Ring Side Report-Board Unboxing and Game Review of Forges of Ravenshire!
Category: Ring Side Report
Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pirate Borg
Product– Pirate Borg
System- Pirate Borg
Producer– Free League Publishing
Price– $19.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/441728/pirate-borg-core-book?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR– If you like Borg, you need to journey to the Dark Caribbean! 97%
Basics– YAAAARR! Pirate Borg brings Mork Borg to the high seas during the age of exploration. Avast and shiver timbers and anything else you would expect in this VERY deadly RPG. I will tell you right off the bat, if you don’t like Mork Borg, go away now! If you love Pirates of the Caribbean and simple, fun, and deadly RPGs, hop aboard!
Mechanics or Crunch– This book does exactly what a splat book should do. Pirate Borg provides classes, lots of random tables, rituals, and even sea shanties the players can use to fight things in the Caribbean. But, it also massively builds on the base setting by providing vehicle combat rules. You CAN’T have pirates without ships for them to plunder and fight. At worst, the book adds a new mechanic called Devil’s Luck. These act kind of like hero points in Pathfinder but in a much crazier way. You can use Devil’s Luck to prevent fumbles, reroll dice, and even reduce damage to your character. That alone with just a string of random tables will give you fun things to add and steal from this book. What’s here works and builds on the Borg system in a fun and fresh way. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– I like the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Mork Borg, and Lovecraft. That’s honestly the sales pitch. You have crazy cultists, magic rituals, and the 1700s English just being evil to attract you to a world where you and your pals take to the high seas in a new sandbox that you can play in. All of this is laid out in what the book calls the Dark Caribbean. I am not leaning too hard on the Pirates of the Caribbean comparison, because you absolutely tell where this book comes from. It’s not copying the Disney homework, but adding its own bizarre, crazy, and amazing touches to build a world I enjoy. I love all those things, as my podcast feed can attest to, and if you’re this far into the review, you will too. 5/5
Execution– If the Borgs have one fault, it’s the dedication to being Borgs. The borgs are not badly laid out, but they are laid out like metal vinyl record inserts. That dates me and if you have seen them, those inserts prioritized style over legibility. That’s the one fault here. It might not read as easy as the latest DnD manual. That said, I own vinyls and love the metal aesthetic, so it’s fine with me even if the occasional page might look a tad too much like death metal band name logos. The other thing I don’t like is the lack of pregens. Now, I get that you can literally roll a character in about 2 minutes, but bring out some dead to make my life a bit easier. But, there are multiple character generators, so its not a major issue. Aside from those gripes, it’s a well done book. My complaints about being too artistic means the book is very artistic. It beautifully looks like Darkest Dungeon. And given the deadliness, that might be an amazing comparison. The digital version has books for JUST the players. I love that. What’s more, the base book comes with a whole sandbox adventure. It might be a bit deep for starter GMs, but honestly I LOVE when books do that. Any help a book and publisher can give me to just buy a book, skim, and get me and my buddies playing in 10 minutes wins my heart and soul over to you. The PDF even comes with character sheets for your ships! This books dedication to itself might hurt newer Borg players but is more of the quality I expect from all things Borg. 4.5/5
Summary– The Borgs are a fun family of games. I love everything about them, but they are what they are. It’s Death Metal: the RPG. This is Pirate Metal: the RPG. I enjoy that aspect of this game, but I can see how your average players wanting heroic fantasy might not want this. That said, this book builds into a fun place with excellent worldbuilding and craft. The period of exploring the high seas is fantastic and adding the magic and mysticism of Borg is a fun touch. This is a game you should check out if you want any of that at your table. 97%
Ring Side Report-Board Unboxing and Game Review of Path of Civilization
Ring Side Report- RPG review of The Painted Wastelands
Product– The Painted Wastelands
System- Old School Essentials
Producer– Agamemnon Press
Price– $35 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/498797/the-painted-wastelands?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR– Makes me think I have not done enough hard drugs for this awesome adventure! 99%
Basics– Fungal wine-not even once! The Painted Wastelands is a hex crawl adventure. And that sells it WAY too short. This book has maps, dungeons, encounters, tons of art, new classes, new spells, and loads of resources for any gonzo Old School Essentials game. Let’s break this down.
