Author: fineyoungmisanthrope

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Starfinder Playtest Scenario #4: Rescue at Shimmerstone Mine

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Product– Starfinder Playtest Scenario #4: Rescue at Shimmerstone Mine

System- Starfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $5.99 here https://paizo.com/products/btq04v06?Starfinder-Playtest-Scenario-4-Rescue-at-Shimmerstone-Mine 

TL; DR-Good, but outside flaws hurt the adventure.  95% 

Basics– Hey Kid, want to find some miners for us?  Rescue at Shimmerstone Mine is a quick adventure for level 15 Starfinder 2nd Ed characters.  Players are contracted to find some missing miner after communications went dark.  What happened in the mines?

Mechanics or Crunch– It’s high level Pathfinder/Starfinder 2nd Ed content by Paizo-it’s good.  The math works well here as it’s more of the classic formula with players attempting to find all the missing miners.  There are fights, traps, and puzzles for them to solve.  Mathematically it works well. 5/5

Theme or Fluff– For what it is, it’s a solid adventure.  This is a three hour adventure, so if you want more story, you will be a bit out of luck.  It is an engaging story of a mine that went crazy and understanding why the mine exploded into crazy riots is part of the Starfinder RPG system and Starfinder universe update, but the adventure’s story works well enough all on its own.  For a short adventure, it’s a fun one. 5/5

Execution– Paizo did a good job here, but dropped the ball in some very serious ways.  It’s hyperlinked, well laid out, yadda yadda and the standard good things that Paizo does.  But, there are serious issues as well as some minor issues.  The minor:  the adventure says there are x number of miners and you will not find that number.  That’s minor, but it drove a player of mine mad!  The majors are Paizo didn’t put in a separate picture page for the NPCs.  They do that in the Pathfinder and Starfinder adventures, but why not here?  It’s even more of an issue because they literally put pictures of the NPCs in the text.  Give me a page with them alone to show the players.  But the biggest sin here is the lack of pregens.  Paizo wants players to make level 15 characters.  No, give me some you think my players would build. You did it for level 1 and 5, but why not 10 and 15?  You can find them online as people are making them, but that’s a big issue here.  This is a good adventure with some serious outside execution issues.  4.25/5

Summary–  I like this one, but the flaws are here.  In terms of pure math and crunch, it’s solid workmanship showing off the system.  For the story itself, it’s fun and expands the world.  For the execution, there are a few faults.  No pregens is a big red flag.  GIVE ME THOSE PREGENS!  Make this plug n’ play for tables!  Beyond those issues, it’s a good adventure that will play in 2-3 hours while expanding a bit on the world.  95%  

Daily Punch 11-29-24 Mind Reader occultism skill feat for Pathfinder 2nd Ed.

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Let me read you!

Mind Reader one action Feat 15

General Skill Divination Mental
Prerequisites legendary in Occultism
Frequency three times per day
Defence Will

What are you up to? You may attempt to read another creatures mind. As an action, indicate an NPC you are aware of. The GM will roll a secret Occultism check for you vs the targets Will Defense.
Critical Success You know the targets actions for the next two turns to the best of the GM ability.
Success You know the targets actions for the next turn to the best of the GM ability.
Failure You do not know the targets actions.
Critical Failure The GM will tell you false information regarding the creatures next turn.

Thoughts?

Daily Punch 11-28-24 Soul Gaze vampire power for DCC RPG

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Look into my eyes!

Soul Gaze
Level: 1Range 30 feetDuration: instantaneousCasting time: 1 actionSave: Willpower vs vampire check
GeneralYou look into a target’s eye and they freeze in place. Any damage breaks the gaze
Manifestationroll 1d4: (1) The casters eyes glow with purple light. (2) For the target, the world goes dark except your eyes. (3) Your eyes glow white with a flash. (4)The target cant look away from your eyes.
1failure, power may not be used again today
2-11failure
12-13One target is frozen in place for 1 round
14-17One target is frozen in place for 1d3 round
18-191d3+1 target is frozen in place for 1d3 round
20-231d3+1 target is frozen in place for 1d6 round
24-271d6+1 target is frozen in place for 2d6 round
28-291d6+1 target is frozen in place for 2d8 round
30-311d6+1 target is frozen in place for 3d8 round
32+1d6+1 target is frozen in place until you release them

Daily Punch 11-26-24 Regeneration Vampire power for DCC RPG

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Time to feel better!

