Ring Side Report- Board Game Review of Ugly Gryphon Inn
Author: fineyoungmisanthrope
Daily Punch 3-15-21 Precision feat for DnD 5e
Had this happen this weekend, and I think it belongs here.
Precision
You’ve learned to aim true and save your friends in the clutch. When you make an attack that targets an area, you may prevent one target in the area from being affected by the attack.
Thoughts?
Daily Punch 3-12-21 Researcher rogue Archetype for DnD 5e
How about a rogue who learns things?
Researcher
You don’t need to be the quickest person, but you can be the smartest person in the room. Your goal is to find out how the world works. Now you’ve set off into the world to see what you can learn!
Contents [show]
Study
Starting at 3rd level, you can use the bonus action to make a Intelligence(religion), Intelligence(nature), or Intelligence(arcana) check (DC 8 + 1/2 creature CR). If you succeed, you can make an sneak attack against the target without advantage or another ally engaged with the target.
Learned
You gain proficiency in religion, nature, and arcana. You may change what skill you choose for your expertise ability
Observent
Starting at 9th level, you gain expertise in either perception or in investigation. If you have expertise in either of these, you can choose a different skill to gain expertise in.
Document
By 13th level, if you have already succeed on a check using your study ability against a type of creature, you always can make a sneaks against that type of creature in the future. For example, succeeding against a black dragon would allow you to always make sneak attacks against black dragons in the future, but you would need to make the check against green dragons as they would be a different creature type.
Present
When you reach 17th level, you can help your allies with the skills you have learned. Once per day, as a bonus action, you can give any number of a use of your sneak attack damage bonus dice against one creature that you have studied before or have used your document ability with. For one bonus action, you can designate as many creatures as you want against a single target. Each creature can use your sneak attack against one target. Additional bonus actions are need to choose different targets. The ability to make a sneak attack goes away after one minute. Multiple creatures can sneak attack the same target in a tern using this ability. You are limited to one of sneak attack a target a round as normal. You regain this ability after a long rest.
Thoughts?
Ring Side Report-RPG Review of Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 Quickstart
Product– Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 Quickstart
System- 2d20
Producer– Modiphius
Price– FREE here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/347802/Achtung-Cthulhu-2d20-Quickstart?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR– Let’s kill some Cthulhu Nazis! 97%
Basics– The Weird Wars are back! Achtung! Cthulhu is a horror/action RPG using the Achtung! Cthulhu world and the new(er) 2d20 system put forward by Modiphius. Let’s dig into this historical horror.
Base mechanics-The 2d20 system is a roll-under system. Every time you do an action, you use a skill and an attribute. You add your skill and attribute together and try to roll under that total on each individual die. If you roll under your skill, you score two successes and if you roll under the total you just score one success. Get enough successes, you do the action. You need between 0 and five successes.
Momentum, threat, and fortune- Since you only get two dice and you might need up to five successes, you need more dice in a hurry. You can get more dice from momentum. Every success above what you need earns momentum for the group. You can spend momentum to get more dice. You can also give the GM threat to get more dice, but threat is GM momentum. You also have fortune. Fortune is story candy. You automatically crit and earn two successes.
Combat-Combat works just like skills, but if you hit, you roll six sided dice with either 1, 2, or 1 and a bonus event on them. The bonus things might start fires or do extra damage and depends on the weapons and the person using it. When you take damage, you subtract either armor or your resolve (mental armor) and take stress. When your stress fills up, you are out and you take an injury. This could be from going crazy or from taking a hit to the face. Too many injuries and you’re out for good!
Ok, now my thoughts on this.
Mechanics or Crunch– I like what’s here. I love Call of Cthulhu, and 2d20 feels enough like that but it has some things that feel like DnD. There are feat like traits. There is a more combat emphasis, and the flow of threat and momentum makes things a bit more dynamic than either parent game. There are parts I want described more like spending threat. This is a quickstart for free, so it’s ok if it’s not a complete rules book now, but I want more of that in the final product. That said, the crunch here feels good and full of combat goodness with hints of story built in to keep the action rolling. 4.5/5
Theme or Fluff– Hate Nazis? Want to hate Cthulhu Naizs? I’VE GOT A GAME FOR YOU! The ultimate killable bad guys are the main villains here, so it always feels fun to fight those guys. It is Weird War, so get ready for some strange elements, from spellcasting Americans to Australians with combat dogs. But, here is where things shine. 2d20 is built on this back and forth of rolls, story, and tension. Momentum and threat roll back and forth across the table making things fun. There is absolutely nothing wrong with some old school gaming, but for story and theme, I love when the mechanics build into that. This system does that well. 5/5
Execution– PDF? YEP! Hyperlinked? No, but it’s a quickstart, so I’ll forgive it. It reads well, reads quick, and has great pictures. Now those pictures are from the original Acthung! Cthulhu, so I hope for new art, but it’s all good. The player section is at the back and easily prints out to a separate PDF, so my players will not be spoiled. Honestly, it’s 45+pages of good introduction to the system that you can read in under half an hour and get playing your first game. 5/5
Summary-This is a free PDF, so check it out! It’s also a solid RPG with a great mix of theme and mechanics. Lots of fun to be had from this quick read that you will be playing fast. Go kill some bad guys and save the day in the Weird War! 97%
Daily Punch 3-10-21 and 3-11-21 Advisor and Improved Advisor feat for DnD 5e
Howa bout some use of knowledge to make life better on the battle field? FEAT TREES ARE NOT DEAD TO ME! lol
Advisor
You are a guide for your friends. Gain the following benefits:
- Increase you Wisdom or Intelligence by 1, to a maximum of 20.
