Basics– Time for the trip! You are all traveling for a possibly once in a lifetime religious trip across the dying earth. Will you survive and thrive or will you die along the way? What will your god have to say about the things you do along the way?
Mechanics or Crunch– This is a fun multichoice adventure, but it’s short. There are three paths the players can take, but the paths might need a bit more. I like what’s here, but if your players don’t roleplay a ton, you will get this done in about two hours. That’s pretty short! 4.5/5
Theme or Fluff– This does feel like DCC, and now I want to read some Vance. I didn’t read a ton of Jack Vance before this. I know its where DnD magic comes from, but that was the extent of my knowledge. After reading this, I feel its themed enough to feel like a DCC funnel as I kill loads of PCs, but I also feel like I want to learn more about the world this comes from. 5/5
Execution– PDF? Yep. Funnel? Yep. Hyperlinked? Yep. Solid Art? Yep. Good layout? This is what I expect from Goodman Games and a funnel. Solid work Goodman games! 5/5
Summary– This was a fun adventure to get my players into the world of the Dying Earth. Heck it got ME into the world of the Dying Earth! I want to read more of this to get deeper in, so mission accomplished there adventure! The crunch is good with the only real problem being the length of the adventure. It’s not bad by any stretch, but it is short. At a con on the last day, that might be a godsend for BOTH the GM and the players as you want to keep having fun, but you need a rest. But, as a start, it’s a few points off. That said, if my only real complaint about this product is I want more, then this is a solid product! 97%
Basics– Come here kid, want to try to some Cthulhu? The Call of Cthulhu starter set is a basic intro box set for Cthulhu. It’s got multiple scenarios, character sheets, and basic rules to help you start playing in about 15 minutes after opening it. It even has dice!
Mechanics or Crunch– Do you like 7th Edition? Do you want to learn it if you don’t know it? If you like 7th Ed, then its 5/5. You don’t get character generation or most of the big rule book, but you do get enough to play. If you haven’t played before, you get a solid intro to the rules. And if you are completely alone and don’t want to start your first game as a keeper (the GM/DM of the system) with live players, there is a solo adventure that teaches rules and will help you play. I love this. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– Welp, for theme, its Call of Cthulhu from Chaosium. I like their stuff and think they have a good grasp of Lovecraft, so it’s an easy review-SOLID WORK with the stories and rules! 5/5
Execution-Check out our unboxing here: https://youtu.be/436RBEYEK0s That’s the pieces you get: handouts, rules, characters sheets, and even dice! It’s done in the style I like as I think Chaosium does good layout, formatting, and text. It’s honestly everything you absolutely need to start playing. 5/5
Summary– I miss box sets. The base books are always fun to hold or download, but box sets are always a fun way to get into a game or get a setting to play with. This is Call of Cthulhu. I run this monthly, so I love the base system. This is just an amazing way to get new players and keepers in quick. Plus for 25 bucks, it’s a steal with four adventures AND dice. If you want a cheap way into to CoC and to get running in about 15 minutes, here is your easy way to do it. 100%
TL; DR– kind of fitting for what we have been seeing from WotC. 73%
Basics– Time for the War of the Lance… again. Learn the basics of the Dragonlance setting and play through the most famous adventure.
Mechanics or Crunch– This book adds a bit, but not much, in terms of game mechanics. You get a bit of background on the setting’s most famous addition, the kender, and you also get rules for mass battles and sidekicks. Overall, it’s not bad, but it’s not much. For this world, I would expect more, especially given the crazy things that have happened with magic, moons, and divine magic. What’s here is good, but there is not as much as I would hope. 4/5
Theme or Fluff– This is a let down. There is a story that is decent, but it’s been done. Why not modernize the setting or deal with the fallout of many of the books? This just feels like a rehash of things or a reboot. Couple that with the fact that the whole setting is given 20 pages of background and you get something that works, but it’s not a solid effort. 3/5
Execution-You can buy a decently made book. But there is no PDF available, legally. You can buy a computer version via DnD Beyond, but you must deal with DnD Beyond. It’s got good layout and text, but those two things itself knock this down many pegs. 4/5
Summary– This book feels like many of the most recent setting books WotC is putting out. There are a few pages of setting and then an adventure. You have a GIANT world out there with lots of stuff and you get 20 pages. I just feel this isn’t done well. If you want to replay the war of the lance and you want 5e to do it, this will be your book. If, like me, you wanted a solid introduction to the system and you wanted it to tie in to where the world is now, then this will not be your book. 73%
Basics– NO GM, NO PROBLEM!. Quest Calendar is a desk calendar that has a simple story that you walk through each day with puzzles, combat, and a solid story to draw you in. 2022 had a fantasy, world hopping adventure, and this year 2023 is a universe spanning Sci-Fi epic. let’s break it down!
Basics- Each day the calendar has a picture and a short story. The back of each previous day gives rules for combat, discussions and short side quests with towns folk, or puzzles for you to solve based on the story.
