Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of Spies
Category: Ring Side Report
Ring Side Report- Preview of the upcoming Alarian, Valor and Company RPG!
a new idea every day!
Product– Alarian, Valor and Company
System- Alarian, Valor and Company
Price– Not out yet, but coming soon! Check here! https://subscribepage.io/VC
TL; DR– DnD, Pathfinder, and Poker all mixed together! 87%
Basics– And now for something completely different! Today I have an upcoming Alarian RPG. It’s on the horizon, but not completely finished yet. Let’s look at the basics, and tell you what I think of the sneak peek I got.
Stats, skills and character building- Like most other RPGs, this one has a solid foundation for a few basic stats and skills based on each stat. When you build a character you choose which stats advance faster than others with some having fast progression, advancing every other level, and some advancing every three levels. Skills are a simple point investment as you level as well. What is interesting are the traits. Traits are similar to feats in DnD but they have stat requirements. These traits look like the main way you build a character. The basic builds so far either give you lots of stats and fewer skills and traits, while the other build lets you have more skills, slow stat gain, but lets you ignore some trait requirements. This lets you build a character that is not bound by a class but can dip into anything you think might be fun.
Using your skills and cards-Here is where this RPG takes a big leap. The game DOES NOT USE DICE! Instead players draw from a 54 card deck with jokers being wild. Players get 1 free card per test, then cards equal to their skill and half the associated statistic. The goal is to draw a particular suit either determined by the DM, the situation, or the player deciding before getting cards. Players attempt to get 1, 2, or 3 cards of the suit for a degree of success.
Combat- Combat is a mix of theater of the mind and tiles. Characters get a move and a standard action, but a stat called focus allowes players extra attacks, moves, or even determines how many attacks of opportunity a character can get. Weapons have three interesting features. First is simple damage to a character. Second it costs a character focus as they get smacked around and cant focus as much to do extra things. Lastly they cause poise loss meaning the defender’s armor won’t work as well as more attacks beat on that character. These are all amazingly technical things, but the game takes a bit of a departure as the game then moves to side based combat as one side and all its players go then the other side goes.
Ok, on to my thoughts..
Mechanics or Crunch– This is a new system, and I am intrigued. What I see is interesting enough to get me to kickstart it. I love some things, such as the novel card mechanic. Some things I don’t like as much. I would either lean more technical with movement and combat or less and have just sides smash into each other. The mix feels a bit off. That might be a preference thing from years of DnD 5e as well as years of PF1. Will it work? I think so, but it’s a new mix that’s interesting to me. 4.5/5
Theme or Fluff– I like what’s here, but I will need more. “Yeah, Ed this is a preview!”, so the traits are not a complete list yet nor is the world fully built. That said, what we have is an interesting mix. I’m intrigued enough to want to see the full list. And for a preliminary copy, the world guide is interesting enough to get me to bite. Perfect? No, but the hook is set. 4.5/5
Execution– More grading on a curve this week. This is a prepublish, not complete book. There is not fancy art on every other page, nor is there a PDF. What is here is a few books and art assets. Those honestly are impressive. The words need another pass of polish as a few things are pretty redundant in the verbiage. Also, some explanations seem a bit deep for how to play. None of that is a game breaker by any means, but all are to be expected in a preview. 4/5
Summary– The most annoying thing for me as the alpha geek at my gaming store is other geeks who don’t want to try something new simply because they have not tried it before. This is something new. It’s solid-new that is well done. It’s not perfect-new, but then again, I’m getting a sneak peek behind the curtain before it’s ready for prime time. And what I’ve seen means I’ll come back at prime time when things are finalized. There are small things at the core that are not my favorite, like group initiative and map combat at the same time, but possibly seeing the full suite of things will make me forget any misgivings. As things stand, I wholeheartedly recommend you also check this out when the public gets a look at this. 87%
Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Heroes of Cerulea
Product-Heroes of Cerulea
System- Heroes of Cerulea
Producer– Bläckfisk Publishing
Price– Kickstarter now! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/blackfiskforlag/heroes-of-cerulea-pixelated-dungeon-crawl-tabletop-rpg?ref=user_menu
TL; DR-Numenera and Zelda! 96%
Basics– Time for some 8Bit DnD! Heroes of Cerulea is as old school as you can get with a tabletop RPG that wants to be the 8 bit Zelda you remember. There is a bad guy who did a bad thing that brok the magic gold thing and he needs to go down in four dungeons. Yep, that’s the Legend of Zelda I remember! Let’s break this down.