- As an action, you can make an Intelligence(arcana), Intelligence(religion), Intelligence(nature) check against a creature in range (DC 8 + 1/2 creature CR). If you succeed, your allies that can hear you gain advantage against the target for one turn. You can reuse this ability after a short rest.
and how about we make it even better?
Improved Advisor
prerequisite -advisor
You’ve gotten quicker at telling others what to do. Gain the following benefits:
- Increase you Wisdom or Intelligence by 1, to a maximum of 20.
- You can use your advisor ability as a bonus action.
Thoughts?
Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of Ruins: Death Binder
Product-Ruins: Death Binder
Producer– Heavy Punch Games
Price-$49.99 https://tgg-games.com/products/ruins-death-binder
Set-up/Play/Clean-up– 90 minutes per player (1-2 players)
Type- American
Depth-medium
TL; DR– the real card based Darksouls. 81.3%
Basics- Can you find out why they want to kill you? In Ruins: Death Binder you wake in a cave next to a body. Monsters instantly hunt you and the people you find want you dead. Can you find out the mystery of the cave?
Base mechanics-This game is a reverse deck builder. You start with a MASSIVE deck of cards. The campaign has you move from room to room and encounter monsters, events, rest areas, or a crazy combination. When you fight monsters you are allowed to play melee attacks or spells up to an amount determined by your current value, starting with three. Monsters take different amounts of damage depending on their vulnerability. More vulnerability means more damage from that type. If they are not dead, you take damage. Events are decisions or fighting obstacles. After you play a round of cards, you are allowed to save a few of those cards, but not all. Just like a deckbuilder when your draw pile is done, you shuffle your saved cards, and draw again. Monsters and events both give you experience. At fires you can spend cards to heal and experience to level up. You will then move through the dungeon to find bosses and solve scenario cards to discover the mystery of why you are in the cave.
Mechanics– This game is very simple, but engaging. You quickly play cards and move through the dungeon. It’s a fast game that isn’t overcomplicated. The idea of a reverse deck builder is a new one for me, and I am honestly excited at the idea it provides. 5/5
Theme-Honestly, this is a great game for the emergent story as you work your way through your adventure. It’s simple, but compared to other games, this does feel like the most Darksouls game I have seen in a long time. It’s even more Darksouls than the Darksouls card game. 4.5/5
Instructions– These rules are not good. The mechanics are simple, but turn write-ups are way in the back of the book, rule explanations are spread out all over, level up explanations are put in a diagram explaining the pieces, and many other things just don’t read well. Once you understand it, it’s not bad, but it’s just a jarring start to the game. 2/5
Execution– This is a well executed game! Check out the pieces in this video: https://youtu.be/bJk_HbNg3Y4 The box is well made. The cards are good quality and look nice and read well. The tableaux are well done and it feels nice to move cubes. I love how well this is made. One thing I think is a pain is small cards. I always hate small cards. That said, this is a solidly executed game. 4.75/5
Summary– This is a great game with one major flaw. I love the mechanics. I have NEVER had a game where losing cards hurts as much as this one. The theme is amazing. It’s got great environmental storytelling. The pieces and parts are solid and well done. The major flaw is the rules. It’s a ROUGH start, but once you get past that, you will enjoy it. Solid game with a fun theme and great mechanics overshadow bad rules in this fun game. 81.3%
Daily Punch 3-9-21 Scientist Operative specialization for Starfinder
Let’s keep the idea rolling with the operative.
Scientist
You learn how your opponents work so you can take them apart.
Associated Skills: Life Science and Physical Science. You can use Life Science or Physical Science, depending on what is appropriate to the creature, to make trick attacks. Life Science and Physical science are now considered class skills for you.
Specialization Exploit: glimpse the truth.
Share Knowledge (Ex): At 11th level, you can train your friends to see what you see. When you make a trick attack and succeed on the trick check, the target is considered flat footed to all allies who are aware of you. for one round.
Thoughts?
Daily Punch 3-8-21 Improved Adaptive Upgrade feat for Starfinder
How about we build a bit better?
IMPROVED ADAPTIVE UPGRADE
You’re just built better.
Prerequisite(s): Adaptive Upgrade
Benefit(s): upgrades can be up to 3/4 your ranks in Engineering.
Thoughts?
Daily Punch 3-5-21 Accuracy Curse spell for DnD 5e
How about some more crits in our life?
Accuracy Curse
2nd-level enchantment
Casting Time:1 action
Range:60 feet
Components: V, S, M (an arrowhead)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
Choose a target that you can see within range. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or all attacks on the target are more accurate. Until the spell ends, increase the range of attacks that score a critical hit on the target by 1.
At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4rd level or higher, you increase the critical range by 1 for every two levels above 2nd.
Thoughts?
Daily Punch 3-3-21 and 3-4-21 Intelligent Attack and Improved Intelligent Attack feats for Starfinder
I want to build a smart guy who sees how the body works to get off those trick hits.
INTELLIGENT ATTACK (COMBAT)
You look over your opponent and find how to take them down.
Benefit: You can use knowledge checks in place of bluff to feint.
IMPROVED INTELLIGENT ATTACK (COMBAT)
You’ve gotten better at analyzing your opponents for weaknesses.
Prerequisites: intelligent attack.
Benefit: You can use knowledge checks to feint in combat as a move action.
Thoughts?
Throat Punch Games 