Dice- It wouldn’t be a RPG without dice! Each character has a bonus to hit, defense, damage dice, and hit points. Combat is simple where you roll to hit and if you hit you deal damage. Deal enough damage and the opponent is stunned. Don’t hit or don’t do enough, you are attacked. Depending on your defense, you take more or less damage. Other checks are the same as if you roll a d20, add the statistic used in the check, a number between 0 and +3 typically, and compare to the rules.
Powers and characters- There are multiple characters to choose from each with their own backstory. Each character has information from levels 1 to 6 as well as powers and abilities. Powers and abilities range from one per page things, constant bonuses to actions, or powers that have a limited number of uses before you must rest.
Ok, now my thoughts.
Mechanics or Crunch– This adventure a day calendar honestly is like a daily Shadow of the Demon Lord game. D20 + a number and compared to the results is a fantastically simple RPG that doesn’t get enough love. You do not get crazy complex here, because you can’t have crazy options since its a simple mechanic. But, it’s rolling dice everyday to have some fun and play through a story. 4.75/5
Theme or Fluff– This is a simple story that is executed well. First, the bad- you can’t have a crazy branching RPG when it’s a linear object. You’re playing through a story like Lord of the Rings, but you can’t really change what the fellowship does. That’s the inherent limits of this medium. That said, I loved the story of 2022 and can’t wait for 2023. Sure, it’s simple fantasy, but sometimes I just want to be a guy on a world saving quest in bite sized pieces. That’s what this is, and it is done well! 4.75/5
Execution– How much you love what is here will really depend on how much you spend. 30 gets you the calendar. That’s a bit high for a calendar, and the calendar is a bit small. It’s a desk calendar, so that’s a bit annoying and since it is small and thick, it can break the glue holding it easily. But that’s the end of the negatives. Solid art, easy to read, and a simple flow and layout make this a fun product. I love the character books and layout of them. I didn’t like the markers that the books came with, but they fixed that in the 2023 edition. I also LOVE the tiny dice. Those went right into my backpack at the end of the year when I got new ones. And this year its metal tiny dice! This product has a few small flaws, but it’s still something I love. 4.5/5
Summary– Will this be the greatest RPG you have ever played with branching story and complete autonomy with the most intricate character build options that you have ever seen? Absolutely not, but the important this is it is not trying to be. This is a short adventure every day that builds an interesting world and lets you play a quick game as a fun distraction while also being a calendar? YES! And its amazing at that goal. I continue to hate small things because of being clumsy, but if that is the worst complaint I have with the calendar, then you need this now. 2022 is done, but you have plenty of time to get onto the ground floor of 2023. I’ve bought myself and my wife calendars and I hope you have a fun adventure in space with me! 93%
TL; DR– Solid Book of bad guys, set ups, and tools 100%
Basics– Ia! Ia! Cults of Cthulhu gives you… exactly what it says! This book is a book of four different cults, adventures to go against each cult, and tools to build your own cthulhu cult.
Mechanics or Crunch– This book is VERY much a Keeper’s book and not a players’ book, and that’s ok. This book has new monsters and stats for them, variant spells, and tips for building your own cult. I am honestly impressed by the depth of ideas for building a cult. I play too many fantasy games where the idea of how a cult is financed doesn’t come up. But here, how the money happens is a very important way to build your cult. Even optional crunch for Pulp Cthulhu is presented! Players will find nothing in this book, but Call of Cthulhu doesn’t really ever give players much more beyond the basic investigator book. The crunch doesn’t disappoint in this one. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– Again, this is a Keeper book, but built in a fun, informative way to help the Keeper build a world. Each of the four presented cults have real depth and personality with individual people and their goals presented. My one minor negative is like most Cthulhu books, you really only get the 1920s as a playground. It’s the most popular time for Call of Cthulhu, so I understand why, but I do seriously appreciate the one modern cult that is presented here. Also, adventures! There are four adventures against these four cults. So even if you need a one shot, this book has you covered. 5/5
Execution– I don’t think Chaosium has ever disappointed me. Hyperlinks, solid handouts, easy reading, separate files, pictures of monsters, and everything else makes this the whole nine yards. Its 25 bucks as a PDF, which is a decent chunk for a PDF, but even if you just used this for four one-shots, that brings the price down to manageable levels of any other market adventure for CoC. And it seems that Chaosium is listening and , while I love them, the handwritten notes are hard to read, Chaosium is making just nice plain text ones as well. My one complaint is I want pregens for each of the adventures, but that is just begging for more on an already solid product. 5/5
Summary– Cthulhu is gonna be the main draw for a game called Call of Cthulhu, so why not have some humans doing bad things for him? This book is a solid resource that, even if I just wanted some quick adventures and handouts, is well worth the price of admission. If you want to build your own cults, then this is the book you might want to check out as well. NOW DO YOG! 100%
Basics– Let’s go old school OLD SCHOOL! The Golden Age of Khares is a bronze age gaming supplement for Low Fantasy Gaming, a hybrid system midway between DnD 5e and OSR games like DCCRPG. This focuses on much older tech and sword and sorcery in a long lost era.