Dice and Rolls- Characters have exactly three stats: might, bravery, insight. When you do a thing, you roll a number of four sided dice equal to the stat. Ones and twos are bad, three is success with a cost like damage, and four is outright success. If you roll two or more dice on an action, then you take the highest die. If you roll multiple fours, you get better degrees of success. Might covers physical things like attacks. Bravery is defense and physical things like climbing. And insight is mental things like range attacks or talking.
Combat- Combat is interesting as it’s VERY much like Numenera. The characters say the things they will do. I as the GM say the things the monsters do. And ONLY the players roll dice. Monster swings at you and you want to attack it back? Roll bravery for the defense and might for the attack. Bravery got a three? You and the monster both take a hit. Rolled two fours on the attack back and the monster took two hits killing the monster.
Ok, on to my thoughts..
Mechanics or Crunch– This is a very simple system, but that is not bad. If you need character building that takes 10 hours and endless customization that requires a computer to optimize then maybe this isn’t the game for you. The quickstart that the writers put out is honestly written on a trifold pamphlet-AND I LOVE IT! It’s quick, simple, and fun. Now, I need a bit more explanation to things, as does combat always happen at the same time or is there initiative? That I hope is explained in the full game, but from what I have seen, I like what’s here. 4.5/5
Theme or Fluff– Mileage will vary with the theme in this one. I’m getting older, and that’s not getting better. My cell phone has more processing power then the original space shuttle. My first games were The Legend of Zelda, so this simple world story of “bad guy did bad thing, get the gold thing from him” coupled with a retro art style and aesthetic makes me happy. If you need your hero to have more than 8 bits of color and 10 total polygons, then this won’t hit that nostalgia for you. That said, I love what’s here. 5/5
Execution– I’m going to grade on a curve here. The publishers put out a free(ish) pdf for everyone to check out. You can pay what you want, but I threw them a buck, and honestly, it was VERY worth it. It included a slick rules pamphlet, a slick GM pamphlet, a dungeon pamphlet, and a nice character sheet. My players were building people in five minutes, and we played for two hours. If the real rules are anything like this, I will be absolutely ecstatic. 5/5Summary– Some days you just want to play the classics, whatever that is to you. Get that hit of nostalgia on graphics that are honestly not amazing and may not have held up, and simple stories that don’t delve crazy-deep into world-building or fleshing out every minor character. This feels like that game. It’s a simple game from a simpler time for me, and I love everything here. You should check this out if you can. Get some buds and play a fun adventure saving the princess and macguffin while killing the bad guy with a simple-to-master system, fun art direction and story, and solid production. I’ve backed this thing, and I hope you do too! 96%
Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of Luna Capital
Ring Side Report-RPG Review of Spelljammer: Adventures in Space
Product-Spelljammer: Adventures in Space
System- Dungeons and Dragons
Producer– Wizards of the Coast
TL; DR– Spaceships and Sorcerers! 76%
Basics– TO THE SKY! Spelljammer: Adventures in Space is the latest setting for DnD that really encompasses all the other settings. Spelljammers are space ships that can travel between different systems and explore, so really the limits of this setting are the limits that you can steal and borrow from all the other DnD settings and your favorite fanfic of Star Trek. Let’s get into this one.
