Author: fineyoungmisanthrope

Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of Pan Am

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Product-Pan Am

Producer– Prospero Hall

Price– $34.99 here https://www.target.com/p/funko-pan-am-board-game/-/A-79396299?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&CPNG=PLA_Toys%2BShopping_Local&adgroup=SC_Toys&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=c&location=1019378&ds_rl=1246978&ds_rl=1248099&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgJv4BRCrARIsAB17JI5zgkskI0QJnO50_tOBEn0Zb9Q8dDmcrs18o43fB6wHDQrQisGabAoaAkyCEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Set-up/Play/Clean-up– 30 to 60 minutes (2-4 players)

Type- Euro

Depth-Light

TL; DR– Strong euro with a good, strange theme.  94%

Basics- Who’s ready to fly?  Pan Am is a game all about owning enough of Pan Am to be its leader.  The basic flow of the game is worker placement with an outbid mechanic.  Each turn an event is revealed, players place and replace workers called engineers, actions happen, and finally Pan Am buys routes and players buy stock.  Events change the stock price and set new things in motion from free planes to giving extra actions.  The options for placing engineers on the board are: build airports, win location cards, build planes, claim routes, and get directive cards.  These all factor into routes.  To claim a route you have to have an airport at the start or end of a route, have a location card of a start or end of the route, discard a card in the the same area as the route, or discard two cards from the same area that isn’t where the route you want is.  This makes airports and location cards key.  There are four types of airplanes with each being able to fly farther and farther.  Claiming a route gives you money every turn as income as long as you control the route.  Directives are wild cards that give you powers from free end game stock to extra planes and everything in between.  The key in this game is bidding.  Each airplane airport, or location space has different money amounts.  You can choose any location, but if a player is willing to pay more, you are bumped and you get to redeploy that worker.  The last part of the turn is Pan Am buying routes from the players.  When Pan Am randomly buys a route by following a marked flow on the board from a random die roll, it gives the player money based on the size of the route, but reduces your end-of-round income as you no longer control the route.  Lastly you get income based on the routes and airports you control. Income can be saved or spent to buy stock.  The game lasts 7 rounds.  In rounds 4 and 6 the options to buy bigger planes are revealed as action spaces.  Once the game is over, the person with the most stock is the winner!

Mechanics-If you want a euro that you can give a friend to show them that there is more to life than Candyland, this is a great game for that!  You place workers, maybe get outbid, but then you gain the actions.  The whole game is lightning quick.  Reading rules to punching out cardboard to play was 15 minutes for me.  And I felt like it was playing a decent game!  Now, will I bring my hard core, “twelve hours of thinking for each move” europlayers to this one?  No.  It’s pretty simple.  But simple isn’t bad! 4.75/5

Theme- Huh.  Had you told me a year ago that I would go to Target and buy a game about an old airplane company, and I’d feel like I was building a transportation empire in the 60s, I would tell you that sounds horrible.  But, it’s honestly a ton of fun.  You feel like you are making smart choices.  You feel like you are buying stock and making company choices.  I felt like I was a good businessman.  Art and colors also make this a phenomenal experience. 4.5/5

Instructions–  Solid rules in this one.  Now, it’s a simple game so I don’t have lots of edge cases to sort out, but I honestly understood what was up and didn’t need to consult the oracle of BGG to find how to play.  Well done rules that make reading a snap! 5/5

Execution–  I loved this game!  Check out all the pieces here: https://youtu.be/Tm3uREbgkc4  The planes are amazing.  The art style is the right kind of retro. Color looks old school.  Text is nice and easy to read.  The one thing that bugs me a bunch is give me extra bags for all the cardboard.  Bags prove you love me!    4.5/5

Summary-This is a solid, entry level euro that is well done.  The rules don’t scare away new people.  The aesthetic all look amazing. Actions feel like they should.  I just wish I had a few more bags and maybe make things a tad heaver for the hardcore.  But for the intro player, amazing.  It’s not bad by any means, but if you want a deeper than an hour experience, you will be disappointed.  If you want a solid intro to euro style games, then this will be a phenomenal game in your collection. 94%

Daily Punch 7-10-20 Conduit of Fate M1-6 mystic spell for Starfinder

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Conduit of Fate M1–6

School enchantment

Casting Time 1 standard action

Range 30 feet

Targets two or more living creature

Duration 10 minutes/level

Saving Throw Will half (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)

You speak words of power and twin two willing souls together. Chose a number of willing creature in range as determined below. Those souls now share a total hit point pool. Damage to one deals damage to the whole hit point total. When the total hit point total is reduced to zero, both begin to die. When you heal one of the pair, increase the total hit point total by that much. When the spell ends, divide the remaining hit point total as equally as possible. This spell has no effect on stamina points.

