Ring Side Report- DUAL RPG REVIEW of 13 True Ways and 13th Age Bestiary

July 31, 2014 ~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ 2 Comments

I haven’t gotten any new 13th Age products in a while, and now I get two! Let’s go through these starting with….

Product– 13 True Ways

Producer– Pelgrane Press

Price– ~$40 here http://www.pelgranepress.com/?p=12292

System– 13th Age

TL; DR– Love 13th Age? BUY THIS NOW! 98%

Basics– MORE 13th AGE! This book is the first player focused book for the 13th Age system. This book covers several areas including new classes, items, monsters, living dungeons, and much more. As always, the systems assumes you make up whatever you want and gives enough to get you started, but suggests you dump anything you want to make the story your own.

Mechanics or Crunch– Sweet jumping archmage, this book is full of new mechanics. The new classes themselves are a crazy mix of new ideas. I felt there is more of focus on modifying the encounter die which an interesting take on the mechanic. There are the standard fare that people have requested like the necromancer and the commander (warlord from 4e DnD), but monks and druids really shined in this book for me. Monks feel real to me now. Sure, I like the Pathfinder monk and whatever system lets me punch goblins in the face, but this system is the first one to add some surprisingly heavy and accurate depth to the class. Monks now have different kinds of strikes and forms just like any other real word martial art. Druids have levels as the focus on different aspects of nature resulting in the class covering a shape changer who with different magic spells on different terrain or just being a crazy woods warrior guy/gal. Both these classes get some serious focus in the book. The new monsters are amazing and fun as well. Items are great. The best part of all this mechanics discussion is the banter between the writers. The writers want you to write your own game and mechanics, so when they don’t have a consensus, they give you each side’s opinion and let you have fun. Great book! 5/5

Theme or Fluff– Here is some balance combined with some amazing writing. The book doesn’t tell you any story, but give you all the stories to tell. An example of this is devils. A major crux of the 13th Age system is that demons are going to destroy the world. That’s the one thing that is universal in 13th Age, and that’s something you can completely disregard or rewrite and everybody’s happy! Now devils are introduced with this book, but where do they come from? Well this book gives you different origin stories relating to each of the icons. And NONE of those are the reason in your game if you want them to be! The book does an excellent job of providing Lego blocks for you to play with and showing you how the writers put them together but encourages you to build whatever you want to play with. 5/5

Execution-This book is laid out pretty much like the first book. That was done fairly well, but it does have a bit of a “textbook problem”- lots of words on pages that are not broken up enough. More pictures or colors on the powers, or space would help break up the text a bit more to help engage the reader. I do like the pictures that are in the book, but I would like a bit more. This isn’t by far a badly laid out book but, but a few more breaks would really help here. 4.75/5

Summary-THERE IS MORE 13th AGE OUT THERE! Fans like me have been clamoring for more 13th age since there was a 13th age! And, this product shows it’s been made with care and love for the system. I love the new classes, powers, places, monsters, and items. This book does monks right for the first time! If you like 13th Age even a little bit, GO BUY THIS ONE NOW! 98%

Well now that I’m done drooling over one 13th Age product, here is another!

Product– 13th Age Bestiary

Producer– Pelgrane Press

Price– ~$40 here http://www.pelgranepress.com/?p=12144

System– 13th Age

TL; DR– More well done pieces to fit into a 13th Age game. 100%

Basics-Here ther’ be dragons! This book is the first stand alone bestiary for the 13th Age system. Each section describes a monster type, giver several versions of the monster, stories about the monster, a picture, and how it relates to the icons and the world.

Mechanics or Crunch– Need more monsters? Here you go! All the monsters work well and feel like cogs that fit the 13th age system. The most important thing here is there is a TON of monsters to throw at the PCs and all the monsters feel like they belong and are fresh, yet something you expect in this world. All the toys in the monster’s arsenal are well done. Heck, if things are going too well for the players every monster gets an extra section on how to make this even nastier! 5/5

Theme or Fluff– Like I said before, everything fits. That’s the most important part of this system. Things “fit”. All the monsters have story driven components that make them easy to just throw into a 13th Age game. Monsters just don’t get a stat block and you hope for the best, you get a story, icon relations, and pictures-the whole nine yards. This book is as much a story book as it is a bestiary. 5/5

Execution- Honestly, no complaints here. I love the way 13th Age handles monsters-minimal stat blocks combined with stories and pictures. Lots of breaks in the text make this a breeze and a joy to read. This is a page turner making you want to read the next entry. This is an awesome bestiary. 5/5

Summary-This is quite frankly an amazing bestiary. If you run 13th Age, you need this book. It’s got great stories to help you write your adventures and excellent pictures to help your players visualize the monsters. And those are the tools I need to actually use any product in my games. Simple put-13th Age GMs need this book. 100%

Ring Side Report- Video Game Review of South Park: The Stick of Truth

July 30, 2014 ~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ 2 Comments

Game– South Park: The Stick of Truth

Price– It’s a bit old so you can get this for cheap! ~$20

TL;DR– Ah nostalgia! 90%

Basics-You’re the new kid in South Park, so go make friends! Soon you get drawn into a fight between the elves and the humans over the world’s most powerful artifact-The Stick of Truth! You are recruited by Cartman, but soon you have to choose who you fight for as the stick is soon stolen! Along the way aliens, the government, zombie nazis, and even stranger things all try to take the stick away.

