Ring Side Report-Board Unboxing and Game Review of Gudnak
Tag: Review
Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder Adventure Path #183: Field of Maidens (Blood Lords 3 of 6)
Product– Pathfinder Adventure Path #183: Field of Maidens (Blood Lords 3 of 6)
System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed
Producer– Paizo
Price– $ 26.99 here https://paizo.com/products/btq02c11?Pathfinder-Adventure-Path-183-Field-of-Maidens
TL; DR– Good, but some fluff in the middle. 93%
Basics– Ok, but who’s behind all this crap? Field of Maidens picks up where the book two of Blood Lords left off with our heroes being summoned to find who’s behind the poison plot. But along the way bodies start to pile up…
Mechanics or Crunch– The crunch here works well. Paizo understands their system the best, and it shows. The combats were balanced, and my all undead party had monsters where they could FINALLY use negative energy to damage. There is some serious social interaction along the way as well as a bit of exploration. Fun all around. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– The adventure works, but some of it feels like fluff. This adventure has the characters go after a newly undead creature from the first book. As they track them down, they learn about the new creature, but some of the events along the way are kind of out of left field. There is about a third of the adventure in the field of maidens that felt like it really wasn’t necessary. It works, but it’s a bit of fluff that might not really build out the main quest. 4/5
Execution– Paizo knows their stuff. Paizo made this so there is good art, hyperlinks, good layout, and an easy to read style that makes this easy to approach. Solid production all around. 5/5
Summary– This adventure is fun, but be ready for the filler episode. The middle third isn’t really necessary, but the rest does advance the plot. The monsters are fun, combat enjoyable, and the social interactions are well done. It’s a well done book with a bit of filler. 93%
Ring Side Report-Board Unboxing and Game Review of Creature Caravan!
Ring Side Report-Board Unboxing and Game Review of The Fox Experiment
Ring Side Report- RPG review of The Magnus Archives Roleplaying Game
Product– The Magnus Archives Roleplaying Game
System- Cypher System
Producer– Monte Cook Games
Price– $24.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/498597/the-magnus-archives-roleplaying-game?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR-Run for your lives cypher system horror! 100%
Basics– Begin your statement…. This is the full RPG for the Magnus Archives. This has rules for the cypher system, how to make characters, character options, monsters, two adventures, and a full introduction to the Magnus Archives.
System et al- Cypher system is VERY agnostic for where you put it in. It’s always only the player rolling, and how hard a thing is, is its rating. Players have abilities and can spend points to reduce the ratings of any challenge. Players then roll a d20 and need to hit the rating times 3. Failure isn’t instant death, but does have consequences. Doesn’t matter if it’s Numenera, fantasy, or horror like the Magnus Archives.
Cyphers- Cyphers are one time things that give you awesome powers. In the original system, they were items from a long time ago that might be one time cool tricks, like a cell phone that will let you call five minutes into the future to give yourself a heads up on what problems you’re going to face. Here, cyphers are one time abilities. You rest up and you get these back. I don’t hate the change, but it was surprising the first time I saw it.
Mechanics or Crunch– This is what I wanted! This book has rules for the whole system. One shocking thing is how powered the monsters are! Most monsters start at a challenge of 5. That means a character must roll a 15 if they want to hurt them. This goes with the theme, but the game says that you need to RUN when bad things happen. You’re just a dude and that zombie will eat you. But, that ties the theme well into the story. Also, most characters are not crazy psychic monsters like the X-men. You might get some psychic powers later, but for the most part, it’s hitting that zombie with a baseball bat or shooting horrors with a .45 to make them go away. And I enjoy it! 5/5
Theme or Fluff– Theme is strong here as well. Like I mentioned in mechanics, you don’t want too many straight up fights. This isn’t pulp stories or superhero comics. You’re gonna die! And that’s horror. The feeling that that thing in the dark is not just Generic Monster 4 for you to mop up for XP before the pizza arrives is very strong in this book. The mechanics and the theme drive you to feel the dread your character experiences. 5/5
Execution– Monte Cook Games does solid work in production. The book reads easily, has solid art, and is well laid out. Overall it’s just a well done book. I said this last time and I’ll say all the same things again. The one minor issue is this book has two adventures but no premade characters. But I will give it a pass as the free player book has four premade characters in it. 5/5
Summary– This is a good book, but you have to decide what you want. If you want more modern horror, then this is a solid book with great mechanics and a whole podcast behind it. If you want to punch Cthulhu in his tentically face, then this is not the game for you. Also, the podcast is well done but technically over. That’s not bad, as you get a complete story, but might drive some players away. If you like the cypher system and want horror, then this is your game. 100%
Ring Side Report- RPG review of The Magnus Archives Player’s Guide
Product– The Magnus Archives Player’s Guide
System- Cypher System
Producer– Monte Cook Games
Price– Free here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/498598/the-magnus-archives-player-s-guide?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR– Good, but this doesn’t cover most of the basics. 80%
Basics– What’s your statement? The Magnus Archives is a podcast that was adapted to the cypher system. Players take the roles of investigators looking into paranormal events. WIll you find what’s causing all these strange events?
