Ring Side Report-Board Game Unboxing and Review of Shallow Sea!
Tag: Review
Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pumpkin Spice Quickstart
Product– Pumpkin Spice Quickstart
System- Pumpkin Spice
Producer– Acheron Games
Price– free here https://www.acheron.it/en/pumpkin-spice-a-magically-cozy-rpg-info/
TL; DR– Want to run a coffee shop in a wholesome Shadowrun world? 100%
Basics– It will be ok. Pumpkin Spice isn’t the normal RPG I play. The world is not on fire. The galaxy is at peace, and the only thing that really needs doing is prepping tomorrow’s donuts. Maybe a coffee machine is on the fritz, but you can fix that. Pumpkin Spice is about working at a magic coffee shop that preserves the magic font at its center. It’s not high stakes action. It’s not about stress. It’s Animal Crossing meets Shadowrun. There is magic. There is a mystery, and there is a light noon rush. Let’s break it down.
Base mechanics- This is a d6 system, but not how you think. Each face of the d6 is a different type of magic ranging from authority to imagination. When an action requires it, you roll dice equal to the type of magic you want, and hope to get that result. If you get one of those you hope for, like needing authority, a 1 on a d6, to deal with an angry customer, you hope to get at least one 1. You get it, you get what you want. You don’t, it might work out, but it’s less favorable.
Magic types and abilities- when you make a check, you have a trait you are tied to. If you roll the trait you are tied to, you can spend one magic to change it to any result. You can also work in reverse. Change any face into one you are tied to. But, there is only so much magic in the shop. The shop has 10 magic. When it gets to zero, it might dry up! As your goal is to preserve the magic of the shop, that’s bad!
Ok, let’s discuss it.
Mechanics or Crunch– This is not crunch heavy. It’s very much a simple RPG dealing with small problems. The mechanic of just rolling a few dice and seeing what happens is an interesting one. Not bad, but not the monster of crunch that I’ve seen. And that’s ok. It fits with the laid back nature of the game. This isn’t fighting devils in the off hours of Charmed. This is Animal Crossing, and that’s fun for a laid back day. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– Again, it’s a simple day. This isn’t life ending. The worst thing happening is maybe the souffle doesn’t rise. Maybe it’s still edible, but just not as pretty. That’s the scale here. If you need to relax and not save the world today, and just craft some puff pastry and give them out to friends, then this is the game to play. 5/5
Execution– This is a quickstart, so I can’t comment on the whole book. But, what’s here is well done. It’s laid back. There are simple descriptions, simple symbols, and a day of just relaxing in a book. The book reads easily and is pretty to look at. It’s intriguing for a quickstart, so im looking forward to the full book. 5/5
Summary– This isn’t my typical choice for an RPG, but that doesn’t mean I won’t play or join the crowdfunding. It’s VERY different from my usual games of sadness and monsters. But, that’s not bad. This seems cozy, and that’s the goal. You and your friends run a coffee shop where you save magic in a fantasy world with all the fantasy tropes. It really is Animal Crossing mixed with Shadowrun. 100%
Ring Side Report- RPG review of Dungeon Crawl Classics Horror: Return of the Ripper
Product– Dungeon Crawl Classics Horror: Return of the Ripper
System- DCC RPG
Producer– Strange Quark
Price– $9.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/497675/dungeon-crawl-classics-horror-return-of-the-ripper?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR-Want “From Hell” in DCC that becomes Dreamquest of the Unknown Kadath? 99%
Basics– Only the legend will survive. Return of the Ripper is a gothic adventure set in Punjar. Women are being killed,and the players are on the case trying to stop more murders and figure out why women are being killed at night. Who or what is causing these murders and what is their goal?
