Ring Side Report-Throat Punch Games Review of Tsuro: Phoenix Rising
Category: Ring Side Report
Ring Side Report-RPG Review of Planet Apocalypse
Product– Planet Apocalypse
System- Dungeons and Dragons 5e
Producer– Petersen Games
Price– not out yet but will be here https://petersengames.com/planet-apocalypse/#info-tabs|1
TL; DR– DOOM IN DND! 97%
Basics– Time to be the only thing they fear! Planet Apocalypse is a DND 5e source book not for the faint of heart! This is a MASSIVE change from the other Petersen games I have played as this is straight up gore horror of the damned. Worst parts of the Bible, rivers of blood, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria! Let’s dig into this foul tome.
Mechanics or Crunch– This book has a lot, but is missing just a few things. This game is ALL about killing horrors from hell. There is no subtlety here and it shows in every horrible thing here. The characters are hard scrabble wasteland survivors trying to eke out a life among the fiends from the pit. There are feats, spells, and some class options, but I kind of wish each class got some love with its own class options. The math of all the monsters work out and MAN are there a lot of monsters here. This is a one stop shop for a game like the old world books. It’s a solid book, but I want a bit more for all the characters to really make this the total package. 4.5/5
Theme or Fluff– You will not feel safe reading this book. This is not a book you sit around in a cozy blanket with cocoa on a winter night. This is a book you read and feel like the shadows are watching you and you better not mess up the circle or you will be dragged somewhere where death will be a mercy. This book is full of well done, horrific art. The world is BRUTAL as you have just absolute monstrosities on every other page doing horror to the poor people of this world. You get to be the hero they need. And considering Sandy Peterson wrote Doom levels, this is Doom in DnD. If you were not challenged, horrified, or nauseated enough by the last expansion to Doom Eternal, this is the source book you need to fill that Demon killing itch. 5/5
Execution– PDF? YEP! Hyperlinked? YES! This is a solid book that is well written, well laid out, and reads easily. I know that is a common refrain from me, but that’s what I want in a book! It’s also OVER 350 pages! This is a single serving world that with the DnD base book is a game you can start playing today! There are even some adventures that wet your whistle and show you how Sandy wanted you to play this game. Easy to read, hyperlinked, well laid out, and a solid intro adventure are all the things I want in a world book. 5/5
Summary– This is the most vile thing I have ever seen from Petersen Games, and I can’t wait for more. As a God fearing Christian, this is the vision of hell I was told about in the most twisted Sunday sermons I have ever seen and now you can be the hero to push back those horrors. This is NOT for games where you want to save the princess from the Orcs and have tea with the Orc bandit afterwards. If you want to plunge headlong into hell itself, rip Baphomet’s jaw off, possibly have your friends get ripped apart in front of you along the way, and end the demonic invasion, then this is the game for you! 97%
Ring Side Report-Book Review-The Anatomical Guide to Lovecraftian Horrors
Book Review-The Anatomical Guide to Lovecraftian Horrors
Author– Luis Merlo
Book- ~$3 here https://petersengames.com/the-games-shop/the-anatomical-guide-to-lovecraftian-horrors/
TL; DR– Lovecraft forensics! 90%
Basics-What horrors lurk in the shadows? The Anatomical Guide to Lovecraftian Horrors is what would happen if a forensic pathologist was let loose into the world of Lovecraft and wrote a textbook of his or her findings. Monsters from across the mythos are given multi page write ups and each has detailed anatomy drawings showing how they tick. Let’s look at the pieces that are here!
