Ring Side Report- Board Game Unboxing and Review of Bohnanza!
Category: Ring Side Report
Ring Side Report: RPG Review of It Comes from the Deep!
Product– It Comes from the Deep!
System– Pirate Borg
Producer– Steven Gibbs
Price– $8.28 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/548032/it-comes-from-the-deep?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR– I need a hook, but it’s solid after the start! 97%
Basics: What lurks on the cursed island? Factions battle for a god-forsaken volcanic rock. All the Europeans want a piece, but so do men from the sea depths and their cult. Can you stop the end?
Mechanics or Crunch: This is a deadly but solid adventure. There are lots of different places and things to play with. All of them will kill you, as this is a rough one, but a fun one. The adventure has solid mechanics if the party knows not to get too attached to any character! 5/5
Theme or Fluff– I like the environment, but the story is a tad weak. What I mean is, this is a location adventure. The evil deep one cult is doing “stuff” that will make very bad “stuff” happen, but how you handle the bad and worse stuff is up to the players. I’d like the adventure, or at least the start, spoon-fed to me as a GM, and my players might like a stronger hook to get involved. This is more like finding someone else’s adventure and deciding to get involved. 4.5/5
Execution: This author did solid work. This work includes all kinds of charts, maps, pieces for the players, and trinkets to play with. The digital product is just FULL of art assets for you to throw out to the players. Fantastic work. 5/5
Summary: My one complaint might be a bit universal- Pirate Borg expects a bit more of the GM and players with agency. Many of these adventures assume a group has a goal to begin with. I’d like a little bit more hand-holding at the start and middle. That’s my one negative. But everything else here is fantastic. The author really cares and did a fantastic job on this one. If you want an adventure-stopping horror from beyond time and space, this is the one for you! 97%
Ring Side Report- Board Game Review of Miskatonic Expeditions!
Ring Side Report: RPG Review of Cypher Character Rulebook
Product– Cypher Character Rulebook
System- Cypher System
Producer- Monte Cook Games
Price- $18.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/575752/cypher-character-rulebook?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR- Solid start to a “new” game. 99%
Basics: I’m still a BLANKING BLANK who BLANKS! Time for an update to the cypher system! Let’s look at the base mechanics.
Basics mechanics– Cypher is still d20 rolled to hit a DC. Things you are trying to do or kill have a level. The DC you are trying to hit is that DC times 3. That’s it. You have skills to reduce the DC by different levels. You have effort, where you spend points from your three different stats to reduce the DC. That’s it.
Hit Points- The basic Cypher system didn’t have hit points. You lost points from your different pools of ability points. Now you have different wound levels. Characters are a bit tankier now, and this system frees up your ability points for doing stuff instead of just being your HP.
Cyphers– The major change is cyphers are no longer just magic dodads that do “stuff”. Sometimes they are abilities you get for a bit, or spells cast on you, or something else strange. It’s more about having one-time abilities sometimes and less about carrying random magic stuff. You still cycle them and use the fast, but it changes the world differently.
Combat– Combat really didn’t change. Just like the base mechanics, its roll against level while spending ability points. You take damage when you fail a dodge or block roll, but you now fill out damage boxes of escalating problems.
Ok, that’s the base changed game; let’s look at my thoughts?
Mechanics or Crunch: I liked the old Cypher system, and this just builds on the good. You have the same strange player-only rolling that built the last one with amazingly simple mechanics. The biggest changes I see are to your last BLANK. These now act more like feat trees for a character. They are awesome and include a diagram showing how you gain and move between abilities as you level. As an old-school 3.5 DnD player, I love what’s here, and the changes feel like well-implemented feedback. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– I love the weirdness of the Cypher system. It’s just gonzo crazy stuff. That said, the book has to cover ALL the ground. Want realistic games? We got you. Want crazy cyberpunk? But of course! Want horror? There you go! But that means some things have some edges cut off. One reflection of this is the character sheets. These used to be a bit crazier. Now the character sheets look like Shadowrun or D20 Modern sheets. It’s not bad, but the change reflects a more centered stance on everything. But it’s all here and ready for playing. 4.9/5
Execution: This is a well-done book. It reads fast, skims easily, and has all the information you need right at your fingertips. Monte Cook knows how to make a quality product. 5/5
Summary: The opening of this book said it’s a new edition. I honestly don’t feel that. It feels like a solid update, but not really a new edition. The changes are all good from the first edition. They reflect the quality of play and life changes I am looking for. The options are solid, but this book has the buffet problem. You do everything decent, but it’s harder to do one thing amazingly. The individual books are built that well, but this book gives you way more than enough to make characters in any setting. I can’t wait to start playing this new edition. 99%
Ring Side Report- Board Game Review of Reef and Ruins!
Ring Side Report: RPG Review of Academia Arcana RPG
Product– Academia Arcana RPG
System– DCC RPG
Producer– Dragon Peak Publishing
Price– Free Quick Start here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/445345/academia-arcana-rpg-quickstart-dungeon-crawl-classics-dcc
TL; DR– A good game with a strange system. 97%
Basics: You’re a wizard, Harry! Academia Arcana RPG is a DCC expansion where the characters are students at a wizard school. What problems can you solve as you attempt to get a passing grade?
