Basics– To the stars! The Starfinder Beginner Box is the intro box for the Starfinder RPG, walking players through some basic character generation, how to play, and an intro adventure. It also provides dice, maps, and cardboard standees.
Mechanics or Crunch– What’s here is good, but is is missing a few key things. The walkthrough of how to play is a solid introduction to the game. But, and it’s a big but, it does leave out several things like starship combat. I LOVE Starfinder so that’s something that I think needs to be shown off. Also, as the GM, some of the skills are mislabeled. The skills that are used are simplified versions of the main skills to make life a bit easier for new players and GMs, but I feel that kind of handicaps the learning experience. That all said, it does work well and is a decent introduction to the system. 4.25/5
Theme or Fluff– The box set gives a solid introduction to the world and system, if a bit stifled. You get enough, but the adventure is a dungeon crawl. Not bad, but a bit simplified for an adventure. There are some social interactions, but I’d like more. The Pathfinder 2nd ed. Beginner box has two whole levels of dungeon, and I feel this was just a bit short. It works well, but I wanted more. 4.25/5
Execution– What’s here is fantastic. I love the maps, standees, and books. Everything that is included is done well. Solid work! 5/5
Summary-This is a good, if short, introduction to Starfinder. I like what’s here, but just need more. I want a short space shootout. I want more social. I want full skills,not simplified ones. But those are small wants compared to my friends who learned the system quickly from the box, and myself who was able to GM a game on the fly with minimal prep using this starter set. It’s good, but you will learn more when you buy the full book. 90%
Basics– Can you find her in time and why did she run? The Blade Runner Start Set is a single contained adventure and all the materials you need to play the Blade Runner RPG. It comes with dice, four characters, turn and combat cards, a basic rule book, a scenario book, and a whole packet of handouts..
Mechanics or Crunch– Any starter set that comes with a rulebook and a whole adventure is built well. You get all the rules you basically need and you can honestly start playing after about 30 minutes of reading. There is one issue I have and that’s chase mechanics in this box. You get chase cards and scenarios if you drive, but the mechanics for just running are not covered as well. It’s small, but you’re playing cops pursuing escaping robots; running will happen! Aside from that, this will get you playing Blade Runner fast and with a surprising amount of depth for a starter set. 4.75/5
Theme or Fluff– While this starter set can’t build as much of the world as the core book, this set does give enough background and comes with an awesome story with lots of handouts to draw the players in. It’s a mystery where a replicant goes missing and your job is to track her down. Along the way, there are twists and turns as well as corporate meddling, so it’s a standard cyberpunk story but a well done one. My one issue is that a character does something that the players might not understand, and I feel it’s not led up to enough. That said, it has enough of a hook and solid writing to make it a fun intro to the world. 4.5/5
Execution– Execution is the stand out section of the product. The box is well done, the books are well written, and the handouts, cards, and dice are all top notch. I absolutely loved all the pieces in this box, and it really helped draw my players in too. 5/5
Summary-I do love me some cyberpunk noir. The Blade Runner movies did it well, and this starter set is a solid addition to those stories. There are minor issues like food, chase cards and mechanics and some minor story issues that I felt were not emphasized enough, but overall if you want to start playing Blade Runner, this might be a better start than the core book. The starter set adventure ends with teasing the next adventure, and I plan to buy and run that one when it’s out. 95%
TL; DR-Another surprisingly well done year zero system. 99%
Basics– The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs…. Time to track down those replicants or be one! Let’s look at how to play.
Mechanics- Ah Year Zero… the system that Free League uses for everything, but is never quite the same. This one uses attributes and skill dice for each roll. Each thing you want to do be it hack a computer or shoot a guy is grab the attribute and the skill die for the activity and roll. Dice range from d6 to d12, but you do not use the basic number! What you do is check if you roll a 6 to 9 or 10 to 12. A 6 to 9 is one success, and a 10 to 12 is two successes. Doing a thing requires one success. Criticals have two successes. Slick and simple!
