Category: Ring Side Report
Ring Side Report- RPG review of Daggerheart Playtest
Product– Daggerheart Playtest
System- Daggerheart
Producer– Darrington Press
Price– free here https://app.demiplane.com/nexus/daggerheart/sources/playtest
TL; DR– RPG fusion! 93%
Basics– The Critical Roll bunch have an RPG! Let’s look over this d12 fusion RPG!
Basics- This is a 2d12 rpg. You roll both, add abilities and statistics, and see if you hit a desired DC. Pretty simple for the basics.
Hope and fear or 2d12- The basics are not too strange, but when you roll, you roll 2 different colored d12. One is your hope and one is your fear. If the hope beats the fear value, then you gain hope. If the fear beats the hope, then the GM gets to stop the action and jump in or gets to bank a fear for later.
Using hope- Hope is used to either help yourself or an ally when they roll. You can spend hope to give your friend an additional d12 hope die and choose the better of them. Also, you have a set of experiences. These are akin to skills in DnD. When an experience you have makes sense for a particular action and you want to, you can spend hope to gain the value of an experience as a bonus to the roll.
Combat, turns, and damage- This is a VERY heavy roleplaying game with less focus on crunch. Combat is not round based. Players can do any action from using abilities or attacking and place a token on the action tracker. This continues until a character rolls higher on the fear die. Then the GM gets to play using each token on the action tracker to do something such as attacking, using abilities, and removing conditions on enemies. In either case, if an attack is made, the attack goes against an evasion score. If the attack hits, then the attacker rolls damage. Damage does not just reduce hit points by an amount, but instead the attack goes against damage thresholds causing between zero and 3 hit points. If the attack hits but fails to hit the lowest damage threshold, you take stress. Stress is another stat and represents your body gradually being beaten down, but not enough to hurt you hard. Stress can also come from the environment or abilities you or enemies have. In addition, armor allows you to reduce damage, but it also gets beaten down with use. If you choose, you can reduce damage by your armor value, but you have to check off a use. No uses left means you can’t use your armor. No stress left means you can’t use that ability and all rolls against you have advantage.
Using Fear- Fear is the GMs version of hope. Fear allows enemies to do some actions, for the environment to do some actions, or even for the GM to add additional tokens to the turn tracker.
Alright, thats the basics, let’s dig in.
Mechanics or Crunch– The mechanics here are interesting. It’s not deep enough to be DnD, but its also not deep enough to be Shadowrun. It’s heavily based on the Cypher system. That’s not bad, but it’s also really up in the air. If you want consistency, this won’t be the game for you. If you can handle the give and take of this game, it’s a solid game. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– For the story, what’s here is good, but it’s also not done. It’s got a solid adventure, but you won’t see much world building here, but more is coming as they write more. I don’t hate anything, but I need more details in the base game, not just the adventure. 4.5/5
Execution– This is an interesting one. I love online materials, but Nexus does not have an app. I also don’t like the lack of an index. If it’s present, I have a hard time finding it, so that’s just as bad. The basic functions work well, but again there is no app. So, using a phone for this can be a bit of a pain. The adventure is nice and is fun. The character PDFs are nice as well and have solid help sections for the players. 4.5/5
Summary– This RPG leaves me optimistic. The mechanics and theme are interesting. I want more. Give me an app and give me some more world building, and I’d be even happier. That said, if you need hard crunch this won’t be for you. But it’s free, so check this one out. At worst, you see the system building before your eyes. It’s also an interesting mix of several different parts from other RPGs. You got bits from DnD all the way to the cypher system. I like those, so I like this as well. 93%
Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of Around the World in 10-15 minutes
Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of Symptomatic
Ring Side Report- RPG review of The Hidden Library
Product– The Hidden Library
System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed or DnD 5e
Producer– Beyond the Horizon
TL; DR-Good library fun for free! 95%
Basics– Moonlight library madness! Our heroes are hired to infiltrate a library that only appears at night. Can the heroes get in, get the goods, and get out while nature fights them at every turn?