Base Mechanics- This is the cypher system. Players state an action, and the GM states a difficulty. The difficulty times 3 is what the player needs to roll on a d20. If the player wants to lower the DC, players can spend points from a pool for mind, body, and dexterity to reduce the level. The GM doesn’t roll dice!
And that’s it. It’s built on the basic cypher system.
Mechanics or Crunch– This book gives the very basics of the cypher system, but dont expect to play the game with this alone. You can’t build characters with this. Nor can you really run a game with this alone. You get the base mechanics of this game with a good explanation, but you get no options. It has pregenerated characters, which I love, but it’s very bare bones. 3.5/5
Theme or Fluff– There is more here, but it’s very basic. I don’t know what the Magnus Archives are and why there are statements. I know there are podcasts about it, and I’m interested in them now. But I don’t really know why or who is doing the investigating. What’s here will draw you in, but you will need the full book to get those answers. 3.5/5
Execution– Monte Cook Games does solid work in production. The book reads easily, has solid art, and is well laid out. Overall it’s just a well done book. 5/5
Summary– For the price of free, this is a good intro to the Magnus Archives. If I had paid for this, I would be upset. In a player’s guide, I expect a bit more character options and explanations to the game. This has a decent explanation, but no options. I also expect a bit more in terms of world building. I’m intrigued, but I have no answers to what is going on. As a product, this is a good book for production. I want a lot more, and all of that is found in the main game book. Worth a look at free if you want to see the basics of the system and world. 80%
Ring Side Report- RPG review of CthulhuTech: The Shadow War Quick-Start Rules (V2)
Product– CthulhuTech: The Shadow War Quick-Start Rules (V2)
System- CthulhuTech (V2)
Producer– Wildfire
Price– Free here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/156677/cthulhutech-the-shadow-war-quick-start-rules-v2?src=hottest_filtered&affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR– Good, but I miss robots. 93%
Basics– Welcome to the shadow war! In CthulhuTech, magic has returned to the world and it has merged with all the tech of the day. However, strange Gods and Cults now use this for their own goals. This will not end well for mankind! This book has several pre-generated characters and a walk through of a very simple adventure with mechanics to introduce the new version to new players.
Base mechanic- This game uses a d2 system. Basically you have a skill and an attribute. You roll dice equal to their total for an action. If you get odds, you fail on that die, and evens are successes. Get enough successes and good things happen. This goes all the way through to combat and chases. It’s a VERY simple system.
Mechanics or Crunch– This is a simple game intro for a simple game. But it works. This is not crazy complex with all kinds of modifiers. I’d put this closer to a Fate system. If you want rules lighter but with some choice, this might be the system for you. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– This adventure is good, but the layout is both good and annoying. The characters have their own sections which is nice. The GM doesn’t get a lot of introduction to the system before reading box text. The game primarily teaches about the world and mechanics by box text. This is good as an intro,but I still don’t know too much about the world itself. I also feel its not really tech-based any more. I feel this is just magic or even more closer to Persona with the characters basically using summons to fight. I’d like more tech and less Cthulhu in this game. 4/5
Execution– This works well. The book has separate character sheets, pictures, and a nice layout to make it easy for players. For the GM, there are nice sections to guide the GM so they can guide the players into the story. It flows easily and quickly for a fun one shot adventure. 5/5
Summary– I am intrigued by this. It’s fun and simple. I typically like more crunch, but this works well enough for what it wants to be. The world might be better served with more build up. There is story here, but I feel like I’m missing a lot. This is due to it being a quick start. I am interested in the full book, so it did its job. 93%
Ring Side Report-Board Unboxing and Game Review of Art Society
Ring Side Report- RPG review of Xcrawl Classics #0: Murder Mountain Smackdown
Product– Xcrawl Classics #0: Murder Mountain Smackdown
System- XCrawl
Producer– Goodman Games
Price– $7.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/499748/xcrawl-classics-0-murder-mountain-smackdown?src=hottest_filtered&affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR-Fun with a cover monster flaw. 97%
Basics– We who are about to die Salute BBQ Ziggurat! Want your big break? You can get it if you survive the Murder Mountain Smackdown! It’s a new Dungeon Jockeys outing, and you can get your own shot at the big leagues. All you have to do is not be killed or stolen away to another universe!