Mechanics-The game drags on a bit. The combat system is extremely simple. It’s fun for the most part, but it gets repetitive very quick. Combat is handled by timed button responses either attacking or defending. Honestly, there seem to be less than 50 total normal enemies, so you will be attacked with the same attacks occur over and over and attack back with the same attacks over and over again too. Most of my combats went less than one round. Your power points for moves refresh at the start of each battle, so every battle was I use my super move, partner uses super move, enemies dead, wash rinse repeat. The awesome moves that each character unlocks later in the game are fun but have long animated introductions that you have to wait through. They are fun….the first 10 times, but after 100 uses of the same power with the same 30 second introduction, I was done. Mercifully the game does set up outside of combat events that you can use to attack enemies reducing the amount of combat you have to do. It makes life a bit easier and rewards smart play. Make no mistake, the game is fun, but it just gets repetitive semi-fast. 4/5

Visuals-This one looks amazingly like the TV show which is to say pretty crappy! Everything looks like an old school episode of South Park. That in and of itself is amazing. The walk actions are random half hops. All the action looks great. The locations are what you remember. But the game follows the cartoon and some people, locations, or objects have crazy detail or different styles entirely. The consistant inconsistency really makes you think you are watching an episode. Later you enter Canada which is apparently stuck in the SNES era and is 16bit. That whole section was just amazing and fun. This game is a 20 Hour walk through memory lane as every part of the TV shows run is somehow represented in this game. 5/5

Story-If you don’t like toilet humor, don’t play this game! If you can handle fart jokes, ass humor, mocking Christianity, racial humor, and too many other warnings to count, this game is amazing! It feels like an old episode of South Park. The boys and you are the only people in town who can figure out what the heck is going on, but you and your friends don’t care because you just want to play your elves vs. humans game. It’s a great ride that I really enjoyed. It does get a bit long as some humor doesn’t carry over well at the 20th hour mark as well as it did at the 1 hour mark, but it’s funny all the way through. 4.5/5

Summary-This was a blast to play. I couldn’t put it down. It’s not the most complex RPG I’ve played in a while, but it hit nostalgia buttons all over. It reminded me of Super Mario RPG at the same time it reminded me of classic South Park. This one doesn’t have the modern messages that most new South Park episodes have. It’s just a game exploring what the boys do during their free time. You will have a blast…if you can handle the NC-17 content and some repetition. 90%

Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of Fleet

July 30, 2014 ~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Game– Fleet

Producer– Gryphon Games

Price-$25 here

Set-Up/Play/Clean-Up– 45 Min (2-4 players)

TL;DR– Fish meeples for the win! 90%

Basics– Hit the high seas for some cold cash! In Fleet, you take the role of a sea captain on a newly opened sea trying to make the most money fishing. What makes this game unique is the nature of the cards. There are two types of cards: licenses and boats. You must have a license to fish. These licenses also give you extra abilities like drawing extra cards, using fish (points) to buy more cards, or cards being cheaper. Licenses also give you more of that ability as you have more of one particular license. The boat cards are used for money, as the boats themselves, and as captains. So you have to decide, based on the cards you have, how you will pay to buy licenses, pay to launch boats only for licenses you have, or use the card as a captain. Each turn starts with an auction phase for licenses. You may only buy one license per turn, so no player is left completely out to sea. Next, you can launch a boat that you have a license for by paying their launch cost from other cards in your hand. After that, you can place a card face down on a boat (regardless of the boat type). This boat is now captained. Then, all captained boats gain one fish cube (point) each turn, to a maximum of four. The final part of each turn is each player drawing two cards and discarding one. The game continues until all the fish cubes are gone or there are no more licenses to buy. When that happens, the player with the most points from fish, boats, and licenses at the end of that turn is the best fisherman and wins.