Mechanics or Crunch: This book expands the DCC world, but only up to level 5. The classes are basic wizard, wizard thief, familiar, and even a magical girl. Characters get backgrounds, build covens, and all the basic parts of the Harry Potter books. It works well. You do not get a funnel in this game, but the crunch of every Harry Potter book is here. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– DCC is a solid choice and a misstep for this book. The DCC mechanics are executed well, and all the pieces are here. I love what’s in this book in terms of theme. But you don’t have Dumbledore throw 4d4 students into the forbidden forest and have 2d3 return. The game is missing some of the strangeness that makes DCC DCC. What’s here is solid, but it misses the funk that makes DCC DCC. 4.5/5
Execution: This is pure DCC 3rd party in the best way. You have spells, abilities, a world, and more all built into this book. The book is modern RPG-ready with hyperlinks, art, and an easy-to-read flow. This book is well put together. 5/5
Summary: I liked Harry Potter when I was a kid, and I love DCC. This is a good combination of the two. I do miss the gonzo of standard DCC. That is the one part I don’t love about this system. But if you want a rules-light RPG, then DCC is the thing to choose. I do like all the other pieces here, and the fact that magical girl transformation enters the RPG is a solid, fun addition. Academia Arcana RPG is a good, semi-strange addition to the DCC line-up that I am glad I kickstarted. 97%
Ring Side Report: RPG Review of Ink Ribbon
Product– Ink Ribbon
System– Ink Ribbon
Producer– Old Oak Games
Price– Free Quick Start here https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/old-oak-games/ink-ribbon-a-survival-horror-tabletop-rpg
TL; DR- So awesome I wonder if it’s legal. 100%
Basics: 4 Itchy tasty… Ink Ribbon is a love letter to old school Resident Evil. You play survivors in not Raccoon City as a pharmacy giant has a lab failure and the whole town is full of zombies or worse! Let’s break this down
Base Mechanics– This game is a d6 dice pool game with different target numbers. Simple targets are a 2. Hard targets are a 6. When you do something, you take a number of dice equal to an attribute and a number equal to your skill level in the thing you are doing, learn your target number, and roll! If you get at least one die equal to the target number, you succeed. Extra successes can be banked or even reduce your stress.
Advantages and disadvantages– Advantages and disadvantages represent times when you have good or bad circumstances for an attempt. You get +1 die for each advantage, and you get one less die for each disadvantage. Then you roll as normal.
Adrenaline– Adrenaline is the control the characters have. You have adrenaline points, and you can spend them before a roll to double your dice pool, or you can spend them after to reroll failures.
Stress and Horror- It wouldn’t be zombie horror without stressing out characters and the horror of it all. Stress represents strain on the characters. Stress measures how bad things are. For each point of stress, reduce your dice pool by one. Stress rises and falls as story events happen. Stress can even cause a panic roll. Here you experience a panic attack, and it might get better or a whole lot worse! Horror measures the story’s progress and crazy effects. It affects your search results. When the movie first starts and the horror is at 1, the characters find items that help, but nothing crazy. When the horror hits the fan at 5, the movie characters find rocket launchers and more! Horror affects how much good the characters have and what they find as the game continues.
Combat and damage– Combat is easy. The GM rolls a die, and either the players or monsters go first. Then it’s one character on a side till all characters go. When you attack, the mechanics are the same as the base mechanics. Every character and monster has a defense, which is the TN for the attack roll. You can use additional successes for additional damage added to your base weapon’s damage. Then the target subtracts armor from that damage. Damage first affects the target’s toughness. Then damage spills into an ECG tracker. As damage flows into the ECG, the target gets more stress and adrenaline. Go too low, and you die!
Ok, now the review .
Mechanics or Crunch: This game feels like Shadowrun and DnD had a baby. It’s a dice pool system with different target DCs. It’s fast and easy, but it’s got enough to build on that I am intrigued. I like what I see and enjoy how quick this one is. Solid, fast fun. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– I played RE on a PlayStation before it was called a PS One. This brings back memories from long ago. I love the games, and this honestly feels like less of an homage and more of a copy in some solid, fun, good ways. Honestly, I a surprised by how close this game gets to Resident Evil without copyright strikes. But, I love RE, so I love this one as well. 5/5
Execution: It’s free. That’s the first thing that I need to say, so check out the quick start. From there, you see this is an absolute labor of love. The game has four pregens, maps, a full four-hour adventure in a police station, and handouts. This is everything I want to see in a quickstart for money, but IT’S FREE! I honestly want to run this before the Kickstarter ends. It’s that well put together. 5/5
Summary: I entered the world of survival horror long ago. This quickstart has everything I want to take away and bring to the tabletop. It’s solid, quick gameplay. It has all the pieces I remember from long ago and from modern Resident Evil games. It’s well put together. This is just a solid product that is 100% free to try. I love what this is, and I can’t wait for more. 100%
Ring Side Report: RPG Review of Starfinder Society 2-02 Solar Shake Up
Product– Starfinder Society 2-02 Solar Shake Up
System– Starfinder 2nd Ed
Producer– Paizo
Price– $5.99 here https://store.paizo.com/starfinder-society-scenario-2-02-solar-shakeup/
TL; DR– Fun, but too short. 93%
Basics: A Star is born! Literally! The starfinder society is invited to watch the birth of a new star. What will happen as it enters our universe?
