Category: Ring Side Report

Ring Side Report: RPG Review of Drakonym: Core Rulebook

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Product– Drakonym: Core Rulebook  

System– Drakonym  

Producer– Crossed Paths Press  

Price– $27-here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/539841/drakonym-core-rulebook?affiliate_id=658618  

TL; DR– The game is interesting, but ensure you acquire all the supplementary books for full understanding! Rating: 78%

Basics- Let’s ride dragons! Drakonym is a long-awaited release from Crossed Paths Press. The core rules are relatively deep, so let’s break them down.

Base Mechanic– This game uses a d6-based mechanic. When you attempt a test, you gather dice equal to your relevant attributes, roll, and count the fives and sixes. A five counts as one success, while a six counts as two. You can have boons, where each boon allows a four to count as a success, and banes, which subtract a five for each bane. Boons and banes cancel each other out.

Shadow Dice and Hero Points- Both heroes and the GM (referred to as the Herald) can influence the rolls. Heroes accumulate hero points, which can be spent to add to a roll, reroll, or even change the narrative. The shadow die is a d12 that the Herald may ask a player to roll. This die can have various effects, such as doing nothing, ensuring a complete failure, or making success inevitable.

Combat– Combat in this game is straightforward. Heroes act first, followed by monsters, unless the heroes are surprised. Each hero has three action points per turn, with different actions costing varying amounts of action points. For example, a quick attack costs none, but subsequent quick attacks will cost more. Any unused action points accumulate. When you attack, you roll the appropriate dice based on the action and count successes as described above. Your level of success determines damage according to a tier system, where each tier has three points. Defense points can be spent to reduce damage to a lower tier or avoid an attack entirely.

Magic and Might– This system features two subsystems to facilitate player actions. Players can cast spells, each with varying mana costs, and can supercharge a spell with additional mana for extra effects. Players regain 2 mana each turn. Additionally, some classes use grit, which functions similarly to mana for physical actions. Both allow players to perform impressive feats of arcane skill or mighty deeds of strength.

Dragons- The game is called Drakonym because players get to command a dragon! You can direct your dragon to perform various actions, sharing both actions and hit points. You also have the opportunity to customize your dragon as you grow within the system.

Ok, now onto my thoughts.

Mechanics or Crunch: This system is simple but adds complexity that can be cumbersome. I enjoy d6 systems, and this game offers a fun approach to using six-sided dice for both combat and tests. However, I find that even the most common monsters have high hit points, such as 9 HP, which can drag out initial combat encounters. I appreciate the unified roll system, where all rolls—whether for skills or combat—use the same mechanic. However, having to reference different charts for damage calculations is somewhat inconvenient. Overall, it’s solid but raises some concerns regarding larger monsters. Rating: 4.25/5

Theme or Fluff– While I like the concepts presented, I think there’s a need for more depth. The world-building is limited to a few pages, and much of the context is provided in other books. If this is the only book you acquire, you may feel somewhat lost. Questions arise, like why you get a dragon and when you access some of the cool subclasses. The world story is present but covered too quickly, making the mechanics the primary focus and undermining the overall world-building. Rating: 4/5

Execution: This book performs well technically, but I feel some pieces are missing. While actions are listed, they aren’t described thoroughly enough for clarity. I lack details on how character leveling works and why I receive a dragon. It feels reminiscent of many games where the character is presented as “the chosen one” with a flashy reward from the start. I would appreciate a bit more guidance on the rationale behind the game mechanics. There are additional books that may clarify these points, but on its own, I feel a bit muddled. Rating: 3.5/5


Summary– The core book for Drakonym serves as a decent player handbook, but relying solely on it may lead to confusion. You need more context to understand how to run and play the game effectively. The supplementary books provide important information, so it’s advisable to obtain those as well. While what is included is decent, it requires further development to offer a complete game experience. Overall Rating: 78%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Scalemail Quickstart

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Product– Scalemail Quickstart

System- Scalemail

Producer– Earl of Fife Games

Price– FREE here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/534210/scalemail-quickstart-guide?affiliate_id=658618 

TL; DR– Numenera and Final Fantasy had a 5e baby! 97%

Basics– Off to adventure!  Scalemail is a new RPG on kickstarter.  Let’s break it down and look at the pieces.

Base mechanic- Scalemail plays like most of your D20 spinoffs with one big difference.  You roll a d20 and try to hit a number called a DC.  But, instead of adding a static bonus, you roll a different die and either add or subtract from the d20.  The D20 is called a chance die and your other dice range from a d4 to a to d12.  These are your mod dice.  Each attribute you use has a modifier die which range from no dice to a d4, d6, d8, then a d12. If the attribute is negative, you subtract the die instead of adding it. 

Combat- Combat in Scalemail is very much in the vein of all D20 systems.  You roll the chance and mod dice with steps for surprise.  And then from high to low you go!  Each turn you get a major and a minor action.  Major is attacking and casting spells.  Minor is moving or opening doors.  Simple!  Where the hard Numenera comparison begins is with how contests are decided.  You attack?  Roll the dice.  You defend?  Roll the dice.  Both are against a static DC on the monster you are attacking or defending against.  Damage is equally as fast.  You beat the DC?  Do a heart of damage.  You beat by five?  Do two hearts of damage.  A goblin has 1 heart, and an orc might have two.  Most heroes have three.  Simple and fast.  You have more armor?  You get higher value dice to roll defence.  Simple and fast.