Mechanics-I like the mechanics of this game. The fact that cards are money, boats, and captains all at once makes every choice you do very important. You sometimes have to decide between giving up a boat to get a license to get more cards next turn OR to not get a license so you have more boats to get fish or a card to captain your boat. BUT, you might not have enough boats to captain the boats you have, so you have to decide what will have to happen this turn. It’s a fun level of frustration, and those little quick choices are important and fun. The only major problem with this game is a serious run away victor problem. There is NO mechanic to balance the game. If someone is ahead, they will stay there until they themselves lose that position. I enjoy the fact they can’t be attacked as it adds to the theme, but I would like some way to slow a player who breaks out ahead of the group. Overall, it’s fun, quick, and surprisingly deep. 4.5/5

Theme-The game is fun, but I didn’t necessary feel like a fisherman. You do several fishermen like things like get licenses, launch boats, or captain boats, but I would have liked a bit more story to my actions. It’s not an abstract game by any means, but a little light on theme. The game is fun, but don’t expect Arkham Horror levels of theme in this game. If you get the chance, buy the fish meeples (they’re cute and add that much more thematic elements to the game), 4/5

Instructions-The instructions work well, but there are a few problems that I still don’t think were answers. The rules address the many mechanics built in fairly well giving lots of examples for how the licenses work etc., but I was left wondering about the roles of processing ships. It’s a minor question, but the rules left me with a few of those. There are no problems in these rules that will stop you from playing and enjoying the game, but little questions that will cause you to run to Board game Geek a few times a game. 4.5/5

Execution-This one is well put together. It comes in a small box, and it’s cheap, sturdy, and well done. The iconography works reasonably well after some explanation. The cards themselves are good card stock and easy to read and understand. The game come standard with blue cubes to represent the fish you catch, but this game is much better with the fancy fish meeples you can buy separately. They are worth it! 5/5

Summary-I picked this one up when I bought Rococo (reviewed here ). I loved that game, and this one was originally just part of the package deal I was working with the publisher to try to get some extra games since I’m greedy. Honestly, I’m really glad I did. This game is a ton of fun, plays fast (even on a first play through without reading the rules before hand), and is much more complex than you would think for a fishing card game. The multiple uses for the cards will make you start to think hard on what to do on your turn, and you don’t often get that in a 45 minute card game. This is a cheap fun game that is well worth the price you pay. But if you can, buy the little fish meeples because fish meeples! 90%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Numeria, Land of the Fallen Stars

July 27, 2014 ~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Product-Pathfinder Campaign Setting- Numeria, Land of the Fallen Stars

Producer– Paizo

Price– ~$20 here http://paizo.com/products/btpy978l?Pathfinder-Campaign-Setting-Numeria-Land-of-Fallen-Stars

System– Pathfinder

TL;DR-Swords and Circuits! 95%

Basics– Time for some Sword and Circuits! Numeria, Land of the Fallen Stars tells the story of Numeria in Pathfinder’s default setting. Numeria is a land defined by barbarians and a star ship that crashed into Golarion millennia ago. The book is roughly divided into a section describing the basic geography and story of each place. Then the next section discusses the different groups in the region. The final section of the book is the monsters that live in the region.

Mechanics or Crunch-This book isn’t crunch heavy, but it doesn’t have to be, as the book is part of a twin set discussing Numeria. Therefore, I can forgive the book being somewhat crunch-lite. This book focuses on the story of the region more than the execution of the region. Even with that said, this book goes into good mechanical depth by discussing diseases, different damage types like radiation, and an item from the wastes called Numerian Fluids. These fluids are the cast-offs of starships and robots, and have side effects ranging from instant death to gaining a level. The book also adds a small bestiary as well as random encounter tables for each area in the region. However, I didn’t see how often I should roll a random encounter. I like what I see here, but I also know that most of the mechanics will come in the companion book that will come out later. 4.5/5

Story or Fluff-This book is FULL of stories to start a Numeria campaign. This regions presents some novel stories (pun intended) for the Golarion setting. I love the Sword and Circuits idea, and this book will provide you with all the standard fantasy fare of rampaging barbarians to the standard sci-fi tropes of a HoloDeck on the fritz. Beyond this are crazy sadist cultists, paladins hiding crazy technology, and an underground railroad for robots. This book and the setting have all the stories I wanted from fantasy/sci-fi as well as enough new to make me ready to start playing! 5/5

Execution-This book is pretty well done. The story and mechanics make this one a page-turner even though it’s over 60 pages of fantasy encyclopedia. The layout, text, and pictures are great and draw the reader through the story. I do think Paizo is running into a bit of a problem with the number of rules books they are putting out. If you are reading this and want to run this as a physical product, you’re going to need LOTS of other books to run a game in this part of the world. Paizo has an impressive pace for books, but this is leading to more books which will need OTHER rulebooks to use them at all. It is a small problem, but an increasingly prevalent one. 4.75/5

Summary-I loved reading this product. I was looking forward to running the Iron Gods adventure path before, but this book psyched me up even more. I love the fusion of sci-fi and fantasy. Some have complained that the two won’t work well together, but based on what I’ve read, these two will fit together just fine. There are some problems though–the major one is the number of books that Paizo products are beginning to require you to have in order to play the new book. This goes so far as this book will require a SECOND campaign book to incorporate all the technology needed for this part of the world. But, based on this book, I’m buying that book as soon as it comes out!-95%