Mechanics or Crunch: This adventure is a short one. There is one fight, some skills, and a ship adventure. All the math works well, and things feel balanced. The crunch is good if a bit short. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– This is really good world-building in this adventure. The world of Starfinder needs adventures where Starfinders explore the galaxy. This adventure makes the society seem less like a mercenary group and more like Starfreet. Solid fun meeting people and exploring in this one. 5/5
Execution: The adventure is too short. It’s got solid adventure parts that Paizo knows how to publish, but this is just too short. The adventure has a social part: see the stuff that happens, fix the ship, fight, then evade the crazy space stuff. It’s all well done, but there is just not enough to do. This is about a solid hour of work if the players roll ok. This just needs more. 4/5
Summary: This is a tough one for me. I like all the pieces, but there is just not enough of them in this one. The adventure has solid universe building and mechanics. I just want more of them. For the price and the time goal, I don’t think you get enough. It’s a good adventure, but if you schedule this one, your eventing will be over pretty quickly. 93%
Ring Side Report-Board Game Unboxing and Review of Payload!
Ring Side Report: RPG Review of Undead Paradise
Product– Undead Paradise
System– Undead Paradise
Producer– Akiva Villins
Price– coming soon! Here https://undeadparadise.com/ and https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/550749/undead-paradise-quickstart?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR– A solid handbook for the recently deceased. 92%
Basics: So… you’re dead, now what? Undead Paradise is for the after. After humanity fell and all areas were lost, what happens next? Some undead get better! They regain bits of themselves and begin to attempt to move forward. Not the mindless zombies, but now the inheritors of the lost earth. What will you do? Let’s break down the game.
Basics- Undead Paradise uses a simple 2d6 + bonus method to determine success and failure. Basically, when you want to do anything, you roll 2d6 and add a skill bonus from your attributes and skills. A 7 succeeds against a simple issue, but a 13 is the highest you can expect to encounter. The biggest number you will normally add to a dice roll isa bout +5.
Advantage and disadvantage- Situations make life easier or harder. This is represented by advantage and disadvantage. For advantage, you roll 3d6 and take the best two dice. For disadvantage, you roll 3d6 and take the lowest two dice. When people help you in a task, you get advantage.
Memories and damage- In this game, as you awake, you remember things. These are good and bad memories of what you were. These are also your hit points, as each memory has three parts. When you take mental or physical damage, you lose one of the three parts of that memory. When you lose all your memory parts, you risk going feral. Feral is kind of dead for the undead, as you basically go back to the mindless zombie.
Combat– Combat in this game is as simple as task resolution. When combat happens, players get three action tokens. An action takes a token. But some more awesome actions take more. When you use your token, they go to the GM. When the GM uses theirs, it goes back to the player bank. Players go first unless there is surprise.
Ok, now to my thoughts
Mechanics or Crunch: This is a solid player guide, but I’d like a bit more crunch. This book gets you making characters and ready to play. My one criticism is you can play, but running is a bit beyond this one. I wish I had more crunch to really understand the rules of this one, but it’s not bad. It’s got enough to get you making and playing quickly. It’s also not a crunch-heavy game. That’s not bad, but that is a key fact you need to know going in. 4.5/5
Theme or Fluff– This book doesn’t fully build out the world, but it gives you a solid start. There is more here than you can see in this player guide. That is not bad, but it’s a bit simplified. That also leads to mysteries you can investigate. The character art and class structure describe different events leading to your custom ghoul. They describe everything from fungal infections to insect plagues. I’m intrigued by how it all happened. I want more, but this is a good intro to a fun zombie world. 4.75 /5
Execution: I like this book, but it makes a misstep. The book reads easily, describes well, has amazing art, and a good walkthrough of how to play and make characters. The one issue I have is no hyperlinks. It’s short, so it won’t kill me to scan up and down the book, but hyperlinks would make life easier. Aside from that, it’s a solid, well-put-together book. 4.5/5
Summary: This is a good book to get players playing fast. It will not get your whole table playing fast, as this is just the player book. You will need more. The game is a bit more roleplay than rollplay, so keep that in mind for your table. DnD dungeon crawls are fun, but this is not the RPG for that. The theme is fun. I want to know more about how the world fell apart. That is a good hook, but I’d like a bit more to get me involved. The book is well crafted, but give me a few hyperlinks to get me moving fast. Aside from some minor issues, this is a solid RPG book. If you want to play the zombies in the zombie apocalypse, check this one out. 92%