Characters, Setting, and Story-This isn’t a story book. This is a textbook, but a textbook you will want to sit down and read. It’s one fan’s gruesome love letter to hard science and Lovecraft in one well done package. Monsters from across the mythos get pages that you can dig into and see how the creatures work at a detailed level, even down the musculature in some cases. This is just one Lovecraft lover’s take on things, but it is well done, detailed, and something that serious fans will enjoy. 5/5
Execution-PDF available? Yes! Hyperlinked? No… This is a well laid out book as the book itself reads easily, has nice pictures, and is a quick read. You can find your favorite monster, read about it, and get great pictures that you can use in any horror game you want to run. I do like what’s here, but I would like just a bit more. It’s short, but considering my main components are wanting more, I think this is a solid product. 4.5/5
Summary-I’m a scientist and I’ve had to read my fair share of textbooks. None are nearly as entertaining as this book. I also love Lovecraft, and I enjoy the two being put into one blender. If you don’t want detailed explanations of cosmic horrors, then avoid this book. If you want to see how one fan explains the things that go bump in the night and across the cosmos in an extremely well done manner, then pick up this book. 90%.
Ring Side Report-RPG Review of Black Powder Rebellion – Firearms and Historical Campaigns (PF2)
Product– Black Powder Rebellion – Firearms and Historical Campaigns (PF2)
System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed
Producer– Beyond the Horizon
Price– $6.95 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/350371/Black-Powder-Rebellion–Firearms-and-Historical-Campaigns-PF2?term=black+powder+rebellion?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR– I need guns… LOTS OF GUNS. 98%
Basics– OVER THE WALL! Black Powder Rebellion – Firearms and Historical Campaigns is a third party book focusing on using historical settings and guns in Pathfinder 2nd Ed games. The book introduces guns from all across the history of firearms, history and settings information for players and GMs, and even character options to take any character and make it a gun toting hero.
Mechanics or Crunch– The goal of this book is to add guns and world history settings to Pathfinder, do so without magic being the major focus, and then give the players options to build characters in that world. And in that, it succeeds completely. There are LOTS of guns in this book with only one fake gun that I know of. That’s some dedication to realism across multiple time points in history. Character options are also solid crunch as archetypes are put to good use in this book allowing any class to pick up a gun and go to war. Solid crunch for any group that wants to add guns to their sessions as both a GM and a player. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– How much history do you know? I might not have majored in history in college, but I love to learn it. I also grew up teaching hunter safety in the US. There are gun things I learned from this book from across history that I have not heard yet! That is some solid dedication to the gun and world history. From old school single shot guns, to samurai with guns on horseback, to trench warfare, if you want some historical guns in your PF2 game and the story behind them, this is the accessory for you and your friends. 5/5
Execution– PDF? YEP! Hyperlinked? YES! This is a solid book that is well written, well laid out, and reads easily. It wasn’t a slog even though this is a history book. Heck, this book even hyperlinks out to other media to help you LEARN more. That’s good use of the medium! My complaints are, as always, pictures. A few more would make this read a bit easier to read in the text chunkier areas. Also, this book digs DEEP on some firearm types. I would like a few more pictures, so i know what the gun looks like. That said, for the price of less than seven bucks, this is a solid book and a good effort by the team. 4.75/5
Summary-Want some guns in PF2? Want to play historical games in PF2? This is the book you need. Solid options, solid themes, and solid equipment all make a solid book. I always want more pictures, but that is the ONLY complaint I have for this one. Another great book at a good price for this team. 98%
Ring Side Report- Board Game Review of Ugly Gryphon Inn
Ring Side Report-RPG Review of Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 Quickstart
Product– Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 Quickstart
System- 2d20
Producer– Modiphius
Price– FREE here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/347802/Achtung-Cthulhu-2d20-Quickstart?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR– Let’s kill some Cthulhu Nazis! 97%
Basics– The Weird Wars are back! Achtung! Cthulhu is a horror/action RPG using the Achtung! Cthulhu world and the new(er) 2d20 system put forward by Modiphius. Let’s dig into this historical horror.
Base mechanics-The 2d20 system is a roll-under system. Every time you do an action, you use a skill and an attribute. You add your skill and attribute together and try to roll under that total on each individual die. If you roll under your skill, you score two successes and if you roll under the total you just score one success. Get enough successes, you do the action. You need between 0 and five successes.