Mechanics or Crunch– This has classic gothic horror DCC mechanics all over it. It’s a festering city where crime means random encounters, corrupt cops mean fights you need to avoid, and an investigation where your abilities will be put to the test. It’s got city exploration, social encounters, all kinds of fights, and even hexcrawl! VERY IMPORTANT! This is a campaign. Characters will progress and grow as they explore Spittle-Fields. And there is a lot to explore. The book presents all kinds of encounters for the characters to have. It’s balanced or as balanced as the OSR and DCC can be. This book has solid crunch for the players to sink their teeth into. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– This is a long engaging story where it starts with Jack the Ripper and moves into crazy places, different dimensions, and navigating the politics of the undercity. It’s not a mess, and that’s the most important thing. There is a lot here, and the authors present it in a way where you can follow it and present it to your players. Players can do all kinds of crazy things, and those options are presented. Some of those are bad ideas, but bad ideas never stopped players before! Honestly, this is a sprawling city and eventual dimension hoping adventure where the GM and players get a bunch of fluff and story to dig into and enjoy. 5/5
Execution– This is a solid adventure with a few minor issues. This book has amazing maps, arts, and tables to make the reader able to get what they need semi-easily. I have heard criticism of DCC books being a bit word heavy. It’s got the standard DCC RPG two column layout with art along some of the pages’ sides. I kind of wish there was more art to some of the pages. The good thing is this book has an absolute TON of materials for the GM. The bad thing is there is so much it’s hard to break it up, and a bit more art on some pages would help. The art that is there is awesome, and the maps are amazing. But, breaking up the text in all the DCC books would help. The second minor criticism is the order. It’s about 30 pages into the book before we get to the plot. That’s the amount of background, random tables, and encounters that are presented. I would like story first and extras second, because after the story there are more appendices. So, moving all the awesome extra stuff to more appendices might help a bit. But, what is here is fantastic. Solid art, maps, and diagrams to help the players know where they are, and the GM be able to follow the action and where different things happened. It’s a murder mystery, so it’s paramount that the GM knows how things are happening. This book doesn’t confuse the GM so that the players won’t get confused either. Solid stuff in this book! 4.8/5
Summary– I loved the movie “From Hell.” This is the DCC RPG adaptation of an older module with massive additions that expand it from a one-night adventure to a multiple-month campaign. There is a lot here, and the players have places to explore, plots to foil, and a major evil to end. The crunch is fair and what I expect for DCC RPG. The story and fluff are fun, and the execution is good with a few things I would possibly change. If my problems with the book are not enough book, then this is a good adventure if you want to stop the ripper in Spittle-Fields. 99 %
Ring Side Report- RPG review of Oath Hammer Quick Start
Product– Oath Hammer Quick Start
System– Oath Hammer
Producer– Broken Blade Publishing
Price– free here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/511285/oath-hammer-quickstart?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR-Want Shadowrun rules in The Hobbit? 87%
Basics– Time to take back our home! In Oathhammer, players take the roles of dwarves, elves, humans, and many other fantasy races as they attempt to take back the dwarf home island long ago seized by the orcs. Let’s get into the basics.
Base mechanics- Oathhammer is d6 pool based system. For any action, a player takes an attribute and a skill, adds them together, adds penalties, and then rolls that many six sided dice. The novel part of this system is the dice colors. Different dice colors are assigned based on skills and abilities, with the least skilled dice only succeeding on a 4 or better and the best dice succeeding on a 2 or better. These are small dice pools where a single success is needed for really simple actions and five successes are needed for really difficult actions.
Combat– Combat is teams based. When combat happens, one character on each side makes a leadership check. Going from high to low, that side decides if they will go before or after any group. Combat is much like other dice pool games. A character rolls an attack and a defender rolls a defence pool. If the attacker wins, the net difference is carried over as damage. The attacker then rolls weapon damage dice with any successes being carried over into more damage. Lastly, the defender will roll armor dice, with the weapon reducing the number of dice the defender rolls. The defender’s successes reduce the damage, and any remaining damage reduces grit or the hit points of the character. When a character is reduced to 0 grit, two six-sided dice are rolled and a chart determines if it’s just a flesh wound, or if the character dies.
Magic– Magic is cast till you can’t. Magic is a basic roll as above, and contested effects are determined by spell. When you roll a 1, you build up stress. Too much stress, and you can’t cast any more.
Character building– Characters are built by choosing a race, class, and oath. The race gives you some bonuses and penalties to your attributes. The class gives you some basic abilities and skills as well as what dice you roll for each action. Finally, your oaths give you roleplaying opportunities and if you follow them, you gain experience points.
