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Ring Side Report-Board Game Review of Fidelitas

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Product-Fidelitas

Producer–Green Couch Games

Price– $ 20 here http://www.amazon.com/Green-Couch-Games-Fidelitas/dp/B00RZNJ6KK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456088649&sr=8-1&keywords=fidelitas

Set-up/Play/Clean-up– 20 minutes (2-4 players)

Type-European

Depth-Light

TL; DR-A simple, small town hides the depth underneath. 95%

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Basics-The Revolution will not be televised, but it will be gamified!  In Fidelitas, players take the roles of different revolutionaries fighting for support of the guilds of a town to overthrow the cruel king!  This is done in an extremely simple card placement game where you move various guild members all around the town’s buildings.  Set up is placing the town cards out and then each player drawing two Missio(objective) cards and two Virtus (guild member) cards.  Each turn player then does three things in order: play one Virtus card, score as many Missio as they can, and possibly draw one or more Virtus cards.  The main part of the game are the Virtus cards.  These cards are the different guild members and the powers the each have.  A Virtus card is placed into its guild location if possible and then the cards power occurs.  These powers vary from moving cards to different locations, drawing cards to a location, and even removing cards from the location totaly.  Or the player can play the card to the tavern and then discard Missio cards and draw new ones. Next, the active player checks his or her Missio cards to see if they have occurred.  Missio cards have objectives that could be having three members of a guild on both sides of a location card, have so many of each guild at a location, and even only have members of a specific guild at a location.  Finally, the player draws up Missio and VIrtus cards, and the next player takes his or her turn.  Play continues until one player has 10 points and all players have had an equal number of turns.  Then the player with the most points wins and leads the guilds to overthrow the crown!

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Mechanics-I love games that are simple and complex at the same time.  The best comparison to this game is Connect Four if players had to complete different patterns.  Players move cards around trying to create patterns of different guilds according to their Missio cards.  As they are hidden, no one has a good idea of what your goal is and that makes this even more fun.  You may accidently score due to the actions of your opponents!  The games simple to play and learn but complex to master nature makes this a blast.  The icing on this cake is that this experience also happens in under half an hour! 5/5

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Theme– The game has a theme, but it’s not as strong as some other games.  I feel the theme of earning influence, but I don’t feel as much as a conquering hero to the revolution.  It’s fun, but might not hit the original story’s goal. 4/5

Instructions-The instructions are short and sweet.  If you can read the rules in the introduction of this article, you know how to play!  Also extremely useful is the fact the the rules describe corner cases to make playing the game that much easier. 5/5

Execution-The game comes in a small box, but packs enough punch to be awesome.  The card art is fun, the minimal writing is enough to give you the rules without being overbearing, and the cardstock is great quality.  It’s all the things I want in a simple, elegant card came.  Also for about $20, it’s priced right for what it is. 5/5

Summary-I love games that have you mastering the game’s mechanics in under five minutes but have enough depth to keep your playing.  This is a pocket game.  If you’re ever bored, then pulling this game from your pocket is a great way to spend half an hour.  Even better your average bar table will hold this game along with an order of fries and some drinks.  It’s compact, yet well put together.  It’s simple, but deep.  The only problem I have is the game’s story.  It’s not a bad story by any means, but I didn’t necessarily feel the story when I played the game.  If you can get past that one point, you will have a blast sitting down to play this game.  95%

Daily Punch 3-1-16 Haymaker! Melee attack option for Shadow of the Demon Lord

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How about one more idea for SotDL….
Haymaker!: You swing about with reckless abandon converting the attack from an an attack roll to an agility challenge roll.  The target of the attack makes an agility challenge roll with one boon.  On a failure, the target takes damage as normal.
Thoughts?

Daily Punch 2-29-16 Power Attack Melee attack option for Shadow of the Demon Lord

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I’m running Shadow of the Demon Lord online, but I finally got to sit down and run a game at my local store.  I was inspired by these events.  Let’s see what I can come up with….
Power Attack: You make the attack roll with 1 bane. On a success, increase the damage equal to the amount rolled on the bane die.  If you do not have to roll a bane die, then add a d6 to the damage.
Thoughts?

Daily Punch 2-22-16 Big for Your Size feat for DnD 5e

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The smaller races don’t get much love in this edition, but I think we can change that and build something that everyone can enjoy!

Big for Your Size

You stand as a Titan among your peers.  You’re a biggun’ and you know how to use that to your advantage.  gain the following:

  • Increase your Constitution or Stregnth by 1 to a maximum of 20.
  • You can wield weapons up to two size categories bigger than normal with no penalty 
  • Your base fist or unarmed attack increase by one size.  As an example a human would increase from a 1 to a 1d4.

Thoughts?

Daily Punch 2-16-16 Martial Monk Monastic Tradition for DnD 5e

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How about expanding maneuvers to other classes?  Let’s make a fighter monk!

 

Way of the Fist

This path is taken by those who emphasize the physical over the mental for martial combat while still honing your body over any weapon.  You’ve learned how to master your body and master the bodies of your foes by emphasizing physical technique over utilizing ki.

Hard-Drilled Skills

Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you gain three maneuvers as if you were a fighter.  You have a number of superiority dice equal to your Wisdom modifier, and your superiority dice are equal to your unarmed attack dice.

Second Wind

Gain the Second Wind class feature of a 1st level fighter using your monk level as if it were your fighter level.  Also, gain one additional maneuver from the fighters list.