Ring Side Report- Board Game Review of Tricked-Out Hero

July 21, 2014 ~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Board Game– Tricked-Out Hero

Producer– Prolific Games

Price-$45 here http://www.amazon.com/Board-Card-Games-Prolific-IMPPLF300/dp/0615975836/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1405909346&sr=8-9&keywords=tricked-out+hero

Set-Up/Play/Clean-Up-45-30 Minutes (2-6 players)

TL; DR-Classic Hearts meets DnD-84%

Basics– Get ready for “Juke-Box Hero” to be stuck in your head. You take the role of a fantasy hero fighting to defeat monsters across the countryside. At the start of the game, each player selects a character ranging from dwarf to pirate and takes the character’s player board. Each player board gives all the base stats for that character and their powers. With your character, you then attempt to kill more points of monsters than your opponents. Tricked-Out Hero is a game played across two different phases each round. At the start of each round, you receive a monster to fight and a stack of playing cards. You don’t reveal this monster, but can look at it. The playing cards are the standard 52 card deck with some changes to the suits. There is a suit for health, melee attack, magic attack, and bonus to monster difficulty. From a four card deck, a card is revealed to show what suit is “trump” this round. At this point the game is played pretty much like any other trick-taking card game with trump (e.g. Euchre, Hearts). For players who are unfamiliar with this kind of game, the instructions for the process are included. After all the hands have been played, players get their rewards based on the cards they won each had with. For each suit that players have for each winning hand, they gain tokens of that suit gaining melee attack, magic attack, health, or tokens to help the monster they’re fighting. Next, players reveal their monsters. Each monster has a melee attack value, a magic attack value, damage, and reward points. Players get to spend magic or melee tokens and roll an eight sided die. If their die roll and the spent tokens equal or beat the monster’s value, that player wins and gets the monster (and its points) as a bounty. If not, the player takes damage (loses health tokens), and the monster is discarded. After combat is resolved, then the next player gets to deal the cards and new monsters are handed out. Each player gets a chance to deal the cards. After each player deals, then players move on to fighting the next level of monsters. After each player deals again, then players move to the most difficult monsters. After each player get to deal a total of three times, the player with the highest number of points from defeated monsters wins.

Mechanics-This game is a combination of two different games: classic Hearts and Dungeons and Dragons. The two different phases of the game work well together. I get a phase where I try to read my opponents, and then I get a phase where I have to bet how lucky I am. The powers also add a new dimension to a these two different game parts. Deciding when to play a power really does make this much more than a simple roll to win game. This game is more than just the sum of two different gaming parts! The two games might not be directly intertwined, but they do work well together and are a lot of quick, easy fun. 5/5

Theme-Here is where I have some major problems. The player boards are amazing. The characters all look great and have nice quotes to help you learn a bit more about your character, and the powers fit who that person is. But, I mentioned in the mechanics section that the game is two different parts. I really want some sort of story glue to weld those two parts together. I have a trick-taking game merged with some hack and slash. That’s great, but why am I playing the card game? I completely understand the monster killing, but why do I need to compete with the players to get the different tokens? Are resources limited in town in defending? Are people selling information to the monsters? Is this a Tarot card reading to foresee how my fight will go? A little more set/world building would give me the immersion I need to really get into this game. 3/5

Instructions– The instructions to this game are good, but there are some problems. I’d like the rules to be two pages longer and have more pictures. There are pictures, but not enough to really break up the text and make this easier to read and understand. The rules do a good job explaining the game, but more detail would really help to make this clearer, like directly explaining what each suit is with pictures. Moreover, some of the wording in the rules and powers is a bit off. The wording is not so far off you can’t play the game, but you will find a few sections you must read a few times to really understand. A few more editorial passes and a page or two more of space would have moved these rules from good to great. 4/5

Execution– I like this. First, the problems. My copy of the 52 card deck is good, but a few of the cards have spots where the printing wasn’t great (some color spots/white spots among the nice backgrounds). It’s nothing major (it’s only on two cards), but I have a semi-marked deck. Also, I would have liked the tokens for melee, health, etc to have been double sided. Again, that’s not a big thing, but a little touch that would have made this a little better. Otherwise, I was happy with what I got. The cards are on good quality cardstock. The box is hardy. The tokens are good quality and plentiful. The art is great. I like what I see and feel with this game. 4.75/5

