Tag: Review

Ring Side Report-RPG Review of We Hunt Bugs 2nd Ed Preview

~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day! 

Product-We Hunt Bugs

System- We Hunt Bugs 2nd Ed

Producer– Orcs Unlimited Games

Price– SOON on kickstarter!

TL; DR– A Solid Pamphlet RPG 83%

Basics–  Time to go on a hunt!  We Hunt Bugs is a SMALL rpg.  It’s honestly printed on a pamphlet and that’s the whole thing.  The GM/world guide is a slightly bigger book going 32 pages.  Let’s look at the preview of this micro RPG.

Base Mechanics- This is a d6 based game. You have two parts to a character: abilities and skills.  Abilities are like in any RPG; they are your base attributes. There are only three of them. Skills give  a bonus to dice rolls in the right situation.  For a check, you roll a number of dice equal to your ability.  If you roll a 6, you reroll and add to that six.  Then when you finish rolling, you then add a skill if you have it.  If you hit the target number for a check, you succeed.

Combat- Combat is resolved like the base mechanic above.  Turn order is determined by each acting character or creature rolling a d6 and highest goes first.  Successes mean damage and most players only have three boxes of damage they can take before they are knocked out.

And honestly that’s it.

Mechanics or Crunch–  This book honestly made me do some soul searching in a good way.    I LOVE good, crunchy, in depth RPGs.  This isn’t that.  It’s short and sweet.  It doesn’t waste time and that’s a concept at the heart of the games I love.  What is here isn’t much.  There is gear, toys, guns, and some light background bonuses, but not much else.  And it doesn’t need much more.  The crunch here isn’t deep, but it is done simply and well.  5/5

Theme or Fluff– Again, there is just enough to get you interested and help you build a world  the basic of the story is humans discover faster than light travel and instead of hell like Event Horizon, they fall into a bug dimension where bugs now join our universe and kill EVERYONE!  You play spacers who go kill those bugs.  We’ve mapped where bugs are now, but there are still bugs out and about that are killing space ships adrift.  Throw in some obvious evil space company shenanigans and a dash a cyberpunk and you got a solid game.  I like the story here.  It’s enough to help you get interested in where it goes and how you could play it next.  5/5

Execution– I’ve loved everything so far, but this is the low point of the book.  The book is a PDF.  It needs spaces, bold text, and a bit more layout work.  The player pamphlet explains things not in the book which is ok, but given infinite real estate, I want more in the book, so I don’t need the pamphlet as a GM.  It works, but some polish will help.  2.5/5

Summary– Monstrous bugs in space and a lightning fast system to deal with them and corporate evil?  Literally one page building a world and system?  SOLID FUN!  If you have d6s, you can play this on a car ride.  This might not be the 12 year campaign you play forever, but this is the fun one-night or few-week system that will be a solid adventure in the cosmos as you meet new creatures and kill them.  Needs a bit of polish to make the main book a bit nicer, and that might happen by the time the RPG goes to print for the 2nd Ed.  But overall, this is a solid game that you will easily get into and have a blast.  83%

Ring Side Report-RPG Review of Guns and Gears

~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Product-Guns and Gears

Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day! 

Product-Guns and Gears

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $14.99 here https://paizo.com/products/btq029xk?Pathfinder-Guns-Gears

TL; DR– Solid new Pathfinder toys and toy based characters! 95%

Basics–  BRING THE BOOM!  Guns and Gears brings solid steampunk and introductory industrialization to the Pathfinder setting with new technology and themes, two new classes, a new race, and countless new character options and items. 

Mechanics or Crunch– Paizo knows their system the best and they bring the best new materials for their toys.  The new classes are fun parts of an ever expanding world. The Inventor is the steampunk inventor you may be searching for, with no magical background or ties like the alchemist. The Gunslinger brings pure boom to any encounter.  The new race the Automaton is an interesting, but well supported addition to the world of Golarion.  There is just a TON of materials with all kinds of new toys such as new guns, tools, and magic items that can help turn the tide of battle.  My only complaints are that the Gunslinger feels a bit under-powered.  It is an absolute crit machine, but guns can fall flat if a character spends a day hitting but not critting. That said, what Paizo has here is a FANTASTIC addition to the crunch of Pathfinder.  4.75/5

Theme or Fluff–  Guns and Gears is not a small book and there is just an absolute TON of new stuff here.  Now in a tool book you would think its just item lists, and there is that, but there is also a bunch of fluff to bring the new stuff into the old game.  Pathfinder 1st ed is about 10 years ago in the world of Golarion, so this helps advance the world as the fantasy world gets a bit more pre-industrial.  All that said, one thing sticks out and this may just be a me-problem: automatons.  I always hate new races in old parts of the world as if we just magically found them in the same places we were.  That and they feel out of place and honestly more like a warforged in PF2.  Not a game breaker, but something I don’t think I would have wanted in my game.  Another nitpick is there are no new spells here, and I feel that’s a reasonable, but somewhat annoying choice.  If you want some gun spells, look elsewhere.  The writers wanted to focus more on mechanics and less on magic, so while I might want some spells, it’s ok they are not here. 4.5/5