Mechanics or Crunch– This is a good book with some new mechanics, but not a ton of information. Overall space beyond a planet system is just empty and full of “air”, so you don’t need much. The spelljammers are fun ships, but the DnD isn’t really set up to do ship battles well. It’s not bad, but it’s simple and the system defaults to basic rules in the DMG for side combat for ship combat. There are new races, but not a ton beyond that. So if you want a lot of new crunch for your players, there isn’t that much here. Ships get a good rundown, which is needed, but don’t expect much as a player. There are monsters of the cosmos, which are absolutely needed, but for each system you need to grab that world’s/setting’s books and get monsters from there. This book adds decent materials for the GM, but not much for players. It doesn’t really expand the rules beyond the basics we’ve seen. 4/5
Theme or Fluff– I don’t hate the story here, but I’m left wanting more in a bad way. This setting is all about space and boldly going to new worlds. You do get the basics of that, but you don’t get a ton of new worlds beyond “Go grab your favorite other books and go there!” Again, it’s not bad, but it feels too loose to be helpful. I do think the adventure they give is awesome and will help GMs and players who are new to the setting get used to it. That “fish out of water” adventure that is included is going to be your best introduction to this setting. That said, after reading this book, I need more to really know what this setting is. 4/5
Execution– Can’t buy a PDF, but when there was an update it came out as a PDF. I can rent the book via DnD Beyond, but other than that, it’s physical only. What is in the book is a solid ok. Good spacing and text size and all the things I look for in a book, but it’s only in their proprietary app. I want to own my book, so you either buy a physical book or rent DnD beyond. And, while I love the adventure they give you, they don’t give you pregens at fifth level. Just include the pregens! I don’t want to make some for my players nor do some groups want to make some when the GM buys that book. I want to play ASAP and that would massively help those groups. It’s 2022 and you are behind the times. I am not pleased. 3.5/5
Summary– Spelljammer is a fun setting and book that just needs more. The mechanics here are ok, but there is not much for players and just enough for the GM to run a game beyond go to the DMG. The story is fun, but there isn’t much beyond go look at other stuff. The execution misses many marks that other companies are doing and it hurts my impression of the book. If you want some classic space and sorcery, this will be a fun book. If you don’t have an idea of what Spelljammer is then you still might not after reading this book. 76%
Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of Wormholes
Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of The Guild of Merchant Explorers
Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of That Old Wallpaper
Ring Side Report-RPG Review of Down Darker Trails
Product-Down Darker Trails
System- Call of Cthulhu 7th Ed
Producer– Chaosium
Price– $44.99 here https://www.chaosium.com/down-darker-trails-hardcover/
TL; DR– Cowboys and Cthulhu! 97%
Basics– What’s that ahead on the trail? Down Darker Trails is a wild west source book for Call of Cthulhu. This book has information for both the game master and players to build anything, from gunslingers to wild west cults serving dark gods all across the west. Let’s look at the parts.
Mechanics or Crunch– This book is an interesting and well done mix of old and new. Arguably there are LOTS of reskins of stuff we have seen before, but honestly, that’s what I need. I need to know what the fire rate for guns in that time was and and the prices. There are some major changes between 1880 and 1920, but the damage really doesn’t change that much in this game. That said, this book adds a lot of new stuff, from spells to real life states for characters, to excellent new options for investigators/players. I like everything that is here and it adds the right amount of depth and crunch for a game in this time. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– I like what’s here, but I have some minor issues. I mentioned before that there is a lot of reskinning for the time. That’s true and it’s true here too. But, I don’t see anything crazy new here regarding the mythos. It doesn’t invent a ton of new monsters or elder things. Lovecraft didn’t do a ton out west, so thats part of it, but I would like to see more new in the story of the mythos. That said, what is here is excellent. Amazing history summaries, great write ups on persons of the time, solid respect to the cultures of the west and its people, and character options that will let a person who is new to the old west beyond Back to the Future III into the world of what really went on out there. There is always more to be learned, but as a first pass into this world and the idea that a book can’t continue for forever, this is a great way to build mythos into the west and the west into the mythos. 4.5/5
Execution– Chaosium knows book publishing with the art, layout, readability, and book mechanics like hyperlinks and such all on point. This book even has real pictures of people from the time to so you can see the real faces of the west. Furthermore, since the real west was a lot more racist than the fun and wholly-pretend cowboy and Indians I played as a child, the book treats the indigenous peoples of the west with respect in art, writing, and design. 5/5
Summary– This is a phenomenal book. I love Call of Cthulhu, and recently lots of my video games have been old west as well. The pretend old west is fun, but the real west is far more entertaining and deep. This book gives me the keeper/gm the tools I need to merge those loves and it gives my players the tools they need to jump right in as well. I have some minor issues, but like all the products I love that quibble about it comes down to wanting more. What I do have is a well done book with crunch and stories to build a fun western adventure and a book that easily revealed its secrets. If you want cowboys in the mythos, then you need this book. 96%
Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of Sobek
Throat Punch Games 