Summary-I like this game and my wife LOVES this game. She and her family play trick-taking games whenever they get together. She also loves DnD. Her parents don’t play anything beyond computer solitaire and Euchre (which is mandatory since we live in Michigan). This could be a nice bridge to get them into the hobby. This is a great stepping stone game to get people into deeper gaming waters if they are familiar with trick-taking games. I do have a few problems with this game, but those are because I play way too many board games and role-playing games like DnD so I NEED some story as to why I’m doing anything in a game. If you don’t need that, then pick this one up. If you NEED five hours of Eurogame level complexity and thinking to have a good evening, then this one isn’t for you. If you want a low to mid complex game with card playing and some monster slaying, then this is a great game for you. If you want to get one more game in for the night, but don’t want to spend forever setting it up or cleaning up afterwards, then this is the game you should buy. I know I’ll be brining this to my family gatherings to convert some people from the simple trick-taking games to something a bit more complex. 84%

Ring Side Report- Skull and Shackles #6- From Hell’s Heart

July 18, 2014July 18, 2014 ~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Product– Pathfinder Adventure Path- Skull and Shackles #6 From Hell’s Heart

Producer– Paizo

System-Pathfinder

Price-~$20 here http://www.amazon.com/Pathfinder-Adventure-Path-Skull-Shackles/dp/1601254229/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1405536965&sr=8-2&keywords=from+hell%27s+heart

TL;DR– A somewhat disappointing end to an awesome adventure path

Basics- Time to sail off the map! The players have beaten all their enemies and stand as the strongest force in the shackles! However, over the course of the previous adventures, the players have learned of a large strike force approaching across the sea. Can the players defeat this new enemy while dealing with a lazy leader? What happens after that? This book also has more monsters, plots to keep the story going after the adventure path is finished, and the finale of Robin D. Laws’ story.

Story or Fluff- This one was kind of disappointing. The story that will lead your characters to leadership is kind of lack luster. It’s more of a coup than any major revelation. The group across the sea (if you know Golarion, you know who I’m alluding too!) makes one kind of sad push, but the PCs will obliterate them with ease at this point. Nothing is unplayable, but it’s kind of a let down from the previous awesome events. The story is ok, and the suggestions for future adventures are fun. But, they don’t really balance the let down of the adventure. 3/5

Mechanics or Crunch- This part of the AP isn’t really crunch heavy. There isn’t any rule added. Honestly, my players found this adventure a cake walk. Even when I started throwing serious curve balls at the players by modifying the enemies as presented, my players were not in danger. It’s not bad, but the adventure kind of summarizes the high level problems you can see in Pathfinder, especially when you have multiple low level enemies challenging experienced players. 3.5/5

Execution- This is the standard Paizo greatness. The character write ups are great, the pictures are well done, and the layout doesn’t turn me away or make me hate reading this. I like what I see here. 5/5

Summary- This one is kind of a letdown. I LOVED this adventure path, but it does have its up’s and down’s. The players get some awesome prestige, but the way the story brings that to them is somewhat underwhelming. I would have liked something a bit more climactic (so when I ran this in my home game, I MADE it climactic!). It does finishes off the story, but you might have to add in your own special touches to make this stand out! 77%

Ring Side Report- Board Game Review of Boss Monster

July 14, 2014 ~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Game– Boss Monster

Producer-Brotherwise Games

Price– ~$20 here http://www.amazon.com/Boss-Monster-Dungeon-Building-Card/dp/B00DK3P856/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405358796&sr=8-1&keywords=boss+monster

Set-up/Play/Clean-up– 15 minutes per player (2-4 players)

TL; DR-Step into an old 8-bit classic from the other side! 93%

Basics– Let’s be bad guys! In boss monster, you play the boss monster of a dungeon. Each turn you can build one room on your dungeon or revamp a room. Your dungeon may only be five rooms long, but you can renovate each room with new rooms or upgrade to more powerful rooms rooms. Each room and your boss monster have powers, damage, and symbols on them. The powers do different things in your dungeon from moving rooms to teleporting heroes. The symbols and damage are for attracting or killing heroes, respectively. After you build your room, heroes attack your dungeon each turn. Each hero has a specific symbol that he or she is attracted to. The dungeon with the most of that symbol has the hero attack. The hero moves from left to right (just like any good 8-bit hero does) and is dealt damage by each room with some room’s powers triggering by his/her presence or you deciding to activate them. You also have a few extra spell cards that you can play that can also effect the heroes, but getting spells is much trickier as you do not automatically get one each turn. You must find effects that give you spell cards. If the hero is not killed by the rooms, the hero damages the boss monster (you). You only have five hit points, so you have to be careful! If the hero dies along the way, you score his/her soul (points). The game ends several ways: last boss monster standing, first boss monster to 10 souls, or the heroes deck runs out of cards then it’s whoever has the most souls wins!