Mechanics or Crunch– This adventure is well balanced and has several different pieces for the players to play with. There’s combat, social, and a big skill test to find the hidden book. Many of the combats use standard creatures, but there are custom encounters and haunts as part of this adventure. Overall, it’s a well done crunch. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– Beyond the Horizon is building a world adventure by adventure. This adventure builds off other published adventures and characters they introduced, and the continuation is appreciated. And as in the crunch, there are social and skill tests to let different players get into the action. It might need a bit more box text to build into the story, but overall it’s well done. 4.75/5
Execution– I like what’s here, but this needs a bit more to be amazing. I like the text and pictures. I have one minor issue with the layout as I think the background color is a bit strong and partially distracts from the text. I like the fact that the adventure has a separate bestiary with all the different monsters in it. I HATE when a book tell me to go somewhere else when I paid for this book! The one issue that might hurt this book is the lack of maps. Other adventures from Beyond the Horizon have had maps, so that might have helped here. But it’s hyperlinked and reads fast, so my only issue is I want more. 4.5/5
Summary-The Hidden Library is a solid adventure where my real only issue is that I would like more content. The crunch is good, and the company is building a world piece by piece leading to something bigger. I’m enjoying what is coming out. I would like a bit more story and maps, but if you have some generic maps you will be fine. And for the price of FREE get this one ASAP! 95 %
Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of Digsaw
Ring Side Report- RPG review of Shadow of the Weird Wizard
Product– Shadow fo the Weird Wizard
System- Shadow of the Weird Wizard
Producer– Schwalb Entertainment
Price– $19.99 here https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/457226/shadow-of-the-weird-wizard?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR– A LOT more but not what some expected. 99%
Basics– Family friendly fantasy Schwalb! Shadow of the Weird Wizard is Schwalb Entertainment’s family friendly fantasy RPG. Let’s look at the basics then the breakdown.
Base Mechanics- This game is d20 based with the normal base numbers you would expect. There are only four attributes (strength, agility, intelligence, and will). The interesting part is your abilities directly determine a bonus to any roll. If you are asked to make a will roll, you look at your will attribute, subtract 10, and add that number to a d20 roll. So if you have a will of 13, then then the bonus is +3. Simple. This goes for everything from attacks to opening a lock. The number you are aiming for most times is a 10 for a success.
Boons and banes- Aside from a d20, the other die this game uses often is a d6. If you have an advantage in a situation, then you roll a boon or a d6 and ADD the value to the d20 roll. If you have a disadvantage you roll a bane or a d6 and you SUBTRACT the value from the d20 roll. If you have multiple boons or banes, you roll multiple dice but combine only the most extreme penalty or bonus to your d20 roll. Boons and banes counteract one another, so two banes and three boons mean you get one boon on the roll.
Combat- Combat is a bit simpler than Shadow of the Demon Lord. Here, each side takes a turn with the GM or Sage going first. All their NPCs go first moving, attacking, or casting spells, and then the players can choose whatever order they want to take. Each turn a player can move and take an action. These actions are attacks, spells, and anything else a player can think of.
Leveling up– This is the biggest change Schawlb brings to the world of RPGs. Leveling up in all the Shadow games is simple and occurs quite often. After a four hour adventure, you level up. Not after multiple sessions. Not at specific XP levels. Just after every completed game. Leveling up is also predictable. Level 1 and 2 you get levels in your base class or your novice path. Level 3 and 4 you choose an expert path. 5 is back to your novice path. 6 is your expert path. 7 and 8 are a master path. 9 is your expert path, and finally 10 is the master path final level. The classes/paths are split into four basic areas: fighter, rogue, wizard, and cleric, and this is the same for both the expert and master paths as well. So you can be a novice cleric, then a mountebank (rogue), and finally an alienist (wizard) and the flow will be fun and works well.
Ok, now my breakdown.
Mechanics or Crunch– I like the Shadow games. This is no different. This one doesn’t have the slow/fast turn mechanics of the Shadow of the Demonlord, but that will make this appeal to a wider audience of gamers. Aside from that, this game’s goal is to be fast. Schwalb wants to make an approachable game that flows fast. And this does. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– Schwalb is not known for being family friendly. His other stuff is just bizarre and gross AND I LOVE IT. This is meant to be a very different experience. It’s well done, but if you want the gothic horror of Shadow of the Demon Lord, you will be disappointed. However, if you want a family friendly game then this is the Schwalb Entertainment that you would bring to the table. 5/5
Execution– This is a solidly put together game that meets all the base requirements I need and want in a book. There is art that breaks up text blocks. There is a solid layout to ease reading. And there are hypertext to make this a breeze to move through quickly. The one thing I do not like is the lack of a walkthrough of making a character and leveling up. I know it’s not hard, but those things are something I think really helps the new players. That said, this is a near perfect book for production. 4.9/5
Summary– I have always loved what Schwalb Entertainment puts out. It’s a very different philosophy compared to other RPGs and companies. This is no different, but it is a change from the normal tone of Schwalb. Not bad, but different. You have to know exactly what you are getting here. This is a player book, not a full system book. The original Shadow of the Demon Lord was an all in one book. This is not that. If you think that this one book will do it all, you will be disappointed. But this book doesn’t skimp on content as you get a crazy amount of things for your money. I just would like a few more examples for perfection. 99%
Ring Side Report- RPG review of Nightfell A grimdark setting for PF2
Product– Nightfell
System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed
Producer– Grim Moon Studio
Price– Coming soon! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/grimmoonstudio/nightfell-a-grimdark-fantasy-setting-for-pathfinder
TL; DR-Almost perfect grimdark for Pathfinder 2nd Ed. 97%
Basics– In a world ruled by the moon, there is only darkness! Nightfell is a grimdark setting. Previously it was published for DnD 5e. Now they are making a Pathfinder 2nd Ed port. It has multiple new character options, a new world with many new dark elements, and even two new classes.
