Push to the limit!
Over Caster
Never do things in halves.
• Cost: 12 Karma
• Game Effect: When you roll a drain resistance test for a spell that you amped up at least one, you gain 1 edge..
Thoughts?
More acrobatics, and times for the one for level 12!
General Skill
Prerequisites master in acrobatics
Once you see how water is just like anything else, you can keep the dance going. You gain a swim speed equal to your walking speed.
Thoughts?
Product– Castles & Crusades Reforged Player Guide
System- Castles & Crusades Reforged
Producer– Troll Lord Games
Price– FREE here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ckg/castles-and-crusades-reforged
TL; DR– The C&C I love from before just better at it. 97%
Basics– Are you ready to OSR?! Castles and Crusades Reforged is the newest version of the C&C rpg. Let’s break it down and get to our thoughts
Base mechanics- The basics are D20+ bonuses + ability modifier. You know this, and like most of you, I love this too.
Siege System-Where this version of D20 separates itself from all others is the Siege system. In this system, a character gets two to three primary abilities. When a character tries to do something, you roll as above and add your level to the check in place of the bonus. The interesting part is what DC the character is trying to hit. If the check is something in the primary attribute’s area, then the DC is 12 plus a difficulty check from 0 to 10. If the thing being done is not within a primary attribute for the character, then the check is 18 plus the difficulty from 0-10. Easy and quick enough.
Actions- Combat is just like you’d expect. Move, attack, don’t die. Character rounds are based on initiative.
Ok, that’s the basics, let’s discuss.
Mechanics or Crunch– Do you like DnD 3.5 and and the OSR? If yes, then you will love this. It’s the same basics we got from the previous edition of the game, but with better explanation. My one thing I really wanted but didn’t get is at-will powers so wizards and casters can do something magical when they don’t have phenomenal power at low levels. Also, I miss feats. This game is not rules heavy. The rules exist, but it’s less crunch than 3.5 DnD was at the end, and I miss that amount of character customization in this game. 4.5/5
Theme or Fluff– Do you like serious OSR? Then you will like this. This is not the gonzo fantasy of DCC. This is more old school 70s/80s fantasy themes. You have the standard fantasy stuff for a standard fantasy world. And as someone who loved the C & C world before, I love what’s here. 5 /5
Execution– Honestly, this is the biggest glow up for the Reforged Kickstarter. Honestly, how DnD got past the first edition with the strange layout of materials is beyond me. The last version was fun, but the layout and explanation of the game was kind of messy. Here it is much nicer and easier to understand. Solid layout makes this book so much easier to read and use. This book even levels all the way to 20! 5/5
Summary– So the simple question to ask yourself if you want this book is – Do you want serious DCC? I love DCC. Simple rules are fun and OSR is a fun game to play when you don’t want to spend 10 hours building a character and math that involves light calculus. I love DCC, but it is NOT a serious game. Fun yes, but gonzo fun. This is more old school Lord of the Rings gaming with 3.5 base mechanics. I would like a few more modern touches, but then again, if they do that then they may betray their core OSR design. It’s not enough to keep me away, and for the price of free it’s worth it to check out for the Kickstarter! 97%
More acrobatics, and times for the one for level 16!
General Skill
Prerequisites legendary in acrobatics
Fun as fast as you can! When you roll initiative, you can use acrobatics instead of perception.
Thoughts?
Just that quick
Fast!
You just don’t waste time.
• Cost: 20 Karma
• Game Effect: Gain one minor action each round.
Thoughts?
More acrobatics, and times for the one for level 10!
General Skill
Prerequisites master in acrobatics
Only watch me dance! As an action, you may make an acrobatics check and choose a target within 30 feet. That target must be able to see you. If they see your action, they must make a Will save, DC equal to your acrobatics check. If they fail, they are fascinated till the end of your next turn.
Thoughts?
Good values!
Value Conscious
You’ve learned to get the most from what you spend.
• Cost: 12 Karma
• Game Effect: Once per round, when you spend 1 edge to reroll one die, you can reroll two dice instead.