Mechanics or Crunch– Old School Essentials is a rules-light game, but this doesn’t skimp on content here. The basic content of some monster and dungeons with traps is here, and it’s done well. The extra is what sells this book. Want to play a cat? You get a pet human! That’s the level of this book. And that right there might sell a ton of you on this book. Beyond that are just tons of random tables with random events and tons of background characters that you can interact with and kill. This is a sandbox, and the book gives you all the toys you need to play in it. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– This is a fever dream of content. Two guys making a book that’s a hex crawl would be fantastic for just 35 hexes of content with a few dungeons. This has art on almost every page and it’s not standard fantasy art. It’s stuff that makes most hallucinations look tame, but not in a bad way. It’s crazy, it’s otherworldly, and it’s gorgeous. It’s a world that is completely alien but oddly inviting. The story is light. You don’t get the standard spoon feeding for a story, but there is a random chart with story hooks. But the star of the book is the world itself. Again, this is a fever dream of bizarre, alluring content, and a place I want to throw my players into. 5/5
Execution– This is a near perfect setting and hex crawl. First my angry one comment-no player map! Give me a map that I can give my players with stuff they might know and blankish hexes that I can use to let them play on. Too many hex crawls don’t do that! But, that’s the last bad thing I have to say. This is a hyperlinked book that is laid out well, reads fast, and has glorious art. I can quickly hop around this book and get to where I want to and read fast enough that I don’t need to spend hours prepping an adventure. There are also dungeons and maps of places they can explore and lots of pictures of NPCs they can interact with. It’s a fantastic world that I am honestly drawn into. 4.95/5
Summary– So if you are looking for a standard “save the princess from the dragon”, medieval europe fantasy adventure, keep looking. This is not that book. If you want an LSD fever dream that will make Alice in Wonderland seem normal while you kill both Mad Max monsters and undead wizards, then this is the book. AND YOU CAN BE A CAT! There’s a bunch more from spells, to more realistic classes, to whole political things, but bla bla bla CAT! Not a Cat -person race, a straight up CAT! That’s gonna get so many people who don’t care about RPGs to hang with their friends in this world. I can’t stress how much this book is crazy, and I love it. It won’t be what everyone wants. I love sushi and even if you go to the top sushi in the world, some people will turn their noses up. This is near perfect sushi, and I can’t get enough. 99%
Ring Side Report-Board Unboxing and Game Review of Undergrove
Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of Dragon Vs. Kingdom
Ring Side Report- RPG review of Discworld RPG Kickstarter
Product– Discworld RPG Kickstarter
System- Discworld RPG
Producer– Modiphius
Price– FREE here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/modiphius/terry-pratchetts-discworld-rpg?ref=4ogp2x
TL; DR-Solid, narrative game. 99%
Basics– Only the turtle knows what’s coming next. A new edition of the Discworld RPG is coming! Let’s look at the breakdown and see how its played.
Base Mechanics and stats- There are no stats, but your character is a write up with a few sentences. When you want to do anything, you tell the GM what you want to do and explain why you’re good at the action. The GM then tells you to roll any die from a d4 to a d12. Bigger dice means you are better at the action. The GM then rolls a d8. Whoever has a higher roll gets their desired result. Ties succeed, but a mix of results happen. Negative results cause conditions such as a wound, damage, or something else happening for the characters.
And that’s it!
Mechanics or Crunch– So, there are dice and things happen, but the mechanics are VERY light. This game uses a much more narrative system. It also relies on a LOT of trust between the GM and the players. If you enjoy that, it works. If you need the +1 from this and the +4 from that, you will absolutely HATE this system. I don’t mind it, but your experience will be determined by your personal preferences. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– Do you like Terry Pratchett? That’s honestly what will determine if this game’s theme is good for you. This a lot more theater and a lot less crunch than most systems, so be aware of this. Again, if you need dark fantasy or more logic like Lord of the Rings, maybe give this a pass. I LOVE Pratchett, so I love the idea of this game. 5/5
Execution– This is a near perfect demo for the game. You have a decent rundown of the game, fun worldbuilding, and a FULL four hour adventure with multiple premade characters. It reads fast and easily, but no hyperlinks! That is the lone issue with this book’s construction. This is almost a copy of my last review, but it still holds true! 4.95/5
Summary– This game is a litmus test for you and your gaming group. If you need the crunch, you will not like this game even if you like Pratchett. If you can’t stand satirical fantasy regardless of the narrative gameplay, you will not like this. I am ok with both, depending on the group. The book reads like Pratchett and has the right flavor of the world. That honestly makes me profoundly happy. I don’t think Pratchett lends itself well to DnD-style kill-goblin games. Discworld is more funny stories with a purpose. And for the price, go check this one out regardless. 99%
Ring Side Report- RPG review of High School Cthulhu
Product– High School Cthulhu Demo
System- High School Cthulhu
Producer– Gear Games
Price– FREE here https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/gear-games/high-school-cthulhu-roleplaying-game
TL; DR– 90s teen Cthulhu. 99%
Basics– Homework and the end of days? Bummer…. High School Cthulhu is about that turbulent time in any young man’s life where the elder gods are trying to end life as we know it and you have to figure out the school dance. High School Cthulhu is a teen drama RPG set in the 90s where all of Lovercraft is happening just below the surface. Let’s go Innsmith tentacles! Here is the breakdown.