Momentum, threat, and fortune- Since you only get two dice and you might need up to five successes, you need more dice in a hurry. You can get more dice from momentum. Every success above what you need earns momentum for the group. You can spend momentum to get more dice. You can also give the GM threat to get more dice, but threat is GM momentum. You also have fortune. Fortune is story candy. You automatically crit and earn two successes.
Combat-Combat works just like skills, but if you hit, you roll six sided dice with either 1, 2, or 1 and a bonus event on them. The bonus things might start fires or do extra damage and depends on the weapons and the person using it. When you take damage, you subtract either armor or your resolve (mental armor) and take stress. When your stress fills up, you are out and you take an injury. This could be from going crazy or from taking a hit to the face. Too many injuries and you’re out for good!
Ok, now my thoughts on this.
Mechanics or Crunch– I like what’s here. I love Call of Cthulhu, and 2d20 feels enough like that but it has some things that feel like DnD. There are feat like traits. There is a more combat emphasis, and the flow of threat and momentum makes things a bit more dynamic than either parent game. There are parts I want described more like spending threat. This is a quickstart for free, so it’s ok if it’s not a complete rules book now, but I want more of that in the final product. That said, the crunch here feels good and full of combat goodness with hints of story built in to keep the action rolling. 4.5/5
Theme or Fluff– Hate Nazis? Want to hate Cthulhu Naizs? I’VE GOT A GAME FOR YOU! The ultimate killable bad guys are the main villains here, so it always feels fun to fight those guys. It is Weird War, so get ready for some strange elements, from spellcasting Americans to Australians with combat dogs. But, here is where things shine. 2d20 is built on this back and forth of rolls, story, and tension. Momentum and threat roll back and forth across the table making things fun. There is absolutely nothing wrong with some old school gaming, but for story and theme, I love when the mechanics build into that. This system does that well. 5/5
Execution– PDF? YEP! Hyperlinked? No, but it’s a quickstart, so I’ll forgive it. It reads well, reads quick, and has great pictures. Now those pictures are from the original Acthung! Cthulhu, so I hope for new art, but it’s all good. The player section is at the back and easily prints out to a separate PDF, so my players will not be spoiled. Honestly, it’s 45+pages of good introduction to the system that you can read in under half an hour and get playing your first game. 5/5
Summary-This is a free PDF, so check it out! It’s also a solid RPG with a great mix of theme and mechanics. Lots of fun to be had from this quick read that you will be playing fast. Go kill some bad guys and save the day in the Weird War! 97%
Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of Ruins: Death Binder
Product-Ruins: Death Binder
Producer– Heavy Punch Games
Price-$49.99 https://tgg-games.com/products/ruins-death-binder
Set-up/Play/Clean-up– 90 minutes per player (1-2 players)
Type- American
Depth-medium
TL; DR– the real card based Darksouls. 81.3%
Basics- Can you find out why they want to kill you? In Ruins: Death Binder you wake in a cave next to a body. Monsters instantly hunt you and the people you find want you dead. Can you find out the mystery of the cave?
Base mechanics-This game is a reverse deck builder. You start with a MASSIVE deck of cards. The campaign has you move from room to room and encounter monsters, events, rest areas, or a crazy combination. When you fight monsters you are allowed to play melee attacks or spells up to an amount determined by your current value, starting with three. Monsters take different amounts of damage depending on their vulnerability. More vulnerability means more damage from that type. If they are not dead, you take damage. Events are decisions or fighting obstacles. After you play a round of cards, you are allowed to save a few of those cards, but not all. Just like a deckbuilder when your draw pile is done, you shuffle your saved cards, and draw again. Monsters and events both give you experience. At fires you can spend cards to heal and experience to level up. You will then move through the dungeon to find bosses and solve scenario cards to discover the mystery of why you are in the cave.