Mechanics– This is a pretty simple game, but the mechanics work quite well. The game follows a simple draw one/play one mechanic that almost feels like Lemmings as you set up a plan and watch it in action. That seems pretty simple, but some amazing tricks strategies emerge as you have to use the pieces you are dealt to the best of your ability. The spells also add some extra dimensions to this game by giving the players new powers to use throughout the game. The randomness does and does not hurt this games as you can lose fairly easily through no fault or stupidity of your own, but this game isn’t one you play if you want an amazingly math heavy eurogame! 4/5

Theme– This game makes me feel like I’m playing an old Nintendo game only in reverse! The art, instructions, cards, box, and everything else feel like an old 80’s game. It’s not perfect as your boss monster doesn’t really have anything to do with how your dungeon rolls out because of the random draw. It’s fun and engrossing, but you won’t get role-playing game levels of emersion. 4.5/5

Instructions-The instructions are well done. There are lots of examples to help teach the game. Lots of pictures to break up the text making this a fun, quick read. And it’s shaped like an old Nintendo instruction manual! And quick start rules make the game that much faster to play. 5/5

Execution– THIS FEELS LIKE AN OLD NINTENDO GAME FROM START TO FINISH! The art, the box, instructions, EVERYTHING just feels right! Even better, the quality of the game is great. From art to layout, the cards are done well. Game even comes with a quick start guide! Nothing to say but 5/5.

Summary– This game is a lot of fun. It makes me think of playing my NES when I was 8. The art and execution are spot on! The theme draws you in and won’t let you go. The mechanics are a bit off as the random nature of the game brakes some emersion aspects and can cause you to lose without even trying. That isn’t enough to keep me away though. I loved this game. If you love the old 8-bit game and want to play one from the other side of the controller, give this one a try. 93%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Skull and Shackles-The Price of Infamy

July 12, 2014 ~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Product– Pathfinder Adventure Path-Skull and Shackles- The Price of Infamy

System-Pathfinder

Producer-Paizo

Price– $20 here http://smile.amazon.com/Pathfinder-Adventure-Path-Shackles-Infamy/dp/1601254210/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405134279&sr=8-1&keywords=the+price+of+infamy

TL;DR-Not pirates, but fun! 88%

Basics-The plot thickens! In the previous adventures, the players have gone from scrappy slaves to pirate lords of the Shackles. At the start after a council meeting, the players receive a secret note telling them that they will soon be attacked by on old rival who has amassed a fleet to destroy them. Can the players get enough help and ships to save themselves? Will they put an end to an old rivalry that’s been plaguing them since the beginning? This book also contains fleet battle rules, more monsters and NPCs, another piece of the fiction for this adventure path, and background on Norgorber.

Fluff or Story-This one has a fun story. It goes back to the sandbox approach that has dominated all the really fun parts of the AP. The players don’t get to be excessively pirate-y, but they do get to be adventurers as this part is several small requests for help tied together. This adventure is fun if a little scattered, but your players will mostly feel catharsis as they get some revenge. Also, the fiction story and Norgorber give great background on the world. 4.5/5

Crunch or Mechanics-There is good and bad here. But, the good is great, and the bad can’t be helped. The bad is Pathfinder has the 3.X problem of players becoming a little too godlike at around ~11 compared to the monsters they are facing. Having only one monster in a fight will result in the players somehow locking that monster down too quickly for it to damage them. To have more than one monster in a fight, the CR of each monster has to be two less, and the problem intensifies as you add more monsters. Thus, the players are not threatened by piles of CR 3 monsters, since the players can’t be hit on anything less than a natural 20. So, if you want to challenge your players, you as a GM will need to change things on the fly quite often! However, what is awesome in this book is the fleet rules! The fleet rules give a great way for Pathfinder players to have a massive ship battle without having to have massive amounts of ships. Again, any smart pathfinder group will break them quite easy as the main skill that the fleet rules use is profession(sailor) (which most players will have maxed out by now!). So battles tend to be a bit one-sided, but they are still somewhat tense. Overall, I liked what I saw in this one except for the problems that can’t really be helped or fixed. 4/5

Execution-This is well done. Paizo again delivers an excellent product that was fun to read. I would have liked a few more ways to break up text as there are a few pages that are two columns of text next to one another, but nothing is perfect. But, it’s not bad, generally laid out well, and an easy read. 4.75/5

Summary– This was a fun one. Still not my favorite as the second part of this adventure path is my favorite since that one is the most pirate-y by far, but this is a good one. It features MASSIVE navel battles, raids into long forgotten tombs, see-through wizards, and an event your players have been looking forward to since the very first day the Skull and Shackles Campaign started! It’s a blast from start to finish. 88%

Ring Side Report- Board Game Review of Pathfinder Adventure Card Game #6-Spires of Xin-Shalast

July 9, 2014July 9, 2014 ~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Game-Pathfinder Adventure Card Game-Rise of the Runelords Adventure Deck 6: Spires of Xin-Shalast

Producer-Paizo

Price- ~$20 here: http://smile.amazon.com/Pathfinder-Adventure-Card-Game-Xin-Shalast/dp/1601255667/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404867438&sr=8-1&keywords=Spires+of+Xin-Shalast

Set-up/Play/Clean-up- ~20/min per player per scenario (six scenarios)

TL;DR- A good way to end the season

Basics-All good things…. The heroes have traveled all the way from Sandpoint to the spires of Xin-Shalast. Along the way, they will face ghosts, oni, and a Runelord. Can the heroes save the day and the world?