Rerolls- Rerolls and player control are the parts of the Year Zero system that mostly stay the same between all the different games they produce. If you want to reroll a physical thing, you reroll and if you roll a 1 on any die you take a point of physical damage. Do a mental thing, and you take stress damage on a 1. Humans can only reroll once, but replicants can reroll twice. However, replicants ALWAYS take stress on their 1s. This is bad – if you hit enough stress you basically need a reboot and your max stress can PERMANENTLY be reduced! But, the choice is always yours to make!
Combat- Another thing that is the same across Year Zero systems is combat and rounds. At the start of combat, players and the GM draw cards from 1 to 10. Players then take their turns doing simple things like moving and more complex things like attacking. Actions like attacking are handled just like any other roll described above. The more interesting thing is that weapons do a set amount of damage, and any two or more successes is a critical. Each weapon has a set critical die with rolls on that die above 10 resulting in instant death! Guns are VERY deadly!
Ok, Let’s discuss.
Mechanics or Crunch– I love the Year Zero system. I don’t know if I’ve ever honestly seen it entirely, as every Year Zero system uses a COMPLETELY different set of dice and die mechanics, but be it a pile of d6s, a single d20, or different skill dice, I LOVE it. It’s complex enough to build fun characters and simple enough to play fast with enough depth to keep even my Shadowrun loving self engaged. I also like player choice. This system always gives the players the option to do something, even on failure, and the story keeps rolling. The total package builds toward a fun system to dive into quickly, but you’ll find a lot to play with when you are there. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– Free League does their homework. Blade Runner is a dark, fun cyberpunk romp, but if you JUST saw the two movies you would miss large amounts of material. Free League did not do that. They dug deep into some crazy pieces, and there is a whole world that is out there now. Most adventures are gonna be against the corporation and world of the movies because that’s what your players know. But if you want more, there is a whole world to see there and Free League wrote that for you to find. 5/5
Execution– This book is well done with one small thing that drives me up a wall. First the good. It’s hyperlinked, laid out well, reads easily, and the art fits the aesthetic. This is a solid, well done book. What drives me crazy is the way the die system is discussed. You have a d6, d8, d10, and d12. The books refers to them as rank, D, C, B, and A. So, the GM screen needs to have a table on it so you can change back and forth from letters to dice. Just use the dice and leave it out. This drives me up a wall, but honestly, this complaint feels like being mad that they changed the color of the toilet paper in your favorite restaurant. If you get past my one crazy hangup, you will enjoy this book’s production. 4.9/5
Summary– I love this book. It’s got a simple, yet interesting system with a solid world and story put together in an excellently made product. I have my own idiosyncrasies, but if you want a dark, gritty detective story in a cyberpunk world with no magic, I would easily suggest this to anyone. Keep in mind, though, that this is not a big damn heroes game. Like the movies, this is a world without happy endings. If that’s not your preference in a game, then I would pass this by. I enjoy a good sad story, so this is one that I will bring to the table. 99%
Basics– We must face the weird wizard! Shadow of the Weird Wizard is Shadow of the Demon Lord brought to a much more traditional and family friendly world from Robert Schwalb. Let’s break down the quick start and then the review!
Mechanics- This is classic Shadow of the Demon Lord game play. It’s d20 based but numbers are MUCH smaller than your classic DnD 3.5. Bonuses to rolls are attribute – 10. A 12 means you get a +2 to the roll and a 7 would mean a -3. If things are good you get boons where you roll a d6 and add, and banes are roll a d6 and subtract. You get the sum total of boons and banes together and you get a total of up to 3d6 taking the best/worst to any roll.
Combat- Schwalb’s games are not crunch forward. It’s VERY quick! Monsters go, then players go. Each turn you get a move and an action. Interestingly enough, most dice rolls are either a d20 or a d6.
Ok, Let’s discuss.
