Ring Side Report-Board Game Unboxing and Review of Sky Team!
Category: Ring Side Report
Ring Side Report: RPG Review of Dungeon Crawl Classics #101: The Veiled Vaults of the Onyx Queen
Product– Dungeon Crawl Classics #101: The Veiled Vaults of the Onyx Queen
System– DCC RPG
Producer– Goodman Games
Price– $9.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/390356/dungeon-crawl-classics-101-the-veiled-vaults-of-the-onyx-queen?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR– Old school in the best and wartiest ways! 93%
Basics- WAKE AND STAB! You awake as sacrifices to a demon lord! Will you gather enough power to end those who sought to end you?
Mechanics or Crunch: This adventure is a crawl and a funnel all in one. You have lots of bad guys who can die from your fists. You have a few puzzles to solve and some socializing. Those are the things that make the crunch of an adventure. The adventure’s crunch is solid! 5/5
Theme or Fluff– The pure awesome of DCC is on display with some of its warts. DCC doesn’t really have a default setting. The setting is built book by book, and that’s awesome. This one adds in a whole demon lord and a cult based on it. And that is awesome. If the GM runs this well, you can build characters and really get involved in the world. BUT, the world is missing a bit of a setting, so that lack can kind of spring stuff on players. Are you a devotee of a particular god? Awesome! Do you even know that god exists? Less awesome. It’s a minor problem, but the adventure has a solid enough flow that this might be the adventure where you finally learn about the bits making this world work. 4.5/5
Execution: DCC is its own beast. I love it, but it’s like the beat-up dog you know and love. It’s not the prettiest. It works, but it’s your ugly dog! DCC has some criticism for being a bit too old-school in its design and layout, with extra art, layout, and design work to make DCC adventures a bit more approachable. And those are valid criticisms, but I like the old school feel of DCC. But this commitment to old-school adventure is not the most beginner-friendly. This one is pretty easy to run and understand, even if you are newer, so while some other adventures may have smaller mechanics that are not quite understandable, this one is a fun, straightforward funnel. 4.5/5
Summary: I love me some DCC. This game is crazy fun with strange things happening around every corner. That said, I also see some faults. Those are on display here. The lack of a world hurts the game just a tiny bit. You don’t know who you are when you start. That’s good, as funnels are fun, but it’s bad when you want to really hook a player and character into the world. The book is fun, but it’s got minor issues that might dissuade the new. But the issues are only small compared to the fun and craft of this adventure. This is worth a look if you want a fun funnel to draw people into DCC RPG! 93%
Ring Side Report-Board Game Unboxing and Review of Faraway!
Ring Side Report: RPG Review of Flail
Product– Flail
System– Flail
Producer– Games Omnivorous
Price– FREE here https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/games-omnivorous/flail-an-old-school-fantasy-brawler
TL; DR– The author’s love letter to old school hex crawls. 93%
Basics– Let’s do old school! Flail is a love letter to old school RPGs and gambling. How much are you willing to push? Let’s break this one down.
Core mechanic– This is a bit of a mix. For skills, these are called saves. You roll a d20 and roll under your ability score. For attacks, it’s roll a number of d6s and attempt to get at least one 1. More ones mean more successes.
Advantage and disadvantage– If you are good or have some kind of bonus, you have an advantage. Advantage on saves is to roll twice and take the better. Advantage on attacks means roll an additional d6. If you have a penalty or are not great at an action, you have disadvantage. Disadvantage on saves is roll twice, and take the worse. Disadvantage on an attack is roll one less d6.
Combat– Combat is pretty simple. Initiative is determined by rolling a dexterity save. If you succeed, you go before the enemies. Fail, and you go after. Then, on your turn, you get to do an action and move. When you roll an attack, a single 1 gives you a success, and you deal damage equal to the weapon. When you roll two 1s, it does double damage. Roll 3 s and it instantly kills the enemy! Enemies do not have armor, but do reduce damage by a set amount. If you are hit, you can use one of the usages of an armor, and it negates the damage. Things like heavy armor have more usages.
Magic– There are multiple classes that use magic. All of them have a basic idea of choosing how much of a resource to spend, and you get to roll that many d6s. If you succeed, different spells have different effects. Some magic classes need just one success to make the spell happen. Some have you add the dice together, and that determines an effect. It varies by the caster and the spell.
Ok, let’s review this!