Regeneration
Level: 1Range personalDuration: instantaneousCasting time: 1 actionSave: none
Generalyour body healls itself
Manifestationroll 1d4: (1) Woulds spontaneously close (2) Blood retreats and flesh reknits itself (3)You glow darkly and your wounds are healled (4) people blink and everyone misses it but your body is restored
1failure, power may not be used again today
2-11failure
12-13You regain 1d4 hit points
14-17You regain 1d6 hit points
18-19You regain 2d6 hit points
20-23You regain 2d8 hit points
24-27You regain 3d8 hit points
28-29You regain 3d10 hit points
30-31You regain 4d10 hit points
32+You regain 4d12 hit points

Daily Punch 11-25-24 Occult Master occultism skill feat for Pathfinder 2nd Ed

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More occultism, and time for even more spells!

Occult Master Variable actions Feat 15

General Skill
Prerequisites legendary in Occultism

You force the spirits to do your bidding. Once per day, you can choose an occult 2nd level spell that is not uncommmon and attempt a DC30 Occultism check. If you succeed, you cast the spell using as many actions as that spell normally takes. You use either your Charisma or Intelligence as the spell casting ability and are considered an expert to determine spell casting attack or save DC.

Thoughts?

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Xcrawl Classics RPG (XCC RPG)

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Product– Xcrawl Classics RPG (XCC RPG)

System- DCC

Producer– Goodman Games

Price– $41.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/499743/xcrawl-classics-rpg-xcc-rpg?affiliate_id=658618 

TL; DR–  Miss old school wrestling and RPGS?  HERE YOU GO! 100% 

Basics– FROM THE TURNBUCKLE!  Xcrawl is the crazy spawn of DCC and American Gladiators.  Players are crawlers in a world where magic happens, but Emperor Reagan used a DnD game to keep the masses in check.  I am not making that up.  You quest LIVE on TV for MONEY and PRIZES while dungeon judges or DJs put traps and monsters in your way.  Think a much more light hearted version of The Running Man.  Let’s look at this.

Core mechanics-  Can you play DCC?  Then you can play this.  If not, can you play DnD 3.5?  If not, we’ll teach you in about five minutes.  It’s D20 + numbers vs another number as the main mechanic.  Solid, fast and fun.

Character classes-  Like any other major DCC set, this one features several new classes.  We have the standard set of Fighter, rogue, wizard, cleric, but they are much more focused on combat and less outside stuff.  The fighter has two spiritual successors with one being all grappling and one being just about bringing pain to monsters.  The wizard gets a new class that is all about blasting stuff because Emperor Regean decreed it be (yes really!).  This book’s classes are much more combat based, but still have that DCC feel.

Mojo and Fame– DCC has luck where you can spend points to gain stuff, and this game has mojo and luck. Mojo is the favor of the crowd.  You do a signature move or do something cool, and you gain mojo. But, mojo isn’t for you-it’s for your friends!  You spend mojo points to help a buddy with a roll. It’s all about team work!  Fame is what you get as you become more famous.  You spend it to be recognized or get stuff out in the real world.  Fame is how cool you are.

Ok, now the review.

Mechanics or Crunch– Do you like DCC?  That’s going to determine if you like this.  Do you want simple 3.5 mechanics with just crazy stuff happening in the mechanics?  If you don’t, then this won’t be for you.  I love crazy and I love the DCC simplicity, so this is just more of a homerun for me. 5/5

Theme or Fluff– How much do you like 80s wrestling and the movie The Running Man?  That’s the theme of the world.  I am honestly a bit disappointed that the book isn’t more neon to drive the 80s aesthetic deeper into your mind.  But it’s a world where DnD was so popular that the God-King had to have geeks help him maintain social control through Wrestlemanina mixed with GenCon.  So, yeah, it’s nuts, but man is it fun.  5/5

Execution– Goodman games makes games that look like you would find them in the zine sections of a bookshop in 1985, but they are built and laid out like they were created in a major New York publishing house.  It reads fast with tons of pictures.  It’s searchable and hyperlinked, and the book comes with a reference book that I can give to players to help you make that level 1 character on the fly.  This is exactly what I want in a game.  5/5

Summary– I love what this book is, but I can promise that no matter how well its done, some of you will hate it.  If you need LotR levels of serious in your game night, keep moving.  No offense taken or meant, but this is not for you.  If you need Traveler or Shadowrun levels of crunch in your games, keep going.  You build your character by rolling a bunch of dice and then throwing the characters into a thing called a funnel.  Most will die, but your surviving person has a hell of a story!  If you like DCC and want some Kentucky Fried Crazy added to the mix, then this is for you.  Considering I’m writing this while watching the documentary on American Gladiators and have bored my wife with stories of 1980s wrestlers, this might have been made for me in particular.  Give this one a look if the theme and mechanics are up your alley.    100%