Mechanics or Crunch– I will admit my bias here, but I love Shadow of the Demon Lord’s simplicity. You won’t have 20 pages of character sheet at level 10 (as high as this system goes), but you also get to play and understand quickly. But, it is a choice. If you need 20 different levels to pull in your game, this won’t be the system for you. Me? I love my 500 points of character building in Shadowrun and love my 1 die systems, so this is just a well done, slick system that will have you playing in under 10 minutes. Aside from that, the other controversy here is game length. Each session you level up. So if you start out level 0, you get about 11 sessions to play. That seems way too short, but in a conversation with the man himself, he brought up that most game groups might not even last that long till life takes them apart. His focus is on much more tight stories that you can complete. And again, that won me over. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– This is the most controversial part of Schwalb’s work, but this system doesn’t do what we would expect here. Weird Wizard is MUCH more traditional fantasy than Demon Lord. Demon Lord I felt was a bit more gothic and MUCH MUCH More grotesque. Now I love me some off the wall Schwalb based horror, but I can see how that would be too much for some people. This isn’t that. This feels much more in line with your classic fantasy. It’s got some interesting elements with the fey, but it’s wizards doing strange things and having to be put down. And given what I’ve seen it looks like it will be a fun ride along the way. 5/5
Execution– This is a free product, but it does give a bit of what to expect in the final production. It’s pretty bland in terms of art, but again it’s there for a system intro. And I have to say, I like it. The art of the kickstarter is good, so if that’s an indication of a full product, I’m happy. The other books have hyperlinks, art, and all the things I now require to be happy. For a free product, this points in a solid direction. 5/5
Summary– Pretty much whenever Schwalb puts out a kickstarter, I drop about 100 bucks getting all the digital toys. And this is no different. I love the simplicity of the system and the craziness of the world that is built. It’s interesting to discuss a new project where the controversy might be the lack of that gore/craziness. If you want a game you can play with the kids, those of a less cast iron stomach, or those who just want to be regular fantasy knights and dragon slaying heroes, then this is your game. A more traditional world with Schwalb’s simple mechanics, and solid production gets you VERY far with this product and I can’t recommend it enough. Check out this free product. 100%
TL; DR– No one can hear you scream how good this is! 98%
Basics– In space, no one can hear you scream! Alien RPG is a new take on the classic Alien franchise. Let’s dive into the basics of the game.
Mechanics- This system uses the Year Zero Engine. Here, you take a specific skill you want to do and the associated trait and roll that many d6’s. The GM may add or remove dice as the difficulty warrants, but if you roll one 6, you succeed. Additional 6s add more levels of success. You do this for everything from fixing a cargo door to shooting a xenomorph.
Stress- The Alien movies are nothing if not stressful! When you do something, you might fail, and if you do, you can reroll but you gain a different colored d6. If you roll a 1 on these d6’s you panic and roll a d6 and add your current stress level to that roll. Roll too high and you can go catatonic to violent to anything in between. You also gain stress dice when violence happens to you, to seeing androids, to fire full auto into a monster among the stars.
Combat- This game uses cards to track initiative. You draw cards at the start of a fight. There is no rolling for turns. Each turn on your card time, you can do a slow action and a fast action. Slow is shooting a gun or fixing a cargo door, while fast is yelling, running, or even pushing the button to open the airlock. Damage is determined by the weapon you are using minus any armor the creature or person has. Monsters are interesting in this system as well. Instead of the GM planning what happens, you roll a d6 when a monster attacks and that die determines what they do.
Ok, let’s go my thoughts on the system.