Base Mechanics and stats- Every character has base attributes that can’t go below 1 and base skills for each stat that can’t go below one. Each time you want to do anything, the GM will tell you the skill and attribute to roll. You take that many d6s and roll them. You are not aiming for any particular number, just a group of one number. The number of same results you get determines the level of your success. More successes is better than less.
Rerolls-You can choose to take any number of unsuccessful dice and reroll them. If you do, you MUST roll one more of the number you saved. If you do, great! Take the new result or reroll again. If you fail to get another number like the ones you saved, then you fail!
Grit-Grit is your hit points. You gain and lose these as things happen. They are not the same as your DnD hit points, but they serve the same function. Lose too many and bad things happen, like getting knocked out.
Miracles and Guts- If you succeed at anything really well you gain Guts. Guts give you special bonuses to rolls or help a bit in a situation. Miracles are like guts but WAY bigger. You’re still a teen and mortal. You can absolutely get wrecked by some monster or a crazy person with a shovel. Miracles are your dad stepping in punching the guy or talking the cops out of arresting you for breaking into the school.
Madness– Wouldn’t be Cthulhu without madness. Each character has a spiral of madness. As you see things and fail rolls you gain madness. Along the spiral you hit bad points and you get a bit crazy. These are not realistic mental illnesses, but it does give the Lovecraft flavor we know and love. Lose too much and you lose yourself.
Drama- And it wouldn’t be teen-centered storytelling without drama! As you fight other characters and fail rolls, you gain drama. Too much drama and everyone has to have a montage where you all separate and have a sad moment to reconcile, but friendships are hurt and bonds broken. Standard teen stuff.
Allright, let’s review the game
Mechanics or Crunch– This is an interesting take on a d6 system. You roll a bunch of dice and see what happens. You don’t need specific dice results, so it’s different. I do love rolling 40 dice in Shadowrun, but while this is different it is fun still. SImple and clean make a good system. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– I WAS a teen in the 90s! I remember most of the movie and show references this game parodies, and I love it. It might not be for the younger kids, but if you remember “I know what you did last summer” and read “The shadow over Innsmouth” in the 90s, then this is the game for you. So many references in this book! I like what’s here, and if you need to take aspirin for your knees in the morning, you will too. 5/5
Execution– This is a near perfect demo for the game. You have a decent rundown of the game, fun worldbuilding, and a FULL four hour adventure with multiple premade characters. It reads fast and easily, but no hyperlinks! That is the lone issue with this book’s construction. 4.95/5
Summary– This is free and hits near Halloween. Just go get this one from the backerkit. I love what I see, and the price is right for free! I love the game, and I hope you do as well. Solid 90s vibes with solid Cthulhu energy. 99%
Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of Mycology
Ring Side Report- RPG review of DCC Day 2023 Adventure Pack
Product– DCC Day 2023 Adventure Pack
System- DCC RPG
Producer– Goodman Games
Price– FREE here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/434178/dcc-day-2023-adventure-pack?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR– HERE IS FREE GOOD STUFF! 100%
Basics– Hey, kid, you want to try some DCC? Here are the DCC RPG game day free RPG adventures. There are two separate adventures for both level 1 and level 2.
Mechanics or Crunch– Goodman games wrote these adventures, so expect the standard level of death and dismemberment as with any low level DCC adventure. It’s hard with sudden deaths, but not overly so. Your first and second level characters will probably survive! It’s standard crunch, but it’s fun! 5/5
Theme or Fluff– Ah DCC, you crazy monster. These adventures are all over the place. If you need Lord of the Rings level of understanding of life, then this is not for you. DCC is more gonzo and these are no exceptions. They are fun, and tell a story, but it’s still crazy! If you, like me, enjoy a crazy story, you will enjoy this. 5/5
Execution– Like Goodman Games adventures and layout? Then you will like this. There are nice pictures, fun maps, and good descriptions of rooms. The overall book is exactly what to expect in terms of layout, writing, and basic construction. And I love that. 5/5
Summary– Go get this. It’s FREE! Use this with the free DCC materials to go play some games. This is just pure fun, pure crazy, and something that you can easily use to get the family and friends in the game. For the price of nothings, this will well worth checking out. 100%
Throat Punch Games 