Personal Conditioning

At 11th level, you an an ability score improvement.  Gain one additional maneuver from the fighters list.

Sifu of the Temple

At 17th level, when you use a maneuver as part of an attack, you can spend superiority dice and perform two different maneuvers as long as both maneuvers target the same creature and cast the same number of superiority dice.

 

 

Thoughts?

Daily Punch 2-15-16 Mage Hammer maneuver for DnD 5e

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I’ve been thinking of fighter maneuvers for a while now, but here’s another!

 

Mage Hammer.   When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you may expend a superiority die to cause a spell caster to have to make Constitution saving throws when casting any spells for a number of turns equal to the number rolled on your superiority die.  On a failure the spell slot is lost to no effect.  If the spell was a cantrip, the character simply fails to cast the spell.

Daily Punch 2-12-16 Yaka Arrow magic item for DnD 5e

~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ 2 Comments

My wife and I spent our time watching movies trying to figure out what class all the actors are.  It’s time for an item to come from Guardians of the Galaxy..

 

Yaka Arrow

Arrow, rare (requires attunement)

This arrow has 7 charges.  Each day at sunrise the arrow regains 1d6 charges.  When the attuned character whistles, the arrow floats in the air and attacks up to 1d6 creatures doing an automatic 1d6 magic piercing damage to each target.  The arrow ignores cover, obscurement, and only relies on the attuned character knowing that the target exists.  The Yaka Arrow will not cross planes by itself and must remain within 200 feet of the attuned character.  If the last charge is used, roll a d20.  On a 1, the arrow turns back into a regular arrow.  Any character that can catch an arrow throw any method, can deflect or catch the arrow.

 

Thoughts?

Daily Punch 2-11-16 BellRinger! maneuver for DnD 5e

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More maneuver madness!

 

BellRinger!.   When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you may expend a superiority die to stun a creature if it fails a Constitution saving throw.  The creature is stunned for a number of round equal to the number rolled on the superiority die.  At the end of each of the creature’s turns it can attempt another Constitution saving throw to end the stun condition.

 

 

Thoughts?

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Monsternomicon: Mind Flayers

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Product–Monsternomicon: Mind Flayers

System-DnD 5e

Producer-DM Guild

Price– $1.49 here http://www.dmsguild.com/product/172230/Monsternomicon-Mind-Flayers&affiliate_id=658618

TL; DR-An awesome product that shows the DM Guilds problems. 93%

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Basics-Let me pick you brain…. Mind flayers!  This product provides some background on the illthids that stalk the Underdark from elder brains to lich mind flayers.  This product is firmly a GM only product but provides a ton of different creatures for the DM to throw at his/her players as well as whole campaign of ideas for the players to combat.

Mechanics or Crunch-I love mind flayers, and this book provides some awesome new crunch to their bag of tricks.  This book is primarily a monster manual focusing on these evil monsters, but the monsters it does provide all look great in terms of their stats.  This product stays away from the psionic side of things and introduces new monsters like a lich mind flayer.  Nothing quite like an undead brain eater to throw at the party!  What’s here is a fun bag of tricks for the DM to surprise the players with. 5/5

 

Theme or Fluff-Here is where things are slightly off kilter, but not by much.  There are no pictures of any on the creatures from this book.  I’d like a few more pictures so I can throw these to my players to instill the sheer horror of what’s ahead of them.  What is here though does have some great fluff to build on the world and the mythos of the purple fiends from underground.  Also, by focusing on the arcane, the book misses a bit of the psionic fun that these creatures have.  The arcane monsters that are here are great, so while I might not be as enthralled with the magic of them they do have their own world built around them. 4.75/5

Execution–  What’s here is good, but I’d like a bit more art to show the players and break up the text.  The major problem I have is some systemic problems that can’t really be fixed.  The DM guild provides an awesome platform for creators to build onto the world that Wizards of the Coast has.  However, it comes with limits, and this book runs into them and it hurts the product a bit. I’d like this product to start with the basic mind flayer.  The book can’t as that’s not allowed by the terms of the DM Guild.  I’d like to include the current psychic ideas, but that also can’t be added as that isn’t part of the DM Guild as well.  Overall, it’s a great product, but I feel it’s fighting a bit of an uphill battle to be as amazing as it is. 4.25/5

Summary-Mind flayers are my second favorite enemy after the undead, so this book hit the best parts of my evil soul.  I love new options to make my players cringe and cry as horrors beyond time and space devover commoners in horrific ways, and this book provides those new abominations to make that happen.  However, I feel that a few changes would help this product get to its potential.  Some are minor things like more pictures of the monsters, but some are things that can’t be fixed because of the platform it’s placed on.  The DM Guild is a phenomenal resource, but some of its restrictions will hurt products.  And, I feel that those restrictions hurt the product here.  It doesn’t damage the product in a real tangible way.  You will enjoy this from cover to cover, but you can feel the problems it presents in this tome. 93%

Daily Punch 2-10-16 Rapid Strikes maneuver for DnD 5e

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I’ve dug deep into the fighter, so let’s keep going with another maneuver!

 

Rapid Strikes. When you would make a weapon attack, you can expend one superiority dice to rapidly shoot your ranged weapon or to swing your melee weapon at a creature you are engaged with.  That creature must attempt a Dexterity saving throw.  On a failure the creature takes damage as if you had hit the target as well as extra damage equal to a number rolled on your superiority dice.  You may attempt this any time you would make a weapon attack.

 

Thoughts?