Category: Ring Side Report

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Tinny Dungeons

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Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day! 

Product– Tinny Dungeons

System- Tinny Dungeons

Producer– ArchmageArispen

Price– $ 33.72 here https://www.etsy.com/listing/1476249256/tinny-dungeons-minimalist-pocket-rpg-in

TL; DR– Good, but maybe a bit too tiny! 87% 

Basics– How about an RPG that fits in a sardine tin!  Tinny dungeons is a micro RPG.  Let’s break down the game and what’s here.

Mechanics- This game’s basic mechanic is d6.  You roll a number of dice equal to a a stat and if one is equal to the difficulty number (2 for easy and up to 6 for amazingly hard), you succeed either dealing damage or negotiating with the queen.

Characters- The characters have three stats (strength, dexterity, and mind), an AC for attacks, hit points, a weapon with a relevant skill, and one special skill.  It’s a Tinny RPG, so don’t expect much more!

World-The world is a few additional cards with locations with descriptions, peoples, and monsters.  Again, it’s TINNY, so don’t look for 500 page books of world lore!

Let’s go into the breakdown.

Mechanics or Crunch– This is a fun game, but I feel I’m missing a few things.  It’s micro, so you don’t get much more than one power per character.  That’s fine, but leveling and other things are left out.  I don’t know how to level or build characters.  Nor do I know the price of basic goods.  It’s minimal, but a bit too minimal.  What’s here is well done, but what’s missing is important. 4.5/5

Theme or Fluff– My thoughts on the mechanics also echo here.  What’s here is amazing, but what’s missing is something I notice.  The characters are a business card and carry a lot of world with them as they have a fun picture, power, and stats all provide a bit of world building.  The maps and locations give world building as well, but I’d like a bit more.  Give me a basic quest to run through rather than a simple seven room dungeon.  This may seem harsh, but there are only 14 cards in the box, so there is a room for two more to give me a “save the princess from the goblins” quest.  All that said, I do  love what is here, just want a bit more.  4/5

Execution–  Much like the above, what’s here is good, but it a bit small.  I get that the product is small, but it’s too little.  For the price, you get a metal case, 14 cards, two dice, and a pencil.   All those are well done.  And to be fair, I pay a lot more for games without even pencils, so I have to give this game credit for that.  I just want a few more cards with a bit more stuff to explain the world.  Sell me a 30 card expansion pack with more world and rules, and I’d honestly buy it!  See all the pieces in our unboxing here: https://youtu.be/F_jxmYU_suE   4.5/5

Summary– I love small RPGs, and they don’t get much smaller than this one.  This is a solid RPG if you want a one shot dungeon crawl.  It’s a limited system, but it does what it set out to to.  I’d like a bit more to help me build on, but if this came out at the bar, I’d happily play between eating chicken wings.  It’s not a weekend killer, but it is a fun time with my one power priest.  87%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder One-Shot #3: Head Shot the Rot

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Product– Pathfinder One-Shot #3: Head Shot the Rot

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $ 9.99 here https://paizo.com/products/btq02aoq?Pathfinder-OneShot-3-Head-Shot-the-Rot 

TL; DR-This is what I want more of.  100%

Basics– AIM FOR THE HEAD!  Head Shot the Rot is a one-shot drop-in game for four PCs set in Alkenstar.  It’s a glorious “Kill the bad guys, save everyone!” kind of adventure.

Mechanics or Crunch– This is Night of the Living Dead in Pathfinder.  You have some zombies and you have some people.  You get some skill checks, some combat, and some social.  That’s all the pieces of the game I want.  And I’m happy!  It’s solid mechanics with 3rd level PCs and some monsters that can tear them up if they screw up, but enough firepower to make sure that doesn’t happen.  Finely balanced as all things should be.  5/5

Theme or Fluff– You start in a bar with your buds, bad happens, and you kill it.  Save the people, get the money.  That’s the story and there is enough in the adventure and maps to build that into a fun place to play and explore even if you don’t go far.  The PCs and I had a blast with this one.  5/5

Execution– It’s Paizo.  They know how to lay out a book, make nice art, make it easy to read, and get me the information I need in a hurry.  It’s 10 bucks, which is a bit pricey, but it filled four hours.  This beats the movie test of if I went to the movies with the same friends, would we spend more.  So, I don’t feel ripped off here.  It comes with art, maps, and PCs – all the toys I need to literally just drop in Roll20 and play.  5/5

Summary–  Some days you crave Game of Thrones level intrigue, and others you  just want a bunch of zombies, a gun, and a goal.  This is the latter.  I loved everything here.  It’s a fun one shot where all the players get what they want out of this, while I had fun and did not need hours of prep before.  Hey Paizo! Make more of these, and then connect them to each of the adventure paths.  I’d buy them!  100%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder Society Intro: Year of Unfettered Exploration

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Product– Pathfinder Society Intro: Year of Unfettered Exploration

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $ 8.99 here https://paizo.com/products/btq02eqo?Pathfinder-Society-Intro-Year-of-Unfettered-Exploration   

TL; DR– Too much money for a too short adventure.  77%

Basics– And we’re walking!  This Pathfinder Society adventure features you as a tour guide to a multidimensional maze where you guide a new venture captain to a lodge, then help round up some little elementals all while trying to be on time for his party.