Mechanics-If you’ve loved the previous decks, you will love this one. This deck doesn’t introduce too many new mechanics, but reuses a few favorites of the precious decks. The one mechanic that is completely new is found in the second to last scenario where players get to pick one card of any type of card they want for each card they defeat. That was new and gave the players a ton of cards right before the end. This one is pretty par for the course, but it’s the best parts of the previous courses. 4.5/5

Theme- This one has a pretty strong theme. I did feel like I was battling crazed cannibal ghosts in the cold. I felt the tension in this one as the last few scenarios came down to the wire! It’s not perfect, but it’s getting better. 4.5/5

Instructions-This one wasn’t bad. The scenarios had a few problems, but nothing too horrible. There were a few problems with describing how a few of the scenarios worked in the finer details, but it wasn’t game ending. Again, this deck’s problems were par for the course-Not bad, but not perfect. 4.5/5

Execution– This was done really well. Paizo makes some nice cards. Card sleeves would help with all the shuffling, but the cards are good quality. I loved the art, the font, and layout. 5/5

Summary– This is a good send-off for the first complete leg of the card game. My wife and I had a blast. This one was the hardest deck out there and I felt the tension as I ended the game with a total of four cards left to draw from-TWICE! I haven’t ever felt this during any of the previous decks. The scenarios are the best of the previous mixed with the most fun I’ve ever had. An excellent way to end this adventure path. 93%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Basic Rules for Dungeons and Dragons

July 5, 2014 ~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ 7 Comments

Product– Basic Rules for Dungeons and Dragons (5e)

Producer– Wizards of the Coast

Price– FREE at http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/basicrules

TL; DR-DnD IS BACK! 97%

Basics– DnD is BACK! This rule packet is the free, public rules for DnD next/5th edition. The rules have a complete level track for wizard, cleric, rogue, and fighter. It’s broken down into three major areas: character creation, game rules, and magic for the two spell casting classes (wizard and cleric). Since it’s FREE (!), go download this RIGHT NOW!

Mechanics or Crunch– Quick summary on mechanics: This game is basically 1st, 3rd, and 4th editions rolled into one. Let’s give these rules a rundown, section by section, to explain what that means.

Base concepts: If you need to roll, you still roll a d20 and add a number. This is classic, 1st edition DnD goodness. However, Wizards of the Coast (WotC) has MASSIVELY flattened the power/number curve for this edition. The highest you get for a bonus is +11 (+5 from a stat and +6 from something called proficiency-more later). At 20th level in, say, DnD 3.5 or Pathfinder you are rocking at least a +30 for any skill or attack. My wife is playing in the Encounters game and was quite shocked that she only had a +7 at level 7 wondering if her character is underpowered. Its takes a bit getting used to but your character is now about 50/50 ability and training. I do wish your character’s training would matter more, but that’s a small personal preference.

Where the numbers come from: As level one, a character chooses a background (what you did before you were an adventurer), a race, what your stats are, and a class. You have your standard strength, dexterity, constitution, wisdom, intelligence, and charisma abilities that DnD/Pathfinder players know and love. Character background and race give you skills (typically four) that you are “proficient” in. To any skill you are proficient with, you add your proficiency bonus. This bonus starts at +2 and gradually moves up to +6. You can see the fingerprints of fourth edition here, but not in a bad way. Find a sword you don’t know how to use? Don’t add proficiency to your strength and roll to attack! Find an upgraded sword you can use? Add proficiency and attack away! Trying to remember some religious information your background as a guild thief didn’t prepare you for? Roll a check without your proficiency bonus. It’s honestly quick, easy, and keeps the game moving. Skills and attack rolls have about the same math, and that really helps as a GM and a player to keep things going smoothly. I like this a lot.

Classes: You have the core four: Wizard, Cleric, Fighter, and Rogue. This is a document designed to do a few principal things. First, get players interested to play (Done!). Two, explain the basics of play. If you read above, you’re pretty clear so far. Three, show off the base classes to give players an idea of where the design went. For that you have your base four. These classes do give a really good idea of what’s coming next. Now, keep in mind, you don’t get everything! You don’t get feats or a lot of options. It’s broad, rather than in-depth, coverage of the game’s classes.

