Author: fineyoungmisanthrope

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%  

Daily Punch 11-20-24 Occult Dilatant occultism skill feat for Pathfinder 2nd Ed

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More nature, and times for the one for more spells!

Occult Dilatant Variable actions Feat 7

General Skill
Prerequisites master in Occultism

The spirits continue to speak to you. Once per day, you can choose an occult 1st level spell that is not uncommmon and attempt a DC25 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 Pirate Borg

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Product– Pirate Borg

System- Pirate Borg

Producer– Free League Publishing

Price– $19.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/441728/pirate-borg-core-book?affiliate_id=658618 

TL; DR–  If you like Borg, you need to journey to the Dark Caribbean! 97% 

Basics– YAAAARR!  Pirate Borg brings Mork Borg to the high seas during the age of exploration.  Avast and shiver timbers and anything else you would expect in this VERY deadly RPG.  I will tell you right off the bat, if you don’t like Mork Borg, go away now!  If you love Pirates of the Caribbean and simple, fun, and deadly RPGs, hop aboard!

Mechanics or Crunch– This book does exactly what a splat book should do.  Pirate Borg provides classes, lots of random tables, rituals, and even sea shanties the players can use to fight things in the Caribbean.  But, it also massively builds on the base setting by providing vehicle combat rules.  You CAN’T have pirates without ships for them to plunder and fight.  At worst, the book adds a new mechanic called Devil’s Luck.  These act kind of like hero points in Pathfinder but in a much crazier way. You can use Devil’s Luck to prevent fumbles, reroll dice, and even reduce damage to your character.  That alone with just a string of random tables will give you fun things to add and steal from this book.  What’s here works and builds on the Borg system in a fun and fresh way.  5/5

Theme or Fluff– I like the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Mork Borg, and Lovecraft.  That’s honestly the sales pitch.  You have crazy cultists, magic rituals, and the 1700s English just being evil to attract you to a world where you and your pals take to the high seas in a new sandbox that you can play in.  All of this is laid out in what the book calls the Dark Caribbean.  I am not leaning too hard on the Pirates of the Caribbean comparison, because you absolutely tell where this book comes from.  It’s not copying the Disney homework, but adding its own bizarre, crazy, and amazing touches to build a world I enjoy.  I love all those things, as my podcast feed can attest to, and if you’re this far into the review, you will too.  5/5

Execution– If the Borgs have one fault, it’s the dedication to being Borgs.  The borgs are not badly laid out, but they are laid out like metal vinyl record inserts.  That dates me and if you have seen them, those inserts prioritized style over legibility.  That’s the one fault here.  It might not read as easy as the latest DnD manual.  That said, I own vinyls and love the metal aesthetic, so it’s fine with me even if the occasional page might look a tad too much like death metal band name logos. The other thing I don’t like is the lack of pregens.  Now, I get that you can literally roll a character in about 2 minutes, but bring out some dead to make my life a bit easier.  But, there are multiple character generators, so its not a major issue.  Aside from those gripes, it’s a well done book.  My complaints about being too artistic means the book is very artistic.  It beautifully looks like Darkest Dungeon.  And given the deadliness, that might be an amazing comparison.  The digital version has books for JUST the players.  I love that.  What’s more, the base book comes with a whole sandbox adventure.  It might be a bit deep for starter GMs, but honestly I LOVE when books do that.  Any help a book and publisher can give me to just buy a book, skim, and get me and my buddies playing in 10 minutes wins my heart and soul over to you. The PDF even comes with character sheets for your ships!  This books dedication to itself might hurt newer Borg players but is more of the quality I expect from all things Borg.      4.5/5

Summary– The Borgs are a fun family of games.  I love everything about them, but they are what they are.  It’s Death Metal: the RPG.  This is Pirate Metal: the RPG.  I enjoy that aspect of this game, but I can see how your average players wanting heroic fantasy might not want this.  That said, this book builds into a fun place with excellent worldbuilding and craft.  The period of exploring the high seas is fantastic and adding the magic and mysticism of Borg is a fun touch.  This is a game you should check out if you want any of that at your table.  97%  

Daily Punch 11-15-24 Decrease Interference mystic feat for Starfinder 2nd Ed

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Let’s speed these up!

Decrease Interference Two Actions Feat 4

Mystic Transfer
Transfer Cost 5 per condition level
Requirement An ally in your networks is suffering from clumsy, drained, enfeebled, Frightened, sicked, slowed, stunned, or stupefied

You remove issues instead of heal others. You can spend five hit points from your vitality point to reduce the value of the listed conditions by one. You may reduce the value multiple times and affect multiple conditions with a single use.

Thoughts?