Tag: Review

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Treasure Vault

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Product– Treasure Vault

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed.

Producer– Paizo

Price– $56 here https://paizo.com/products/btq02eav?Pathfinder-Treasure-Vault

TL; DR-Make or buy something fun! 95%

Basics–  IT HAS POCKETS!  Treasure Vault is the TTRPG  equivalent of a Toys r Us Christmas catalog.  Lots of new toys for everyone to play with, from alchemists with new materials, to spell additions that give some extra umph to the fireball, or the fighter with the ability to add pockets to armor.

Mechanics or Crunch– Overall, this book has a solid crunch to the system.  There are lots of new toys that everyone can use and enjoy.  It’s an item book and the items fit with the rest of the toys in the rest of the system.  My one major issue is that some things are left out because they are covered in other books.  Tell me where those are from so I can check the rules out in those books.  It’s not a major thing but it’s enough so I was a bit confused on some new additions in this book and lead me to check out others books for the rules.  Also, the newer rules on crafting are good, but they reference things without giving enough background so I was a bit confused there on first read.  More links to the other materials and books would help.    Good stuff but enough confusion that I was a bit lost as I read through some of the sections.  4.25/5

Theme or Fluff– I was surprised by the amount of theme present in here! There is a framing device where a dragon and a kobold discuss the new items and materials.  It’s enjoyable!  In addition, all the new toys the book presents are honestly fun and more fitting to the world.  5/5

Execution– This is a slam dunk.  Solid layout, easy to read font, hyperlinks, and solid art all make this an easy and enjoyable book for anyone to use. Well done book craftsmanship. 5/5

Summary-This book is another solid addition to Pathfinder 2nd Ed.  The book is crafted well from a technical standing.  The new toys for players all feel fresh enough that players will enjoy them and they feel like they fit in the world.  Even the new things all fit well within the mechanics of the world.  My main issue is I would like more rules to help me understand how some things are used or how some things are done.  If you or your players want more items to spend that sweet, sweet GP on, or or more things to make, this is the book you need for Pathfinder! 95%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Dragonbane Quickstart

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Product– Dragonbane Quickstart

System- Dragonbane

Producer– Free League Publishing

Price– FREE here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/409397/Dragonbane-Quickstart?cPath=27806_43182?affiliate_id=658618 

TL; DR– DnD 5e, The Dark Eye, Call of Cthulhu, and for some reason Savage Words had an awesome baby! 91%

Basics–  Time for something different!  Dragonbane is a new edition of an older Scandinavian RPG.  Let’s look at this new yet old RPG!

Base mechanics-  This is the mix of 5e and The Dark Eye.  Everything is a d20 roll where you try to roll under a skill.  More skill ranks mean more likely to succeed.  The solid 5e parts are the notions of advantage/boon and disadvantage/bane.  It functions just like in 5e!  But even more fun is pushing the roll.  That’s exactly like Call of Cthulhu.  You failed a roll?  You can reroll, but things get worse if you fail. 

Combat, turns, and reactions-  Time for Savage Worlds to stride in!  Combat initiative is a deck of cards numbered 1 to 10, so not a perfect copy, but high card goes first instead of high roll goes first.  Players on their turn take an action and move like DnD, BUT you can instead interrupt another action to dodge or parry an attack.  You roll a d20 vs a skill level to attack or dodge and if you succeed, you deal damage or jump out of the way.  Damage is rolled like DnD, but armor reduces damage instead of adding to an AC.  When you act, you turn your card over until the next round starts.  When anything hits zero HP it’s down.

Willpower and magic- In addition to hit points, you also have will power.  Will power is kind of like MP in any other RPG.  You spend will power to cast spells and to do special abilities.  Some abilities and spells have levels where you spend more power you hit even harder.  And just like above, you roll vs your own skill to do the ability.

Ok, thats the basics!  Time for the review.

Mechanics or Crunch– The mechanics here are all the things I love.  Roll under is an amazing mechanic!  Advantage and disadvantage and d20 dice for fantasy are always a solid addition.  Cards are a fun way to do init that is not crazy hard to do, but different enough to be novel.  I love Final Fantasy and adding magic points in is a fun way for me to do something just a bit different.  I love what’s here for mechanics!  5/5

Theme or Fluff– This is the hard part for me about this book.  The pictures are good, the book has a simple adventure AND sample characters.  The worlds looks interesting, BUT there isnt any real discussion of the world and environment.  I like what I see, but I just wish I knew what it was about more.  3.75/5

Execution– This is a free, hypertext, PDF with an adventure, MAPS, characters, character art, and solid layout.  THIS IS WHAT I LOVE! 5/5

Summary-Just go get this.  It’s free and it’s well done.  This is all the toys I love in an RPG oneshot.  It’s got all the things I want in a solid book.  My one major issue is I want more worldbuilding.  That’s a problem I hope is solved in the complete book, so I can’t suggest this enough!    92%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Hallows Hill

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Product– Hallows Hill

System- Online escape room

Producer– Wolf Escape Games

Price– $ here https://wolfescapegames.com/en-us 

TL; DR–  I WANT MORE! 98%

Basics–  Will you find her?  Hallows Hill is an online escape room where you and as many friends as you theoretically want can all try to find your escaped elderly patient.  Will you find her among the burnt down house?