Mechanics or Crunch– This is a pretty low crunch system, but that doesn’t make it bad! What I just told you above gives you enough to jump in and start playing. You just need a character and two colors of D6s. It’s fast and lets you focus on the world that is here. I will admit getting only one talent or a feat for your character is kind of a bit light to me. I like having lots of fun toys for my character to use to get through the world. But that is what you get from Year Zero. I’m glad I get the talents/feats I do, but I would like just a bit more. In terms of how it fits the world, I love it. Stress is key in the movies and key here too. A near perfect fit of mechanics and world. 4.75/5
Theme or Fluff– I love the Alien movies (yes even the bad ones!). The people who made this did too. They even reference old books that I thought most people forgot about long ago! The world is built out a TON in this book. To the uninitiated, it is WAY more than just Weyland-Yutani and chestbursters, and this book shows that. Solid world building in this one. 5/5
Execution– PDF? Yep. Hyperlinked? Yes! Solid Art? Yep. Good layout? Yes. This is the first full book by Free League Publishing, and I have to say I am impressed. Good layout, good art, good flow, good everything EXCEPT respect for my printer when I try to make pregens from the book. The Alien world is dark. That’s ok, but the background of the book is dark as well. So if you print off characters for your friends, you WILL kill a printer cartridge! Give me some pregens on nice white paper please! 4.9/5
Summary– I love me some sci-fi, and I don’t think enough is done with it in RPG spaces. This book brings back the atmosphere of the 80’s Alien to a new decade and with a system that fits well with it. It also doesn’t fall into any of the 80’s pitfalls of RPG book design and is a solid expression of modern book layout. My issues are small. I want more stuff for my characters, and I would like pregens on better, less black intensive sheets. But, if thats the worst I can say about this, then an empty print carriage is a small price to pay for this awesome book. 98%
Basics– Do you know your head from a hole in the dirt? Get some help from the old chummers! This book is an advice book about how Shadowruns go down. It’s written in the style of several older runners discussing how to properly do a job in the Shadowrun universe.
Mechanics or Crunch– If you want ANY crunch in this book like qualities or items, you will not be happy with this one. This book is NOT a sourcebook but it’s more a strategy guide of how to play. It’s fun, but know what you are getting into! -/5
Theme or Fluff– What’s here is good, but if you have a Shadowrun game, this might not be the most useful. The advice from the old guys is always a good place to start learning a game. But, if you are an old guy, then you won’t find much in this book. I enjoyed the material, but it is mostly things I learned listening to the older Shadowrun players. 4/5
Execution– PDF? Yep. Hyperlinked? Yep. Solid Art? Yep. Good layout? Yes. I’m pretty happy with this book, and I think Catalyst has learned from their past mistakes regarding layout and design. 5/5
Summary-This book is really designed for players who don’t yet have a group. If you have a dedicated Shadowrun group that has played multiple editions, then this won’t really give you much new information. If you know the game, then I might give this a pass. If you are new and looking for tips and tricks on how to play and do well, then this is gonna be a great book to learn the ropes. 90 %
Basics– Ready to hit the Shadows Chummer? City Edition Seattle is a revamp of the new 6th edition rules for Shadowrun. It’s full of errata and new layout for the same 6th edition you know.
Mechanics or Crunch– If you were hoping for a completely new edition, this is not what you want. Sixth edition has been slightly controversial, but this book clears some of the issues with included errata. It’s still fundamentally 6th edition however. It works decently despite some misgivings that I have with some minor choices like only gaining a maximum of two edge per turn or deemphasizing strength for melee damage. 4/5
Theme or Fluff– While Shadowrun players may not like all the mechanical choices from the system, almost everyone loves the fluff the world provides. It’s deep and engaging with lots of short stories. Mechanics do match fluff and the arts and stories tie all of that together as well. This will make you want some cyberpunk tabletop in your life. 5/5
Execution– PDF? Yep. Hyperlinked? Yep. Solid Art? Yep. Good layout? Slight missteps. Catalyst did a good job putting a lot of errata into one package, but some things are still buried into the text. It’s much cleaner from what was before, but some things are still buried and its easy to miss small things with huge implications like how strength might not play the major role in damage but how almost all physical contests have Strength as a major factor in a contest of ability. 4.5/5
Summary– This book is a repackage of the rules that you may or may not love. It makes them more approachable and easier to read, but it will not fundamentally change them. The quality of life changes to the rules are fantastic, and the usual art and story are great as well. It’s now just if you like the basic rules or not. I have some issues, but overall it’s still Shadowrun to me, so I am having a blast. 90%
TL; DR-Good overall story, but small issues in the middle beats. 83%
Basics– Who is the skull? You find a talking skull…what the heck is up with that? Find out who the skull is and continue the mystery of the fey who want it!