Mechanics or Crunch– This is a love letter to someone’s choices, but they might not be my favorite. The splitting of the base mechanic makes this game offer interesting choices, but also breaks the flow of play. I can absolutely respect the mashup between Call of Cthulhu skills and Shadowrun damage rolls, but it’s less elegant than either of them. But it’s not bad. It’s just not my cup of tea. 4/5
Theme or Fluff– This game feels like a solid 80s style. It’s committed to old school, and it’s got art and aesthetics to match. The game is pretty and horrific in a metal cover sort of way. The authors wanted to publish a game of their own, and they absolutely did. And I love it. 5/5
Execution– The book is everything I expect from a modern PDF and a system intro book. The book is hyperlinked, easy to read, and quick to navigate. The book includes multiple pre-generated characters so you can start playing instantly. There are several places to play and hexes to crawl right out of the box. Again, the authors wanted something, and they did it well. 5/5
Summary– This is someone’s pet project, and they poured their whole soul into it. The mechanics are not my favorite, but they are done well. The story and feeling of the world are on display. The book is everything I expect from an intro product. I might not love this one completely, but if you want an old-school hexcrawl with your buds on a Friday night, with some cold beer and hot pizza, then this is absolutely the product you need to pick up. 93%
Ring Side Report-Board Game Unboxing and Review of Village Pillage Big Box!
Ring Side Report: RPG Review of Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-16: A Star’s Journey
Product– Starfinder Society Scenario #1-02: Mystery of the Frozen Moon
System– Starfinder 2nd Ed
Producer– Paizo
Price– $5.99 here https://store.paizo.com/pathfinder-society-scenario-7-16/
TL; DR– Most of the map wasn’t used. 73%
Basics- Where’s Star? An ally of the society has gone missing. Can you find him? What took them?
Mechanics or Crunch: The adventure is balanced, but there just isn’t much. The players have a fight with some intro monsters, a small puzzle, and then a final skill challenge. Those are all balanced, but it needs more. Give the players and GM more to do. 4/5
Theme or Fluff– The story here is light. The story shows something new, but even that is small. The characters meet something new, but then that’s about it. Even the reason why Star is missing really isn’t explained, just solved. That’s all due to the time constraints of the new adventures. What’s here is good, but it needs more. 4/5
Execution: What’s here is good, but it needs more. The standard Paizo polish is on display, but It needs more. This adventure used the exact same map as the last published level 1-4 adventure. That’s not great as almost ALL the level 1-4 use that, but then again, most of that map didn’t have stuff to do in it. No descriptions of anything. Couple that with a small gripe about names, and this was five bucks for less than two hours of game. 3/5
Summary-Everything here is ok. The encounters are ok. Social is ok. Puzzles are ok. It just too short. The goal is 2-3 hours. This is maybe 1 hour if you don’t mess around. I do online gaming and even with tech issues, a biobreak, folding sourdough, and wrapping up after, this was two hours. The fact that most of the map lacked descriptions is also a major issue. I can get past the map being reused again, but the fact that it’s not even covered makes this a problem. Add more to these adventures. Nothing is bad here, but it just needs more.73%
Ring Side Report-Board Game Unboxing and Review of Pies!
Ring Side Report-Board Game Unboxing and Review of Get Baked!
Ring Side Report: RPG Review of DCC Day #3: Chanters in the Dark
Product– DCC Day #3: Chanters in the Dark
System– DCC RPG
Producer– Goodman Games
Price– $6.00 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/395901/dcc-day-3-chanters-in-the-dark?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR– Good DCC up till the end. 90%
Basics- Who calls from below?! Chanters in the Dark is a one-shot adventure where the characters are drawn into a world of intrigue and subterranean threats. Will they be able to save everyone, or will the things from below eat them all?
Mechanics or Crunch: This adventure covers a lot of places, but fumbles a bit at the end. The bulk of the adventure is urban, as the players meet new people, possibly kill them, and then have to escape. The escape is the least fun. Basically, the characters have to run away. It’s not as exciting as a final fight, but it does make thematic sense. 4.5/5
Theme or Fluff– This is a good mix of exploration, combat, and skills, but the end is less fun. The town the players explore and the religion they may attack are both fleshed out. It’s a very meaty adventure for a book this size. The one issue is the end, as the players just run. Nothing else, but climb quickly. That diminishes the other parts. Not enough to not make it fun, but I saw some players lose some interest. 4.5/5
Execution: DCC polarizes some with its layout, and here it’s a bit less troubling but still old-school. There are multiple pages of two columns. It reads more easily than the real old-school, but if you are annoyed by the basic layout, this will not win you over. I would like more art, but what’s here is solid. 4.5/5
Summary– This is a good adventure that fumbles in the last minutes. The bulk is lots of fun , but I’d like the end to be a bit more active than a few rolls. It works as a story, but a bit more would be fun. That said, I enjoyed it and suggest everyone check this one out. 90%
Ring Side Report: RPG Review of Marvel Multiverse RPG Core Rule Book
Product– Marvel Multiverse RPG Core Rule Book
System– Marvel Multiverse RPG
Producer– Marvel
Price– $19.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/535688/marvel-multiverse-rpg-core-rule-book?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR– Solid heroism, but some fumbles on execution. 92%
Basics- AVENGERS ASSEMBLE! Marvel Multiverse RPG is the latest RPG featuring Marvel comics. Will the heroes be successful, or will evil triumph?