Character advancement– When you complete adventures and follow your oaths, you gain experience. Those points are spent to increase your attributes, skills, and even buy new skill features.
Ok, thats the basics, let’s get into my thoughts.
Mechanics or Crunch- This is an interesting system, if a bit fiddly. I love d6 dice pool systems. It’s satisfying to throw a bunch of dice at a problem. That said, the different dice colors are a tad fiddly. Nothing too crazy, but you need to keep the different dice separate, and that’s not as much fun. But it works, and it’s still fun to do. 4.5/5
Theme or Fluff- Honestly this world feels like The Hobbit, in all the right ways. You have dwarves who are fighting to get their homeland back. You start as just random dudes, and can end up wielding huge armies who conquer the orcs to reclaim your homeland. It’s a solid world to explore. 5/5
Execution– The book works, but it’s got some major flaws. It’s beautiful and easy to read. The sections are well laid out and enjoyable. The big things I hate are for a quickstart are it’s not realy a quick start. There are no pregens nor is there an adventure. It’s an advertisement for the system-which is good, but it’s not a thing I could give my friends and jump in in 20 minutes. We have to build characters and an adventure. I couldn’t even find pregens on the website. I’d prefer almost no rules if you give me a game in 20 minutes. 3.5/5
Summary-I like The Hobbit and Shadowrun, and this is the mix of them. The base mechanics work here, if they are a little bit fiddly at times. The setting is pretty and well defined. The only thing I don’t like is the lack of a real quickstart. What’s here will draw you in, so it does its job. But, you won’t be able to play this game without more products and more work. Aside from this, I love what I see. 87%
Ring Side Report-Board Game Unboxing and Review of Deep Sea Adventure!
Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-02: Shipyard Sabotage
Product– Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-02: Shipyard Sabotage
System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed
Producer– Paizo
Price– $8.99 here https://store.paizo.com/pathfinder-society-scenario-7-02-shipyard-sabotage/
TL; DR-Solid, if a little short 97%
Basics– Let’s buy a boat! The Pathfinders want to take to the seas, and you are sent to help buy a boat. Time to navigate the interest of a used boat salesman, but that won’t be the most dangerous thing to happen on the docks that day!
Mechanics or Crunch– This adventure has a solid mix of social and combat. The social is a long series of events to first buy a boat, then save the dock. Then the fight shifts to the seas for the final fight. There is also fun in this adventure where social challenges can be used to end fights early. It’s an interesting mix that makes this a fun adventure. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– The adventure has a fun story, and it expands on the world and the story of the Pathfinder Society. Choices can be made in this adventure if a player wants to learn to solve problems creatively or with care for the human element. It’s something I think more Pathfinder Society events need. 5/5
Execution– I love what’s here, but what’s missing is the only problem. The adventure is a solid layout and execution. It’s got the Paizo polish I think is amazing. But, I think the adventure is just too short. This is a 2 to 3 hour adventure that needs a bit more fight in it to really push it to the 4 hour mark. 4.5/5Summary– I do love this adventure, even if it’s short. I like to see new approaches to things. Also the fact that this adventure emphasizes the human aspect of combat like just getting people to surrender as opposed to just killing everyone, and negotiating a cheap price for a boat! It’s a fun adventure that is well done. But if the worst thing I can say is I want more, then it’s a solid adventure. 97%
Ring Side Report-Board Game Unboxing and Review of Nature: Flight
Ring Side Report- RPG review of Shadow Scar – Eyes in the Darkness
Product- Shadow Scar – Eyes in the Darkness
System- Shadow Scar
Producer- R. Talsorian Games Inc.
Price- FREE here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/487683/shadow-scar-eyes-in-the-darkness?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR- BPRD by Modern Day Legend of the Five rings fused with Rifts by Shadowrun. 100%
Basics- Let’s keep things under wraps! Shadow Scar is a modern RPG with a decisively fantasy air as you play agents tasked with fighting strange monsters that should have been banished long ago when the corrupted wife of the main god died and returned evil. This as multiple different dimensions all pour into yours as you fight to keep those out. This product introduces the world, the mechanics, and provides characters and an adventure. It doesn’t go too much deeper than the basics, but it does get you running in under 20 minutes! Let’s break it down.