Execution–  It’s Paizo- they know solid book production.  Good layout, art, font, hyperlinking, and all the pieces I expect from a AAA RPG company.  It’s a 50 buck book, but as an evil millennial, I mostly like PDFs, so the 14 bucks for a digital file is extremely worth it.  5/5

Summary-I honestly love Pathfinder 2nd Ed.  It’s all the pieces of 4th, 3rd, and 5th Edition DnD I want.  And differentiating itself from DnD by moving to a more steampunk and pre-industrial culture will help it grow by further making its own path.  Guns and Gears is a solid step in that direction with amazing classes, items, and class options.  The missteps I see are maybe more opinion; even if they are not my favorite things, they are done well.  If you want less magic and more mechanics mayhem in your Pathfinder 2nd Ed, you need this book now! 95%

Ring Side Report-RPG Review of Doors to Darkness

~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day! 

Product-Doors to Darkness

System- Call of Cthulhu, 7th Ed.

Producer– Chaosium

Price– $17.48 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/199593/Doors-to-Darkness

TL; DR-Decent intro with some basic Call of Cthulhu adventures. 90%

Basics–  What’s in the basement?  Doors to Darkness is a collection of five simple adventures that beginner keepers can bring to the table to introduce Call of Cthulhu to their friends and get new players involved on both sides of the GM screen.

Mechanics or Crunch– What’s here is good, but I would like a bit more.  The crunch of the adventures (monsters, skill checks, basics of play) are all done well.  My one major criticism is there is not a lot of extra information to help newer keepers/game masters learn the ropes.  I would like a bit more GM box text to help a new game master run the game.  Since the players and the GM are most likely new, that would really help everyone learn exactly what they are doing.  Solid work but this book needs a bit more basics explained to the GM. 4/5

Theme or Fluff–  This book has some solid stories that may be a bit disjointed.  There are five stories that range from snake cults to undead horrors.  Nothing is bad and these are excellent introduction stories, but none of these are really connected.  It leads to a bit of a random experience that can end up being kind of a monster of the week.  Not bad, but do not expect a long running campaign, but a more introductory experience. 4.5/5

Execution–  Here is where Chaosium excels.  Chaosium makes amazing digital props and electronic resources for their adventure.  Solid layout, digital links, and good text make for an easy to read experience.  The book of notes is also an amazing piece that really helps me as a keeper draw in my players.  And there are several premade characters that any player could pick up and start playing right away.  Fantastic execution Chaosium! 5/5

Summary– Overall, this is a solid effort to help new players get into Call of Cthulhu.  For about 18 bucks you get five adventures with decent plot, solid tools and great handouts to draw new and old players in.  New keepers will have a bit of trouble as this could use a bit more tools to help newer ones with the rules.  But if you want to start Call of Cthulhu and need a good starting point, this is a great place to begin.  90%

Ring Side Report-RPG Review of Pathfinder Society Intro: Year of Shattered Sanctuaries

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Product– Pathfinder Society Intro: Year of Shattered Sanctuaries

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $5.99 here https://paizo.com/products/btq027s9/reviews&page=2?Pathfinder-Society-Intro-Year-of-Shattered-Sanctuaries#tabs

TL; DR-A simple and solid adventure 86%

Basics–  YOU ARE NEEDED PATHFINDERS!  This is an intro scenario for new pathfinders and players of all ages.  From a mushroom man trying to sort letters to uncovering a simple mystery can you, a new agent, help the Society in a time of need?

Mechanics or Crunch– This is a simple adventure that gets players rolling dice fairly quickly, but has a slightly slow start.  It’s not a super risk taking adventure like the 2-01 intro, but it does introduce many society elements and grander plots.  After learning about different adventures around the world, the game is a series of battles. Good for intro fun with some basic elements.  It’s not crazy-advanced crunch, but it’s solid fun for new players.  4.5/5

Theme or Fluff–  Much like the crunch, the adventure doesn’t take risks, has a slow start, but is a decent intro to the world of Pathfinder society.  Reading letters at the start is a bit slow, but it does introduce the wider world quickly.  The fights are fun if a little standard for 1st level.  This isn’t an adventure to push the envelope, but it also doesn’t aim to be.  4/5

Execution–  Paizo knows adventures, but they are also the most pricey.  I like this one.  It has a solid layout, pictures, and design, but it’s also an adventure that will only take about three hours, even with an uninitiated adventuring party.  It’s a bit expensive considering what other comparably priced adventures do.  Not bad, but short. 4.5/5

Summary– The first adventure of a season is always a contentious adventure.  Push the envelope too much and people get a bit lost as new players.  Don’t do enough and you end up with just four smaller adventures showing off factions.  This strikes a decent balance, but in doing so it doesn’t take risks in terms of scope or being adventurous.  It’s also a Paizo product and they put out well done, if expensive adventures.  It works well, though it is a bit simple.  86%