Category: Shadow of the Weird Wizard

Ring Side Report: RPG Review of Abaddon: The Angel in the Void

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Product– Abaddon: The Angel in the Void

System– Demon Lord Engine

Producer– Schwalb Entertainment

Price–  $4.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com//product/545187/abaddon-the-angel-in-the-void?affiliate_id=658618  

TL; DR– I’m intrigued by this level of hell.  97%

Basics- Who are you among the saved?  Abaddon is a new setting for the Demon Lord Engine.  It’s a far-flung future post-apocalyptic setting.  Let’s break it down.

Base Mechanics- Like Demon Lord?  Then you know this.  The big difference is the d666 system.  What this means is roll 3d6 and use the numbers to pick from a random table.  Not bad, but you can’t have a Schwalb system without a little bit of satanism!

This is an intro book, so it’s helpful, but it’s just the intro to the world.

Mechanics or Crunch: The big question for mechanics is Do you want Future Demon Lord?  If you want guns in your fantasy, then you will enjoy this.  The mechanics don’t really change, but that’s not bad, as Demon Lord is a tight system that’s fast.  5/5

Theme or Fluff– This setting focuses on a city where angels keep humans safe, but they are unknown.  The angels look like H. R. Geiger decorated the Sistine Chapel, but I expected nothing less from Schwalb.  The town where the angels make food, but the food doesn’t have flavor.  Humans are allowed to do anything, but not mess with the angels’ business.  And, the angels are letting a select few humans exit the town to explore the wastes after the demon destroyed things a long time ago.  You get to play the explorers in this world.  That’s solid stuff right there.  5/5

Execution: This is a good intro, but it’s missing pieces.  Its got a good layout, but it needs more art.  There is one angel picture, and that’s enough to keep you up at night.  The world is described, but needs more.  There is a solid intro adventure that will kill a few players.  Then again, I also have my one major gripe- no pregens!  I know Demon Lord makes characters in about 3 minutes, but give me six to hand to my friends with no prep.  It’s small things, but it would help.   4.5/5
Summary: This intro has solid information, but misses a few things.  I like the world that is built.  The history is good, but vague enough to be filled in later.  The locations will be similar, but warped by time and hell itself. The system is one I like and one that will always be fun and fast to play.  The book is good, but here it misses a few pieces.  Give me pregens and a bit more art.  That said, if my issue is the pieces that are not here, you’ve done the job of intriguing me enough to get more.  97%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Friends in Need

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Product– Friends in Need

System- Shadow of the Weird Wizard

Producer– Schwalb Entertainment

Price– $2.49 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/475523/Friends-in-Need?affiliate_id=658618     

TL; DR– Solid start to a campaign.  98% 

Basics– The blacksmith’s gone MAD!  The kind hearted man has attacked and been contained but why… Can the heroes save the town from some deeper lurking threat?

Mechanics or Crunch– This is a pretty simple adventure, but solid enough to jumpstart a campaign.  The adventure has exploration, combat, and social parts to allow the characters of all types to shine.  It’s gonna be a bit hard, but Schwalb Entertainment adventures tend to be a bit killer.  Complaining about that is like complaining that spicy food is spicy.  It’s balanced for what it’s aiming to be, but still fun for those looking to get into the system and maybe even a campaign.  5/5

Theme or Fluff– Again, this is simple but what Schwalb wants in his adventures for this setting.  It’s heroic with little to no gore and moral ambiguity.  It’s just the heroes finding the cause, finding the solution, and killing bad guys along the way.  Solid fun for a hero.  5/5

Execution–  I like what’s here, but that’s contingent on there being more in the future.  Right now, the item this links to is prepublication.  If you want some Weird Wizard, then this is a good enough document (it even has a map!) that will get you playing in about 10 minutes.  That’s good, but the layout is a bit lacking.  Also, and this is a pet peeve, I want pregens.  Give me at minimum a party of four with a better option being eight, two of each base class.  They don’t even exist on Schwalb Entertainment’s website.  That would make getting this play started even faster, and make getting my friends in even easier.  That said, for the price you get a solid adventure with a map to explore.  It’s good, but when fully published, it will even be better!  4.75/5

Summary–  I do love me some “shadow” system by Schwalb.  This is a good, but uncomplicated intro to his vision of how to play.  It’s got the three pieces of a good adventure, and will let all the different characters shine.  If you need Game of Thrones levels of background and intrigue you will be disappointed by this adventure.  For the execution, it works, but this is a prerelease.  It’s also pretty cheap, so even if it doesn’t massively change after layout, it’s still enough to justify the price.  So far, I’m happy with how this system is working.  98%

Daily Punch 3-14-24 Philosophers Stone master alchemy spell for Shadow of the Weird Wizard

~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ 1 Comment

Let’s dissolve everything!

Philosophers Stone
CASTINGS: 1
TARGET: One1 creature or object within 5 yards
DURATION: 1 minute
You create a stone that allows you to turn anything into gold. Make an intellect roll against the target’s agility. On a success, the target instantly loses 8d6 health and becomes slowed (luck ends). Each time the targets gets a failure on the roll to end the affliction, it becomes held until the end of the next round and it loses an additional 4.6 health. A creature reduced to 9 health is turned to gold permanently. If carved up, the gold is worth its normal value and does not change back into the target. You can touch multiple creatures with the stone for the duration of the spell

Thoughts?