Magic-Magic works like Final Fantasy and 5e cantrips.  You have some spells where you can that you can keep casting forever.  These are simple spells that don’t do impressive things, but might ping a goblin off the rocks above you.  The more impressive spells might need mana.  Most spells don’t require more than one mana, and you might start with three.  You cast the spell, and if it succeeds, you spend mana when the effect happens.  Again, its a chance(d20) and modifier(attribute die) roll.

Ok, off to my thoughts.

Mechanics or Crunch– This game feels like a lot of the other games I’ve played.  But, I enjoyed those too.  This is a blending of the characters doing things of Numenera, the simple addition of 5e, and the mana based magic of Final Fantasy.  I love all those things, so I like what’s here! 5/5

Theme or Fluff–  The quickstart comes with a story, maps, and even multiple characters.  The Scalemail book doesn’t have massive lore drops in the main book.  It’s more focused on mechanics.  But the story has an interesting world to play in.  It’s not the most comprehensive world that can exist, but Its got some fluff to draw the characters into a story.  It’s characters are also interesting enough to make me want to know how those people came into existence.  Scalemail might not have a ton of worldbuilding in the quickstart guide, but I’m intrigued by what’s here. 4.5/5

Execution– It’s free.  That right there is enough reason to download.  But, it’s free with maps, multiple characters, and a book that gets you playing in about 10 minutes. is enough to make this a solid project.  Check this out!  And the kickstarter for the PDF alone is $15.  You might not get out of McDonald’s for that much. 5/5

Summary–  This is a fun product.  It’s got simple mechanics that play fast.  It’s got interesting, if generic, fantasy appeal.  It’s got amazing production for a free product, and the real product is much less than I’ve spent on takeout.  I want a bit more of the world, but this is a taste of what will be in final.  So, I think this is something you need to check out quick!  97%

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%

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 %

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Oath Hammer Quick Start

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Product– Oath Hammer Quick Start

System– Oath Hammer

Producer– Broken Blade Publishing

Price– free here  https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/511285/oath-hammer-quickstart?affiliate_id=658618

TL; DR-Want Shadowrun rules in The Hobbit? 87%

Basics– Time to take back our home! In Oathhammer, players take the roles of dwarves, elves, humans, and many other fantasy races as they attempt to take back the dwarf home island long ago seized by the orcs.  Let’s get into the basics.

Base mechanics- Oathhammer is d6 pool based system.  For any action, a player takes an attribute and a skill, adds them together, adds penalties, and then rolls that many six sided dice.  The novel part of this system is the dice colors.  Different dice colors are assigned based on skills and abilities, with the least skilled dice only succeeding on a 4 or better and the best dice succeeding on a 2 or better.  These are small dice pools where a single success is needed for really simple actions and five successes are needed for really difficult actions.

Combat– Combat is teams based.  When combat happens, one character on each side makes a leadership check.  Going from high to low, that side decides if they will go before or after any group.  Combat is much like other dice pool games.  A character rolls an attack and a defender rolls a defence pool.  If the attacker wins, the net difference is carried over as damage.  The attacker then rolls weapon damage dice with any successes being carried over into more damage.  Lastly, the defender will roll armor dice, with the weapon reducing the number of dice the defender rolls.  The defender’s successes reduce the damage, and any remaining damage reduces grit or the hit points of the character.  When a character is reduced to 0 grit, two six-sided dice are rolled and a chart determines if it’s just a flesh wound, or if the character dies.

Magic– Magic is cast till you can’t.  Magic is a basic roll as above, and contested effects are determined by spell.  When you roll a 1, you build up stress.  Too much stress, and you can’t cast any more.

Character building– Characters are built by choosing a race, class, and oath.  The race gives you some bonuses and penalties to your attributes.  The class gives you some basic abilities and skills as well as what dice you roll for each action.  Finally, your oaths give you roleplaying opportunities and if you follow them, you gain experience points. 

Character advancement–  When you complete adventures and follow your oaths, you gain experience.  Those points are spent to increase your attributes, skills, and even buy new skill features.

Ok, thats the basics, let’s get into my thoughts.

Mechanics or Crunch- This is an interesting system, if a bit fiddly.  I love d6 dice pool systems.  It’s satisfying to throw a bunch of dice at a problem.  That said, the different dice colors are a tad fiddly.  Nothing too crazy, but you need to keep the different dice separate, and that’s not as much fun.  But it works, and it’s still fun to do.  4.5/5

Theme or Fluff-  Honestly this world feels like The Hobbit, in all the right ways.  You have dwarves who are fighting to get their homeland back.  You start as just random dudes, and can end up wielding huge armies who conquer the orcs to reclaim your homeland.  It’s a solid world to explore. 5/5

Execution– The book works, but it’s got some major flaws.  It’s beautiful and easy to read.  The sections are well laid out and enjoyable.  The big things I hate are for a quickstart are it’s not realy a quick start.  There are no pregens nor is there an adventure.  It’s an advertisement for the system-which is good, but it’s not a thing I could give my friends and jump in in 20 minutes.  We have to build characters and an adventure.  I couldn’t even find pregens on the website. I’d prefer almost no rules if you give me a game in 20 minutes. 3.5/5

Summary-I like The Hobbit and Shadowrun, and this is the mix of them.  The base mechanics work here, if they are a little bit fiddly at times.  The setting is pretty and well defined.  The only thing I don’t like is the lack of a real quickstart.   What’s here will draw you in, so it does its job. But, you won’t be able to play this game without more products and more work.  Aside from this, I love what I see.  87%