Mechanics or Crunch– What’s here is good. This is a grimdark world, so EVERYTHING is dark. But their classes are a spiritualist (a spellcasting summoner type), and a lunar cultist, (possibly a paladin-like fighter). I like what is presented. There are spells, actions, and even a whole insanity/possession system set up to reinforce the world. There is even a free, decently sized adventure with multiple characters. You get to try a spiritualist, but not a lunar cultist. I am pretty impressed with what they are giving away for free. The crunch works here. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– This is an interesting world, but I am missing a key piece. The world is presented in GREAT detail for a preview. You get such detail as lunar phases and how that affects characters. There is a new religion, new races/ancestries and a whole host of information. But I don’t really know any history. Why is everything so grim and dark? Were things ok, then they started to suck? Tell me a few pages on how we went grimdark and you will hook me more. 4.8/5
Execution– This stands on the edge of greatness, but misses one key thing. The book reads well. I love what I see. The layout is good, the text is great, and the pictures are dark and amazing. But no hyperlinks. This is a 90+ page book and I have to jump all around trying to find where the parts are. That’s fine in a simple book, but this is longer than most published Paizo one-shot adventures! That’s the one stumbling block that hurts this. 4.75/5
Summary– This review is the definition of me looking a gift horse in the mouth. What’s here is very well done. Even I, who gets a bit tired of grimdark being just the darkest of grim, am interested in the Pathfinder port of this work. My issues are things I absolutely expect to be in the main book. If they fix that up in the final, then I am in! Check out their upcoming project and the free book located here: https://www.grimmoon.com/nightfellpf2quickstart 97%
Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder Society Scenario #5-04: Equal Exchanges – Necessary Introductions
Product– Pathfinder Society Scenario #5-04: Equal Exchanges – Necessary Introductions
System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed
Producer– Paizo
Price– $ 8.99 here https://paizo.com/products/btq02esl?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-504-Equal-Exchanges-Necessary-Introductions
TL; DR– Good with a few issues. 90%
Basics– Let’s go make friends! The Pathfinder society wants to make friends with a dragon, and YOU get to make the introductions. Don’t mess up, because you can be flamebroiled and are tasty with ketchup!
Mechanics or Crunch– The adventure has all the pieces where they should be and they generally work well. There are about 3 fights, a couple traps, and a skill challenge. Those are all mechanically done well. The skill challenges are not as much fun as they could have been, because my players tend to feel like they want them to just end by accomplishing X solutions before Y events. I can dress that up, but the repeated challenges can get boring in a hurry, so I just let them succeed if they do well enough. Overall what’s here is good, but it has a few issues. 4.5/5
Theme or Fluff– This adventure is a pretty simple story where the normal dungeon crawl is flipped. Instead of going into a place where you are NOT supposed to be, you are invited into this one. However, some elements feel a bit crammed in. I like the goblins making kimchi, but they are not really needed and it detracts from the overall flow. My players didn’t really explore much; why would you just explore a person’s house if they are waiting for you? Also the last fight just doesn’t need to happen. Maybe having a hallway fight with OTHER robbers would be a better way to endear the kobold butler to the players? Something to consider. 4/5
Execution– Pathfinder by Paizo? Yeah this is gonna be a slam dunk. I might not be crazy about the 9 buck price tag, but for five people to get 3ish hours of entertainment, then I’m a bit more ok. 5/5
Summary– This is a decent adventure that will tie to something bigger. And that’s the whole hope of organized play. It’s a fun ~3 hour adventure where the players get some fights, some social encounters, and some skill tests. It’s well put together, but a few issues crop up along the way that prevent perfection. Some are system choice issues and some are flow issues. None are going to hurt this in a fatal way, but maybe change an element or two to make this a better experience. 90%
Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pericle: Gathering Darkness
Product– Pericle: Gathering Darkness
System- Pericle: Gathering Darkness
Producer– Long Dog Games
Price– $ 150 here https://www.periclethegame.com/products
TL; DR– Not quite Gloomhaven 83%
Basics– Friends cancel for DnD? Long Dog Games got a game for you. Pericle: Gathering Darkness is a 1 to 4 (kind of) tabletop RPG with maps and miniatures provided. You use an app to guide the monster’s turns, and you respond to the world. Let’s break this down.