Mechanics or Crunch– The math is all balanced for this adventure, but the progression of it is a bit skewed. This adventure is basically several skill tests, a potential fight, skill test/fight, plot, skill tests, then end fight. Players who are combat monsters will be a bit bored as the goal of most damage will not be a major time sink for the game. It is all balanced for the numbers and skills used, but the game is moving to much more explore, report, corporate and less destroy all things. 4/5
Theme or Fluff– The overall story of this adventure is great, but the beat by beat is a bit off. The basics are to learn about the skull. Characters are introduced in throw away lines and given full pictures, but I don’t honestly know who they are and how they fit into the flow. This leads to players asking questions that I honestly can’t answer. It’s nice to have, but it feels off. One example is a NPC who talked to the skull as a person, but that person is mentioned exactly four times. All four times are either in the paragraph saying he talked to her or his pictures. NO real description of who he is and why we care. The major pieces are fun and the second half of the adventure comes together well. The first half has good things that just don’t fit true. 3.5/5
Execution– PDF? Yep. Hyperlinked? Yep. Solid Art? Yep. Good layout? Yep! This is what I expect from a Paizo adventure. I complained that there are TOO many pictures. That’s a good problem to have. 5/5
Summary– I like the metaplot between the starter adventure, this adventure, and the last of the trilogy about this magic talking skull. The crunch is good, but not even. If you just want to beat things, this is not your adventure. If you want to explore a magic town, this is a blast. As a GM, some pieces don’t quite work. I want more background on some characters. Help me use the NPCs and their pictures to fill out the social bits of the adventure. It’s physically well done, and the big story is a blast. I just need more flow in the middle. 83%
Basics– LET’S GO TO THE… museum? The Starfinder society is partnering with many different groups to show off artifacts of the past. What wonders will be shown, what friends will be made, and who might want to mess with this display?
Mechanics or Crunch– Paizo has a solid adventure here, with a decent balance of talking and combat. The flow is mostly talking for the first half and then combat for the second. There are a lot of NPCs to sway, so combat might get a little bit left to the side as its really only two fights. That said, it’s done well. 4.5/5
Theme or Fluff– This is a one building adventure. You really only spend time in one museum for the entire adventure, schmoozing with different people learning about things that will happen later in the season’s adventures. That is pretty standard for the first adventure in a Starfinder Society season. My one issue is the adventure is pretty short. Most of the time I run this it’s less than three hours for a five hour session. The players have fun and the story is decent. Overall, its a good addition to the first adventures of each season. 4.5/5
Execution– PDF? Yep. Hyperlinked? Yep. Solid Art? Yep. Good layout? Yep! This is what I expect from a Paizo adventure. Things are not perfect, as they give good pictures for everything except for one enemy type, so you will need your own picture. It’s not bad by any means, but it’s one small thing. 4.5/5
Summary– This is a fun adventure. It’s short and a little unbalanced in story tempo if you are a combat monster, but overall it’s a good one. I had fun, and so did my players. It’s not perfect, but definitely one that I will be gladly running for multiple groups this year! 90%
TL; DR-Solid adventure with a bit of crazy ending. 97%
Basics– Who wants a drink? Drawn to a small town where a particularly special liquor is made, you find a massive idol barking orders. Can you find the liquor before the idol counts down to… something?
Mechanics or Crunch– Ah first level Goodman Game scenarios! These guys know their mechanics, so everything is solidly done with the right amount of random and fun monsters to fight. My players and I all had a blast killing monsters, searching, and finding the secrets of the idol. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– Overall this is fun, but I feel the ending gets a bit off. There are a ton of fun in this adventure and has some crazy turns that are just perfect for the Dying Earth. There is one problem with the adventure. I won’t spoil anything, but I feel like one enemy would not attack the players at the end. That said, if you run it how you want, it won’t be a problem!. 4.5/5
Execution– PDF? Yep. Hyperlinked? Yep. Solid Art? Yep. Good layout? Yep! This is what I expect from a Goodman Games adventure. Solid work Goodman games! 5/5
Summary– Ah crazy Dying Earth fun. This with all the other adventures makes me want to read more Vance. I love the crunch and the design, but I have a few issues with the ending. That said, you write your own story as the Judge, so fix it on the fly! This is a solid adventure that I loved, and I think you will too! 97%
Throat Punch Games 