Mechanics or Crunch– Paizo understands its mechanics.  The game itself works well here, but the adventure is a bit short.  What is in this adventure is about two fights and several skill checks to help multiple different players feel involved with a bit of exploration thrown in.  Solid work overall, but a bit short for my players as no players felt too challenged and a few checks cleared the adventure with no problem. 4.5/5

Theme or Fluff– The adventure works, but it feels off. We have a new guy who wants to see a place.  Cool, but there is a random fight, some random elemental stuff, a kind of random handout, and a random place that doesn’t feel all that connected.  It works, but my players and I felt that it was a bit disjointed.  Furthermore, it didn’t really introduce any major metaplot or content.  It was a decent distraction and having more pure noncombat adventures would be fun, but this wasn’t that nor was it pure combat adventure.  It felt like too much of a mix.  3.5/5

Execution– I was the most disappointed here.  The adventure works with classic Paizo layout and text doing their good job as always, but there is too much text and not enough guidance with some things being tried but not really working.  First, there are random things that happen.  Good!  But use the random event charts that we had in previous chapters rather than just have three options for the GM to pick.  Same goes with where the main NPC wants to go.  Add in a chart where he says where to go, describe the location, and have a random dice roll.  The main bulk of the adventure is in a maze.  Which is fun, but doesn’t have a massive location, but maybe just set pieces.  There are places that I don’t feel were all that connected nor did the riddle handout really help me or my players with it.  The price of the adventure is high, but they are now including all the information I need to run it.  However, the map they give is too big and can’t work on Roll20.  It also has a grid, so I have to fight with Roll20 to line it up.  PDFs can remove the grids, so I appreciate those.  But, here I am paying for a product that isn’t quite getting me what I want.  Honestly, if these were just set piece locations as they wander the maze, I feel that would make this run easier and make the maps small enough to upload to Roll20.  I appreciate what they gave me, but for almost 1/3 the price of their regular adventures, this costs a bit too much.   3.5/5

Summary–  Overall, this works.  It’s a fine enough adventure, but it’s short, a little disjointed, and the add-ons are a bit wonky.  I don’t hate this, but I feel some aspects hold this back.  Some small changes in organization and flow could help this be a top notch adventure.  You can easily run this, and you and your party will have fun.  But, don’t expect this to run for the full five hours.  77%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Legends of Uganda #1

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Product– Legends of Uganda #1

System- DCC RPG

Producer– Sanctum Media

Price– $ 3.00 here https://goodman-games.com/store/product/legends-of-uganda-1-pdf/  

TL; DR-Solid new information from a new place in DCC.  98%

Basics– Let’s go somewhere I never expected DCC RPG to go!  Legends of Uganda does exactly what it says: it’s legends and lore from Uganda, providing monsters, mighty deeds, a new class, and weapons for the table to experience.

Mechanics or Crunch– This is a collection of new items for the table and honestly they feel like they fit.  All the new toys for both players and GMs all fit into the existing power scale of DCC RPG.  It’s fresh and new ideas that mesh well.  5/5

Theme or Fluff– What’s here is new and it’s interesting.  Uganda is quite literally a world away from me. I have experience with Celtic folklore, Asian folklore, North and South American folklore, but I know a lot less about subSaharan African folklore.  This book brings in a number of fun new ideas that you can bring to bear at the table.  It would be very easy to do this disrespectfully, but this book treats the material and people with respect.  5/5

Execution-. This book is very well put together, but it has a few small issues.  The book reads well and has good art, but some things are missing.  There are four weapons, but they are in two different parts of the book.  There are multiple monsters, but they are scattered apart.  This isn’t a problem, but you can tell this was originally made from three different smaller PDFs put together.  The joining of three books without reorganization wouldn’t be a major issue if the book had bookmarks or hyperlinks to jump to sections.  This is a 3 dollar PDF that amazingly has over 30 pages.  Honestly, I’m impressed by how much is crammed in here!  Also, this has a completely new class, but no new spells.  I would expect a few new spells in this book.  Maybe in the sequel.   4.75/5

Summary– This book is new and fun!  I love learning about new stuff from new places.  There is nothing wrong with my 30+ Celtic adventures, but this book aims to show me something new and does it well.  New toys for both the GM and the player are balanced well.  The tone is respectful while keeping the material engaging.  My only issues are some organization and the lack of spells.  Show me some new magic from where you’re from and give me some hyperlinks, and I’d be thrilled.  But then again, I want to stress this is a 30+ page book, so it’s good value for money.  I’m looking forward to the next one in this series.  98%