1st: 2 willing creatures

2nd: 3 willing creatures

3rd: 4 willing creatures

4th: 5 willing creatures

5th: 5 willing creatures

6th: 7 willing creatures

Casting this spell doesn’t provoke attacks of opportunity.

Daily Punch 7-8-20 and 7-9-20 Conduit of Fate spell for DnD 5e and Pathfinder 2nd Ed

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Got to make up a day, so let’s make a spell for a few different systems!

Conduit of Fate

1st-level enchantment

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V,S
Duration: concentration, up to one minute

You speak words of power and twin two willing souls together. Chose two willing creature in range. Those souls now share a total hit point pool. Damage to one deals damage to the whole hit point total. When the total hit point total is reduced to zero, both begin to die. When you heal one of the pair, increase the total hit point total by that much. When the spell ends, divide the remaining hit point total as equally as possible.

At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, increases the number of creatures included in the hit point pool by 1 for each slot level above 1st.

Conduit of Fate SPELL 1

Healing Enchantment

Traditions divine, primal

Cast [two-actions]

Range 30 feet; Targets 2 willing living creatures

You speak words of power and twin two willing souls together. Chose two willing creature in range. Those creatures now share a total hit point pool which is the sum of their hit points. Damage to one deals damage to the whole hit point total. When the total hit point total is reduced to zero, both begin to die as normal. When you heal one of the pair, increase the total hit point total by that much. When the spell ends, divide the remaining hit point total as equally as possible.

Heightened (+1) The number of creatures increase by 1.

Daily Punch 7-7-20 Genetic Destabalizer technological item for Starfinder

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How about we move the previous item to Starfinder? Let’s melt some people!


Name		levelPrice—damageUsage
Genetic Destabilizer, Mk 142100—1d41/day
Genetic Destabilizer, Mk 289300—2d41/day
Genetic Destabilizer, Mk 31235000—3d41/day
Genetic Destabilizer, Mk 416165000—5d41/day
Genetic Destabilizer, Mk 520815000—6d41/day

This item is a simple black box with a touch screen on the front. You can select a creature species on the menu, and the box will emit a subspace wave out to 30 feet. Creature of the species begin to destabilize at a molecular level. Each round when a creature of that species enters or starts its turn in the area around the box, it must make a Fortitude saving throw or take sonic damage depending on the level of the item. The DC of the save is equal to 12 + half the item’s level. Each time after the first save, increase the DC by 1.

Thoughts?

Daily Punch 7-6-20 Corpsebane Potion for Pathfinder 2e

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Another witcher inspired potion! I like the potion that damages undead that just hang out near you. Wonder if Pathfinder needs that?

Corpsebane Item 1+

Alchemical Elixir Consumable
Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk L
Activate

Single Action

 

This flask filled with the essence of undead distilled and purified with prayer. When consumed, you emit a faint light out to 30 feet. Any undead in the area must make a Fortitude saving throw or they are damaged by holy energy at the start of their turn or when they enter the area. They must repeat this at the start of any turn in the area or when they enter the area.

Corpsebane (Lesser)Item 1

Price 3 gp
Bulk L
Saving Throw DC 17 Fortitude. It deals 1d3 positive damage.

Corpsebane (Moderate)Item 3

Price 10 gp
Bulk L
Saving Throw DC 19 Fortitude. It deals 1d6 positive damage.

Corpsebane (Greater)Item 11

Price 250 gp
Bulk L
Saving Throw DC 28 Fortitude. It deals 3d3 positive damage.

Corpsebane (Major)Item 17

Price 2,500 gp
Bulk L
You Saving Throw DC 37 Fortitude. It deals 2d6 positive damage.

Ring Side Report-RPG Review of Dungeon Crawl Classics #94: Neon Knights

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Product– Dungeon Crawl Classics #94: Neon Knights

System-DCC RPG

Producer– Goodman Games

Price– $6.99  here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/221855/Dungeon-Crawl-Classics-94-Neon-Knights?affiliate_id=658618

TL; DR-Two tastes that don’t quite go together. 78%

Basics-How do we stop a hoard who feels no pain!  Zombies or unfeeling monsters have surrounded the town, and you are called to aid the defence.  But mid-meeting you are whisked away to do the bidding of a wizard.  Can you save the town and stop being a mister fixit on call?

