Category: Ring Side Report

Ring Side Report-RPG Review of DCC Day #2: Beneath the Well of Brass

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Product– DCC Day #2: Beneath the Well of Brass

System- Dungeon Crawl Classics

Producer– Goodman Games

Price– $6.00 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/352617/DCC-Day-2-Beneath-the-Well-of-Brass?term=beneath+the+well+of+brass?affiliate_id=658618

TL; DR– Great intro fun with some crazy story elements. 97%

Basics–  Dragged by a brutal “king”, you have to find the secret of immortality or your village dies.  You are nobodies when you go into the volcanic tunnel under a mountain, but you will emerge heroes if you survive!

Mechanics or Crunch-This is a great adventure for starter heroes.  The players will get a kick out of this adventure as they get the basics overall.  One issue is that there isn’t much combat here.  There are traps, some crazy bits, and a finale, but not a ton of fights.  A bit more would make this more fun.  Also, most of my players get through this adventure in about three hours, so it’s a bit short.  A few more fights might help this one.  But what is here is nicely balanced, and a fun intro for your newer players.  4.5/5

Theme or Fluff– Oh DCC, never change!  This story is crazy as you just get dumped into the dungeon, and then planar transport before level 1!  Solid crazy stuff here; hellknights, a city of djinn, and a thug who needs killing all feature into this adventure.  This adventure is just crazy gonzo fun for your players.   5/5

Execution– PDF? Yes.  Hyperlinked?  Yes.  THIS IS LESS THAN 20 PAGES AND IT HAS HYPERLINKS!  Goodman games knows how to put out some solid stuff.  It has crazy, old school art.  It’s easy to read.  It’s fun to read on its own.  It’s all the things I want in an intro adventure.  5/5

Summary-Solid work here for DCC Game Day.  If you want to have some quick intro fun for your players to enter the world of DCC RPG.  This is a well written, well crafted, easy to read adventure that is something almost every DCC gamer and honestly every RPG player should try.  Check this one out quickly!  97%

Ring Side Report-RPG Review of Pathfinder Society Scenario #2-02: Mountain of Sea and Sky

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Product– Pathfinder Society Scenario #2-02: Mountain of Sea and Sky

System- Pathfinder

Producer– Paizo

Price– $5.99 here https://paizo.com/products/btq024wz?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-202-Mountain-of-Sea-and-Sky 

TL; DR-A better first scenario! 98%

Basics–  Pathfinder!  The Society calls!  A new lodge is being built and new agents are needed to help with getting the area settled. You won’t be wielding a hammer.  The land needs to be purified and the locals may help or hurt if you make enough friends.  An intro adventure for levels 3 to 6.

Mechanics or Crunch-I love the crunch here.  There are a ton of fights, but none drag on.  Also, there are multiple things like social encounters, exploration, and some solid fights as well.  Heck there is even a hard boss fight, but like all good RPGs, if you play smart and make friends, life is easier.  This feels like a great introduction to the system and world, even better than 2-01.  5/5

Theme or Fluff– Story, combat, exploration, and social-all parts of a solid whole that make a fun adventure.  When I run this I have a blast and so do my players.  Nothing drags; there is always time left but you leave feeling full.  More adventures like this are needed to pull new pathfinders into the fold.  5/5

Execution– PDF? Yes.  Hyperlinked?  Yes.  Good layout, handout, and all the other basics make this a solid adventure.  The only thing I don’t like are the maps that are marked up so I have to buy the other map somewhere else.  That always feels cash grabby, but that is the only bad thing here.  4.75/5

Summary-I love this adventure.  You get new locations, new characters, and solid fights that make a fun adventure.  It’s balanced well with a fun boss fight and great execution that makes running this a blast.  Would like clean maps, but that is my only problem.  If you want some intro to Pathfinder, you won’t go wrong with this one.  98%

Ring Side Report-RPG Review of Starfinder Society Scenario #1-16: Dreaming of the Future

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Product– Starfinder Society Scenario #1-16: Dreaming of the Future

System- Starfinder

Producer– Paizo

Price– $5.99 here https://paizo.com/products/btpya08w?Starfinder-Society-Scenario-116-Dreaming-of-the-Future 

TL; DR-Good introduction to the world of Starfinder Society.  92%

Basics–  Starfinder!  Society calls!  New Starfinders are needed to help find the pieces of an old tablet that will open a long lost vault in the stars.  This adventure is four short scenes that are all tied together in one adventure.

Mechanics or Crunch-This is a good introductory adventure that has some exploration, combat, space combat, and a bit of social interaction.  The only downside is the pieces may be a bit easy for most players.  Even pregens have an easy go of this one.  But it’s fun nonetheless.  4.5/5

Theme or Fluff– This adventure is four short adventures that all tie together.  It’s a bit rough between the pieces, but the goal of this one is to be more an intro to the world, Starfinder Society, and the system. It does a solid enough job with a decent story providing the basics of the world and story of it.  4.5/5

Execution– PDF? Yes.  Hyperlinked?  Yes.  Good layout, handout, and all the other basics make this a solid adventure.  The pieces I don’t like are the maps that you have to buy because the maps are marked up.  I understand why, but it’s still annoying.  That’s the worst part of the execution, so that is not bad at all.  4.75/5

Summary-. Dreaming of the Future is a solid introduction with a few rough parts.  The rough parts are all due to the episodic nature of this one.  The pieces are short but that helps with new players learning the system.  If you want a fun quick adventure for a new group of Starfinders, you would have a hard time finding a better one than this one.  92%