Thoughts?
More acrobatics, and times for the one for level 8!
General Skill
Prerequisites master in acrobatics
Get out of the way! When you are attacked with a single target attack, as a reaction, you can attempt a acrobatics check. If you result beats the value of the attack, you dodge and are not hit with the attack..
Thoughts?
Product– DC20 Preview
System- DC20
Producer– The Dungeon Couch
TL; DR– DnD5e, Pathfinder 2nd Ed, Final Fantasy, and OSR all in a blender. 90%
Basics– Are you ready to RPG?! DC 20 is The Dungeon Couch’s new RPG. The kickstarter has a preview of the game with enough mechanics to run a level 1 to 2 character. Let’s look at how it plays.
Base mechanics- It’s D20. You know this. Roll d20, add numbers, did it beat a different number? The numbers you add are interesting though. Each character has a prime attribute. This doesn’t have to match what you think it should for the class. The classic idea they give in the book is a barbarian who is a charismatic man who would use his charisma for his attacks because thats his best attribute.
Beating the DC by 5- This system often has you roll dice and compare to a DC. Many of the things you do like attack and spells have you check to see if you beat the DC by 5 or multiples of 5. Every 5 you beat often have you gain more effects, save, or even flat out damage.
Advantage and disadvantage- This takes more of a Call of Cthulhu approach with multiple advantage or disadvantage dice. You roll all the advantage or disadvantage dice you have and you take either the better, advantage, or worse, disadvantage, die.
Actions- At the start of combat and end of each turn, you gain action points. You can spend as many as you want to do actions. Move uses an action point. Attack uses an action point. Making an opponent have disadvantage is an action. Spells might use multiple action points. At the end of a round you get action points back and you can use those for reactions, but you will then have less in the next round.
Leveling up- As you advance you gain powers, talents, and class features. It’s very much like some OSR RPGs where you will not gain tons of hit points. You gain additional mastery of skills and bonuses to attacks with some classes being able to exceed the normal maximum.
Abilities- Spells and techniques all have a bit of additional resources as well. Some techniques can use stamina points to pull them off. Magic uses magic points that spell casters can spend to cast spells. So you can cast any spell you have, but bigger spells use more MP.
Combat- Won’t be fantasy without killing things! Combat is initiative with everyone rolling, but the highest on a side determines which side goes first. Then it’s back and forth between the players and monsters.
Ok, that’s the basics, let’s discuss
Mechanics or Crunch– This game feels like all the things I love. The base dice is DnD. The base action mechanics are Pathfinder 2nd Ed. The base leveling layout looks like OSR. Spell casting feels like Final Fantasy. I love all those things, so that’s fun! I know this system, but because I’ve played all the things that made it multiple times over. And, that’s not a bad thing! 5/5
Theme or Fluff– Not really a story as this is more to show off the rules, but what’s here feels right. The classes feel like classes, and the included things feel like they should. The kickstarter art is nice, but the book itself doesn’t have any. I’d like a bit more of the creators’ world to help me understand what the story will be. 4.5 /5
Execution– This is a solid enough preview, but it’s missing a few things. The book has lots of stuff and is decently laid out. It’s easy to read with good directions. It’s even hyperlinked, so I’m happy there. The bad is there are no pictures in the book, nor in the monster book. The kickstarter also doesn’t have an adventure. Give me an adventure and four to six pregens to play with! I think I like the layout, but if you have done all this, give me a simple “kill the goblins save the village lady” quest to kick the tires on the system. In addition, some classes can exceed the maximum skill bonus. Why not just include the maximum skill bonus on that table instead of making me infer them? Those are small issues but will help me better understand your system. 4/5
Summary-I’m interested. This will be a big kickstarter. The things I love are the basics that combine all the fun things from all the other fun things I enjoy. I need more of the world and adventure. Show me how you want this played. Is this pure murder on the players or a cake walk? I don’t know, so show me! That said, I’ve backed it, and for free, I definitely think it’s worth a look for you too. 90%
Throat Punch Games 