Mechanics or Crunch-This adventure is short!  The major bad guy is the wizard who keeps summoning you.  You can fight the zombies, but the book makes it seem like you will die.  As a DM I would kill you as well.  The tower with the wizard isn’t bad, but he also is pretty much the only thing in it.  It’s a short dungeon with balanced fights, but just not enough of them.  It’s a little too old school as you have to find the fights and the goods here as opposed to them being out in the open for you to pillage and kill.  I didn’t hate it, but it will require you to punch up the adventure to keep your group involved.  4/5

Theme or Fluff-There are not one, but two things for the PCs to face. But, they are tied together.  BUT, only you, the GM, really get that.  The wizard only brings you in when he needs help.  You have to find and explore the place in seven rounds before he sends you back.  The zombies are ok, but why are they here?  I know why because I read the book, but it feels like two different adventures put together.   I didn’t hate this, but even after reveals, my players felt like there were really two adventures here.  Both of the singles are good, but together it’s three Michelen star steak mixed with gold ribbon winning chocolate.  Maybe these two things shouldn’t go together.  3/5

Execution–  PDF?  YEP!  Hyperlinked?  no…That’s honestly my biggest gripe here.  The execution isn’t bad.  I would like clean maps I can show my players without having things marked on the map that they find.  Text read fast and I could play quickly.  It is one of the standard well put together DCC modules I know and love.  4.75/5

Summary-I don’t hate this one, but this might not be the first adventure I show to new players.  I was able to turn this to keeping my players on the purple planet.  It works well that way, but the basic story gets lost in most of the GM fluff.  Not bad, but unless the players work to make friends with their captor, they won’t get it.  The dungeon needs more pieces and stuff to play with in the form of fights or toys.  The presentation is good, but I still want hyperlinks!  Overall, it’s an ok adventure that is maybe a bit too stuffed with disparate things.  78%

Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of Call to Adventure

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Product-Call to Adventure

Producer– Brotherwise Games

Price– $30.00 here https://www.amazon.com/Brotherwise-Games-BGM018-Call-Adventure/dp/B07JN6XY6Z/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2N3XFUONODGO9&dchild=1&keywords=call+to+adventure+board+game&qid=1593728170&sprefix=call+to+adventure%2Caps%2C173&sr=8-1

Set-up/Play/Clean-up– 30 to 45 minutes (2-4 players)

Type- American

Depth-Light

TL; DR-Set Collection Your Own Adventure!  95%

Basics- Who will you be?  Call to Adventure is a character building game of set collection and dice rolling.  Each character at the start of the game will be given three cards: a background, a motivation, and a destiny.  The background and motivation cards have rune symbols representing traits that your character will use to attempt to adventure, as well as powers that your character can use each turn.  Each turn your character must choose either an adventure or trait from the tableau.  Traits are cards you just take, but adventures are events you must choose to encounter.  Each adventure has two traits associated with it.  You see if you have any matching traits on the cards you currently have, you add one of those trait’s runes to your “dice pool” (which is actually a rune pool) for each symbol your character has.  Then you choose on the adventure card if you will attempt the encounter on the bottom or the top section.  Each one has a different story AND different rewards/challenges.  You then take the three basic runes that either give one success, no success, or draw a hero/antihero (one time use card) as well as the runes you gathered before based on your current cards, and you may spend experience to add dark runes to the pool.  These either add one success or two success and make you more evil!  You then cast the runes (instead of rolling dice), and you count your successes.  If you succeed you gain the card and place it under your current one to show the challenge you overcame.  If you fail, you lose the card, but gain an experience.  Play continues until one player has three cards under their background, motivation, and destiny.  All other players get to finish the round and have one additional round to catch up and then you add all victory points from any cards you played and sets of icons you collected, and the player with the most destiny points is the winner!

Mechanics-This game sneaks up on you as you might only have nine turns if you are lucky!  It’s very quick, and it’s easy to forget that you are collecting sets of icons and points.  But, man is it fun!  It’s quick enough to not wear out its welcome, but it’s also deep enough that you will have to think a bit.  Experience is a great way to fix the luck of the dice issue, but dice/runes can absolutely ruin your fun here.  But even then, you will still not have a bad time as it’s not a long game and some traits are won by losing.  Overall, it’s a dice rolling and set collection game.  4.5/5

Theme- This is a solid story game.  When you are done, you will be amazed how well the story of your character emerges.  I FEEL like I am this person playing a year long campaign forging this hero in an RPG.  If you are a story gamer like me, YOU WILL LOVE THIS!  5/5

Instructions–  The rules here are good, but you will end up on BGG.  There are some corner cases where I have to check exactly what the game rules mean.  Even without board game geek, you can figure out enough to settle on house rules to get you playing.  The rules are written well enough that you will get running fast enough to play in about 10 minutes.  These are solid rules, but a few flaws keep them from being the gold standard. 4.5/5