Base mechanics- This game uses very similar mechanics to more modern Shadowrun editions. Basically, you add an attribute to a skill level and then you roll that many six sided dice. 4s and 5s are successes, and 6s are two successes. You hit a threshold and you succeed. Short and sweet. Everything you want to do is basically that with contested rolls being who gets more successes.
Combat- Combat in this system has team based initiative coupled with the base mechanic. Highest awareness on a team roll their dice and we compare across all groups involved. Whatever side gets more successes decides if they go first or after other groups. Then all members of that side take their turn in whatever order they choose. On your turn, you get a move action and two actions. Actions vary between grabs, aiming, magic, or even attacking. Attacking is contested rolls with the winner deciding if the hit happens. Damage is subtracted first by the armor of the target and then the remaining amount is subtracted from the target’s vitality. Vitality hits zero and you’re dead! Dead isn’t complete though as you can be resurrected and you linger in the spirit world for a bit. So, it’s not dead dead, just mostly dead!
veil- A major part of the game and the group you work for is the veil. Your job is to maintain the veil, the fake sense that no one is coming across time and dimensions to end everything. Basically, you do crazy stuff in front of others, you break the veil and that leads to you possibly getting in trouble, getting disciplined, or even getting whole crews of other teams to deal with your mess!
Ok, let’s dig into this game.
Mechanics or Crunch- I like the crunch of Shadowrun, so I like this one. Shadowrun never really felt complex to me, and this system using the d6 based idea of roll and count numbers 4 and up is an easy one to do. You don’t need complex dice, so intro games are easy. Also, the basics are spelled out well on the character sheets. Character sheets have awesome descriptions of all the toys and tools the agents have. It’s quick, easy, and fast to play fantasy asian combat. 5/5
Theme or Fluff- Well, I’m a sucker for anime, the BPRD, and the hunters in World of Darkness, so this is an easy game for me to get into. I love the idea of different worlds all acting completely out of sync and it’s your job to keep them all at peace and keep the horrors of a corrupted mother goddess at bay. It’s got enough of traditional Japanese myth in there to hook me, and its got enough of its own DNA to keep me from leaving. 5/5
Execution- Solid stuff here! The book reads easily, is laid out well, and has all the modern pieces I expect in 2025. And, the book has pregenerated characters and a full adventure! I can give my players the pregens, read the book, and be playing in about 20 total minutes. That’s all I need to love this book. 5/5
Summary- This is a blend of a bunch of things you may have seen before. But then again, I love fusion cuisine, so I’m down for this as well. This game has solid mechanics. It’s not reinventing the wheel, but it doesn’t have to. The theme is again nothing completely new, but it’s got enough of its own materials to hold its own. And lastly, the game is made exactly as I expect any intro product to be, with an honest to goodness game out there for me to play with my friends within half an hour of purchase. That’s everything I expect out of this product, so I recommend this if you want the modern Asian fantasy take on keeping horrors out of the news. 100%
Ring Side Report- RPG review of Gates of Krystalia
Product– Gates of Krystalia
System- Gates of Krystalia
Producer– Top Notch International LTD
Price– $34.00 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/534717/gates-of-krystalia-ttjrpg-core-rulebook-english-version?src=hottest_filtered&affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR-Would you like Konosuba or Goblin Slayer as an intro RPG? 93%
Basics– IT’S TIME TO D&DUEL! Gates of Krystalia is an isekai style RPG. Isekai is a genre of anime where a person from the “real” world dies and is offered the chance to go kill the demon king/bad guy in a fantasy setting where a god bestows power upon them to do so. It’s a power fantasy, but it is fun! Let’s dig into this game’s materials before the breakdown.
Base mechanics– This game DOESN’T use dice! It uses a standard deck of 52 playing cards. What’s interesting here is the number on the cards and the suit. The suits are tied to the four different ability scores. When you do a thing you draw a card and add your ability score to the score on the card. You beat the required number, you succeed. Don’t and fail. It’s an easier way for the non-dice goblins among us to get into the game.