Mechanics- This game uses a D10 based mechanic for all skill and attack rolls. One side is automatic failure, one side is a critical success, four sides are normal successes,and the other four are numbers 1 to 4. When you do an action, if you have no skills the successes are the only ways to succeed. If you have skill in an action, you can roll that number or a success to succeed.
Characters and leveling- While this is an app driven game, there are multiple ways to build characters. There is a basic character generation system which lets you choose abilities and races however you want. The game also comes with several pregenerated characters so you can just hit the ground running.
Combat– Combat is run by the app and the tabletop. The app will randomly decide what side goes first, either players or enemies. Then the game goes into movement for one side, movement for the other side, then based on initiative each character and enemy will go. A very important thing to consider is the Embattled condition. If you move and are in the forward arc of a character, you are embattled and stop your movement. For my old school, 3.5 DnD friends, if you would provoke an attack of opportunity using the facing rules from the front, you are embattled. Also important, some actions like ranged weapons and spells cant be used if you move more than 1 hex.
Magic- This is an interesting use of magic. Magic is cast till you pass out! When you cast a spell you take damage and exhaustion. Each spell specifies an amount of damage or an amount you can vary for different effects. The damage is hit points, but you mark down the damage as exhaustion as well. When you rest you heal all exhaustion and that same amount of damage.
Let’s go into the breakdown.
MAJOR LET DOWN! This game says it’s for 1 to 4 players, but that means 3 to 4 characters. If, like me, you only want to play one character, then you have to play 3 to 4 players. Which means, I might as well play DnD… You can play 1 person, but then you have to run four characters. That makes me angry on a personal level when I can’t just run one character and my wife run one character, so all scores max out at 4.5 for this one!
Mechanics or Crunch– Overall this game is done well,but it doesn’t quite hit all the points I was hoping for. The d10 based mechanic is an interesting one. It works decently well, but sometimes the embattled condition is more tiring as facing always does slow a game down. The addition of magic using HP is a fun way to let casters go wild while still keeping a bit of control in the system. If you like facing based combat, you will love this. I’m not as much of a fan. 4.25/5
Theme or Fluff– This game is an interesting mix of a choose your own adventure and a dudes on a map combat game. The crunch is good, and for the most part the story is interesting. You are slaves sold into being gladiators. From there the story continues as your choices alter what happens next. Like any RPG campaign, some things are always going to happen regardless of your choices, but overall, I do feel like I was playing a game with my buddies. 4.5/5
Execution– Here is where I think I will get the biggest flack for my opinion. I was not as impressed as I hoped to be. The game provides several maps and acrylic miniatures. Those are ok. Some do not match the pictures the game uses, and that causes some problems, but I don’t think what I got was worth 150 bucks. Next, the app is a choose your own adventure book online. It’s not a stand alone app, but a website that runs combat. That’s ok, but some things are voiced with standing pictures on youtube. And that’s ok. I don’t need multi million dollar voice actors and animated cutscenes. But only some things are videos. Many are just text. This goes as far as not even given pictures to all the named NPCs. Even some of the tutorial isn’t voiced and is basically me reading the text in the rulebook on a screen instead of reading the rulebook. The app is also interesting as you have to mark if you embattled a character. You can go backwards and it will adjust a character’s actions, so if you miss someone being engaged in a fight, it will correct their actions. That is a nice touch. Overall, I just felt that several maps and an app where, at most, I get four choices at a time felt like I wasn’t quite getting my money’s worth. See our unboxing here: https://youtu.be/PCMDwvbBow0 3.75/5
Summary-I love games where my wife and I can be on the same side and play an epic adventure. This game gets me most of the way to where I want to be, but isn’t quite it. The mechanics are good, but a bit like grinding gears. The story is good and interesting. What I got in the box and what I got on the app is ok, but not quite enough. To put this in perspective, my favorite co-op RPG Gloomhaven retailed at about 150 and 12 bucks more for the storyteller app to read me the box text. This is about that price and I feel I get less. And two players can just be two players and play. What’s here is ok, but I am automatically let down when I see I have to play multiple characters. This is fun, but know EXACTLY what you are getting in the game! 83%
Throat Punch Games 