Mechanics– This game is very simple, but engaging. You quickly play cards and move through the dungeon. It’s a fast game that isn’t overcomplicated. The idea of a reverse deck builder is a new one for me, and I am honestly excited at the idea it provides. 5/5
Theme-Honestly, this is a great game for the emergent story as you work your way through your adventure. It’s simple, but compared to other games, this does feel like the most Darksouls game I have seen in a long time. It’s even more Darksouls than the Darksouls card game. 4.5/5
Instructions– These rules are not good. The mechanics are simple, but turn write-ups are way in the back of the book, rule explanations are spread out all over, level up explanations are put in a diagram explaining the pieces, and many other things just don’t read well. Once you understand it, it’s not bad, but it’s just a jarring start to the game. 2/5
Execution– This is a well executed game! Check out the pieces in this video: https://youtu.be/bJk_HbNg3Y4 The box is well made. The cards are good quality and look nice and read well. The tableaux are well done and it feels nice to move cubes. I love how well this is made. One thing I think is a pain is small cards. I always hate small cards. That said, this is a solidly executed game. 4.75/5
Summary– This is a great game with one major flaw. I love the mechanics. I have NEVER had a game where losing cards hurts as much as this one. The theme is amazing. It’s got great environmental storytelling. The pieces and parts are solid and well done. The major flaw is the rules. It’s a ROUGH start, but once you get past that, you will enjoy it. Solid game with a fun theme and great mechanics overshadow bad rules in this fun game. 81.3%
Ring Side Report- Board Game Review of Dungeons and Dragons Adventure Begins
Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of Invasion of the Brood!
Ring Side Report-RPG Review of Pathfinder Adventure Path #163: Ruins of Gauntlight
Product– Pathfinder Adventure Path #163: Ruins of Gauntlight
System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed
Producer– Paizo
Price– $24.00 here https://paizo.com/products/btq023hs
TL; DR– 92%
Basics– Strange lights in the mist! The old lighthouse calls! The local crazy calls forth a group of adventurers to see what horrors her harrow cards have foretold! A dungeon crawl for characters level one to four.
Mechanics or Crunch– This is a straight up dungeon crawl. There is a dungeon lighthouse in a marsh. You are told to check it out. Overall, its slick quick rooms with lots of fights. There are some things I think are a bit rough like some things are listed with different names, so that made the experience a bit harder to dig through as a GM. However, the players have solid fights with fun things to discover. 4.5/5
Theme or Fluff– This is a dungeon crawl. There is a town and it gets a full write-up in both the player guide and the first adventure, but honestly, it’s background. The adventure literally just starts you at the foot of the dungeon. I would like a bit more lead up for my players. Otherwise, this megadungeon ends up like the random generated dungeons where I just mindlessly kill orks on my phone. The dungeon is nice and atmospheric, so the story beyond the start is built on show don’t tell. 4.5/5
Execution– PDF? YEP! Hyperlinked? Kind of. The writing is good, the layout is nice, and the flow is quick. The book has bookmarks in the PDF, but it doesn’t have clickable links in the parts. That would help as this is over 60 pages and hopping around is a pain. What I absolutely LOVE is the maps. There is a separate map file given with the PDF. That map lets you add and remove things like secret doors and the grid. That makes life SO much easier to run and align online or digitally. Paizo knows how to make a solid book. 4.75/5
Summary– Been looking forward to this one for a bit. Some hack and slash is fun, and having some Pathfinder hack and slash is a blast. Now, the one thing I think I would like different is a bit more story to the carnage. Some lead in as my players need to know why they are killing things. The crunch is good, but a few things are just slightly off enough to annoy the GM. Players won’t notice. The book itself is solid and something I loved to read. This adventure is a solid start to a good old fashioned kick in the door and kill the bad guy campaign. 92%
Throat Punch Games 