Mechanics or Crunch– Do you like DCC? If so, you will like these mechanics. It’s simplistic, but DCC is not a crunch system. It’s fast and fun AND VERY VERY CRAZY! From Desert Yetis to snow gnomes to crazy creatures stealing away people to different dimensions. I had a blast running it, and the players had a blast playing it. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– The story is good, but not perfect. XCrawl walks a weird line between DCC, American Gladiators, and American Idol. That said, it does most of that well. What I really didn’t like is how the cover monster is used. There is a crazy monster that just eats characters. It’s not really explained well, in my opinion, and you don’t really fight it. I’d like a fight with it or something crazy, but it’s more just fail a roll and die. Aside from that, it’s crazy fun. 4.5 /5
Execution– This is just a repeat of many of my other Goodman Game reviews. It’s classic RPG stuff with modern layout and design. This is how DnD in 1e should have been laid out to help me as a GM run it. 5/5Summary– Aside from one monster, I feel this is a solid intro to XCrawl. It’s a funnel where LOTS of PCs will die, but you end up with a rag tag team ready to roll in the big leagues. You get your American Idol shot at being a hero on TV. As a GM, there are fun monsters, crazy events, and all kinds of shenanigans you won’t see in the more straight fantasy offerings. If only the cover monster was a bit different, it would be perfect. 97%
Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder Society Intro: Year of Immortal Influence
Product– Pathfinder Society Intro: Year of Immortal Influence
System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed
Producer– Paizo
Price– $8.99 here https://paizo.com/products/btq03g2r?Pathfinder-Society-Intro-Year-of-Immortal-Influence
TL; DR– A good, but not perfect intro. 97%
Basics– Pathfinders, are you ready to PARTY!? This intro scenario for this year’s Pathfinder Society season has you go hobnob with the snobs of Absolom to make a good impression. All you got to do is be nice, show the Pathfinder Society is good, and make a friendly impression. What could go wrong?
Mechanics or Crunch– This adventure’s mechanics are on point for an intro adventure. There are about four different encounters in this adventure. It’s pretty heavenly split between some social, some light exploration, and combat. All of them feel like they fit for the levels they aim for. This adventure is the standard excellent Paizo crunch I expect.5 /5
Theme or Fluff– Intro adventures have tough ground to cover, and this one does well, but it’s not perfect. The adventure has the players go to the party, and start with a few different mini interludes. These work well, but players can’t see all the characters and their small side quests and vignettes. Not bad, as the forced adventures where players have to do all the side quests get a bit story heavy, but these all kind of boil down to “do good and learn that one person doesn’t like you”. Next there is the new antiPathfinder group who aren’t evil, and you have to avoid them. Then you quite literally have to fight devils and then save someone’s life. After that people try to run you over. After that you must convince everyone you’re awesome after literally saving people from the devil. Lastly there is one last optional combat that’s fun. The story gets a bit disjointed as you save them every step of the way, but people still don’t like you. Maybe that’s more realistic than I think having just reread that again. 4.5 /5
Execution– This is just a yadda yadda of all my other Pathfinder reviews. Good layout, easy reading, good pictures, good resources, good handout….yadda yadda yadda. I expected Paizo to make a good layout for the adventures, and I got it. I might quibble about not having all the monster pictures in the book, but that has more to do with there being three different fights possible in the middle, but seeing as those on their free database with pictures, that feels too pedantic for even me to downgrade them for. 5/5
Summary– This isn’t perfect, but this might be one of the better year intro adventures out there. The mechanics are good. The flow is not perfect, but it works decent enough. The adventure itself is solidly crafted. It players in under four hours, and is fun enough that everyone had a blast. If you want to jump in to Pathfinder Society, this is a good starting point as either a GM or a player. 97%
Throat Punch Games 