Crunch–  This is not crunch heavy. It’s very much a simple RPG dealing with small problems.  The mechanic of just rolling a few dice and seeing what happens is an interesting one.  Not bad, but not the monster of crunch that I’ve seen.  And that’s ok.  It fits with the laid back nature of the game.  This isn’t fighting devils in the off hours of Charmed.  This is Animal Crossing, and that’s fun for a laid back day.  5/5

Theme or Fluff– Again, it’s a simple day.  This isn’t life ending.  The worst thing happening is maybe the souffle doesn’t rise.  Maybe it’s still edible, but just not as pretty.  That’s the scale here.  If you need to relax and not save the world today, and just craft some puff pastry and give them out to friends, then this is the game to play.  5/5

Execution– This is a quickstart, so I can’t comment on the whole book.  But, what’s here is well done.  It’s laid back.  There are simple descriptions, simple symbols, and a day of just relaxing in a book.  The book reads easily and is pretty to look at.  It’s intriguing for a quickstart, so im looking forward to the full book. 5/5

Summary– This isn’t my typical choice for an RPG, but that doesn’t mean I won’t play or join the crowdfunding.  It’s VERY different from my usual games of sadness and monsters.  But, that’s not bad.  This seems cozy, and that’s the goal.  You and your friends run a coffee shop where you save magic in a fantasy world with all the fantasy tropes.  It really is Animal Crossing mixed with Shadowrun.  100%

Daily Punch 1-23-26 Unknowable barathu ancestry feat for Starfinder 2nd Ed.

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You can’t hurt me if I don’t know either!

Unknowable reaction Feat 9

  • Barathu

Frequency once per hour
Trigger You must attempt a will save or are dealt mental damage

You can’t even attempt predict your own thoughts. When you attempt a will save or a save against mental damage, you can roll twice and take the better roll.

Thoughts?

Daily Punch 1-21-26 Reinvent Yourself barathu ancestry feat for Starfinder 2nd Ed

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Let’s consider new ideas!

Reinvent Yourself Feat 5

  • Barathu

Frequency once per day

You keep changing and reinventing yourself. Choose a lore skill you are at least trained in. You can change that lore skill to a different skil,l and you learn ideas from around yourself. Until you use this skill again, the previous lore skill is lost ,and the new one remains.

Thoughts?

Daily Punch 1-20-26 Negation vesk feat for Starfinder 2nd Ed

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I said no….


Negation Reaction Feat 17

  • Vesk
    Prerequisite: Plated Deflection
    Frequency: once per day
  • Trigger: You’re struck by an attack

Biology, psychology, and racial hegemony combine to create an unstoppable beast. Once per day when you are struck by an attack, you can say no and the attack does not hit and you are not affected by this attack or effect in any way. This can negate an attack or a save. Environmental effects like falling to your death can not be negated in this way.

Thoughts?

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Dungeon Crawl Classics Horror: Return of the Ripper

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Product– Dungeon Crawl Classics Horror: Return of the Ripper

System- DCC RPG

Producer– Strange Quark

Price– $9.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/497675/dungeon-crawl-classics-horror-return-of-the-ripper?affiliate_id=658618 

TL; DR-Want “From Hell” in DCC that becomes Dreamquest of the Unknown Kadath? 99%

Basics– Only the legend will survive. Return of the Ripper is a gothic adventure set in Punjar.  Women are being killed,and the players are on the case trying to stop more murders and figure out why women are being killed at night.  Who or what is causing these murders and what is their goal?

Mechanics or Crunch–  This has classic gothic horror DCC mechanics all over it.  It’s a festering city where crime means random encounters, corrupt cops mean fights you need to avoid, and an investigation where your abilities will be put to the test.  It’s got city exploration, social encounters, all kinds of fights, and even hexcrawl!  VERY IMPORTANT!  This is a campaign.  Characters will progress and grow as they explore Spittle-Fields.  And there is a lot to explore.  The book presents all kinds of encounters for the characters to have.  It’s balanced or as balanced as the OSR and DCC can be.  This book has solid crunch for the players to sink their teeth into. 5/5

Theme or Fluff– This is a long engaging story where it starts with Jack the Ripper and moves into crazy places, different dimensions, and navigating the politics of the undercity.  It’s not a mess, and that’s the most important thing. There is a lot here, and the authors present it in a way where you can follow it and present it to your players.  Players can do all kinds of crazy things, and those options are presented.  Some of those are bad ideas, but bad ideas never stopped players before!  Honestly, this is a sprawling city and eventual dimension hoping adventure where the GM and players get a bunch of fluff and story to dig into and enjoy. 5/5

Execution–  This is a solid adventure with a few minor issues.  This book has amazing maps, arts, and tables to make the reader able to get what they need semi-easily.  I have heard criticism of DCC books being a bit word heavy.  It’s got the standard DCC RPG two column layout with art along some of the pages’ sides.  I kind of wish there was more art to some of the pages.  The good thing is this book has an absolute TON of materials for the GM.  The bad thing is there is so much it’s hard to break it up, and a bit more art on some pages would help.  The art that is there is awesome, and the maps are amazing.  But, breaking up the text in all the DCC books would help.  The second minor criticism is the order.  It’s about 30 pages into the book before we get to the plot.  That’s the amount of background, random tables, and encounters that are presented.  I would like story first and extras second, because after the story there are more appendices.  So, moving all the awesome extra stuff to more appendices might help a bit.  But, what is here is fantastic.  Solid art, maps, and diagrams to help the players know where they are, and the GM be able to follow the action and where different things happened.  It’s a murder mystery, so it’s paramount that the GM knows how things are happening.  This book doesn’t confuse the GM so that the players won’t get confused either.  Solid stuff in this book!  4.8/5

Summary– I loved the movie “From Hell.”  This is the DCC RPG adaptation of an older module with massive additions that expand it from a one-night adventure to a multiple-month campaign.  There is a lot here, and the players have places to explore, plots to foil, and a major evil to end. The crunch is fair and what I expect for DCC RPG. The story and fluff are fun, and the execution is good with a few things I would possibly change.  If my problems with the book are not enough book, then this is a good adventure if you want to stop the ripper in Spittle-Fields.  99 %