Basic mechanics and stats: This is a 3d6 system, kind of. The basics are roll 3d6, add a modifier from their base stats, and see if it hits a different modifier. But one of the dice is the Marvel die. This die does not have a one, but a second six on the logo. If you roll that logo its a fantastic result. It can be a fantastic success or a fantastic failure, but it can also be something better than expected. After the roll and addition, if you roll the DC, you succeed. Below, and you fail.
Trouble and Edge: Good and bad situations affect the roll. Good situations or spending a character resource called karma give the character an edge. Edge allows a character to reroll the lowest die on a roll. Bad situations or spending karma give trouble. Trouble forces a character to reroll the highest result and take a worse result. Trouble and edge cancel, and a situation can have multiple edge or trouble resulting in multiple rerolls.
Combat: Combat is the same we all know and love in RPGs. Players roll initiative, and any character getting a fantastic result gets a bonus round. Each round, a character can move and do an action. Actions are grabs, attacks, or other things that take about six seconds. Attacking is the bulk of those actions, and it functions just like all other RPGs. You declare who you are attacking and how. Melee is simple, and weapons work like all other RPGs. You are aiming for a DC based on the stats the other character has. The big change is damage. Damage is based on the Marvel die and multiple multipliers. Characters add their rank and their base stat together. This is the multiplier for the Marvel die. Then, if it’s a melee attack, you add your strength again to damage. Damage reduction is also interesting. It reduces the multiplier, and if the multiplier falls to 0 or below, the attack does no damage!
Powers- It wouldn’t be superheroes if they didn’t have powers. Power is like feats and magic spells in any other system. Each one tells you exactly how to use it. Some require the use of focus. You can think of focus like magic points in other systems. You can use focus to power your powers while you have some, and resting gives you some back.
Ok superheroes, let’s get to the breakdown!
Mechanics or Crunch: This is an interesting twist on a 3d6-based system. I’ve played multiple d6 systems, and while this has heavy GURPS vibes, that’s ok. It’s inspired by, not stolen from, that system. It does enough of its own thing with the Marvel die to keep things interesting. Also, 3d6 keeps the system from being too swingy as d20 systems can be. I love me some DnD, but the d20 can crush you. 3d6 does a nice job of keeping the 9-11 average. I don’t necessarily love the add-then-multiply-by-a-different-thing approach, but it’s ok. It does make the more powerful characters MUCH more powerful than the rabble! 5/5
Theme or Fluff– Do you like Marvel comics and movies? That’s the single answer if you like this RPG. If not, then you won’t like this theme. The book has a lot of background on the universe and provides multiple heroes, villains, and universes to play in. Considering that Spider-Ham gets a shoutout, it’s deep enough for most casual fans to learn stuff. This book is solid enough for an intro to the world of Marvel Comics. 5/5
Execution: Here is where I have some issues. The book is well written and easy to read quickly. But there are no hyperlinks. It’s a big book, and there is a lot to flip through with no linking in 2026. Also, the book features multiple heroes and villains, but it lacks an adventure. The company gives away an adventure and characters to play with, but it doesn’t link to them on Drive Thru on the game’s main page. It’s on a second page that you have to search for. Help me run this system for my friends! Don’t make me search extra! 3.75/5
Summary– This is a good book with some smaller problems. I like the mechanics and the theme. Those are solid and will get you playing quickly. But the lack of modern conveniences hurts the production. Also, the lack of a simple adventure and characters to play as hurts, too. It’s not enough to keep me away, but be aware that there are those things, and they have them ready, but not linked on the page where you buy the book. That’s a forgivable issue, but something you need to be aware off. 92%
Throat Punch Games 