Magic: The magic in this game is a mix of 3rd and 4th edition’s magic systems. Spell casters have at-will spells that do something and so many per day castings of others. Casters get to prepare about 1+ level spells per day, regardless of level, and can cast spells at each level they know so many times per day. In addition, each character typically gets a few 0 level spells that they can cast a bunch of times. This means a low level intro character doesn’t get overwhelmed with options, but a high level character with lots of experience has lots of options. Spell effects are also no longer dependent on character level, but the level at which the spell is cast. As an example, a character casting cure wounds, a first level spell healing 1d8 HP, could cast that spell in a fourth level spot to heal 4d8 HP. Also, all spell casting characters kind of function like 3rd edition clerics: they prepare spells, but can cast any spell they’ve prepared at any spot. Prep a fourth level spell but want to cast a super heal? Just use the fourth level spell slot for your cure wounds and move on with your day. You don’t get to cast the fourth level spell you prepared, however.

Hit Points and healing: This is always a sticky point between RPG players. HP is still the number that represents how beaten your character is. You don’t take any penalties as you become more beaten (“More than none? Ready to run!”). I would like some rules to reflect a character being more beaten down, but I honestly think that will come with the Dungeon Master Guide as an extra rule. Healing is typically done by divine characters as in any edition of DnD; however, 5th edition does add a bit here. Each level you earn gets you a hit die. So, a seventh level fighter has 7d10 hit dice. When you rest for an hour (a short rest), you can spend hit dice daily to heal without a cleric. You can spend as many or a few as you want adding your constitution modifier to each die rolled. This represents a nice middle ground between the healing surge of fourth edition and the clerics-only healing of 1st/3rd edition.

Free Form Mechanics: This game takes a pretty strong stand in favor of giving the GM more power compared to fourth edition. The game encourages the “theater of the mind” game style with the GM telling the players what’s in the room and letting the players decide how to deal with that situation. Map free games tend to move the game much faster than 3.5/Pathfinder and extremely faster than fourth edition! I like this as the players are much more engaged, because the turns move much faster.

Summary: The new DnD isn’t so much new as it is revamped. It’s still the d20 game we know and love, but now its updated using what worked across forty years, four editions, and numerous play tests. Also, these are not the complete mechanics of the game as the total player rules won’t be out for another month. In general I like what I see, but some things bother me slightly (why does proficiency start at +2?). But, I’m happy to see Dungeons and Dragons back. When I play this game, I do feel like I’m playing my favorite game again, just much quicker and sleeker. 4.75/5

Fluff or Story- Again this is a whole system so I’ll review this across several subsections.

Setting: The game is assumed to be in the Forgotten Realms. That’s where the Sundering has taken place and where the living game will also take place. There are parts that discuss converting the game, but the document primarily assumes you will play in the Forgotten Realms. I like the realms, so I don’t have a problem with this.

Races: Each race gets a sizable portion on how they view one another, and how to be a member of that race. Each race also provides options for customizing your character (for example, you can be a Hill dwarf or a Mountain dwarf, with each giving a different bonus and feature). It’s well done and gets you into character quickly.

Backgrounds: This is new. Your character is mechanically half background and half class for its mechanics. I’ve already talked about your skills, but your background also has parts that discuss how you are bonded to the rest of the group, character flaws, and other little role-playing bits that will draw you into a session quickly. I REALLY like this. A major criticism of fourth edition was there was not enough role-playing. This game front loads the role-playing into character generation! Very awesome! And as an extra benefit, the system introduces something called inspiration. If you act in character, you gain inspiration. You can spend inspirateion to roll two d20 and take the better, possible extra actions, reroll, or whatever your GM will let you do. Think of inspiration as fate points from Fate. Inspiration represents a clear link between role-playing an mechanics, and I love it!

Classes: It’s the classes we know and love. You don’t get all the options, but you do get enough to have a lot of fun, both mechanically and story wise.

Summary: This “feels” like DnD to me. I don’t feel like I’m playing a completely different game, a complaint often heard about fourth edition. You’re playing DnD in the Forgotten Realms if you play by this document. 5/5

Execution- This is well done. The book has the 3rd edition feel that I loved with something going on in the background of each page as opposed to fourth editions sterile, white backgrounds. The book does need pictures to break up the monotonous look of all the words. However, this gets more of a pass than most products because it’s a free document meant to introduce the system, not the final, purchasable product. 4.75/5

Summary- DnD is back! I like what I see. This document is meant to be a short introduction to the system, and I can tell you based on this; I plan to buy the system. I can also tell you that you won’t get the full system with this. Honestly, you can’t even play until WotC releases the free bestiary which will come out later this year. Also, I can tell you that this does make more than a few plugs for the full player’s handbook. But, if you want to go play Dungeons and Dragons again, then use the guide and find a local DnD encounters game to join in and have some fun. 97%