Mechanics or Crunch– How much you like this game depends on how much you like Low Fantasy Gaming. I love DCC and DnD, so this is a solid addition to that niche! You have new classes that fit the Conan-esc mold with bizarre monsters to make the world feel like an old 70s sword and sorcery movie or book. There are also well done tables to help you randomly get treasure to players, to help you move the game along swiftly, and new areas to expand into like boxing and melee tournaments. Lastly there are rules for massive dungeon creation for all kinds of fun dungeon crawling shenanigans. That is decidedly old school. Solid new crunch here for your Low Fantasy Game! 5/5
Theme or Fluff– How much you like this book again depends on something else-do you like the bronze age? Not standard European fantasy, but more people long ago dealing with horrible monsters of antiquity and vast empires of slaves where it was just the might of your blade or the strength of your spells to uphold right? Me? I’m down for this. I’m looking forward to making a random dungeon and throwing players into it. I do want to know more about this world, but the creatures next goal is to make a world book to help fill in the fluff of the world. 4.5/5
Execution– My kickstarter preview edition is well done. Solid art, solid layout, and solid tables all lead me to be able to read this quickly and move forward fast. The simple book is free, so I love that. The good book is $15 for google drive access, and the better book is $20. Those are not bad prices for a supplement. I would like to know if it’s hyperlinked, but as of now, I like everything I see here. 4.5/5
Summary– The best part of doing these reviews is learning new things. I had no idea that Low Fantasy Gaming existed before this project. It’s honestly a great system that will get its own review one day. And then I learned about this project. It has solid mechanics to add to Low Fantasy gaming. It’s got solid new art, and it’s laid out well and starts to build a world that I can sink my teeth into. I do want a bit more, but that problem comes because this is a small team. And, it’s a good problem because when your project is solid enough to interest me I want more of it, that indicates that you got quality work here! 93%
TL; DR– DnD, Pathfinder, and Poker all mixed together! 87%
Basics– And now for something completely different! Today I have an upcoming Alarian RPG. It’s on the horizon, but not completely finished yet. Let’s look at the basics, and tell you what I think of the sneak peek I got.
Stats, skills and character building- Like most other RPGs, this one has a solid foundation for a few basic stats and skills based on each stat. When you build a character you choose which stats advance faster than others with some having fast progression, advancing every other level, and some advancing every three levels. Skills are a simple point investment as you level as well. What is interesting are the traits. Traits are similar to feats in DnD but they have stat requirements. These traits look like the main way you build a character. The basic builds so far either give you lots of stats and fewer skills and traits, while the other build lets you have more skills, slow stat gain, but lets you ignore some trait requirements. This lets you build a character that is not bound by a class but can dip into anything you think might be fun.
Using your skills and cards-Here is where this RPG takes a big leap. The game DOES NOT USE DICE! Instead players draw from a 54 card deck with jokers being wild. Players get 1 free card per test, then cards equal to their skill and half the associated statistic. The goal is to draw a particular suit either determined by the DM, the situation, or the player deciding before getting cards. Players attempt to get 1, 2, or 3 cards of the suit for a degree of success.
Combat- Combat is a mix of theater of the mind and tiles. Characters get a move and a standard action, but a stat called focus allowes players extra attacks, moves, or even determines how many attacks of opportunity a character can get. Weapons have three interesting features. First is simple damage to a character. Second it costs a character focus as they get smacked around and cant focus as much to do extra things. Lastly they cause poise loss meaning the defender’s armor won’t work as well as more attacks beat on that character. These are all amazingly technical things, but the game takes a bit of a departure as the game then moves to side based combat as one side and all its players go then the other side goes.
Ok, on to my thoughts..
Mechanics or Crunch– This is a new system, and I am intrigued. What I see is interesting enough to get me to kickstart it. I love some things, such as the novel card mechanic. Some things I don’t like as much. I would either lean more technical with movement and combat or less and have just sides smash into each other. The mix feels a bit off. That might be a preference thing from years of DnD 5e as well as years of PF1. Will it work? I think so, but it’s a new mix that’s interesting to me. 4.5/5
Theme or Fluff– I like what’s here, but I will need more. “Yeah, Ed this is a preview!”, so the traits are not a complete list yet nor is the world fully built. That said, what we have is an interesting mix. I’m intrigued enough to want to see the full list. And for a preliminary copy, the world guide is interesting enough to get me to bite. Perfect? No, but the hook is set. 4.5/5
Execution– More grading on a curve this week. This is a prepublish, not complete book. There is not fancy art on every other page, nor is there a PDF. What is here is a few books and art assets. Those honestly are impressive. The words need another pass of polish as a few things are pretty redundant in the verbiage. Also, some explanations seem a bit deep for how to play. None of that is a game breaker by any means, but all are to be expected in a preview. 4/5
Summary– The most annoying thing for me as the alpha geek at my gaming store is other geeks who don’t want to try something new simply because they have not tried it before. This is something new. It’s solid-new that is well done. It’s not perfect-new, but then again, I’m getting a sneak peek behind the curtain before it’s ready for prime time. And what I’ve seen means I’ll come back at prime time when things are finalized. There are small things at the core that are not my favorite, like group initiative and map combat at the same time, but possibly seeing the full suite of things will make me forget any misgivings. As things stand, I wholeheartedly recommend you also check this out when the public gets a look at this. 87%
Throat Punch Games 