Execution–  This is a fantastically executed game!  Check out all the pieces here: https://youtu.be/n0OI0_nS1e8   YOU CAST RUNES!  It feels like every druid fortune telling scene in a viking movie.  That right there is amazing.  The cards are excellent.  Everytime I teach this game players want to stare at the cards as the details are amazing and tell a story themselves.  The box is amazing.  It has great compartments to keep things organized.  Honestly, more games need to be built like this game!   5/5

Summary–  This is a game you will either LOVE or HATE.  If you want a 12 hour euro game where each move is planned six moves ahead, then this is not the game for you!  If you, like me, played eight games of RPGs at the BGG virtual con AND have two play by post games going at the same time, then I have a board game for you and for you to woo your RPG friends into.  It’s light enough to be a blast to play quickly, but deep enough for you to find a story to dig into with enough mechanics that you can enjoy your choices.  Like all dice games, you can be wrecked by the dice, and I would like a bit more in the rules to elaborate.  But, this game is a blast to play and one that any RPG gamer and board gamer needs in their collection. 95%

Daily Punch 7-2-20 Helm of the Survivor wondrous item for DnD 5e

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helm of the survivor

Helm of the Survivor

Wondrous item, rare

This helmet is made from bashed together metal plates from the scraps of other helmets of those who were the last to survive a battle. While wearing this helm, you gain a +1 bonus to AC and increase your maximum hit points by one hit point per level. In addition, while wearing this helmet, you will always be the last one to survive the battle. If you would be killed, you teleport to the last safe bed you slept in and are at one hit point waking up the next morning . If the last safe place you slept is not safe, the magic of the helm will continue to find the previous place until it finds a place where you are safe to wake up.

Thoughts?

Ring Side Report-RPG Review of Ghoul Island Act 1: Voyage to Farzeen

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Product– Ghoul Island Act 1: Voyage to Farzeen

System-DnD 5e

Producer– Petersen Games

Price– $15.00  here  https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/308667/Ghoul-Island-Act-1-Voyage-to-Farzeen?affiliate_id=658618

TL; DR-Solid book that tells you what it is.  95%

Basics– What horrors lurk under Farzeen?  This is the first part of an epic heroic fantasy campaign from Sandy Petersen.  This adventure starts off with mutiny aboard a ship, involves the crew being battered by horrible dreams, losing the crew, finding the city of Farzeen, and eventually finding the crew after they flee to a temple below the island.  Along the way the players meet monstrous deep ones, less monstrous ghouls, and an ancient evil long forgotten below this island.

Mechanics or Crunch-This is a solid adventure.  The math checks out as  it’s just applying the basic 5e rules for the crunch.  It uses Sandy Petersen’s dread rules, so you will need the Cthulhu Mythos book for that.  Overall, a solidly put together adventure full of fun fights and exploration for low level characters.  5/5

Theme or Fluff-This part is where expectations have to be set early.  I honestly think the best way to play Call of Cthulhu is a one shot.  People in a normal world, thrown into a crazy situation, damaged beyond repair, then left to deal with the horror for the rest of their lives.  That’s good cosmic horror.  This isn’t that, and the book is VERY up front with that.  This is heroic fantasy with horror thrown in.  This adventure isn’t written to be 20 levels of just sheer cosmic horror.  You get to be awesome stomping a deep one.  Also, some of the main characters are ghouls.  Some players are going to miss this, but Lovecraft ghouls are not DnD ghouls.  They are more dog men really.  It’s things like that that will require your players and you to adjust expectations.  Nothing is bad, but you have to read this and see exactly what the author intends.  4.5/5

Execution–  PDF?  YEP!  Hyperlinked?  no…That’s honestly my only gripe here.  The layout is good.  Text size is good.  Art is well done.   There is even a separate book that is the Farzeen Gazetteer that gives you background on the town and island.  That’s an amazing value for 15 bucks considering this is a full length adventure and a whole small book on the island itself!  Just hyperlink and this would be one of the best products this year.   4.75/5

Summary-Sandy Petersen’s team put out another top notch product here.  It has solid crunch for the adventure.  The story is good, but you HAVE to read what it is and what it is not.  I also love the pieces of this thing.  My gripes are small-I always want PDFs with hyperlinks now, and I went in expecting only cosmic horror all day long.  If you can get past those small issues, then you have an incredible start to what is shaping up to be an amazing campaign with the resources you need to make a fun, in depth game for your players.  95%