Criticals- If the card you play matches the suit of the action, you double the result. Hearts are charisma, diamonds agility, spades intelligence, and clubs toughness. Want to rip down a door? It’s a toughness action, and if you draw an 8 of clubs, you get a 16 plus your toughness attribute. In combat the ace doubles base damage. And if its the suit you choose at character creation of your blessed suit, it doubles again!
Combat- Combat basically works the same way. Everyone including the Deux(Game Master) draws cards and adds modifiers for each character. High goes first. Now, this is not a tactics RPG. Think more Dragon Warrior and less Final Fantasy Tactics. Players and major named monsters draw a hand of five cards. Low ranking monsters just draw and hope for the best. When it’s your action, you choose a Combat Technique, and do it. If it targets someone else, players play a card from their hand at the monster. From there, characters and major monsters can play cards from their hand to create combos. Basically, can you make a poker hand. And whoever has the higher score based on played cards wins and has their action occur. This means you might get to attack during a monsters turn, but you will have less cards when it’s your turn. Once everyone has a turn, creatures with multiple cards draw up to their hand and you continue.
Damage– The interesting thing about this game is the deck. You take damage? Discard cards from your deck. Rest? Draw up cards from the discard and shuffle. You NEVER gain more cards/hit points.
Character creation and advancement- This is not a deep game. At character generation, you choose a race and one background power, a class, a class specialization, four combat techniques, and a blessed suit. It’s pretty simple. Levelling up is also simple as you now get to when the Deux decides. There is no XP to track. There are also a total of four ranks.
Additional Things- The base game book has a ton of other small things that you can add into your game. Like any good anime aimed at teens, you can get a haram of men or woman who you can romance. There is also mechanics to level up your base. There is madness and trama. This game can be as dark or a light hearted as you want.
Ok, let’s dig into this game.
Mechanics or Crunch– This is an intro RPG for someone who loves anime. The mechanics are simple and you don’t require any crazy complicated dice. I don’t hate anything that’s here. In fact, I want to run a game of this. The thing that is annoying is the lack of depth and the lack of XP. The game doesn’t get deep as you end up with less than 10 total abilities at the end of the game. It’s not really a deep crunch game. Not bad, but it’s a little simple. If your GM is a great person, then you will level up and kill the demon lord at a solid place. If your GM isn’t then you will end up with a slog of basically filler episodes. However, the rest of this book has solid materials for the players to have a blast playing and experiencing. I honestly want to build up a base in this game. It’s solid fun, but a bit simplistic. 4.5/5
Theme or Fluff– The writers knew their audience. From Sword Art Online to That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (yes, non-anime fans, this genre gets weird faster than the titles get long!) there is tons of stuff for the players to do. Heck, I didn’t even go into crafting. You can go gather materials from monsters and use that to build stuff. You want to play the Legend of Zelda food crafting part in this game? You absolutely can! And that’s awesome. This is exactly what the anime geeks are looking for. 5/5
Execution– This book is good, but it makes two cardinal sins. There are solid layout, great art, and hyperlinks to make navigation easy. Everything that’s here is good. What’s not here is an adventure. The adventure is a separate purchase for an additional $14. That’s not good! Next, there are no pregens, or at least none I could find. Give me a free intro adventure and 6 pregens for me to play with. For such a new system, you need this. I know its about five minutes to make one, but don’t make me! That’s a major sin in 2025. 4.5/5
Summary– I like what’s here. I honestly want to play this at my local anime/gunpla store. There would EASILY be a group who wants this exact game. They are not the most inclined to RPGs, so this would hook them easily and draw them in. The art alone coupled with the presentation of everything makes this a solid book. My issues are from a person who owns over 200GB of RPG books that I’ve kickstarted. I need a bit more depth for my go-to rpg. I also need a bit more intro for my intro game. Give me the tools to hook those players easily, and without having to drop another $14 on a one shot PDF that doesn’t even come with pregens. It’s not unforgivable by any means, but its a minor annoyance. But, if you are spending time putting together robots with friends as you watch japanese cartoons from the 90s like myself, then this is definitely the book you should pick up. 93%
Ring Side Report-Board Game Unboxing and Review of Nature: Jurassic
Throat Punch Games 