Mechanics or Crunch– Do you like the basic mechanics of an escape room?  Wolf Escape Games has made a quality product that works well.  In a physical room, you are told that physical objects glued down are not props, and the same applies here.  There are interaction icons and then objects go into a communal file for all to view together on a big screen, or individually on their mobile devices.  You solve puzzles and move forward just like the rooms I love.  It’s over 90 minutes and you have all the time you want, so it’s a fun experience that makes you feel like you are really there playing with locks and finding clues.  My one issue is that the last puzzle’s solution was a bit obscure.  We got it, but it’s a bit odd.  Overall, it feels like a regular escape room.   4.75/5

Theme or Fluff– I felt like I was in a movie and an escape room at the same time.  There are cut scenes, voice work, and all the toys that a solid digital and live experience can deliver.  The story is fun and takes some interesting turns as well.  I also had all the basic feelings of an escape room while on my couch with friends.  Solid work!   5/5

Execution– This is honestly the best part of the whole experience.  The website logs your time and progress, so when the pizza shows up half way and spooks you, you can take 20, eat,a nd then hop back in with no penalty.  AND when you find a new piece of a puzzel, it enters a community backpack.  EVERY PLAYER CAN USE AN APP TO SEE THE BACKPACK!  AND ITS BRIGHT ENOUGH TO SEE!  I love escape rooms, but older eyes struggle in low light!  The app worked well on both android and IOS.  Solid work on an experience I can’t want to do again! 5/5

Summary– Ever since I’ve gotten into escape rooms, I can’t wait to go again and again.  Wolf Escape Rooms have put forward an AMAZING experience that I just can’t wait to do again.  I love the puzzles and most felt like they flowed well.  Even the last one where I was a bit lost had enough help without requesting hints to get me through. The story is fantastic with honest horror elements and solid fun.  The production and execution is fantastic, and I honesty wish physical places did this as well!  My only serious issue is that this place hasn’t made a second room!  98%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Basic Roleplaying

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Product– Basic Roleplaying

System- Basic Roleplaying

Producer– Chaosium

Price– $15 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/24384/Basic-Roleplaying&affiliate_id=658618 

TL; DR– Want to play Runequest in whatever world you want?  95%

Basics–  Why not do EVERYTHING!  Basic Roleplaying is Chaosium’s basic game design for their systems, with rules for a basic RPG and then additional rules to build out different type of games from magic spells, mutations, weapons, and combat actions.

Basic mechanic- This game uses the same percentile system as most of their products.  Take the basic skill or attribute and try to roll under it.  Attributes are your standard DnD ones, but then you multiply by 3 for hard checks or 5 for normal checks and attempt to roll under that value.  Roll under and succeed!

Powers- Powers come in LOTS of varieties here.  Mutations and super powers almost function like feats in other games.  Magic, psychic abilities, and sorcery are more akin to spells in Call of Cthulhu with a character using power points.

Combat-Combat is a bit more advanced than Call of Cthulhu, but builds well and shows its influence on Runequest.  In turn order, you do an action.  Opposed rolls like attacks allow an opponent to do dodges or parries, but each dodge or parry has an escalating chance of failure.  From there you consult a chart to see how hard you hit or miss.

Ok, thats the basics, let’s look at my thoughts!

Mechanics or Crunch– Do you like Runequest? I do, but it’s not my favorite.  I prefer the simplicity of Call of Cthulhu for managing mechanics.  Then again, you can’t get the gritty nature of combat like you do in Runequest.  It’s much less “roll and check your percentage” and more “let’s compare skills/attributes, then check a chart,then maybe oppose roll”  So, there is a trade off of what you want in the game.  None of that is bad in any way, but how deep do you want the game to be?  Some days you just want a simple ham sandwich and some days you want nine layers of flavor. Both are good at the right time.  The one thing that I feel Call of Cthulhu misses is feats or character qualities.  This has it, but I still don’t completely get what I want as its not just “You’re better at X or get a reroll with Y.”  Sure its simple, but I would like that small thing to make this game just a hair closer to DnD’s bonuses.  Overall, solid crunch that misses a few things by a just a bit.  4.5/5

Theme or Fluff– Theme is hard to judge here.  This is the basic game, so its basically for everything.  I feel its well done, but its also VERY general.  But thats on purpose.  If you wanted a high fantasy game or a superheroes game, this book would honestly work for both.  It also has a bit of art and themes for both as well.  5/5

Execution– What’s here is good, but the book just needs a bit more pizazz.  There is art, decent layout, the text reads easy, and there are hyperlinks because this is 2023.  That said, the book is completely black and white all the way though, so even though I’m reading a book on a tablet it feels like I’m reading a hardcover in the 80s.  That’s nitpicky, but that’s the worst I have to say. 4.75/5

Summary– How much you like this book comes down to how much you like how Chaosium handles games in general.  Do you like percentile-based systems?  Chaosium does it the best with Call of Cthulhu.  I would argue the second best is Runequest.  This book feels like the precursor to the latest edition of Runequest with lots of mechanics being identical between them.  So, to find out if you like this book and system, just ask yourself “Do I want to play Runequest set in X?”  If you want Runequest in a sci-fi setting, then this is a good book.  If you want Runequest in Tolkien, then this would be a good book.  I would turn down none of those, so I like this book.  Still, want my feats and some color art, but for the price and all the things you get with it this is a fantastic general system to get into right away.  95%